Author: Vidhyarthi Darpan

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH 

ENGLISH Paper – 2 

SECTION A – DRAMA 

The Merchant of Venice : Shakespeare 

Q.1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

Portia: Go draw aside the curtains, and discover  

              The several caskets to this noble prince —  

              Now make your choice. 

Morocco: The first, of gold, who this inscription bears, 

                 “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”; 

(i) Who is Morocco? How did he introduce himself to Portia when they first met in an earlier scene? 

 

(ii) How would Morocco know that he had made the right choice? What would his reward be? 

 

(iii) Which casket did Morocco finally choose? What reasons did he give for  

(iv) What two objects does Morocco find in the casket of his choice? What reason  does he give to Portia for leaving in haste? 

 

(v) How does Portia respond to Morocco’s parting words? What does this reveal of her nature? 

 

 

Q.2 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

Bassanio : Were you the doctor, and I knew you not? 

Gratiano : Were you the clerk? 

Antonio : Sweet lady, you have given me life and living;  

                 For here I read for certain that my ships  

                 Are safely come to road. 

Portia :  How now, Lorenzo! 

                 My clerk hath some good comforts too for you. 

(i) Where does this scene take place? What had Portia directed Antonio to give to Bassanio just moments before the above words were spoken? 

 

(ii) Portia had just given Antonio, Bassanio and Gratiano a letter to read. Who had written this letter? What does Bassanio learn about Portia from this letter?  

 

 

(iii) What good news does Portia have for Antonio? How does he respond to it? (iv) To whom does Portia refer as ‘My clerk’? What ‘good comforts’ does the ‘clerk’ have for Lorenzo? 

 

(v) How was Bassanio persuaded to give away the ring that Portia had given him at the time of their marriage? What does this reveal of Bassanio’s relationship with Antonio? 

 

 

OR 

Loyalties : John Galsworthy 

Q.3 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

Margaret : Here’s the wind! 

Winsor : What’s the move now, General? 

Canynge : You and I had better see the Inspector in De Levis’s room,  Winsor.   

                   [To the others] If you’ll all be handy, in case he wants to put questions for himself. 

 

Margaret : I hope he’ll want me; it’s just too thrilling. 

Dancy : I hope he won’t want me; I am dog-tired. Come on Mabel. [He puts his arm in his wife’s] 

 

Canynge : Just a minute, Charles. 

(i) Who is Margaret? Why does she say ‘Here’s the wind!’?

(ii) Why does Canynge suggest that they see the Inspector in De Levis’ room? What does Margaret find ‘thrilling’? 

 

(iii) Who enters soon after? What had this person been asked to do earlier? 

(iv) How does De Levis happen to have such a large sum of money on that particular day? What steps does he take to keep the money safe? 

 

(v) Whom does De Levis suspect of having stolen his money? What leads Canynge to suspect the same person? What is Canynge’s opinion of this person? 

 

 

 

Q.4 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

Mabel : A prosecution? Prison? Oh, go! Don’t wait a minute! Go! 

Dancy : Blast them! 

Mabel : Oh, Ronny! Please! Please! Think what you’ll want. I’ll pack.  

               Quick! No! Don’t wait to take things. Have you got money? 

(i) Where is this scene set? What had Dancy just confessed to Mabel? 

(ii) What had Dancy’s lawyer suggested he should do? Why had he made this suggestion? 

 

(iii) How does Mabel express her loyalty to Dancy soon after he had made the confession? Who knocks at the door at this point? 

 

(iv) Who else enters the house? What sound do they all hear? Why does Mabel faint? 

 

(v) What message did Dancy’s letter contain? What is your opinion of Dancy at the end of the play? 

 

SECTION B – POETRY 

A Collection of Poems 

Q.5 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

       “I’m grateful, Sir”, he whispered, as I handed my canteen  

        And smiled a smile that was, I think, the brightest that I’ve seen. 

       “Seems silly a man my size so full of vim and zest  

         Could find himself defeated by a small pain in his chest.” 

                                                          (Small Pain in My Chest – Michael Mack)

(i) Where is ‘he’ when the narrator encounters him? Describe the scene around him. 

 

(ii) What does ‘he’ ask the narrator for? What reasons does he give for his request? 

 

(iii) What does the narrator see when he looks at him? How do we know that ‘he’ is very young and completely unaware of the seriousness of his injury? 

 

(iv) How does ‘he’ describe the battle that had been fought the night before and his role in it? 

 

(v) What feelings do you think the narrator must have experienced when he ‘put his arms around him’?  

 

     What is the central theme of this poem? 

 

Q.6 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

        I am going out rarely, now and then 

       Only, this is price of old age 

       But my health is O.K. 

                                            (The Professor – Nissim Ezekiel) 

(i) Who is the speaker? What relationship did he share with the listener?

(ii) How many sons does the speaker have? What does he say about them? 

(iii) What are the names of the speaker’s daughters? Why does the speaker believe that his daughters are ‘well settled in life’? 

 

(iv) How old is the speaker? Why does he say that his health is ‘OK’? What reason does he give to explain his state of health? 

 

(v) What characteristics typical of Indian speech and thought does the poet make fun of through this poem?  

 

SECTION C – PROSE 

A Collection of Short Stories 

Q.7 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

      Sher Singh could feel immediately the heat of the boy’s body burning through the cotton cloth. 

 

      He felt the weight too, and he wondered how he was going to manage. 

      ‘He is too big for you’ said the mother. She spoke in the whisper of despair.    

      ‘You will never get there.’ 

       Sher Singh said nothing. 

       He set off. 

(i) Who was the ‘boy’? Why was Sher Singh sure that the little boy would die? 

(ii) What did Sher Singh’s father do for a living? Mention any two acts of courage he had performed that had earned him the title ‘Bahadur’. 

 

(iii) How does his mother use her skill as a hill woman to prepare Sher Singh for his long and dangerous journey? 

 

(iv) Mention any three challenges that Sher Singh encountered on his way to the hospital.  

 

(v) How does the doctor at the hospital address Sher Singh at the end of the story?  

 

      Why do you think he refers to him in this way? 

 

Q.8 With close reference to the text, show how Stephen Leacock makes effective use of  humour and exaggeration to describe his attempts to get back his ‘Lost Dollar’.  

 

OR 

Animal Farm : George Orwell 

Q.9 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

         It was just after the sheep had returned, on a pleasant evening when the

         animals had finished work and were making their way back to the farm  

         buildings, that the terrified neighing of a horse sounded from the yard.  

         Startled, the animals stopped in their tracks. 

(i) From where did the sheep return? Under whose supervision were they? What were they taught while they were in this place? 

 

(ii) Whose voice was it that startled the animals? What did the horse see that caused it to neigh in terror? 

 

(iii) How did the animals react to this sight at first? Why were they not able to protest? 

 

(iv) Why did Clover lead Benjamin gently to the end of the barn immediately after this? What did they find written on the wall? 

 

(v) What strange and disturbing change did the animals observe in the pigs when they peered in at the dining room window later that evening?  Comment on the irony of the situation. 

 

 

 

Q.10 Give a brief account of the Battle of the Cowshed and Snowball’s role in it. 

 

OR 

To Sir With Love : E.R. Braithwaite 

Q.11 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: 

 

     As the bus moved slowly on, a bright-eyed little boy in school cap and blazer  

     paused momentarily beside the vacant seat and then quickly moved a little way on …. 

 

    The conductor approached with his cheery ‘Any more fares, please, free ride only after midnight.’ 

 

(i) Why did the schoolboy not occupy the vacant seat? What was he puzzled by?

(ii) Who was preparing to take the seat? What did the person do instead? Why?

(iii) What efforts did the conductor make to get this person to sit in the vacant seat? 

 

(iv) What does the author do to help ease the situation? How does the conductor view the author’s action? 

 

(v) What was the author’s intended destination? What is his state of mind as he approaches this place? 

 

 

Q.12 Give a brief description of Brathwaite’s encounter with a stranger at St. James Park.  How did this meeting change the course of his life? 

 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

ENGLISH Paper – 1  

Q.1 (Do not spend more than 35 minutes on this question.)  

Write a composition (350 – 400 words) on any one of the following: 

(a) Write an original short story entitled ‘The Gift’. 

(b) “Money is important for happiness.” Express your views either for or  against this statement. 

(c) Narrate an incident from your own experience when you helped to prepare a  meal. Explain what you did and what you gained from the experience. 

(d) You had been waiting outside the examination hall. Describe what you saw  and the sounds you heard when you arrived at the place. What were your  feelings? Describe how the scene changed once you entered the hall and the  examination started.

(e) Study the picture given below. Write a story or a description or an account of  what it suggests to you. Your composition may be about the subject of the  picture or you may take suggestions from it; however, there must be a clear  connection between the picture and your composition.  

Q.2 (Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this question.)  

Select any one of the following:  

(a) Your uncle has offered to get you a pet for your birthday. Write a letter to him telling him what you would like, give reasons for your choice and tell him  how you would take care of your pet. 

(b) The traffic outside your school is very heavy and chaotic.  

Write a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) pointing out the  danger of such heavy and chaotic traffic in a school zone. Suggest possible  solutions for the problem.

 

Q.3 Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: 

Granny knew I’d been in the train for two nights, and she had a huge breakfast  ready for me.  

Later she told me there’d been a letter from Uncle Ken. 

‘He says he’s the manager in Firpo’s hotel in Simla,’ she said. ‘The salary is  very good. It’s a steady job and I hope he keeps it.’ 

Three days later Uncle Ken was on the veranda steps with his bedding roll and  battered suitcase. 

‘Have you given up the hotel job?’ asked Granny. 

‘No,’ said Uncle Ken. ‘They have closed down.’ 

‘I hope it wasn’t because of you.’ 

‘No, Aunt Ellen. The bigger hotels in the hill stations are closing down.’ ‘Well, never mind. Come along and have your lunch.’ 

Over lunch, Uncle Ken talked very seriously about ways and means of earning  a living. 

‘There is only one taxi in the whole of Dehra,’ he mused. ‘Surely there is  business for another?’ 

‘I’m sure there is,’ said Granny. ‘But where does it get you? In the first place,  you don’t have a taxi. And in the second place, you can’t drive.’ 

‘I can soon learn. There’s a driving school in town. And I can use Uncle’s old  20 car.’ 

‘I don’t think it will run now,’ said Granny. 

‘Of course, it will. It just needs some oiling and greasing and a spot of paint.’ ‘All right, learn to drive.’ 

So, Uncle Ken joined the driving school. 

After a month Uncle Ken announced that he could drive and that he was taking  the car out for a trial run. 

‘You haven’t got your license yet,’ said Granny. 

‘Oh, I won’t take it far,’ said Uncle Ken. ‘Just down the road and back again.’ 

He spent all morning cleaning up the car. Granny gave him money for a can  30 of petrol. 

After tea, Uncle Ken said, ‘Come along, Ruskin, hop in and I will give you a  ride. Bring Mohan along too.’ Mohan and I needed no urging. We got into the  car beside Uncle Ken. 

‘Now don’t go too fast, Ken,’ said Granny anxiously. ‘You are not used to the  car as yet.’ 

Uncle Ken nodded and smiled and gave two sharp toots on the horn. He was  feeling pleased with himself. 

Driving through the gate, he nearly ran over a cat. 

Miss Kellner, coming out for her evening rickshaw ride, saw Uncle Ken at the  40

wheel of the car and ran indoors again. 

Uncle Ken drove straight and fast, tootling the horn without a break. At the end of the road there was a roundabout. 

‘We’ll turn here,’ said Uncle Ken, ‘and then drive back again.’ 

He turned the steering wheel, we began going round the roundabout, but the  steering wheel wouldn’t turn all the way, not as much as Uncle Ken would  have liked it to… So, instead he went on – and straight through the Maharaja  of Jetpur’s garden wall. 

It was a single-brick wall, and the car knocked it down and emerged on the  other side without any damage to the car or any of its occupants. Uncle Ken brought it to a halt in the middle of the Maharaja’s lawn. 

Running across the grass came the Maharaja himself. When he saw that it was  Uncle Ken at the wheel, the Maharaja beamed with pleasure. 

‘Delighted to see you, old chap!’ he exclaimed. ‘Jolly decent of you to drop in  again. How about a game of tennis?’ 

(a) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: 

One word answers or short phrases will be accepted. 

(i) battered (line 7)  

(ii) mused (line 15)  

(iii) emerged (line 48)  

(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words. 

(i) Why did Granny hope Uncle Ken would keep his job at Firpo’s hotel? 

(ii) When Uncle Ken arrived with his luggage, Granny remarked that she  

hoped the hotel had not closed down because of him. What does this  remark tell you about Uncle Ken? 

(iii) Why did Uncle Ken think that driving a taxi in Dehra would be profitable? 

(iv) Which sentence tells you that the narrator and his friend were waiting to be invited for a drive in a car? 

(v) Why did Miss Kellner run indoors when she saw Uncle Ken at the wheel of the car? 

(vi) What was Uncle Ken’s intention at the roundabout? 

(c) (i) In not more than 60 words, describe what happened after the car went through the wall. 

(ii) Give a title to your summary in 3(c)(i). Give a reason to justify your choice of the title.  

 

Q.4 (a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in  [4] 

brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word  or phrase appropriate to the blank space. 

Example: 

(0) beginning 

Alice was (0) ____________ (begin) to get very tired of (1)____________(sit)  by her sister on the bank and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had  (2) ____________ (peep) into the book her sister was reading, but it  (3) ____________ (have) no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the  use of a book,” (4) ____________ (think) Alice, “without pictures or  conversations?” 

Alice wondered whether the pleasure of (5)___________(make) a daisy-chain  would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when  suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes (6) ____________ (run) close by her.  Alice did not think this was very remarkable, until the Rabbit actually  (7) ____________ (take) a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and  (8)____________ (look) at it, and then hurried on. 

(b) Fill in each blank with an appropriate word: [4] (i) The poet’s mother was stung ____________ a scorpion. 

(ii) “Please write ____________ what I tell you otherwise you will forget,”  the teacher said.  

(iii) The dog was hiding ____________ the bed, barking at the stranger. 

(iv) Sheila’s grandmother found it difficult to climb ____________ the steep  staircase.  

(v) The soldier fought bravely ____________ his country. 

(vi) There is no use crying ____________ spilt milk.

(vii) I don’t know what they were arguing ____________ but I could hear  angry voices. 

(viii) The school playground is out ____________ bounds for the pupils of the  primary school.  

(c) Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using  and, but or so: 

(i) They have to go to bed early every night. They are allowed to stay up late  on Saturdays. 

(ii) The children were delighted. The exams had been cancelled. 

(iii) We are not allowed to play in the sun. We are not allowed to play in the  rain. 

(iv) This is the place. The dog was rescued from its cruel owner. 

(d) Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after  [8] 

each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the  meaning of each sentence. 

(i) She laid the table after she had finished the cooking. 

(Begin: When…………………) 

(ii) He is old but still he works hard. 

 (Begin: Despite…………………) 

(iii) The delivery boy was requested to bring the parcel the next day.  

(Rewrite using direct speech) 

(iv) I prefer playing a game to watching television. 

 (Begin: I would rather…………………) 

(v) Every family has a black sheep. 

 (Begin: There is no…………………) 

(vi) I have never worn a more ill-fitting suit. 

(End: ………………… ever worn.)

(vii)Anil is too fast a runner not to come first in the race.   (Begin: Anil is so…………………) 

(viii) As soon as the sports meet ended, the children ran on the field. (Begin: Hardly…………………)