UPC: 62031105

Name of the course: B.A. Programme (LOCF)

Name of the paper: English Language Through Literature
Semester: 1
Marks: 75

Time limit: 3+1 (one hour reserved for downloading of question paper, scanning and
uploading of answer sheets)
The paper contains 3 unseen passages. Each passage has two questions based on it.
Students will attempt any FOUR out of SIX questions.
All questions carry equal marks. (4*18.75 = 75 marks)

Passage 1: (672 words)

Dear media editors around the world,

Melting glaciers, wildfires, droughts, deadly heat waves, floods, hurricanes, loss of biodiversity. These
are all symptoms of a destabilizing planet, which are happening around us all the time.
Those are the kind of things you report about. Sometimes. The climate crisis, however, is much more than
just this. If you want to truly cover the climate crisis, you must also report on the fundamental issues of
time, holistic thinking and justice.
So what does that mean? Let’s look at these issues one by one.
First, the notion of time. If your stories do not include the notion of a ticking clock, then the climate crisis
is just a political topic among other topics, something we can just buy, build or invest our way out of.
Leave out the aspect of time and we can continue pretty much like today and ”solve the problems” later
on. 2030, 2050 or 2060. The best available science shows that with our current rate of emissions, our
remaining carbon budget for staying below 1.5°C will run out before the end of this decade.
Second, holistic thinking. When considering our remaining carbon budget we need to count all the
numbers and include all of our emissions. Currently, you are letting high income nations and big polluters
off the hook, allowing them to hide behind the incomplete statistics, loopholes and rhetoric they have
fought so hard to create during the last 30 years.
Third, and most important of all, justice. The climate crisis isn’t just about extreme weather.
It’s about people. Real people. And the very people who have done the least to create the climate crisis
are suffering the most. And while the Global South is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, it’s almost
never on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. As Western media focuses on wildfires in California
or Australia or flooding in Europe, climate-related catastrophes are ravaging communities across the
Global South, but receive very little coverage.
To include the element of justice, you cannot ignore the Global North’s moral responsibility to move
much faster in reducing their emissions. By the end of this year, the world will have collectively burned
through 89% of the carbon budget that gives us a 66% chance of staying below 1.5°C.
That’s why historic emissions not only count, but are in fact at the very heart of the debate over climate
justice. And yet historical emissions are still being almost completely ignored by the media and people in
power.
To stay below the targets set in the Paris Agreement, and thereby minimize the risks of setting off
irreversible chain reactions beyond human control, we need immediate, drastic, annual emission
reductions unlike anything the world has ever seen. And as we don’t have the technological solutions that
alone will do anything close to that in the foreseeable future, it means we have to make fundamental
changes in our society. This is the uncomfortable result of our leaders’ failure to address this crisis.
Your responsibility to help correct this failure cannot be overstated. We are social animals and if our
leaders, and our media, don’t act as if we were in a crisis then of course we won’t understand that we are.
One of the essential elements of a functioning democracy is a free press that objectively informs the
citizens of the great challenges our society faces. And the media must hold the people in power
accountable for their actions, or inactions.
You are among our last hopes. No one else has the possibility and the opportunity to reach as many
people in the extremely short timeframe we have. We cannot do this without you. The climate crisis is
only going to become more urgent. We can still avoid the worst consequences, we can still turn this
around. But not if we continue like today. You have the resources and possibilities to change the story
overnight
Whether or not you choose to rise to that challenge is up to you. Either way, history will judge you.
Greta and Vanessa

Questions 1 and 2 are based on passage 1.

1. This question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be answered:

A. What is Greta and Vanessa’s suggestion to the media editors around the world for a
genuine, comprehensive coverage of the climate crisis? Answer in 200-250 words. (8.75
marks)

B. Imagine that you are a journalist who is interviewing Greta and Vanesaa. Write at least
10 questions that you would ask them along with the answers that you might get. Answer
in 300-350 words. (10 marks)
2. This question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be answered:
A. What is the role of the media in society? Why do Greta and Vanessa call the media
editors their last hopes? Give a detailed explanation in 200-250 words. (8.75 marks)

B. Imagine you are living in a world where the climate crisis has been controlled. How has it
been achieved and what would the earth look like? Will human beings behave diff erently?
Write a report or a short story in 300-350 words highlighting these changes. (10 marks)
Passage 2:
Bonds of Friendship

From the day that I first knew you,

Your heart was pure and kind;
Your smile was sweet and
innocent, Your wit was well
refined.

The sparkle in your eyes was keen,

Your friendship fast and real; Soft
words were your virtue,
And humor your appeal.

We grew as friends together,

We laughed and shared our
dreams;
Along the way crush or two,
Went unrevealed, it seems.

As years rolled on, our paths were split,

Our roads went separate ways;
We each pursued our
interests, That occupied our
days.

We soon forgot our youthful bliss,

Of tender carefree years;
We didn't talk or keep in touch,
Throughout life's pain and tears.

Then my darkest hour came,

And tried me to my core;
To save my heart from ruin,
I closed and locked the door.
Then out of every
nowhere, With precise
directed cue; An old
familiar smile,
Came slowly into view.
 Although much time was gone,
And the die of fate long cast; It
was as if we hadn't missed,
A second of the past.

You listened with attentive care,

And reassured my mind;
That loving hearts are still alive,
With purpose and design.

Deep inside I've locked way,

Emotions yet untold;
As time goes on, and bonds grow strong,
They will all unfold.

So thank you, friend, for taking

time, To demonstrate your love;
It's yet another blessing that,

I'm undeserving of.

Questions 3 and 4 are based on passage 2.

3. This question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be

answered:

A. poem depicts how friendships grow over the years. What are the milestones of the
friendship that the poem is highlighting? Respond with specific details from the poem to
support your answer. (200-250 words). (8.75 marks)

B. Paraphrase the full poem "Bonds of Friendship" (passage 2) in 250-300 words. (10 marks)

4. This question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be answered:

A. How does the separation from his/her friend impact the speaking voice? Read the poem in
Passage 2 carefully and respond with specific observations and statements. Answer in 200-250
words. (8.75 marks)

B. Imagine you are meeting your best friend after years. Write 10 turns of dialogue between
you and your friend where both of you are reminiscing over the ups and downs that your
friendship has seen. (10 marks)

Passage 3 (652 words)

GERRARD : (pleasantly) Why, this is a surprise, Mr— er —

INTRUDER : I’m glad you’re pleased to see me. I don’t think you’ll be pleased for long.
Put those paws up! Trying to be calm and — er—You’ll soon stop being smart. I’ll make
you crawl. I want to know a few things, see.

GERRARD : Anything you like. I know all the answers. But before we begin I should like
to change my position; you may be comfortable, but I am not.

INTRUDER : Sit down there, and no funny business. (Motions to a chair, and seats himself
on the divan by the bag.)

INTRUDER : Just answer my questions. You live here alone? Do you run a
car?

GERRARD : No.

INTRUDER : That’s a lie. You’re not dealing with a fool. I’m as smart as you and smarter,
and I know you run a car. Listen, this gun’s no toy. I can hurt you without killing you, and
still get my answers.

GERRARD : Of course, if you put it like that, I do possess a car, and it’s in the garage
round the corner.

INTRUDER : That’s better. Do people often come out here?

GERRARD : Very rarely. Surprisingly few people take the trouble to visit me. There’s the
baker and the greengrocer, of course; and then there’s the milkman — quite charming, but
no one so interesting as yourself.

INTRUDER : I happen to know that you never see tradespeople.

GERRARD : Since you know so much about me, won’t you say something about yourself?
You have been so modest. It didn’t require a great brain to break into my little cottage.

INTRUDER : When you know why I’ve broken into your little cottage, you’ll be surprised,
and it won’t be a pleasant surprise.

GERRARD : By the way, what particular line of crime do you embrace, or aren’t you
a specialist?
 INTRUDER : My speciality’s jewel robbery. Your car will do me a treat. I can retire here
nicely for a little while.

GERRARD : You mean to live with me? A trifle sudden isn’t it; you’ve not been
invited. INTRUDER : You won’t be here long; this is your big surprise. I’m going to
kill you.

GERRARD : A little harsh, isn’t it?

INTRUDER : (with heavy sarcasm) Yeah, I’ll be sorry to do it But it’s just got to be
done. GERRARD : Why add murder to your other crimes?

INTRUDER : I’m not taking it for fun. I’ve been hunted long enough. I’m wanted for murder
already, and they can’t hang me twice. As Vincent Charles Gerrard I’m free to go places and
do nothing. I can eat well and sleep and without having to be ready to beat it at the sight of a
cop. I’m going to be Vincent Charles Gerrard, see. I’ve got to know what he talks like. Now I
know. I’ve only got to wear specs and I’ll be enough like you to get away with it.

GERRARD : Your idea is to elude the police by killing me and taking on my identity? Don’t
be a fool. If you shoot, you’ll hang for sure. If not as yourself, then as Vincent Charles
Gerrard. For God’s sake clear that muddled head of yours and let’s go. Come with me in the
car. I can use you. If you find it’s a frame, you’ve got me in the car, and you’ve still got your
gun.

INTRUDER : Maybe you’re right.

(Gerrard opens the door and steps away. Intruder leans forward to inspect it, with his side
towards Gerrard, but with the revolver ready. As he turns his head, Gerrard gives him a push
into the cupboard, knocking the revolver out of his hand. He slams the door and locks it,
picks up the revolver and goes to the phone, where he stands with the gun pointed at the
cupboard door).

Questions 5 and 6 are based on passage 3.

5. The question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be answered:

A. Is the owner of the cottage afraid of the intruder? Or do you think he is witty and clever?
Give reasons for your answer in 200-250 words. (8.75 marks)

B. Imagine that the intruder comes out of the cupboard and attacks the owner. Narrate the
alternate ending in the form of a paragraph from the point of view of the intruder in about
300-350 words. (10 marks)
6. This question has two subparts, A+B. Both have to be answered:
A. What picture of the intruder do you get from the reading of the passage? Why does he want
to take on Gerrard’s identity? Answer in about 200-250 words. (8.75 marks)

B. Imagine you are Gerrard. Write a letter to your friend about what happened when the intruder
broke into your house and how you outwitted him in about 300-350 words. (10 marks)