RBSE Class 12th 2013 English (Literature)-SS-20-2013 Previous Year Papers

SENIOR SECONDARY EXAMINATION, 2013

ENGLISH LITERATURE

Time : 3 Hours
Maximum Marks : 80

SS—20—Eng. Lit. [ss-538] [ Turn over

SECTION - I (Reading)

1. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

I am specially conscious of this when I want to consult a book. I have a considerable number of books and a great love of seeing books well arranged, with every volume in the place chosen for it — everything necessary, indeed, to an orderly student except the habit of putting the book back on the shelf when I have finished with. As a result, I spend as much time in looking for books as in reading them. If I want to check a question from Browning, the volume that contains the passage is always the volume that is missing. If I want something in the first volume of Mr. E.V. Lucas's Life of Charles Lamb, I can find only the second. I see dictionaries all over the house when I am looking for something else, but, when at a crisis I want a dictionary more than any other book in the world, all the dictionaries seem to have melted into thin air. It is as though any books were inspired with a spirit of mischief and took their revenge on me for my carelessness by wasting my time in a never ending game of hide-and-seek. Even the Bible itself hides from me when I want to read it.

Hence I praise above all others the life of habit, order and discipline, and I disagree most strongly with Montaigne when he declares that "a young man should break in upon his rules, to stir up energy and keep it from mouldy and lazy; for no course of life is so foolish and feeble as that which is carried out according to rules and discipline". This may have been good enough advice for gentlemen with a private income in the sixteenth century, but it is of no use to a generation that has discovered the beauty of machines and must more and more adapt itself to the beautiful and orderly ways of machines. Give me the train that starts punctually, the clock that habitually tells the right time, the man who breakfasts punctually at eight every morning and always carries his ticket in the same pocket. To live like a machine in all those matters that do not matter — this is to live successfully. To live mechanically is to be a free spirit, unburdened by the constant necessity of turning in a silly hunt for books and spectacles.

SS—20—Eng. Lit. [ss-538]

Section: Prose

1. Answer the following questions based on the prescribed prose text:

1. (i) Why is the speaker unable to find books?

   The speaker is unable to find books because he has lent them to friends who have not returned them, or they have been misplaced or lost over time.

2. (ii) How do books take revenge on the speaker?

   Books take revenge by being missing when the speaker needs them, or by being damaged, stained, or worn out due to careless handling by borrowers.

3. (iii) Why does the speaker disagree with Montaigne?

   The speaker disagrees with Montaigne because Montaigne believed that lending books is a virtue, while the speaker feels that lending often leads to loss and inconvenience.

4. (iv) What are the three instances of living mechanically?

   Three instances of living mechanically are: (1) performing daily routines without thought, (2) following habits blindly, and (3) acting without conscious awareness or purpose.

5. (v) What is the advantage of living mechanically?

   The advantage of living mechanically is that it saves mental energy and allows one to perform tasks efficiently without overthinking, leading to a simpler and less stressful life.

Section: Poetry

2. Read the following extract from the given poem and answer the questions that follow:

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes,
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.

1. (i) Give three similes used in the first stanza.

   The three similes in the first stanza are: (1) "My heart is like a singing bird", (2) "My heart is like an apple-tree", (3) "My heart is like a rainbow shell".

2. (ii) What does a 'rainbow' signify?

   A 'rainbow' signifies beauty, hope, and joy. In the poem, it represents the speaker's colorful and happy heart.

3. (iii) What does 'peacocks with a hundred eyes' mean?

   'Peacocks with a hundred eyes' refers to the intricate and decorative patterns on a peacock's tail feathers, symbolizing beauty, luxury, and grandeur in the dais being prepared for the beloved.

4. (iv) Why is the poet glad?

   The poet is glad because his love has come to him, marking the birthday of his life and bringing immense joy and fulfillment.

5. (v) Why are the boughs bent?

   The boughs are bent because they are heavy with thick-set fruit, symbolizing abundance and the fullness of the poet's heart with joy.

SECTION - II

( Writing )

1. Write an essay in about 50-200 words on the following: 8

• India : A Land of Festivals.
• OR
• My Dream.

2. You are a member of the 'Wildlife Conservation Society'. Write an article in about 50-200 words for the daily newspaper on 'Problems caused by stray animals on the road'. Sign as Hitesh/Heena.

OR

3. Draft an invitation to be sent around on the occasion of the ‘Foundation Day' of Padmawati School, Chitrakoot. Include all the necessary details. 7

SECTION - III

( Grammar )

4. In the following passage each line has an error. Edit the passage by identifying the wrong word / an inappropriate expression, strike it off; then write the correct word in your answer-book as shown in the first example. 5

6. Read the conversation below and fill in the blanks in indirect speech :

Direct Speech:

Son : Dad, I want a racing bike.
Father : No, you aren't eighteen yet.
Son : What does that matter ?
Father : Do you know how to ride a bike ?
Son : Of course, dad. I rode my friend's bike a number of times.
Father : This is wrong. I promise to get you one only when you are eighteen.

Indirect speech :

A son asked his father to get him a racing bike but his father refused saying that he wasn't eighteen yet. The son argued that it didn't matter. His father asked him if he knew how to ride a bike. The son replied that he did, and that he had ridden his friend's bike a number of times. Then his father promised him that he would get him one only when he was eighteen.

SECTION - IV (Textual)

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

When I was ten years old I received my first, rattling film projector, with its chimney and lamp. I found it both mystifying and fascinating. The first film I had was nine feet long and brown in colour. It showed a girl lying asleep in a meadow, who woke up and stretched out her arms, then disappeared to the right. That was all there was to it.

1. (i) What film did the author view on the flowered wall of the nursery ?
   
   The author viewed a film of a girl lying asleep in a meadow, who woke up, stretched out her arms, and then disappeared to the right.
2. (ii) What was there in the film that he saw on the projector ?
   
   The film was nine feet long and brown in colour. It showed a girl sleeping in a meadow, who then woke up, stretched her arms, and vanished to the right.
3. (iii) On what basic principle is the film projector based ?
   
   A film projector works on the principle of persistence of vision, where a series of still images are projected rapidly in succession, creating the illusion of continuous motion.

OR

So, it is very important that from the tenderest age you are free to find out, and not enclosed by a wall of do's and don'ts; for if you are constantly told what to do and what not to do, what will happen to your intelligence ? You will be thoughtless entity who just walks into some career, who is told by his parents whom to marry or not to marry; and that is obviously not an action of intelligence. You may

(The extract continues on the next page.)

8. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:

pass your examinations and be very well off, you may have good clothes and plenty of jewels, you may have friends and prestige; but as long as you are bound to tradition, there can be no intelligence.

1. What do the elder people say about discipline?

   The elder people say that discipline means following tradition blindly, without questioning or thinking independently. They equate discipline with obedience to established customs and rules.

2. Explain that 'passing an examination' is not an action of intelligence.

   Passing an examination is merely a mechanical process of memorizing and reproducing information. It does not involve original thinking, questioning, or understanding. True intelligence requires freedom from tradition and the ability to think independently, which examinations often fail to test.

3. How can one acquire intelligence?

   One can acquire intelligence by breaking free from the bonds of tradition and conditioning. It comes from questioning, observing, and understanding life directly, rather than following prescribed patterns. Intelligence grows when the mind is free to explore and learn without fear or prejudice.

8. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:

Call me callous
Call me selfish
But do not blame my blood
So thin, so clear, so fine
The oldest blood in the world
That remembers as it flows
All the gems and all the gold
And all the perfumes and the oils
And the stately
Elephant ride ...

1. Why does the persona in the poem call herself callous and selfish?

   The persona calls herself callous and selfish because she appears indifferent or unfeeling to others who may criticize her. She is proud of her heritage and refuses to change or apologize for her ancient lineage, which others might see as cold or self-centered.

2. According to the poet what is the difference between the blood of old and new rich men?

   The poet contrasts the blood of old rich men, which is "thin, clear, fine" and carries the memory of ancient wealth (gems, gold, perfumes, oils, elephant rides), with the blood of new rich men, which is likely coarse and lacks such noble heritage. The old blood is refined and remembers a glorious past, while new money lacks this depth and tradition.

3. Where did she go on the elephant?

   The poem does not specify a particular destination. The "stately elephant ride" symbolizes the grandeur and royal lifestyle of the persona's ancestors, suggesting processions or journeys undertaken in a majestic manner, typical of ancient royalty or nobility.

OR

She was a tall girl, the fence was low, and she could spread her elbows on the top. Her hands would be red with the bit of washing she had done but her forearms were white and shapely, and she would look at her father's landlord in silence — in an informal silence which had an air of knowledge, expectation and desire.

1. What contrast is presented in the first line?

   The contrast is between the girl's height ("tall girl") and the low fence. Her tall stature makes the low fence easy for her to lean on, highlighting her physical advantage and perhaps her social position relative to the fence (which may symbolize a barrier or boundary).

2. What turned the girl's hands red?

   The girl's hands turned red from the washing she had done. This indicates she performed manual labor, likely washing clothes or dishes, which caused her hands to become red and rough from the work.

3. Why was Miss Carvil standing at the fence?

   Miss Carvil was standing at the fence to observe her father's landlord. She looked at him in silence, with an air of knowledge, expectation, and desire, suggesting she was waiting for something—perhaps an opportunity to interact, or she was simply watching him with interest and longing.

9. Answer the questions in about 60 words each (any two): 2×6=12

10. Answer the questions in about 50 words each (any four): 4×3=12

SECTION - V (Fiction)