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ENGLISH

Time: 2 1/2 Hours Maximum Marks: 80

PART 1

Questions 1-6. Read the extract from the memoir 'Project Tiger' and answer ANY FOUR questions that follow. (4 x 1 = 4)

The obvious thing to do was to look in a circus since they were likely to have trained animals. As a matter of fact, one called Bharat Circus was visiting Calcutta at the time, holding shows in Marcus Square. We sent someone to make an appointment with its Tamil manager and then went to meet him one morning. He greeted us warmly and ordered South Indian coffee for us. The manager heard the reason for our visit, then sent for one Mr Thorat. He turned out to be the ringmaster. He, too, was a South Indian, very well built, with features somewhat like those of a Nepali. He was perhaps no more than forty. He showed us an old scar on his forearm, which had been caused by a tiger.

1. Where could he get a tiger from for the shooting? (1)

2. Where was Bharat Circus holding their shows? (1)

3. Who did Ray contact to get the tiger? (1)

4. How did the manager of the Circus welcome Mr Ray? (1)

5. How does Mr Ray describe the appearance of Mr Thorat? (1)

6. Pick out a word from the passage that means 'a mark left on the skin after a wound has healed'. (1)

Questions 7 - 10. Read the following lines from 'Blowin' in the Wind' and answer the questions that follow. (4 x 1 = 4)

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist

Before it is washed to the sea?

Yes, and how many years can some people exist

Before they're allowed to be free?

Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head

And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

7. What happens to the mountain after its existence? (1)

8. Pick out the line that shows people have no freedom. (1)

9. What should a man do so that he does not see nything? (1)

10. Pick out two sets of rhyming words. (1)

PART 2

Questions 11 - 15. Read the lines from the poem 'The Ballad of Father Gilligan' and answer ANY THREE questions that follow. (3 x 2 = 6)

The old priest Peter Gilligan

Was weary night and day

For half his flock were in their beds

Or under green sods lay.

Once, while he nodded in a chair

At the moth-hour of the eve

Another poor man sent for him,

And he began to grieve.

11. Why was Father Gilligan tired? (2)

12. What phrase does the poet use to refer to the people in the parish? (2)

13. Why did Father Gilligan begin to grieve? (2)

14. Pick out the line that shows the time is evening. (2)

15. Write the rhyme scheme of the given lines. (2)

PART 3

Questions 16-18. Read the excerpt from 'Vanka' and answer ANY TWO questions that follow. (2 x 2 = 4)

Miss Olga Ignatyevna, Vanka's favourite, was the busiest of all. While Pelageya, Vanka's mother, was alive and in service at the big house, Olga Ignatyevna used to give Vanka sweets, and amuse herself by teaching him to read, write and count to a hundred, and even to dance the quadrille. But when Pelageya died, the orphaned Vanka was sent down to the back kitchen to his grandfather, and from there to Moscow, to Alyakhin the shoemaker....

16. How did Olga Ignetyevna amuse herself? (2)

17. Why was Vanka sent to Moscow, to Alyakhin? (2)

18. What idea do you get about Miss Olga from these lines? (2)

Question 19 – 23. Answer ANY THREE of the following. (3 x 4 = 12)

19. Complete the following passage choosing the phrases given in the brackets. (4)

Satyajit Ray decided to postpone (a) his shooting. He could not tolerate (b) wasting his money. Mr Thorat could not convey (c) to the tiger what he wanted. So the shooting came to a pause. He decided (d) to continue the shooting from the next week.

(put up with, put across, made up his mind, set up, put off)

20. Read the passage given below. There are certain errors in it. They are underlined. Edit them. (4)

'Mother to Son' is a poem written on (a) Langston Hughes. It has (b) first published in 1922 in The Crisis, a magazine dedicated to promoting civil rights on (c) the United States, and was later collected in Hughes's The Weary Blues (1926). The poem describes the difficulties by faced (d) black people in a racist society.

21. Complete the given conversation between Satyajit Ray and Thorat. (4)

Thorat : Hello, Mr Ray. I'm Thorat.

Ray : Hello, Mr Thorat, you are the ringmaster, ___(a)___?

Thorat : Glad to meet you. _____ (b)_______?

Ray : I want a tiger for shooting a scene in my film.

Thorat : Sure, sir. What can I do for you?

Ray : If you help me get a tiger, _____ (c)_______.

Thorat : How long _____(d)_______?

Ray : I need it for two or three hours.

Thorat : Oh! It's not a difficult task.

Ray : Thank you Mr Thorat

Thorat : Thank you.

22. Fill in the blanks choosing the right ones from the brackets given below. (4)

Adichie was ___(a)____ early writer. She wrote the kind __(b)___ stories that she had read. Her characters ____(c)____were white had blue eyes. They played in the snow ______(d)__ ate apples.

(on, and, of, who, an)

23. Read the following sentences and identify the Noun Phrases in the subject position of each sentence. (4)

(a) The boy liked to read books.

(b) The banyan tree was older than the boy's grandfather.

(c) Most of the birds gathered on the tree during fig season.

(d) The boy who spends most of his time on the tree loved to watch the nature.

Questions 24 – 25. Answer any ONE of the following. (1 X 4 = 4)

24. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

Madhyamam is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987. It is India's first international newspaper. It was founded by the Ideal Publications Trust. It has nine editions in India and its Persian Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has nine in the Middle East.

According to Indian Readership Survey 2009 and IRS 2010, it is the third popular newspaper in Kerala with a readership of 904,000 readers. The newspaper has exposed multiple stories of land encroachments, farming frauds, and malpractices in the name of assisted fertility.

a. When was Madhyamam newspaper first published? (1)

b. Who founded the newspaper? (1)

c. How many editions does it have in the Middle East? (1)

d. What is the position of Madhyamam in its popularity? (1)

25. Read the advertisement and answer the questions given below:

a. What is this advertisement for? (1)

b. What items should be sent along with the application? (1)

c. When should the application reach the company? (1)

d. Who should the application be sent to? (1)

PART 4

Questions 26 – 29. Answer any THREE of the following in about 80 words. (3 x 6 = 18)

26. Read the following lines from 'Lines Written in Early Spring' and prepare an appreciation considering the poetic devices and crafts employed. (6)

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And 'tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,

Their thoughts I cannot measure: --

But the least motion which they made,

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

27. A J Cronin was happy to know that he made the best investment in his life by paying a paltry sum to the young man. He recorded this incident in his diary. How will that diary entry be? (6)

28. You happened to see the homeopath in story 'The Snake and the Mirror' after his encounter with the snake. Prepare a set of six questions you wish to ask him. (6)

29. Martha's sister Rosie had won the scholarship jacket a few years back. She comes to know about the sudden change in policy and is sad for her sister. She decides to write a letter to the Principal questioning the change. Write the likely letter. (6)

Questions 30 – 32. Answer any TWO of the following in about 80 words. (2 x 6 = 12)

30. The English Club of your school prepared a School Magazine titled 'Memories'. Sri Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Malayalam filmmaker is invited to release the magazine. Being the Editor of the magazine, you are asked to prepare a notice inviting parents, teachers and students for the release. (6)

31. Prepare the profile of Bob Dylan using the hints given below: (6)

Name : Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan)

Born : May 24, 1941, Minnesota

Famous as : Singer, Song Writer, Artist, Writer

Notable Works : The Free Wheeling Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, Tune out of Mind

Awards : Golden Globe Award, Academy Award, Grammy Award, Polar Music Prizes, Nobel Prize for Literature (2016)

32. Vanka had to suffer greatly at the shoemaker's house. He wanted to escape to his home anyway. He talks to one of his friends about his wish to go back to his Grandfather. Prepare the likely conversation between Vanka and his friend. (Write at least six exchanges) (6)

PART 5

Questions 33 – 35. Answer any TWO of the following in about 120 words. (2 x 8=16)

33. The experiences the boy had on the tree is described in the story 'Adventures in A Banyan Tree'. Does the title suit to its story? Prepare a write-up. (8)

(Hints: banyan tree - sits on the bole of the tree – aerial view of nature around – sees the fight between a cobra and a mongoose – myna and jungle crow interferes - experience of white rat and grey squirrel)

34. The doctor in the story 'The Snake and the Mirror' was living alone in a rented house. When the snake coiled round his hand, he was frightened and at last ran for his life. When he reached his friend's house, he narrated to his friend what had happened. Narrate the story. (8)

(Hints: junior doctor - bachelor – rented house – hears a thud sounds – admires himself - often looks at the mirror - snake falls – coils on his arm – slips to the table – runs out)

35. The timely help in the story 'The Best Investment I Ever Made' gave birth to a new man in Mr John. He got transformed into a new man. Prepare a speech to appreciate Mr John on his achievements based on your reading of the story. (8)

(Hints: orphan - no friends- life ruined by gambling - suicide attempt - helps from the doctor, sergeant and the landlady- new life as a social worker – visits different camps – collects details - helps maladjusted and delinquent youth)