Sample Paper 02

Class

XII Exam 2023-24
English-Core (301)

Time Allowed : 3 Hrs. Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:
1. 15-minute prior reading time allotted for Q-paper reading.
2. The Question Paper contains THREE sections READING, WRITING and LITERATURE.
3. Attempt question based on specific instructions for each part. Write the correct question number in your
answer sheet to indicate the option/s being attempted.

SECTION A-READING SKILLS 20

I. Read the passage given below. 10

1. In this jet age, everyone is interested in having an easy life. Thanks to the advancement in science and
technology, these days life has become more easy and comfortable than earlier with a lot of domestic
gadgets as well as instantaneous food recipes available in the market. This has resulted in making people
develop a mindset of having everything immediately without waiting for even at the traffic signals!
2. A piano teacher described an interesting encounter she had with a young lady who came to inquire
about music lessons. The young lady asked her, “How long will this course take? My father tells me that
it is in fashion now to be able to play musical instruments and that I should learn one quickly. I want
something that will be quick, fast and easy, like... .” When the amused teacher explained that it would
take a lifetime of meticulous practice to learn music, her face fell and, needless to say, she never came
back.
3. The single most important factor that distinguishes those of us who succeed in any venture from those
of us who don’t is this ‘instant-coffee’ attitude. Most of us want results quickly. We want to reach the top
immediately and get worked up when things go wrong. Perseverance and patience are forgotten words.
We get upset, frustrated and angry when a skill or activity requires us to put in a lot of effort and time.
We get dejected and want to give it up.
4. Success, real success and happiness come to those who have a ‘bread-making’ attitude. Those who
are willing to knead the dough, wait for hours for it to rise only to punch it down and knead some
more, wait for another couple of hours for it to rise again, then bake it before it is ready to be eaten.
Nothing is instantaneous. For every endeavour—whether in the area of career, academics, music, sports,
relationships, physical fitness or even in spirituality—it is a long arduous journey.
5. The major problem with these ‘instant-coffee’ solutions is that they are invariable short-lived. If we
stubbornly refuse to give up this search for quick solutions, all we do is end up on the wrong track. We
never gain anything lasting from them. However, if we just pause to analyse what we are doing, we will
realize how much time we are wasting searching for such magical solutions which simply do not exist.
We actually save time when we stop this futile search and accept the proven methods of treading the
straight and narrow path however difficult it may seem initially.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
i. Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option.
According to the author, modern life can be compared to the jet age due to _____.
(a) everything being fast, easy and comfortable.
(b) availability of domestic gadgets.
(c) advancement in science and technology.
(d) instantaneous food recipes.
ii. Comment on the writer’s reference to the traffic signals in paragraph one, as a social problem for Indian
society.
iii. The author gives a reference to an anecdote between a piano teacher and a young lady who wished to
learn music. List two reasons why the deal fell through.
1. __________.
2. __________.
iv. Select the option that conveys the synonym of ‘meticulous’, as contextually used in paragraph two.
(a) scrupulous (b) fussy
(c) painstaking (d) detailed
v. The writer would not agree with the given statements based on paragraph three, EXCEPT _____.
(a) Getting worked up will help you succeed in any venture.
(b) Perseverance and patience are nevertheless prized by some.
(c) Excessive effort and time make us unruffled.
(d) We give up a little too soon on ventures.
vi. For every endeavour—whether in the area of career, academics, music, sports, relationships, physical
fitness or even in spirituality—it is a long arduous journey.
Based on your understanding of paragraph four, list one major reason why the author labels the journey
of every endeavour in life ‘arduous.’
vii. Why is it fair to say that adopting a ‘bread-making’ attitude in life is a sure-shot recipe for real success
and happiness and both go hand-in-hand?
viii. Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference, with respect to the following: The writer
quotes the example of the ‘instant-coffee’ attitude (Paragraph 3), in order to _____.
ix. How can the solutions, suggested in paragraph five, best be described?
(a) popular (b) practical
(c) unfeasible (d) naïve
x. Select the most suitable title for the above passage.
(a) The ‘Instant-coffee’ Attitude
(b) The Bread-making’ Attitude
(c) The Magic of Quick Solutions
(d) The Mirage of Instant Results
II. Read the passage given below. 10
1. A dominance and hierarchy exists for everything, including space. A dominant animal controls the space
around it. Even in grooming, hierarchy is reflected. Grooming is simply a cleaning mechanism, and it is
highly effective, as one can see by comparing lions and baboons. Although lions are clean animals, the
backs of their necks, where they cannot reach to clean, are thick with ticks, whereas the baboon’s hair is
totally free of them as the inferior baboons clean the dominant one’s neck.
2. This ‘dominant hierarchy’ is a form of animal social structure in which a linear or nearly linear ranking
exists, with each animal dominant over those below it and submissive to those above it. In most of the
cases this hierarchy is relatively stable from day to day. Direct conflict is rare as the weaker animal itself
steps aside when it sees the dominant or much stronger around in its path. These submissive displays
and their calming effect on the dominant animal evolve because they avoid or prevent fighting as it may
result in unnecessary injury to a social group dependent on one another for their welfare.
3. Japanese monkeys were intensely studied during the 1940s. Their discipline was surprising. In the
morning, the group would set out from its sleeping sites to a feeding station established by Japanese
zoologists. They walked always in the same order, the young males frolicking on ahead and at the sides,
the dominant male walking in the centre, together with the females and the infants.
4. The meek ones lagged behind in submission. They fed always in similar order of ranks: the dominant
monkeys first, then the others in descending gradation of status. And, while resting, the dominant males
surrounded by females and infants, occupied the most attractive area in the middle of the feeding station,
where no subordinates were allowed to encroach.
5. There is no mistaking a dominant male monkey. These are superbly muscled monkeys. Their hair is
sleek and carefully groomed, their walk calm, assured and majestic. They move in an apparent disregard
of lesser monkeys, who scatter at their approach. For to obstruct the path of a dominant male or even to
venture, too near to him is an act of defiance, and monkeys learn from young that such a challenge will
draw a heavy punishment.
6. The animal behaviour has always fascinated humans and extends back millions of years, perhaps even to
times before the ancestors of the species became human in the modern sense. It was the demand as they
need to observe the distinctive traits of animals before hunting them or domesticating them for personal
or professional use.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

i. Which of the following statements is relevant to the contents of paragraph 1?

(a) There is a dominance that exists in the hierarchical structure of all animals
(b) The dominance of lions in the wild predominate the hierarchical wild structure
(c) Baboons clean themselves hierarchically
(d) Predominance of ticks in animals is an example of their hierarchical status

ii. How does the writer define dominant hierarchy in the passage?

iii. What has been the finding about the dominant animals’ behaviour towards the weaker ones.
iv. Select the option that conveys the behaviour among monkeys as studied in the 1940s.
(a) Their discipline had conditioned them to walk to the feeding station established by Japanese
zoologists.
(b) The young monkeys were allowed to frolic about while the bulk of them followed a social order.
(c) Their discipline was impeccable as they walked in a hierarchical order.
(d) the dominant male occupied the centre and the females and infants walked at his side.

v. Select the feeding order followed by the monkeys.

(a) Similar to their ranking order.
(b) The male surrounded by females.
(c) Infants occupied the attractive middle of the feeding station.
(d) All of the above.

vi. Give one pattern of behaviour observed among young monkeys.

vii. Besides observing animal hierarchy, humans studied animal behaviour for _____.
(a) as they needed to know animals who could hunt for them
(b) as they needed to know the animal’s behaviour before going out to hunt for it
(c) as they needed to study animal behaviour in order to survive
(d) as they needed to know animal behaviour because animals are like humans

viii. From the contents of the passage point out the distinctive traits of the dominant male monkey.
(a) It is a sleek well muscled creature.
(b) It is carefully groomed.
(c) Without taking notice of the lesser monkeys.
(d) All of the above.

ix. Complete the sentence appropriately, by examining the status of dominant hierarchy,
Dominant hierarchy exists in every sphere of animal life including _____.

x. State a point to challenge the given statement.

The weaker animal itself steps aside when it sees a stronger animal in its path.

III. SECTION B- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS 20

All the names and addresses used in the questions are fictitious. Resemblance, if any, is purely
coincidental.
1. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5
A. You, as the School Secretary of the Social Service Club, have to write a notice to be put up on the school
noticeboard regarding the need to raise funds for lepers in your city. Funds collected will be sent to the
Red Cross, New Delhi. Each donor will be issued a formal receipt for the donation. The Red Cross will
award a Red Cross to the donor donating more than `500. (Word limit: 50)


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B. You are Jairam Reddy, the Head of the English Club. On the occasion of the International Day of English
Language, your school has decided to organize English Week. You are required to call a meeting of the
officer bearers of the English Language Club to plan arrangements for the event. Draft a notice for the
same.

2. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5

A. Your parents have completed 25 years of happy married life. Invite your uncle, living in Surat, to join
you in the silver jubilee celebrations of their marriage at your residence C-4/Sector 9, Kumar Enclave,
Sagar.


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B. You are Sunil/Sunita Bhasin, a celebrated illustrator. You have been invited by the literacy club, S.K.
School, Jaipur, to deliver a lecture on ‘Life Skills’. Draft a letter of formal acceptance of the invitation
in about 50 words. Address it to the Director of the school.

3. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5

A. You are Anushka/Amit staying at A-23/1, Ashok Nagar, Delhi. You find it disturbing that despite a ban
on smoking in public places, people are seen smoking in cities. It shows a lack of civic sense in the
people. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily expressing your concern about indifference of
people to their own as well as others’ health. It is harmful to the environment too. Suggest some ways to
sensitize city dwellers about the safe environment. (Word limit: 120-150)

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B. You see a classified advertisement in a leading daily inviting application for the post of an accountant.
Write a letter along with resume in 120-150 words to the Manager, Rockfield Pvt. Ltd., Bhopal, offering
your candidature.
You are Raman Mehta/Reshma Mehta.

4. Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 5

A. You are Priya/ Piyush. You find illiteracy as the biggest impediment to the development of a nation.
You strongly believe that education can play a very important role in the progress of a country. Write an
article in 120-150 words on ‘Education—The Biggest Tool of Progress’.

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B. Vidya Bhawan Senior Secondary School, Noida, recently organised a 3-day environment awareness
camp for the students to be prefects/monitors. Write a report about the same in 120-150 words for the
school magazine.
 SECTION C- LITERATURE 40

IV. Read the given extracts to attempt the questions with reference to context.
5. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 1#6 = 6

1.A ‘Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.’
i. What is the tone of the poet in the above lines?
1. Tolerant
2. Hopeful
3. Positive
4. Aggressive
5. Depressed
Choose the most appropriate option.
(a) Only 1
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1, 4 and 5
(b) Only 3

ii. Identify the phrase from the extract, that suggests the following.
The poet is nervous and fearful.

iii. Who is responsible for Aunt Jennifer’s condition?

(a) Her parents
(b) Society
(c) Her husband
(d) She, herself

iv. Complete the following analogy correctly.

Ivory needle : hard to pull :: massive weight : _____

v. On the basis of extract, choose the correct option with reference to 1 and 2 given below.
1. The poem deals with the pathetic condition of married women.
2. Married women are suffering at the oppressive hands of the patriarchal society.
(a) 1 is true but 2 is false.
(b) 2 is true but 1 is false.
(c) 2 can be inferred from 1.
(d) 2 is the reason of 1.

vi. Fill in the blank with an appropriate word with reference to the extract.
The wedding band symbolizes _____.


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1.B Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
(Keeping Quiet)

i. Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as used in the first line of the extract.
(a) I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
(b) She’s as old as the hills.
(c) The sun smiled down on us.
(d) They ran like greased lightening.

ii. What does the phrase ‘keep quiet’ indicate in the given extract?
(a) Need of maintaining peace and silence.
(b) Need to keep silence only.
(c) Need to keep peace only.
(d) Need to do nothing.

iii. The earth can teach us _____.

1. How silence can kill
2. How to destruct everything
3. How silence is productive
4. How one keep silence
5. Nobody can be silent anyhow
Choose the most appropriate option.
(a) 1 and 2
(b) Only 3
(c) 4 and 5
(d) Only 4

iv. Answer in ONE word.

The poet appeals to maintain peace and keep silence to all _____.

v. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
1. Inactivity is different from death.
2. In this exotic moment, man would be able to stop all activity, remain silent and introspect.
(a) 1 can be inferred from the extract but 2 cannot.
(b) 2 can be inferred from the extract but 1 cannot.
(c) Both 1 and 2 can be inferred from the extract.
(d) 2 is the reason for 1 and can be inferred from the extract.
vi. Which of the following is an apt title for the extract?
(a) Teachings of Earth
(b) Maintain Peace and Silence: A Request
(c) The Earth : Our Planet
(d) Keep Quiet

6. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 1#4 = 4

2.A DERRY You think... ‘Here’s a boy.’ You look at me... and then you see my face and you think. ‘That’s
bad. That’s a terrible thing. That’s the ugliest thing I ever saw.’ You think, ‘Poor boy.’ But I’m not. Not
poor. Underneath, you are afraid. Anybody would be. I am. When I look in the mirror, and see it, I’m
afraid of me.
(On the Face of It)
i. Why does Derry not want to be called ‘poor’?
(a) Because he was rich
(b) Because he was well-off
(c) Because he had enough to have meals of his choice
(d) Because he has ugly face.

ii. Select the option that best describes T in the extract.

(a) Derry (b) Mr. Lamb
(c) Anybody (d) You

iii. Which of the following best summarises Derry’s attitude towards himself for his face?
(a) He was poor.
(b) It was ugly.
(c) He was frightened.
(d) He was well-off.

iv. Derry says, “Here’s a boy.’ You look at me...” what was the one significant thing Derry might have
disliked about himself?


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1.B For a sun worshipping South Indian like myself two weeks in a place where ninety per cent of the Earth’s
total ice volumes are stored is a chilling prospect (not just for circulatory and metabolic functions, but
also for the imagination). It’s like walking into a giant ping gong ball devoid of any human markers —
no trees, billboards, buildings. You lose all earthly sense of perspective and time here. The visual scale
ranges from the microscopic to the mighty; midges and mites to blue whales and icebergs as big as
countries (the largest recorded was the size of Belgium). Days go on and on and on in surreal 24 hour
austral summer light, and a ubiquitous silence, interrupted only by the occasional avalanche or calving
ice sheet, consecrates the place. It’s an immersion that will force you to place yourself in the context of
the earth’s geological history. And for humans, the prognosis isn’t good.
(Journey to the End of the Earth)
i. Complete the sentence appropriately, with reference to the extract.
The narrator spend _____ days in and around Antarctica.

ii. Which of the following would be the literary device used in “It’s like walking into a giant ping-pong
ball”?
(a) Transferred epithet
(b) Metaphor
(c) Alliteration
(d) Simile

iii. Select the most suitable title for the given extract.
(a) Students on Ice
(b) A Journey to Antarctica
(c) 24 hour journey
(d) A journey to Aliens

iv. What is ‘avalanche’?

7. Attempt ANY ONE of two extracts given. 1#6 = 6

3.A “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,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I
ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers. Wherever they find food, they pitch
their tents that become transit homes. Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And
survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art.
Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof But for
a child it is even more.
(Lost Spring)
i. Select the option that completes the given sentence appropriately.
The children in the given extract are _____.
(a) Ragpickers
(b) Studying in a school
(c) Working in a bangle industry
(d) Studying in M Hamel’s class

ii. Select the suitable word from the extract to complete the following analogy.
Garbage : Gold :: Ragpickers : _____

iii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank.

These children living in Seemapuri grow in _____
(a) Slums (b) Transit homes
(c) Open space (d) Foster homes
iv. Based on the above extract, choose the statement that is TRUE for the children living in Seemapuri.
(a) Garbage to them is gold.
(b) They live in houses.
(c) They betrary their parents.
(d) They came from Berlin.

v. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the writer is talking about Saheb-e-Alam in
the extract.

vi. Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation, as per the extract.
The children, as per the extract, are partners in the survival of _____.

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3.B Early in the Champaran action, Charles Freer Andrews, the English pacifist who had become a devoted
follower of the Mahatma, came to bid Gandhi farewell before going on a tour of duty to the Fiji Islands.
Gandhi’s lawyer friends thought it would be a good idea for Andrews to stay in Champaran and help
them. Andrews was willing if Gandhi agreed. But Gandhi was vehemently opposed. He said, “You
think that in this unequal fight it would be helpful if we have an Englishman on our side. This shows
the weakness of your heart. The cause is just and you must rely upon yourselves to win the battle. You
should not seek a prop in Mr. Andrews because he happens to be an Englishman”.
(Indigo)

i. What is the more likely option that considers the speaker’s advice in the given extract?
The speaker’s advice is to _____.
(a) Rely on the government
(b) Rely on the yourselves
(c) Rely on your friends
(d) Rely on Gandhiji

ii. Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined word with its synonym. This shows the weakness of
your heart.

iii. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
1. Charles Freer Andrews became a devoted follower of Gandhiji.
2. He is the English pacifist.
(a) 1 can be inferred from the extract but 2 cannot.
(b) 1 cannot be inferred from the extract but 2 can.
(c) 1 and 2 both can be inferred from the extract.
(d) 2 is the reason for 1.

iv. Complete the given sentence.

The speaker over here is _____.
v. Replace the underlined word with its antonym from the extract.
Andrews was willing if Gandhi agreed.

vi. The speaker in the extract is addressing to _____.

(a) his lawyer friends
(b) his people
(c) his friends
(d) his nation

V Answer ANY FIVE of the following in about 40-50 words each. 2 # 5 = 10

i. Describe the events of the last lesson that M. Hamel conducted with his class.

ii. Why did the poet think of young trees and merry children? How did it connect with her childhood fear?

iii. How is keeping still both physically and mentally beneficial to us? (Keeping Quiet)

iv. What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?

v. Why did Gandhi agree to the settlement of 25% per cent refund to the farmers?

vi. What is the poet’s complaint in the poem “A Roadside Stand”?

VI. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 40-50 words each. 2#2 = 4

i. How does Mr. Lamb keep himself busy when it is bit cool?

ii. In what context Hana remembers the cruel nature of General Takima?

iii. What do you infer from Sam’s letter to Charley?

VII. Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 120-150 words. 1#5 = 5
i. M. Hamel was dressed formally as a mark of honour to his last lesson. He had served the institution for
forty years wholeheartedly. The villagers had come to display their respect for the country which was
another’s from now onwards.
After reading ‘The Last Lesson’, can you compare any of your teachers with M Hamel? What values
did she/he possess that every teacher should be endowed with? Are you a true patriot? Can you be one
of those villagers?


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ii. “None of them know that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass furnaces with high
temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light.”
As citizens of India, what do you think must be our duty? What steps can youngsters like you take to
reduce the scourge of poverty?
Imagine yourself to be a motivational speaker who has to address high school students. Write this address
in about 120-150 words.
VIII. Answer ANY ONE of the following in about 120-150 words. 1#5 = 5

i. ‘Being human is the greatest virtue and treating and enemy is not a sin.’
As a part of the research, discuss the statement in relation to the lesson ‘The Enemy’ in about 120-150
words.

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ii. How did the prediction of chief astrologer come true, though The Tiger King had killed the hundred
tigers? Write a short paragraph in about 120-150 words with reference to the lesson “The Tiger King”.