Half Yearly Examination-2023 CLASS – XI Subject : English Time: 3 hours Total Marks : 100 A. Read the passage and answer the questions 1 and 2. Education gives us knowledge and a set of abilities to function meaningfully in life, such as the ability to decide things rationally and make the right choices. As we learn how to read, write and do the basic operations of arithmetic, we gain a degree of self-confidence. We learn to think for ourselves and articulate our thoughts; we pick up skills to communicate with others and manage our affairs well. Education helps us think independently and make our own opinions. As we know more about the world, we appreciate the good things it offers us but also become critical of the deviations from the values it imparts and the rise of hatred or conflict that follows. The first thing education does is to give us an awareness about ourselves which leads to the development of our personality. As we begin school, we feel the need to belong to the class and make friends. We then expand our sense of belonging to include the school at large, our community and finally our country. Education thus prepares every child to become an active member of the community and work for its welfare. Education, it is believed, releases our potentials and our inner strengths. It sharpens our intellect and develops our creativity. As we are taught to reason well and find solutions to the problems of life, we become productive members of society. Education by definition is progressive and liberal, teaching us to respect human diversity and cultural and religious differences. If all of us practise these values in life, the world becomes a much happier place. Education also fosters critical thinking and provides us a set of competencies including life skills that enable us to become competitive even in the most challenging of circumstances. Education also teaches us to appreciate beauty and the bounties of nature. School, however, is not the only place where a child gets education. A Bangla poem tells us that nature can be our best teacher. Here are a couple of lines from the poem in English translation: The sky has taught me to be liberal. The wind has given me the motto to be industrious. If we can make nature our friend, philosopher and guide, we can learn lessons about life that, combined with what our schools teach us, will prepare us for the future. 1. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1x5=05 a. Education is – i. respectful to human creativity and incompetencies ii. liberal and so opposed to any change iii. not regressive and conservative iv. not respectful to cultural and religious variation b. ‘To decide things rationally’ meansi. to judge things reasonably and take wise decisions ii. to develop good debating power iii. to take rational attitude to our social and national life iv. to judge things independently . c. Our personality becomes developed owing toi. familial culture ii. living in good society iii. studying at good school iv. our being aware of ourselves. d. ‘Operation’ used in the text reffered to – i. calculations to solve variables ii. activities iii. missions or vocations iv. the act of carrying out surgery on a patient. e. The word “ critical” meansi. having complications ii. serious and uncertain iii. analytical and perceptive iv. full of complexities 2. Answer the following questions 2x5=10 a. How do we become a social critic through education? b. When do we achieve the ability to face the most challenging circumstances of life? c. “School, however, is not the only place where a child gets education.”- explain what does the author want to mean by this? d. How does a child become the productive member of the community? e. How can we prepare for the future? 3. Read the passage and complete the table below with the given information. 1x 10 =10 Chawla was born in Karnal, India. She completed her earlier schooling at a local school. She is the first Indian-born woman and the second person in space from this subcontinent. After graduating in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chawla moved to the United States in 1982. She obtained her Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas. Later she did her PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado. Determined to become an astronaut even in the face of the space shuttle Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986 that led to the deaths of its seven crew members, Chawla joined NASA in 1988. She began working as a Vice-President where she did Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) research on vertical take-off and landing. In 1991, she got U.S. citizenship and started her career as a NASA astronaut in 1995. In 2000, she was selected for her second space mission STS 107. This mission was repeatedly delayed due to scheduling conflicts and technical problems. On 16 January 2003. Kalpana Chawla finally started her new mission with six other space crew on the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia. After a 16-day scientific mission in space, on 1 February 2003, Columbia disintegrated over Texas during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. All the crew in Columbia including Chawla died only 16 minutes prior to their scheduled landing. Who/What Kalpana Chawla Chawla Event / Activity was born ii )………….. She iii)…………….. Kalpana Chawla did her Phd in aerospace engineering broke apart 73 seconds into its flight got US citizenship started her career as an astronaut viii)………… Disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere died v)……………….. Kalpana Chawla Chawla She Columbia All the crew in the Columbia including Chawla Where/place i)……………… from Punjab Engineering College, India from the University of Texas iv)…………… When in 1982 in 1984 in 1988 in 1986 vii) ……… ix)…………… vi)………………… in 1995 in 2000 on 01 February, 2003 x) ………… 4. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with suitable words from the box. There are more words than needed. Make any grammatical change if necessary. isolate oppress apartheid move study regime 0.5x10=05 move advocacy support imprison brand leave Mandela, the South African leader (a)____ armed resistance to (b) __. (c)___his country, he travelled the continent and Europe, (d)___ guerilla warfare and building (e)___ for the African National Congress. He (f) __a terrorist by his enemies and was sentenced to life (g) ___in 1964. He (h)____ from millions of his countrymen as they suffered (i)___violence and forced resettlement under the apartheid (j)____. 5. Fill in the blanks with suitable words in each gap. 1x10=10 Dreams are psychological aspects. Over the years, scientists have (a) ___ the topic under empirical research. (b)___, thoughts and emotions are the (c) ____ that dominate dreams. Vivid or (d)___ vague, dreams are full of (e)___ emotions or terrifying images (f) ___ we see during our sleep. (g)____ is essential to mental, emotional (h)____ physical welfare. Dreams represent unconscious (i) —, thoughts and motivations. Conscious thoughts (j)____ their way into dreams. Different theories have been developed about dreams. Sigmund Freud interprets dream in psychoanalytic perspective. 6. Rearrange the following sentences in proper order . 10 (i) Nevertheless, Tereshkova continued her education through distance learning. ii) Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to go to the Space. (iii) On the morning of 16 June 1963, Vostok-6 was launched faultlessly. (iv) Her father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. (v) Tereshkova got trained in skydiving, making her first jump at age 22 in 1959. (vi) Tereshkova began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953. (vii) On 16 February 1962, Valentina Tereshkova was selected for Vostok-6. viii) She was born in 1967 in the village of Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky district, in Central Russia. ix) She became interested in parachuting from a young age. (x) It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut. Part –B : Grammar 7. Complete the sentences using suitable clause/phrases: 1x5= 05 a. You are wrong in treating the boy. If I were you, ____. b. Weather is not good today. Nasim took an umbrella lest ____. c. Flood, _____, visits almost every year in Bangladesh. It causes a great havoc to millions of people. d. Our population is growing so rapdly that ____. We should control population growth. e. The mountaineeres are valiant people _____. The always become adventurous. 8. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the correct forms of verbs as per subject and context. 0.5x10=05 The presence of working women outside the home (a) ____ (be) a very conspicuous change nowadays. Of course, it (b) ___ (acknowledge) that women always (c) ___ (work) within the house. This commonly (d)___ (not count) as work. Even agricultural societies (e) ___(not recognize) their roles there. So, (f) ___ (establish) individual identity, many of them are (g) ___ (enter) outside workforce now. They (h) ___ (join) a wide range of professions. Not only educated women but also women with little education or no education (i) ____ (opt) to work and (j)___ (come) out of their cocoons. 9. Read the following text and use modifiers as directed in the blank spaces. 0.5 x 10 = 05 Sheikh Sa'adi, (a)__ (post-modify the noun with an appositive), was simple in his ways of life. (b) __ (use quantifier to pre-modify the noun) day, at the invitation of the emperor, he set out for the emperor's palace in an (c)__ (use an adjective to pre-modify the noun) dress. He took shelter in a courtier's house (d) __(post-modify the verb with prepositional phrase). The courtier and his men did not show (e)__ (use determiner to pre-modify the noun) honour and hospitality to him. On his way back home, Sa'adi again took shelter in the (f) __ (use adjective to pre-modify the noun) courtier's house. (g)__ (use a demonstrative to pre-modify the noun) time, he put on a gorgeous dress. The courtier received him (h)__ (post-modify the verb with adverb) and entertained him with rich foods. Now, Sa'adi began to put his foods in the pockets of his dress. The courtier's men were surprised (i)__ (use an infinitive phrase to postmodify the verb). They asked him why he was putting the foods (j)___ (post-modify the verb with prepositional phrase). 10. Read the text and change the sentences as directed : 1x5= 05 a) We work hard to attain success in our life.(Complex). b) Peace and prosperity is not possible without hard works. (Affirmative) . c) A man, who leads an idle life, brings misery for his life.(Simple) . d) He can never help people of the society.(Interrogative) . Such kind of man is the burden of society . e) Everybody dislikes him. (Negative). Part – C : Writing 11. Write a paragraph on “Social Value”on the basis of the answers to the following questions in about 200 words. 10 a) What is social value? b) How were the social values in the past? c) How are they now? d) What are the causes of the present social values? e) What are the effects of social values in present age and how should social values be preserved? 12. The following is the beginning of a story. Complete it in your own words giving a suitable title. 10 Once there lived a happy cobbler who passed his day working and singing from morning till night.He was very happy with everything he had. A rich neighbour of his was a banker who one day said to him,” How much a year do you earn?"…… 13. Suppose you are Anika/ Anik. You are concerned regarding your younger brother spending his time in facebook. Write a letter to your brother, Ayon, warning him about not to use facebook extensively. 10
