cf75b4ef-d7c2-48b5-9b38-299111ef87c3

TERM - 2 12 2022 ENGLISH CORE SAMPLE PAPERS (Strictly Based on the Sample Paper issued by CBSE) Full Marks Pvt Ltd (Progressive Educational Publishers) New Delhi-110002

 Published by: 9, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 Phone: 011- 40556600 (100 Lines) Website: www.fullmarks.org E-mail: [email protected] © Publishers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Branches: • Chennai • Guwahati Marketing Offices: • Ahmedabad • Bengaluru • Bhopal • Dehradun • Hyderabad • Jaipur • Jalandhar • Kochi • Kolkata • Lucknow • Mumbai • Patna • Ranchi NEW EDITION “This book is meant for educational and learning purposes. The author of the book has taken all reasonable care to ensure that the contents of the book do not violate any existing copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person in any manner whatsoever. In the event the author has been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.”

Note from the Publishers English Core-XII (Term-2) based on the latest Sample Question Paper issued by CBSE on 14th January 2022 for 2022 (Term-2) Board Examination. Each Practice Paper is developed by highly experienced subject experts as per the level and the pattern followed by the CBSE. These Practice Papers will familiarise the students with the questioning pattern. This book contains 11 Practice Papers (3 Solved, 7 Unsolved and 1 issued by CBSE with Marking Scheme). Undoubtedly, students will get some parameter to evaluate their preparation for better performance. Features of Sample Papers • Designed exclusively to test the knowledge and preparation level of students. • Latest CBSE Sample Question Paper have been given with Marking Scheme. • Each Practice Paper covers the weightage of each unit/chapter as per the latest syllabus issued by CBSE. Any suggestions for further improvement of this book will be thankfully received and incorporated in the next edition. (iii)

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   CONTENTS SOLVED PRACTICE PAPERS 1. Practice Paper – 1 ...................................................................................................................... 7 2. Practice Paper – 2 .................................................................................................................... 13 3. Practice Paper – 3 .................................................................................................................... 19 UNSOLVED PRACTICE PAPERS 4. Practice Paper – 4 .................................................................................................................... 25 5. Practice Paper – 5 .................................................................................................................... 28 6. Practice Paper – 6 .................................................................................................................... 31 7. Practice Paper – 7 .................................................................................................................... 34 8. Practice Paper – 8 .................................................................................................................... 37 9. Practice Paper – 9 .................................................................................................................... 40 10. Practice Paper – 10 .................................................................................................................. 43 11. Practice Paper – 11 (CBSE Sample Paper 2021-22 Term-2 with Marking Scheme) .............. 46 (iv)

ENGLISH CORE ENGLISH CORE Practice Pa ers p  3 Solved Practice Papers  7 Unsolved Practice Papers  CBSE Sample Question Paper 2021-22 Term-2

ENGLISH CORE WEIGHTAGE CLASS-XII (TERM-2) Section Weightage (In Marks) Reading Comprehension 14 Creative Writing Skills 8 Literature 18 Total 40 ASL 10 Grand Total 50

Practice Pa er–1  p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. Maharana Pratap ruled over Mewar only for 25 years. However, he accomplished so much grandeur during his reign that his glory surpassed the boundaries of countries and time turning him into an immortal personality. He along with his kingdom became a synonym for valour, sacrifice and patriotism. Mewar had been a leading Rajput kingdom even before Maharana Pratap occupied the throne. Kings of Mewar, with the cooperation of their nobles and subjects, had established such traditions in the kingdom, as augmented their magnificence despite the hurdles of having a smaller area under their command and less population. There did come a few thorny occasions when the flag of the kingdom seemed sliding down. Their flag once again heaved high in the sky thanks to the gallantry and brilliance of the people of Mewar. 2. The destiny of Mewar was good in the sense that barring a few kings, most of the rulers were competent and patriotic. This glorious tradition of the kingdom almost continued for 1500 years since its establishment, right from the reign of Bappa Rawal. In fact only 60 years before Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga drove the kingdom to the pinnacle of fame. His reputation went beyond Rajasthan and reached Delhi. Two generations before him, Rana Kumbha had given a new stature to the kingdom through victories and developmental work. During his reign, literature and art also progressed extraordinarily. Rana himself was inclined towards writing and his works are read with reverence even today. The ambience of his kingdom was conducive to the creation of high quality work of art and literature. These accomplishments were the outcome of a longstanding tradition sustained by several generations. 3. The life of the people of Mewar must have been peaceful and prosperous during the long span of time; otherwise such extraordinary accomplishment in these fields would not have been possible. This is reflected in their art and literature as well as their loving nature. They compensate for lack of admirable physique by their firm but pleasant nature. The ambience of Mewar remains lovely thanks to the cheerful and liberal character of its people. 4. One may observe astonishing pieces of workmanship not only in the forts and palaces of Mewar but also in public utility buildings. Ruins of many structures which are still standing tall in their grandeur are testimony to the fact that Mewar was not only the land of the brave but also a seat of art and culture. Amidst aggression and bloodshed, literature and art flourished and creative pursuits of literature and artists did not suffer. Imagine, how glorious the period must have been when the Vijaya Stambha which is the sample of our great ancient architecture even today, was constructed. In the same fort, Kirti Stambha is standing high, reflecting how liberal the then administration was which allowed people from other communities and kingdoms to come and carry out construction work. It is useless to indulge in the debate whether the Vijaya Stambha was constructed first or the Kirti Stambha. The fact is that both the capitals are standing side by side and reveal the proximity between the king and the subjects of Mewar. 5. The cycle of time does not remain the same. Whereas the reign of Rana Sanga was crucial in raising the kingdom to the acme of glory, it also proved to be his nemesis. History took a turn. The fortune of Mewar–the land of the brave, started waning. Rana tried to save the day with his acumen which was running against the stream and the glorious traditions for sometime. 7

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) Who is the earliest king of Mewar mentioned in the passage? (ii) What was Rana Kumbha’s contribution to the glory of Mewar? (iii) What does the writer find worth admiration in the people of Mewar? (iv) How could art and literature flourish in Mewar? (v) How did the rulers show that they cared for their subjects? (vi) “Maharana Pratap became an immortal.” Why? State a valid reason. (vii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, from paragraph 4. The fact is that both the capitals are standing shoulder to shoulder and reveal the proximity between the king and subjects of Mewar. (viii) According to the writer, why was Mewar considered lucky? (ix) Select a suitable phrase from paragraph 1 to complete the following sentence appropriately. Perhaps the young boy is embarrassed about ____________ the stair rail and blames me for encouraging him. Answers: (i) Bappa Rawal is the earliest king of Mewar mentioned in the passage. His reign started around 1500 years ago. (ii) Rana Kumbha gave a new stature to the kingdon of Mewar. Literature and art flourished during his reign. He himself had penchant for writing. His works are read with reverence even today. (iii) The people of Mewar may be peaceful and prosperous. It is reflected in their art, literature and loving nature. The pleasant nature of people compensate for lack of their admirable physique. (iv) The enviroment of Mewar was conducive to the creation of high quality work of art and literature. They flourished amidst aggression and bloodshed. (v) Besides the forts and palaces of Mewar, the surprising pieces of architecture are seen in the public utility buildings also. These structures are testimony to the fact that the rulers had care for their subjects. (vi) Maharana Pratap became an immortal because he ruled Mewar for 25 years and added a lot of grandeur to this city. (vii) The fact is that both the capitals are standing side by side and reveal the proximity between the king and the subjects of Mewar. (viii) Most of Mewar’s rulers were competent. So it was considered lucky by the writer. (ix) sliding down   II. Read the passage given below. 1. Away from the limelight garnered by Covid-19, other diseases continue to claim lives across the country. Hepatitis is one of them. The liver condition is caused by five major viruses, called types A, B, C, D and E, of which B and C have the most serious consequences for health. On the eve of World Hepatitis Day on July 28, 2020, public health specialists suggested that mass awareness about symptoms of hepatitis, preventive vaccination and hygienic handling of food and water was needed to reduce the incidence of the liver disease. 2. Hepatitis A and E viruses are present in the faces of infected persons and are most often transmitted through consumption of contaminated water or food. Therefore, washing hands frequently before handling food or eating is important to prevent disease spread. 3. Hepatitis B, C and D spread through contact with the blood of an infected person, through transfusion of infected blood, sharing of contaminated needles or injection material. Hepatitis B and C can also be transmitted from mother to baby and through sexual transmission, said Dr Anupam Sibal, paediatric gastroenterologist and group medical director, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. In India, as per the latest estimates, 40 million people are chronically infected with Hepatitis B and 30 million people with Heptatitis C. 8n English Core-XII

4. Sibal said it was unfortunate that despite the existenceAbout the liver disease of a nominally priced vaccine for Hepatitis B, which 32.5 crore people claims thousands of lives every year, it is not universally globally live with a administered. A vaccine is available for hepatitis A too. hepatitis infection. What Dr Sibal also disclosed that while natural infection is even more shocking is can offer lifetime immunity, “There is enough data to that 9 out of 10, which show that children who aren’t exposed to the virus are is about 29 crore people, susceptible to infection at a later age and they need a living with viral hepatitis vaccine.” are unaware about it. • Like globally, in India as well, viral 5. Dr S K Sarin, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, Vasant Kunj, said those suffering from hepatitis has been declared as a major Hepatitis B and C face discrimination and are often public health problem by WHO. traumatised. Unlike HIV, where years of advocacy have Take These Steps to Protect helped focus on the patients’ rights, Sarin said there Yourself and your Family was a need to stress on similar laws and protection for hepatitis B and C patients. He added, “Hepatitis C is • Speak to your paediatrician/doctor today totally curable and Hepatitis B can be effectively treated and get your child vaccinated in time for in 95% of the cases. Still, people treat patients as social Hepatitis A and B. outcasts and deprive them of their human rights.” Dr Anti Arora, Chairperson, Department of Gastroenterology at • Maintain proper sanitation and hygiene Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, stressed on the need for careful during food/water consumption. Be usage of equipment. “People should not share personal careful with usage of needles and blood items such as toothbrushes, razors and nail clippers with products. an infected person,” he said. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) People infected with hepatitis B are considered social outcasts. Why? (ii) What measures can be taken to reduce the incidence of the liver disease? (iii) How does Hepatitis B, C and D spread? (iv) Which product stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease? (v) What advise was given by Anti Arora in the passage? (vi) According to the passage, what should be avoided with an infected person to eliminate the risk of infection? (vii) Who, according to Dr S.K. Sarin, face discrimination and are often traumatised? Answers: (i) Because it is believed that Hepatitis B is highly contagious. (ii) Consumption of hygienic food and water, timely vaccination and proper awareness. (iii) Through transfusion of infected blood. (iv) Vaccine (v) To not share personal items such as toothbrushes, razors and nail clippers with an infected person. (vi) Sharing of personal items. (vii) People suffering from Hepatitis B and C. Practice Paper–1 n 9

Section B — WRITING (8 marks) III. You are Sachin Bansal, the Head Boy of IML Public School, Gurugram. Your school is holding an inter-school       T-20 cricket championship from 2 Oct. to 8 Oct., 20××. Write a formal invitation to Sh. B.S. Bedi, the legendary cricketer, to inaugurate the championship on 2 Oct. 20×× at 10 a.m. at your school grounds. (1 × 3 = 3) Ans. IML Public School Gurugram 25 Sept. 20XX Sh. B.S. Bedi 2/27 Jorbagh New Delhi Sir Sub: Inauguration of Cricket Championship Our school is holding an inter-school T-20 cricket championship from 2 Oct. to 8 Oct. 20××. All the schools of the area are likely to participate. Your presence in our midst will act as a catalyst and inspire us. You are requested to inaugurate the championship on 2 Oct. 20×× at 10 a.m. in our school grounds. Kindly confirm your availability by 30 Sept. Yours faithfully Sachin Bansal Head Boy IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. We are a reputed publishing house looking for Science Graduates for our Science Division in Mumbai. Fluency in English and knowledge of computers will be an advantage. Apply before 30th April to: The Personnel Manager New World Publications Worli, Mumbai Ravi Sharma of 59, Sea Side Road, Mumbai sees this advertisement in ‘The Everyday Times’ and decides to apply for the job of Executive. Write an application to the Personnel Manager, New World Publication, Worli, Mumbai. Ans. 59 Sea Side Road Bandra, Mumbai 26 April 20XX The Personnel Manager New World Publications Worli, Mumbai Sub: Science Division : Executive Sir With reference to your advertisement in The Everyday Times, dated 24 April 20XX seeking applications of science graduates for the job of an executive, I offer my candidature for the same. Please find enclosed my bio-data/resume to enable you to assess my suitability for the aforesaid post. Yours faithfully Ravi Sharma 10 n English Core-XII

Name Bio-Data Father’s Name Age : Ravi Sharma Educational Qualifications : Sh. K.M. Sharma : 25 yrs Professional Qualifications : 1. ISC from St. Patrick’s School, Bandra 20×× - 75% marks Work Experience 2. B.Sc. (Hons.) Chemistry 20×× : Xaviers College Mumbai : 1. Short term computer course - APTECH Marital Status Other Achievements 2. Diploma in Journalism - IGNOU : 1. Student Editor of School/College magazines 2. Working with M/s Bharat Sales as Computer Operator : Unmarried : Proficient in Spoken English and Customer Dealing  OR B. The Environment Club of your school organised a campaign to celebrate cracker-free Diwali. Posters, placards and banners were prepared. Then a long march was organised. Write a report in 120-150 words for publication in your school magazine about the campaign describing the efforts put in by staff and students to make the campaign successful. You are Mohini/Mayur of XII C. Ans. CAMPAIGN AGAINST CRACKERS [by Mayur, XII C] Environment club is fairly active in our school. It organised a campaign to celebrate cracker-free Diwali. Posters, placards and banners were prepared. Posters were displayed at prominent places. Then a long march was organised. Teachers and students assembled at 9.00 a.m. All the students were in their school uniform. They carried banners and placards in their hands. They stopped near the posters and notices displayed along the road. The aim was to create awareness among the public in general and the young children in particular. Crackers create sound pollution. Being expensive, they are a wasteful luxury. The money ends in smoke and fire. Moreover, child labour is involved in cracker industry. Thus exploding crackers indirectly leads to exploitation of child labour. The response of the general public was good. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) How did the peddler of rattraps manage to survive? Ans. He made rattraps of wire and went around selling them. He got material for making them by begging in the big stores or at big farms. Since his business was not quite profitable, he would beg or steal in order to survive. (ii) Who was Rajkumar Shukla? Why did he come to Lucknow? Ans. Rajkumar Shukla was a poor peasant from Champaran district in Bihar. He had come to Lucknow, where a Congress session was being held, to complain about the injustice of the landlord system in Bihar. (iii) According to Keats, what moved away the pain and suffering from human life? Ans. According to Keats, there are some beautiful things which remove the cover of sad feelings from our hearts. All beautiful things of nature are a boon for humanity. The sun, the moon and old and young trees are the sources which is a boon for humanity. (iv) The poem ‘Aunt Jennifer Tigers’ is replete with symbols. Interpret any three symbols used in the poem. Ans. The metaphor ‘bright topaz’ depicts the shining yellow complexion of the tigers. The effective use of alliteration in sleek, chivalric certainty describes the pace of the tigers. The ordeals and hardships of Aunt Jennifer’s married life are represented through the massive weight of wedding band. Practice Paper–1 n 11

(v) Which do you think is a better ending of Roger Skunk’s story, Jo’s or her father’s? Why? Ans. Jo’s father did not want the Wizard to hit the mother and wanted the skunk to have its original smell. Her father’s ending of the story is better as it is more practical and realistic. Jo is a child and her perspective about the ending of the story is childish and immature. But her father views things on a philosophical level and thus makes his judgement from an adult’s perspective. (vi) “I’m not afraid. People are afraid of me,” says Derry. What do people think on seeing his face? How do they react then? Ans. On looking at Derry’s face they find it bad and frightful. They think that it is the ugliest thing they have ever seen. They call him a poor boy as one side of his face has been burnt by acid. Some of them are afraid of his ugly and horrible face.  VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Summarize the message of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’. Ans. The poem elaborates upon the qualities of the beautiful creations of nature. Such things are eternal and their beauty never fades away. They remove the pall of gloom from our lives and bring happiness and health. They even lull us to a good sleep full of sweet dreams. These beautiful creations are the only attractions that tie us to this otherwise sorrowful life. Creations like the sun, moon, trees, the sheep, daffodil flowers, rills, forests full of musk roses and tales of brave men are a few examples of beautiful things which make our lives meaningful in various ways. These are like an ever-flowing fountain of a divine blessing that has been endowed upon mankind by God. (ii) Comment on the ending of the play ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’. Ans. The ending of the play is quite surprising and unexpected. Only a couple of minutes ago the Governor of Oxford Prison had nabbed Evans from his hide-out at the ‘Golden Lion’. A silent prison officer handcuffed the recaptured Evans. Then the two men clambered awkwardly into the back seat of the prison-van. The Governor bade him farewell but wished to see him soon in his jail. Evans too behaved as if he would remain there for a long time and wanted to know about the O-Level Italian classes coming up next September. The Governor remarked that perhaps Evans might not be with them then. Evans pondered over it and said that he wouldn’t. After a couple of minutes Evans implemented what he had predicted. Not only were the handcuffs unlocked, but the van moved on fast towards Newbury. Evans is once again free. The broad Scots accent leaves us in no doubt who the driver was. Once again Evans scores over the prison authorities. (iii) ‘Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India.’ Relate the events during Gandhi’s stay in Champaran that led to the triumph. Ans. Gandhi had reached Motihari, the Capital of Champaran, to study the problems of the sharecropper peasants. He was on his way to a neighbouring village, where a peasant was ill-treated. On the way, he was stopped by the police superintendent’s messenger and ordered to return to town. When he reached home, he was served with an official notice to quit Champaran at once. Gandhi wrote on the receipt that he would disobey the order. So Gandhi received a summons to appear in the court the next day. Next morning the town of Motihari was black with peasants. Thousands of peasants demonstrated voluntarily outside the court. The prosecutor requested the judge to postpone the trial. Gandhi protested against the delay. He read out a statement pleading guilty. He asked the penalty. The judge announced that he would pronounce the sentence after a two-hour recess. He asked Gandhi to furnish bail for that period. Gandhi refused. The judge released him without bail. After the recess, the judge said that he would not deliver the judgement for several days. Meanwhile he allowed Gandhi to remain at liberty. Several days later Gandhi received a letter. The case against him had been dropped. Thus, civil disobedience had triumphed, for the first time in India. 12 n English Core-XII

Practice Pa er–2     p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. There are many among us who, given the opportunity to leave India, are only too happy to go. But whenever I have had the chance to go away, I have held back. Or something has held me back. What is it that has such a hold on me, but leaves others free to where they will, sometimes never to come back? 2. A few years ago I was offered a well-paid job on a magazine in Hong Kong. I thought about it for weeks, worried myself to distraction, and finally, with a great sigh of relief, turned it down. 3. My friends thought I was crazy. They still do. Most of them would have jumped at a comparable offer, even if it had meant spending the rest of their lives far from the palmfringed coasts or pine-clad mountains of this land. Many friends have indeed gone away, never to return, except perhaps to get married, very quickly, before they are off again! Don’t they feel homesick, I wonder. 4. I am almost paranoid at the thought of going away and then being unable to come back. This almost happened to me when, as a boy, I went to England, longed to return to India, and did not have the money for the passage. For two years I worked and saved like a miser (something I have never done since) until I had enough to bring me home. 5. And ‘home’ wasn’t parents and brothers and sisters. They were no longer here. Home, for me, was India. So what is it that keeps me here? My birth? I take too closely after a Nordic grandparent to pass for a typical son of the soil. Hotel receptionists often ask me for my passport. ‘Must I carry a passport to travel in my own country?’ I ask. ‘But you don’t look like an Indian,’ they protest. ‘I’m a Red Indian,’ I say. 6. India is where I was born and went to school and grew to manhood. India was where my father was born and went to school and worked and died. India is where my grandfather lived and died. Surely that entitles me to a place in the Indian sun. If it doesn’t, I can revert to my mother’s family and go back to the time of Timur the Lame. How far back does one have to go in order to establish one’s Indianness? 7. It must be the land itself that holds me. But so many of my fellow Indians have been born (and reborn) here, and yet they think nothing of leaving the land. They will leave the mountains for the plains; the villages for the cities; their country for another country, and if other countries were a little more willing to open their doors, we would have no population problem–mass emigration would have solved it. 8. But it’s more than the land that holds me. For India is more than a land. India is an atmosphere. Over thousands of years, the races and religions of the world have mingled here and produced that unique, indefinable phenomenon, the Indian: so terrifying in a crowd, so beautiful in himself. And oddly enough, I’m one too. I know that I’m as Indian as the postman or the paanwala or your favourite MP. Race did not make me an Indian. Religion did not make me an Indian. But history did. And in the long run, it is history that counts. —Ruskin Bond Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What did the author’s friends take his decision about opportunity to leave India? (ii) How did the hotel receptionists torture the author? (iii) What was the author’s craziness for his friends? 13

(iv) How is the author a typical son of India? (v) What can be learnt from the text? (vi) According to the author, what has made him an Indian? (vii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another, from paragraph 3. The employee eagerly took the opportunity to show her manager what she could do. (viii) Select a suitable phrase from paragraph 6 to complete the following sentence appropriately. The dietician said to the boy, “If you ___________ your old eating habits, you’ll gain weight again. (ix) Select the word from paragraph 2 which means the same as ‘something that stops one from paying attention to’. Answers: (i) They thought that the author was crazy. They still think about him in the same manner. (ii) The hotel receptionists often asked the author to show his passport. He did not appear to be an Indian for them. (iii) Unlike his friends the author never accepted foreign jobs. He had no desire to spend the rest of his life in the land far away from his country. (iv) India is the birth place of the author. He has no desire to leave his country at any cont. He wants to pass his life, where his ancestral family lived and died. (v) From the text we can learn that the author felt proud to be an Indian.Answers: (vi) According to the author, history has made him an Indian. (vii) The employee jumped at the opportunity to show her manager what she could do. (viii) revert to (ix) distraction ­­ ­ ­­ ­­­ ­ ­ ­­ ­ ­­ ­ ­ ­­ ­­ ­­ ­­ ­ ­­ ­­­ II. Read the passage given below. 1. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has completed its second national sero-survey to gauge the prevalence of COVID-19. The first survey was conducted in May across 400 districts and about 28,000 were sampled — most of them in rural India — to gauge the spread of the infection. 2. After a long delay, the ICMR finally published its results this month that suggested that nearly 6.4 million were likely infected with the virus by May. There were 82,130 infections that went undetected for every confirmed case in May. However, newspaper reports on September 21, 2020, citing unnamed authors of that study, alleged that a portion of their results were expunged, which showed high prevalence of the infection in hotspots in 10 cities that were originally part of the paper. This suggested that in May the possible prevalence of the infection was 36% in Dharavi, Mumbai; 48% in Ahmedabad and 30% in Kolkata. 3. “Containment zones, that refer to a specific geographical area where positive cases are found, are dynamic in nature. They do not fit into nationally representative sampling,” the ICMR tweeted on Sunday evening but did not refer to the newspaper reports. “Containment zones, that refer to a specific geographical area where positive cases are found, are dynamic in nature. They do not fit into nationally representative sampling,” the ICMR tweeted on September 21, 2020 evening but did not refer to the newspaper reports. “The second round of countrywide sero -survey led by ICMR has been successfully completed. The final phase analysis of the survey is now under way and will offer a comparison with the results of the first survey.” 4. The objective: Before it embarked on its national survey, the ICMR had explicitly specified that the survey’s objective was to estimate national prevalence and spread of the infection in hotspots. “The study has two parts out of which the primary task of estimating the fraction of population who has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in general public has been completed. The second objective of estimating fraction of population who has been infected in containment zones of hotspot cities is in the process of completion,” the Health Ministry said in a statement released on June 11, which has been available on the website of the Press Information Bureau. On that day, Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR, had said the prevalence of the disease was 0.73% nationally and that compared to rural areas, risk of spread was 1.09 times higher in urban areas and 1.89 times higher in urban slums. 14 n English Core-XII

5. Lockdown effect: These findings undermined the effectiveness of the lockdown in containing the spread of the virus and the government’s insistence that abrupt shutdown of the country had restricted the virus transmission to only a few dense urban agglomerations. The government also emphasises that there is, as of today, no evidence of community transmission in India. Viral Tracker With 86,296 Covid-19 cases recorded on September 21, 2020, India’s tally stood at 54,84,496. As many as 1,125 deaths were added, taking the toll to 85,926. A total of 6.36 crore samples have been tested as of September 19, according to the ICMR.   ­ ­­ ­ The graphs depict the new cases and deaths in the last 14 days in select States. If average cases and deaths in the last seven days are higher than the previous seven days, then the cases and deaths are rising; if they are lower, then dropping, if they are similar, then cases and deaths are flattening in that State. Cases Deaths Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) What was the effect of lockdown? (ii) What did the abrupt shutdown of the country restrict? (iii) When is the community transmission said to be taking place? (iv) According to the passage, how many infections went undetected for every confirmed case in May? (v) According to ICMR, how many samples had been tested as of September 19? (vi) State a valid reason for conducting the second sero-survey by ICMR. (vii) With reference to the graphs, identify the following: (a) State with maximum number of cases (b) State with minimum number of deaths. Answers: (i) It contained the spread of the virus. (ii) It restricted the virus transmission to only a few dense urban mass. (iii) When the source of contagion is not known. (iv) 82,130 infections. Practice Paper–2 n 15

(v) 6.36 crore samples       (vi) To determine the prevalence of Covid-19. (vii) (a) Maharashtra (b) Odisha Section B — WRITING (8 marks) III. You are Akshay/Aakriti. You have been invited to participate in a seminar on ‘Fundamental Rights of Children’, organised by the Lions Club of your district. Respond to the invitation by writing a letter to the Secretary of the club. (1 × 3 = 3) Ans. 25, Aram Bagh Road Meerut 5 May 20XX The Secretary Lions Club, Meerut Sub: Acceptance of Invitation Sir Thank you for your invitation to a seminar on ‘Fundamental Rights of Children’, and your concern for the under- privileged children. I would like to utilise this opportunity to share my experiences with other like-minded enthusiasts and experts. I hereby confirm my participation in the seminar. Yours sincerely Aakriti Or Sub: Inability to accept the invitation Sir Thank you very much for inviting me to participate in a seminar on ‘Fundamental Rights of Children’. I feel honoured and obliged. However, I shall not be able to accept your invitation due to some previous commitments which keep me confined to my place on that day. Thanking you once again for your kind invitation. Yours sincerely Akshay IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. India Assurance Company, New Delhi has given an advertisement in ‘The Hindustan Times’ for recruitment of management trainees to be groomed as managers of their company. Apply for the same, giving your detailed bio-data (curriculum vitae). Invent all necessary details. You are Aman/Aditi, 54-A, Gulab Road, Lucknow. Ans. 54-A, Gulab Road Lucknow 10 March 20XX The Personnel Manager India Assurance Company New Delhi Sub: Recruitment of Management Trainee Sir With reference to your advertisement in The Hindustan Times dated 5th March, 20×× for management trainees to be groomed as managers for your company, I would like to be considered for the said post. My Bio-data is enclosed for your perusal and consideration. If I am found suitable, I can appear for the interview at any time suitable to you. In case of selection, I assure you of my unstinted co-operation and devotion in the discharge of my duties. 16 n English Core-XII

Yours faithfully  Bio-Data Aditi Encl.: Bio-data : Aditi Kukreja : Prof. S.N. Kukreja Name : 54-A, Gulab Road, Lucknow Father’s Name : 7th August, 19×× Address : 1. B.Com., Delhi University Date of Birth Educational Qualifications 2. MBA from Symbiosis, Pune 3. Diploma in Computer Application from NIIT, Lucknow Experience : 1 year Present Employment : Working with Global Telesystems, Lucknow Marital Status : Unmarried Personal Details : Age 27 years Height 5’-3” Languages known Weight 60 kg Hobbies Mother Tongue—Hindi References : English, Punjabi, French : Reading, Listening to music, Painting : 1. Professor Suresh Mohan, IT College, Lucknow 2. Professor Kapil Ranjan, Symbiosis, Pune OR B. You are Sneh/Anshu of Army Public School, Meerut. Recently you had the honour of having participated as the contingent leader of your school team in the Republic Day parade in Delhi, in which your school was adjudged the best participating team. Write a report in about 120-150 words about the memorable event for publication in your school magazine. Ans. REPUBLIC DAY HONOURS [by Anshu] This year’s Republic Day will ever be cherished as a red letter day by our school. On this historic occasion our school team had the good fortune to participate in the Republic Day parade at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. More than fifty teams representing different parts of India displayed their varied, colourful and romantic items of songs, dances and aerobics. Their feats made people glued to their feet. The enthusiasm and cheerfulness of the participants was beyond description. The celebrations were also a test of performance of the participating teams. When the name of our school was announced as the best participating team, I felt overjoyed. For a moment, disbelief overpowered me. Then, I, as contingent leader went forward to receive the shield. I dedicated this award to our Principal and the Physical Instructor who had provided us such an excellent training. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) Why did the peddler think of the world as a rattrap? What became his cherished pastime? Ans. The world had never been kind to the peddler. So, he got unusual joy to think ill of the world. His pastime was to think of people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous snare of the world, and of others who were still circling around the bait. (ii) Why do you think Gandhi was not permitted to draw water from Rajendra Prasad’s well at Patna? Ans. The servants of Rajendra Prasad thought Gandhi to be another peasant. They did not know him. They were not certain whether he was an untouchable or not. They feared that some drops from his bucket might pollute the entire well. So, he was not permitted to draw water from the well. Practice Paper–2 n 17

(iii) How does a thing of beauty provide us shelter and comfort? Ans. John Keats is a great Romantic poet. He is rich in sensuous imagery. Nature provides us things of rare beauty. It keeps a bower quiet for us. A bower is a pleasant place in the shade under a tree. A thing of beauty also provides us peace and security. We enjoy a sound sleep which is full of sweet dreams, health and peaceful breathing. (iv) What difficulty does Aunt Jennifer face while making her tigers and why? Ans. Aunt Jennifer is making her tigers in the panels. She is using ivory needles. Her fingers are fluttering through the wool. She finds it difficult (hard) to pull even the ivory needles. The reason is obvious. The weight of unhappy and unfortunate experiences of her married life sits heavily on her hands. (v) Why does Jack insist that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother? Ans. Jack insisted that it was the wizard that was hit and not the mother because he wanted to prove a point to Jo that the little Skunk loved his mother more than he loved all the other little animals and his mother knew what was right for him. (vi) How does Mr Lamb react to Derry’s query: ‘Aren’t you interested’? Ans. Mr Lamb tells Derry that he is interested in anybody and anything. There’s nothing God made that does not interest him. Fruit and flowers, trees and herbs, grass and weeds all interest him. Even stuff or rubbish is interesting. He finds no essential difference between a ‘weed’ and another ‘flower’ as both represent life—developing or growing. e II  VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” This is what John Keats says in the poem. Do you think in the present times of acute stress and violence, proximity to beautiful things can lead man to everlasting happiness? Discuss. Ans. A thing of beauty gives us permanent happiness. When we look at objects of beauty we feel happy, and the lasting impression that such objects leave on our mind continues giving pleasure, even after they are gone. In the present times of acute stress and violence, the objects of beauty attain even greater significance. When our mind is anxious and troubled, the very sight of beautiful things often comes as a relief and provides us comfort and happiness. Appreciating beautiful things is like appreciating God who has bestowed them upon mankind as a gift so that we can derive happiness and solace from them. Proximity to beautiful things brings us closer to the creator, in whom lies the ultimate power to grant us relief from all anxieties and troubles. Therefore, it is sure to bring everlasting happiness at all times. (ii) What precautions were taken for the smooth conduct of the O-Level German examination in prison and why? Ans. James Roderick Evans was a smart fellow. He was known as ‘Evans the Break’ among the prison officers. He had escaped from prison three times. Now he was taking O-Level German Examination in prison. His solitary cell was located in D-Wing, which had two heavy gates—outer and inner. Both were locked securely. Evans’s cell was kept under strict observation. Prison officer Mr Stephens watched his activities every minute through the peep-hole. Mr Jackson, the in charge of D-Wing, was in constant touch with the Governor on phone. The Governor himself listened in to the conversation in the cell. During his stay in prison, Evans was not allowed to have any visitor or letters. All potential weapons such as knife, scissors, nail-file and razor had been removed from the cell of Evans. The contents of the suitcase of the invigilator, Reverend S. McLeery were also thoroughly searched. Even the paper- knife was taken away. In short, all precautions had been taken to see that Evans did not get a means to escape. (iii) The peddler thinks that the whole world is a rattrap. This view of life is true only of himself and of no one else in the story. Comment. Ans. The peddler doesn’t think kindly of the world and its people. For him the world is a big rattrap to trap the people in. The luxuries of the world are the baits that tempt the people to get trapped. The world has been very unkind to him. So it gives him a great pleasure to think ill of it. Ironically, he finds himself trapped like a rat when he steals the thirty kronor of the credulous crofter. Subsequently it leads him to Edla’s home where he receives nothing except kindness. It is true that this bitter view of the world is his own subjective one. In fact the world has no dearth of genuinely kind people like the crofter, Edla and even the ironmaster. All treat him kindly. Edla believes in compassion and Christian values and eventually touches the goodness in him and helped him see the world in a positive light. 18 n English Cor -X

Practice Pa er–3    p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. The process of ageing starts with conception in the mother’s womb. When we are young, we don’t recognise that there will come a time when our limbs will become weak, our eyesight less keen and our body unable to function as smoothly as before. The state, the society and the family owe a responsibility towards senior citizens. 2. Unfortunately, of late we have not been able to recognise the concept of respecting, caring and helping older generations in a systematic way as some of the countries in the West have done. This is not to suggest that our culture and history do not recognise this phase of life. There have been many practices of caring and helping old people in our system. But, with the dismantling of the joint family system the problem has assumed newer and complicated proportions. Although we have started recognising the needs of the young when it comes to the old, we have blissfully chosen to ignore them and have let them to feed for themselves. 3. Of all senior citizens of the world one out of ten is an Indian. The population of old people in India is the 4th highest in the world. By official estimates there are over 77 million old people in the country now. There are some schemes with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. There are provisions of financial assistance for different welfare schemes. 4. There are old-age homes, residential units for lower income groups in particular districts where there is a part time medical officer to attend to the inmates. Then there are day care centres and mobile medicare services besides other NGOs (Non-Government Organisations). 5. Old-age homes in the country are not only insufficient but also ill-equipped to cater to old people. This should be the responsibility of the state since it needs close and regular monitoring. The social welfare department in the government have very little to boast when it comes to caring for older generations. 6. “Sarkari” officials are not only apathetic to the welfare of old people but also are not imaginative. But once the need for helping senior citizens is recognised not only by the society at large but also by the government, and certain concessions are sanctioned for them, there may be some headway in this direction. 7. Society, too, has an important role to play. It must bring by respecting the aged and placing them before anyone else’s interest. In the West, if an old person is climbing down the stairs, he or she is helped. It is this kind of mindset that is the need of the hour. Offering seats to the old, helping them cross the roads, assisting them carry their bags, fetching them water, etc., are some features, which increase acceptability of old people. 8. In the family, senior citizens deserve a better deal. If they are thrown out of the family the state cannot be blamed. They have given everything to their families and have the right to be recognised as important members. Sending old parents to deposit electricity bills, asking them to fetch children from schools and to guard the house while the rest of the family is away are some of the many tasks which are thrust upon them. These become nothing short of enslaving the weakest class of people. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) Mention any two bodily changes which come with the old age. (ii) What is the general attitude of the people in our country towards the senior citizens? (iii) What is the plight of old homes in India? (iv) What should the society do to improve the condition of senior citizens? 19

(v) What are some of the things the family expects the senior citizens to do? (vi) “The problem of looking after senior citizens has assumed serious proportions.” Explain why. (vii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another phrase/word, from paragraph 6. Thoughout the country, people who had generally been lacking in emotion about national politics were swept up in a wave of protest. (viii) Select a suitable word/phrase from paragraph 2 to complete the following sentence appropriately. Africa has made great progress in ___________ its old economic system. (ix) According to the passage, why the family is responsible for the neglect of its elders? Answers: (i) The following bodily changes come with the old age: (a) limbs grow weak (b) eyesight becomes less keen and our body is unable to function. (ii) The general attitude of the people of our country towards the senior citizens is that they do not recognise the concept of respecting, caring and helping them. (iii) The old-age homes in our country are not only insufficient in number but also poorly equipped to cater to old people. (iv) Society, too, has an important role to play to improve the condition of senior citizens by respecting them and giving them due care. (v) The family expects the old parents to deposit electricity bills, fetch children from school and to guard the house while the rest of the family is away. (vi) Because joint family has collapsed. (vii) Throughout the country, people who had generally been apathetic about national politics were swept up in a wave of protest. (viii) dismantling (ix) The family is responsible because they either force the elders to do menial tasks or throw them out. II. Read the passage given below. 1. The primary objective of this study is to understand students’ views about Internet usage in Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. A questionnaire survey was undertaken. The findings are: (i) A high degree of awareness about the benefits of Internet among students; (ii) The library, computer lab, cyber cafe and home are deemed the most convenient places to access Internet; (iii) The major purpose of students accessing Internet is education and entertainment; (iv) The study confirmed that Google is the most used search engine, followed by Yahoo; (v) Internet skills were acquired by majority of students by self study and what they learnt through their friends; the study reveals that in the present Internet influenced academic environment, information of literary skills to use internet effectively is a necessity. Places of Internet Access Place Number of Students Percentage (%) Library 22 29.73 Library and computer lab 06 08.11 Library, computer lab and home 16 21.62 Library, computer lab and cyber cafe 21 23.38 Library, home and cyber cafe 09 12.16 Total 74 100 2. One of the paradigm shifts that the world has witnessed in the last two decades has been the invention, use and proliferation of Internet. Be it the business community, social community or the academic community, every sphere of the mankind has been touched by Internet technologies like never before. For the academic community, it removed major barriers and made its information available to one and all. Probably, Internet is the greatest equalizer by 20 n English Core-XII

providing access to information. Be it for a college located in urban cities or rural hinterland, anybody can have access to information. 3. In an academic setup, access to Internet is decided by several factors, such as, quality of bandwidth, convenience of location, quality and availability of computers and the ambience. The study revealed that there is a divided opinion about the place where they access Internet. For 22 (29.73%) students, library is the place from where they access the Internet. An equal number of students 21 (28.38%) access computer from all three places—library, computer lab and cyber cafe. A fair number of students 16 (21.6%) access Internet from either the library, computer lab or from their homes. This indicates that Internet is accessed whenever at that point more importantly whichever place is convenient at that point of time. But library is the common place for internet access of all 74 students.     Major Purpose of Using Internet Number of Students Percentage (%) Major Purpose Education 28 37.84 Education and Entertainment 21 28.38 Education and Current News 16 21.62 Education, Entertainment and Current News 09 12.16 Total 74 100 4. Internet has so much of information that if a student tries to browse it without any purpose, then very soon he/ she will be lost in the web. Hence, it is essential to have a clear purpose before our accesses to the internet. It is observed that education as exclusive purpose for accessing internet is indicated by about 28 students. Combination purpose of education and entertainment is indicated by 21 students. Education and current news is indicated by 16 students and a smaller number 9 indicated education, entertainment and current news as the purpose. Among several motivation factors of using Internet, students strongly agree that project work, quick and reliable communication and the availability of updated information are motivating factors. Students at commerce colleges are always hard pressed for time as they have multiple assignments and project works to complete. Hence, they depend much on Internet to collect, collate and prepare their project reports and assignments. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) According to the passage, state a reason why some students feel lost in the web. (ii) What does the phrase ‘paradigm shifts’, as used in paragraph 2, mean? (iii) What according to you is the most common reason for Internet usage? (iv) What is a necessity to use Internet effectively? (v) According to the passage, what is the easiest and quick source of information? (vi) According to the data, what percentage of students use Internet for the purpose of (a) education (b) education and entertainment? (vii) With reference to the data provided, what number of students access Internet from (a) library (b) library, computer lab and home? Answers: (i) They search without any purpose. (ii) Great changes (iii) Information (iv) Literacy skills (v) Internet (vi) (a) Education — 37.84% (b) Education and entertainment — 28.38% (vii) (a) Library — 22 students (b) Library, computer lab and home — 16 students Practice Paper–3 n 21

Section B — WRITING (8 marks) III. Rohit has got success in CBSE-PMT. He wants to celebrate his admission to Shivaji Medical College, Nagpur by   throwing a party to his friends. Write an informal invitation giving details of venue, time and date. Do not exceed 50 words. (1 × 3 = 3) Ans. 33/427 Priya Vihar New Delhi 15 July 20XX Dear Varun You will be glad to learn that I have secured 80th rank in the CBSE-PMT competition. I have got admission in a prestigious institution – Shivaji College, Nagpur. I want to share a few happy moments of my life in the company of my friends at a dinner in the Hotel Kanishka at 9.00 p.m. on 23 July 20XX. Please join the celebrations and merry-making. Yours sincerely Rohit IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. Draft an application for the post of an accountant in Pioneers (Pvt.) Ltd. Co., Hyderabad in response to their advertisement that appeared in The Times of India dated 1st August, 20XX. Prepare a biodata to be enclosed. You are Nipun/Aparna. Ans. 23 Raman Villa Race Course Road Bhopal August 11 20XX The Personnel Manager Pioneers (Pvt.) Ltd. Co. Hyderabad Sub: Application for the post of Accountant Sir In response to your advertisement in The Times of India dated 1 August 20XX, I wish to be considered for the position mentioned above. I feel my qualifications and experience are good enough to enable me to discharge my duties. I attach herewith attested copies of my certificates and my bio-data. If given a chance, I may assure you, sir, that I shall spare no pains in the discharge of my duty honestly and devotedly. I will certainly win the confidence of my superiors. Thanking you Yours faithfully Nipun (Nipun) Encl. : Bio-data 22 n English Core-XII

Bio-Data Name : Nipun Verma      Father’s Name : Sh. Mohan Lal Verma Address : 23, Raman Villa, Race Course Road, Bhopal Date of Birth : 15 September 19XX Educational Qualifications : 1. CBSE (10+2) 20XX 83% 2. B.Com. (Hons) 20XX 73% 3. CA 20XX 4. ICWAI 20XX Experience : TISCO ‘Bhopal’ since Nov. 20XX Marital Status : Unmarried Languages known : Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu References : 1. Dr. V. Anand, H.O.D. Commerce, Holker University, Indore 2. Sh. R.K. Sareen, Financial Advisor, GRASIM (India), Bangalore OR B. You are Amrit/Amrita, the head boy/girl of Ryan International School, Gurgaon. ‘No Tobacco Day’ was organised by the Health Club of your school last week. Write a report in 120-150 words for publication in the school magazine. Ans. NO TOBACCO DAY CELEBRATIONS [by Amrit, Head boy] Last Saturday our school celebrated ‘No Tobacco Day’ in school hall. The aim was to create general awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco on human lives. We displayed posters and banners in and around the school campus to this effect. An exhibition was arranged in the Activities’ Room, to enlighten the people about ‘Tobacco—the silent killer’. It highlighted the harmful effects of smoking, chewing or inhaling tobacco. A public meeting was also arranged. Eminent doctors, local dignitaries and general public participated. The doctors highlighted how tobacco harms not only the user but also others adjacent to him. With the help of slides, film strips and charts, they illustrated how tobacco impairs human throat, eyes, lungs, digestion and blood circulation system. It could lead to mouth sores and cancer. Dr Anuj Vats advised people to avoid the use of tobacco in any form. The programme had a salutary effect on all. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) What hospitality did the peddler with rattraps receive from the old crofter? Ans. The old crofter served the peddler hot porridge for supper and gave him tabacco for his pipe. He entertained his guest by playing cards with him. He also informed him about his prosperous past life and how his cow supported him in his old age now. (ii) Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers? What according to him was the real relief for the sharecroppers? Ans. Gandhi chided the lawyers for collecting big fee from the poor sharecroppers. He thought that taking such cases to the court did little good to the crushed and fear-stricken peasants. The relief for them, according to Gandhi, was to be free from fear. (iii) What is the source of the ‘endless fountain’ and what is its effect? Ans. A fountain of eternal joy and immortality pours into the heart and soul of man. It flows right from the heavens brink and pours into the human heart. It is like an immortal nectar. The immortal drink that nature’s endless fountain pours into our hearts is a source of immense joy for us. (iv) How will Aunt Jennifer’s hands look when she is dead? Ans. When Aunt Jennifer dies, her hands will still look terrified. Perhaps she has experienced a lot of hardships and troubles in the past. Their effect has left its print on her hands. The ordeals that crushed her married life had sorrounded and cramped her fingers and hands too. Practice Paper–3 n 23

(v) How did Jack try to convince his daughter that his ending of the story was the best? Ans. To convince Jo that his ending of the story was the best, Jack told her that a mother’s decision should be honoured. Roger Skunk became happy later as he loved his mother more than he loved the other animals. The mother wanted his son to be what he actually is and later the other animals too got adjusted to his smell and befriended him. (vi) How does Mr Lamb react when Derry enters his garden? Ans. Derry entered Mr Lamb’s garden by climbing over the garden wall. He had thought that it was an empty place. He didn’t know there was anybody there. He just wanted to be in a secluded place. On seeing Mr Lamb Derry was startled. He clarified that he didn’t enter to steal anything. Mr Lamb tried to comfort Derry and allay his fear by saying that anybody could enter the garden. He asked him to pick up ripe apples lying in the long grass.  VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer? Comment on the poet’s attitude towards Aunt Jennifer. Ans. We sympathise with Aunt Jennifer because she makes us aware of the constraints of a married life for a woman. Aunt Jennifer expresses her feelings in her creations. She creates a woollen embroidery with images of tigers in bright topaz colour. These tigers are an expression of Aunt Jennifer’s suppressed fear for oppression as well as an expression of a long cherished freedom which she has lacked. The poet creates Aunt Jennifer as a representative of every woman of her time. Ironically, she rebels against the established norms of her society in her tigers and feels a sense of triumph in her efforts. However, the poet perhaps wants to voice their desires more openly, rather than being silent victims of oppression or dying without being able to create much difference, as Aunt Jennifer does. (ii) What impression do you form of ‘Evans the Break’? Ans. “Evans the Break” as he was known among the prison officers was a jail-bird. He was a congenital kleptomaniac, but he was non-violent. He was quite a pleasant sort of person—an amusing chap; a star at the Christmas concert— good at imitations. Evans had long wavy hair. When we meet him for the first time his face was unshaven and he wore a filthy looking red and white bobble hat upon his head. He had tucked a grubby string-vest into equally grubby trousers. He smiled cheerfully at the prison officers. Evans is smart, cunning and resourceful. He makes a request to Mr Jackson to allow him to put on his bobble hat. But he complains to the invigilator against Stephens. Stephens’ presence disturbs Evans’ concentration. He makes a very polite request to cover himself with blanket as it is chilly. He uses it to put on the clerical collar and black front. He employs the brief absence of prison officers to disguise himself as parson McLeery and spill blood on himself to look injured. He acts the part of injured parson well. He offers to help police and wins their confidence. He becomes groggy and is left there to wait for ambulance. Evans enjoys the faith, support and active cooperation of his dedicated friends. They plan carefully, working out the minute details and execute it skilfully. He never loses his calm or presence of mind even in the worst circumstances. (iii) Why did Gandhiji consider freedom from fear more important than legal justice for the poor peasants of Champaran? Ans. The sharecropper peasants had to grow indigo on 15 per cent of their holdings and surrender the indigo harvest as rent to the landlord. When Germany developed synthetic indigo, the British planters started extracting money illegally and deceitfully as compensation from the peasants for being released from the 15 per cent arrangement. The peasants were made to sign new agreements and pay money. The planters behaved as lords above the law. Many peasants engaged lawyers at hefty fees and went to courts. The Muzaffarpur lawyers briefed Gandhi about the peasants for whom they frequently represented in courts. Gandhi realised that these peasants were badly crushed and fear-stricken. Freedom from fear was more important than legal justice for them. Gandhiji was ready to court arrest for them. Thousands of peasants demonstrated spontaneously around the court. The government had to release Gandhi without bail. This voluntary uprising of the peasants marked the beginning of their liberation from the fear of the British. 24 n English Core-XII

Practice Pa er–4    p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. The name ‘Bharata’ is used as a designation for the country in our constitution referencing the ancient mythological emperor, Bharata, whose story is told, in part, in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to the writings known as the Puranas, Bharata conquered the whole sub-continent of India and ruled the land in peace and harmony. The land was, therefore, known as Bharatavarsha. Hominid activity in the Indian sub-continent stretches back over 250,000 years and it is, therefore, one of the oldest inhabited regions on the planet. 2. Archaeological excavations have discovered artifacts used by early humans, including stone tools, which suggest an extremely early date for human habitation and technology in the area. While the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt have long been recognised for their celebrated contributions to civilisation, India has often been overlooked, especially in the West, though her history and culture is just as rich. 3. The areas of present-day India, Pakistan, and Nepal have provided archaeologists and scholars with the richest sites of the most ancient pedigree. The species Homo heidelbergensis (a proto human who was an ancestor of modern Homo sapiens) inhabited the sub-continent of India centuries before humans migrated into the region known as Europe. Evidence of the existence of Homo heidelbergensis was first discovered in Germany in 1907 and, since, further discoveries have established fairly clear migration patterns of this species out of Africa. Recognition of the antiquity of their presence in India has been largely due to the fairly late archaeological interest in the area as, unlike work in Mesopotamia and Egypt, Western excavations in India did not begin in earnest until the 1920’s CE. Though the ancient city of Harappa was known to exist as early as 1842 CE, its archaeological significance was ignored and the later excavations corresponded to an interest in locating the probable sites referred to in the great Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana (both of the 5th or 4th centuries BCE) while ignoring the possibility of a much more ancient past for the region. The village of Balathal (near Udaipur in Rajasthan), to cite only one example, illustrates the antiquity of India’s history as it dates to 4000 BCE. Balathal was not discovered until 1962 CE. 4. Archaeological excavations in the past fifty years have dramatically changed the understanding of India’s past and, by extension, world history. A 4000 year-old skeleton discovered at Balathal in 2009 CE provides the oldest evidence of leprosy in India. Prior to this find, leprosy was considered a much younger disease thought to have been carried from Africa to India at some point and then from India to Europe by the army of Alexander the Great following his death in 323 BCE. It is now understood that significant human activity was underway in India by the Holocene Period (10,000 years ago) and that many historical assumptions based upon earlier work in Egypt and Mesopotamia, need to be reviewed and revised. The beginnings of the Vedic tradition in India, still practised today, can now be dated, at least in part, to the indigenous people of ancient sites such as Balathal rather than, as often claimed, wholly to the Aryan invasion of c. 1500 BC. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What does the discovery of a 4000 year old skeleton reveal? (ii) What proof does Balathal hold? (iii) What do stone tools point out? (iv) According to the passage, who was ‘Bharata’? (v) What can be inferred about the Homo-heidelbergensis from the passage? 25

e II (vi) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another word/phrase, from paragraph 1. In the story the wicked king raided territories of other kings and took over their kingdoms. (vii) Select a suitable word from paragraph 3 to complete the following sentence appropriately. The origin and .................... of the episcopal mitre have been the subject of much debate. (viii) Cite examples from the passage of the civilisations that have been recognised for their celebrated contibutions to civilisation. (ix) “Archaeological excavations in the past fifty years have dramatically changed the understanding of India’s past and, by extension, world history.” Comment. II. Read the passage given below. 1. When plastic waste is burnt, a complex weave of toxic chemicals is released. Breaking down Poly Vinyl Chloride, (PVC) is used for packaging, toys and coating electrical wires. It produces dioxin, an organochlorine which belongs to the family of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). A recent Dioxin Assessment Report brought out by the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) says the risk of getting cancer from dioxin is ten times higher than reported by the agency in 1994. 2. Yet the Delhi government is giving the green signal to a gasification project which will convert garbage into energy without removing plastic waste. Former transport minister Rajendra Gupta, the promoter of this project, says this is not necessary. He claims no air pollution will be caused and that the ash produced can be used as manure. An earlier waste-to-energy project set-up in Timarpur failed. The new one, built with Australian assistance, will cost 200 crore. It will generate 25 megawatts of power and gobble 1,000 tonnes of garbage every day. 3. “Technologies like gasification are a form of incineration,” says Madhumita Dutta, central coordinator with Toxics Link, New Delhi. Incineration merely transfers hazardous waste from a solid form to air, water and ash, she points out. Toxins produced during incineration include acidic gases, heavy metals as well as dioxins and furans. “The ‘manure’ will be hazardous and a problem to dispose,” says Dutta. 4. Municipal solid waste contains a mix of plastics. Breaking down this waste emits hydrochloric acid which attacks the respiratory system, skin and eyes, resulting in coughing, vomiting and nausea. Polyethylene generates volatile compounds like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both suspected carcinogenic. Breathing styrene from polystyrene can cause leukaemia. Polyurethane is associated with asthma. Dioxin released by PVC is a powerful hormone disrupter and causes birth defects and reproductive problems. There is no threshold dose to prevent it and our bodies have no defence against it. 5. “Even the best run incinerators in the world have to deal with stringent norms, apart from contaminated filters and ash, making them hugely expensive to operate,” says Dutta. In Germany, air pollution devices accounted for two- thirds the cost of incineration. Despite such efforts, the European Dioxin Inventory noted that the input of dioxin into the atmosphere was the highest from incineration. 6. How has global plastic waste disposal method changed over time? In the chart, we see the share of global plastic waste that is discarded, recycled or incinerated from 1980 through to 2015. Prior to 1980, recycling and incineration of plastic was negligible; 100 percent was therefore discarded. From 1980 for incineration and 1990 for recycling, rates increased on average by about 0.7 percent per year. In 2015, an estimated 55 percent of global plastic waste was discarded, 25 percent was incinerated and 20 percent recycled. 7. “India does not have the facility to test dioxin and the cost of setting one up is prohibitively expensive,” says Dutta. Besides, Indian garbage has a low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg, since it has high moisture and requires additional fuel to burn. Toxics link calculates that the electricity generated from such technology will cost between 5-7 per unit, which is six times higher than conventional energy. India has chosen a dioxin preventive route and burning of chlorinated plastics is prohibited under Municipal Solid Waste and Biomedical Rules. Nearly 80 percent of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable. Resident associations, the informal sector and the municipal corporation can make Delhi’s garbage disappear in a sustainable manner. “Instead, the government promotes end of pipeline solutions,” says Dutta. 26 n English Cor -X

Global plastic waste by disposal, 1980 to 2015 Estimated Share of global plastic waste by disposal method 100% Recycled 80% 60% Incinerated 40% 20% Discarded 0% 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 1980 Source: Geyer et al. (2017) Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) Before 1980, how much global plastic waste was discarded? (ii) Converting waste to energy project will consume how much energy? (iii) By 2015, how much global plastic waste has been incinerated? (iv) Which word in the passage means same as ‘waste material’? (para 2) (v) What does former transport minister Rajendra Gupta claim? (vi) According to USEPA, what risk does dioxin pose to one’s health? (vii) Why breaking down of municipal solid waste won’t prove to be safe for humans? Section B — WRITING (8 marks)      III. You are Prateek/Parul Chawla, living at 32, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. You decide to hold a dinner party to congratulate your grandparents on their golden wedding anniversary. Draft an invitation to all family members to attend a grand dinner at home. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. The Oberoi group of hotels, New Delhi has given an advertisement in The Times of India for recruitment of Front Office Managers. Apply for the same, giving your detailed bio-data (curriculum vitae). Invent all necessary details. You are Varun/Vaishali, 31-B, CR Park, New Delhi. OR B. Scholastic India Ltd. organised a one-day workshop on creative writing in your school to promote writing skills. As the Literary Captain of your school, write a report to be published in the school magazine. You are Shreya/Samir. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) How did the peddler feel while walking through the wood? What did he realise? (ii) What, according to Rajendra Prasad, was the upshot of the consultations of the lawyers regarding the injustice to sharecroppers? (iii) What spreads the pall of despondence over our dark spirits? How is it removed? (iv) How is Aunt Jennifer affected by the ‘weight of matrimony’? (v) How was the Skunk’s story different from the other stories narrated by Jack? (vi) “There’s plenty of other things to stare at.” Which ‘things’ are worth staring at and why? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) What is the message (or the theme) of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’? What philosophy of life is highlighted in the poem? (ii) Give an account of the peddler’s meeting with the old crofter. How does the peddler conduct himself? What light does this episode throw on human nature? (iii) What lapses on the part of the police and prison authorities helped Evans to escape from the prison? Practice Paper–4 n 27

Practice Pa er–5  p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. To readers who have followed his every word, Ruskin Bond’s autobiography won’t be much of a surprise. After all, incidents from his life have been fictionalised in many of his stories. In fact, if you’re reading the book, it might be a good idea to keep a pile of his other books nearby. The book is divided into four parts —his childhood, school years, life in England, and finally back in India.Bond begins with his earliest memories; “of a little boy who ate a lot of kofta curry and was used to having his way.” The reader is introduced first to Osman, the khansama, and via his story to Jamnagar and the Bond family. The senior Bond found a job as tutor to the prince of Jamnagar’s children and, in attending these classes, Bond junior learnt the useful art of reading things upside down. After his father, the most important person in his life during this phase was his ayah who was immortalised in his first “literary effort” that compares her to a papaya. Quarrels between the parents are noted almost as a footnote to an idyllic childhood. 2. Childhood memories when World War II broke out, Bond senior enlisted in the Royal Air Force while the family moved to Dehradun to be with the “Dehra Granny”, as Bond calls his maternal grandmother. Now you learn that all those lovely tales of the eccentric grandfather were “either made up or based on hearsay”. It is at Dehradun that the pampered child is suddenly forced to grow up: a disapproving grandma, a mother who is out with another man, a strict school... ending with parents’ separation and Bond going to be with his father. Bond makes no secret of the fact that he preferred life with his father. He ranks the few months that he was in his father’s custody as the happiest time of his childhood but one does wonder at how often the eight-year-old is left all alone. “New Delhi was a safer place in the 1940s than it is in the 21st century,” writes Bond, and you are forced to agree when you read of his life in the capital. 3. But this happy life came to an end when the youngster is packed off to school—Bishop Cotton’s in Shimla. Within a couple of years, the father, weakened by repeated bouts of malaria, died of hepatitis. “And so the bottom had fallen out of my world,” writes Bond and the following pages are a poignant analysis of his relationship with his father. He goes home to his mother for the holidays to find that no one has come to receive him. The 10-year-old makes his way to his grandmother’s house only to find out that his mother has remarried. A sense of melancholy, punctuated with wry humour, pervades the narrative as Bond takes the reader through life in school and with his mother and her family during the holidays. You can actually conjure up in your mind’s eye the image of a confused child trying to make sense of a world that has suddenly gone awry. Bond candidly admits that he did not try to reach out to his mother and stepfather and probably rebuffed their overtures. 4. A little room beckons. Once he finished school, Bond began to look for ways to achieve his ambition: that of being a writer and going to England, “where all the writers I had admired had made their careers.” Bond’s account of his sojourn first in Jersey and later London keeps one hooked: whether it is his interactions with the legendary Diana Athill; his chance encounter with Graham Greene, pointing to how much things have changed for authors in the years since; his one-sided love affair with a Vietnamese girl, or his explorations of Britain’s capital. Through all this the reader is conscious of how much he is missing home. “All I really wanted was my little room back again”, he writes. This longing leads him to leave London rather suddenly and return to India. Back in Dehra, he begins writing for magazines like The Illustrated Weekly of India and the reader meets a range of characters like Bibiji, his stepfather’s first wife; lawyer Suresh; journalist William Matheson. 5. A stint in Delhi leads to a lovely chapter of what the city was like in 1959. As he writes of “extensive fields of wheat and other crops that stretched away to the west and north” of Rajouri Gardens, I remember the urban clutter of the early 1990s and sigh. While working for the Council for Tibetan Relief (CARE), he also makes peace with 28

his mother and her family. It is through CARE that he finally gets to Mussoorie and decides that if his dream of being a writer “was to become a reality, this was the time to do something about it”. All is well. 6. In the summer of 1963, an almost-thirty Bond returns to the hills, never to leave. The last part of the book is familiar territory for Bond’s readers—a combination of nature writing and stories of people—as we learn how he became the Ruskin Bond that most of us love. He talks about the arrival of Prem and then his family, who become his adopted family; of steering a magazine called Imprint through the Emergency; finding himself under arrest for publishing a story in Debonair; and of meeting Indira Gandhi; of storms and squirrels; of Maple wood and Ivy Cottage. 7. And of, finally, becoming popular and being in demand.“I’m like a shopkeeper hoarding bags full of grains, only I hoard words. There are still people who buy words and I hope I can keep bringing a little sunshine and pleasure into their lives to the end of my days.” We hope so too, Mr Bond.    Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What tone does Ruskin Bond use to describe his childhood after his father’s death? (ii) What all contributed to make Ruskin’s life unhappy as a child? (iii) What made Ruskin write “And so the bottom had fallen out of my world”? (iv) Why did Ruskin Bond leave London suddenly? (v) Which characters made their way into Bond’s writing while he was writing for The Illustrated Weekly? (vi) According to the author, why Ruskin Bond’s autobiography won’t be a surprise? (vii) What makes the reader feel that tales of eccentric grandfather were made up? (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined word with a phrase, from paragraph 3. She set up her charity to connect to the thousands of homeless on the streets. (ix) Select a suitable word from paragraph 6 to complete the following sentence appropriately. The ensuing clahes left dozens injured and more than 100 activists under .................... . II. Read the passage given below. “Hunger and under-nutrition cannot and should not be fixed by mere calorie provision. All stakeholders must pay attention to make balanced healthy diets which are climate-friendly, affordable and accessible to all.” Shweta Khandelwal, Head of Nutrition Research, Public Health Foundation of India. 1. India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 and was in the ‘serious’ hunger category with experts blaming poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring, soiled approach in tackling malnutrition and poor performance by large states behind the low ranking. 2. Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position were in ‘moderate’ hunger category, the report showed. Seventeen nations, including China, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with the GHI scores of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index, and tracks hunger and malnutrition, said on Friday. According to the report released on Friday, 14 percent of India’s population was undernourished. It also showed the country recorded a 37.4 per cent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 percent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 percent. 3. Wasting is children who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute under-nutrition. Stunting is children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic under nutrition. 4. Data from 1991 through 2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan showed that stunting was concentrated among children from households facing multiple forms of deprivation, including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education, and household poverty. 5. During this period, India experienced a decline in under-five mortality, driven largely by a decrease in deaths from birth, asphyxia or trauma, neo-natal infections, pneumonia, and diarrhoea, the report stated. 6. “However, child mortality, caused by prematurity and low birth-weight, increased particularly in poorer states and rural areas. Prevention of prematurity and low birth-weight is identified as a key factor with the potential to reduce under-five mortality in India through actions such as better ante-natal care, free vaccination, education, and nutrition as well as reductions in anaemia and oral tobacco use,” it said. 7. Experts think that poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring and soiled approaches to tackling malnutrition often result in poor nutrition indices. (Source: The Tribune) Practice Paper–5 n 29

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) Stunting reflects chronic under-nutrition. What does the word ‘chronic’ mean? (ii) What is the common reason for wasting and stunting among children? (iii) What actions are required to be taken to reduce the under-five mortality rate in our country? (iv) According to experts, what can grapple with the problem of malnutrition? (v) According to the passage, who is Shweta Khandelwal? (vi) What do the experts think often results in poor nutrition indices? (vii) With reference to the report, list the countries that scored less than five in the Global Hunger Index. Section B — WRITING (8 marks) e II       III. You are Aakash/Varsha. You have been invited to attend the wedding of your friend’s sister during summer vacation. Respond to the invitation, regretting your inability to attend it. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. Sunshine Public School, Pune requires two sports coaches (one male and one female). Each should be a degree holder in physical education as well as an SAl certified coach in athletics. You have seen their advertisement and you know that you have these qualifications. Write an application in 120-150 words along with your resume. You are Praveen/Kanika, M-114, Najafgarh, Delhi. OR B. ‘Traffic Week’ is being observed in your city. Within the first two days the police has booked over three hundred violations. Under-age drivers are the main culprits of lane breaking, jumping red lights and speed violations. As Pritish/Parul write a report in 120-150 words for publication in a newspaper. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) What was the “conflict of duties” in which Gandhi was involved? (ii) What did the ironmaster notice in the forge? How did he react then? (iii) How do human beings bind themselves to the earth every morning? (iv) The tigers are contrasting symbols in the poem. How? (v) Why was Roger Skunk’s mommy angry with him? What did she finally tell him? (vi) What explanation does the small boy offer for coming into the garden? How does Mr Lamb react to it? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) How do things of beauty enrich us? (ii) Do you think the title ‘Evans Tries An O-Level’ is appropriate? Give reasons in support of your answer. (iii) What impression do you form about Gandhi on reading the chapter ‘Indigo’ ? 30 n English Cor -X

Practice Pa er–6  p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. Other animals go about the world as nature made them. Why then, did man start to adorn himself by hanging things round his neck, arms, waist and legs or putting things on his head? We can imagine many reasons. If an exceptionally strong or brave man succeeded in killing an exceptionally large bear, might he not get the idea of boring a hole through one of its teeth with a sharp flint and tying the tooth round his neck in order to remind himself of his great achievement and to show his friends what a great man he was? Gradually it might become the custom in that tribe for all strong and brave hunters to wear a bear’s tooth, and it might be regarded as a disgrace not to wear one and a sign that one was weak or very young. 2. Another man might make an ornament of a coloured shell or stone simply because he liked it or because its shape reminded him of something. Then if he happened to escape from some danger when he was wearing it he might think the ornament had something to do with it—that it had magic qualities. And his friends and relatives would not be satisfied until they had an ornament of the same kind. 3. People who wore ornaments would soon learn to arrange them in different ways according to their size and colour in order to make them more decorative and impressive. A necklace found in Italy with the skeleton of a young man of the Stone Age was quite elaborate. It consisted of stag’s teeth arranged at intervals with, between them, two upper rows made up of the vertebrae of a fish and one row of shells. 4. Another reason why men might tie feathers, horns, skins and all kinds of other things to themselves would be in order to make themselves look fierce and more terrifying to animals or to the men of other tribes. 5. Objects that came from a distance and were therefore scarce—such as sea-shells to people living far inland— would come in time to have a special value, and might be worn only by chiefs and their families in order to show that they were particularly important people. 6. Primitive tribes living today often associate themselves with some particular animal or bird, such as an angle or lion, or with a particular place, such as a mountain or river. Man may have started doing this kind of thing very early in his history. Then, every member of a group or family may have worn something such as feathers, claws or even a stone or wooden object of a certain shape or colour, to represent the animal or mountain or whatever it might be that they believed themselves to be connected with. 7. So, as we have seen, clothing may have started as ornament or to distinguish one tribe from another or to show rank or because certain things were believed to have magic qualities. But in some places a time came when men and women began to wear clothes for other reasons. During the Ice Ages, when the polar ice spread over far more of the world than it does today, some of the districts in which human beings were living became very cold and bleak indeed. Man must have learnt that he would be more comfortable and more likely to survive, if he covered his body with the skins of animals. At first perhaps, he would simply tie a skin round his waist or over his shoulders but as time passed he learnt how to treat skins in order to make them softer and more supple and how to join them together in order to make better garments. 8. Flint tools have been found buried deep under the earth floors of caves in which prehistoric men sheltered when the weather became colder. Some of the tools were probably used to scrape the inner sides of skins to make them soft. Stone Age people may also have softened skins in the same way that Eskimo women do today, by chewing them. The teeth of Eskimo women are often worn down to stumps by the constant chewing of seal skins. 9. Among the wonderful flint and bone tools and implements that later cave men made have been found some beautiful bone needles, some not much bigger than those we use today. Although the people who made them 31

had only flint tools to work with, some of the needles are finer and more beautifully shaped than those of e II     Roman times. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) Why did man start to adorn himself? (ii) What was special about the necklace found in Italy? (iii) Why did men tie feathers, horns and skins to themselves? (iv) Why did man begin to clothe himself? Give two reasons. (v) What does the passage justify about man? (vi) State any two uses of flint tools as mentioned in the passage. (vii) Primitive tribes living today often associate themselves with some particular animal or bird, or with a particular place. Why? (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, from paragraph 2. I knew we would be best friends as soon as we met – we’re both very much alike. (ix) Select a suitable word from paragraph 6 to complete the following sentence appropriately. The islanders could barely .................... without an export crop. II. Read the passage given below. 1. Over the last five years, more companies have been actively looking for intern profiles, according to a 2018-19 survey by an online internship and training platform. This survey reveals that India had 80% more internship applications — with 2.2 million applications received in 2018 compared to 1.27 million in the year before. The trend was partly due to more industries looking to have fresh minds and ideas on existing projects for better productivity. What was originally seen as a western concept, getting an internship before plunging into the job market, is fast gaining momentum at Indian workplaces. 2. According to the survey data, India’s National Capital Region has been the top provider of internships, with a total of 35% internship opportunities, followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru at 20% and 15%, respectively. This includes opportunities in startups, MNCs and even government entities. The survey also revealed popular fields to find internships in (Fig 1). There has been growing awareness among the students about the intern profiles sought by hiring companies that often look for people with real-time experience in management than B-school masters. 3. The stipend has been an important factor influencing the choice of internships. The survey data reveals that the average stipend offered to interns was recorded as ` 7000 while the maximum stipend went up to ` 85,000. According to statistics, a greater number of people considered virtual internships than in-office internships. Virtual internships got three times more applications than in-office, since a large chunk of students were the ones already enrolled in various courses, or preferred working from home. 4. Internship portals have sprung up in the last three to four years and many of them already report healthy traffic per month. Reports suggest that on an average, an internship portalcompany has around 200,000-plus students and some 8,000 companies registered on it. It gets around two lakh visits online every month. The Managing Director of a leading executive search firm says that though these web platforms are working as an effective bridge between the industry and students, most established companies are still reluctant to take too many interns on board for obvious reasons. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) What does the survey state about intership opportunities? (ii) Express the central idea of the paragraph likely to precede paragraph 1. (iii) The survey statistics mention the average stipend, indicating what? 32 n English Cor -X

(iv) What does the phrase ‘healthy traffic’ refer to? (v) According to the survey data, who has been the top provider of interships? (vi) According to reports, what is the average number of students and companies registered on an internship portal company? (vii) Why virtual internships gain more attention than in-office internships? Section B — WRITING (8 marks)     III. You are Dr Avinash Bhalla. You have received an invitation from the Director, Health Services, Haryana who has invited leading medical practitioners of the state to attend a workshop on ‘child care’ on 20 May 20×× at 10 a.m. in Civil Hospital, Ambala. Respond to the invitation. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. You are Anand/Arti of 14, Model Town, Delhi. You have seen an advertisement in The Hindu for the post of Chief Chef in a 5-Star Hotel. Apply for the job with complete bio-data. Write in 120-150 words. OR B. You are Rahul/Rashmi, a staff reporter of The Hindustan Times. You have been asked to cover the incident of a daylight robbery when the inmates were watching television in their house. Write a report in 120-150 words. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) Why did the peddler derive pleasure from his idea of the world as a rattrap? (ii) Why is Raj Kumar Shukla described as being resolute? (iii) What depresses the soul of human beings? (iv) What ordeals have surrounded the life of Aunt Jennifer? (v) How did Jo and Jack react as the new animal was mentioned? (vi) What request did the Secretary of the Examination Board receive from the Governor of Oxford Prison? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Compare and contrast the characters of Mr Lamb and Derry. (ii) Give an account of the peddler’s meeting with the old crofter. How does the peddler conduct himself? What light does this episode throw on human nature? (iii) Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting through this difference? Practice Paper–6 n 33

Practice Pa er–7    p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. The painstaking memorisation of mathematical tables, historical dates, capitals of countries and even poems leaves an indelible mark on every adult who has attended school. However, all educators deprecate this rote system—learning by orally reciting and consigning lessons to memory—as mindless and mechanical, which goes against critical thinking and creativity. But is this dichotomy between creativity and rote learning part of a lazy binary thinking? 2. We often hear about people who can repeat the entire telephone directory or memorise the entire dictionary. Indians have a history of highly developed systems of memorisation, perfected through centuries of Vedic learning. From a typically Western perspective, the permanency of the written word has been pitted against the ‘unconscious operation of memory’ of oral cultures, and held to be more reliable in cultural transmission. However, refuting this thesis, Fritz Stall, an Indic scholar observes that the oral tradition in India is remarkable, “because it has led to scientific discoveries that are of enduring interest”. Of course, this mugging up can be aural (i.e. chanting aloud) or visual—mentally storing images in a visual map. 3. The advantages of rote memorisation—like it expands areas of the mind to great possibilities—are now becoming evident to the world. Various accounts from ancient India, including those from travellers like I-tsing, point to the fool-proof system of oral memorisation and the capacity to absorb volumes of data. 4. A parallel dimension of transmission of knowledge also existed in India, with a flexible mode of oral communication through which knowledge was disseminated. One instance is the narrative-performative tradition of recitation, which extended basic story through interpolations, conscious extensions and embedding of sub- narratives. Many Indian myths, legends, epics, and fables such as Kathasaritsagara and Jataka stories were spread though this process. While the story remains the same, the interpretation changes according to who says it, where it is said and how it is said. While communicating mathematics, philosophy and other scientific disciplines, cryptic text forms were created, that facilitated memorisation. 5. A related question pertains to cognition—how can we transmit principles using memorisation as a creative tool rather than as a mechanical process of repetition? Bhaskara’s Lilavati, the seminal 12th century illustrates how memorisation and creativity go together. 6. The fact that Bhaskara’s methods still figure in Indian pedagogic consciousness was recently brought home in a news report on the Ramanujan School of Mathematics in Patna, which trains youngsters from poor families to clear the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) entrance test. This year, all the 30 students of the school got through IITs. Anand Kumar, the school’s founder, called it the “sheer power of practice to break the so-called IIT code” and a student attributed the success to his teacher’s ability to teach differential calculus through a “thrilling story of a daring robber”. —Sudha Gopalakrishnan: The Hindustan Times Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) How is rote learning mindless and mechanical? (ii) What makes the written words more beneficial for the people? (iii) Why is the narrative technique of recitation unique? (iv) How did the Indian oral learning system help the world? (v) Which word from the passage in para-6 has a similar meaning to ‘ascribed’? 34

(vi) Cryptic texts were created for mathematics, philosophy, etc. Explain why. (vii) Who observed the oral tradition in India as remarkable and why? (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined word with another one, from paragraph 5. In every meeting, she demonstrates her ideas well. (ix) How had Bhaskara’s methods proven successful for the students?    II. Read the passage given below. RICE, SUGAR CONTRIBUTED OVER 95% TO AGRI EXPORT INCREASE 1. Export of refined sugar contributed an increase of ` 1,719 crore and export of raw sugar ` 448 crore during the pandemic-hit period — this means non-Basmati rice and sugar (refined and raw) together contributed ` 4,559 crore (over 95%) in total increase of agri commodities export. Though pigeon pea (tur), Bengal gram and raw groundnut oil figure at the top in percentage term increase, their contribution in value terms in total export is low compared to rice, sugar and onion during the pandemic-hit period. 2. In fact, export of Basmati rice recorded minor decline while other key commodities in India’s agri export basket such as tea and soya meal reported decline of 27% and 14%, respectively, during the first quarter of current financial year compared to the corresponding period in 2019. India’s contribution to sustaining the global food supply chain through increased export amid Covid-19 situation was noted last week during the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) 35th regional conference for Asia and the Pacific, organised by Bhutan on a virtual platform. Export of Agri Commodities Performance of key farm commodities in export basket during pandemic: April-June Items April-June 2019-20 April-June 2020-21 Change 2019-20 1. Basmati rice 8660 8591 –69 ` 20,735 cr 2. Non-Basmati rice 3408 5800 +2392 3. Refined Sugar 2144 3863 +1719 April-June 4. Raw Sugar 1168 1616 +448 2020-21 5. Tea 1406 1013 –393 ` 25,553 cr 6. Onion 810 1197 +387 751 –129 Total increase Growth 7. Soya meal 880 `4818 cr 23% (All figures in ` crore are rounded off) 3. The country’s representatives, including Union Minister of state for agriculture Parshottam Rupala, spoke how the prompt measures during the lockdown period mitigated the impact of the pandemic at a time which coincided first with the peak harvest season and subsequently with fast-paced summer sowing operations during the monsoon. 4. Analysis of the agri export figures of April-June period shows that pigeon pea recorded highest increase of 440% (from ` 15 crore last year to ` 81 crore this year) while Bengal Gram recorded an increase of 407%, groundnut oil (243%) and wheat (148%). 5. Incidentally, rice (both Basmati and non-Basmati) and sugar (refined and raw), which together account for nearly 78% of total agri export during April-June, are the two biggest water-guzzling farm commodities — a point which experts on sustainable agriculture invariable raise while pitching for micro irrigation and diversification towards less water-consuming nutri-cereals such as millets. [Source: Times of India] Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) How much amount did non-Basmati rice and sugar (refined and raw) together contribute in total increase of agri commodities export during the current session? (ii) Which country organised UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s 35th regional conference for Asia and the Pacific? (iii) As per the analysis of the agri export figures of April-June period of the session, which agri commodity recorded the highest increase in export? (iv) Which are the two biggest water-guzzling farm commodities? Practice Paper–7 n 35

(v) According to the agri export fissures of April-June period, what was the countribution of groundnut oil and wheat? (vi) Who is Parshottam Rupala? What did he speak about at the FAO’s 35th regional conference for Asia and the Pacific? (vii) Based on the table of ‘Export of Agri Commodities’, list out the commodities that showed an increase. Section B — WRITING (8 marks) e II     III. Mr and Mrs Arora of 14, Ace City, Bengaluru have decided to have a party on the occasion of sixteenth birthday of their daughter, Akshara. Write the invitation giving details of the date, time and venue. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. A pharmaceutical company requires sales officers at various locations in north India. The candidate should be a science graduate below thirty years of age. Two to three years of experience is desirable but not essential. The job requires selling the company’s products to hospital, private practitioners, and institutions. Apply for the above job stating your qualifications and experience. Write to the Zonal Manager, North, PAT India Ltd., Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. OR B. History Society of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Krishna Nagar sent a group of students to visit a place of historical interest. You, Anant/Anita, were its leader. Write a report in 120-150 words for the school newsletter on the tour, describing the place, its history, how you reached there and all that you have learnt. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Why did the blacksmith fail to notice the entry of the peddler in the forge? (ii) Where did Gandhiji want to go? What happened to him on the way? (iii) What is the cause of our ‘gloomy days’ and ‘dark spirits’? (iv) How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers different from her? (v) What kind of garden does Mr Lamb have? Why does he like it? (vi) Why did Evans not take off his hat when Jackson ordered him to do so? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (i) What problem did Roger Skunk have? How was it solved? (ii) Justify the appropriateness of the title ‘Indigo’. Give reasons to support your answer. (iii) How does Keats show his unhappiness with his fellow human beings? 36 n English Cor -X

Practice Pa er–8    p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. Philosophy of Education is a label applied to the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. It can be considered 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. 2. 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. 3. 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 emphasized the balancing of the theoretical and practical aspects of subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentions reading, writing, mathematics, music, physical education, literature, history, and a wide range of sciences, as well as play, which he also considered important. 4. 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 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. 5. 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 into 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 questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and Aristotle? (ii) Why do educationists consider philosophy a ‘weak and woolly’ field? (iii) What do you understand by the term ‘perennialism’ from the given passage? (iv) Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much emphasis on facts? (v) Who questioned the assumption that university-educated philosophers were necessarily wiser than uneducated farm workers? (vi) According to Aristotle, what is the ultimate aim of education? (vii) What did Plato believe in? (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined word with another one, from paragraph 5. He was an illiterate villager who had spent his life in the desert ploughing dust with oxen. (ix) Select a suitable phrase from paragraph 5 to complete the following sentence appropriately. The committee will critically .................... the implications of the new law. 37

II. Read the passage given below. e II   1. Hand sanitizers are everywhere. They are cheap, effective disinfectants, and many are easy to carry around. But lately, these products have been scrutinized for the potential harm they can have on children. “Many caregivers are unaware of the very high alcohol content present in alcohol-based hand sanitizers, which can contain up to 60% to 95% alcohol,” said Cynthia Santos, MD, from CDC’s National Centre for Environmental Health. “Young children may inadvertently consume these hand sanitizers because of their appealing scents, like apple, vanilla, and citrus.” Number of cases reported to NPDS about exposure to alcohol-based and non-alcohol-based hand sanitizer in children ≤ 12 years old in 2011-14. Year Alcohol Non-alcohol Total Total 65,293 (92.4%) 5376 (7.6%) 70,669 2011 15,971 (92.5%) 1286 (7.5%) 17,257 2012 16,571 (92.4%) 1355 (7.6%) 17,926 2013 16,423 (92.5%) 1338 (7.5%) 17,761 2014 16,328 (92.1%) 1397 (7.9%) 17,725 2. In a new report from CDC researchers analysed data reported to the National Poison Data System (NPDS) from 2011–14 on exposures to alcohol-based and non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers in children who were 12 years old or younger. A total of 70,669 hand sanitizer exposures in this age group were reported to NPDS, including 65,293 (92.4%) alcohol-based exposures and 5,376 (7.6%) non-alcohol-based exposures. 3. Adverse health effects were more likely to be reported for alcohol-based hand sanitizer exposures, and they tended to be worse than those for non-alcohol-based hand sanitizer exposures. “Younger kids are more susceptible to adverse effects from these products because there is not as much glycogen in their liver,” said Greene Shepherd, clinical professor at the University Of North Carolina Eshelman School Of Pharmacy. 4. The most common type of adverse health effects for both alcohol- and non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers were ocular irritation, vomiting, conjunctivitis, oral irritation, cough, and abdominal pain. Rare effects included coma, seizure, hypoglycaemia, metabolic acidosis, and respiratory depression. 5. The researchers stratified the NPDS data into two age groups: 0 to 5 years and 6 to 12 years. They looked only at exposures to ethanol-based sanitizers, isopropanol-based sanitizers, and non-alcohol-based sanitizers—no NPDS reported calls about coexposures to other agents were included in the analysis. Most exposures—91%—occurred in children aged 5 years or younger. Children aged 6 to 12 years had more intentional exposures, a finding the report authors said could indicate that these products are being abused among older children. Shepherd said that abuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be equivalent to consuming roughly 120-proof liquor. 6. Patients, parents, and caregivers should be informed about the potential dangers associated with alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The report stated that alcohol-based hand sanitizers should be used under adult supervision with proper child safety precautions and stored out of reach of young children to reduce unintended, adverse consequences. Washing hands with soap and water when available, is currently the recommended method of hand hygiene in non-health-care settings. If soap and water are not available, use of a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol is recommended, or a non-alcohol-based hand sanitizer or wipe can be used. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) According to the passage, what does the National Poison Data System (NPDS) report on children under the age of 12 highlight? (ii) Which word in para 1 has a similar meaning to ‘inspected’? (iii) Why do young children unknowingly consume hand sanitizers? (iv) How much alcohol does CDC recommend for use in alcohol-based hand sanitizers? (v) Mention the common types of adverse effects for both alchohol and non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. (vi) State a valid reason for the popularity of using hand sanitizers as disinfectants. (vii) Who is Greene Shepherd? What did he say regarding the effect on younger kids? 38 n English Cor -X

Section B — WRITING (8 marks) III. You are Rahul/Neha. You have been invited by the Youth Club of your locality to act as one of the judges for an inter-school group-song competition organised by the club. But unfortunately you cannot accept this invitation due to a previous engagement. Write to the secretary of the club regretting your inability to accept the invitation. (1 × 3 = 3)     IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. You are Ankit/Amrita, staying at 4, Pycrofts Road, Chennai. You have come across an advertisement in The Times of India for recruitment of computer engineer trainees by Shivam Software. Apply in response to this advertisement, giving your detailed bio-data (curriculum vitae). Invent all necessary details. OR B. You are a press reporter. Recently Delhi reeled under a heavy fog for 22 days. This resulted in cancellation of many trains and air-flights. Passengers were stranded at the Palam Airport and Indira Gandhi Airport. Write a report in 120-150 words highlighting the plight of the stranded passengers. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) Why was the peddler surprised when he knocked at the door of the cottage? (ii) How did the development of synthetic indigo affect the English estate owners and the Indian tenants? (iii) How do we bind ourselves to the earth every morning? (iv) What are the difficulties that Aunt Jennifer faced in her life? (v) What is mother Skunk’s role in the story? (vi) What were the contents of the small brown suitcase that McLeery carried? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Comment on the ending of the play ‘On The Face Of It’. How far do you find it effective? (ii) What is the theme of the story ‘The Rattrap’ ? How has this theme been developed? (iii) Elaborate the theme and message of the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”. Practice Paper–8 n 39

Practice Pa er–9     p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. Gandhi never urged anyone to renounce wealth or power. He taught a set of values that might make happiness less dependant on material possessions. “As long as you desire inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it,” he suggested tolerantly. Otherwise, he said, you might renounce a worldly asset ‘in a mood of self-sacrifice or out of a stern sense of duty’ but want it back and suffer. 2. “I wholeheartedly detest,” Gandhi declared, “this mad desire to destroy distance and time, to increase animal appetites, and to go to the ends of the earth in search of their satisfaction. None of this is taking the world a step nearer its goal.” 3. Gandhi is known for his successful efforts to liberate India. Actually, for him the development of the Indian into a free man was more important than the freeing of India. Most of Gandhi’s followers in India were not Gandhians and did not share his ideals; they mere accepted his leadership because it smoothed the way to their objective which was an Indian nation without the British but with all the usual attributes of nationhood. For them, national independence was an end, a goal in itself: for him it was a means to a better man and better life, and because his heart was heavy with doubts whether these purposes would be furthered by the manner in which independence was achieved—two bleeding children torn violently from the body of mother India—he did not celebrate on August 15, 1947, the day the Indian nation came into his own world—he was sad and refused congratulations. 4. Gandhi was a nationalist, he loved India, but he was no Indo-maniac. He said he would not hurt England to help India. All the years he fought British-Boer racial discrimination in South Africa and British imperialism in India; he never despised or revised ‘the enemy’. He wanted to understand them. The British in India were victims of their past. In liberating India Gandhi thought he was also freeing England for a new future. 5. For mental health, Gandhi prescribed truth. He brought for himself a unity of what he believed, what he did and what he said. Creed, deed and word for one. This is the integration which is integrity or truth. When utterances conflict with actions and actions with beliefs the individual is split, and sick. Gandhi preached what he practised and practised what he believed. I found him healthy, happy, and light-hearted despite his many sorrows and burdens. He enjoyed inner harmony. 6. ‘Perhaps’, the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote of Gandhi, ‘he will not succeed. Perhaps he will fail as the Buddha failed and as Christ failed to wean men from their iniquities, but he will always be remembered as one who made his life a lesson for all ages to come.’ —Louis Fischer Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What idea did Gandhi express about wealth or power? (ii) How did Gandhi interpret free men? (iii) Why is Gandhi compared with Buddha and Christ? (iv) What are the requirements of getting inner happiness? (v) Why did Gandhiji fight for national independence? (vi) Most of Gandhiji’s followers accepted his leadership. Explain why. (vii) “Fischer found Gandhiji healthy, happy and light-hearted.” Comment on this statement. (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined word with another one, from paragraph 1. These groups must reject violence if there is to be progress towards peace. 40

(ix) “Gandhi was a nationalist, but he didn’t want to hurt England to help India.” Elaborate the statement as per your understanding of the passage. II. Read the passage given below. 1. Changes in portion sizes, energy contents and nutrient profiles of fast foods over the last 30 years show how these have led to lifestyle diseases. 2. Till now, research has revolved around trans-fat, high intake of sugars and salt leading to cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, etc. However, according to a study, by Boston University and Tufts University, comparison between the portion size and calorie intake from fast food, between 1986 and 2016, shows a drastic increase in all the parameters. 3. However, there has been an increase in levels of calcium and iron, especially in desserts, according to the study that looked at fast food brands like, McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and KFC. On average per decade, the daily value of calcium increased by 3.9 per cent in desserts and the daily value of iron increased 1.4 per cent. 4. Even though this rise could be good for treating anemia and calcium deficiency, “people should not be consuming fast food to get more calcium and iron in their diet because of the high calories and sodium that come along with it,” Megan McCrory, lead author of the study, was quoted as saying in a report. 5. The report analyzed 1,787 menu items and grouped the items into — entrées, sides, and desserts. It notes that while entrées gained an average of 30 calories per decade, sides did not increase much in calories but became saltier. 6. It assumes importance as nearly 36 per cent of adults in the US consume fast food. “Between 1986 and 2016, the number of items offered on restaurant menus grew a staggering 226 per cent, an average of 22.9 items per year. Along with the menu expansions, researchers found that portion sizes and calories had increased as well,” McCrory was quoted as saying. Advent of fast food in India 7. In India, increase in disposable income has in turn increased the frequency of dinning out. Big fast-food chains like McDonald’s came to India in 1996, and soon other big outlets like Dominos, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc., followed suit, according to a study by AIIMS, Bangalore.    8. According to another report, Indian fast-food market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent by 2020 due to changing consumer behaviour and demography. This indicates that India is sailing in the same boat as US when it comes to fast food consumption. The latest findings should be taken as a benchmark and, we should work towards cutting down fast-food consumption in order to lead a healthy life. [From The Times Of India - Delhi e-Edition of 2/16/2021] Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) What are the prominent lifestyle ailments? (ii) What does iron intake help to treat? (iii) In which year the number of Indians not visiting fast food restaurants were the highest? (iv) Why is India said to follow the example of US in respect of fast-food consumption? Practice Paper–9 n 41

(v) Where did the new areas of investigation focus on? (vi) In spite of the increased presence of iron and calcium, why are fast foods considered harmful? (vii) Traditionally, fast foods attracted research attention for what? Section B — WRITING (8 marks) e II     III. You are the Secretary of the Old Students’ Association, Mayo School, Ajmer. The 20th Alumni Meet will be held on Sunday, 28th Sept. 20×× at 8.00 p.m. at Palace Hotel. Write invitation letters to all the old students of the school to attend the meet. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. You are Chetan Sharma, a commerce graduate from Delhi University. You are seeking a suitable job. You come across an advertisement in The Times of India, inviting young and dynamic fresh graduates as sales assistants in a reputed company. Apply for the said job to Box No. 8365, C/o The Times of India, New Delhi. OR B. Recently, the protest of bus-operators against the banning of diesel driven buses brought transport to a standstill. Describing the plight of the harassed commuters—school children, office-goers, patients, old and sick persons, write a report in about 120-150 words for a newspaper. You are Nidhi/Manoj. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) How did the peddler react when he saw that the ironmaster had recognized him as Nils Olof, an old regimental comrade? (ii) Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers? (iii) Why and how is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead’? (iv) How has Aunt Jennifer created her tigers? What traits of tigers do they reveal? (v) How, according to Derry, do people try to console those suffering from some physical impairment? (vi) Jackson had thoroughly searched Evans’s cell for two hours the previous evening. How then was Evans able to disguise himself as a parson? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) Why did Jack conduct the ‘story–session’ and what story did he tell? How did he ensure active participation of the listener in the development of the story? (ii) Why did Raj Kumar Shukla invite Gandhiji to Champaran? How did Gandhiji solve the problem of the indigo farmers? (iii) Read the given extract from an article published in The Hindu: “Turn your pain into art”: It’s a phrase most of us have heard before... The theory that achieving something great requires suffering dates back to ancient times... Pain, however, is less an artistic necessity and more a result of “contagion” – a term used for the spreading of a harmful idea or practice... Do you think Aunt Jennifer “turned her pain into art”? What kind of “contagion” might her pain be a result of? 42 n English Cor -X

Practice Pa er–10     p Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. 1. Floods are not new to India and this sub-continent, but in recent years the problem has received much greater attention perhaps largely because it has led to much greater damage than in the past. Even though information on the impending occurrence of floods is now more accurate and certainly more timely, often there is very little time or support infrastructure in place by which damage can be minimized. This is particularly true in the case of flash floods resulting from sudden and excessively heavy rain. 2. In the case of India flooding is very much a function of the seasonal nature of our rainfall. The monsoons are spread over a short period during the year and often bring a concentrated volume of rain, which cannot be absorbed by the earth and finds outlet only in the form of streams that join up with our major river systems. But, flooding is not confined only to the main rivers of the country, often smaller tributaries and streams can cause heavy damage as well. Once these streams spill over their banks they could cause excessive harm, mainly because those living near the banks of these streams particularly in mountain areas do not have easy recourse to moving away quickly. 3. One major factor that could lead to a higher severity of flooding in the future is the danger of climate change. While the evidence of the nature of impacts resulting from climate change on precipitation and flooding at the regional level is not entirely clear, it could happen that the Indian subcontinent witnesses and suffers the effects of a significantly changed pattern of monsoons. One set of scientists has estimated that the monsoons could be shorter in duration, but far more intensive. In other words, much greater precipitation would take place in a much shorter period of time, thereby increasing the danger of floods. Climate change is the result of human actions through the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, of which carbon dioxide is the most prominent. 4. At the local level also human actions have heightened the danger of flood through the cutting of trees in the mountains as well as in the plains. In the case of India, the ecological damage through deforestation of the Himalayas has led to large-scale erosion of the mountain slopes and high levels of siltation. This leads to deposition of silt on the riverbeds in the plains and hence spill over of water whenever the volume in the river reaches a certain level. With siltation on the river beds, flooding occurs even at very shallow water levels. The vulnerability of the population has increased substantially because of population pressures, symbolized, for instance, by the stubborn and perhaps helpless settling of slum-dwellers on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi, which is merely a trickle most of the year, but bursting its banks during the monsoons as has been the case this year. 5. Flood forecasting is critical to minimizing the damage from floods. It is for this reason that the Central Water Commission has set up a network of forecasting stations, which cover the most important flood prone inter state rivers in the country. These stations produce forecasts that are used to alert the public and to mobilize various official agencies so that they take both preventive as well as relief measures whenever required. However, even in cases where forecasts have been timely and generally accurate, people have often been reluctant to move away, because in most cases they lack the means and physical options for moving away from a danger zone to one that is relatively safe. In the case of flash floods, forecasts are difficult to make, and often the time available for relief is very short. —R.K. Pachauri—The Hindustan Times [adapted] Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8) (i) What is the impact of flash floods? 43

e II (ii) How do rivers and streams worsen the damage? (iii) What do the scientists predict about the monsoon? (iv) What is the main reason of climate change? (v) India suffers from flood during monsoons. Why? (vi) Why slum-dwellers are the worst hit people? (vii) Why flood forecasting is important? Provide a valid reason. (viii) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined word with another one, from paragraph 2. See those timbers right at the top that come together in a point? (ix) How human actions have heightened the danger of flood in India? II. Read the passage given below. 1. Geopolitical tensions between India and China and the rise of local developers have resulted in Indian apps holding a larger chunk of the overall market at the cost of Chinese options. 2. The share of installs of Chinese apps slipped to 29% in 2020 from 38% in 2019, a report by analytics firm Apps- Flyer said. Indian apps leveraged this opportunity by dominating the install volume with 39% share in 2020. 3. China’s loss was also captured by apps from Israel, the US, Russia, and Germany. These countries made further inroads too into India’s rapidly growing app market, the report noted. 4. “With app marketers increasingly expanding their remit to cover tier-2 and tier-3 regions, the demand from semi- urban areas is firing up India’s app consumption. In this highly diverse and fragmented marketplace, personalized content is critical to engage and retain customers,” Sanjay Trisal, country manager, Apps Flyer India, said. 5. States with semi-urban areas emerged as the sweet spot for mobile usage, the study showed. Around 85% of app installs came from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. With people spending more time at home, dependency on apps increased on the one hand. But, on the other, it also meant that users had more time to de-clutter their phones and remove unwanted apps. 6. In an indication of cut-throat competition across verticals, retention rate (number of users using the app after a certain number of days) dipped and day-1 uninstall rates (number of times users uninstalled the app on the day of install itself) increased. For an average app, overall retention rate across verticals fell this year by around 12% as marketing budgets were slashed due to the pandemic, the report said. While on day one, the retention rate of apps was at 22.3% this dipped to 1.7% by day 30, the study showed. 7. Indian app users continued to prefer apps that take up less space on phones, consume less data, and are more seamless to use in spotty connectivity. 44 n English Cor -X

8. Overall, day-1 uninstall rates stood at 27% (marginally up from 26% last year). This was higher for gaming, food and finance apps at 32%, 32% and 30%, respectively. 9. While most players in India’s nascent app economy prioritize new user acquisition over retention, without a retention strategy, companies are essentially spending resources with no benefit, analysts said. Apps Flyer’s study analyzed 7.3 billion installs recorded in India between January 1 and November 30, 2020 covering 4,519 apps across verticals. [From The Times Of India - Delhi e-Edition of 2/16/2021] Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) (i) What does the article mainly convey? (ii) The share of Chinese Apps slipped. Why? (iii) How is the performance of an App rated? (iv) Retention of Apps over longer periods is important for their companies. Why? (v) In 2019, in terms of percentage of installs of top 200 Apps, the highest share was held by whom? (vi) According to the article, what is Apps-Flyer? (vii) As per the study, which states have been considered the sweet spot for mobile usage? Section B — WRITING (8 marks)       III. You have received an invitation from your aunt at Manali to spend some days during your summer vacation with her. Respond to this invitation. You are Madhav/Manisha, of 27, Patel Nagar, New Delhi. (1 × 3 = 3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (1 × 5 = 5) A. You are Rohan Khanna of 149 Circular Road, Panipat. Write an application to the Manager, D.A.V. Senior Secondary School, Panipat in response to an advertisement for the post of a music teacher in that school. OR B. A school boy of fifteen displayed remarkable nobility and heroism in rescuing men, women and children trapped in an overturned bus. After rescuing them he also arranged for their hospitalization. As Vineeta/Vipin, write a report in 120-150 words for publication in a newspaper. Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10) (i) What did the ironmaster assume to be the reason behind his old comrade’s refusal? How did he try to reassure him? (ii) Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran? (iii) According to the poet, human beings love life in spite of all the suffering. Why? (iv) What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead? (v) Why did Roger Skunk visit the owl? What did the owl advise him? (vi) What was the importance of the two phone calls the Governor received after a quarter of an hour of the start of the examination? VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) What is the theme of the play ‘On The Face Of It’? How has it been worked out? (ii) Do you think the title of the story ‘The Rattrap’ is appropriate? Give reasons to support your answer. (iii) What depresses the soul of human beings? How does beauty help us when we are burdened with grief? Practice Paper–10 n 45

Practice Pa er–11     p [CBSE SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER – 2021-22] Time Allowed: 2 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 40 General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections—READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. Section A — READING (14 marks) I. Read the passage given below. I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 5 on the Connecticut coast, where I lived. So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 10 humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very stupid. 15 But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 20 The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, “Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 25 shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks in a very benign light. I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 30 ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the sea grass beds. Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. 46

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine given below. (1 × 8 = 8)            (i) Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer’s post-Jaws fear was not justified. 1 (ii) State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason for your choice. 1 (iii) People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people think that he was ‘very stupid’? 1 (iv) Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least afraid of them? 1 (v) Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, from lines 10 – 20. 1 Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or wrong issue. (vi) What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s viewpoint about the tiger sharks? 1 (vii) Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence appropriately. 1 I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next time after they get this tournament .................... . (viii) Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger sharks are apex predators? 1 (ix) Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empowers tiger sharks to emerge winners if global warming persists. 1 II. Read the passage given below. Changing food preferences have brought about rapid changes in the structure of the Indian diet. The rapid proliferation of multinational fast- food companies and the influence of Western culture have replaced traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods thus 5 increasing the risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Therefore, nurturing healthy eating habits among Indians from an early age would help to reduce health risks. To date, little is known about the quality and quantity of foods and beverages consumed by urban Indian adolescents. This lack of evidence 10 is a significant barrier to the development of effective nutrition promotion and disease prevention measures. Therefore, a self-administered, semi-quantitative, 59-item meal-based food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess the dietary intake of adolescents. A total of 1026 students (aged 14–16 years) attending 15 private, English-speaking schools in Kolkata completed the survey. A sample percentage of the food consumption pattern is displayed (Fig. 1) Practice Paper–11 n 47

The survey results report poor food consumption patterns and highlights the need to design healthy eating initiatives. Interestingly, while there were no gender differences in the consumption of legumes and fried snacks, the survey found more females consumed cereals, vegetables and fruits than 20 their male counterparts. In conclusion, the report suggested that schools ought to incorporate food literacy concepts into their curriculum as they have the potential of increasing the fruit and vegetable intake in teenagers. Additionally, 25 healthy school canteen policies with improved availability, accessibility, variety and affordability of healthy food choices would support the consumption of nutritious food in students. Adapted from: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-017-0272-3 Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven questions given below. (1 × 6 = 6) e II            (i) What does the researcher mean by ‘changing food preferences’? 1 (ii) Why was this survey on the food consumption of adolescents undertaken? 1 (iii) With reference to fig.1, write one conclusion about students’ consumption of energy-dense drinks. 1 (iv) What can be concluded by the ‘no intake’ data of fruit consumption versus energy dense snacks, with reference to fig.1? 1 (v) There were no gender differences observed in the consumption of healthy foods, according to the survey. Substantiate. 1 (vi) Why is ‘affordability’ recommended as a significant feature of a school canteen policy? 1 (vii) Identify a word from lines 9 - 18 indicating that the questionnaire was specifically designed to be completed by a respondent without the intervention of the researcher collecting the data. 1 Section B — WRITING (8 marks) III. You are Natasha, residing in Pune. Your cousin, from the same city is hosting your grandmother’s eightieth birth anniversary and has extended an invite to you. He has also requested your assistance for arrangements needed. Draft a reply of acceptance, in not more than 50 words. (3) IV. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (5) A. You are Shantanu, residing at Ghar B-94, Balimela Road, Malkangiri. You come across the following classified advertisement in a local daily. Write a letter, in about 120-150 words, applying for the position of a volunteer for the Each One Teach One campaign. SITUATION VACANT WANTED committed volunteers, aged 18 years and above, to teach underprivileged children, for one hour a week, in the district of Malkangiri. Ability to speak, read and write Odiya fluently, important. Experience not necessary. All volunteers to receive training. Contact Nethra N, Coordinator (Each One Teach One), 4Literacy, Ambaguda, Malkangiri, Odisha -764045 OR B. The efforts of 400 volunteers working with the NGO, 4Literacy, in the district of Malkangiri, Odisha, was lauded by the District Collector, Shri V. Singh (IAS). As a staff reporter of ‘The Odisha Bhaskar’, write a report about this in 120-150 words covering all the details, such as training, teaching and infrastructure involved in the ‘Each One Teach One’ campaign, initiated by the district administration in association with the NGO. 48 n English Cor -X

Section C — LITERATURE (18 marks) V. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. (2 × 5 = 10)            (i) A mistaken identity led to a discovery of a new one for the rattrap peddler. How did this impact him? 2 (ii) As the host of a talk show, introduce Rajkumar Shukla to the audience by stating any two of his defining qualities. You may begin your answer like this: 2 Meet Rajkumar Shukla, the man who played a pivotal in the Champaran Movement. He ..... (iii) Adrienne Rich chose to express her silent revolt through her poem, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, just as Aunt Jennifer did with her embroidery. Explain. 2 (iv) Rationalize why Keats uses the metaphor ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ in his poem, A Thing of Beauty. 2 (v) How do you think Derry’s mother contributes to his sense of alienation and isolation? (On the Face of It) 2 (vi) Validate John Updike’s open-ended title, Should Wizard Hit Mommy? 2 VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 = 8) (i) How does Keats’ poem, A Thing of Beauty appeal richly to the senses, stimulating the reader’s inner sight as well as the sense of touch and smell? Write your answer in about 120-150 words. 4 (ii) Colin Dexter, the author of Evans Tries an O-level employs the red herring technique of intentionally misleading readers by placing false clues to keep the plot enigmatic. Substantiate with reference to text, in about 120-150 words. 4 (iii) Biographies include features of non-fiction texts – factual information and different text structures such as description, sequence, comparison, cause and effect, or problem and solution. Examine Indigo in the light of this statement, in about 120-150 words. 4 Practice Paper–11 n 49