DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, GURGAON

PRACTICE PAPER (2021-22)

ENGLISH CORE (301)
DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
CLASS XII
SEC-45, GURGAON

Duration: 90 Minutes Maximum Marks: 40

No. of pages: 14

General Instructions:
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections.
2. Section A-READING has 18 questions. Attempt a total of 14 questions, as per specific
instructions for each question.
3. Section B-WRITING SKILLS has 12 questions. Attempt a total of 10 questions, as per
specific instructions for each question.
4. Section C-LITERATURE has 30 questions. Attempt 26 questions, as per specific
instructions for each question.
5. All questions carry equal marks.
6. There is no negative marking.
READING
I. Read the passage given below.
I. Philosophy of Education is a label applied to the study of the purpose, process, nature and
ideals of education. It can be considered as a branch of both philosophy and education. Many
educationalists consider it a weak and woolly field, too far removed from the practical
applications of the real world to be useful.
II. Plato is the earliest important educational thinker, and education is an essential element in
‘The Republic’ (his most important work on philosophy and political theory, written around
360 B.C.). In it, he advocates some rather extreme methods: removing children from their
mothers’ care and raising them as wards of the state, and differentiating children suitable to the
various castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of
the city and care for the less able. He believed that education should be holistic, including facts,
skills, physical discipline, music and art.
III. Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important forces to be
cultivated in education, the ultimate aim of which should be to produce good and virtuous
citizens. He proposed that teachers lead their students systematically, and that repetition be
used as a key tool to develop good habits, unlike Socrates’ emphasis on questioning his
listeners to bring out their own ideas. He emphasised the balancing of the theoretical and
practical aspects of subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentioned reading, writing,
mathematics, music, physical education, literature, history, and a wide range of sciences, as
well as play, which he also considered important.
IV. During the Medieval period, the idea of Perennialism was first formulated by St. Thomas
Aquinas in his work ‘De Magistro’. Perennialism holds that one should teach those things
deemed to be of everlasting importance to all people everywhere, namely principles and
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reasoning, not just facts (which are apt to change over time), and that one should teach first
about people, not machines or techniques. It was originally religious in nature, and it was only
much later that a theory of secular perennialism developed.
V. During the Renaissance, the French skeptic, Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592), was one
of the first to critically look at education. Unusually for his time, Montaigne was willing to
question the conventional wisdom of the period, calling in to question the whole edifice of the
educational system, and the implicit assumption that university-educated philosophers were
necessarily wiser than uneducated farm workers, for example.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any eight out of the ten questions by
choosing the correct option:
Q1. Philosophy of Education is a branch of both
A. Psychology and Education.
B. Philosophy and Education.
C. Psychology and Teaching.
D. None of the above

Q2. What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and Aristotle?
A. Aristotle felt the need for repetition to develop good habits in students; Socrates felt that
students need to be constantly questioned.
B. Aristotle felt the need for rote-learning; Socrates emphasised on dialogic learning.
C. There was no difference.
D. Aristotle emphasised on the importance of paying attention to human nature; Socrates
emphasised upon science.

Q3. Why do educationalists consider philosophy a ‘weak and woolly’ field?

A. It is not practically applicable.
B. Its theoretical concepts are easily understood.
C. It is irrelevant for education.
D. None of the above

Q4. What do you understand by the term ‘Perennialism’ from the given passage?
A. It refers to something which is of ceaseless importance.
B. It refers to something which is quite unnecessary.
C. It refers to something which is abstract and theoretical.
D. It refers to something which existed in the past but no longer exists now.

Q5. ‘The Republic’ is an important work on

A. Philosophy
B. Political Theory
C. Education
D. Both A and B

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 Q6. Plato believed that
A. only the rich have the right to acquire education.
B. education should be holistic.
C. only a select few are meant to attend schools.
D. all pupils are not talented.
Q7. According to Aristotle, the ultimate aim of education is to
A. produce virtuous citizens.
B. produce intelligent citizens.
C. produce good citizens.
D. Both A and C
Q8. Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much emphasis on facts?
A. Facts are not important.
B. Facts do not lead to holistic education.
C. Facts change with the changing times.
D. Facts are frozen in time.
Q9. The word ‘skeptic’, as used in paragraph V, means the same as
A. believer.
B. doubter.
C. optimist.
D. disciple.
Q10. The word ‘explicitly’, as used in paragraph III, means the same as
A. uncertainty.
B. precisely and clearly.
C. indefinitely.
D. questionably.
II Read the passage given below.
I. Since its creation in the 17th century, insurers have amassed polices in each class of risk they cover.
Thanks to technology, insurers now have access to more information about the risks that individuals
run. Car insurers have begun to set premiums based on how actual drivers behave, with ‘telematic’
tracking devices to show how often they speed or slam on the brakes. Analysts at Morgan Stanley, a
bank, predict that damage to insured homes will fall by 40-60% if smart sensors are installed to
monitor, say, frayed electrical wiring. Some health insurers provide digital fitness-bands to track
policyholders’ vital signs - and give discounts if they lead a healthier life. But the data can only go
so far. Even the safest driver can be hit by a falling tree: people in connected homes still fall off ladders.
But the potential gains from smart insurance are large. First, giving people better insights into how
they are managing risks should help them change their behaviour for the better. ‘Progressive’, an
American car insurer, tells customers who use its trackers, where they tend to drive unsafely; they
crash less often as a result. Second, pricing will become keener for consumers. The insurance industry
made $338 billion in profits last year. More accurate risk assessment should result in lower premiums
for many policyholders. Third, insurers should be able to spot frauds more easily, by using data to
verify claims.
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II. But two worries stand out. One is a fear that insurers will go from being with to ones that
watch your every move. The other, thornier problem is that insurers will cherry pick the good
risks, leaving some people without safety net or to be taken care of by the state. Forgone privacy
is the price the insured pay receiving personalised pricing. Many people are indeed willing to
share the data, but individuals should always have to opt in to do so. Some worry that this
safeguard may not be enough: the financial costs of not sharing data may be so great that people
have no real choice over whether to sign up. The second concern is the worry that more precise
underwriting will create a class of uninsurable people, selected out of insurers’ businesses
because they are too high a risk.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any six out of the eight questions by
choosing the correct option.

Q11. Which of the following will be said about the insurance industry?

A. It is not well regulated in Europe and America.

B. It is plagued by frauds on the part of the policyholders, who manipulate data.
C. It faces challenges about the use of personal data.
D. It requires bailouts from the government.

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Q12. The inception of insurers took place in

A. the 16th century.

B. the 17th century.
C. 1870.
D. 1902.

Q13. Which of the following is/ are outcome(s) of smart insurance?

a. Create awareness about one’s behaviour
b. Infringes on a policyholder’s privacy
c. Discriminates among consumers based on their behaviour

A. Only c
B. Only b and c
C. Only a and b
D. All of the above

Q14. The graph of personal auto insurance market has got its peak of premium growth and
combined ratio in the year

A. 2020
B. 2015
C. 1975
D. 2000

Q15. Which of the following is the central idea of the passage?

A. Today, customers have plenty of innovative insurance products to choose from.

B. Insurance companies access to and use of personal data is both promoting and risky.
C. Of all the insurance products, health insurance is the most innovative and controversial.
D. Using genetic data to access a customer’s insurance premium is immoral.

Q16. Which of the following is true in the context of the passage?

A. Technology has made it easier to commit insurance fraud.

B. Insurance has been around for less than a century.
C. The American insurance industry is the largest in the world.
D. None of the above

Q17. Pick the option that lists the statement that is NOT TRUE according to the passage.
A. More accurate risk assessment will result in higher premium for policyholders.
B. By using data to verify claims, insurers will be able to identify frauds easily.
C. More accurate risk assessment will result in lower premiums for policyholders.
D. A major US car insurer advises customers, who use its trackers, where they tend to
drive unsafely.

Q18. The technology driven data which insurers access can

a. cause precise underwriting which will create a class of uninsurable people.

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 b. lead to insurers watching your every move.
c. lead to insurers cherry picking the good risks only.

A. Only a
B. Both b and c
C. Only c
D. All of the above
WRITING
III. Answer any four out of the five questions given, with reference to the context below.
The Head Girl of Modern Public School, Noida has to put up a notice to inform the students
about the ‘Science Quiz’ that is going to be organised by the Science Club and invite them to
participate.
Q19. Select the appropriate title for the notice.
A. Science Competition and Your Participation
B. Science Quiz
C. A Science Quiz is organised
D. Science Quiz and Competition
Q20. Select the option that lists the most accurate opening for this notice.
A. The Science Club of the school is organising a Virtual Quiz Competition.
B. Students will be apprised about the details of the Science Quiz shortly.
C. Modern Public School is organising a Science Quiz.
D. Students are advised to participate in a Science Quiz going to be organised soon.
Q21. The ____________ will be mentioned at the top of the notice.
A. name of the club that will organise the quiz
B. name of the event going to take place
C. name of the school
D. name of the head girl
Q22. The notice may exceed the word limit.
A. Yes, because it's important to include the complete information.
B. Yes, because adhering to word limit is not important.
C. No, the complete information is to be included following the word limit.
D. No, any word limit is adequate.
Q23. Select the concluding line of the notice
A. Interested candidates need to contact the undersigned.
B. There will be three categories for the quiz.
C. The quiz will take place on 30th October 2021.
D. None of the above

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IV. Answer any six of the seven questions given, with reference to the context below.
Kanha is a member of the editorial board of the school. He has to write an article highlighting
the importance of hard work and punctuality in a student's life and how success is achieved
following the two.
Q24. Select the option that lists an appropriate title for Kanha’s article.
A. The Value of Hard work and Punctuality
B. Importance of Hard work and Punctuality in a Student’s Life
C. Hard work, Punctuality and Success
D. Hard work, Punctuality and targets to be achieved
Q25. The by-line of the article will be _____________
A. Hard work and punctuality are the key elements to success.
B. By Kanha Joshi
C. Do you really feel you are working hard to achieve the goal you have set for yourself?
D. Be it a small creature like an ant or human beings, hard work will take you to the right
direction.
Q26. Select the most suitable statement to make the article even more effective.
A. Do you really feel you are working hard to achieve the goal you have set for yourself?
B. Each one of us has different goals in our lives.
C. For me, hard work and punctuality are the key elements to succeed.
D. Be it a student, teacher, politician, trader or an official, all have to observe punctuality,
and work hard in order to succeed.
Q27. Which option would help Kanha with the appropriate organisation of relevant ideas for
this article?

A. Introduction with the strongest point-Exploring the reasons with examples-Stating the
effects-Providing suggestions to make hard work and punctuality a habit-Presenting a
conclusive outlook
B. Stating the effects of following hard work and punctuality religiously-Presenting a
concluding viewpoint-Providing suggestions to make these two elements a part of life-
Expressing concern for ignoring these factors-Exploring the reasons
C. Introducing the purpose of the article-Presenting effects-Providing suggestions for a
successful life-Exploring the reasons for adopting hard work and punctuality-
Presenting a pledge for awareness and action
D. Exploring the opportunities to work hard and being punctual-Questioning your own
efforts- Providing suggestions for improvements- Introducing the purpose of the article-
Bringing in the importance of these key factors

Q28. A cause-effect relationship will be developed in the article by

A. sharing personal experiences about the two key factors to achieve success.
B. incorporating facts to support the idea.
C. including examples to strengthen the idea.

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 D. Both B and C.

Q29. Choose a suitable ending to the article.

A. Students are taught the importance of punctuality and hard work.
B. Thus, both hard work and punctuality are essential for a happy and successful life.
C. These two should reflect through our every day’s behaviour.
D. ‘Time and Tide wait for none’

Q30. Which of the following would Kanha ensure to be the most eye-catching part of the
article?
A. The main body
B. The title
C. The concluding sentence
D. The rhetorical questions

LITERATURE

This section has sub-sections: V, VI, VII, VIII, IX. There are a total of 30 questions in the
section. Attempt any 26 questions from the sub-sections V to IX.

V. Read the given extract to attempt questions that follow:

Put that thought away, and looked at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of
their homes, but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away, I looked at her,
wan pale.....

Q31. Which thought, mentioned in the extract is to be put away?

A. The terrible thought of losing her mother as she was old.

B. The thought of seeing her mother fall sick.
C. The terrible thought of losing her mother as she was young.
D. The terrible thought of meeting an accident while driving.

Q32. Why did the poet use the image of ‘merry children’?

A. To sketch the wholesome picture of life.

B. To create a merry and fun filled atmosphere.
C. To compliment the idea of loss and separation.
D. To contrast with the idea of an aged person.

Q33. Which figure of speech is used in the expression ‘Young Trees sprinting’?

A. Simile
B. Hyperbole
C. Personification
D. Metaphor

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Q34. Find a word from the following that means same as ‘wan’.

A. Glowing and healthy

B. Pale and sick
C. Old and lazy
D. Active and alert

Q35. The trees sprinting and merry children spilling in the poem signify

A. exuberance of energy.
B. exuberance of youth.
C. that young age passes very quickly.
D. Both A and B

VI. Read the given extract to attempt questions that follow:

When Hana got up in the morning nothing was done, the house was not cleaned and the
food not prepared, and she knew what it meant. She was dismayed and even terrified, but
her pride as a mistress would not allow her to show it. Instead, she inclined her head
gracefully when they appeared before her in the kitchen, and she paid them off and thanked
them for all that they had done for her. They were crying, but she did not cry. The cook and
the gardener had served Sadao since he was a little boy in his father’s house, and Yumi
cried because of the children. She was so grieving that after she had gone she ran back to
Hana.

Q36. The phrase ‘she knew what it meant’ means

A. she realised that the servants had decided to leave.

B. she thought that the cook did not like her.
C. she understood that the servants had not woken up.
D. she knew that Yumi had found another job and wanted to go.

Q37. Her pride as a mistress did not allow her to show ‘it’. Here ‘it’ refers to

A. happiness
B. her haughtiness
C. her distress and fear
D. the fact that they had given shelter to a POW

Q38. The dignified way in which Hana conducted herself shows that she

A. had self-respect.
B. supported her husband’s decision of saving the life of the POW.
C. was grateful to them for the services rendered.
D. Both A and B

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Q39. Yumi cried because

A. as a nurse, she had become attached to the children.

B. she did not want to wash and clean the POW.
C. she knew that Sadao and Hana had taken the right decision.
D. she was homesick.

Q40. Yumi did not want to wash the man because

A. he was an American.
B. he was an enemy.
C. he was very dirty.
D. All of the above

VII. Read the given extract to attempt questions that follow:

Far far from gusty waves these children’s faces.

Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor:
The tall girl with her weighed-down head. The paper-
seeming boy, with rat’s eyes. The stunted, unlucky heir
Of twisted bones, reciting a father’s gnarled disease,
His lesson, from his desk.

Q41. The slum children of elementary school are compared to rootless weeds because

A. they are unhappy.

B. they are unwanted and don't have a strong foundation in life.
C. they do not have any desires.
D. Both B and C

Q42. The phrase ‘far far from’ is an example of

A. Refrain
B. Repetition
C. Simile
D. Oxymoron

Q43. ‘The tall girl with her weighed-down head’ indicates that

A. she is ashamed.
B. she wants to go out and play.
C. she is malnourished and cannot sit upright.
D. she has made a mistake.

Q44. The phrase ‘paper seeming boy’ means

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A. the boy is thin like paper and malnourished.
B. he is reading from a paper.
C. he seems to like reading newspapers.
D. None of the above

Q45. Choose the quote that best describes the poet’s attitude to education in the poem.

A. The cure of boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. -DOROTHY PARKER
B. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. -MAHATAMA
GANDHI
C. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. - NELSON
MANDELA
D. The highest result of education is tolerance. -HELLEN KELLER

VIII. Read the given extract to attempt questions that follow:

That night, among my oldest first-day covers, I found one that shouldn’t have been there. But
there it was. It was there because someone had mailed it to my grandfather at his home in
Galesburg; that's what the address on the envelope said. And it had been there since July 18,
1894 - the postmark showed that - yet I didn't remember it at all. The stamp was a six-cent, dull
brown, with a picture of President Garfield. Naturally, when the envelope came to Granddad
in the mail, it went right into his collection and stayed there - till I took it out and opened it.
Q46. What is a first day cover?
A. A new stamp with the postmark and date.
B. A beautifully covered gift.
C. A gift wrapped in an envelope.
D. All of the above.

Q47.Why should this particular first-day cover not be there?

A. Because Charley had noticed its existence there.
B. Because it could not have been collected by his grandfather.
C. Because it was a modern first-day cover from the future.
D. Because it was too old to be found from his grandfather’s time.

Q48. Whose picture was there on the stamp?

A. President Roosevelt
B. President Cleveland
C. President Garfield
D. President Donald Trump

Q49. Who had sent that first-day cover and when?

A. Charley’s grandfather in 1894
B. Charley’s wife Louisa on 11 June 1942

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C. Charley’s psychiatrist friend Sam on 18 July 1894
D. Sam’s friend on 18 July 1894

Q50. What does ‘The Third Level’ symbolize?

A. It symbolises man’s yearning to delve deeper into the world of imagination as an escape
from the world of harsh realities.
B. It stands for man’s quest for the fabulous ordinariness of a bygone age that was free from
the modern razzle-dazzle.
C. It symbolises the human tendency to escape from the harsh realities of the present to the
past happy times.
D. All of these

IX. Attempt the following.

Q51. Explain: ‘like catacombs’ in reference to the poem, ‘An Elementary Classroom in a
Slum’.

A. Catacombs symbolize darkness and illiteracy.

B. Slum children dwell in dark and dingy places.
C. The windows of these rooms look like lids of catacombs.
D. Both A and B

Q52. Choose the quote that best describes the poet’s attitude to stillness and silence in the
poem, ‘Keeping Quiet’.

A. The world is full of noise. Might we not set ourselves to learn silence, stillness and solitude?
- ELISABETH ELLIOT
B. Inner silence is the key to outer strength. -JARE BROCK
C. Within yourself is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be
yourself. -HERMAN HESSE
D. Silence and stillness has its own virtues. -KILROY J. OLDSTER

Q53. Which of the following idioms describe the villagers’ act of attending the last lesson?

A. Too good to miss

B. Too cool for school
C. Too little, too late
D. Too many cooks spoil the broth

Q54. The story ‘The Last Lesson’ revolves around

A. language chauvinism.
B. race, colour and creed.
C. territorial encroachment.
D. None of the above

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Q55. ‘Few planes fly over Firozabad’ means
A. there is no other choice.
B. it is a small town so few aeroplanes fly over it.
C. poor people have few opportunities to progress.
D. development cannot happen in Firozabad.

Q56. By the statement ‘If I start a school, will you come?’ the author meant
A. that a new school will be constructed by the government.
B. that the author was going to start sending them to a school in her locality.
C. that she would start a school for them in future.
D. that she was encouraging him to go to school.

Q57. Saheb and the other migrants left Dhaka ‘looking for gold’ in the big city. It means
A. they are looking for a chance to strike gold.
B. they want to earn money and sustain their lives.
C. they were searching for gold.
D. they were looking for a dealer of gold coins.

Q58. Which quote conveys the message given by William Douglas?

A. Image 1
B. Image 2
C. Image 3
D. Image 4

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Q59. ‘I crossed to oblivion, and the curtain of life fell’. What is the antonym of the word
‘oblivion’?

A. Stupor
B. Blackout
C. Awareness
D. Amnesia

Q60. The haunting fear of water did not just affect the author but also

A. ruined his fishing trips.

B. deprived him of the joys of canoeing and boating.
C. made his friends laugh at him.
D. help him swim freely in the water.

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