Model paper 3 English Core - Model paper 3

When I went up to University, I was given a room of my own. The common link of friendship was snapped. My grandmother accepted her seclusion with resignation. She rarely left her spinning-wheel to talk to anyone. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. Only in the afternoon she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. While she sat in the verandah breaking the bread into little bits, hundreds of little birds collected round her creating a veritable bedlam of chirrupings. Some came and perched on her legs, others on her shoulders. Some even sat on her head. She smiled but never shooed them away. It used to be the happiest half-hour of the day for her.
i. What was the significance of the afternoon ritual where the grandmother fed sparrows, and why was it the happiest half-hour of the day for her?
ii. If the grandmother were writing in her diary about her seclusion, what might have she expressed? Answer with reference to the text.
iii. Pick evidence from the passage that suggests the grandmother found solace and happiness in her daily interactions with sparrows?

A Flawless half-moon floated in a perfect blue sky in the morning we said our goodbyes. Extended banks of cloud-like long French loaves glowed pink as the sun emerged to splash the distant mountain tops with a rose-tinted blush. Now that we were leaving Ravu, Lhamo said she wanted to give me a farewell present. One evening I'd told her through Daniel that I was heading towards Mount Kailash to complete the kora, and she'd said that I ought to get some warmer clothes. After ducking back into her tent, she emerged carrying one of the long-sleeved sheepskin coats that all the men wore. Tsetan sized me up as we clambered into his car. "Ah, yes," he declared, "drokba, sir."
We took a short cut to get off the Changtang. Tsetan knew a route that would take us south-west, almost directly towards Mount Kailash. It involved crossing several fairly high mountain passes, he said. "But no problem, sir", he assured us, "if there is no snow," What was the likelihood of that I asked. "Not knowing, sir, until we get there."
i. What did the clouds in the morning sky resemble as the sun emerged?
ii. Explain any one possible inference that can be drawn from Lhamo's gesture of giving the protagonist a long-sleeved sheepskin coat as a farewell present in the passage.
iii. Identify the line from the text that bears evidence of the fact that the protagonist's association with Lhamo and Ravu is not a recent one.

i. What did the travellers do to save themselves? [We are Not Afraid to Die]
ii. What did the poet realize when he was twelve years? Answer in context of Childhood.

i. Give reason: The boy king changed his name from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun?
ii. What do you think the goldfinch does in the thickness of the laburnum tree?

Its silence silences, writes Shirley Toulson. The loss of her mother has silenced her. Do you think that this attitude of the poet is the right attitude to live life? Why/Why not?

Describe Gangadharpant's journey by train from Pune to Bombay.

For song, issuing from its birthplace, after fulfilment, wandering
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.
i. How does song have its fulfilment?
ii. Explain the words: 'reck'd or unreck'd'.
iii. What returns with love? Where does it return?

Father and son, we both must live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive.
i. Where have the father and the son to live?
ii. What does the father mean when he says: "We both must live on the same globe and the same land."?
iii. What can't the father understand?

Comment on the ending of the play Mother's Day.

Mob psychology is beyond any reason. Politicians use this in their favour. A good leader can use the mob to achieve some useful purposes or goals. Elucidate. Answer in the context of The Tale of Melon City.

A lovely name, John Byro said, for a lovely horse. I could swear it is the horse that was stolen from me many weeks ago.
May I look into his mouth?
Of course, Mourad said, the farmer looked into the mouth of the horse.
Tooth for tooth, he said, I would swear it is my horse if I didn't know your parents. The fame of your family for honesty is well known to me. Yet the horse is the twin of my horse. A suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart. Good day, my young friends.
i. What does the line, ' A suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart' suggest?
ii. How was John Byro feeling over his missing horse?
A. he was sad
B. he was overwhelmed
C. he got enraged
D. he was excited
iii. John Byro didn't suspect the boys. This is because ________.
iv. How did John Byro examine the horse and what was his conclusion?

Andrew, abruptly recalled from the contemplation of his own affairs, told Morgan to wait. He went into the house for his bag, then together they set out for Number 12 Blaina Terrace. The night air was cool and deep with quiet mystery. Usually so perceptive, Andrew now felt dull and listless. He had no premonition that this night call would prove unusual, still less that it would influence his whole future in Blaenelly.
The two men walked in silence until they reached the door of Number 12, then Joe drew up short.
i. Complete the sentence appropriately.
The author's purpose in creating a mysterious environment, is to ________.
ii. In the given extract, which of the following emotions was not felt by Andrew?
a. Thoughtful
b. Embarrassment
c. Listless
d. Upset
iii. Which trait of Andrew is highlighted in the line " Usually so perceptive, Andrew now felt dull and listless "?
iv. How is the line, "He had no premonition that this night call would prove unusual", an example of contrast?

Who was George? What did people say about him at the club?

How did Mrs. Dorling behave when the narrator visited her address?

Punctuality is a necessary habit in public affairs of a civilized society. Without it nothing could ever be brought to a conclusion, everything would be in a state of chaos. Only in a sparsely populated rural community is it possible to disregard it. In the ordinary living there can be some tolerance of unpunctuality. The intellectual, who is working on some abstruse problem, has everything coordinated and organized for the matter in hand. He is therefore forgiven, if late for the dinner party. But people are often reproached for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting fine. It is hard for energetic, quick-minded people to waste time, so they are often tempted to finish a job before setting out to keep an appointment. If no accidents occur on the way, like punctured tires, diversion of traffic, sudden descent of fog, they will be on time. They are often more industrious, useful citizens than those who are never late. The over-punctual can as much be a trial to others as the unpunctual. The guest who arrives half an hour too soon is the greatest nuisance. Some friends of my family had this irritating habit. The only thing to do was to ask them to come half an hour later than the other guests. Then they arrived just when we wanted them. If you are catching a train, it is always better to be comfortably early than even a fraction of a minute too late. Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or so for the next one. And you avoid the frustration of arriving at the very moment when the train is drawing out of the station and being unable to get on it. An even harder situation is to be on the platform in a good time for a train and still to see it go off without you. Such an experience befell a certain young girl the first time she was travelling alone. She entered the station twenty minutes before the train was due since her parents had impressed upon her that it would be unforgivable to miss it and cause the friends with whom she was going to stay to meet her. She gave her luggage to a porter and showed him her ticket. To her horror, he said that she was two hours too soon. She felt in her handbag, for the piece of paper on which her father had written down all the details of the journey and gave it to the porter. He agreed that a train did come into the station at the time on the paper and that it did stop, but only to take on water, not passengers. The girl asked to see a timetable, feeling sure that her father could not have made such a mistake. The porter went to fetch one and arrived back with the station master, who produced it with a flourish and pointed out a microscope 'o' beside the time of the arrival of the train at his station. This little 'o' indicated that the train only stopped for water. Just at that moment, the train came into the station. The girl, tears streaming down her face, begged to be allowed to slip into the guard's van. But the station master was adamant: rules could not be broken. And she had to watch that train disappear towards her destination while she was left behind.
(i) Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option.
It is better to reach the platform before the train arrives because ________.
i. You will have time to relax at the station
ii. It's good to waste some time in life
iii. It can help you avoid frustrations of work
iv. It's better than watching the train leave in front of your eyes
(ii) Comment on the writer's reference to the features of energetic and quick-minded people.
(iii) List the two ways which can hinder a punctual person from reaching a place on time.
(Clue: Think about the obstruction one may face)
(iv) Select the option that conveys a similar meaning of 'inflexible', in the passage.
i. Over-punctual
ii. Energetic
iii. Adamant
iv. Abstruse
(v) Find a word opposite in meaning to clear/obvious in the passage:
i. community
ii. abstruse
iii. diversion
iv. industrious
(vi) Reaching early may mean wasting a little time. Based on your understanding of the given passage, justify how reaching early does not always mean wasting time.
(vii) Why is it fair to say that punctuality necessary in a civilized society?
(viii) Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference, with respect to the following:
Some friends of my family has this irritating habit of arriving half an hour too soon. We can deal with them by ________.
(ix) The over-punctual can be as much a trial to others as the unpunctual
i. He has everything coordinated and organized
ii. He believes that the early bird gets the worm
iii. He is wasting as much time as the unpunctual ones
iv. There is hardly any difference between the unpunctual and over punctual
(x) Select the most suitable lesson that the above passage conveys.
i. Punctuality is a necessary habit
ii. Correct knowledge is necessary
iii. Punctuality along with correct information is necessary
iv. All of these

Governments have seized on tourism as a way of creating employment and bringing income-preferably foreign exchange - into troubled economies. For years, tourism's capacity to filter wealth through communities has been a major argument in its favour. The tourist spends money on accommodation, food and souvenirs, bringing income to the suppliers of these goods and services, whose money will, in turn, circulate through the economy.
But if the hotels are foreign-owned, local people have little to gain. Nor are they better off if tourists, though staying among them, come prepared to be self- sufficient. In both cases, tourists are strongly resented by the locals, who see huge increases in prices as the only visible result of tourism's economic impact.
Job creation is another common advantage of tourism. Governments subsidise tourism projects in the expectation of increasing employment opportunities in the new hotels and restaurants. But such work is frequently poorly paid and is seasonal. Local people may be neither willing to do small and mean unskilled jobs nor highly trained enough to be managers or tour operators. They stand on the sidelines while foreign staff and migrants fill the vacancies. Social tensions surface all too easily in such situations.
Any kind of change brings tensions and economic development tends to increase the generation gap. The young learn new skills while the older generation finds its traditions devalued or rejected. Tourists bring with them different cultures and ideas. Their dress and behaviour may be very attractive to the younger generation, but not to the older one. On the beaches and bar strips of Asia, Africa and the Pacific, you can see how readily young people have been lured from their villages by the promise of bright lights and money.
In relation to the environment, even the most blundering tourism enthusiast is faced with the trunA that tourists destroy the very things they have come for. In Kenya, a country that depends heavily on tourism, there is a real danger of 'tourist pollution' in the most popular game parks. Animals in the Maasai Mara Reserve are constantly disturbed by tourist buses, their prey scattered, their feeding grounds damaged. If the animals disappear, so may tourism.
a. On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply an appropriate title to it.
b. Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.

You are a member of the SPCA. Draft a poster in not more than 50 words to create awareness on the need to prevent cruelty to animals. You are Suhas/Suhasini. ### Publicly we proclaim that dowry is an evil. Privately we want our sons to fetch good dowries. Right from our school days we should be taught that demanding and even giving dowry is not only illegal but immoral too. Draw a poster in about 50 words highlighting dowry as a curse. You are Vikram/Sonia.

Rising incomes of the middle class families are leading to obesity among their children. Poring over books for hours coupled with the lure of TV and the internet has led to a sedentary lifestyle. Addiction to junk food is another cause of obesity. Write a speech in 150-200 words on obesity, its causes and how to prevent it. ### Arun Kumar is a resident of Kalkaji. He is an active member of the citizen's forum. He is shocked to read the news that the Government has decided to increase the prices of petroleum products with immediate effect. He wants to enlighten fellow citizens about the impact of Government decision on the common man. Draft Arun's speech in about 150-200 words highlighting the impact of the hike in prices of petroleum products on the life of common man.

Principal, Sunrise Global School, Agra requires a receptionist for her school. Draft a suitable advertisement in about 50 words to be published in the classified columns of a national newspaper giving all the necessary details of qualifications and experience required in the receptionist. ### Write an advertisement in not more than 50 words for the Lost and Found column of the daily 'National Herald', Lucknow stating the loss of your wallet containing a DD for Rs 32500 and some cash, while travelling by bus from Hazratganj to Nirala Nagar in Lucknow. You are Raman/Roopa, 22 A Hazratganj, Lucknow.

bird/beautiful/how/is/the/! (reorder correctly)

the/call/manager/soon. (reorder correctly)

This tea is too hot for me. (use so.. that)

It is a very pleasant weather. (Transform to exclamatory)

An educated man is one ________ expression is educated. (where/when/whose/which)

Write a debate either for or against the motion: Admission to top-notch institutes guarantees a successful career. (150-200 words) ### 'The policy of reservation of seats for admission to the professional courses is good for the deprived sections of society.' Write a debate in 150-200 words either for or against the motion.