Sample Question paper for Practice only

Higher Secondary Examination-2024

Subject-English

Total No. of Questions Total Printed Pages Time Maximum Marks

15 7 3.00 80

Instructions:
 Read all the questions carefully.
 Read the instructions given with the questions before attempting them.
 Marks of each question are indicated against them.

Section-A (Reading)

Q.1. Read the passages and answer the questions that follow. 1×10=10
The song of birds is one of the loveliest sounds in nature. Sometimes when we are out in the
country and we hear birds singing, it seems to us they are calling back and forth, that they are telling one
another something. The fact is that birds do communicate with one another, just as many other animals
do. Of course, at times the sounds birds make are more expressions of joy, just as we may make cries of
‘Oh!’ and ‘Ah!’. But for the most part, the sounds that birds make are attempts at communication. A
mother hen makes sounds that warns her children of danger and causes them to crouch down motionless.
Then she gives another call which collects them together. When wild birds migrate at night, they cry out.
These cries may keep the birds together and help lost ones return to the flock. But the language of birds
is different from language as we use it. We use words to express ideas and these words have to be learned.
Birds don’t learn their language. It is an inborn instinct with them. In one experiment, for example, chicks
were Kept-away, from cocks and hens so they could not bear the sounds they made. Yet when they grew
up they were able to make those sounds just as well as chicks that had grown up with cocks and hens!
This does not mean that birds can’t learn how to sing. In fact, some birds can learn the songs of other
birds. This is how the mocking bird gets its name.
Questions-
(i) In nature, one of the loveliest sounds is:
(a) the sound of film song (b) the roar of a lion
(c) the song of a crow (d) the song of birds

(ii) When wild birds migrate at night, they cry out:

(a) to keep them warm (b) to keep the birds together
(c) to keep the enemy away (d) to keep the young lings tight

(iii) We human beings use words:

(a) to express ideas (b) to express meanings
(c) to express other’s speech (d) to express talent

(iv) Birds don’t learn their language as:

(a) It is tough to learn. (b) It is only a quality with human.
(c) It is an inborn instinct with them. (d) It is developed with extra intelligence.

(v) The adverb form of ‘mocking’ is:

(a) mock (c) mockery
(b) mockingly (d) mocked

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(vi) The sounds of birds are an attempt to-
(a) to sing a song (b) to communicate
(c) to fly (d) to start a meeting
(vii) Which of the following has the similar meaning of ‘a group of birds?
(a) banish (b) flock
(c) apart (d) herd

(viii) Which of these is the main idea of the above passage?

(a) importance of nature (b) necessity of sounds of birds
(c) importance of sounds of birds (d) importance of ecosystem

(ix) Why does a mother hen make sounds?

(a) to feed her chicks (b) to protect her chicks
(c) to gather her chicks (d) both (b) and (c)

(x) Which of the following is true about the birds?

(a) They learn making sounds by themselves. (b) They know how to communicate with humans.
(c) They can learn sounds of other birds. (d) both (a) and (c)

Q.2. Read the following passage carefully and make notes on it also give a suitable title to 4
it.
Violence has played a great part in the world’s history. It is today playing an equally
important part and probably it will continue to do so for a considerable time. It is impossible
to ignore the importance of violence in the past and present. To do so is to ignore life. Yet
violence is undoubtedly bad and brings an unending trail of evil consequences with it. And
worse even than violence are the motives of hatred, cruelty, revenge and punishment which
very often accompany violence. Indeed, violence is bad, not intrinsically, but because of these
motives that go with it. There can be violence without these motives there can be violence for
a good object as well as for an evil object. But it is extremely difficult to separate violence from
these motives, and therefore, it is desirable to avoid violence as far as possible. In avoiding it,
however someone cannot accept a negative attitude of submitting to bad and far greater evils.
Submission to violence or the acceptance of an unjust regime based on violence is against the
spirit of non-violence. The non-violent method, in order to justify itself, must be dynamic and
capable of changing such a regime of social order.

Section-B (Writing)

Q.3. You are Nakul Sehgal. You want to let your flat. Draft an advertisement to be published
in the classified column of a newspaper. 4

Or
You are Rohit Rajak, student of class XII of Govt. HSS, Kolaras. You have found a bag in the
school playground. Prepare a notice for the school notice board giving the information about
the bag.

Q.4. Write a letter to the collector of your district about the lack of facilities and
malfunctioning of the government hospital of your area. 4
Or
Write a letter to your friend advising him to study English, Maths, general Knowledge and
reasoning for upcoming NDA exam.
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Q.5. You have witnessed an accident. Write a report for a newspaper about the accident using
the following inputs: 4

a. Where, when and how did the accident happen

b. People, vehicle involved, loss of life and property
c. The scene of the accident,
d. details of casualties-deaths, injured, hospitalized
e. role of the police
Or
Write a short paragraph on any one of the following topics in about 120 words.

A- Women Empowerment
B- Value of Games and Sports
C- Social Media and Its Role in Students’ Lives
D- Online Education: Boon or Bane

Section-C (Grammar)

Q.6. Fill in the blanks (any five) 1×5=5

i. Work hard, lest you………… fail. (should, will, can)

ii. This table is made……………. wood. (with. from, of)
iii. Would you like to have ………. coffee? (any, some, many)
iv. I ………………. anything since morning. (haven’t eaten, didn’t eat, don’t eat)
v. Where is ………… book that I gave you yesterday. (a, an, the)
vi. Walk carefully…... you will fall down. (else, but, and)

Q.7. Do as directed (any five) 1×5=5

i. He failed. He did not study well.

(Combine the pair of sentences using ‘so’)
ii. Mumbai is larger than Bhopal. (Change into positive Degree)
iii. As soon as the Sun rises, I wake up.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘no sooner……. than’)
iv. He is the boy who has won the race. (Identify the underlined clause.)
v. He said to me “You have been selected.” (Change the narration)
vi. Unless you work hard, you can’t win the match.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘if’)

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 Section-D (Text Books)

Q.8. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow. 1×5=5

“My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlinto teach
only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new Master comes tomorrow. This
is your last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive.” What a thunderclap these words
were to me! Oh, the wretches; that was what they had put up at the town hall! My last
French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn anymore! I must stop
there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’ eggs, or
going sliding on the Saar! My books,that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy
to carry, my grammar, andmy history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn’t
give up.

Questions

(i) Which of these orders has come from Berlin?

a. closure of school b. no French to be taught
c. rustication of Franz d. transfer of M.Hamel

(i ii) Why does M. Hamel want the students to be attentive?

a. because the order has come from Berlin
b. because it is his last French lesson
c. because he is about to tell important questions for their exam d.
d. because thegovernment officer is on a visit

(iii) Which of these seemed ‘old friends’ to Franz?

a. M. Hamel b. the blackboard

c. his classmates d. his books

(iv) “What a thunderclap these words were to me!”

Which of these expresses the meaning of the underlined word in the above line?

a. loud and clear b. startling and unexpected

c. pleasant and welcome d. encouraging and full of zeal

(v) Which of these moods did Franz express when he was told that it was his last
French lesson?

a. inspired and cheerful b. repenting and sorrowful

c. optimistic and serious d. romantic and humorous

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Q.9. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.

(A)

Now we will count to

twelve And we will all keep
still.
For once on the face of the
EarthLet’s not speak in any
language, Let’s stop for one
second,
And not move our arms so much

Questions: 1×3=3

(i) Who is the poet of Keeping Quiet?

a. Kamala Das b. Stephen Spender
c. Pablo Neruda d. John Keats

(ii) What does the poet want others to do?

a. to keep quiet and introspect b. to make noise and find fault
c. to spread wars all around d. none of these

(iii) Why should we keep quiet according to the poet?

a. for attaining peace b. for maintaining brotherhood
c. for silence d. d. all of these

Extract 4
(B).
The injured man was an American. As his cap fell off, they saw his wet, yellow –
coloured hair which had not been cut for a long time. He was young, his face had such marks
which indicated that he had been tortured. He had a rough, unkempt yellow – coloured beard.
As he had fainted, he did not know of the presence of Sadao and Hana.
Now Sadao remembered the wound, and with his expert fingers he began to search
for it. Blood flowed freshly at his touch. On the right side of his lower back Sadao saw that a
gun wound had been reopened. The flesh was blackened with powder. Sometime, not many
days ago, the man had been shot and had not been tended. It was bad chance that the rock
had struck the wound.
Questions: 1×4=4

(i) Who was the injured man?

a. British b. American
c. Japanese d. Indian

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(ii) How did the man get injured?
a. by gun b. by stones
c. by sword d. none of the above

(iii) Who was Sadao?

a. a soldier b. a fisherman
c. a doctor d. a farmer

(iv) The face of the injured man indicated

a. that he was in pain b. that he was tortured
c. that he was old d. that he was handsome

Q.10 Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any five) 2×5=10

i. How did Franzs feelings about M. Hamel and school change?

ii. In the lesson ‘The lost Spring’, who is Mukesh? What is his dream?
Iii. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?
iv. From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
v. Why did the servants think Gandhi to be another peasant?
vi. Why is Pancakes related to Gemini Studios?
vii. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of?

Q.11. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any three) 2×3=6

i. In the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’, why are the young trees described as
‘sprinting’?
ii. In the poem ‘Keeping Quiet, what does What does the poet mean by saying ‘victory
with no survivors?
iii. In the poem ‘A Road Side Stand’, why does the poet call the car selfish?

Q.12. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any two) 2×2=4

i. What does ‘The Third Level’ refer to?

ii. In what condition did Dr. Sadao and Hana find the white man at the seashore?
iii. How does Derry get his face burnt?

Q.13. Answer the following questions in about 75 words. (any two) 3×2=6

i. Justify the title of the story ‘The Last Lesson’.

ii. What made the peddler finally change his ways?
iii. In the lesson ‘Indigo’, why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being resolute?

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Q.14. Answer the following question in about 75 words. 3×1=3

Explain the central idea of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty’

Or
How does Aunt Jennifer express her bitterness and anger against males?

Q.15. Answer the following question in about 75 words. 3×1=3

How did the Tiger King stand in danger of losing his kingdom? How was he able I to avoid
the danger? Explain.
Or
Write a character sketch of Dr. Sadao.