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No. of Questions – 17 SS–02–English (C)

No. of Printed Pages – 07

SENIOR SECONDARY EXAMINATION, 2023

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ENGLISH (COMPULSORY)

Time : 3 Hours 15 Minutes

Maximum Marks : 80

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE EXAMINEES :

1) Candidates must write their Roll No. first on the question paper compulsorily.

2) All the questions are compulsory.

3) Write the answer to each question in the given answer-book only.

4) For questions having more than one part the answers to those parts are to
be written together in continuity.

5) Write down the serial number of each question before attempting it.
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SECTION - A

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: [9×1=9]
There was another Indian with the Professor and his troupe who took no part in the
strongman acts but spent the entire time digging a shallow trench about ten feet long and
two or three feet wide. By the time Professor had finished his act, this trench had been
filled with red-hot coals from the cook-house. There was no funny business about this fire-
trench either – we gathered around it and the heat from it was intense. This Indian, rather an
elderly gentleman, then stood at one end of the trench, splashed water from a nearby bucket
over his bare feet, and then proceeded to walk over the red-hot coals along the whole length
of the trench. It was an incredible spectacle – we could see the low flames from the red-hot
coals licking around his bare feet as he slowly walked to the end of the trench. When he
reached it, as if not satisfied, he turned around and walked back the same way. He then
squatted down on the ground, gestured to his feet, and invited us all to inspect them. We did,
and there was not so much as a blister anywhere to be seen. I had pushed forward through
the crowd to get a closer look at this amazing character’s feet, and as I knelt down beside
him I felt something thrust into my hand. It was a handkerchief, and it was then that I
recognised him.
He had looked at me once, briefly, as he passed the handkerchief to me, but when I
went to speak to him he looked away again so I kept my mouth shut. If he wanted to pretend
that he didn’t understand English then, that was all right by me. Obviously it amused him to
listen to the comments of the admiring crowd gathered around him. The Professor by now
had recovered from his encounter with the five-ton truck and he came over to say in halting
English that the fire-walker would take a volunteer with him across the fire-trench. This, of
course, produced a big laugh, but I didn’t join in. I knew then that I was going across the fire-
trench, although the very thought of it made me go ice cold with fear.
Questions :
i) What size was the trench? [1]
ii) What did the elderly person do before walking over the red-hot coals? [1]
iii) What harm was caused to the elderly gentleman by this action? [1]
iv) When did the narrator recognise the man? [1]
v) What did the crowd do to amuse the man? [1]
vi) Who was heading the troupe? [1]

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Find out the word from the passage which means :
vii) not very deep [1]
viii) scene [1]
ix) opposite of fluent [1]

2. Read the following passage carefully and choose the correct answer : [6×1=6]
For three days Inspector Robinson had been completely in the dark. A man had been
found unconscious in the car park of the Swan Hotel. He had been robbed and his car had
been stolen. The police had no idea of his identity until at last the man was able to tell them
who he was and what had happened. He was also able to give them a description of the man,
which the police sent to all the newspapers.
The next day Inspector Robinson got a message to say that the man had been seen in a
small sea-side town. Inspector Robinson immediately went there. When he reached the
police-station, the inspector incharge had a second message for him. The owner of a small
restaurant on the seafront had just telephoned. According to him, a person like the wanted
man was having dinner in his restaurant.
The police at once rushed round to the restaurant. Two policemen stayed outside the
front entrance, while Inspector Robinson and another man entered through the kitchen.
Very excited, the owner of the restaurant showed Inspector Robinson the man he had been
watching. He was sitting at a corner table, reading a newspaper. Without doubt it was the
right man.
Inspector Robinson did not want to disturb the other people in the restaurant. He let
the man finish his meal. Then, as he left the restaurant, Inspector Robinson followed him
into the street and arrested him.
Questions :
i) Inspector Robinson had been completely in the dark. The underlined phrase means[1]
(A) happy (B) curious
(C) confusion (D) unhappy
ii) The robbed man was found unconscious in [1]
(A) hotel (B) the room
(C) car park (D) the middle of the road
iii) The police gave the description to the [1]
(A) manager (B) newspapers
(C) man (D) inspector incharge

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iv) The restaurant owner found ‘the wanted man’ at [1]
(A) the sea-side (B) the village
(C) the car park (D) the dining table of his restaurant
v) Inspector Robinson entered the restaurant through [1]
(A) the kitchen (B) the front side
(C) the corridor (D) the backyard
vi) Inspector arrested ‘the wanted man’ [1]
(A) at the corner table (B) at the kitchen gate
(C) into the street (D) in the car park

SECTION - B
3. The eco-club of GSSS Rangpur has proposed a tree plantation camp. Write a notice for the
school notice board appealing students to take part. Give necessary details. Sign yourself
as Shubhi/Shubhash. [4]
OR
Rakhi/Rakesh intends to sell her/his old motorcycle. Draft an advertisement to be published
in a daily newspaper giving necessary details.

4. You went to the nearby hospital of your locality. The conditions there were miserable.
Write a report to be published in the local daily newspaper to draw the attention of the
authorities. Sign it as Geeta/Gopal. [5]
OR
Translate the following passage into Hindi :
‘When I arrived there was no one in sight but a girl of about twelve. Her eyes were
covered with a bandage and she was being led carefully between the flower-beds by a little
boy, who was about four years younger. She stopped, and it looked like she asked him who
had come. He seemed to be describing me to her. Then they passed on.
Miss Beam was all that I had expected - middle aged, full authority, yet kind and
understanding. Her hair was beginning to turn grey, and she had the kind of plump figure that
is likely to be comforting to a homesick child. I asked her some questions about her teaching
methods, which I had heard were simple.’

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5. Write a business letter to Messers Prashant and Company, New Delhi stating that the sports
items supplied by their company were not of good quality, so the payments will be made
only after replacement. Sign yourself as head clerk of Global School. [6]

OR
You are Amita/Amit. Write a job application for the post of a clerk with your resume.

SECTION - C

6. Join the following sentences using the connectives given in brackets : [2×1=2]
i) Vipin sold the painting. He painted it overnight. (Which)
ii) She put off the lights. The children had slept. (When)

7. Combine each set of sentences into one sentence as directed : [2×1=2]

i) Sushil was punished. Sushil was fined. (Compound sentence)
ii) The earth is round. Everyone knows it. (Complex sentence)

8. Fill in the blanks by choosing words given in brackets : [4×1=4]

i) Rich tributes are paid ______ the great men. (for/to/beyond)
ii) The feminine world has created a huge revolution _______ the fashion arena.
(up/in/on)
Phrasal verbs
iii) Priyanka opted for mathematics group. She _______ with her decision.
(gets out/gets on/gets along)
iv) I must _______ my visit till next week. (put out/put off)

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SECTION - D
9. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: [6×1=6]
‘I used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it held me firmly in its grip. Finally,
one October, I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. I went to a pool and practiced
five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around me. A rope attached to
the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the
rope, and we went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after
day, week after week. On each trip across the pool a bit of the panic seized me. Each time
the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and I went under, some of the old terror returned
and my legs froze. It was three months before the tension began to slack. Then he taught me
to put my face under water and exhale and to raise my nose and inhale. I repeated the exercise
hundreds of times. Bit by bit I shed part of the panic that seized me when my head went
under water.’
Questions :
i) What was the narrator’s fear? [1]
ii) What decision did the narrator take? [1]
iii) What tip was given to the narrator? [1]
iv) How long did the narrator take to slack his fear? [1]
v) What is the opposite of ‘exhale’? [1]
vi) One word for ‘sudden uncontrollable fear’ is_____. [1]
10. Answer the following questions in about 80 words : [1×4=4]
What different things did Franz notice in the school that day? (The Last Lesson)
OR
What were the feelings of Edla and her father when they got the news about the peddler?
(The Rattrap)
11. Answer the following questions in 20-25 words : [2×2=4]
i) Write down some qualities of Subbu. (Poets and Pancakes)
ii) Who was Rajkumar Shukla? Why was he described as ‘resolute’?

12. Explain any one of the following stanzas with reference to context : [1×6=6]
i) ‘Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.’
ii) “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.”

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13. Answer the following questions in about 80 words : [1×4=4]
What theme has been taken by the poet in ‘An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum’?
OR
Write a short summary of ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’.
14. Answer the following questions in 20-25 words : [2×2=4]
i) ‘Of twisted bones,’ what does this symbolize?
(An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum)
ii) What beautiful things are depicted in the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’?
15. Answer the following questions in about 80 words : [1×4=4]
How was the hundredth tiger arranged for the Maharaja’s target? (The Tiger King)
OR
How did Mr. Lamb motivate Derry? (On the Face of It)
16. Answer the following questions in 20-25 words : [2×2=4]
i) Why were Dr. Sadao and his wife afraid? (The Enemy)
ii) What kind of person was Evans? (Evans Tries an O-level)
17. Choose the correct alternative : [6×1=6]
i) The astrologer vowed to cut off his tuft if ______.
(A) he lied (B) the hundredth tiger was killed
(C) books were false (D) rewarded
ii) We must visit Antarctica if we want to study and examine the earth’s ______.
(A) nature (B) structure
(C) temperature (D) present, past and future
iii) How long has Jack been telling stories to his daughter?
(A) 2 years (B) 3 years
(C) 4 years (D) 5 years
iv) _____ had an ugly face.
(A) Derry (B) Lamb
(C) Joe (D) Jack
v) What language exam was Evans appearing for?
(A) English (B) French
(C) German (D) Spanish
vi) How was the narrator able to win many friends?
(A) watching market eagerly (B) studying hard
(C) sleeping well (D) standing first in class

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