Question 1

Write a composition (in approximately 400 – 450 words) on any one of the following subjects.
(You are reminded that you will be rewarded for the orderly and coherent presentation of the matter, use of
appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar.) [20]
(i) An ordinary incident turned out to be a significant happening of your life. Describe the incident
and the significance it has had in your life.
(ii) As you woke up in the morning, you found that it had been raining heavily since the previous
night and there was waterlogging everywhere. Narrate what you saw and what were your
feelings.
(iii) Online shopping is a boon. Express your views either FOR or AGAINST the given statement.
(iv) Silence.
(v) Example is better than precept. Present your reflections on this statement.
(vi) Write a short story based on the following: ‘In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.'
Question 2
(i) Your school recently organised a Literary Festival. Write a newspaper report titled: Literary
Fest, A Grand Success. Base your report on the points given below. You may include other
relevant details. [15]
Date, time, venue – inauguration by a famous author – reading sessions by the authors of this year's three
best-sellers in India – workshop by experts, guidelines for budding writers – poetry and story writing
competition for students – stalls selling books a literary treat for all – students, teachers, participants.
(ii) As a member of the Students' Wing of the RWA of your apartments, you have been assigned the
responsibility of felicitating students, who have passed the Entrance Tests for admission in
Engineering and Medical Colleges. Write a proposal in not more than 150 words, stating the
steps you would take to successfully organise this event. [10]
[The proposal should include: (i) An introduction; (ii) Objectives; (iii) List of measures to be taken. A
concluding statement is desirable.]
Question3
Answer sections (i), (ii) and (iii).
(i) In each of the following items, sentence I is complete, while sentence II is not. Complete sentence II,
making it as similar as possible to sentence I. Write sentence II in each case. [5]
Example:
(z) (I) We will go out for a meal if the cook is absent.
(II) Should …………………………………………………………………………
Answer: (z) Should the cook be absent, we will go out for a meal.
(a) (I) I met your sister by chance at the airport last week.
(II) I ran …………………………………………………………………………
(b) (I) He reached home just as it began to rain heavily.
(II) Hardly …………………………………………………………………………
(c) (I) She leaned out of the window and soon her face was covered with dust.
(II) As soon as she …………………………………………………………………………
(d) (I) If you send your application, you may be considered for the post.
(II) Unless …………………………………………………………………………
(e) (I) "What makes a balloon go up in the air, Mummy?" The little boy wanted to know.
 (II) The little boy wanted to know
…………………………………………………………………………
(ii) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. (Do not write the sentence.) [5]
(a) It will be difficult for me to bring him …………… to my way of thinking.
(b) Lalit was brought …………… by his aunt.
(c) He has got …………… his difficulties.
(d) He will get …………… the Board examination.
(e) Look …………… the word in the dictionary.
(f) When the boys started bullying him, the passers-by just stood and looked ……………
(g) The winner put …………… a good fight in the boxing ring.
(h) She put …………… a plan.
(i) The family set …………… for Indore early this morning.
(j) He has set …………… as a contractor.
(iii) Fill in the blanks in the passage given below with the appropriate form of the verb given in brackets. Do
not write the passage but write the verbs in the correct order. [5]
A woman …………… (1) (wait) patiently for the lift in an office building. After a short period, the elevator
…………… (2) (arrive) and the doors …………… (3) (open). As she …………… (4) (look) in, she
…………… (5) (notice) that everybody …………… (6) (turn) around and facing towards the rear of the lift.
So, she too, …………… (7) (get) into the lift and faced the rear.
Here is an example of conformity. As a young priest in Milan, St. Augustine …………… (8) (go) to his
bishop, Ambrose, for help with the following problem. It seemed that Augustine …………… (9) (go) to
spend the weekend in Rome. His problem was that in Rome it was customary to celebrate the weekly
religious service on Sunday, while in Milan it …………… (10) (celebrate) on Saturday. Augustine was
confused about which was the right day. Ambrose solved Augustine's problem by telling him:
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Question 4
Read the passage given below and answer the questions (i), (ii) and (iii) that follow:
(1) The word city is derived from the Latin word, civitas meaning a settlement. In Indian culture, since
the advent of Gangetic civilisation, the city has been celebrated as nagra; the fortified settlement,
which is the location of civilised life. In traditional European culture, the city has been perceived in
its negative and positive aspects. In negative mode, its sophistication and shrewdness are deplored as
the opposite of the pastoral and sylvan life; in positive mode, it is seen as a refuge from the terrors of
the primeval forest, and an opportunity for the cultivation of the higher human possibilities.
(2) The contemporary city is held hostage by its multiple pasts; equally, it is mortgaged to its alternative
futures. The city is a social and architectural environment, subjected to constant change. Over the last
few decades, urbanisation has become the defining paradigm of human settlement, devastating the
original form of cities. Most modern cities are being recast in the same mould, dotted with glass-
faced high rises, multi-lane expressways, resulting in architectural monotony. The city is on the
march, devouring more and more of the hinterland to keep its engines of growth roaring.
(3) All cities heave under the colossal burden of opportunities they offer and hence seem to be straining
at the seams, attempting to function without bursting and spilling its contents. The urban sprawl
seems to be unavoidable. Slums and shanty towns, garish billboards, illegal encroachments, clogged
roads, ugly pollution, and rising crime are deep scars on the face of the modern cities.
(4) In most cities, the sunrise industries of information technology and tourism seek to subject the urban
landscape to a complete makeover, while ignoring the harsh realities of declining cottage industries,
traditional professions and wrecked farming economy. The prosperity and opulence of cities is often
a symbol of how they have enriched themselves at the expense of the rural dweller, how they have
impinged upon environment and ecology.
(5) An even more horrifying reality is psychological urbanisation – former villagers finding themselves
out of step in their native places. They can neither slow down, nor can see the beauty of nature
around them. A modern city-dweller is on an average selfish, unthinking, self-destructive creature,
 unable to think beyond self and realise how the present mode of being spells disaster. He impels the
violent engine of the city and then just wonders why it is so violent.
(6) On the other hand, it is only in a city that a motor mechanic, a florist and a cyberspace wizard rub
shoulders. The sweatshop labourer, the marginal peasant and the millionaire industrialist co-exist,
sharing mass transport and mass entertainment. However, cities have still failed to provide a true
sense of belonging to their residents. No doubt, contradictions abound. The coziness and intimacy
has been lost, but a broad cosmopolitan outlook has been achieved. Modern cities are in fact both
urban 'horror’ and 'wonder’, they have a distinct character and a varied personality.
(i) (a) Given below are three words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the
passage: [3]
(1) having high walls
(2) disapproved
(3) engulfing
(b) For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in
spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage: [3]
(1) settlement (line 1)
(A) A large Harappan settlement has been discovered recently in a village in Gujarat.
(B) The small town is a settlement of just hundred houses.
(C) She is hoping for a quick settlement of the dispute between the two families.
(D) They could see from a distance the ruins of an ancient settlement.
(2) march (line 14)
(A) The teachers joined the protest march to show solidarity with the students.
(B) Soldiers on the march were provided with food and water by the localities.
(C) The hilly area is being ruined by the relentless march of tourists.
(D) The elections to the Lok Sabha could be held in the month of March.
(3) shoulders (line 34)
(A) A huge burden was lifted from his shoulders after he cleared all his dues.
(B) He likes his new job as he rubs shoulders with celebrities from the film industry.
(C) The conference gave me the opportunity to rub shoulders with the budding entrepreneurs.
(D) As a reporter he gets to rub shoulders with the big names in the sports world.
(ii) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible:
(a) What are the negative and positive aspects of a city? [2]
(b) How is psychological urbanisation harmful? [2]
(c) How is a modern city, a land of opportunity? Why is it considered to be both, urban horror and wonder?
[2]
(iii) Summarise the impact of rapid urbanisation, as mentioned in paragraphs 3 to 6. You are required to
write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word
limit will be penalised. [8]