This question paper consists of 26 questions [Section–A (16) + Section–B (5+5)] and 15 printed

pages.

Roll No. Code No. 49/HIS/1

Set> u
ENGLISH
(302)

Day and Date of Examination ......................................................................................................

Signature of Invigilators 1. ..................................................................

2. ..................................................................

General Instructions :

1. Candidate must write his/her Roll Number on the first page of the question paper.

2. Please check the question paper to verify that the total pages and total number of
questions contained in the paper are the same as those printed on the top of the first
page. Also check to see that the questions are in sequential order.

3. Making any identification mark in the Answer-book or writing Roll Number

anywhere other than the specified places will lead to disqualification of the
candidate.

4. Write your Question Paper Code No. 49/HIS/1, Set u on the Answer-book.

302/HIS/102A [ P.T.O.
 ENGLISH
(302)

Time : 3 Hours ] [ Maximum Marks : 100

Note : (i) This Question Paper consists of two Sections, viz., ‘A’ and ‘B’.

(ii) All the questions from Section ‘A’ are compulsory.

(iii) Section ‘B’ has two options. Candidates are required to attempt
questions from one option only.

(iv) Marks are indicated against each question.

SECTION–A

1. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow :

(a) Cricket, to use a ‘cliche’, is in my blood. My father was a good club

cricketer in his days and a keen student of the game. Even now we have
interesting discussions on various aspects of the game and I have found
his advice invaluable in the development of my career. And I have had
the privilege of having a cricketing mother, who helped me to take the
first steps in the game I have come to love. My uncle, Madhav Mantri,
who played for India in four ‘official’ tests, though not very successfully,
was a force to reckon with in first class games.

(i) What did Gavaskar mean to say when he said, “Cricket is in

my blood”? 1

(ii) How does Gavaskar pay tribute to his father in the development
of his career? 1

(iii) In what way did Gavaskar pay tribute to his mother for his
achievement in the field of cricket? 1

302/HIS/102A 2
 (iv) Find out the words from the extract which mean similar to—

(1) ‘of great value’;

(2) ‘a powerful person’. ½+½=1

OR

In the West, surveys have consistently shown that the public prefers wind
and other renewable energy force over conventional sources of generation.
Wind energy is free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is
used today, there will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy
is also a source of clean, non-polluting electricity. Unlike conventional
power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases.

(i) What two reasons are given by public for their preference to wind
energy form over conventional source of generation? ½+½=1

(ii) What two flaws are pointed out by people with conventional
power plants? 1

(iii) How can the shortage of energy in the future be faced with? 1

(iv) Which words in the extract mean similar to—

(1) ‘to send out heat, gas, light, etc., into the air’;

(2) ‘a substance that pollutes water, air, etc.’ ? ½+½=1

(b) Change is essential but continuity is also necessary. The future has to
be built on the foundation laid in the past and in the present. To deny
the past and break with it completely is to uproot ourselves and sapless,
dry up. It was the virtue of Gandhiji to keep his feet firmly planted in
the rich traditions of our race and our soil and, at the same time,
to function on the revolutionary plain. Above all, he laid stress on truth
and peaceful means. Thus he built on old foundations, and at the
same time, oriented the structure towards the future.

(i) (1) What does the author want to suggest to the people of
his country? 1

(2) Why does he (the author) think it is not only necessary but
essential to have this attitude? 1

302/HIS/102A 3 [ P.T.O.
 (ii) What was Gandhian approach to life? Mention two highlights of
his philosophy. 1

(iii) Which words in the extract mean similar to—

(1) ‘make someone weak or destroy something’;

(2) ‘a quality that someone has’ ? ½+½=1

OR

As might be expected, in the beginning it was tough for all of us,

for mother and my father, for my three sisters, and my brother, and for
me too. The illness had left me weak. The servants avoided me as though
I were an evil eye personified. My father, who was a doctor in the public
health service, was grateful that I had got prompt and good medical
treatment, for delay would have affected my mind or endangered my life.
But he, like the rest, had no hope. My sisters treated me with care,
as though I were a fragile doll, and mother wept.

(i) How did the author’s parents take his (the author’s) illness? 1

(ii) Why did the author’s sisters treat him during his illness? 1

(iii) Why did the author’s father feel grateful? Give one reason. 1

(iv) Which words or expressions in the extract mean similar to—

(1) ‘look at someone with suspicion’;

(2) ‘some other than already mentioned’ ? ½+½=1

2. Answer any three of the following questions in about 30–40 words each : 2×3=6

(a) What two facts related to Baldeo’s place of work show that it was
very dangerous place?
( The Tiger in the Tunnel )

(b) What fact related to Aradhana’s life disturbed her? How did she convey
it to others?
( I Must Know the Truth )

302/HIS/102A 4
 (c) What role did Bholi’s teacher play in Bholi’s life and way of thinking?
( Bholi )

(d) What two qualities of Gerrard impress the readers most? Give reasons
for your evaluation of Gerrard’s character.
( If I were You )

3. Answer any one of the following questions in about 60 words : 6

(a) What are Rahul’s views about old education system followed during his
grandparents’ days? Why is he critical about the modern education
system?
( Father, Dear Father )

(b) Dr. Benson picked up Private T. Evans on cold midnight and rushed
to attend Mrs. Sorley in labour pains on that cold night. What qualities
of a human being are observed in his behaviour by you?

( A Case of Suspicion )

4. Read the following extract from the prescribed poem and answer the questions
that follow :

What is this life if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

(a) To what attitude of people towards nature does the poet hint? 2

(b) Pick up the lines that show people’s lack of interest in nature’s
beauty and charm. 1

(c) What kind of life does the poet not like? 2

302/HIS/102A 5 [ P.T.O.
 OR
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

(a) The poet calls the wood ‘yellow’. Why does he call it ‘yellow wood’? 1

(b) “Long I stood.” Why did the poet stand and look down … as far as
he could? What must have been his state of mind? 2

(c) What was the poet’s dilemma? Why had that dilemma occurred? 2

5. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

Humans, it is said, are talking to animals. This is one way of saying that man is
a social animal, possessing the faculty of speech. Conversation is an important
part of our social life. It is indeed an activity that characterizes all mankind.
Men and women everywhere spend a large part of their time in making
conversation.

Some kinds of conversation seem to have no special purpose. “Nice weather”,

says a man as he passes you on street. “Oh, you are back. Nice to see
you again”, says another. Such conversations aim at breaking silence and
producing a feeling in the speaker and the listener both belong to the
same group.

Have you ever wondered what it is that makes you a good conversationalist?

It hardly needs saying that you must have something to say. This is possible
only if you are yourself interested in people and event. You must be well-
informed. Reading books and magazines is not so important to equip yourself
with useful information. Your own experiences in life are important too,
since they provide a store of material for your conversation. The information
and the experiences must become a part of you. This means that you should
think about what you read or experience. Even that is not enough. You should

302/HIS/102A 6
 not be like one of those tin cans which are stuffed full of things but will not
yield their contents unless you hold them upside down and shake them
vigorously. You must be able to bring your thoughts and ideas into your
conversation naturally and at the right place and right time.

(a) What fact discriminates humans from animals and says that they are
social animals? 2

(b) People can become effective conversationalist if they have something

to say. How do people gather material to talk? What are such sources? 2

(c) Why does the writer refer to a tin can? Will such people succeed in life
as conversationalist? Yes or No? Give reasons to support your view. 2

(d) Which words or expressions used in the passage mean similar to—

(i) ‘to move, bend or break because of pressure’;

(ii) ‘to obtain oneself with the things that are needed for a particular
purpose’ ? 1+1=2

6. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

A sign of our times is the number of young people complaining about their
weight. It is either too much or not enough, or all is okay except those hips
or those arms. But even as more people flock to jogging parks and aerobics
classes, they are not as healthy as they should be, say the nutritionists.

Health has never been a bigger concern than it is now. People are not eating
in proportion to their lifestyle today. Many nutritionists feel that people’s
food habit remains same as before but they are leading a more sedentary life
today. Staple diets that were consumed in days when people were more
physically active, are eaten today with far less exertion.

In fact the one hour of jogging a person does doesn’t always mean that
he has added a new activity to his list. It could be a substitute for the amount
of walking that was done before, after which he might get into a rickshaw and
continue with his regular routine. Work for many urbanites is not manually
demanding except for the certain section of the society.

302/HIS/102A 7 [ P.T.O.
 So, if the kind of food one eats or the diet one follows is important, so is ones
lifestyle. A labourer may eat three times what an executive does, but doesn’t
develop the latter’s paunch. Meanwhile the weight-conscious executive doesn’t
realize that the extra cup of tea he has everyday or a handful of potato chips
add one kilo to his weight in two months. The tea or chips contain 150 calories;
in two months that works out to be around 8000 calories. Average it is seen
that those people whose working hours are nine to five, they have normally
a good diet eaten at regular intervals. According to the nutritionists, the
weight is a product of ones energy output as well.

(a) Nutritionists feel that people who complain of weight and who go for
jogging or aerobics cannot be considered (i) —— because they are
unmindful of (ii) ——. 1+1=2

(b) The nutritionists suggest that (i) —— because people haven’t changed
their (ii) ——. 1+1=2

(c) How is it that labourers eat more than what an executive eats yet
develop paunch? 2

(d) Which words used in the passage mean similar to—

(i) ‘the work which demands long sitting hours’;

(ii) ‘basic type of food normally taken’ ? 1+1=2

7. Read the following passage and supply the required information in the table
given below :

The present-day scenario of the Primary School Education is very bleak.

It’s time to think beyond the enrolment numbers. Over 3 lakhs children in
the age group of 6 to 11 don’t go to school at all. Every year there is
an enrolment campaign but there is no effective policy for retaining the
students. In one year MCD registered a record-breaking enrolment figures
1·1 lakhs against the usual 20000 students. Introduction of English as
a subject in MCD schools is the reason for this quantum jump.

A big problem being experienced is retention of the children. Mid-day meal

meant to be a major incentive for retaining children in the primary schools
is still not very effective. The importance of mid-day meal in retaining

302/HIS/102A 8
 schoolchildren is reflected in the remark of a teacher. He told that the students
enquire before classes start whether biscuits will be distributed that day and
if the answer is No, most of them don’t turn up.

The rate of absenteeism is highest in MCD schools. The achievement scores of

the learners in these schools is less by 10% to 15%. The children from the lower
strata of society have to be dragged from their homes. Parents of such students
are indifferent towards it.

The writer says that the present-day scenario of the primary

schoolchildren is very bleak because of (i) —— and (ii) ——.
Even mid-day meal has failed to serve as (iii) ——.
Enrolment campaign failed in spite of introduction of (iv) ——.

1+1+1+1=4

8. Read the passage given below and write the summary of the passage in
about 100 words : 5

Old people generally have a tendency to recount their past as if it was the
best time of their life, but with this they also mean about the present. It seems
that human beings cannot enjoy the present as wonderful. The present is
always shown as if it is worse than the past.

This is normal considering that the passage of time makes one forget the
everyday irritants of daily living of the past and one feels that the present
problems are more because their proximity magnifies them. Generally
Westerners seem happy with the present and just enjoy it believing that the
present is better than the past. Some Indians believe that the present is better
than the past. But most Indians think that the past was past and that it was
the best, the present terrible and the future is bleak and so do not remain
happy. Nearly all of us Indians seem to glorify our past. When we talk about
culture and civilization the general consensus comes around that our past
was better.

302/HIS/102A 9 [ P.T.O.
 9. Fill in the blanks in the following passage with appropriate passive forms of
the verbs given in brackets : 3

All the fruits (a) —— (pluck) by the gardener before the trees (b) —— (attack)
by the monkeys. Some other delicious fruits (c) —— (pack) in cartons by the
gardeners for export.

10. Fill in the blanks in the following passage with appropriate forms of the verbs
given in brackets : 4

My father (a) —— (write) a useful book on English grammar. It (b) —— (publish)

by M/s. Rupa Publishers, Delhi. One of the units (c) —— (deal) with present
tense for future time reference. It is an interesting unit which (d) ——
(propagate) the new concept.

11. Combine the following pairs of sentences using the connectors given against
each pair : 4

(a) (i) The lunch period was over.

(ii) We all rushed towards our classrooms.

( as soon as )

(b) (i) Avishkar should return the library books.

(ii) He will not be issued admit card.

( unless )

(c) (i) Sally had not cleared Pre-board examination.

(ii) She was allowed by the Principal to take the examination.

( although )

(d) (i) Our dog was buried near the Nizam-ud-din burial ground.

(ii) As per new rules of the MCD we couldn’t have gone anywhere else.
( because )

302/HIS/102A 10
12. Report the following conversation in indirect speech : 4

Suman : How are you Veena after your high fever?

Veena : I’m fine but feel awfully weak.

Suman : Are you taking some fat-rich diet?

Veena : No except fruits. I’m sure I’ll regain my lost vitality.

13. Write a paragraph in about 100 words on any one of the following topics : 5

(a) Books are my best friends. What efforts do I make to win ‘their’
friendship?

(b) How I helped an old man when he was hurt by a biker?

(c) Once I misbehaved with our school peon. I don’t know why I did so?

14. Write a letter of complaint to the Manager, Charu Shoes, Madhubani, Delhi
for supply of a defective piece of the shoe/sandal. Write the letter in a polite
language. Also write what you want to compensate it. 5

15. The following passage has seven mistakes. One of them has been identified
and the correction has been provided as an example. Spot the mistakes and
provide the correction as shown below : 6

What one forgot is that even during the past their were war which was
somehow destructive. It happens because of conflict most initiated becose of
somones negative ambition to rool over others.

Sl. No. ERROR CORRECTION

1. forgot forgets
2. ............ ............
3. ............ ............
4. ............ ............
5. ............ ............
6. ............ ............
7. ............ ............

302/HIS/102A 11 [ P.T.O.
16. Read the following passage and make notes, in points only, on it. Use the
appropriate heading and subheadings. Also use recognizable abbreviations : 4

The Government’s decision to ban professional blood donors from donating

blood will have an adverse effect on women. It is generally seen that when
a woman needs blood, the family members are discouraged from donating their
own blood for various reasons.

During 22 years of our medical practice, we have yet to come across a single
husband or father-in-law, who voluntarily offered to donate blood for the
woman in question. Even the exaggerated threat of impending danger to her
life would not help. In a few cases where the husband was somehow coerced
to donate blood, his mother would invariably force him to change his mind
saying that she was going to die, why should he want to kill himself. Other
members of the in-laws’ family will also discourage the husband to come
forward and donate his blood. The doctor’s information that the husband’s life
would not be affected in anyway is not given any importance.

So is the condition of daughters too. Since quite a few the adolescents are
invariably malnourished and generally anaemic, whenever they have any
prolonged illness or bleeding disorders common to women their condition
deteriorates very fast. While many a parent don’t mind borrowing and spending
on hospitalization of their son, they definitely grudge spending what they
consider a fortune on their daughters’ treatment. Had their parents cared in
the beginning, these unfortunate girls/mothers wouldn’t have become a part
of statistics of maternal mortality.

This may not be true of the elite families but it is definitely true of the areas
where middle-class people live.

302/HIS/102A 12
 SECTION–B

Note : (i) Attempt any one of the given options.

(ii) All the questions should be attempted from the same option.

OPTION–I

( E.S.P. FOR RECEPTIONISTS )

17. What four qualities are essential in an effective receptionist? Give an example
of each quality. 4

18. What four documents should an effective receptionist have? 2

19. A receptionist is required to attend inhouse or client’s telephone calls. How

would an ineffective receptionist pronounce the following telephone numbers?
Use the correct pause mark at the appropriate places : 2

22241513; 9873121769

20. Read the following dialogue between a receptionist and a caller :

Telephone bell rings …

Receptionist (R) : Gujarat Iron, good morning. Who’s on the line, please?

Caller (C) : Good morning. This is Rajesh, PA to Mr. Bhalla,

MD, Sheel Iron, Paharganj, Delhi. We are one of bulk
buyers of the scrap.

Receptionist (R) : Welcome Mr. Rajesh. What can I do for you?

Caller (C) : Our MD is keen to visit your stock of the scrap and see
to ensure the quality and variety of the scrap you deal in.
He feels it will help our Director Supplies to ask for
specific type of scrap.

If agreed, will 25th of this month suit you? Please

confirm, if possible now only. It will save time.

302/HIS/102A 13 [ P.T.O.
 Receptionist (R) : Mr. Rajesh. I’ll have to request our MD or Director
Supplies. Unfortunately both of them on tour till 7th
of this month. I’ve noted your enquiry and leave the
message on the desks of both of them.

Could I note down your contact number for future

communication?

Caller (C) : Sure. It is 9981377160. I’ll make a call on 7th.

Receptionist (R) : Let me repeat the number. 9981377160, you need not.
I’m sending a mail to both of them to save time.

Thank you Mr. Rajesh for calling. Visit our website

www.gujaratiron.com

Caller (C) : Thank you, Mam.

Analyze the dialogue and answer the following questions :

(a) Write four steps the receptionist had taken from the time she received
the call. 2

(b) How would the receptionist have repeated the caller’s number? 1

(c) What additional information had the receptionist given though not
asked for? 1

21. What pieces of information should a receptionist have readily available?

Give any three. 3

302/HIS/102A 14
 OPTION–II
( E.S.P. FOR OFFICE USE )

17. You meet one of your old friends. How will you greet the friend and introduce
one of your new colleagues? 2

18. In what two ways are office memos different from any official letters? 2

19. You have received an interview letter from M/s. Jagdish Stationery Stores,
Kitab Ghar, Gwalior for face-to-face interview for the post of Promoter (Sales).
How will you prepare for it? 2

20. Your company has been informed by the Regional Depot of Haryana at Ambala
about the sudden fall in quarterly sale of your company’s prestigious product,
‘Executive Desk Diary’. You were deputed to survey the market to find out the
reason for that fall. Submit your report to your Director, Sales. 5

21. Prepare your CV to be sent to Delhi Leather Shoe Company, Agra for the post
of Regional Manager of the company in response to their advertisement in
the Hindustan Times, 27th August. 4

HHH

302/HIS/102A 15 14VO—30000×3