ST. XAVIER’S HIGH SCHOOL (SR.

SEC), CUTTACK
Class–XII PRACTICE TEST-II Maximum Marks –80
Subject: ENGLISH SESSION: 2024-25 Time –3:00 Hour

General Instructions:
 The Question Paper contains THREE sections READING, WRITING and LITERATURE.
 Attempt question based on specific instructions for each part

SECTION A-READING SKILLS 22

1. Read the following text. 12
1. The human brain is one of the most intricate and powerful organs in the body, containing approximately 86
billion neurons. These neurons form complex networks through which they communicate using electrical
impulses. The cerebral cortex is responsible for higher cognitive functions such as memory, reasoning, and
problem-solving. Meanwhile, the cerebellum coordinates voluntary movement and balance, while the brainstem
controls essential functions like breathing and heart rate. Each region of the brain plays a distinct role, allowing
the body to function properly.
2. The brain, despite being well-protected by the skull and cerebrospinal fluid, is still susceptible to injuries and
diseases. Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can result from accidents, leading to anything from mild concussions
to life-threatening damage. Stroke, caused by interrupted blood flow to the brain, can result in permanent
impairments, depending on the area affected.Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
further complicate the brain’s health by causing gradual loss of neurons, which results in cognitive decline and
motor dysfunction.
3. One of the brain’s most fascinating characteristics is its plasticity, or the ability to change and adapt.
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s capacity to reorganize itself in response to new experiences, learning, or
injury. For example, after a stroke, some parts of the brain can take over functions that were lost due to damage.
This capacity for adaptation allows humans to learn new skills, retain memories, and recover from injuries.
4. Advances in neuroscience have been pivotal in understanding how the brain works. Techniques such as
functional MRI (fMRI) and PET scans allow researchers to visualize brain activity and understand how
different areas are involved in tasks like language, emotion, and movement. Additionally, researchers are
exploring ways to enhance brain health through diet, exercise, and mental stimulation, with the goal of
preventing cognitive decline and promoting recovery after injuries.
5. As research continues, the mysteries of the brain, such as how consciousness arises or how memory is stored,
remain largely unsolved. However, ongoing studies in neuroscience offer hope for developing new treatments
for brain-related diseases and injuries. The future of brain research holds great promise for improving our
understanding of this remarkable organ
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.
(i) According to paragraph 1, what role does the cerebral cortex play in brain function? 1
(ii) How does the author describe the brain’s vulnerability to injury, as mentioned in paragraph 2? 1
(iii) Read and complete the following sentence suitably. 1
The phrase “neuroplasticity” in paragraph 3 refers to the brain’s ability to change and adapt.
Choose the correct response from the two options to complete the sentence.
Neuroplasticity is important because _____.
 (A) it allows the brain to recover from injury and adapt to new experiences.
(B) it prevents all neurodegenerative diseases from progressing.
(iv) Complete the following with ONE example, with reference to paragraph 3 1
Neuroplasticity is demonstrated when _____.
(v) Why does the writer emphasize brain imaging techniques in paragraph 4? 1
Because
(A) They allow researchers to observe brain activity in real-time.
(B) They help cure diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
(C) They provide immediate treatments for traumatic brain injuries.
(D) They make surgery safer.

(vi) Provide ONE textual evidence with reference to paragraph 4, to support the following : 1
Brain imaging techniques have significantly advanced our understanding of brain functions.

(vii) In the line, ‘The brain’s plasticity allows it to reorganize itself’ (Paragraph 3), what does the word
‘reorganize’ suggest about the brain’s response to injury? 2

(viii) Complete the analogy with ONE word from paragraph 1 : 1

neurons: brain :: cells: _____
(A) blood (B) muscles (C) tissues (D) organs

(ix) Why is it fair to say that the statement ‘The future of brain research holds great promise’ in paragraph 5
uses descriptive language? 1
(A) It highlights the potential breakthroughs in neuroscience.
(B) It explains the limitations of current brain research.
(C) It describes the complexity of brain diseases.
(D) It focuses on the brain’s vulnerability to injury.

x. Assess the potential challenges or benefits of enhancing brain health through diet, exercise,
and mental stimulation, as suggested in paragraph 4. 2

2. Read the following text. 10

1. Competition, deregulation, and intervention are all crucial to South Africa’s Road to a true broadband
infrastructure. As of this year, SA had some 67,000 ADSL subscribers. This represents about 0.4% of the
worldwide total, and supports the statement that SA remains, and will remain, way behind the rest of the
world for a long time to come.

2. Broadband penetration in households varies globally, with Korea being the world leader with a penetration of
68%, the USA having 28%, and the UK 16%. SA shamefully has a broadband household penetration of 0.3%.
The question posed here is why South Africa is so far behind... The answer lies not, in the unavailability of the
technology, but simply in the pricing. Many people think that Telkom’s ADSL solution is one-step closer to a
true broadband solution in this country. However, many industry specialists disagree.
3. “Telkom’s ADSL offerings are great; however, they just cost too much, and are not viable solutions for many
home users,” says Dave Gale, business development manager at Storm. “SouthAfrica’s broadband costs may
be the butt of global jokes, but to local users, especially individuals, schools, small businesses and current
ADSL users, the affordability factor just makes one’s blood boil,” says Michelle Branco; product-marketing
manager at Internet Solutions.

4. According to Elia Tsouros, an executive at UUNET, the broadband penetration in SA is abysmal compared to
that of other countries. One contributing factor is Telkom’s pricing structure, and, the fact that SA is so large,
and has such a distributed population. The ramifications are vast - a slowing down of broadband uptake; a
barrier for educational institutions; limitation for learners to gain access to the Internet; poor response times
for researchers; limited business and marketing opportunities and the list goes on. The absence of a wholesale
facilities leasing regime for ADSL in South Africa makes it difficult for ISPs to get a significant portion of the
ADSL revenue. ISPs are not entitled to ADSL line rentals at wholesale prices, and thus subscribers have to
rent the line directly from the incumbent, Telkom. This then further negates the opportunity for ISPs to bundle
value-added offerings, such as video and voice services with the ADSL line. Coupled with the high cost of
line rentals is that of international bandwidth.Telkom international bandwidth charges on the SAT-3 cable are
very high, and it is common knowledge that even though both Telkom and British Telecom’s purchase their
bandwidth from the same supplier;Telkom marks up its costs by 80%, and British Telecoms by only 20%.

5. Roman Hogh, product development manager at M-Web Business, says that Icasa should have the power to
audit how much Telkom charges for the cable.

Answer the following questions, based on given passage.

i. Suggests two possible reasons in about 40 words behind the statement, ‘SA remains, and will remain, way
behind the rest of the world for a long time to come.’ 2

ii. Which hindrances contribute to the broadband infra of SA? 1

(a)Huge population
(b) Competition, interference and irregularity
(c) Unaffordability of telecom
(d)Lack of video services

iii. Justify the statement, ‘a barrier for educational institutions : What does the speaker want to convey? 1

iv. Select the correct statement. 1

(a)Small businesses and the common users can afford broadband width easily.
(b)In the absence of getting revenue, ISP’s have to pay the rent directly for the Telkom.
(c) Telkom and the British Telecom purchase the bandwidth from the same supplier.

v. Which of the following country has become the second most powerful country in terms of
computation? 1
(a) India (b) Korea
( c ). USA (d) South Africa
vi. Based on the understanding of the above extract, suggest any similarity or dissimilarity between Telkom and
British Telecom. Answer in about 40 words. 2

vii. Complete the sentence appropriately. 1

As the population of SA is so large, the perception of broadband has become _____ when we compare to rest of
the countries.

viii. State TRUE or FALSE. 1

The title, ‘What caused the decline of South Africa, is appropriate for this passage.

SECTION B- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS 18

3 Attempt ANY ONE of the two, (A) or (B), in about 50 words. 4

A. Your school is going to organize a blood donation camp next week. Write a notice in about 50 words to invite
volunteers for this camp. You are the Head Boy of Prakriti International School, Delhi.

B. As the Principal, write a notice in about 50 words informing the prefects, monitors and other discipline in-
charge students of a Leadership Training Camp being organised by the school.

4. Attempt ANY ONE of the two, (A) or (B), in about 50 words. 4

A. Your Father, Mr O P Agarwal, residing at C-4/116, Mission Compound, Jhansi, wants to celebrate the success
of your sister Snigdha’s clearing the CLAT Entrance Examination and securing admission in one of the best
colleges of the country. He wants you to draft a formal invitation for him on his behalf. Draft the invitation in not
more than 50 words.

B. You are Seema Singh. The wedding of your elder brother Jivitesh Singh is going to be held on 27th December
2024 at Hotel Lake View, Udaipur. Write an informal invitation to your friend Rohini requesting her to attend the
function.

5. Attempt ANY ONE of the two, (A) or (B), in 120-150 words. 5

A. You are Archana/Ashish living at C-16/714 Saraswati Lane, Gwalior. You came across an advertisement for
the post of Trainee Accountant in S.R. Medical Labs, Gwalior. Write a letter to the advertiser applying for the job.
Also give your detailed resume.

B. You are Sunanda of 7, South Extension, New Delhi. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily expressing
your concern over the rising exodus of people from neighbouring states. Express your apprehensions and give a
few suggestions about the issue.
6. Attempt ANY ONE of the two, (A) or (B) in 120-150 words. 5

A. As Shreya/Shrey, write an article on ‘Junk the Junk Food’ to create an awareness among
children that junk food is unhealthy and unhygienic.

B. A new indoor gymnasium has recently been constructed and inaugurated at St. John’s
School, Bengaluru. As a special correspondent of ‘The Hindu’, draft a report in 120-150 words on the gymnasium
and the inauguration ceremony.

SECTION C- LITERATURE 40

7. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given. 6
A “What I want would not be confused with inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
Of never understanding ourselves
And of threatening ourselves with death.”

i. Which of the following themes is best represented in the given extract? 1

(a) Power of war (c)Power of silence and thought
(b) Power of violence (d)Power of disputes

ii. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE, with reference to the extract. 1
The poet wants to have no association with death as death is the end of life.

iii. Complete the sentence appropriately. 1

The poet asks to _____ in the whole extract of the poem.

iv. The literary device used in the line, “what I want should not be confused with total inactivity” is _____. 1

v. Based on the poem rhyme scheme, evident in lines 3 to 7, of the given extract, which word would rhyme with
line 2? 1

vi. Select the option that is NOT true about the punctuation mark used in the line 3 of the given extract. 1
(a)Creates a sense of anticipation and expectation for the reader.
(b)Encourages the reader to continue reading seamlessly without any pause.
(c)Creates a sense of continuity and flow that connects the line with the second one.
(d)Encourages a revisit to the ideas in the preceding line.
B.”Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”
(Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)

i. Why are the tigers called ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers? 1

ii. Match the following correctly : 1

(i) Prance (a) to walk with long steps in a direction.
(ii) Pace (b) move about in a predatory manner.
(iii) Stride (c) to move quickly with exaggerated steps.
(iv) Prowl (d) to walk up and down in a small area many times.

(a) (i)-c, (ii)-d, (iii)-a, (iv)-b

(b)(i)-d, (ii)-a, (iii)-b, (iv)-c
(c)(i)-b, (ii)-a, (iii)-d, (iv)-c
(d)(i)-a, (ii)-c, (iii)-b, (iv)-d

iii. Why are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prancing across the screen? 1
(a) Because they are real animals.
(b) Because they love her.
(c) Because they are showing their actions.
(d)Because they are the product of her imagination.

iv. Name the poet of the given extract. 1

v. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE. 1

“The Tigers are seen prancing on the screen. They are yellow like topaz (a precious stone).”

vi. What is the meaning of the word ‘denizens’? 1

8. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given. 4
A. She crouched close to the sleeping face of the young American. It was a piteously thin face she thought,and the
lips were twisted. The man was suffering whether he knew it or not. Watching him, she wondered if the stories
they heard sometimes of the sufferings of prisoners were true. They came like flickers of rumour, told by word of
mouth and always contradicted.
(The Enemy)

i. The above extract has been taken from _____ 1

ii. Which word in the above extract is the synonym of ‘confute’? 1
(a) Flicker (b)contradict
(c)Twisted (d) Rumour
iii. The young American was wounded because he had been _____. 1

iv. The wounded person who came to the house belonged to _____. 1

B. Now, I don’t know why this should have happened to me. I’m just an ordinary guy named Charley, thirty-one
years old, and I was wearing a tan gabardine suit and a straw hat with a fancy band; I passed a dozen men who
looked just like me. And I wasn’t trying to escape from anything; I just wanted to get home to Louisa, my wife.
(The Third Level)

i. Complete the sentence appropriately. 1

This incident took place while he was _____.

ii. What did Charley want? 1

(a) He wanted to lead a stressfree life. (c)He wanted to live in the third world.
(b) He wanted to lead a normal life with his wife. (d)He did not want anything

iii. Why did Charley not want to escape anything? 1

iv. What is the writing style of the narrator? 1

9. Read the given extracts and answer the questions for ANY ONE of the two, given. 6
A. Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds-one of the family, caught in a web of poverty,burdened by the
stigma of caste in which they are born; the other a vicious circle of the sahukars, the middlemen,the policemen, the
keepers of law, the bureaucrats and the politicians. Together they have imposed the baggage on the child that he
cannot put down. Before he is aware, he accepts it as naturally as his father.... a flash of it in Mukesh I am cheered.
“I want to be a motor mechanic” he repeats.(Lost Spring)

i. Who is being burdened under the baggage of two worlds? 1

ii. The phrase ‘stigma of caste’ here refers to the _____. 1

(a) poor families living in the slums
(b) the untouchables living in Firozabad
(c) grief stricken life of the bangle makers
(d)children unable to get proper food and clothes

iii. Pick out the word from the given extract that means the same as ‘Brutal’. 1

iv. Mukesh’s dream that he wanted to be a motor mechanic, suggest that _____. 1
(a) he is completely different from all the members of his family
(b) he is just like other boys of his place
(c)he is passionate about driving
(d)he has to work to earn his livelihood.
v. Who is the narrator of the given extract? 1

vi. What is meant by the word ‘baggage’ here? 1

B. As he walked along with the money in his pocket he felt quite pleased with his smartness. He realised,of course
that at first he dared not continue on the public highway, but must turn off the road, into the woods. During the
first hours this caused him no difficulty. Later in the day it became worse, for it was a big and confusing forest
which he had gotten into. He tried, to be sure, to walk in a definite direction,but the paths twisted back and forth so
strangely! He walked and walked without coming to the end of the wood and finally he realised that he had only
been walking around in the same part of the forest. All
at once he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his own turn had come.
(The Rattrap)

i. Why is the peddler’s decision to avoid the highway good for him? 1

ii. Select the correct option to fill in the blank. 1

_____ caused him no difficulty during the early hours.
(a)Finding the food to eat
(b Looting the wealth of the rich
(c)Carrying the money he had
(d) Walking in the woods

iii. How had the peddler fallen prey to a rattrap? 1

iv. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the protagonist had fallen prey to the
rattrap. 1

v. Based on the above extract, choose the option which states the state of the mind of ‘he’in the extract? 1
(a)Confident and happy (b)Exhausted and hopeless
(c)Fearful and strange (d) Proud and arrogant

vi. Complete the given sentence appropriately. 1

The ‘smartness’ in the given extract refers to _____.

10. Answer ANY FIVE of the following six questions, in about 40-50 words. 5X 2 = 10
i. How and why was M. Hamel dressed differently that day?
(The Last Lesson)

ii. Mention any two long term consequences of the drowning incident on Douglas.
(Deep Water)

iii. According to Keats what moves away the pain and suffering from human life?
(A Thing of Beauty)
iv. What does the poet realise with pain? Why does the poet ‘put that thought away’ and look outside?(My Mother
at Sixty-Six)

v. What is the ‘childish longing’ of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? Why is it ‘in vain’?
(A Roadside Stand)

vi. Sophie was dreaming of so many things in her life. What were they?(Going Places)

11.Answer ANY TWO of the following three questions in 40-50 words each : 2 2 # = 4

i. Who was Annan? How did he justify the behaviour of the elder? (Memories of Childhood)

ii. How, according to the author, has mankind etched its dominance over nature?
(Journey to the End of the Earth)

iii. What was the dilemma that Dr. Sadao faced? (The Enemy)

12. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 120-150 words. 5

A. The prose sections, ‘The Last Lesson’ and ‘Poets and Pancakes’, bring out situational
irony and gentle humour as well as satire to point out human foibles.Imagine yourself to be a motivational speaker
who has to address high school students. Write this in about 120-150 words elaborating on occurrences from the
two texts to inspire your audience and to convince them about the importance of humour in life.

B. Bring out the poetic devices used in the poem.

(My Mother at Sixty-Six)

13. Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions, in about 120-150 words. 5

A. How would you describe the behavior of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you
find them truly sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do
we find a similarity in today’s political order?
(The Tiger King)

B. Both Sam and Charley experienced the presence of the third level at Grand Central
Station. Instead of coming out from this illusion, Sam, being a psychiatrist got trap in this illusion. It is a story
about time travel.Imagine yourself to be Sam, and express your thoughts whether the third level exists or not.
(The Third Levcl)

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