DAV Centenary Public school Mandi

Half yearly examination(2022-2023)

class-11th

Subject- English( SET-A)

Time Allowed:3 hrs M.M.:80

General Instructions:--

1.This question paper is divided into Three sections.

Section A : Reading 26marks

Section B : Grammar & Creative Writing 23marks

Section C : Literature 31 marks

2. Attempt all the questions.

3.Ensure that questions of each section are answered together.

4. Read the questions carefully and follow the instructions.

Section-A (Reading)

1. Read the following passage carefully. (8)

In a country like India (as in other multilingual countries in the world), it may be difficult to find a
classroom that does not have children speaking several languages. Yet, a multilingual classroom is often
treated as a headache rather than as an asset. We often try to impose monolingual methods of
instruction on our students. We do not appreciate the fact that if a child knows several languages he is
intellectually more developed and is likely to have greater linguistic sensitivity and social tolerance. If we
can tune our curriculum, syllabi, methods, materials and teacher training to the multilingual nature of
the classroom, we will certainly open up new educational possibilities. In the teaching of grammar in
particular it is possible to utilize the multiplicity of languages represented in a given class very fruitfully.
Notice that in order to get whatever linguistic data you want, you don’t have to make any efforts or
incur any cost. All the data is already there in the minds of children. We just have to train ourselves to
systematically elicit it and then go through a process of segmentation, classification, categorization and
rule formation. Different languages represented in a multilingual class can be used to sharpen the
understanding of the target language. These languages can be used to create an atmosphere of joy and
enquiry in the classroom. A comparative study of the rules of different languages is probably the best
way to enhance linguistic sensitivity, to learn grammar and to cultivate respect for not so well known
languages spoken by children in the class. However the main problem is regarding the teaching of
grammar of different languages.Nothing causes more anxiety to teachers, parents, examiners and
society in general than the errors that a learner makes while learning a language. In fact, we often treat
errors as if they were diseases which need immediate treatment. The truth is that making errors is a
necessary part of learning process. As we all know every child learns his first language perfectly without
making any conscious effort. And yet, he makes a variety of errors which disappear only with the
passage of time at the appropriate stage of learning. Similarly, while learning his second language a child
inevitably makes errors which more often than not are evidence of his knowledge rather than his
ignorance.It is also important to notice that rules of the grammar of a language are created by those
who use it. We often behave as if rules are not subject to change. In the ways in which we enshrine our
rules in grammars, dictionaries and reference books, we do create the impression as if rules and
languages will never change.But as you all know languages keep changing all the time. It is difficult for us
to see these changes. Yet, the rules that governed the language of your great grandfather may be
significantly different from the rules that will govern the language of your great grandchild and in this
process it is possible that today’s errors may become tomorrow’s rules. It is, of course, entirely possible
that at a highly abstract level, all languages share a universal grammar. Hence, the multilingual approach
can help understand the various aspects of grammar in a fruitful way.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes using headings and sub-
headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. Suggest a suitable title for the
passage.(5)
(b) Write a summary of the above passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made by you.
(3)
1. Read the following passage carefully. (10) The school
has always been the most important means of transferring the wealth of tradition from
one generation to the next. This applies today in an even higher degree than in former
time, for through modern development of the economic life, the family as bearer of
tradition and education has been weakened. The continuance and health of human
society is therefore in a still higher degree dependent on the school than formerly
2. Sometimes one sees in the school simply the instrument for transferring a certain
maximum quantity of knowledge to the growing generation. But that's not right.
Knowledge is dead; the school, however, serves the living. It should develop in the
young individuals those qualities and capabilities which are of value for the welfare of
the commonwealth. But that does not mean that individuality should be destroyed and
the individual becomes a mere tool of the community, like a bee or an ant. For a
community of standardized individuals without personal originality and personal aims
would be a poor community without possibilities for development. On the contrary, the
aim must be the training of independently thinking and acting individuals, who,
however, see in the service of the community their highest life problem.
3. But how shall one try to attain this idea? Should one perhaps try to realize this aim by
moralizing? Not at all. Words are and remain empty sounds, and the road to perdition
has ever been accompanied by lip service to an ideal. But personalities are not formed
by what is heard and said but by labour and activity.
4. The most important method of education accordingly has always consisted of the way
in which a pupil was urged to actual performance. This applies as well to the first
attempts at writings of the primary boy as the doctor's thesis on graduation from the
university, or as to the mere memorizing of a poem, the writing of a composition, the
interpretation and translation of a text, the solving of a mathematical problem or the
practice of a physical sport.
 5. But behind every achievement exists the motivation which is at the foundation
of it and, which in turn is strengthened and nourished by the accomplishment of the undertaking. Here,
there are the greatest differences and they are of the greatest importance to the education value of the
school. The same work may owe its origin to fear and compulsion, ambitious desire for authority and
distinction or loving interest in the object and a desire for truth and understanding, and thus to that
divine curiosity which every healthy child possesses, but which so often is weakened early. The
educational influence which is exercised upon the pupil by the accomplishment of one and the same
work may be widely different , depending upon whether fear of hurting egoistic passion, or desire for
pleasure and satisfaction. is at the bottom of this work. And nobody will maintain that the
administration of the school and the attitude of the teachers do not have an influence upon the
moulding of the psychological foundation for pupils.

6. To me the worst thing seems to be for a school principally to work with methods of fear, force and
artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments, the sincerity, and the self-confidence
of the pupil. It produces the submissive subject. It is not so hard to keep the school free from the worst
of all evils. Give into the power of the teacher the fewest possible coercive measures, So that the only
source of the pupil’s respect for the teacher is the human and intellectual qualities of the latter.

Extracted from Albert Einstein’s Essay on Education

(A) the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following questions by choosing the
best of the given options :. 1×6=6

(a)The role of the school has increased in modern times because

(i) Children have become self-centered

(ii) The curriculum has increased

(iii) Children adore their teachers

(iv) Family values have weakened.

(b) school should develop individuals

(i) Who are highly competitive in nature

(ii) Who see their own development in the development of the community

(iii) Who are multifaceted

(iv) Who can adapt themselves to any situation

(c)The most important method of education according to the author is

(i) Where students are urged to actual performance

(ii) Where there is healthy interaction between students and

Teachers

(iii) Where the teacher doesn’t force himself on his students.

(iv) Where students are free to choose their own subjects

(d) most important things that mould the psychological foundation of pupils are

(i) School and parents

(ii) Peer groups and siblings

(iii) School administration and attitude of teachers

(iv) School and college

(e) Find the correct synonym for the word ‘contrary’ from the options

Given below

(i) Similar (ii) Adjacent

(iii) Vague. (iv) Opposite

(f) Find the antonym of the word ‘artificial’ from the words given below

(i) Natural. (ii) Casual

(iii) Individual (iv) Plural

(B) Answer the following questions briefly. 1×4=4

(i) How does the author differentiate between school and knowledge?

(ii) Mention some of the factors for a child to work.

(iii) What are the factors that destroy the self-confidence of the pupils?

(iv) When will a pupil respect his teacher only for his human and

Intellectual qualities?

3.Read the passage given below. 8

1. Roshni Bairwa remembers running all the way from her home in Tonk’s Mahmoodnagar Dhani
village to the room where the ‘bal samooh’ (children’s group) met. “My grandparents are getting
me married, you have to do something,” the then 12-year-old told the 20 or so children sitting
there.
2. The children, all aged between eight and 16, trooped up to Roshni’s house and urged her
grandparents to stop the impending wedding. Others, including village elders and teachers,
joined in. The wedding was stopped. She had discovered a way out of the quagmire with the
help of a local NGO and the village children.
3. When she was in class XII, the pressure to get married returned. This time her uncle found a
match for her. When she resisted, she was taunted and beaten. People would point to her as
the girl who brought shame to her family and asked their children not to speak to her. “I was 16
years old and alone in the world. I walked to school with my eyes fixed to the ground. I would
think sometimes, what have I done that is so terrible for everyone to hate me so much? I would
cry myself to sleep,” recalls Roshni, who lost her father when she was two and had been
 abandoned by her mother shortly after. But even in those dark moments, Roshni didn’t give up,
moving out of the village to Peeplu tehsil in Rajasthan where she rented a room and attended
college.
4. With education and independence came a sense of confidence. “I kept in touch with the
children in the village. Every time there was child marriage, they would call me and I would go to
stop it. I realised I had already been thrown out of the village, the worst had already happened,
what else could the villagers do? So I went and fought with everyone who was getting their child
married,” she says with a laugh. So far she has stopped over a dozen marriages.
5. Even without the support of the law, young girls have been crusading against the practice.
Earlier this month, 19-year-old Sushila Bishnoi from Barmer succeeded in getting her marriage
annulled, submitting photographs, and congratulatory messages from her husband’s Facebook
account to the court. The court accepted these as evidence that the union took place when both
the bride and groom were 12 years old and declared the marriage invalid.
6. Seema Bairwal (name changed) was 15 when she was married to a man a few years older. Later
when she started attending ‘bal samooh’ meetings with NGO Shiv Shiksha Samiti and Save the
Children, it dawned on her that she had a choice. “I learnt that my life is mine. I have the power
to say no to marriage.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the best of
the given choices. 1×8=8

(a)The brides mentioned in the passage are rebels against

(i) The dowry system

(ii) Child marriage

(iii) Purdah system

(iv) Arranged manages

(b)When Roshni was twelve years old, she succeeded in her mission with the help of …………

(i) 20 children aged between eight and sixteen

(ii) Her grandparents

(iii) 20 children, her grandparents, village elders and teachers

(iv) Children and an NGO

(c) When she Wps sixteen the people of the village …………………..

(i) Taunted her and beat her up

(ii) Boycotted her

(iii) Were angry with her

(iv) Were sympathetic and understanding

(d) Roshni moved out of the village in order to

 (i) Seek a job

(ii) Escape the villagers

(iii) Attend college

(iv) Marry a boy of her choice

(e)’Give up’ in para 3 means

(i) Stop attending classes

(ii) Stop doing something

(iii) Very eager

(iv) Voluntary help

(f)‘Annulled’ in para 5 means

(i) To state officially that something is not legally valid

(ii) Help somebody

(iii) Impending doom

(iv) Social works

(g) The children, all aged between eight and 16, trapped to …………….. and urged her grandparents to
stop the impending wedding.

(h) ‘Bal Samooh’ meetings with NGO Shiv Shiksha Samiti and ‘Save the Children’ encouraged child
marriage. [True/False]

Section-B (Writing Skills and Grammar)

4..You are Vikram/Sonia, an Hon’s graduate in history with specialization in Medieval India. You
are well acquainted with places of historical interest in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. You are looking
for the job of tourist guide. Write an advertisement in about 50 words for the situations wanted
column of a local newspaper.

OR. (3)

You are General Manager of Ivy Software Solutions, Agra Cantt, Agra. You need a software engineer for
your organisation. Draft an advertisement in not more than 50 words to be published in ‘The Times of
India’ under the classified columns.

5.Inspired by the Government’s cleanliness drive, your school, Daffodils Public School, Delhi is
organizing a poster making competition on the topic ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. Prepare a
suitable poster. (3)
 OR

Design a poster in not more than 50 words for your school library on the value of books and good
reading habits. You may use slogans.

6.The increasing amount of time spent playing indoor games has been a major cause of decreasing the
outdoor appearance of children. With this concern, write a speech to be delivered in the morning
assembly in 150-200 words. You are Parag/Pragati.
(5)

OR

You are Priya/Piyush. You are a member of the Environment Club of your school. After visiting many
places you have realized that it is the need of the hour to protect environment. You decide to create
awareness among the students. Write a speech in 150-200 words on ‘Environmental protection’ to be
delivered in the morning assembly.

7.Write a debate in 150 – 200 words either for or against the motion: ‘ Punishment should be abolished’.
(5)

OR

Some people feel that electronic media (TV news) will bring about the end of print media (newspapers).
What are your views on the issue? Write a debate in 150-200 words either for or against this view.

8. Fill in blanks with the appropriate option given below. (4)

Asaf Khan who (1) ________the expedition against the city, (2) ________ that the little country
which (3) ________ by a woman would (4) _______ very easily without striking even a blow.

Options

(1)Had led / led / was leading / has led

(2)Expected / has been expecting / had expected / was expected
(3)Rule / was ruled / is ruled / was ruling
(4)Was taken / be taken / will be taken / is taking

9.Read the words and phrases given below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences.
Write the correct sentences in your answer sheet. (3)
(a) Global genius / consider / people / a / Einstein
(b) Tools / strongest of animals / early man / the / made / more / than
/powerful / the
(c) Qualities / patience / of / truthfulness / develop / children should /
 Section-C (Literature) Marks:31

10. Read the given extract carefully and answer the questions that

Follow. 3×1=3

A suddenness, a startlement, at a branch end.

Then sleek as lizard, and alert, and abrupt,

She enters the thickness and a machine starts up

Of chittering, and a tremor of wings and trillings

(a) What is the cause of ‘a suddenness and a startlement’?

(b) Explain the comparison in the second line.
(c) What is the reference to ‘a machine’?

11.Read given extract carefully and answer:. 4×1=4

My cousin Mourad was considered the natural descendant of this man, although Mourad’s father was
Zorab, who was practical and nothing else. That’s how it was in our tribe. A man could be the father of
his son’s flesh, but that did not mean that he was also the father of his spirit. The distribution of the
various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning capricious and vagrant.

Choose the correct option to answer each question :

1.Give the name of the story.

(a)The Address. (b) Mother’s Day.

© The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse. (d) Ranga’s Marriage.

2.Who does ‘this man’ refer to in this passage ?

(a) Khosrove.(b) Mourad (c) The barber (d) The author’s cousin.

3.Who, according to the author, was practical and nothing else?

(a)Arak’s father(b) author, Zorab’s father (c) Mourad’s father. (d) Khosrove’s father.

4.Who wrote this story?

(a) A.J.Cronin.

(b) Marga Minco

(c) J.B.Priestly

(d)William Saroyan
13.Read the given extract carefully and answer:. . 3×1=3

By morning on January 3, the pumps had the water level sufficiently under control for us to take two
hours’ rest in rotation. But we still had a tremendous leak somewhere below the waterline and, on
checking, I found that nearly all the boat’s main rib frames were smashed down to the keel. In fact,
there was nothing holding up a whole section of the starboard hull except a few cupboard partitions.

We had survived for 15 hours since the wave hit, but Wavewalker wouldn’t hold together long enough
for us to reach Australia. I checked our charts and calculated that there were two small islands a few
hundred kilometres to the east. One of them, Ile Amsterdam, was a French scientific base. Our only
hope was to reach these pinpricks in the vast ocean. But unless the wind and seas abated so we could
hoist sail, our chances would be slim indeed. The great wave had put our auxilliary engine out of action.

Choose the correct option to answer each question :

1.What did the narrator calculate after checking his charts ?

(a) There were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the east.

(b)There were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the west.

(c) There were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the north.

(d)There were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the south.

2.Who had put their auxiliary engine out of action ?

(a)A big whale.

(b) Strong gales.

(c)The great wave.

(d) of these three.

3.Which word in the passage means ‘secondary’ ?

(a)sufficiently.

(b) tremendous.

(c)pinpricks.

(d)Auxiliary.

2. Answer any two of the following questions in 60-70words each. 2×3=6

(a)Who was Howard Carter? What was his discovery?

 (b)How does Khushwant Singh describe his grandfather’s portrait?

(c) What difference did you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children when
faced with danger?

(d) Howard Carter’s investigation was resented.Explain.

14.Answer any one of the following questions in about 120-150 words. 6

(a)Describe how the bond of friendship between the author and his grandmother grew strong and
then weak with the passage of time.

(b) “The family that had ruled for centuries was coming to an end and then Akhenaten went a
little wacky”. In view of this remark made by Ray Johnson, give a brief description of the family lineage
of King Tut.

15.Answer any one of the following questions in about 120-150 words. 6

(a) 'I resolved to forget the address. Of all the things I had to forget, that Would be the
easiest’. Mention the circumstances which made the narrator forget the address.

(b) “It was true, then. He had stolen the horse. There was no question about it. He had come to
invite me to ride or not, as I chose.” How did the narrator convince himself to enjoy a horse ride with
cousin Mourad?

16.Answer any one of the following questions in about 40-50 words. 1×3=3

(a)Write a brief description of Uncle Khosrove.

(b) How did Mrs Dorling react when the narrator said, I am Mrs S’s daughter”