BAL BHARATI PUBLIC SCHOOL

Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, New Delhi-60

CLASS –XII SUBJECT –ENGLISH CORE

ASSIGNMENT- 10(DECEMBER 2012) TOPIC – REVISION

SECTION A – READING
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will further expand the educational facilities
in the remote areas of the country through EDUSAT, announced Prof. H.P. Dikshit, Vice-
Chancellor of IGNOU, who has been recently appointment as chairman of core group to utilise
the EDUSAT facility.
EDUSAT is the first exclusive satellite dedicated to the educational sector which is primarily
meant for providing connectivity to school, college and higher education sector and also
support non – formal education, including development communication.
EDUSAT was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in Sept. 2004, 80 kms from
Chennai. While giving this information Dr. Umes Chandra Pandey, Regional Director of
IGNOU for Punjab and Chandigarh, said that with the launch of EDUSAT the distance
education programmes of IGNOU will get a fresh boost. IGNOU has been assigned crucial
responsibilities for implementation of EDUSAT which will enhance the capabilities of IGNOU to
serve its mandate of providing education at every doorstep of people, making education
convenient for them.
Dr. Pandey also said that the extension of quality education to remote and rural regions
becomes a challenging task for a large country like India with multi-lingual and multi-cultural
population separated by vast geographical distances and a number of areas having
inaccessible terrain.
Dr. Pandey informed that through EDUSAT a teacher sitting in a television studio can
simultaneously address hundreds of students in different schools / colleges all over the
country which will bring about equity in access to quality education.
It will be the beginning of a silent revolution in India Educational scenario, he said. IGNOU and
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have been working together to develop satellite-
based education network dedicated to education since 1993.
Besides supporting formal education, a satellite system can make it possible to disseminate
knowledge to the rural and remote population about crucial aspects like health and hygiene,
and allow professional to update their knowledge base as well, which can prove to be very
beneficial to them in the long run.
Thus, in spite of limited trained and skilled teachers, the educational demands of the growing
student population at different levels can be met through the EDUSAT. ISRO will provide the
space segment for EDUSAT system and demonstrate the efficacy of the satellite system for
distance education. The content generation would be the responsibility of the user agencies.
 The quantity and quality of the content would ultimately decide the success of EDUSAT
system which involves enormous effort by the user agencies, including IGNOU, which has
already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ISRO.
IGNOU and ISRO have been working together to develop satellite-based educational network
dedicated for education since 1993.

A.1.1 Based on your reading of the passage answer the following questions:
(a) What is the primary purpose of the launch of EDUSAT?1
(b) Explain the role of IGNOU vis-à-vis EDUSAT?2
(c) What hinders the spread of quality education across the country and how can the problem
be solved?2
(d) Describe the silent revolution.2
(e) The Satellite system is a multi-purpose one. Explain.2
(f) Find synonyms from the passage for the following words:1x3=3
(i) From a distance (ii) unapproachable (iii) improve (iv) spread widely

2.Read the passage carefully:

There are a plethora of contributory factors that have led to the increase of violence among
the youth in our society. Some of the most oft mentioned cases are associated with the
increase in the violent content of movies, television, music, video games, etc. it is averred that
these vehicles of entertainment have a desensitising effect upon the impressionable minds of
the youth. Children observe the indiscriminate violence portrayed in a fictional sense, and
have difficulty distinguishing the actual effects of its application in reality.
Undoubtedly, this desensitisation process plays a role in the increase of violence. But, then,
children have been witnessing violence in a fictional sense for decades, yet it has not had
such an adverse effect to the degree that we see today. Why not, all of a sudden, has the
witnessing of violence mystically desensitised the youth to its harmful effects?
The root cause lies within the socialisation process our youth undergo as they develop, and
we adults are largely responsible for it. We have adopted such an indifferent approach,
collectively as a society, to the development of our children, and consequently, that has begun
to start manifesting itself in their conduct. There are many ways in which we have contributed
to the negative socialisation of our youth.
For one, in living our lives and pursuing our goals, we have inculcated into our youth that life is
about the pursuit of contentment, the acquisition of material goods and living comfortably.
Parental involvement in their lives has drastically decreased. How much quality time can the
parents spend with a child when they are busy pursuing this elusive and loosely defined goal?
How often does a parent show genuine interest in the child’s daily life? In their young eyes, life
becomes about the struggle to gain more, as opposed to the respect for being alive.
Another factor that contributes to the youths’ negative socialisation is the lack of proper
mentoring outside of the home. Schools used to be fertile grounds for instilling more than just
educational lessons. Teachers were the significant others that influence the youth in ways that
extended beyond academics. The school environment was a safe haven for their maturation.
Now schools are just human warehouses and day care centres that provide little incentive for
their growing minds.
The community used to be as actively involved in raising the youth. Everyone was concerned
about their growth and development. The lady down the street, the older boy across the street,
the man who lived upstairs, everyone cared about their well-being. Now, their neighbourhoods
have become impersonal playgrounds with adversities constantly lurking in the shadows.
Even the extracurricular activities and youth programmes children participated in factor into
this equation. They used to be prevalent, and were institutions that nurtured the socialisation
process. Now, they are virtually non-existent. The scarcity of these programmes has caused
the youth to seek camaraderie in gangs (which promotes a violent lifestyle).
Finally, we have neglected to really teach our youth adequate problem solving skills, coping
strategies, and conflict resolution techniques. Not only do we provide them with bad examples
in how we deal with our own problems, but we don’t teach them the necessary steps to take in
solving a problem. The youth are bombarded with serious issues (i.e., identity crisis, peer
pressure, being popular, fitting in). These issues create emotional problems that they don’t
know how to cope with. We don’t provide them with conflict resolution techniques that
produce positive results. Lacking these essential tools of healthy development, they resort to
aggressive solutions.
What can we do as a society to combat these damaging factors? What kinds of programs can
we enact to help our children choose a non-violent lifestyle? Firstly, we need to recognise our
own contribution to this problem. We may not be able to change their actions, but we can
change ours. We can start by paying more attention to our youth and becoming more active in
their lives. Hopefully, through their interaction with us, they can begin to learn what is truly
important in life-life itself.
We also need to teach the youth about the harmful effects of violence. The impact of violence
has far reaching ramifications (not just physically, but psychologically and emotionally as well).
The youth need to be aware of these effects.
In addition, we must teach them problem solving skills, coping strategies (like venting
frustrations through constructive activities), and conflict resolution techniques (like negotiating
win-win solutions). We need to impress these ideas and concepts upon them, and get them
actively involved in participating in workshops where they can learn better ways to deal with
conflict.
Lastly, we need to get the government involved too. Impress upon them the significance of
after school programs, mentoring programs, extracurricular activities, summer youth leagues,
and other programmes geared toward the youth. Force them, through our votes, to reassess
their budget plans to include these programs and activities. Make them use municipal funding
to support these activities.
We can even hold big businesses accountable to the fomenting of our youth. They can help
by creating grant foundations (that’s corporate welfare to them). Get them to commit, or take
their dollars elsewhere.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage make notes on it using headings, subheadings
and commonly recognizable abbreviations. Also supply a suitable title to the passage.5
(b) Based on your notes, write a summary of the passage in 80 words only.3

SECTION B: ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS

3. You are Suhas / Suhani. You have recently shifted residence. Write an invitation in about
50 words for your friends to the house warming party you are hosting at 972, Sector 15,
Chandigarh. 5
 4. You are Adit / Adya. Recently your school organised a workshop on Stress Management
for the students of senior classes. There was a discussion on stress related problems of
the teenagers and their solutions were discussed. Write a report of the workshop for your
school newsletter.10
5. You are Pulkit / Pallavi. Write a letter to the editor expressing your views on the recent
efforts made by Pakistan and India to develop peaceful relations and mutual
cooperation.10

6. You are Keshav / Ketki of Scholars Public School. Write an article for your school
magazine expressing your views on the concept of reserving 20% seats at the primary
level for children from the underprivileged classes.10

SECTION C: LITERATURE
7. (a) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
‘Break O Break open ‘till they break the town
And show the slum children green fields and make their world
Run azure on gold sands…’
(i) To whom does Spender address this appeal?1
(ii) What is the appeal?1
(iii) What kind of education does he appeal for the children of the slum?2
OR

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen.

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree:
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
(i) Explain: ‘Aunt Jennifer’s tigers’.1
(ii) Why does Aunt Jennifer need to create these tigers?1
(iii) How do these tigers present a contrast to Aunt Jennifer?2

(b) Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words only:2x3=6 marks
(i) What is the message of the poem Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers?
(ii) Who are the ‘greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey’?
(iii) The poem My Mother at Sixty-six projects Kamala Das as a sensitive person.
Comment.
(iv) Why are beautiful things worth treasuring?

8. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words only:2x5=10 marks

(a) Discuss the significance of the title The Last Lesson.
(b) Why did the peddler decline the ironmaster’s hospitality at first?
(c) What larger meaning did the experience of overcoming fear have for Doughlas?
(d) What were the frustrations of the ‘office boy’ at Gemini Studio?
(e) Why does the interviewer today hold a position of power and influence?

9. Answer the following in 125-150 words:10 marks

What was the condition of the indigo peasants when Gandhi reached Champaran?
10. Answer the following question in 125 – 150 words:7marks
How did Hana help her husband in nursing Sadao?

11. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:2x4=8marks

(a) Explain the significance of the title On the Face of It.
(b) What lesson do you learn from the episode “we too are human beings”
(c) Who is Carter? What does the Governor want him to do and why?
(d) What is the idea underlying Mr. Lamb’s observation, “Everything’s the same, but
everything is different”?

BEST OF LUCK FOR THE PRE & FINAL BOARDS!!