I Model Examination, December 2024

Class: XII Marks: 80

Subject: Literature in English Time: 3 hrs.
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ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IN SECTION A & SECTION B
SECTION A - 20 MARKS
Question 1
Choose the correct options for the following questions.
[10]
(i) What is the first thing that catches Macbeth’s attention when he enters the banquet?
(a) The decorations (b) Duncan’s ghost
(c) Banquo’s ghost (d) Fleance hiding
(ii) What does Lady Macduff think of Macduff’s reason for disappearing?
(a) fear (b) revenge
(c) saving his own life (d) jealousy
(iii) In Act IV, why does Malcolm doubt Macduff ?
(P) As he thinks he works for Macbeth
(Q) As he has personal issues with him
(R) As he doesn’t trust him
(S) As he is afraid of him
(a) P and Q (b) P and R
(c) Q and R (d) S and Q
(iv) In Act V, what does Macbeth compare life with?
(a) An hourglass (b) A dream
(c) The seasons (d) A brief candle
(v) What was the thing that lured Tarapada when he ran away from home for the first time?
(a) The songs of the jatra (b) The panchali-singers
(b) The music from the flute (d) The skills of the gymnasts
(vi) Read the two statements from the short story, and choose the correct option from the ones
given below.
(i) Statement I : The following morning Tarapada’s mother and brothers arrived at
Kathaliya
(ii) Statement II: Motilal Babu fixed the wedding for the month of Sravan and sent word to
Tarapada’s mother and brothers
(a) Statement I and II are similar
(b) Statement I and II are not related to each other
(c) Statement II is the reason for Statement I
(d) Statement I is the reason for Statement II
(vii) What kind of atmosphere has the author created while Bernard was returning home after
visiting the old lady for the last time?
(a) Eerie and grievous
(b) Exciting, full of fun
(c) Hopeful of a new beginning
(d) Joyful and interesting
 (viii) Which figure of speech is used in the line ‘You mean - like plain or milk chocolate?’
(a) Metaphor (b) personification
(c) simile (d) alliteration
(ix) In Small Towns and the River, what does ‘anxiety for the future’ suggest?
(a) The course of the river
(b) Future of children
(c) Anxiety about impending death
(d) Future of the town
(x) The howling of the wind creates what mood in the poem Small Towns and the River?
(a) Gloomy (b) fearful
(c) Joy (d) angry
Question 2
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason for each in brief. Do not write the
question.
[10]
(i) Macbeth was confident that Malcolm couldn’t defeat him because___________________.
(ii) In Act III, Banquo’s son Fleance was able to escape the attack because_______________.
(iii) In Act III, according to Lennox, Macbeth had killed Duncan’s guards because_________.
(iv) Macbeth is initially hesitant to fight Macduff, in Act V, because ___________________.
(v) Tarapada decided to leave the gymnastic group and move to Nandigram because ________.
(vi) In Indigo, Aniruddha’s neighbour was worried about him because__________________.
(vii) In The Medicine Bag, the medicine bag was important because ___________________.
(viii) Beethoven removed the legs of his piano because ___________________.
(ix) The river is said to have a soul in Small Towns and the River because_________________.
(x) In Telephone Conversation, the speaker informs the Landlady that he is from Africa because
_________.
SECTION B - 60 MARKS
MACBETH - WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Question 3
(i) How does Malcolm’s character grow and change over the course of the play?
Write the answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details.
[5]
(a) Malcolm’s testing of Macduff in Act IV.
(b) His generalship and the restoration of order through Macduff.
(ii) How does Macbeth react when he hears of the Birnam Forest moving towards his castle?
Write the answer in about 150 words incorporating the following details. [5]
(a) Development of Macbeth’s emotions
(b) The reason behind the forest moving
(iii) (a) How do the apparitions give Macbeth assurance of deceptive security in Act IV scene 1?
Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]
OR
(b) Comment on Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act III scene 1.
 Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]

PRISM: A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

Question 4
(i) The Indigo planter had “light blue eyes from which shone a strange mixture of suffering and
hardness and suffering.” Account for this strange mixture of hardness and suffering. Take this
with close reference to the short story, ‘Indigo’.
Write your answer in 100 - 150 words incorporating the following details.
[5]
(a) The guilt that the planter carried with him of suppressing the natives.
(b) The fear of the consequence of his actions.
(ii) Identify and explain any two messages that predominantly stand out as lessons for all,
particularly the grown-ups, in the short story, The Cookie Lady.
Write your answer in 100 - 150 words incorporating the following details.
[5]
(a) Parents’ responsibility in preparing the children to deal with evil.
(b) Unscrupulous and evil-minded people prey upon the innocent.
(iii) (a) With close reference to the short story, The Medicine Bag, analyse Martin’s transition
from an awkward teenager to someone who takes pride in his roots.
Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]
OR
(b) In the short story, There Will Come Soft Rains, although the automated house has been
attributed with distinct human and animalistic qualities, it is sadly devoid of any human
touch. Comment.
Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]

RHAPSODY: POETRY
Question 5
(i) With reference to the poem Death Be Not Proud, why should Death not be proud? What is
Donne’s point about Death?
Write your answer in 100 - 150 words incorporating the following details.
[5]
(a) Explain why the speaker regards Death as weak.
(b) Explain Donne’s message in the poem.
(ii) How has the poet used imagery to convey his emotional turmoil in the poem Telephone
Conversation?
Write your answer in 100 - 150 words incorporating the following details.
[5]
(a) Identify the imagery used in the poem - mainly visual, auditory and olfactory.
 (b) Explain what each of the imagery conveys.
(iv) (a) With apt references from the text, show how the boon of immortality transformed
Tithonus into a mere shadow. What does Tennyson convey through Tithonus?
Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]
OR
(b) How does the poem Beethoven underscore the message that despite personal challenges,
man can aspire to great heights?
Write your answer in about 200 - 250 words.
[10]
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