English Question Paper' 2012
AHSEC Class 12 Question Papers

Full Marks: 100
Pass Marks: 30
Time: Three hours

The figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (10 Marks)

1. In 1889, the fifth session of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai. Leaders from all over the country were in the packed hall.

2. A bright-eyed pretty young lady with a glowing, intelligent face rose to address the gathering. It was unprecedented.

3. There were no loud speakers and people at the back could not hear her. They started surging forward. “Brothers, excuse me, my voice cannot reach you. But I am not surprised. For centuries, did you ever try to listen to the voice of a woman? Did you give her the strength to make her voice audible to you?”

4. The delegates had no answer.

5. There was more to come from the courageous young lady known as Pandita Ramabai. Till that day women hardly ever attended Congress sessions. It was Pandita Ramabai’s effort that resulted in nine women delegates attending the 1889 session of the Congress.

6. She was not content to be a dumb delegate. She made a forceful speech on the resolution about the practice of cutting off the hair of widowed women. “You men are demanding the right of representation in British Parliament, so that you can voice the opinion of Indians. You have been crying hoarse in this very pandal for freedom of expression. Then why don’t you give the same freedom to women in your families? Why do you force a woman to become ugly and dependent as soon as she becomes a widow? Does a widower ever do that? He has the freedom to do whatever he wants. Then why not the woman?”

7. One can say that Pandita Ramabai laid the foundation of the movement of women’s liberation in India.

8. Ramabai never minced words. She had the courage of her conviction and stood by it. She had inherited this courage to defy social injustice from her parents, Pandit Anantshastri Dongre and Laxmibai Dongre.

9. Anantshastri was a great scholar. He defied society and taught Sanskrit to his wife and two daughters. “There is noting in Shastras which prohibits women from learning Sanskrit”, he maintained, and proved his contention by giving more than 300 references. But the orthodox scholars were not convinced. They ostracized him. Anantshastri did not care. He established his Ashram in the wilderness of Gangamul in Andhra Pradesh. His generosity and the unscrupulous behaviour of his elder son-in-law deprived him of all his assets. He was forced to live the life of a nomad, reciting and interpreting Puranas, Bhagwat and other holy books to people. The family survived on whatever little cash or grain offered by the audience.

10. Ramabai wrote: “Two third of the audience consisted of women who never go empty-handed to a discourse. They always offer something to the diety as well as to the kirtankar or kathakar. Men just ring the bell and do Namaskar. Thus, half of the expenditure of these temples is met by the generosity of women. Even then these priests and so-called scholars consider women as obstacles in pursuit of knowledge. They deny women the right to learn. How ungrateful: what injustice!”.

11. The family travelled around for sixteen years, and that helped to broaden Ramabai’s outlook.

12. Right from childhood she could not stand injustice. One day she tried to save a little girl of nine from being burnt with the dead body of her husband. “If a women has to burn and become sati, does man become sata after his wife’s death?” She asked indignantly, the young girl’s mother has no answer and simply said. “It is man’s world, they make laws: women have to obey.” “Why do women tolerate such laws?” countered Ramabai. “When I grow up, I will fight against these laws” And fight she did against every type of exploitation of women by men.

13. Perhaps it was to make her strong enough for her future mission that Providence made her go through one disaster after another.

14. Her father died when she was sixteen. They could not give sugar and water which he asked for on his deathbed. They were then travelling through the famine-affected area of Venkatgiri. With tears in their eyes and loved in their heart, Ramabai’s family could only give some water to the dying man. Nobody helped them in his burial. After great persuasion one Brahmin got a pit dug. Srinivas, Ramabai’s brother, wrapped the dead body in a sheet and carried it to the pit. And the great scholarly sanyasi was buried.

Answer the following questions:

i. Which session of the Indian National Congress was held in Mumbai in 1889? 1

ii. How many women delegates attended the 1889 session of the Indian National Congress? 1

iii. Who, according to the passage, laid the foundation of the women liberation movement? 1

iv. How did Anantshastri defy the society? 2

v. “They ostracized him” (para 9) 2

a) Who are ‘they’ referred to here?

b) Explain the meaning of the sentence

vi. Which incident made her fight against every type of exploitation of women by men? 2

3. Water is precious and we should stop wastage. Prepare a poster in not more than 50 words urging people to employ various methods of rainwater harvesting in their locality. 5

You are Pramila/Priyam, the sports secretary of Kokrajhar Senior Secondary School, Kokrajhar. Write a notice suitable for your school notice board giving the details for participation of students in a football tournament to be organized by your school. (Word Limit: 50 words) 5

4. You attended the Edufair, 2011, organized by The Assam Tribune Pvt. Ltd. In Guwahati in which some top colleges and universities of India participated and gave information about their Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Write detailed account of the fair in 100-125 words. You are Parveen/Pravin.10

You are eyewitness to a road accident in which a school going boy was killed and many passengers were injured. As a press reporter of The Assam Tribune, write a report about the accident in 100-125 words. You are Ayesha/Sanjoy. 10 M

5. Write a letter to the editor of The Sentinel drawing attention of the authorities concerned regarding the poor condition of the roads in your locality. You are Rashmi/Manab living in Changsari, Kamrup. 10

You are Arunava. You have seen the advertisement for the post of English teacher in Model Public School, Jorhat. Write an application for the post in response to the advertisement. Give you bio-date also.

6. You are Nandini/Nabin. Write an article in 150-200 words for a newspaper on “the role of Youth in combating corruption in the society.” 10

Write a short speech in about 200 words on preservation of bio-diversity in the Northeast of India. 10

7. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:

“The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead

Or if every aside a moment, than out of sorts

At having, the landscape marred with the artless paint

Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong

Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts

Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts

Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene

You have the money, but if you want to be mean

Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.”

a) How did the traffic pass? 1

b) Why did one turn out of sorts? 1

c) What are the two things that were sold in that stand? 1

d) What should one do if one wants to be mean?

“Driving from my parent’s

Home to Cochin last Friday

Morning, I saw my mother,

Beside me,

Doze openmouthed, her face

Ashen like that of a corpse……..”

a) Where was the poet driving to? 1

b) What did she notice when her mother sat beside her? 1

c) Find words from the passage that mean ‘sleep lightly’ and ‘dead body’. 1

d) Why was her mother’s face like that of a corpse? 1

8. Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words: 2x3=6

a) How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?

b) What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?

c) What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to in the poem ‘A Roadside Stand’? Why is it vain?

d) Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

9. Answer any five of the following questions: 1x5=5

a) “I started for school very late that morning”. Who is the ‘I’ here? ANS: ‘I’ refers to Franz.

b) Who is the author of “Lost Spring”? ans: Anees Jung

c) What does Mukesh want to be? Ans: Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic.

d) Who is Sir Edward Gait? Ans: Sir Edward Gait was the Lieutenant Governor who appointed an official commission of enquiry into the indigo sharecroppers’ situation.

e) Who was Rajkumar Shukla? Ans: he was poor peasant from champaran

f) What does Sophie want to have when she grows up? Ans: Sophie want to have an amazing botique when she grows up

10. Answer any five of the following questions in 30-40 words: 2x5=10

a) Why did little Franz want to spend his day out of doors?

b) What are M. Hamel’s views about the French language?

c) Is Saheb happy working at the tea stall? Why?

d) What is the significance of bangles in an Indian society?

e) Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in his life?

f) What job is Geoff engaged in? Does he entertain wild and impractical dreams like his sister?

11. Answer any one of the following questions in 80-100 words: 5x1=5

a) What was the order from Berlin? How did that order affect the people of Alsace, particularly M. Hamel and his students?

b) Describe the miserable plight of the people of Firozabad.

12. Answer any one of the following questions in 125-150 words: 7x1=7

a) Describe the narrator’s journey to end of the Earth-the Antarctic region and his experience during the journey on the success of “Students on Ice” programme of Geoff Green?

b) “Though both Mr. Lamb and Derry suffer from a physical disability, their attitude to life is different”. Justify the relevance of this statement with reference to the story, “On the Face of it.”

13. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words: 2x4=8

a) What was Gondwana?

b) How has Antarctica remained relatively pristine?

c) Why and how did Derry enter Mr. Lamb’s garden?

d) Why aren’t there any curtains at the windows of Mr. Lamb’s house?

e) What was Zitkala-Sa’s idea regarding short, shingled hair?

f) When did Bama experience untouchability?