Course: 2nd year PUC

Subject: English
Max. Marks: 80
2nd PUC MOCK Paper – Jan. 2024
Duration: 3:15 hour
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Follow the prescribed limit while answering the questions.
2. Write the correct question number as it appears on the question paper.
3. For multiple choice questions, choose the correct answer and rewrite it and these questions attempted more
than once will be awarded zero.
4. Answers to question numbers 25 (a to j), 26 (i to iv), 29 (i to viii) should be in sequence and at one place.
I. Answer the following questions by choosing the right option. 10 × 1=10
1. The word ‘garish’ refers to _______ in “Romeo and Juliet”.
a) Romeo b) Juliet c) the sun d) the dancing girls
2. The ________ forbade their rulers to make money through gambling.
a) Russians b) French c) Italians d) Germans
3. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite and he ______ the parents with his might.
a) stretches b) dances with c) bends d) plays with
4. Vandana left for Canada to do her Ph.D. in ______.
a) 1973 b) 1963 c) 1977 d) 1987
5. Match column 'A with column 'B’, with reference to the play "A Sunny Morning", and choose the correct
option.

A B
i. Don Gonzalo. a. Juanito
ii. Dona Laura. b. Valencia
iii.Petra. c. Maricella
a) i -- c, ii -- b, iii – a b) i -- b, ii -- c, iii – a
c) i -- a, ii -- b, iii – c d) i -- b, ii – a, iii – c
6. Identify the sequence of events that made Tammanna become a famous poet in his time in "The Gardener."
a) started singing – felicitated – composed ballads – reputation started spreading
b) reputation started spreading – composed ballads– felicitated – started singing
c) composed ballads – started singing – reputation started spreading – felicitated
d) felicitated – started singing – composed ballads – reputation started spreading
7. The tiny petaled toes of the child take on the form of _______.
a) an opaque substance b) stones and bits of glass
c) eyeless reptiles d) a fruit bulging on the branch
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8. The famous and fast Tokaido line runs between Tokyo and _______.
a) Hiroshima b) Osaka c) Nagasaki d) Kyushu
9. Umuofia Mansions was opened by ______.
a) the Mayor b) the Minister of Culture c) the Archbishop d) a Bishop
10. Sheela Rani Chunkath, the district collector, promoted ______.
a) the empowerment of women b) the cycling race
c) the freedom movement d) social and political movement
11. Fill in the blanks by using the right form of the verb given in the bracket. 2×1=2
A letter ________ (send) to the French government. A prompt reply________ (receive). It said that a
machine and an expert ________ (could supply) but the cost would be 16,000 francs.

12. Fill in the blanks with the right linker. 3×1=3

(because, finally, gradually, that)
Rivalry between Tammanna and Basavaiah looked like healthy competition in the beginning.
_______ it rose to such a pitch _______ they started competing in buying each acre of land in the
village. _______ no land in the village was left for buying. Even then Basavaiah was not happy
_______ he had 200 acres less than Tammanna.
13. Match the column 'A’ with column 'B’: 5×1=5

A B
i. Don Gonzalo. a. Maid
ii. Dona Laura. b. A gallant lover
iii.Petra. c. The Silver Maiden
a) i -- c, ii -- b, iii – a b) i -- b, ii -- c, iii – a
c) i -- a, ii -- b, iii – c d) i -- b, ii – a, iii – c
II. Answer any SIX of the following [choosing at least two from poetry] in a paragraph of 80 -100
words. 6×4=24
14. Juliet’s beauty was too rich for use. How does Romeo describe it?
15. How does the poem, ‘On Children’ bring out the relationship of parents and children?
16. Explain the instances that make the child’s foot aware of the obstacles and hardships in ‘To The Foot
From its Child’.
17. What image of heaven does the poem, ‘Heaven, If You Are Not Here On Earth’ create?
18. What made the king of Monaco alter his decisions in dealing with the criminal in ‘Too Dear!’?
19. Write a note on ‘Navdanya Farm’ and ‘Navdanya Movement’.
20. How did the plantation owner’s life style change after the arrival of the old man in ‘The Gardener’?
21. How does Borges look upon his blindness?
22. Explain the change that had come into the thinking of Umuofia in ‘The Voter’.
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23. How has cycling become a metaphor for freedom in Pudukkottai? Explain.
III. Answer the following in about 200 words. 6×1=6
24. Laura and Gonzalo recognize each other but conceal their identity. How does ‘A Sunny Morning’ present
this?
OR
Water is a luxury for one class and a struggle for another in our society. How does the poem ‘Water’
present this contrast?
IV. 25. Read the following passage and answer the questions set on it. 10×1=10
Over a hundred years ago, the carrying of mail was a hazardous venture; and the mail runner or ‘hirkara’
as he was called, had to be armed with a sword or spear. That was before railways and air services made
the delivery of mail a routine affair. Though the first public postal service was introduced in India by
Warren Hastings in 1774, the kings and emperors of India had always maintained their own personal postal
system. Their rule was effective partly due to excellent means of communication by which dispatches were
passed on from hand to hand either by runners or horsemen. When Ibna Batuta was travelling in India, in
the middle of the 14th century, he found an organised system of couriers established throughout the country
by Mohammed Bin Tughlak. “There is a foot courier at a distance of every mile”, wrote Ibna Batuta, “and
at every three miles there is an inhabited village, and outside it three sentry boxes, where the couriers sit.
In the hands of each is a whip about two cubits long, and upon the head of this are small bells. Whenever
one of the couriers leaves any city, he takes his dispatches in one hand and the whip, which he keeps
constantly shaking, in the other. In this manner he proceeds to the nearest foot-courier and as he approaches,
shakes his whip, upon this comes another man who takes the dispatches and proceeds to the next. It is for
this reason that the Sultan receives his dispatches in so short a time.” This system was of course established
for the convenience of the Emperor and was continued with various innovations by successive Moghul
emperors in the 18th century. The East India Company established a postal system of its own to facilitate
the conveyance of letters between different offices; but it was only during Warren Hastings’ administration
that a
post master General was appointed and the general public could avail of the service, paying a fee on their
letter.
a. What was the mail runner called?
b. Who introduced the first postal service in India?
c. Whom did the kings and emperors prefer to deliver their dispatches?
d. When did Ibna Batuta travel in India?
e. What did Mommed Bin Tughlak establish?
f. Where do the couriers sit?
g. Which word in the passage means ‘new ideas or techniques’?
h. As the courier approaches the nearest foot–courier near an inhabited village/city he
..................
a) shouts out loudly. b) shakes the whip.
c) whistles and sings. i. Kings and emperors would successfully...............
(communication/communicate) with each other through couriers.
j. When was the postmaster General appointed?
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26. What do the underlined words in the following paragraph refer to? 4×1=4
Whenever one of the couriers leaves any city, he takes his dispatches in one hand and the whip with
bells in the other, which he keeps shaking. Upon hearing the sound, another man comes out in the
next city and takes these dispatches so that he can deliver them to the next city. As a result the
Sultan receives his dispatches in a very short a time.
he : ................... which :.................. them :.................. his :.............
V. 27. Complete the following dialogue. 3×1=3
(Two friends at a hotel)
Ravi : John, ________________ for breakfast? (Enquiring)
John : What __________________ ? (Asking for preference)
Ravi : I prefer dosa. Shall ___________________ ? (Offering choices)
John : I don’t like masala dosa. I would prefer set dosa.
Ravi : Alright. I will order set dosa.
28. Report the following conversation. 4×1=4
Don Gonzalo : Do you mind my reading aloud?
Dona Laura : You can read as loud as you please.
Don Gonzalo : Can you read without glasses?
Dona Laura : I can.
Don Gonzalo : I envy your wonderful eyesight.
VI. 29. Read the following passage and make notes by filling the boxes given below. 8×1⁄2= 4
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30. Write a letter of application in response to the following advertisement

which appeared in "The Hindu" dated 10th March 2024. 1×5=5
[Write XXX for name and YYY for address].

WANTED
Computer Operator
Qualification : Any Degree
Candidates should know Kannada and English typing,
Excel, Tally, Basics, etc.,

Apply to:
The Manager
Nidhima Finance Private Limited
Vishwa Complex
Plot no. 1176
Bhavish Nagar,
Bengaluru .520741.

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