NEHRU SMARAKA VIDYALAYA

PRE-BOARD EXAMINATION- TERM- II (2021-22)

Date: 07-04-2022 Max. Marks: 40

Subject: English Core (301) Time: 2 Hrs.

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)

1. Read the passage given below.

Money is not everything, but money is something very important. Beyond the basic needs, money
helps us achieve our life's goals and supports — the things we care about most deeply — family,
education, health care, charity, adventure and fun. It helps us get some of life's intangible —
freedom or independence, the opportunity to make the most of our skills and talents, the
5. ability to choose our own course in life, financial security. With money, much good can be done
and much unnecessary suffering avoided or eliminated. But, money has its own limitations too. It
can give us the time to appreciate the simple things in life more fully, but not the spirit of innocence
and wonder necessary to do so. Money can give us the time to develop our gifts and talents, but
not the courage and discipline to do so.
10. Money can give us the power to make a difference in the lives of others, but not the desire to do
so. It can give us the time to develop and nurture our relationships, but not the love and care
necessary to do so. It can just as easily make us jaded, escapist, selfish, and lonely. How much do
you need? What is it going to cost you to get it? It is keeping these two questions in mind that
gives us a true sense of money's relationship to happiness.
15. If we have less than what we need, or if what we have is costing us too much, we can never be
happy. We need money to eat, sleep, dress, work, play, relate, heal, move about, and enjoy
comforts. We should remember in choosing our style that it comes with a price tag.
Evidence of the psychological and spiritual poverty of the rich and famous fills our newspapers,
magazines, tabloids, and television programmes and hardly needs repetition here. "We always
20. think if we just had a little bit more money, we'd be happier," says Catherine Sanderson, a
psychology professor at Amherst College, "but when we get there, we're not." "Once you get basic
human needs met, a lot more money doesn't make a lot more happiness," notes Dan Gilbert, a
psychology professor at Harvard University and the author of the new book ‗Stumbling on
Happiness‘.

25. Yes, we get a thrill at first from expensive things. But we soon get used to them, a state of running
in place that economists call the 'hedonic treadmill'. The problem is not money, it's us. For deep-
seated psychological reasons, when it comes to spending money, we tend to value goods over
experiences.
 Money can help us find more happiness, so long as we know just what we can and cannot expect
30 from it. Many researchers suggest that seeking the good life at a store is an expensive exercise in
futility. Money can buy us some happiness, but only if we spend our money properly. We should
buy memories.

How much money it costs is not the issue, but how much the money costs us is important. Money
should not cost us our soul, relationships, dignity, health, intelligence and joy in simple
35. things of life. People who figure out what they truly value and then align their money with those
values have the strongest sense of financial and personal well-being.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the nine
given below. [1x8=8]
i. How much money it costs is not the issue, but how much the money costs us is crucial.
What do you understand by the statement made by the writer?
ii. How would you explain the term 'hedonic treadmill'?
iii. According to the writer who are the people truly satisfied in life?
iv. How can one equate the balance between money and happiness?
v. We should remember in choosing our style that it comes with a price tag. Elucidate.
vi. Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with an antonym, from
lines 1-5.
We should tend the mind as a precious jewel box and factory that makes concrete but
immortal gems.
vii. But, money has its own limitations too. Cite any two limitations of money as mentioned
in the passage.
viii. Rewrite the sentence by filling the most suitable word from the lines 25-35.
They say that swimming with dolphins can relieve mental
and nervous tensions - for some it might be hard to believe.
ix. What is summation of the psychological and spiritual poverty of the rich and the famous?

2. Read the passage given below:

1. Understanding how hibernators, including ground squirrels, marmots and bears, survive their
long winter‘s naps may one day offer solutions for problems such as heart disease, osteoporosis
and muscular dystrophy.

2 Nearly everything about the way an animal‘s body works changes when it hibernates and
preparations start from weeks or months in advance. The first order of business is to fatten up.
3 ―Fat is where it‘s at for a hibernator,‖ says Matthew Andrews, a molecular biologist at the
University of Minnesota Duluth who studies 13-lined ground squirrels. ―You bring your own
lunch with you‖. Packing lunch is necessary because the animals go on the world‘s strictest
diet during the winter, surviving entirely off their white fat. ―They have their last supper in
October; they don‘t eat again until March,‖ Andrews says.
4 Recent analyses revealed that Scandinavian brown bears spend the summer with plasma 69
cholesterol levels considered high for humans; those values then increase substantially for
hibernation, Frobert and his colleagues reported. These ―very, very fat‖ bears with high
cholesterol also get zero exercise during hibernation. Lolling about in the den pinches off blood
vessels, contributing to sluggish circulation. ―That cocktail would not be advisable in humans,‖
Frobert says. It‘s a recipe for hardened arteries, putting people at risk for heart attacks and
strokes.
5 Even healthy young adult humans can develop fatty streaks in their arteries that make the blood
vessels less flexible, but the bears don‘t build up such artery-hardening 69 streaks. ―Our bears,
they had nothing,‖ Frobert says. It‘s not yet clear how the bears keep their arteries flexible, but
Fröbert hopes to find some protective molecule that could stave off hardened arteries in
humans as well. Plasma Cholesterol in Seven Bears Plasma Cholestrol in Seven Bears 600 500
400 300 200 100 0 Hibernation Active Maximum desirable level for humans.

Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer ANY SIX of the questions given
below by choosing the most appropriate option: (1×6=6)
i. The study of hibernators is likely to offer solutions for a few major health problems.
Discuss with reference to the given passage.
ii. How do animals in cold countries survive during the long winters?
iii. Exercise is the key to good health. How much exercise is done by the animals during
hibernation?
iv. What is the maximum desirable level of cholesterol for human beings?.
v. What do we learn about the effect of hibernation on the bears on the basis of the graph?
vi. What is the range of the cholesterol level as indicated by the graph?
vii. It‘s a recipe for hardened arteries, putting people at risk for heart attacks and strokes.?
Which recipe is good for humans?

SECTION B – WRITING (8 marks)

3. Sunshine Global School, Hospet is going to organize a one-act play competition in their
school auditorium. You have decided to invite the noted stage artiste, Nalini to grace the
occasion. Draft a formal invitation for her in about 50 words. You are Karuna/Karan,
Cultural Secretary. (3)
4. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. (5)

A. You are Shobha/Sushil from 56. A Block, Saket, Agra. Write an application along with a
personal resume in 120–150 words in response to the following advertisement:
Wanted an experienced Hockey Coach having B.P. Ed. Degree for our school. Apply
to the Principal, Agrasen Public School, Chennai by 15 March, 2022.
 B. With a view to create awareness regarding health St. Anne's school organised 'Health Mela'
in the school premises. Various charts, models, fitness equipment were displayed. Lectures,
debates, discussions, plays were organised. A workshop on low calorie cooking was also
organised. Write a report in 120-150 words on the 'Health Mela' for the school magazine.
You are Neha/Nikhil, Secretary of the Health Club of school.

SECTION C - LITERATURE (18marks)

5. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40-50 words each. (2x5=10)

i. The landlords learned that Germany had developed synthetic indigo. How did its
development affect the sharecroppers in Champaran?
ii. Is there any streak of optimism in the manner John Keats sketches human life in his
poem?
iii. Evans was able to plan his escape with the help of his friends. Mention any of his two
traits which enabled him to gain friends easily.
iv. ‗The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with his porridge and
tobacco. Explain the statement.
v. How do ‗chivalric‘ and ‗denizens‘ add to our understanding of the ‗tigers‘ attitudes?
vi. The easiest way to instill values in a child is through stories. Evaluate the statement with
reference to the lesson ‗Should Wizard hit Mommy‘.

6. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4x2=8)

i. Both Mr. Lamb and Derry represent two serious aspects of life though their origin can be
called the same. Explain the statement.
ii. The Champaran episode is considered to be the beginning of the Indian struggle for
Independence. Discuss.
iii. The story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to others‘
behavior. Pick out instances of these surprises.

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