SUB: ENGLISH

CLASS - XII

ASSIGNMENT- 2
Lost Spring
Q1. Given below are four options against each question. Choose the option
which you consider the most appropriate as your answer.
(i) Saheb and his family moved to Delhi because (a) their village was flooded

(b) there was landslides

(c) storms had swept away the fields and homes
(d) there was deadly epidemic in the village

(ii) One explanation which the author gets about children choosing to remain
barefoot is that
(a) they do not have money (b) they follow their tradition
(c) they do not have matching pairs (d) they do not like to wear chappals

(iii) What did the man from Udipi prayed for, when he was young?
(a) a pair of trousers (b) a pair of shoes
(c) a few friends (d) an opportunity to study in a school

(iv) Saheb did not like to work in the tea-stall because

(a) he was getting only Rs. 800 (b) he hated the steel canister
(c) he was no longer his own master (d) he had to carry heavy bags now

(v) ------------------------ , it could bring about changes and relief in the lives of about
twenty thousand children.
(a) If the stakeholders were alert (b) If laws were to be enforced
(c) If the children were educated (d) If the bangle makers were made aware

(vi) ‘Can a god given lineage be broken?’ These words were spoken by the old
lady because
(a) Saheb’s father was an impoverished bangle maker
(b) her husband went blind with the dust from polishing the glass of bangles
(c) every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles
(d) she was unable to eat sufficient food

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(vii) “One wonders if he has achieved what many have failed in their lifetime. He
has a roof over his head!” These lines were said in reference to the condition
of
(a) the elderly woman’s husband (b) Mukesh’s father
(c) the owner of the bangle factory (d) Saheb

(viii) The sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen, the keepers of law, the
bureaucrats and the politicians, together work for
(a) the benefit of the bangle makers
(b) imposing the baggage on the child that he can not put down
(c) the uplift of women
(d) showing right path the young bangle makers

(ix) Synonym of ‘Lineage’ is

(a) Ancestry (b) Fate (c) Favour (d) Blessings

(x) Hurtle means

(a) diverted (b) running away
(c) to move in different direction (d) to move fast in a particular direction

Answer the following questions

Q.2 To which country did Saheb’s parents originally belong? Why did they come to
India?
Q.3 Garbage to them is gold; why does the author say so about the rag pickers?

Q.4 How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?

Q.5 Whom does Anees Jung blame for the sorry plight of the bangle makers?

Q.6 Is it possible for Mukesh to realise his dream? Justify your answer.

Q.7 In spite of despair and disease pervading the lives of the slum children, they are
not devoid of hope. How far do you agree?

Q.8 Why could the bangle makers not organise themselves into a cooperative?

Q.9 ’Lost Spring’ explains the grinding poverty and traditions that condemn thousands
of people to a life of abject poverty. Do you agree? Why / Why not?

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Q.10 The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone
happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.

Q.11 Read the passage given billow and answer the following questions.

When another old cave is discovered in the south of France, it is not usually news.
Rather, it is an ordinary event. Such discoveries are so frequent these days that
hardly anybody pays heed to them. However, when the Lascaux cave complex was
discovered in 1940, the world was amazed. Painted directly on its walls were
hundreds of scenes showing how people lived thousands of years ago. The scenes
show people hunting animals, such as bison or wild cats. Other images depict birds
and, most noticeably, horses, which appear in more than 300 wall images, by far
outnumbering all other animals. Early artists drawing these animals accomplished a
monumental and difficult task. They did not limit themselves to the easily accessible
walls but carried their painting materials to spaces that required climbing steep walls
or crawling into narrow passages in the Lascaux complex. Unfortunately, the
paintings have been exposed to the destructive action of water and temperature
changes, which easily wear the images away. Because the Lascaux caves have
many entrances, air movement has also damaged the images inside. Although they
are not out in the open air, where natural light would have destroyed them long ago,
many of the images have deteriorated and are barely recognizable. To prevent further
damage, the site was closed to tourists in 1963, 23 years after it was discovered.
11.1 Which title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
a. Wild Animals in Art
b. Hidden Prehistoric Paintings
c. Exploring Caves Respectfully
d. Determining the Age of French Caves

11.2 Based on the passage, what is probably true about the south of France?
a. It is home to rare animals.
b. It has a large number of caves.
c. It is known for horse-racing events.
d. It has attracted many famous artists.

11.3 According to the passage, which animals appear most often on the cave walls?
a. Birds
b. Bison
c. Horses
d. Wild cats

11.4 Why was painting inside the Lascaux complex a difficult task?
a. It was completely dark inside.
b. The caves were full of wild animals.
c. Painting materials were hard to find.
d. Many painting spaces were difficult to reach.

11.5 According to the passage, all of the following have caused damage to the
paintings except _______.
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 a. temperature changes
b. air movement
c. water
d. light

Q.12 Each of the following sentences has been split into four parts and the
parts have been jumbled. Choose the best order of words from among the four
options (a), (b), (c), (d) to produce the correct sentence.

12.1 the only creature (1) / laughter (2)/ blessed with the power of (3)/ man is (4)
a. 2, 1, 3, 4
b. 4, 1, 3, 2
c. 1, 3, 2, 4
d. 4, 3, 2, 1

12.2 photos which were submitted (1) / in the fire last night (2) / for the exhibition (3)
/ have been totally burnt (4)

a. 1, 4, 3, 2
b. 2, 1, 3, 4
c. 1, 3, 4, 2
d. 3, 1, 4, 2

12.3 supported by soft term loans (1) / to supply the raw material worth Rs. 5 lakh
(2) / the dealer has agreed (3) / with a very low rate of interest. (4)

a. 3, 2, 1, 4
b. 4, 2, 1, 3
c. 1, 4, 3, 2
d. 2, 1, 3, 4

12.4 will be granted (1)/ change of position (2)/ that request for (3) / everyone should
note (4).

a. 1, 3, 2, 4
b. 2, 3, 4, 1
c. 4, 3, 2, 1
d. 3, 2, 1, 4
e. 4, 3, 2, 1

12.5 when meat (1) / the food poisoning occurred (2)/ added in the food preparations
(3)/ of low quality was (4)

a. 3, 2, 1, 4
b. 2, 3, 4, 1
c. 2, 1, 4, 3
d. 1, 4, 2, 3

Q.13 In the question below, there are jumbled up parts. Rearrange these parts,
which are labelled A, B, C and D to produce the correct sentence. Choose the
proper sequence.
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13.1 One cannot recall any movement……

A) which has gripped the imagination of the entire human race

B) in world history
C) which started nearly twenty-five years ago
D) so completely and so rapidly as the Green Movement

a. CBAD b. CDBA c. ADCB d. BADC

13.2 It is possible that he thinks his …..

A) job is to be a clerk
B) and to read the results out loud as he stands at the cash register
C) to keep people from stealing things
D) to type letters into a computer

a. ABCD b. DCAB c. BCAD d. ACDB

13.3 I have been sharing Roger’s …..

A) production curve for a long

time
B) what’s actually happening C)
but I realize that it doesn’t
D) viscerally explain

a. ABCD b. DCAB c. BCAD d. ACDB

13.4 Once reluctant to be …….

A) seems to have
B) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi
C) seen with Lalu Yadav
D) turned the page

a. DCAB b. CBAD c. ADCB d. DCBA

13.5 Stung by years of criticism that it has coddled …..

A) Wall Street criminals, the Justice Department issued new policies

B) to turn over evidence against their executives
C) on Wednesday that prioritize the prosecution of individual employees D) not
just their companies, and put pressure on corporations

a. ABCD b. DCAB c. BCAD d. ACDB

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