Nasirabad Collegiate School, Mymensingh

SSC-2024 Preparatory Assessment

Subject: English
Time: 1 hour Full Marks: 40

(N. B. The figures on the right margin indicate the value of each test item.)
Reading Skill: (30 Marks)
Read the text below and solve question 1 and 2.
21 February is a memorable day in our national history. We observe the day every year as international mother
language day. The day is a national holiday.
On this day, we pay tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives to establish Bangla as a state language in
undivided Pakistan in 1952. The struggle to achieve our language rights is known as the language movement.

The seed of the language movement was sown on 21 march 1948 when Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor
General of Pakistan, declared in a public meeting in Dhaka that Urdu would be the only state language of
Pakistan. The declaration raised a storm of protest in the eastern part of the country. The protest continued
nonstop, gathering movement day by day. It turn into a movement and reached its climax in 1952. The
government outlawed all sorts of public meetings and rallies to stop it. The student of Dhaka University defied
the law and brought out a peaceful protest procession on 21 February 1952. When the procession reached near
Dhaka Medical College, the police opened fire on the students, killing Salam, Rafique, Barkat and Jabbar. As a
result, there were mass protests all over the country and the government had to declare Bangla as a state
language. This kindled the sparks of independence movement of Bangladesh.

1. Choose the best option from the alternatives. 1×7=7

I. What does "martyrs" refer to in the context of the text?
a. Political leaders
b. Those who laid down their lives for a cause
c. Peaceful protesters
d. Government officials
II. In the passage, what is the meaning of "outlawed"?
a. Legalized
b. Banned or prohibited by law
c. Supported
d. Encouraged
III. What is the meaning of "climax" as used in the text?
a. Highest point or culmination
b. Beginning or initiation
c. Gradual decline
d. Protest movement
IV. What does "defied" mean in the sentence, "The students of Dhaka University defied the law"?
a. Obeyed
b. Ignored or refused to comply with
c. Supported
d. Proposed
V. In the passage, what is the meaning of "spark" in the phrase "kindled the sparks of independence
movement"?
a. Small fiery particle
b. Suppression
c. Peaceful resolution
d. Government proclamation
VI. What is the meaning of "proclamation" as used in the sentence, "The government had to declare Bangla
as a state language"?
a. Public protest
b. Official announcement or declaration
c. Government opposition
d. Peaceful resolution
VII. What is the meaning of "nonstop" in the context of the sentence, "The protest continued nonstop,
gathering movement day by day"?
a. Frequently
b. Without interruption
c. Sporadically
d. Gradually
2. Write answers to the following questions based on the text above. 2×5=10
a. What do we observe on 21 February every year in Bangladesh?
b. Why did the language movement start in 1948?
c. What happened on 21 February 1952, during the language movement?
d. Who were the martyrs mentioned in the text?
e. What was the government's response to the protests during the language movement?
3. Match the parts of sentences in column A, B and C to write five sentences. 1x 5 =5

Coloum A Coloum B Coloum C

(a) The moon (i) has no light (i) the gift of the sun
(b) She (ii) the moon reflects (ii) a small fraction of brightness

(c) The sun (iii) has an appeal (iii) vast flood light.
(d) To illuminate the earth (iv) light depends on (iv) of her own.
(e) The moon’s (v) pour forth a (v) on poets and artists.
4. Rearrange the following jumbled sentences according to their correct order. 1×8=8
(a) But his heart was not in medicine and he felt that he was born to be a poet.
(b)This great poet met a premature death on February 23, 1821.
(c)Finally, he abandoned surgery for literature.
(d)John Keats was born on October 31, 1795.
(e)He lost his father in 1804 and his mother in 1810.
(f) His finest poems like ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, etc. were published in In 1811.
(g) Keats became an apprentice to a surgeon at Edmonton.
(h) He was the eldest son of his parents.

Written Part
5. Suppose, you are Latif/Latifa and your friend is Tanim/Taims who is living in 13/3, Kalabagan
Colony, Lakshmipur, Rajshahi. Now, write a letter to your friend describing what you intend to do
after your SSC Examination.
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