MODEL EXAM ENGLISH QUESTION PAPER SOLVED PART --1

HIGHER SECONDARY MODEL EXAMINATION -2016

HSEII                                      PART 1 ENGLISH

(Qns 1-4) Read the passage and answer the following questions.

“The third ‘L” is leadership that enables women to rise and fulfil their innate abilities and talents.Here there is plenty of room for improvement. The irony is that when women lead they tend to be as good a job as others, if not a better job.”

1. Who is the speaker

A) The speaker here is Christian Lagarde.

2. What are the two other “Ls” that the speaker mentions?

A) The two other “Ls” are learning and labour.

3. What according to the speaker are the merits of the decisions by women?

A) According to the speaker, the decisions made by women will be based on consensus-building, inclusion, compassion and with an aim of long term sustainability. They try to consider everyone equally and includes everyone around them.

4. What does the word ‘innate’ mean?

a) acquired b) practical c) inherent d) very valuable

5. Imagine that you are selected as the best NSS Activist by the NSS cell of Higher Secondary Education. You would be honoured by the Education Minister in the presence of the director, Higher Secondary Education and other dignitaries. You are supposed to deliver a speech that you would deliver.

A) Honourable Chief guests on the dias, Respected teachers and my dear friends, A warm good morning to one and all….

Today I am very much honoured by standing here to receive the prize for the best NSS activist. As I stand here my memories go back to the past. I recall the day when I expressed my views about conserving nature and save mother Earth to my loving parents by joining in the NSS organization. I am very much thankful to God and my loving parents for the kind of support rendered on me.

As a NSS Activist, my priority was to conserve and save nature by retaining its beauty for the upcoming generation. We should always think of our fore-fathers who sacrificed their valuable time for the conservation of nature. NSS has helped me a lot to conserve the rich natural heritage.

I take this auspices occasion as a time to inspire others. Let it be an inspiration to many to come for the protection of nature. I believe in the power of youth to do great wonder. I wish all the youngsters to devote their valuable time to bring the best in conserving our motherland and ourselves.

“Let’s not nip the buds, let it bossom”. Let’s stand together, join our hands to bring out the best and protect environment.

6. Insert suitable prepositions in the following blanks.

Last Saturday our parents had a big surprise ……… my sister and I . Excitedly, we packed our lunches and hopped ……. the car. Father drove the car …….. the freeway and finally we arrived ……..the Thrills and Chills Amusement Park.

A) from, into, along, at

7. Your class in enacting the play “The Hour of Truth” on your School annual day. Prepare a script for announcing the programme, introducing the play to the audience.

A)  Ladies and Gentlemen, a warm good afternoon to one and all of you…..

Now the time has arrived of the much awaited, heart touching famous play by the blessed writer Percival Wilde”. It is none other than the play “The Hour of Truth”. This wonderful play tells about the corruptive influence of money on people. Here we can see the protagonist trying to keep his truthful ways throughout his life. This is an ever green entertainer. It gives the message that the truth will be prevailing in the end. It is interesting to note the fact how God rewards honesty. “The Hour of Truth” is directed by our English teacher and background music by the “Drums” our own School band team. The curtain will be rising after the next bell. Watch and enjoy.

8. “He doesn’t have the courage to put out that fire by slapping it between his hands, so he tries to pour water on it. With great difficulty, he attempts to speak normally. you loose all common sense when you get angry, don’t you? A woman of such anger! Oof!”. (Matchbox)

Imagine that Ajit Nomita’s husband gets a chance to talk to Ratna, the colleague of Sudha Murty. How would he present his issues with his wife?

A) Hi Ratna, I am Ajit. I have heard a lot about you. It’s my pleasure to talk to you. I really appreciate all your efforts to make others happy by listening to them. I have come now to open my heart to you. Hope you would kindly listen to me. I am living with my wife Nomita in a mansion with twenty three other people. My wife Nomita comes from a poor family. I am really depressed after my marriage. I often have unpleasant experience. It always tortures my mind. I cannot sleep well. We often quarrel with each other. Her mother always writes letter to her asking money. I really hate her mother. So I don’t show the letters of her mother. That is the reason of our quarrel we had yesterday. How raging she was!! She called me ‘liar’ and ‘Vulgar man’. She questions me strongly about my misbehavior. Yesterday she found one such letter in my shirt pocket. Though I defended her saying that I had forgotten she was burning with anger. She wanted to know why I had opened and read her letter. I made the excuse that I am her husband and I have the right to open her letter to find any case of  lovers. After this she became uncontrolled and burned the anchol of her own sari using matchbox. I was really upset and frightened. I put out the fire but I could not stop her anger. I don’t know what to do?She look at me as I have killed her someone. I can’t change my habit so suddenly. I am indeed very careless about her happiness. I am not able to behave well with my wife. Yes, it may be her dignity that I have killed. Further I wish to be good to her. Please guide me….

9. You have read about the activities of the SammaaN foundation in the lesson “A Three Wheeled Revolution”. Prepare a blog on the activities of the SammaaN Foundation.

A)      SAMMAAN A GIFT TO RICKSHAW PULLERS

DATE AND NAME

How inspiring is the story of “SammaaN Foundation” by Irfaan Alam. The poor rickshaw pullers in India are saved..SammaaN Foundation really works for the empowerment of poor rickshaw pullers. Irfaan Alam tries to empower the poor rickshaw pullers who live at the bottom of Indian hierarchy. SammaaN foundation ensures the dignity of the poor rickshaw pullers.

It made many innovations such as advertising, music, first aid, water supply, mobile recharge coupons..  etc in the rickshaws to increase the income of the rickshaw pullers. SammaaN also helped the rickshaw pullers to drive the rckshaws of their own. It is a good example in entrepreneurship. It really makes the difference in their outlook and way of life. It helps them to give better education opportunities for their children. It enables their family to work for the betterment of the society. SammaaN by Irfaan Alam is a inspiration to all to pursue their dreams. Really a grand salute to SammaaN….

10. Choose the right phrasal verbs to fill in the blanks.

A TV actor will (a) …….(Put up/put on/ put in) a doctor’s white jacket and talk about cough medicine. In a magazine ad, a woman in a business suit will help you (b) ……….(pick up/pick out/ pick off) the best investment firm.

A) a) put on  b) to pick up

11. Look at the following cottage. Write a short paragraph describing the hazards it presents.

A) This collage gives us a clear picture of the environmental disasters and the increasing hazards. It helps us to think about our attitude to nature. Today people are trying to live in new generation making changes in their style of life. As a result people witness for earthquakes, droughts, deforestation etc. Men are very busy to make development without caring nature. The above collage makes us think about our selfish nature. Flats and large buildings make the environment a difficult place to live. It really upsets the balance of nature. Nature loses its natural beauty and thereby our earth becomes a dangerous place to live. The recent floods occurred in Chennai are the result of men’s selfish nature. The buildings and the new development degrade the capacity of the soil. The harmful gases and smokes make the environment a hell. People become to be rich by any means. They are ready to make any investment in the name of development. Thus this collage really makes us think about our wrong attitude to nature and to work for the better environment.

12. “Humour is what adds to the spice of life. It reduces the tedium of a tension-ridden existence and makes life healthier. If a sense of humour is developed as a perspective of life, even unpleasant experiences will become less problematic, thereby enhancing physical and emotional well-being. (The Lighter Side)

Write an essay on “Laughter is the best medicine”. (Hints: laughter is contagious-reduces stress response-boosts immunity-combats depression-relieves pain)

LAUGH AND LIVE MORE!!!

Laughter is the best medicine for all diseases. If we have happiness, we can approach all challenges of life in a pleasant way. It adds spice and taste to life. There should be no day in our life without smile.

One sincere smile can make many changes. It can convey many messages. Our smiling face sometimes will act as a boost for others. It will encourage them to do their duties with energy. Here we can see the contagious power of laughter. By smiling we can make new friendships. When we approach one with a good smile, it certainly creates smile on their face too.

Laughter reduces the tension and stress of our life. When we laugh we forget all our problems and it makes our life joyful. Even in an unpleasant condition laughter acts a s a medicine. It helps one to face the challenges of life very easily. If a sense of humour is developed as a perspective of life, we can prevent unnecessary quarrel.

Laughter also boosts our immunity power. By laughing our pleasure centres get activated. It will give us immense happiness and energy. It gives us mental health as well as physical health. If our minds are happy we can treat all diseases in a calm way. Thus laughter boosts immunity and keeps our emotional well-being. That’s why we say laughter expands our life span.

Laughter also helps us to escape from depression. Life is like a coin. It has two sides. Happiness as well as sorrow. It is only when we have humour sense we can treat everything in a balanced manner. It ensures a positive attitude to our life. Smile helps one to get relief from their painful situations of life and to pick up the burden with refreshment.

Let me conclude my essay saying that laughter can make a large difference in our life. It can change our perspective and thus helps to embrace everything that comes to our life. So let’s all laugh and be merry always

13. “R.H Wood plays are well known for simplicity of language, dramatic settings and subtle presentation of stock characters.” Is this statement true with regard to the play “Post Early for Christmas”? Write an essay.

A) ‘Post Early for Christmas’ is a humorous and entertaining play written by R.H Wood. It is very much appreciable in its characterization and humour. The incidents in a post office creates a big bang of laughter in the audience and readers. It is because of the simplicity and presentation of the characters in an appealing manner.

The whole incidents appear to be very common. It is very much related to common life situations. All the dialogues and behaviour of the characters are really funny and interesting. The assistant is the only one who seems to be normal there. Every other character has their own speciality . This evokes smile and laughter in us. The play appears to be very realistic and almost all the characters use simple ordinary language. Each of their words reflect their behaviour.

Much of the funny moments in the play are created by the gentleman and the old fat lady. They make the readers laugh with their comic dialogues. But farmer appears to be a different one. He involves in everything around him and misleads every one. Thus he makes controversies in the play. He frightens everybody in the post office by mentioning of a time tomb. The tourister also creates laughter with his dialogues. He appears to be a strange man from a foreign country. But in fact he was an innocent man without any wrong. The presentation of the characters in the play has helped to treat a normal event very seriously. The final scene clearly shows us the pathetic condition of the postal assistant who suffers too much from the customers. She even makes a comment that animals are more sensible than humans.

The dramatic settings also adds flavor to the play. All characters act in a realistic manner as to make the audience enjoy the play well. Even the board kept in the post office ‘Post Early for Christmas’ itself serves as a message of the play. It helps us to do everything earlier to avoid any delay and disappointment in life. The mistaken parcel as a time bomb and the related events are presented in a wonderful manner. As a whole everything in the play gives us a visual treat. Therefore it is justifiable to comment that R.H Wood plays are well known for simplicity of language, dramatic settings and subtle presentation of stock characters.

14. Your friend is preparing for the Kerala Entrance Examination. What practical suggestions would you make to him to prepare better for it? Write Two suggestions.

(Use expressions like “I think you should……”, “If I were you I would……….’ ‘You could………’,  “I would like to suggest ………….”  Etc.)

A) I think you should practice the previous years’ question papers.

You could make a timetable for each subject. I would like to suggest you to follow the NCERT syllabus. If I were you I would refer to many books for scoring high in the exam.

15. A panel discussion is conducted in your School on the topic ‘Corruption in Democracy.’ Given below is an excerpt from the presentation made by a panelist during the panel discussion.

“Corruption is a global threat to development and democratic rule. It diverts public resources to private interests, leaving fewer resources to build schools, hospitals, roads and other public facilities. When development money is diverted to private bank accounts, major infrastructure projects and badly needed human services come to a halt. Corruption also hinders democratic governance by destroying the rule of law, the integrity of institutions, and public trust in leaders.”

Now prepare a brief script for panel discussion by the next panelist highlighting how corruption can be minimized.

A) Good Morning to everyone…… I totally agree with the views of A. Corruption has become a great threat to a democratic country. But we cannot fully overthrow corruption from our society because of the modern world. But we can minimize corruption if strict rules and regulations are laid down. Public resources should be given prime importance than the private interests. Most of the corruption in education sector can be removed by encouraging public schools and colleges. Strict rules should be enforced on private finance companies. Private hospitals should be discouraged and public hospitals should be encouraged. Similarly private firms should be discouraged. It is not possible to measure corruption, but it is possible to measure the perceptions of corruption. Often it is the State that inevitable creates a fertile ground for corruption.The growth of International trade and business has also created a suitable environment for corruption. Among the economic changes in recent times, privatization is the one that has been closely linked with corruption. It is good to note the definition of corruption, ‘It is the abuse of public power for private benefit.’ This is the definition used by the World Bank. From this definition it should not be concluded that corruption cannot exist within private sector activities. It exists in the private activities regulated by the government. Corruption reduces public revenue and increases public spending. It increases income inequality. It is generally believed that increasing the penalties for acts of corruption would reduce a country’s corruption. Corruption cannot be reduced without modifying the way governments operate. The fight against corruption is intimately linked with the reform of the state.To reduce corruption my humble suggestions are 1. Honesty and visible commitment by the leadership to fight against corruption. The leadership must show zero tolerance for it.Reduce the supply of corruption by Increasing  public sector wages, imposing strict penalties and instituting effective controls.

(TO BE CONTINUED SHORTLY….Stay logged in www.joypeterc.blogspot.com