Subject: English
Class XII
Time Allowed: 3 hours
Max. Marks: 80
General instructions:
1. This paper consists of eight questions.
2. Read all the questions carefully.
3. Attempt all questions
Section – A (Reading)
I. Read the passage given below.
1. An incredibly wild stretch of Blue Mountains lay in front of us as we stood at an altitude of3, 352.8 metres and looked eastwards. The mountains appeared to have developed white wings as clouds floated around them. As the clouds cleared, one could see rhododendrons of vibrant hues draping the mountain slopes and the valleys below. In the distance, a slim silvery- white cascade assured us that there must be a full stream running by. And, surely there was the Nyamjangchu (river). Blowing freely from Tibet into India. The cloud-capped mountains of Tibet rose into the sky in the east and the densely forested mountains of Bhutan stood like a fortress in the west. There was a Chinese outpost in the valley along the right bank of the Nyamjangchu, and not far from it, on the mountain slope to the west, was an Indian Army camp.
2. We were in the higher altitudes of western Arunachal Pradesh to, evaluate the three community conservation areas (CCAS) established by the Worldwide Fund for Nature(WWF)-India. The major on-going programmes in the CCAs aim at promoting ecotourism, protecting the black-necked crane and its habitat, safeguarding the future of the red panda and its habitat, and introducing Biolite’s Home Stove in order to reduce the amount of firewood used in cooking.
3. Arunachal Pradesh, spread over 83.743 square kilometers, has nearly 60 per cent of its area under forest cover, that is, 51,540 sq. km. It is situated within the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, a globally important centre of biodiversity. The population density of the State is just 17 per sq. km. Approximately 60 per cent of its forest cover is classified “un classed state forest or USF” and is largely under the control of the local communities, Pressures on these ecologically fragile forests were negligible some decades ago. Today, several factors have increased pressures on them. These range from development of extensive networks of road to connect every nook and cranny of the State, primarily for security reasons, and change in people& 39; s lifestyle, from being one that is largely sustainable to one emulating those in developed States. In addition, there is tremendous extraction of wood for various purposes. It is hardly surprising that the State of Forest Report (2011) has recorded a decline of 74 sq. km in the forest cover in the community-owned forest land in the state. Hunting for pot and the wildlife trade has been a serious issue in the State.
4. Keeping these facts in mind WWF-India has been engaging with members of the Monpa community in the western Arunachal landscape (WAL) since 2004-05 The WWF-India WAL covers 7,000 sq. km, including snowbound areas, within Tawang and West Kameng districts, which together have an area of 11,000 sq. km. Its efforts have resulted in the establishment of the three CCA-the ThembangBapu CCA (635 sq. km) in West Kameng district, and the PangchenLumpoMuchat CCA in Pangchen Valley (98 sq. km) and the Pangchen Lakhar CCA (85 sq. km), both in Tawang district. The Bugun, Miji and Sherdukpen tribes inhabit West Kameng district while Tawang is largely inhabited by Monpas, who are Buddhists.
5. We started our journey to western Arunachal Pradesh from Tezpur (Assam) in mid-May, the rains had just started.
6. Rhododendron arboreum was the first variety of the flower we sighted as we drove up the mountains inhaling fresh mountain air. But as we reached human settlements the stench of garbage and the smoke of burning garbage overpowered the atmosphere. A nullah near the Baisakhi Army camp was filled with plastic water bottles, plasticised cardboard cartons d other garbage. One problem associated with the accumulation of garbage was the proliferation of free-ranging dogs, which are a threat to wild ungulates such as the barking deer and the sambar. The dogs are wont to kill the arboreal red panda, the State animal of Sikkim, when the mammal moves from one patch of forest to another, Although a carmivore, the red panda is not agile on the ground., Leopards thrive on dogs but as a result of poisoning of livestock kills and elimination of wild ungulate prey by poaching, both the leopard and the tiger are extremely rare in western Arunachal Pradesh. A solitary stalking predator cannot afford to be injured and, therefore, it is possible that leopards avoid free-ranging dogs when they scavenge in a group at garbage sites.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following questions:
(a) The landscape described in the passage refers to ___________
(b) Why were the author and his team in this region?
(c) The forests belong to the ________
(d) Who is not very active on the ground from the family of carnivores?
(e) With whom is WWE- India working with?
(f) To what is densely forested mountains of Bhutan been compared to?
(g) The thick forested mountains of Bhutan stood like ________
(h) The synonym for the word “a small water” in Para 1 is ________
(i) The antonym for the word covering a small in Para 3 is _________
(J) What percentage of area is under forest in Arunachal Pradesh?
II. Read the passage given below.
1. The average Indian woman spends 243 minutes, a little over four hours, on 10 these, which is almost ten times the 25 minutes the average man does. Thanks to the greater burden of domestic work, men spend more time than women in every other activity-working, studying, even just taking care of themselves. “It has been widely known, and for long, that Indian women undertake a lot of unpaid domestic work. The time use survey only reveals the extent of the disproportionate burden on women. Interestingly, there seems to be an inverse relationship between age and the amount of time spent by women on household chores, but a direct one between age and the time spent by men on these. While women above the age of 60 see a sharp fall in their domestic work burden, men tend to devote a greater time to domestic work when they cross 60.
2. The report is based on a survey of 138,000 households in 2019 and looked at anyone over the age of six while this may seem too young, it is a fact that, especially in poor households, and in rural India, young boys, and more often, young girls, are asked to perform chores. An average Indian woman spends 19.5% of her time engaged in either unpaid domestic work or unpaid care-giving services, according to the survey conducted between January and December 2019, Men spend just 2.5% of a 24-hour period on these activities. In every other group of activities from employment and learning to socializing, leisure, and self-care activities like sleeping and eating-men spend a higher share of their daily time than women.
3. In terms of participation, 81% women take on domestic chores, compared to just 26% of men Even within domestic work, there is a g gender-based division of responsibilities. It is only when they turn 60 that women seem to find a respite from domestic work. A broad age-group wise breakup suggests that above the age of 60, the participation of women in unpaid domestic and care-giving services reduces drastically.
4. “The fact that women do less unpaid work after 60 could be the result the greater participation by men, and in joint families, it could be a reflection of the older women passing on the work load to their younger bahus, “(daughters-in-law), Khera said.
5. There are also differences in participation of women in daily activities depending on where they live. Rural women participate more on paid or unpaid work, whereas urban women participate more in learning, socializing or leisure activities.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following questions
(a) Indian women carry a greater burden of domestic work than men.
(i) True
(ii) Partially false
(iii) False
(iv) Partially true
b) On an average what amount of unpaid domestic work in doe_ a man in 24 hrs do?
(c) For women, not only the domestic work is unpaid but also _________
(d) Men are seen to have enough leisure time to spend on __________
(e) For women unpaid domestic work seems to increase when they are young and after 60.
(f) For the men, after the age of sixty, share in domestic chores is __________
(g) The survey-based report includes children as young as six because __________
(h) Pick out the incorrect fact regarding unpaid household work
(i) contribution of men is 2.5% of 24 hours
(ii) women contribute 19.5% of their time
(iii) men participate in caregiving more than women
(iv) duties at home are divided on the basis of gender
(i) When the senior women become old, they pass on their share of domestic work burden to ________
Section-B(Writing)
III. a) You are Ranjana/Rajan, head girl/boy of S.K. Public School, Sadar Bazar, Orai. Write a notice informing the students of Class XIl about career counselling by eminent counsellor Dr. R.S. Agarwal. Write the notice in not more than 50 words mentioning all the relevant details.
b) As the Secretary of the Literary Club of St. Mary & Jesus Convent School, Lalitpur, draft a formal invitation in not more than 50 words to invite all parents to watch the play “Monte Cristo.”
c) Write a letter in 120-150 words to the Editor of a National Daily on how the nuisance caused by the pavement shops in your locality can be curbed. You are Nimita/Neelesh of 10, Rose View Apartment, Ram Nagar.
d) You are extremely conscious of the declining standard of social behaviour reflected in rudeness towards all and sundry, selfishness, aggression even in small matters, abusive language at the slightest provocation and many other similar offensive habits among people at large. Write an article in 120-150 words for a newspaper expressing your disapproval of such behaviour, exploring possible reasons and suggesting ways of improving the situation.
Section C (Literature)
IV. Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow
i) And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.
(a) What is the thing of beauty mentioned in the above lines?
(b) What is endless fountain of immortal drink?
(c) ‘brink means ________
(d) Name the Poem & the poet.
(e) What poetic device has been used in “endless fountain ‘.
(f) Explain
‘And such to is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;’
ii) And then I knew.
To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet. It was the World; and the World had not been published for years. The lead story said something about the President Cleveland. I’ve found that front page since, in the Public Library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894.
I turned towards the ticket window knowing that here-on the third level at Grand Central-I could buy tickets that would take Louisa & me anywhere in the United States we wanted to go.
a) What struck the narrator that he wanted to make sure?
b) What is the “World’ & what is its relevance?
(c) What is the relation between President Cleveland & the mentioned date?
(d) Where did ‘l’ want to go and why?
iii) Once some beetles flew in; but nobody paid any attention to them, not even the little ones, who worked right on tracing their fish hooks as if that was French too. On the roof the pigeons cooed very low, and I thought to myself, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons7”
(a)Why “nobody” paid any attention to what?
(b) Find the antonym of ‘distraction’ from the extract.
(c) Who are ‘they’ and ‘them’ respectively?
(d) Explain “Will Ix6 they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?”
(e) What experience of Franz does the given excerpt reflect?
(f) Even the ______ understood the gravity of the situation
V. Answer the questions given below in 40-50 words each.
(a) “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Explain
(b) Why did Edla Williamson take the tramp home?
(c) What was the result of the inquiry conducted by the official commission into the indigo sharecropper’s situation?
(d) What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
(e) Why did the poet Kamala Das say, ‘All I did was smile and smile and smile…?’
VI. Answer the questions given below in 40-50 words each.
(a) Describe The Tiger King as a King and a Father
(b) How does the narrator describe the first two levels of the Grand Central?
VII. Attempt the following question in 120-150 words.
The story The Rattrap’ exemplifies the notion that the emotional needs of human beings have a direct bearing on their behaviour. Elucidate.
VIII. Attempt the following question in 120-150 words.
What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the t Student on lce Expedition”? What did the author still wonder about after her S marks return from Antarctica?