_ISC PAPER~2018 ENGLISH-I (Three hours) (Attempt all four questions) (Candidates are allowed additional 15 minutes for only reading the paper. They must NOT start writing during this time.) The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets (}. (You are advised to spend not more than 50 minutes on Question 1, 40 minutes on Question 2,30 minutes on Question 3 and I hour on Question 4). (You should begin each answer on a fresh page.) Question 1. Write a composition (in approximately 450-500 words) on any one of the following subjects : [30] (You are reminded that you will be rewarded for orderly and coherent presentation of material, use of appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar.) (a) You have recently moved to a new neighbourhood in your city. Describe the new neighbourhood, comparing it to the one you have just left. (b) Relate something unpleasant that happened to you during your childhood that nevertheless helped you to grow up and mature. (©) ‘The end justifies the means.’ Argue for or against the statement. (a) ‘Appearances can be deceptive’ . Give your views on the topic. (©) Dreams. (© Write a short story that ends with the words : .- really doubt if things could have turned out any better.” Answer 1. (a) | NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD IN COMPARING TO THE OLD WE LEFT Having recently moved to Marathahalli, Bangalore, I often reminisce the things I cherished in Hennur and all that I miss now in Marathahalli. I still remember the days I learnt to tide my bicycle, enjoying the days riding around the colony. The cotony where we lived was a very beautiful and idyllic place, away from the city with lots.of blossoming trees. | remember that alternate streets had different coloured flowering trees. They were bright yellow and lavender shaded flowers. One could literally walk on the carpet of flowers. We enjoyed picking flowers, climbing trees, chasing friends around the park, playing ball, chatting with friends and playing with puppies that were plenty as many of our neighbours had dogs as pets. So very often there were new set of puppies to play with. It was at a stage where I was not worried about a million things that might bother others. I enjoyed school and had plenty of vacation and holidays. The one thing, I enjoyed the most was the space around the colony that allowed us to gallivant and relax without getting our parents worried. 10 a aS en NR B0 ry (|| 10YearsQuestionPaper.comIn comparison, the place we have moved to this year is an apartment, where there is not much space around our buildings, let alone nature. The well-built closed community sure has better roads and well-trimmed gardens, but it is nothing like the previous neighborhood where we were surrounded by untamed nature The most important thing that I miss are my friends. As we have moved recently, [have only made a few friends and I am yet to know the others. They are nice, but I still remember the crazy things we would do there such as shake the tamarind tree, eat the fresh and sour tamarind. We would run away laughing when the old uncle would come after us, yelling at us to stop the ruckus we were creating. Nothing ever stopped us from having that togethemess and fun. On the other hand, I like our house here as we live on the 10th floor of our building which has a great view of the city around us and the crisp cold air in winters that makes me want to snuggle a littte longer in bed. I love having my own room. I am enjoying the summer holidays now as much as I can and I hope I get better acquainted with my new neighbourhood, make new friends as I await joining my new school and have great experiences. (b) UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE OF CHILDHOOD This happened when I was in school, when buses were the major way of commuting from place to place. It reminds me of days where I had to wait under the crowded and dirty bus stands. I still remember the day when as a family we had to travel from Dindigut to Oddanchatram, both fairly smal] towns in Tamil Nadu. It was a hot aftemoon, when we were standing under the crowded Dindigul Bus- stand, waiting for the bus to come. My father got us some cold drinks to cool us down during that hot summer day. While my father was moving around to find the right bus, he took us near a bus that we thought was the correct bus. I climbed the bus, thinking the rest of the family got in with me. I suddenly realized I was alone. I started to panic. On the other hand, my father started Jooking around for me, climbing every bus in the stand. It took him about twenty minutes to find me. Both my parents were in distress and were frantically looking around for me. At the same time, I got off the bus looking for them. It seemed like an eternity for all of us as we kept searching for each other. Finally. we found each other and were relieved and scared at the same time, thinking of what could have happened. My parents were terrified and gave me a good scolding for not being conscious enough to be with them, hold hands and stick together. We then travelied to Oddanchatram and later took another bus to reach home. I felt guilty for a very long time Uiinking how I had been careless and foolish by not being with my family. I learnt the importance of staying together when one is in a crowded place and never let go of one’s family. It scares me when I think of it even now and wonder that it was a miracle that all turned out well in the end. So, now whenever I travel in a group with friends or family I always look out for everyone and keep a check if they are around. Thave learnt great things since then but most importantly to be careful and stay safe, I wish for every child that they stay together whenever they travel with family and friends and be safe. 19. sc B RD Xll 10YearsQuestionPaper.com (QUESTION PAPER.COM() THE END JUSTIFYES THE MEANS @® FOR THE MOTION The phrase “The end justifies the means” can be defined as a good outcome excuses wrongs committed to attain it. The phrase is attributed to one of the major political thinkers Niccolo Machiavelli. ‘The phrase makes it clear that one can engage in wrong things if in the end it is justifiable and noble. For example, in Tamil, there is a saying, one can tell a thousand lies to make a wedding happen. People for long have followed this maxim, when families lic about various details pertaining to the character and capabilities of the boy or girl to the other party. The girl’s family might state that their girl is excellent in singing or playing musical instruments and a wonderful cook when in reality these things might not be entirely true. The parents and relatives often justify saying it is important that good alliances are formed for a good family life. In this case, it becomes necessary as the happiness of a generation depends on few lies or half-truths spoken about the boy or girl or about the families as a whole. It becomes imperative in order to be married into the right family so as to avoid future issues. Another simple example which many might identify with are braces for teeth. Braces are messy, uncomfortable and difficult to maintain with food getting stuck in them and anyone who has worn them would vouch for this. But the end result is all worth it with perfectly straight teeth. The straight teeth definitely justify the whole ordeal. It would also be appropriate to add at this juncture that one might fight and also harm another person, if that person intended to harm their family. Anyone fierce enough to protect their loved ones will take a step to harm anyone in their way. In such a case, the end justifies the means. In conclusion, it would be right to say that in many situations and events, the end justifies the means. (1) AGAINST THE MOTION Brutus justified that Caesar had to be assassinated for the greater good of Rome and all that he did was root out over-reaching ambition. But that did not end well with Brutus as he was killed by the angry mob who were kindled by Mark Anthony’ speech and it set the ball rolling as all the leaders involved in the killing of Caesar ended being killed themselves after the battle. Here the end, that is the future of Rome, did not bode well for neither the leader nor the citizens as there was more trouble than ever before. The means to attain greatness for Rome could not be justified either. The end cannot justify the means as killing or assassinations do not solve any critical situations in a country. _ Often in history we find that people have done various things such as assassinations because they believed that they doing the country a greater good by killing certain men or even the thousands of people. For example, Joseph Stalin justified the death of tens of millions of his people as he felt that ‘the population was too large to be effective in the building of the nation and support communism. Does this act bring about growth in the country? It seems to be an apparent yes, but in reality killing innocent lives cannot bring about greater good as there has been so much bloodshed and turmoil in Russia and not all problems have been solved. Mass killing or ethnic cleansing has happened in many countries all 10. sc il ARD Xll 10YearsQuestionPaper.com (QUESTION PAPER.COM