Class XII – English Core – 2023 – Paper 3

Q.P Code: 1/1/1

– Please check that this question paper contains 19 printed pages.

– Q.P. Code given on the right hand side of the question paper should be written on the title page of the answer-book by the candidate.

– Please check that this question paper contains 13 questions.

– Please write down the serial number of the question in the answer-book before attempting it.

– 15 minute time has been allotted to read this question paper. The question paper will be distributed at 10.15 a.m. From 10.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., the students will read the question paper only and will not write any answer on the answer-book during this period.

ENGLISH (Core)

Time allowed: 3 hours                                                                                                   Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:

Read the following instructions very carefully and strictly follow them:

(i) This question paper has 13 questions. All questions are compulsory.

(ii) This question paper contains three sections Section A : Reading Skills, Section B : Creative Writing Skills and Section C : Literature.

(iii) Attempt all questions based on specific instructions for each part. Write the correct question number and part thereof in your answer sheet.

(iv) Separate instructions are given with each question/part, wherever necessary.

(v) Adhere to the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

SECTION A

Reading Skills (20 marks)

1. Read the passage given below :

1 As a form of expression, graffiti is famously characterized by outlaw values; the creation and display of graffiti countered societal rules and was considered by some as vandalism. Not only was it symbolic of rebel values but was also linked to destruction of property. These links between graffiti culture and rebellion were age-old and some say, were popularized by hip-hop culture.

2 Imagine waking up one morning, to see your walls smeared with black paint – names, symbols, messages. The most interesting bit is that these wall artists were never caught red-handed. It was all done stealthily. It was almost as though people were marking their territory using painted symbols and slogans. The change was creeping in. Mobile numbers and captivating phrases gradually became marketing tools for free advertising. Catchy phrases tickled the curiosity and calls were made to those numbers.

3 Over a period of time, there was a shift in perception. Blank walls beckoned invitingly and artists saw whitewashed walls as an opportunity to display their work in free and open settings. The city became one large canvas; the illegal ‘gang activity’ became an art form on display in walking galleries. Graffiti was gradually being replaced and the stigma of illegality was being dropped. There was a move to embrace rather than condemn.

4 The colours, shapes, and subjects became cultural themes. What was once rebellious expression is artistic talent at its vibrant best, rich in images of plants, animals and unspoiled landscapes. The painted walls encouraged by residents and governments have created their own ecosystem a reconciliation of nature with man-made forces.

5 The monotony and uniformity of urban life is today infused with human vitality and beauty. Cities speak proudly about the painted walls and clamour to be the first to preserve culture and history through these. Graphic displays of social awareness issues effectively and economically reach out to the common man. Silent art speaks volumes. Be it hygiene, conservation, education, or rights and duties – the message is conveyed in an animated, colourful manner without being an imposition.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below : 10×1=10

(i) Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option.

Graffiti in the earlier years was

(a) considered a valuable legacy.

(b) done by prominent artists.

(c) an expression of rebellion.

(d) supported by society.

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(ii) Comment on the writer’s statement, ‘It was all done stealthily’.

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(iii) List two reasons why graffiti was not popular among people.

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(iv) Select the word from para 2 of the passage that conveys the opposite of ‘boring’.

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(v) The writer would agree with all of the following EXCEPT:

(a) Graffiti art was a paid activity.

(b) Wall art was an age-old tradition.

(c) Graffiti became popular as a marketing tool.

(d) People were curious by what was scribbled on walls.

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(vi) Which word from the following most nearly means ‘reconciliation’ with reference to the given context ? (para 4)

(a) cease fire

(b) resolution

(c) combination

(d) reunion

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(vii) Why does the writer say that the stigma of ‘illegality’ was dropped?

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(viii) Complete the following sentence with reference to the passage : The city became one large canvas because _______.

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(ix) The passage states a shift in attitude. Identify the best option that indicates this shift.

(a) rejection to dismissal

(b) confusion to clarity

(c) imposition to acceptance

(d) dislike to acceptance

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(x) List two ways in which wall art is beneficial to society.

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2. Read the passage given below :

1 Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, educational theory, and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation EdTech, it points to the industry of companies that create educational technology. With education growing online, India’s EDTech market size is expected to grow 3.7 times in the next five years.

2 Education in both rural and urban India is expected to be supported by technology in the near future.

3 As per a 2019 – 2020 report, only 22·3 percent of schools had an internet connection. Moreover, 61 percent of schools in the country didn’t even have computers.

4 With the internet rate estimated to reach above 55 percent by the end of 2025 in India, digitisation of education will impact the country’s development and become one of the topmost priorities for the government.

5 Budget 2021 22 allocated < 93,224·31 crore to the Ministry of Education. It was an increase of over < 8,100 crore from the revised estimates for the current fiscal year and the Department of Higher Education was allocated < 38,350·65 crore.

6 The role of technology in education is more critical now than ever in addressing educational disparity. It has already made learning affordable and accessible. In particular, the use of technology in education in rural India is one of the biggest boons of recent times.

7 With help from apps and software, teachers can enhance their teaching ability and provide information about the most recent developments. Students can enjoy an interactive learning experience. Teachers can employ animation, powerpoint slides and graphs to catch the interest of their pupils. Gamification lends interest in the subject.

8 The online education system is a sector in which growth and development will work for the betterment of many sectors which include educating learners and increasing job opportunities for educators and technical teams.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below : 10×1=10

(i) Does the following statement agree with the information given in para 1 ?

Education technology is the practice of introducing information and communication technology tools into the classroom.

Select from the following :

True –  If the statement agrees with the information

False – If the statement contradicts the information

Not Given – If there is no information on this

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(ii) What are the two essentials for digitisation of education ?

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(iii) Select the option which displays that use of technology in education in rural India is one of the biggest boons of recent times.

(a) Frees up the teacher to be able to concentrate on farming.

(b) Teachers can enhance their teaching ability and provide more value to the students.

(c) It understands what is needed and technology is subsequently developed effectively.

(d) Simplifies assignment management with user-friendly methods.

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(iv) Complete the sentence based on the following statement :

The role of EdTech is more critical now __________.

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(v) The word ‘critical’ in para 6 most nearly means

(a) difficult

(b) crucial

(c) complementary

(d) causative

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(vi) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option :

Technology in education works for the betterment of many sectors such as __________.

(a) farmers, educators and businessmen

(b) educating learners, job opportunities for educators and technical teams

(c) doctors, engineers and technocrats

(d) banking, construction workers and software technicians

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(vii) Digital education will become a top priority for the government because ____________.

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(viii) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option :

The concluding sentence of the passage makes a clear case that _____________ .

(a) the growth of educational technology and online education will take some time

(b) nobody imagined a growth as exponential as in the last two years

(c) development of EdTech will work for the betterment of many other sectors as well

(d) the private sector has to play a decisive role

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(ix) Based on the graph, state the items which have the highest percentage of technology used by students of grades 9 – 12 and by students of grades 3 – 5.

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For the Visually Impaired Candidates only in lieu of Q.No. 2 (ix) :

(ix) Complete the sentence approximately in two-three words. With the help of technology, students enjoy __________.

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(x) Based on the reading of the passage, state a point to challenge the given statement :

India’s EDTech market size is expected to double in the next five years.

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SECTION B

Creative Writing Skills (20 marks)

3. Attempt any one from (A) and (B) given below : 5

(A) The local branch of the British Council has agreed to hold a workshop in your school on ‘Writing Skills in English Language’. Draft a notice in 50 words inviting students to give their names for participation. Mention relevant details of day, date, time and venue. You are Sohail/Suhina, President of the Literary Society of Rise Public School.

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(B) You are Rehan/Reshma, President of the Cultural Society of your school which is organizing a lecture cum demonstration on Kathak dance by the renowned dancer – Jaya Sharma. Draft a notice in 50 words informing students of the same. The event will be followed by an interaction with the artist. Mention day, date, time and venue.

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4. Attempt any one from (A) and (B) given below : 5

(A) Your school has scheduled the inauguration of the newly constructed Science Block. As teacher incharge of the Science Club, draft an invitation in 50 words inviting parents and other guests to attend the ceremony. Mention day, date, time and venue. You are Rahul/Rohini.

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(B) You have been invited by the Economics Society of Flora Public School for a panel discussion on ‘Charging Economic Trends’. Due to sudden illness, you are unable to attend the event. Write a letter in 50 words expressing your inability to attend the programme. Mention day, date, time and venue. You are Dr. Rao.

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5. Attempt any one from (A) and (B) given below : 5

(A)

Write a letter of application with detailed biodata in 120 150 words in response to the above advertisement. You are Shaila/Samson.

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(B)

You see the poster above, pasted on the walls and traffic lights. In spite of this warning, people drive rashly. Write a letter in 120 – 150 words to the editor of ‘The Hindustan Times’ drawing attention of the public to the frequent road accidents due to negligent and rash driving. Make suitable suggestions to minimise such mishaps. You are Bela/Pankaj. You may use the cues given above.

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6. Attempt any one from (A) and (B) given below : 5

(A) Your school organized a ‘Save the Environment Week’. The theme was ‘Trees – Our Lifeline’. Write a report on the event in 120 – 150 words based on the given inputs, to be published in your school magazine. You are Ramta/Ravi, Student Editor. Mention day, date, time and venue.

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(B)

The Resident Welfare Society in your colony has put up the above poster. Write an article in 120 – 150 words to be published in the neighbourhood weekly on the need to inculcate a spirit of volunteerism among people. Mention simple ways in which the ordinary citizens can contribute and benefit from it. You are Raghav/Rita.

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SECTION C

Literature (40 marks)

7. Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below :

(A) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 6×1=6

Now we will count to twelve

and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the Earth

Let’s not speak in any language,

Let’s stop for one second,

and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment

without rush, without engines,

we would all be together

in a sudden strangeness. (Keeping Quiet)

(i) Significance of counting up to twelve is

(a) it is time to start the race.

(b) it is symbolic of life.

(c) it is a measure of time.

(d) that time does not wait for anyone.

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(ii) The word __________ in the extract means unusual and exciting.

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(iii) Excessive activity would create an atmosphere of

(a) productivity.

(b) mechanisation.

(c) confusion.

(d) competition.

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(iv) The poet would want to create all of the following EXCEPT

(a) a peaceful environment.

(b) a harmonious world.

(c) an atmosphere for introspection.

(d) a world full of hustle and bustle.

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(v) Complete the following analogy correctly :

face of the Earth : _________ : : sudden strangeness : alliteration

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(vi) On the basis of the extract, study the two statements, I and II given below :

I. People must keep silent at twelve everyday.

II. Introspection will lead to peaceful coexistence.

Choose the most appropriate option :

(a) I is false, but II is true

(b) Both I and II are false

(c) Both I and II are true

(d) I is true, but II is false

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(B) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 6×1=6

Driving from my parent’s

home to Cochin last Friday

morning, I saw my mother,

beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face

ashen like that

of a corpse, and realised with

pain

that she was as old as she

looked but soon

put that thought away, and

looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes …….

(i) The poet’s mother looks

I. exhausted

II. healthy

III. rejuvenated

IV. pale

V. relaxed

Choose the most appropriate option :

(a) Only V

(b) I, III and V

(c) I, II and IV

(d) I and IV

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(ii) The poet looks out of the car because __________.

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(iii) Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as ‘her face ashen like that of a corpse’.

(a) stars winked in the midnight sky

(b) a bitter sweet experience

(c) as cold as ice

(d) grey geese in the green field

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(iv) The phrase she realized with pain’ indicates the poet’s

(a) anxiety of missing the flight.

(b) fear of losing her mother.

(c) fear of illness.

(d) anxiety of taking her mother on the flight.

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(v) On the basis of the extract, study the two statements, I and II given below :

I. The poet was in a hurry to reach the airport.

II. The poet did not want to think about her mother growing old and infirm.

Choose the most appropriate option :

(a) I is correct, but II is incorrect

(b) Both I and II are correct

(c) Both I and II are incorrect

(d) II is correct, but I is incorrect

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(vi) What does the phrase ‘sprinting trees’ symbolize ?

(a) youthfulness and forgetfulness

(b) vitality and youthfulness

(c) energy and casualness

(d) pallor and exuberance

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8. Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below :

(A) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 4×1=4

“You are to come to the palace,” the man said. “The old General is in pain again.”

“Oh,” Hana breathed, “Is that all?”

“All?” the messenger exclaimed. “Is it not enough?’

“Indeed it is, “she replied, “I am very sorry.”

When Sadao came to say goodbye, she was in the kitchen, but doing nothing. The children were asleep and she sat merely resting for a moment, more exhausted from her fright than from work. (The Enemy)

(i) Seeing the messenger, Hana was apprehensive of __________.

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(ii) The summons for Dr. Sadao were because

(a) the servants had reported.

(b) there was a medical emergency.

(c) the General wanted to express his admiration.

(d) the prisoner of war had escaped.

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(iii) Which of the following summarizes Hana’s reason for resting momentarily ?

(a) Her physical exhaustion

(b) Her fear

(c) Her infirmity

(d) Her sadness

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(iv) Complete the analogy correctly with a word from the extract.

asleep : awake : : rejuvenated : ________

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(B) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 4×1=4

Mr. Lamb : Look, boy, look … what do you see ?

Derry : Just … grass and stuff. Weeds

Mr. Lamb : Some call them weeds. If you like, then … a weed garden, that. There’s fruit and there are flowers, and trees and herbs. All sorts. But over there … weeds. I grow weeds there. Why is one green, growing plant called a weed and another ‘flower’? Where’s the difference? It’s all life … growing. Same as you and me.

Derry : We’re not the same

(i) In the above extract, what best summarizes Mr. Lamb’s attitude towards growing weeds ?

(a) a celebration of life

(b) an acceptance of his poverty

(c) a manifestation of his loneliness

(d) an example of his gardening skills

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(ii) Which of the following best describes Derry’s tone when he says “We’re not the same”?

(a) bitter

(b) confused

(c) defiant

(d) snobbish

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(iii) Mr. Lamb brings out the contrast between flowers and weeds in order to

(a) explain weeds are important in a garden.

(b) demonstrate that weeds have medicinal values.

(c) emphasize the specific purpose of each.

(d) illustrate that there should be no distinction.

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(iv) What word from the above extract most nearly means the opposite of ‘difference’?

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9. Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below :

(A) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 6×1=6

Rudyard Kipling expressed an even more condemnatory attitude towards the interviewer. His wife, Caroline, writes in her diary for 14 October 1892 that their day was  ‘wrecked by two reporters from Boston’. She reports her husband as saying to the reporters, Why do I refuse to be interviewed ? Because it is immoral ! It is a crime, just as much of a crime as an offence against my person, as an assault, and just as much merits punishment. It is cowardly and vile. No respectable man would ask it, much less give it. Yet Kipling had himself perpetrated such an ‘assault’ on Mark Twain only a few years before. H.G. Wells in an interview in 1894 referred to the interviewing ordeal , but was a fairly frequent interviewee and forty years later found himself interviewing Joseph Stalin.

(The Interview)

(i) Kipling viewed interviews with

(a) compassion.

(b) condemnation.

(c) reconciliation.

(d) gratitude.

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(ii) Kipling assaulted __________ with an interview.

(a) H.G. Wells

(b) Joseph Stalin

(c) T.S. Eliot

(d) Mark Twain

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(iii) Complete the analogy with a word from the extract :

attack : assault : : committed : _______

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(iv) The word ‘wrecked’ in the extract most nearly means

(a) ravaged.

(b) annihilated.

(c) killed.

(d) ruined.

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(v) Rudyard Kipling uses the phrase ‘it is a crime’ because he feels it is

(a) illegal.

(b) an offence against his person.

(c) an act of espionage.

(d) a waste of time.

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(vi) Kipling violated his own observation on interviewing by ______________

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(B) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow : 6×1=6

Then the poet spoke. He couldn’t have addressed a more dazed and silent audience no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement – what are we doing ? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people ? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry ? The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he too must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery.

(i) Choose the appropriate option with reference to the extract. The audience were dazed because

(a) they were not accustomed to listening to poetry.

(b) they had never before seen an Englishman.

(c) they failed to comprehend what the poet was speaking.

(d) they were already bored.

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(ii) Complete the sentence with reference to the extract :

The English poet was __________when he was addressing the dazed audience.

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(iii) Where did the talk take place ?

Choose the correct option.

(a) The Main Mall

(b) Story Writing Department

(c) Film studio

(d) Subhu’s office

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(iv) The English poet’s visit is an ‘unexplained mystery’ because __________.

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(v) Complete the analogy with a word from the extract :

noisy : silent : : assembled : _______

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(vi) Explain the following phrase with reference to the extract :

The poet felt ‘the sheer incongruity of his talk’.

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10. Answer any five of the following in about 40 – 50 words each : 5×2=10

(a) Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of twenty-five percent refund to the peasants ? (Indigo)

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(b) What made the ironmaster invite the peddler to his house ?

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(c) What was the expectation of the people who had set up the roadside stand ?

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(d) Why did Aunt Jennifer create tigers so different from her own character ?

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(e) Why can the bangle-makers not organise themselves into a cooperative ? (Lost Spring)

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(f) Why did Douglas decide to go to the YMCA pool to learn swimming ? (Deep Water)

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11. Answer any two of the following in about 40 50 words each : 2×2=4

(a) What were the author’s initial emotions on setting foot in Antarctica ? (Journey to the end of the Earth)

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(b) What impression do you form of Dr. Sadao’s father from the story ‘The Enemy”?

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(c) What does Zitkala-Sa mean by “eating by formula” ?

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12. Answer any one of the following in about 120 – 150 words : 5

(a) Fantasising and unrealistic dreams sometimes lead to disappointment and disillusionment. Discuss this with reference to the story Going Places

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(b) Firozabad presents a strange paradox – the beauty of the glass bangles and the misery of the people who make bangles. Discuss.

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13. Answer any one of the following in about 120 – 150 words : 5

(a) Describe briefly the Third Level. How did it differ from the Second Level ?

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(b) What was the Maharaja’s mission? How did he resolve to overcome the obstacles in the fulfilment of his mission ? (The Tiger King)

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