Grade XII

Q.N. 1. Peruse the following ARTICLE on Torquay and do the activities that follow.
THE NAME KYIRONG means "the village of happiness." I shall never cease thinking of
this place with yearning, and if I can choose where to pass the evening of my life, it will be in
Kyirong. When we arrived in January, the temperature was just below freezing; it seldom
falls below 10 degrees centigrade. The seasons correspond to what we have in the Alps, but
the vegetation is subtropical. One can go skiing the whole year round, and in the summer,
there is a row of 20,000-footers to climb.
There are about eighty houses in the village, which is the seat of two district governors who
administer thirty villages. We were told that we were the first Europeans who had ever come
to Kyirong, and the inhabitants watched our entry with astonishment. We were quartered in
the house of a farmer, which reminded me of our Austrian houses. As a matter of fact, the
whole of the village might have been transplanted from the Alps, except that instead of
chimneys the roofs of the houses were decorated with prayer flags.
On the ground floor were the stables for cows and horses. They were separated by a thick
ceiling from the living rooms of the family, which are approached by a ladder from the
courtyard. Thick stuffed mattresses served as beds and easy chairs, and near them were
small, low tables. The members of the household kept their clothes in brightly painted
wardrobes, and before the inevitable carved wooden altar, butter lamps were burning. In
winter the whole family sat on the clean floorboards around a huge open log fire and sip their
tea.
The room in which Aufschnaiter and I were put was rather small, so I soon shifted to the hay
barn next door. Aufschnaiter carried on our unceasing struggle with rats and bugs, while I
had to cope with mice and fleas. I never got the better of the vermin, but the view over
glaciers and rhododendron forests made up for my discomfort. We had a fireplace in our
room and were given wood to burn. We spent very little money; our provisions did not cost
us more than £2 10s. a month each.
The staple food in this region is tsampa made of corn, which is made into a paste with butter
tea or milk or beer, and then eaten. The Tibetans make a special cult of tsampa and have
many ways of preparing it. We soon got accustomed to it, but never cared much for butter
tea, which is usually made with rancid butter and is generally repugnant to Europeans. It is,
however, universally drunk and appreciated by the Tibetans, who often drink as many as
sixty cups in a day. The Tibetans of Kyirong, besides butter tea and tsampa, eat rice,
buckwheat, maize, potatoes, turnips, onions, beans and radishes. Meat is a rarity, for as
Kyirong is a particularly holy place no animal is ever slaughtered there. Meat appeared on
the table only when it had been brought in from another district or, more often, when bears or
panthers left part of their prey uneaten.
A. Answer the following questions in a single sentence in your own words: (5X1=5)
a) What does the name Kyirong mean?
b) What type of vegetation is found in Kyirong?
c) Who are the administrators of the thirty villages in Kyirong?
d) What did the household keep their clothes in?
e) How often does the temperature fall below 10 degrees centigrade in Kyirong?
B. Fill in the blanks with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage. (5X1=5)
 a) The stables for cows and horses were located on the……………. of the houses.
b) The roofs of the houses in Kyirong are decorated with ……………. instead of chimneys.
c) There are about……………. houses in the village.
d) The staple food in the region is ……………. made of corn.
e) The temperature when the author arrived in January was just …………….
C. Read the passage and find single words for the following definitions: (5X1=5)
a) Supplies of food, drink, or equipment
b) Something that is uncommon or infrequently found
c) Large bodies of ice that move slowly down mountains or valleys
d) Small animals, such as rats, bugs, mice, or fleas, that are considered pests
e) A feeling of great surprise or wonder
Q.N. 2. Answer the following question in about 150 words. -2x5=10
a) Summarize the poem, Every Morning I Wake.
b) Sketch the character of Mrs Baroda. (A Respectable Woman)
Q.N. 3. Answer the following questions in 75 words. -5x2=10
a) Why was the write biased towards science? (On Libraries)
b) Why did Earnest Young Woman confront Famous Actress? (A Matter of Husbands)
c) How did the neighbours help the young couple? (Neighbours)
d) Why is marriage a social institution? (Marriage as a Social Institution)
e) Describe the symbolic meaning of the poem ‘A Day’.
Q.N. 4. Answer the following questions.
a) Write a short news using the following hints.

At least 157 people dead, 197 injured in Jajarkot earthquake

The earthquake in western Nepal hit with a magnitude of 6.4 - affecting Jajarkot and
neighboring Rukum West - quake was felt in Kathmandu too- Nepal Police reports a total
of 157 deaths and 197 injuries-Jajarkot witnessed 105 deaths and 85 injuries, while in
Rukum West, there were 52 deaths and 85 injuries -Nepalese Army, Armed Police Force,
and Nepal Police are actively engaged in rescue operations-859 policemen mobilized for
relief, rescue, and search operations-Airlifts of injured individuals to Kathmandu for
treatment- government declared immediate disbursement of Rs 100 million to earthquake
victims.

b) Write a letter to your friend describing how you celebrated Bhaitika of this year. -8
c) Some people say that republican system is the best way of governance while others say
that constitutional monarchy is best in the context of Nepal. Recently, there was a public
demonstration by Durga Prasai and his supporters favouring monarchy in Nepal. Write an
argumentative essay either in for or against monarchy in Nepal in about 300 words
supporting your arguments on it. 10
Q.N. 5. Rewrite the sentences as indicated in the brackets. 5x1=5
a) He works hard, ……………? (Add a suitable tag)
b) He is in army uniform. He (must/can/should) a soldier. (Choose the best option)
c) He is (a/an/x) honest man. (Choose the best option)
d) One of the boys (has/have/were) broken the chair. (Choose the best option)
e) The boy as well as his friends (is/are) joining the party. (Choose the best option)
 f) I give you my (word/words). (Choose the best option)
g) (Despite /Although/ However) she was smart, she failed the exam. (Choose the best
option)
h) Who is Balen Shah? (Identify the type of question)
i) Do you know where he lives? (Make a direct question)
j) We pay the bill. (Rewrite the sentence adding the adverb ‘usually’ in correct place)
Q.N. 6. Do as indicated. 5x1=5
a) Which one of the following prefix can be attached with the word ‘natural’?
i. re iii. in
ii. ir iv. un
b) Find the odd word out based on the final sound.
i. cats iii. books
ii. bags iv. roofs
c) Which one of the following words does not have similar vowel sound like ‘cat’?
i. box iii. car
ii. pen iv. bat
d) How many syllables does the word ‘causality’ have?
i. one ii. two iii. three iv) four
e) Which one of the following words has a consonant cluster?
i. chair iii. thing
ii. help iv. talk