English Preliminary Paper Xii Paper Ii

Q1. A. Read the following extract and answer the following questions. The violet opened her blue lips and said, “What an unfortunate flower am I among these flowers, and how humble is the position I occupy in their presence! Nature has fashioned me to be short and poor … I live very close to the earth and I cannot raise my head towards the blue sky, or turn my face tot he sun, as the roses do.” And the rose heard her neighbour’s words; she laughed and commented, “How strange is your talk! You are fortunate, and yet you cannot understand your fortune. Nature has bestowed upon you fragrance and beauty which she did not grant to any other… Cast aside you thoughts and be contented, and remember that he who humbles himself will be exalted, and the who exalts himself will be crushed.” The violet answered, “You are consoling me because you have that which I crave … You seek to embitter me with the meaning that you are great… How painful is the preaching of the fortunate to the heart of the miserable! And how severe is the strong when he stands as advisor among the weak!” And Nature heard the conversation of the violet and the rose; she approached and said, “What has happened to you, my daughter violet? You have been jumble and sweet in al your deeds and words. Has greed entered you heart and numbed your sense?” In a pleading voice, the violet answered her, saying, “Oh great and merciful mother, full of love and sympathy. I beg you, with all my heart and soul, to grant my request and allow me to be a rose for one day.” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

What was the violet’s regret? How did nature praise the violet? What was the violet’s request to Mother Nature? Why die the rose feel the violet’s talk “Strange”? Do you agree with the violet as she defends her “Strange talk”?

Q1. B. Read the following passage and answer the following Our day used to start with the family huddling around my mother’s Chulha, an earther question. fireplace she would build at each place of posting, and where she would cook for the family. There was no gas, no electric stoves. The morning routine started with teas. As the brew was served, Father would ask us to read aloud the editorial page of The Statesman’s ‘mofussil’ edition, delivered one day late. We did not understand much of what we were reading. But the ritual was meant for us to know that the world was larger than Koraput district, and the English I speak today, despite having studied in an Oriya medium school, has to do with that routine. After reading the newspaper aloud, we were

told to fold it neatly. Father taught us a simple lesson. He used to say, “You should leave your newspaper and your toiled the way you expect to find it. “That lesson was about showing consideration to others. Business begins and ends with that simple percept. We did not have a house of our own and would occasionally ask Father, when, like others, we would live in our own house. He would give a reply, “We do not need house of our own. I already own five houses. “His replies did not gladden our hearts at the time. Nonetheless, we learnt that it is important not to measure personal success and a sense of well being through material possessions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

What according to the writer was the simple precept? (1) What did the writer learn from his father’s reply of not having a house of their own?(1) What was the need of the ritual of reading “The Statesman”?(2) What idea of the writer’s family do you get from the extract? (2) Do you agree with the writer’s father’s lesson about showing consideration for others? (3)

Q1. C. Read the following passage and answer the following questions. I didn’t mind vegetable shopping, specially since I loved the old Dhobi Talao market and was on first – name terms with the vendors. I still enjoy buying plump, fresh vegetables and bantering with the sellers. I picked the veggies with utmost care, making sure the brinjals were not too soft or spotted; the bhindis were firm and green, the palak crisp and alert. Looking for groceries was another matter. My parents preferred to patronize just one store – the government controlled Sahakari Bhandar. Nothing wrong with that – or the store. But being government controlled meant just one thing – long queues for every little item, and dozens of little bills. I’d spend more time paying for a bar of soap that I would have if I was buying half the store. I tried to circumvent the problem by sneakily making similar small purchases from a privately owned shop closer to home, I got caught each time. I tried arguing, ‘But what difference does it make? It’s the sake bar of soap, the same toothpaste, the same talcum powder.’ 1. What according to the writer, were the problems of purchasing from a Sahakari Bhandar?(1) 2. Give reason: “I didn’t mind vegetable shopping.” (1) 3. Why was the writer angry with her mother’s argument? (2) 4. Write two sentences of your own to describe the writer’s shopping. (2) 5. Do you agree with the writer as she refer to “value of time” in the context of the text? (3) 6. Give noun forms of the following adding suffixes. (2) a. Enjoy b. prefer c. circumvent d. argue

Q2. A. Read the following poem and answer the following questions. (8 marks) DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must --- but don’t you quit, Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow--You might succeed with another blow. 1. Pick out at least two situations mentioned in the poem for a person to lose his her confidence. 2. How does the poet advise the reader to come out of a difficult situation? 3. Do you easily feel frustrated enough to give up? 4. Explain the figure of speech in the given sentence “When funds are low and the debts are high” 5. What type of poem is this?

Q2. B. Answer the following question by reading the passage given in next page. (8 marks) 1. How does Alice avoid her mother’s questions? 2. Why does the mother say, “you looked a ghost or angel”? 3. Do you like the mother in the poem, in spite of her nagging her daughter? Explain your answer. 4. Pick out an example of personification. 5. Pick out the expressions which show the contrasting emotion in the daughter

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Q3. Writing Skill

A FROSTY NIGHT ‘Sweet, my dear, what ails you?’ ‘No, but I am well. The night was cold and frosty, There’s no more to tell.’ ‘Ay, the night was frosty, Coldly gaped the moon, Yet the birds seemed twittering Through green boughs of June. Soft and thick the snow lay, Stars danced in the sky – Not all the lambs of May – day Skip so bold and high. Your feet were dancing, Alice, Seemed to dance on air, You looked a ghost or angel In the star – light there. Your eyes were frosted star – light; Your heart, fire and snow. Who was it said, “I love you”?’ ‘Mother, let me go!’

1. Write a short tourist leaflet on any place of tourist importance, with the help of the following points. (4) a. How to go there. b. Where to say c. Main attraction of the place. b. Any thing special about the place. c. Add you own points. 2. Write a letter to concerned authority regarding irregular electricity supply in your area. (4) 3. Write a letter to the Police Commissioner requesting him to take stern actions against the frequent thefts in your locality. (4) 4. Write a report on the following headlines. a. 3 killed in a bomb blast. (4) b. 30 school children were killed in an accident. (4) 5. Prepare a speech to be delivered on environment protection. (4) 6. Write an essay on (7) a. My favourite game. b. Mobile phones. c. Trees – out best fried. d. Computer. OMTEX CLASSES