CLASS 12 CBSE ENGLISH COMPLETE PAPER

  ENGLISH – CORE CLASS-XII  

Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40    

  General Instructions: 1. The Question Paper contains THREE   sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 

2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part.

                             SECTION A – READING (14 marks)

1         Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:  8 marks

1. The most spectacular and in many ways the most fundamental social change that the Gandhian movement affected in India is in respect of the position of women.  Undoubtedly, women in ancient India enjoyed a much higher status than their descendants in the 18th and 19th centuries.  From the earliest days, there have been many notable women in India – poets, scholars, administrators, social reformers and leaders of various movements.  In fact, the 18th century produced women like Ahalyabai Holkar whose administration of Indore state was considered a model for all of India.    

2. Today’s woman is a highly self-directed person, a life to the sense of her dignity and the importance of her functions in the private domestic domain and the public domain of the world of work.  It has been brought to light across the globe that no enduring solution of society’s most threatening social, economic, environmental and political problems could be found without the participation and empowerment of women.  The 1995 World Summit for Social Development also emphasized the pivotal role of women in eradicating poverty and mending the social fabric.  The Constitution of India had conferred on women equal rights and opportunities – political, social, educational and employment.  However, oppressive traditions, superstitions, exploitations and stereotyped mindsets keep them away from enjoying the rights and opportunities bestowed on them.  One of the major reasons is the lack of literacy and awareness among women.  Education is the main instrument through which we can narrow down the prevailing inequality and accelerate the process of economic and political change in the status of women. 

 3. The role of women in society is very important.  Women’s education is the key to a better life in the future.  A World Bank study says that educating girls is not a charity; it is good economics.  The report also goes on to state that the economic and social returns on investments in education for the girls are substantial and probably greater than those for boys. As the female population forms nearly half of the national population, the poor performance on the front of female literacy considerably affects the human development index of the nation.  Society would progress only if the status of women is respected and the presence of an educated woman in the family would ensure the education of the family itself.  Hence, the education and empowerment of women are closely related.  

4. Swami Vivekananda rightly said, “It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved.  It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.”  Women are not born but made.  It would only be apt to analyze the position and space Indian women occupy today and comparing it to the times sixty years ago when the country had just gained independence.  With the women participating in nationalist movements to being pushed into the domestic household space, to their resurgence as the super-woman today, women in our country have seen it all. 

 5. Women of India have started recognizing their true potential by breaking traditional barriers and earning a respectable position in society.  There is no arena which remains unconquered by them, be political, sport, technology, entertainment or even innovators.  The modern Indian woman does not let social constraints to keep her behind, but prioritizes her education, her home and her career before anything else.  Today, she is so deft and self-sufficient that she can be easily called a super-woman juggling many fronts single-handedly.  They are proving their metal not only on the home front but also in their respective professions.  They are joining universities and colleges in large numbers and entering specialized professional fields like engineering, medicine, space, research and development and the defense forces. 

 6. Thus, the path towards total gender empowerment may be full of potholes but over the years women have made great strides in many areas with notable progress in reducing the gender gap.  

Questions:- 

(i) What keeps women away from enjoying the rights and opportunities due to them?

 (ii) How does the education of women contribute to a nation’s economy? 

(iii) In what ways can today’s Indian women be called ‘super-women’? 

(iv) How has the modern Indian woman been able to bridge the gender gap? 

(v) Identify words from the passage which mean the following –  (i) Amazing (para 1) (ii) Hasten (para 2) (iii) Revival (para 4) 

(vi) What does the ‘proving their metal’ phrase mean? 

(vii) In what way are education and empowerment of women closely related? 

(viii) Justify this statement in its contextual terms – ‘It is impossible for a bird to fly only on one wing’.

Ix    she is so deft and self-sufficient that she can be easily called a super-woman 

 What does deft and self-sufficient mean write it in your own words?

 2               Read the  passage given below and answer the questions   6 Marks 

This isn't a mountain region of mere subjective beauty. Nor one, which claims its greatness, based on just an overwhelming opinion of a large majority. For Sikkim is a treasure that few know about. However, the facts of its remarkable geography bear enough testimony to pitch Sikkim in a slot that no other mountain region, anywhere in the world, could duplicate or rival. What Everest is to peaks, Sikkim is to the mountains. Tragically, a region so wild and exotic and with such geographic and climatic extremes, that its amazing wilds and not its unremarkable hill stations, ensure its accessibility to the adventurous only.

 Just delve on these facts a bit. From the plains, in a mere 80 kms as the crow flies, the altitude reaches 28,168 feet at the very top of Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world. Such a sharp elevation is unrivalled anywhere else and is the first geographical claim of Sikkim.

The second is an offshoot of the first. Nowhere else do so many 7,000 metre plus peaks crowd up such a confined space. And the third is really a consequence of the first and the second with the sharp gradation creating the most variegated flora and fauna possible anywhere in the mountains. The fourth uniqueness is also a consequence of the first and the second and lies in the extremes of the climate which ranges from the tropical to the typical arctic type. And the fifth claim is its thin permanent population and relatively fewer travellers by virtue of its remote far-eastern Himalayan location. The startling facts about Sikkim never seem to end. For starters, all of Sikkim lies in a mere 110 kms by 65 kms of mountains, peaks, glaciers, rivers and forests. A little dot on the map at a latitude 27 degrees North and longitude 88 degrees East. Its 7,000-sq kms make it about as large as the National Capital Region of India! To the North and extending to the East of Sikkim, is Tibet / China and to the West is Nepal. To the South are the Himalayan and sub Himalayan regions of West Bengal.

 It is, in fact these geographical extremes and the resulting ambience, that makes   mountaineers trek here, when they are not climbing, besides fuelling mountaineering dreams in the minds of trekkers, what with the closest possible proximity to magnificent peaks while trekking.

 On the subject of trekking here, it is strange but true that acclimatisation is much tougher in Sikkim than elsewhere. It may have something to do with being closer in latitude to the Tropic of Cancer, besides the rather sharp stages involved in each day of trekking. The closeness to the Tropic of Cancer has meant that the snowline will always be much higher and therefore human settlements are seen even at altitudes of 16,000 feet! (473 words) 

(i)What does the researcher mean by ‘ For Sikkim is a treasure that few know about’? 

(ii)Why does the writer say ‘just delve into the facts’ undertaken?

(iii)What do you understand by the term ‘unrivalled’ as stated in line 3 of para 2?

(iv)What can be concluded from the data given for starters? 

(v)Identify a word from lines 2-3 indicating that the region inspires trekking also.

(vi)Comment on the significance of snowline?.

(vii) Why is ‘accllimatisation a significant feature?

                                                SECTION B – WRITING                     8 Marks

 3  You are Ruhi, residing in Agra. Your friend, from the same city is inviting you to attend his birthday and has extended an invite to you. He has also requested your assistance for arrangements needed.  Draft a reply of acceptance, in not more than 50 words. 

 3 Marks

Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below

 4   A .5th June has been recognized as World Environment Day. Your school conducted various activities to commemorate the day. Write a report about it in about 150-200 words for your school magazine. You are Karuna/Karan. 

5 Marks

                                                                 

                                                                         OR

  B.You see a classified advertisement in the newspaper inviting applications for the post of a Sales Executive in a reputed bank. Write a letter with bio-data in about 120-150 words to the HR Manager, HABC Bank, Lajpat Nagar , New Delhi, applying for the post advertised. You are Avani/Aviral of 120, Kirti Nagar, Delhi. 5 Marks

                                                   SECTION C - LITERATURE  18 Marks

5   Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. 2x5=10

 i. Why did the peddler think that the world was a rattrap? How did he finally save himself from being trapped?                                                                        2

  ii.. Why did Gandhiji oppose when his friend Andrews offered to stay in Champaran and

help the peasants?                                                                                         2

 Iii.When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

     Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by…What does the poet mean by still ringed with ordeals?                                                                                       2 

 iv.    Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, a thing of beauty according to Keats always brings joy. Substantiate your answer with example.                                            2

 v.    Who checked McLeery’s suitcase and why? What things had McLeery brought with him? How were they helpful in the escape?                                           2 

vi. Justify the title of the lesson ‘On the Face of it’                                2   

6. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. 

(i) Why does Aunt Jennifer create animals that are so different from her own character ?    What might the poet be suggesting, through this difference ?     4

(ii)The actual pain or inconvenience caused by a physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disabilities. What is the kind of behaviour that the person expects from others? Empathetic attitude is what they need,how can you make them feel comfortable ?                4

(iii).Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler? Why do you think Edla and her father invite the peddler? What was common between the friendly hosts? Did the peddler redeem himself, why did he sign himself as Captain von Stahle?   4