Manish Sample Paper

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Rudhauli Basti

2023-24
Subject: English Core

Class : XI 'A'

Time: 3 Hrs.] [M.M.: 80

Q1. Read the passage given below carefully:

1. Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about
500 words per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words
a minute. The difference between the two at 350 words is quite large.
2. So a speaker must make every effort to retain the attention of the audience. The
listener should also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication
calls for good listening skills. A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener.
3. Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. Hearing, in other words is necessary,
but is not a sufficient condition for listening. Listening involves hearing with
attention. Listening is a process that calls for concentration. While listening, one
should also be observant. In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well
as with the eyes and the mind. Listening is to be understood as the total process
that involves hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations.
Good communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation
and involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary
to be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested
in knowing what the other person has to say.
4. Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be
developed. A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the
speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade but not to cut off
or interrupt what the other person has to say. At times the speaker may or may
not be coherent, articulate and well-organized in his thoughts and expressions.
He may have it in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the right words while
communicating his thoughts. Nevertheless a good listener puts him at ease, helps
him articulate and facilitates him to get across the message that he wants to
convey. For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening
are removed. Such barriers can be both physical and psychological. Physical
barriers generally relate to hindrance to proper hearing whereas psychological
barriers are more fundamental and relate to the interpretation and evaluation of
the speaker and the message.
 1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using
headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever
necessary - minimum 4) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply an
appropriate title to it. (5)
1.2 Write down the summary of the above passage in about 80 words. (3)
Q2. Read the passage given below: (12)
1. When M K Gandhi was thrown out of a train in South Africa he had a choice to
make - either to ignore the event and live in peace or enter into a conflict and
face harassment, hardship and the possibility of getting physically hurt. He chose
the latter. Why? Did he not have a guru who had taught him that living in peace
and tranquility was the ultimate objective of life and the best way to achieve this
objective was to avoid situations of conflict? Why did he not walk away?
2. The Dalai Lama chose to live in exile rather than live in peace in Tibet. He is a
spiritual master himself. He preaches peace around the world. Does he not know
that living in peace requires avoiding situations of conflict?
3. Aung San Suu Kyi did not have to stay in jail. Winston Churchill did not have to
join the World War. Nelson Mandela did not have to suffer in solitary confinement.
Julius Nyerere did not have to fight a war with IdiAmin. There is a long list of
people who have embraced conflict, despite standing for peace, otherwise. They
had the courage to stand up against repression rather than submit to it.
4. Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata, revered Indian epics, are stories of war,
not peace. Krishna did not tell the Pandavas to ignore the incident of Draupadi's
humiliation in court (the Draupadi vastraharan). He encouraged them to go to
war. The Gita says engaging in war to uphold truth is not a matter of choice for a
warrior; it is his duty. Islam says participation in jihad is the duty of a Muslim
when the fight is to uphold justice when challenged by oppression, as a way of
self-defence.
5. Most of us are confused between conflict and the method of resolving a conflict.
We assume, incorrectly, that Gandhi, as a peace loving person, must have avoided
situations of conflict. On the other hand, he faced conflict head-on. Bhagat Singh
and Gandhi were both gearing themselves to deal with conflict, except that Gandhi
tried to employ peaceful means while Bhagat Singh chose aggression.
6. The duty of a scientist, artist or professor is also to engage in conflict against
repressive regimes of knowledge. Any kind of limited knowledge is a form of
bondage. Albert Einstein advanced the boundaries of scientific knowledge. James
 Joyce did the same in the world of literature. He flouted rules of writing as he
saw them as restrictions on creativity. Picasso and M F Husain. for example,
explored realms beyond accepted rules in visual art. Mother Teresa redefined
the concept of caring. Every one of them faced criticism and controversy, yet
they remained convinced of the nature of their work and the methods they used
to fulfil their vision. They remained engaged.
7. One can only conclude from this that the people we admire and even those we
worship have all rejected the existing as being adequate and have chosen to
engage in conflict to expand the existing. They have redefined the purpose of our
life.
8. The purpose of our life is not to live in passive acceptance but to engage with
conflict in order to be creative. Creativity is the purpose of life. The purpose is to
advance an individual soul and the collective consciousness. The only word of
caution here is that we must first settle ourselves spiritually so that we know
whether a conflict is justified or not.
2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following
statements with the help of given options. 6
(a) Peace loving personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. Dalai Lama, Suu-kyi etc.
took the way of conflict so that they could challenge the forces of
i) peace and harmony
ii) war and peace
iiii) Tyranny and repression iv) peace and progress
(b) Bhagwad Gita says that waging war to uphold truth is am
i) the duty of a warrior
ii) an excuse of a coward
iii) a diplomatic stand of a cunning person
iv) compulsion of an individual
(c) Mahatma Gandhi faced the conflict head on but he employed
(i) aggression
(ii) peaceful means
(iii) strategic moves
(iv) surrendering tactics
 (d) The author wants the scientists, artists and teachers to
i) support repressive regime
ii) challenge repressive knowledge
iii) stand by old theories
iv) refute old beliefs
(e) The conflict must be
i) personal ii) general
iii) justified iv) groundless
(f) People like Albert Einstein, James Joyce, Mother Teresa, etc. have redefined
i) the literature of the World
ii) the purpose of our life
iii) creativity
iv) controversy
2.2 Answer the following questions as briefly as possible. 3
(a) Name any three people who have embraced conflict, despite standing
for peace.
(b) Why did James Joyce flout the rules of writing?
(c) What is the purpose of our life?
2.3 Find words from the passage that mean the same as: 3
i) adversity (para 1)
ii) violence (para 5)
iii) awareness (para 8)

Section B: Writing Skills & Grammar: 30 Marks

3. Imagine you are a member of RED CROSS Blood Bank Society, Bangalore. You
have been asked by the President of the society, Mr. Manish Nair to organize a Blood
Donation Camp. Write a notice in 50 words urging the people to come in large numbers
for this noble cause. (4)
OR
You are the General Manager of Pioneer Software Solutions. Hyderabad. You need
three software engineers for your organization. Draft an advertisement for the classified
column of a national daily.
4. You are Vipin/Vidya a student of Class XI of Sarvodaya Vidyalya. Nithari. The students
are required to cope with lot of pressure in today's competitive environment. Write a
letter to the editor of a national daily highlighting the increasing stress faced by students
and suggest ways to the same. (6)
OR
You are the Stores In-charge of B.K.P. Senior Secondary School, Gwalior. M.P. you
require various items of furniture such as chairs, desks, almirahs, etc for your school.
Write a letter to M/s Chadha Furniture House, 15, Tilak Road, Gwalior. M.P. placing
the order for furniture. Ask for the discount available on the purchase.
5. You are Kiran or Krishna of Model School. Champa Nagar. The road leading to your
school is full of pot holes causes a lot of congestion. Students and Parents are often
caught in a traffic jam. Write a letter to the Municipal Commissioner of your town
requesting to take action to solve the problem at the earliest. (6)
OR
You recently bought a smart phone from Tele World. Ashok Nagar. It functioned well
for a month but has now developed some snags. The screen goes blank in a minutes
time and it's ringer goes off. Write a letter to the store manager asking for replacement
of the item since it is still in warranty period.
6. It is believed that empowering women is a major step towards empowering a nation.
Write an article of about 200 words on the given theme. (8)
OR
"Our Good Earth", an environmental awareness magazine has launched a marathon
'Clean Your City' campaign. As an active participant write a speech to be read out in
the morning assembly urging students to participate in the campaign in 150-200 words.
7. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate options given below: (2)
If (a) _________ too late when Ravi saw the watch. He was taken over by the old
fear that he might (b) _________ the train. Once he had missed the train and was
stranded for whole night. He (c) _________ up and (d) _________ a taxi.
(a) (i) was getting (ii) got (iii) gets (iv) have missed
(b) (i) missed (ii) have missed (iii) miss (iv) misses
(c) (i) hurries (ii) hurried (iii) would hurry (iv) hurriedly
(d) (i) hires (ii) hired (iii) would hire (iv) hiring
8. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line against
which a blank is given. Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer
sheet as given below against the correct blank number. Remember to underline the
word that you have supplied. (2)
More of the fun and excitement in your life (a) ____________
comes from use your senses. Senses open up (b) ____________
a world who is full of sights, sounds, smells (c) ____________
tastes and things to touch. They sharpen your
senses and the more you use it, the (d) ____________
more enjoyable each of these becomes for you.
9. Rewrite the following sentences by placing the words in the correct order.
e.g. : Children / vacations / can 7 /for fun / meant / are / compromise / and
Vacations are meant for fun and children can 7 compromise. (1×2 = 2)
i) comes from / the / most of / flavour / its / of / aroma / food.
ii) grew up / of the / amidst / Siddharth / pleasure / the / at / royal court / Kapil-vastu

SECTION C : L1TERATURE & LONG READING TEXT : 30 Marks

10. Read the stanza given below and answer the questions that follow: (2)
And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all.
Its silence silences.
a) What does 'this circumstance' refer to?
b) Explain: 'Its silence silences.
OR
And forever, by day and night,
I give back life to my own origin,
and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering,
Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns./
a) How does the rain give back life?
b) Why are the last two lines in brackets?
11. Answer any five of the following questions in about 30 words. (5×2=10)
a) Everybody including the sparrows mourned the grandmother's death. Elaborate.
b) Do you agree that Aram had a way with things ? Illustrate.
c) Why did the narrator want to forget the Address finally?
d) What type of a girl Ranga said he would marry? What reasons did he give for his
choice?
e) Why did the Egyptians resent Carter's investigation?
Explain 'terribly transient feet'
12. Highlight the tremendous courage and endurance shown by the two children during
the struggle of the ship to keep from sinking. (We're not Afraid to Die ... if we are
together) (120-150 words) (6)
OR
Describe the circumstances that led to the hanging of the king.
13. Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience stricken or were they
afraid? Give reasons for your answer. (6)
OR
How does the exchange of roles prove to be rewarding for Mrs. Pearson ?
14. Prove that the grand mother was a religious and a kind hearted women. (6)
OR
Explain how over-exploitation of our planet has made it an ailing one.