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CBSEQuestionPaper2009

DelhiSet-1

CBSEClass-12EnglishCore

GeneralInstructions:

1. Thispaperisdividedintothreesections:A,BandC.Allthesectionsarecompulsory.

2. Separateinstructionsaregivenwitheachsectionandquestion,wherevernecessary.

Readtheseinstructionsverycarefullyandfollowthemfaithfully.

3. Donotexceedtheprescribedwordlimitwhileansweringthequestions.

SECTION-A

(READING)

1.Readthepassagegivenbelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow:

1.Therolefriendsplayinourliveshasbecomesignificantlygreaterthanatanyothertime

inourhistory.Todaymanyofusliveandworkatgreatdistancesfromwherewewereborn

orwegrewupandareseparatedfromouroriginalfamilies.Thepainwefeelwhenweare

awayfromourfamiliescanbesignificant.

2.Thehappinessoftheindividualreliesonfriendshipswhichformanecessaryhuman

connection.Itisperfectlynormaltoneedandwantfriendsanddepressionismoreprevalent

amongthosewholackfriends.Theylacktheintimacyandrichnessfriendscanbringinto

ourlives.Frequentlyfriendsreflectsimilarvaluestous.Yetthesevaluesareoftendifferent

fromtheoneswegrewupwith;theyarethevalueswecreatedforourselvesinouradult

lives.

3.Communicationskillsarefundamentalinallfriendships.Themorefriendsand

acquaintancesonehas,thegreaterareone'scommunicationskills.Somecallthese,people

skills.

4.Likewateringaplant,wegrowourfriendships(andallourrelationships)bynurturing

them.Friendshipsneedthesameattentionasotherrelationships,iftheyaretocontinue.

Theserelationshipscanbedelightfullynon-judgmental,supportive,understandingandfun.

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5.Sometimesafriendshipcanbringoutthepositivesidethatyounevershowinanyother

relationship.Thismaybebecausethepressureofplayinga'role'(daughter,partnerorchild)

isremoved.Withafriend,youcanbeyourselfandarefreetochange.Ofcourse,youarefree

todothisinallotherrelationshipsaswell,butinfriendshipsyougettohavelotsof

rehearsalsanddiscussionaboutchangesasyouexperiencethem.Itisanunconditional

experiencewhereyoureceiveasmuchasyougive.Youcanexplainyourselftoafriend

openlywithoutthefearofhurtingafamilymember.Howdofriendshipsgrow?Theanswer

issimple.Byrevealingyourself;beingattentive;rememberingwhatismostimportantto

yourfriendandaskingthemaboutit;puttingyourselfintheirposition;showingempathy;

seeingtheworldthroughtheeyesofyourfriend,youwillunderstandthevalueof

friendship.Allthismeanslearningtoacceptapersonfromacompletelydifferentfamilyto

yourownorperhapssomeonefromacompletelydifferentculturalbackground.Thisisthe

waywelearntolerance.Inturnwegaintoleranceandacceptanceforourowndifferences.

6.Friendshipsaremadebybeingconsideratewhichmeansallthecommunication,skills

comeintoplay:activelisteningskills,questioningskills,negotiationskills,reflectingcontent

skills,reflectingemotionskills,andeditingyourself.

7.Friendshipsofferagreatopportunitytolearnaboutyourselfbecauseafriendcanreflect

backtoyou'howyoucomeacrossintheworld'.Theyalsoallowyoutopracticeskillsin

dealingwith'personalboundaries'bylookingafteryourselfaswellasyourfriend.Theyhelp

youdevelopresilienceinrelationtothewidersocialworldbeyondyourfamily.

(a)(i)Whydofriendsplayamoresignificantroletodaythaneverbefore?

(ii)Whyisfriendshipconsideredanessentialhumanneed?

(iii)Howisfriendshipdifferentfromotherrelationships?

(iv)Mentiontwoessentialhumanvaluesthathelpfriendshiptogrow.

(v)Whichcommunicationskillshelpinbuildingfriendship?

(b)Pickoutwordsfromthepassagewhichmeanthesameaseachofthefollowing:

(i)Basicessential(para3)

(ii)Mutualdiscussiontoreachanagreement(para6)

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(iii)Chance(para7)

2.Readthepassagegivenbelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow:

Effectivespeakingdependsoneffectivelistening.Ittakesenergytoconcentrateonhearing

andtoconcentrateonunderstandingwhathasbeenheard.Incompetentlistenersfailina

numberofways.First,theymaydrift.Theirattentiondriftsfromwhatthespeakerissaying.

Second,theymaycounter.Theyfindcounterargumentstowhateveraspeakermaybe

saying.Third,theycompete.Then,theyfilter.Theyexcludefromtheirunderstandingthose

partsofthemessagewhichdonotreadilyfitwiththeirownframeofreference.Finally,they

react.Theyletpersonalfeelingsaboutspeakerorsubjectoverridethesignificanceofthe

messagewhichisbeingsent.

Whatcanalistenerdotobemoreeffective?Thefirstkeytoeffectivelisteningistheartof

concentration.Ifalistenerpositivelywishestoconcentrateonreceivingamessagehis

chancesofsuccessarehigh.

Itmayneeddetermination.Somespeakersaredifficulttofollow,eitherbecauseofvoice

problems,orbecauseoftheforminwhichtheysendamessage.Thereisthenaparticular

needforthedeterminationofalistenertoconcentrateonwhatisbeingsaid.

Concentrationishelpedbyalertness.Mentalalertnessishelpedbyphysicalalertness.Itis

notsimplyphysicalfitness,butalsopositioningofthebody,thelimbsandthehead.Some

peoplealsofindithelpfultotheirconcentrationiftheyholdtheheadslightlytooneside.

Oneusefulwayforachievingthisisintensivenote-taking,bytryingtocapturethecritical

headingsandsub-headingsthespeakerisreferringto.

Note-takinghasbeenrecommendedasanaidtothelistener.Italsohelpsthespeaker.It

giveshimconfidencewhenheseesthatlistenersaresufficientlyinterestedtotakenotes;the

patternsofeyecontactwhenthenote-takerlooksupcanbeverypositive;andthespeaker's

timingisaided—hecanseewhenanote-takeriswritinghardandcanthenmakeeffective

useofpauses.

Posturetooisimportant.Considertheimpactmadebyalesscompetentlistenerwhopushes

hischairbackwardsandslouches.Anuprightposturehelpsalistener'sconcentration.Atthe

sametime,itisseenbythespeakertobeapositivefeatureamongsthislisteners.Effective

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listeningskillshaveanimpactonboththelistenerandthespeaker.

(a)Onthebasisofyourreadingoftheabovepassagemakenotesonitusingheadingsand

sub-headings.Userecognizableabbreviations,wherevernecessary.

(b)Writeasummaryofthepassageinnotmorethan80wordsusingthenotesmadeandalso

suggestasuitabletitle.

SECTIONB

(ADVANCEDWRITINGSKILLS)

3.Youwanttosellyournewlybuiltflat.Draftasuitableadvertisementnotmorethan50

wordstobeinsertedintheclassifiedcolumnsof'TheHindu'givingallnecessarydetails.You

areNiranjan,247,J.P.Nagar,Bangalore.ORAsSecretaryofthe'EcoClub'ofSt.Anne'sSchool,

Ahmedabad,draftanoticeinnotmorethan50wordsinformingtheclubmembersaboutthe

screeningofAlGore'sfilm,'InconvenientTruth'intheschool'saudiovisualroom.

4.AlphaSchoolrecentlyorganizedacourseinFirstAidforstudentsofseniorclasses.Vivek

ofClassXIIwritesareportontheprogrammegivingnecessarydetailsfortheschool

magazine.Writeareportin100-125words.

OR

Writeafactualdescriptionofthemultistoriedshoppingmallinyourlocalityin100-125

words.Includedetailsoflayout,specialfacilitieslikeATM,restaurants,escalatorsetc.

5.Sheela,aClassXIIstudentof15,M.G.Road,Bangaloredesirestobeafashiondesigner.She

writestotheNationalInstituteofFashionTechnology,Ahmedabadseekinginformation

abouttheircourses,admissionprocedure,eligibilitycriteria,feestructure,placement

opportunitiesetc.Writeherletter.

OR

AsMr.R.Singh,HODChemistry,CambridgeHighSchool,Pune,youhadplacedanorderwith

Messrs.ScientificEquipment’s,Dadar,Mumbaifortesttubesandjarsforthelab.Whenthe

parcelwasreceived,youobservedthatmarkingsonthetesttubeswerenotclearandsome

ofthejarsweredamaged.Writealetterofcomplaintseekingimmediatereplacement.

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6.Childrenlivingincitiesarerarelyseenplayingoutdoorsintheneighborhood.Beingbusy

withotherattractionslikethetelevisionandcomputergames,theymissthejoyofoutdoor

play.Writeanarticlein150-200wordsforthemagazine,'KidsTalk'highlightingtheneed

andvalueofoutdoorgames.YouareVidya/Vinod.

OR

Todaythe24-hourtelevisionnewschannelsgiveusinstantnewsfromeverynookand

corneroftheworld.Butthefactremainsthattheimportanceofthenewspaperremains

intact.Writeanarticlein150-200wordsexpressingyourviewson'TheRelevanceof

Newspapers'.YouareSunil/Sunita.

SECTIONC

(LITERATURE)

7.Readtheextractgivenbelowandanswerthequestionsthatfollow:

Thelittleoldhousewasoutwithalittlenewshed

Infrontattheedgeoftheroadwherethetrafficsped,

Aroadsidestandthattoopatheticallypled,

Itwouldnotbefairtosayforadoleofbread,

Butforsomeofthemoney,thecash,whoseflowsupports

Theflowerofcitiesfromsinkingandwitheringfaint.

(i)Wherewasthenewshedputup?Whatwasitspurpose?

(ii)Whydoesthepoetusetheword‘pathetic’?

(iii)Whoarereferredtoas'theflowerofcities'?

OR

Nowwewillcounttotwelve

andwewillallkeepstill.

ForonceonthefaceoftheEarth

let'snotspeakinanylanguage,

let'sstopforonesecond,

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andnotmoveourarmssomuch.

(i)Howlongdoesthepoetwanttostaystill?

(ii)Whatdoeshehopetoachievebykeepingquiet?

(iii)Whatdoesthepoetmeanby'notmoveourarmssomuch?

(b)Answeranythreeofthefollowingquestionsin30-40wordseach:

(i)Howdoestheworlddepictedontheclassroomwallsdifferfromtheworldoftheslum

children?

(ii)AccordingtoKeats,whatmakesmanlovelifeinspiteofallitsproblemsandmiseries?

(iii)WhydidAuntJenniferchoosetoembroidertigersonthepanel?

(iv)Whatdothepoet'spartingwordsto'hermothersignify?

8.Answerthefollowingquestionsin30-40wordseach:

(a)HowdidtheincidentattheY.M.C.A.poolaffectDouglas?

(b)HowwasGandhijiabletoinfluencethelawyersatChamparan?

(c)WhydidthepeddlarsignhimselfasCaptainvonStable?

(d)IsitpossibleforMukeshtorealizehisdream?Justifyyouranswer.

(e)AccountforSubbu'simportanceinGeminiStudios.

9.Answerthefollowingquestionin125—150words:

JansieisjustasoldasSophiebutsheisverydifferentfromher.Bringoutthecontrast

betweenthetwofriendscitingrelevantinstancesfromthestory,’GoingPlaces'.

OR

WhatdidtheFrenchteachertellhisstudentsinhislastFrenchlesson?Whatimpactdidit

haveonthem?Why?

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10.Answerthefollowingquestionin125-150words:

WhatarethesimilaritiesinthelivesofBamaandZitkalathoughtheybelongtodifferent

cultures?

OR

HowdidtheTigerKingmeethisend?Whatisironicalabouthisfate?

11.Answerthefollowingquestionsin30—40wordseach:

(a)WhyisAntarcticaanditsunderstandingimportantforthesurvivaloftheworld?

(b)WhydidtheGeneralsparetheAmericansoldier?

(c)WhatqualitiesofMr.LambattractedDerrytohim?

(d)HowdidthewizardhelpRogerSkunk?

*Thispaperissubmittedbyuser.Pleaseco-relate.