G.H.P.S. PUNJABI BAGH
PRE MOCK EXAM (2014)
ENGLISH CORE
CLASS-XII
TIME ALLOWED 3 HRS.
MM:-100
General Instruction:(i) This paper is divided into three sections: A,B and C, All the sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate in instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary,
Read these instruction very carefully and them faithfully.
(iii) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.
SECTION-A (READING)
1 Read the passage given below carefully:
1. Too many parents these days can’t say no. As a result, they find themselves raising
‘children’ who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting
what they want doesn’t satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now a growing number of
psychologists, educators and parents think it’s time to stop the madness and start the
madness and teaching kids about what’s really important: Values like hard work,
contentment, honesty and compassion. The struggle t o set limits has never been tougherand the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were overindulged
as children, paints a discouraging picture of their future : when given too much too soon,
they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life’s disappointments. They also
have distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the work place and in
relationship.
2. Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids, set them up to be more
vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today’s parents themselves raised on values of
thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where no was a household word. Today’s kids
want much more partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this
generation were born in the last 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their
assault on the on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat screen TV as essential
utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found
that when they crave for something new, most expect to ask nine times before their
parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of
this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for
their credit cards.
3. Today’s parents aren’t equipped to deal with the problem. Many of t hem, raised in the
1960s and ‘70s, swore they’d act differently from their parents and have closer relationships
with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen t
o t he same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it’s tempting to
buy peace with ‘yes’ and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about future is
another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and
language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive
world? Experts agree : too much love won’t spoil a child. Too few limits will.
4. What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and
the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals.
That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behavior because
they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure. Older learn selfcontrol by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome
challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult Few parents ask kids to do chores.
They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every
individual can be service to others, and life has meaning beyond one’s own immediate
happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long ,hard look at their
own.
On the basis of your reading of the passage, complete the following sentences by choosing
the correct options from those given below:
1.
Getting what some kids want doesn’t satisfy them because_______________
(a) Parents don’t provide enough to the kids.
(b) Parents overindulge their kids.
(c) Parents are very rich
(d) Children want more
2.
When given too much too soon, they grow up to be adult’s who________________
(a) have no sense of responsibility
(b) don’t value life’s blessings
(c) have no sense of discipline
(d) have difficult coping with life’s disappointments
3.
Today’s kids want much more partly because________________________
(a) they have to fit in a society
(b) there is so much more to want
(c) they are over-ambitious
(d) their parents allow them to do so
4.
Instead of saying ‘no’ parents find it more tempting to say ‘yes’ because_____________
(a) they don’t want to offend their children
(b) it is an easy way out
(c) they don’t want to create any conflict
(d) they love their children a lot
5.
Few parents ask children to do chores because they think________________
(a) they should spend time studying
(b) their kids don’t like doing such jobs
(c) their children are already overburdened by academic and social pressures
(d) their children are too young
6.
II
The word in the passage which means the same as ‘a feeling of satisfaction’ is________
(a) compassion
(b) contentment
(c) depression
(d) intitlement
Answer the following questions briefly:
(a) What do many parents find it hard to say to their children and with what effect ?
(b) What values do parents and teachers want children to learn ?
(c) What are the results of giving the children too much too soon ?
(d) Why to today’s children want more ?
(e) What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world ?
(d) Find a word in the passage which means the same as ‘rich and well off.(para 4)
2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
Cycling survives as a popular pastime because it yields pleasure and benefits. First of all, cycling
provides exercise, the need of which is felt by most people. The development of machinery tends to deprive
us of adequate opportunities of expending energy while earning a livelihood. Other opportunities should be
created through the medium of sports. Of cycling, many people hastily say that it is “hard work” but a fit and
practiced rider does not agree with this verdict. The art of easy cycling must be cultivated as will be shown
later, but once it has been acquired, a long day’s run should not unduly tire and rider endowed with the
normal measure of health. Nobody has better described the exercise of cycling than the late Twells brex, who
said enthusiastically, speaking from experience: “You move along by your own glad effort”. Many of us wish to
use our legs and our lungs, as well our eyes. An active,healthy person ought not be content to travel always as
a mere passenger- “like an image pushed from behind” as Stevenson says . That is not life. Those who would
turn all all active cyclists into sedentary motor-drivers, or into idle passengers would serve the nation better if
they restricted their attentions to the aged and infirm, for whom petrol-generated propulsion is doubtless a
blessing, and may be a necessity.
It is often said that the cyclist cannot travel as fast or as far as the motorist. Admitting this, the cyclist
may be permitted to ask if it is always desirable that travel should involve modern motoring speeds(or
accidents). Is the enjoyment of a traveler in search of pleasure t o be measured merely in miles, or, what is
worse in miles-per-hour, or what is worse still, in miles-per-gallon ? Surely the cyclist, pedaling calmly along at
a modest twelve miles an hour is able to assimilate scenery more completely, and with more enjoyment, than
the hurrying occupant of a car !Cyclist believe that their method of travel is a sensible and convenient
compromise between walking and driving. If bicycle were unobtainable, most keen cyclists would become
trampers rather than motorists.
There are at least two distinct types of cyclists. The exercise of pedaling provides an all-sufficient
satisfaction for one type. This is the purely athletic rider who travels in long, fast riders, in time trails, and
other forms of strenuous competition, and sometimes attacks records. This type of cyclist goes into strict
training, develops leg-thrust,and perfect ankle action and thinks nothing of pedaling at twenty miles an hour.
The other distinct type is the tourist, who takes no interest in racing but a deep interest in the countryside and
the pageant unfolded by the open by the open road. Comparatively, few cyclist are interested deeply in both
racing and touring.
Questions:
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it in points only, using headings and subheadings. Also use recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary.
(b) Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words. Supply a suitable title to it.
3. Read the poem carefully and answer the questions that follow:
THANK YOU SINCERELY
Thanks for the start to the lives that we’ve had.
Thanks for the nights t hat you went without rest,
So many memories, most happy, some sad;
If you weren’t perfect, you still passed the test,
Holding our hands, holding back all the fears.
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
So many hours that you worked to provide
Multiplied by all the days t hat we grew,
When we behaved and the time we defied,
Never a doubt we could still count on you,
Making our laughter and drying our tears.
Thank you sincerely for all of t hose years.
Thanks for the rules that we wished were not there
All the attention and all of the care,
All the forgiveness and all the pride,
Pointing out faults but then calling out cheers,
Thank you sincerely for all of those years,
For the examples you set every day,
Teaching with actions, those lessons hold tight,
We hardly knew just how much you could say
Simply by doing what you knew was right.
Now that we’re older, the logic appears,
Thank you sincerely for all of those years.
Not ever fading as time moves along,
You have to know that the love is returned,
And you still care as your golden time nears.
Thanks you Sincerely for all of the years.
Love, Bob.
Questions :
1. Who is the poet expressing his gratitude to ?
2. What sacrifices does the poet refer to ?
3. What qualities of mind does the poet thank them for ?
4. Why were the examples set by them for the poet to follow ?
5. What was the poet ignorant about as he grew up ?
6. What do you understand by the expression ‘love not required to be earned’?
7. How have the narrator’s faults been dealt with ?
8. What has the poet realized after so many years ?
9. Find the word in the poem which means the same as ‘disobey’ ?
10 Find the world in the poem which means the same as ‘going dim’ ?
SECTION-B (ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS)
4. Water is precious and each one of us must stop wastage, Prepare a poster in not more than 50 words urging
people various methods of rain water harvesting in their colonies.
OR
As Librarian of Crescent International School, Gwalior, draft a notice in not more than 50 words asking all
students and teachers to return the library books they have borrowed, two days before the commencement
of the examinations.
5. You are Apoova, B-120 Malviya Nagar, Chennai. Read the advertisement given below and write a letter to
the advertiser, applying for the job.
INDIAN PHARMACETICALS
20, Coast Road, Kochin, requires
Trainee Medical Representatives
Candidates should be Science or Pharmacy graduates ad below 25 years of age.
Fluency in English and in anyone of the regional language is essential. Attractive
stipend with handsome working allowances will be offered during the training period.
After successful completion of the training the candidates will be appointed on regular
basis. Please apply with complete resume and a passport size photograph at the above
address.
OR
You are Apoorva, Physical Education Teacher of Wisdom Public School, New Delhi. Write a letter to the Sales
Manager of Bharat Sorts Limited, New Delhi placing an order for sports articles and accessories that you wish
to purchase for your school. Also ask for the discount permissible on the purchase.
6. You are Maneka/Manik. You strongly feel that the Indian Government is not taking adequate steps to
Promote tourism in Indian which could turn out to be one of the major revenue earning Industries. Write
an article in 150-200 words for a magazine giving your ideas on the steps the Indian Government could take
to promote tourism aggressively.
OR
You are Meena / Manoj. You are disturbed by the absence of moral and social values amongst the youth of the
country. Write in 150-200 words an article on the ‘Value Education in School’.
7. More and more TV advertisements are aimed at children Advertisements have an easy impact on children
and if these commercials have kids in them, the effect can ever more powerful. Write an article on
‘Advertisements and Children’ in 150-200 words.
OR
Any disaster in India, whether it is natural or man-made, has often highlighted the inefficiency and
indifference of the local administration. But at many places, it also has brought out the indomitable spirit of
the common man. There have been stories wherein people came to the rescue of people. Write an article in
150-200 words on “New and Clean India”. You are Vineet / Veena.
SCTION-C (TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS)
8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
What I want should not be
Confused
With total inactivity;
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded
About keeping our lives moving,
And for once could do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence
Might interrupt this sadness
Of never understanding ourselves
And of threatening ourselves with
Death.
Questions :
(i) What should not be confused with ‘total inactivity’ ?
(ii) What is life about ?
(iii) What would the single-minded people do ? What would we do for once if we were not single-minded ?
(iv) When can ‘huge silence’ do us good ?
OR
Far far from gusty waves these children’s faces.
Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor:
The tall girl with her weighed-down head. The paperSeeming boy, with rat’s eyes. The stunted, unlucky heir
Of twisted bones, reciting a father’s gnarled disesas,
His lesson, from his desk. At back of the dim class,
One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes live in a dream,
Of squirrel’s game, in tree room, other than this.
Questions :
(i) Where do “these children”live ?
(ii) How do their faces look ? What is the comparison the poet shows here ?
(iii) What is the condition of these children ?
(iv) Why is the boy called an “unlucky heir” ? What is her reciting ?
9. Answer any four of the following questions in 40-50 words :
(a) Describe tigers as created by Aunt Jennifer.
(b) Is Sahab happy working at the tea-stall ?Eplain.
(c) What did Dr. Sadao and Hana see as they stood out looking at the sea ?
(d) What do you make of Derry’s statement that acid “has eaten” him up ?
(e) Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire ?What did he do there ?
10. Geoff and Sophie had different temperaments but Sophie shared all her secrets with him. How was it
made possible ? Write your answer in 120-150 words.
OR
How did Bama attain dignity and honour inspite of her “low caste” ?
VALUE BASED QUESTION
11. In the story “The Rattrap’ the peddler undergoes a change of heart when he received compassion and
understanding. The story gives us the message that no one is born criminal .Circumstances make them
become criminals . Based on t he story of the rattrap peddler, write 120-150 words on the topic: ‘Fellow
feeling is the corner stone of humanity’.
LONG READING TEXT-NOVEL SILAS MARNER
12. How does George Eliot explore morality in the novel to prove that a character gets eventually what
he deserve? Citing examples from the novel, answer the question in 120-150 words.
13. Write the character-sketch of Squire Cass in 120-150 words.