AL HIRA MODEL SCHOOL

MARKS 80 ENGLISH TIME- 3 HRS

CLASS XII
MID TERM 1

Q1. Read the following comprehension and answer the questions that follow:

Bakelite
1. In 1907, Leo Hendrick Baekeland, a Belgian scientist working in New York,
discovered and patented a revolutionary new synthetic material. His
invention, which he named ‘Bakelite’, was of enormous technological
importance, and effectively launched the modern plastics industry.
2. The term ‘plastic’ comes from the Greek plassein, meaning ‘to mold’. Some
plastics are derived from natural sources; some are semi-synthetic (the
result of chemical action on a natural substance), and some are entirely
synthetic, that is, chemically engineered from the constituents of coal or oil.
Some are ‘thermoplastic’, which means that, like candlewax, they melt when
heated and can then be reshaped. Others are ‘thermosetting’: like eggs, they
cannot revert to their original viscous state, and their shape is thus fixed
forever. Bakelite had the distinction of being the first totally synthetic
thermosetting plastic.
3. The history of today’s plastics begins with the discovery of a series of semi
synthetic thermoplastic materials in the mid-nineteenth century. The
impetus behind the development of these early plastics was generated by a
number of factors – immense technological progress in the domain of
chemistry, coupled with wider cultural changes, and the pragmatic need to
find acceptable substitutes for dwindling supplies of ‘luxury’ materials such
as tortoiseshell and ivory.
4. Baekeland’s interest in plastics began in 1885 when, as a young chemistry
student in Belgium, he embarked on research into phenolic resins, the group
of sticky substances produced when phenol (carbolic acid) combines with
an aldehyde (a volatile fluid similar to alcohol). He soon abandoned the
subject, however, only returning to it some years later. By 1905 he was a
wealthy New Yorker, having recently made his fortune with the invention
of a new photographic paper. While Baekeland had been busily amassing
dollars, some advances had been made in the development of plastics. The
years 1899 and 1900 had seen the patenting of the first semi-synthetic
thermosetting material that could be manufactured on an industrial scale.
In purely scientific terms, Baekeland’s major contribution to the field is not
so much the actual discovery of the material to which he gave his name, but
rather the method by which a reaction between phenol and formaldehyde
could be controlled, thus making possible its preparation on a commercial
basis. On 13 July 1907, Baekeland took out his famous patent describing this
preparation, the essential features of which are still in use today.
5. The original patent outlined a three-stage process, in which phenol and
formaldehyde (from wood or coal) were initially combined under vacuum
inside a large egg-shaped kettle. The result was a resin known as Novalak,
which became soluble and malleable when heated. The resin was allowed
to cool in shallow trays until it hardened, and then broken up and ground
into powder. Other substances were then introduced: including fillers, such
as woodflour, asbestos or cotton, which increase strength and moisture
resistance, catalysts (substances to speed up the reaction between two
chemicals without joining to either) and hexa, a compound of ammonia and
formaldehyde which supplied the additional formaldehyde necessary to
form a thermosetting resin. This resin was then left to cool and harden, and
ground up a second time. The resulting granular powder was raw Bakelite,
ready to be made into a vast range of manufactured objects. In the last stage,
the heated Bakelite was poured into a hollow mold of the required shape
and subjected to extreme heat and pressure; thereby ‘setting’ its form for
life.
6. The design of Bakelite objects, everything from earrings to television sets,
was governed to a large extent by the technical requirements of the
molding process. The object could not be designed so that it was locked
into the mold and therefore difficult to extract. A common general rule was
that object should taper towards the deepest part of the mold, and if
necessary the product was molded in separate pieces. Molds had to be
carefully designed so that the molten Bakelite would flow evenly and
completely into the mold. Sharp corners proved impractical and were thus
avoided, giving rise to the smooth, ‘streamlined’ style popular in the 1930s.
The thickness of the walls of the mold was also crucial: thick walls took
longer to cool and harden, a factor which had to be considered by the
designer in order to make the most efficient use of machines.
7. Baekeland’s invention, although treated with disdain in its early years, went
on to enjoy an unparalleled popularity which lasted throughout the first half
of the twentieth century. It became the wonder product of the new world of
industrial expansion — ‘the material of a thousand uses. Being both non-
porous and heat-resistant, Bakelite kitchen goods were promoted as being
germ-free and sterilizable. Electrical manufacturers seized on its insulating:
properties, and consumers everywhere relished its dazzling array of shades,
delighted that they were now, at last, no longer restricted to the wood tones
and drab browns of the pre-plastic era. It then fell from favour again during
the 1950s, and was despised and destroyed in vast quantities. Recently,
however, it has been experiencing something of a renaissance, with renewed
demand for original Bakelite objects in the collectors’ marketplace, and
museums, societies and dedicated individuals once again appreciating the
style and originality of this innovative material.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer each of the
questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option. (10x1=10)

Questions 1 - 3
Complete the summary using the respective list of options below the same.
Some plastics behave in a similar way to (1)……………….. in that they melt
under heat and can be molded into new forms. Bakelite was unique
because it was the first material to be both entirely (2) ……………….. in
origin and thermosetting. There were several reasons for the research into
plastics in the nineteenth century, among them the great advances that had
been made in the field of (3) ……………….. and the search for alternatives
to natural resources like ivory.
1. (a) coal (b) oil (c) wax (d) egg
2. (a) soluble (b) synthetic (c) viscous (d) original
3. (a) phenolics (b) aldehydes (c) synthetics (d) plastics
Questions 4 – 7
Complete the flow-chart by choosing the most appropriate word from the
choices the follow.

4. (a) Novalak (b) Bakelite (c) Arsenic (d) Formaldehyde

5. (a) Granules (b) Resins (c) Fillers (d) Hexa
6. (a) Granules (b) Resins (c) Fillers (d) Hexa
7. (a) Raw (b) Synthetic (c)Manmade (d) Baked
8. (a) pressure (b) heat (c) pour (d) mould
Questions 9 - 10
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage?
Write: TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this statement
9. Modern-day plastic preparation is based on the same principles as that
patented in 1907.
(a) TRUE (b) FALSE (c) NOT GIVEN
10. Bakelite was only available in a limited range of colours.
(a) TRUE (b) FALSE (c) NOT GIVEN
Q. 2 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: (10)
Donated Organs and their Transportation
1. Once an organ donor’s family gives its consent and the organs are matched to a
recipient, medical professionals are faced with the onerous challenge of transporting
organs while ensuring that the harvested organ reaches its
destination in the shortest possible time. This is done in order to preserve the
harvested organs and involves the police and especially the traffic police
department.
2. The traditional method of transporting organs by road is referred to as a ‘green
corridor’. This process entails police escorting an ambulance, so as to move around
traffic – usually a specific traffic lane is chosen and all signals on the route stay
green to ensure it reaches its destination in the shortest possible time. A green
corridor is a route cleared and cordoned off by the traffic police to ensure the
smooth and steady transportation of harvested organs, on most occasions, to those
awaiting a life-saving transplant. Organs tend to have a very short preservation
time, such as the heart, which has to be harvested and transplanted within four
hours or the lungs, which can be preserved for only six hours once they are
harvested.
3. The first green corridor in India was created by the Chennai Traffic Police in
September 2008 when they accomplished their task of enabling an ambulance to
reach its destination within 11 minutes during peak hour traffic. That organ saved
a nine-year-old girl whose life depended on the transplant.
4. Similarly, such green corridors have been created by traffic police of various
cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, etc. Personnel are stationed at selected
points to divert, control and clear the traffic giving way to the ambulance. Apart
from this, a motorcade of police vehicles accompanies the ambulance ensuring that
it does not face any problems. Delhi Traffic Police provided a green corridor from
IGI Airport to the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in Vasant Kunj for
transportation of a liver. The distance of 14 kms was covered in 11 minutes.
5. Experts point out the lack of a robust system to transport organs to super
specialty hospitals in least possible time. The National Organ and Tissue
Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), the country’s apex organ donation agency, is
now framing a proposal to airlift cadaver organs and will send a report to the
Union Health Ministry. ‘‘Cadaver organs have a short life and so transplant should
be done within a few golden hours,’’ Director (NOTTO) expressed. ‘‘Therefore, we
are preparing a proposal for airlifting organs at any given moment.’’
6. Most States do not have enough well-trained experts to retrieve or perform
transplant procedures. Also, there is an acute shortage of advanced healthcare
facilities to carry out a transplant. So, it is referred to other big centres in
metropolitan cities. Organs retrieved from Aurangabad, Indore, Surat, Pune are
sent to Mumbai as these cities do not have super-specialty healthcare centres,
informed officials.
7. ‘‘In India, about fifty thousand to one lakh patients are suffering from acute
heart failure and need heart transplant at any point of time. In a private set-up, a
heart transplant costs < 15 – 20 lakh, which is followed up by post-operative
medication of about < 30,000 per month lifelong.’’
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following
questions by choosing the most appropriate options. (1x10=10)
1. The first green corridor in India was created in
(A) New Delhi
(B) Chennai
(C) Mumbai
(D) Pune

2. The organisation which is framing a proposal to airlift cadaver organs is

(A) Union Health Ministry
(B) Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation
(C) National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation
(D) State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation

3. The onerous task that the author is talking about in para 1 is

(A) finding organ donors.
(B) finding doctors capable of performing transplants.
(C) to carry the harvested organ in the shortest possible time.
(D) to arrange the requisite facilities for the transplant.

4. Most of the people do not go for heart transplant as

(A) it is very risky.
(B) it is very painful.
(C) it may cause death of the recipient.
(D) the cost is prohibitive.

5. Most states refer organ transplant cases to big hospitals because

(A) they don’t have well-trained experts.
(B) the patients don’t trust local doctors.
(C) the state hospitals are very crowded.
(D) they don’t have a pool of harvested organs.

6. Pick out the word from the passage which means the same as ‘achieved/carried
out’.
(A) escorting
(B) transplanted
(C) retrieve
(D) accomplished

7. What is a ‘green corridor’?

(A) The traditional method of transporting organs by road.
(B) A short route cleared and cordoned off by the traffic police.
(C) A route where traffic lights stay green to ensure that the harvested organ
reaches its destination in the shortest possible time.
(D) All of the above

8. Why is smooth transportation of the retrieved organ necessary?

(A) so as to move the traffic smoothly.
(B) as all signals stay green.
(C) a harvested organ has a short life.
(D) as a specific traffic lane is chosen.

9. How much does a heart transplant cost a patient in a private hospital?

(A) Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh
(B) Rs 15,000 to Rs 20 lakh
(C) Rs 30,000 per month
(D) None of these

10. Pick out the word from the passage (para 1) which mean the same as ‘save’.
(A) consent
(B) onerous
(C) preserve
(D) harvested
Q.3 Read the following extract and the questions that follow. (4)
I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here—on the third level at
Grand Central—I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me anywhere in the
United States we wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets to
Galesburg, Illinois.
1- Why was the narrator seeing this third level?
i) he wished to visit Galesberg
ii) he wanted to meet his grandfather again
iii) he was paraplegic and psychotic
iv) he was mentally stressed and anxiety ridden

2. What was the Third Level?

i) a third tier on the station
ii) a third storey on the station
iii) an idyllic destination in the narrator's mind
iv) none of the above

3. Why does Charley want to visit Galesberg?

i) to escape from the troublesome world
ii) to enjoy an idyllic and bucolic life
iii) to see the beautiful landscape
iv) to meet his old friends

4. What is the significance of 1894 in the lesson?

i) it was in the narrator’s past
ii) the narrator’s parents were alive then
iii) it was the author's childhood time
iv) it represented a peaceful, romantic living time
Q4. Read the extract and answer the following questions: (4)
When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but
bottomless water. The old sensation returned in miniature. I laughed and said "Well, Mr.
Terror, what do you think you can do to rue?" It fled and I swam on.

i. Which sensation returned?

a. The terror of water c. The terror of fire
b. The fear of heights d. The examination fear

ii. What was the sensation referred to as?

a. Miniature c. Extreme
b. Subtle d. Intense

iii. Why did he laugh?

a. He remembered a funny incident
b. He was very happy
c. He had a tickling sensation
d. To overcome his fear of water

iv. Who is the speaker?

a. William O. Douglas
b. Franklin Roosevelt
c. William's mother
d. William's swimming instructor

Q5. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
‘.....that she was as old as she looked but soon put that thought away
and looked out at Young Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes.’

i What is the poetic device used in “Young Trees sprinting”?

a Metaphor c) Personification
b Simile d) Alliteration
ii Which thought did the poet try to put away?
a death of her mother c) leaving Cochin
b separation from her friends d) None of the above
iii Why did the poet look out of the window?
a to pass the time c) to escape painful thoughts about her mother
b to enjoy the scenery d) None of the above
iv) What is poetic device used in these lines?
a Contrast c) Simile
b Transferred Epithet d) Irony
Q6. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till then, when I had got a little
over my fright, did I see our teacher had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt, and
the little black silk cap, all embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and
prize days. Besides, the whole school seemed so strange and solemn. But the thing that
surprised me most was to see on the backbenches that were always empty, the village
people sitting quietly like ourselves.
i. Who is the teacher?
a. M Hamel b. Franz c. Hauser d. Alphonse Daudet

ii. Why was he dressed in his formals?

a. For he had to attend a wedding
b. For it was his last lesson in French
c. For he had to attend an award ceremony
d. For he had to juggle an inter-school competition ill.

iii. How did the whole school seem?

a Strange b. Solemn c. Quiet d. All of these

iv. Which subject did the teacher profess?

a. French b. German c. English d. Spanish
Q7. Read the extracts given below and attempt the questions that follow:
On sour cream walls, donations. Shakespeare's head,
Cloudless at dawn, civilised dome riding all cities. Belled,
flowery, Tyrolese valley. Open-handed map Awarding the
world its world. And yet, for these Children, these
windows, not this map, their world, Where all their future's
painted with a fog,

i. What does the expression - sour cream walls - suggest?

a. Display of donated artefacts on the walls
b. Badly maintained walls
c. Wall-to wall furniture
d. A poor choice of paint for walls

ii. The map of the world in the classroom symbolizes:

a. hopes and aspirations of the children
b. travel plans of the school authorities
c. a world that is unconnected to the children
d. interconnectivity within the world

iii. The expression, Shakespeare's head is an example of:

a. pun
b. satire
c. parody
d. irony

iv. In the extract, 'future's painted with a fog' suggests that the:
a. classroom is as foggy as the paint on the walls
b. beautiful valleys are not a part of the children's future
c. life ahead for the slum children is as unclear and hazy as fog
d. fog often finds itself in the classrooms through broken windows

Q8. Read the extracts given below and attempt the questions that follow:
“At midnight when the town slept in peace…………. dragged the tiger to
the car”
a. Which town is referred to here?
b. Why was the task completed midnight?
c. Where was the tiger to be taken?
d. Where was the tiger brought from?
Q9. Read the extracts given below and attempt the questions that follow:
Students on Ice, the programme I was working with on the Shokaskiy aims to do exactly
this by taking High School students to the end of the world and providing them with
inspiring educational opportunities which will help them foster a new understanding and
respect for our planet.
A. What does the word ‘this’ in the second line refer to?
B. Which programme was the author working with?
C. What is Shokaskiy?
D. How will the programme of the author help our High School students?

Q10. Read the extracts given below and attempt the questions that follow:
If at the end of the day we can feed our families and go to bed
without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the
fields that gave us no grain.”
a. To whom are the above lines spoken and where?
b. Why does the speaker prefer to live here?
c. Why did the speaker leave their native place?
d. What is the chief profession of the children who live here?
Q11. Choose the correct option: (8)
1. What does the phrase Vivo La France from the prose The Last Lesson represent?
a. Save France
b. France is my heart
c. France will be defeated
d. Long Live France

2. According to the prose Deep Water, why did William have an aversion to water when
he used to be in it?
a. He feared to drown underwater
b. He feared that water would not suit his skin
c. He feared that he might float away and not return to his place
d. He feared the water would be very cold
3.The author was surprised at the Antarctica’s
a. Immensity b. Beauty c. Depth d. Silence
4. How would the children use ‘white and green leaves?
a. To remove social injustice c. To remove illiteracy
b. To remove class inequalities d. To explore the world

5. “The steel canister seems heavier than the plastic bag he would carry so lightly over
his shoulders.” Identify the literary device used in the sentence.
a. Simile b. Metaphor c. Contrast d. Alliteration

6. What does the image of merry children spilling symbolize?

a. sincerity
b. responsibility and duty
c. carefree attitude
d. passive acceptance

7. What do you mean by temporary refuge?

(a) Shelter for short time (b) Shelter for long time (c) Shelter home (d) Shelter

8. Why is the Tiger King bestowed upon with many names?

a. To highlight the achievements.
b. To ridicule the King
c. To emphasize over his bravery
d. To introduce Royal Culture.

Q12. India Assurance Company, New Delhi has given an advertisement in ‘The
Hindustan Times’ for the 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 in 120-150 words. (5)

Q13. Your school celebrated the Diamond Jubilee year of India's independence.
Write a report in 120-150 words for your school magazine, giving details of the
celebrations. You are Amit/Anita of Maharani Laxmibai Senior Secondary
School, Gwalior. (5)

Q14. Answer the following questions in detail: (5x2=10)

a.“A lot can happen in a million years but what a difference a day makes”. Discuss with
reference to the lesson ‘A Journey to the End of the Earth’.

b. Franz's attitude towards school and M. Hamel changes when he comes to know about
the takeover of his village by Prussians. Discuss with reference to the Last Lesson