Grade XII
2080(2024)
Compulsory English
Time: 3 hrs F.M
:75
Candidates
are required to give their answer in their own words as far as practicable. The
figure in the margin indicates full marks.
1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that
follow: 15
She was one of those pretty and charming
girls who are sometimes, as if by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of
clerks. She had no dowry, no expectations, no means of being known, understood,
loved, wedded, by any rich and distinguished man; and she let
herself be married to a little clerk at the Ministry of Public Instruction.
She dressed plainly because she could
not dress well, but she was as unhappy as though she had really fallen from her
proper station; since with women, there is neither caste nor rank; and beauty,
grace, and charm act instead of family and birth. Natural fineness, instinct
for what is elegant, suppleness of wit, are the sole hierarchy, and make from
women of the people the equals of the very greatest ladies.
She suffered ceaselessly,
feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered
from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the
worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains. All those things, of which
another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured
her and made her angry. The sight of the little Breton peasant who did her
humble housework aroused in her regrets which were despairing, and distracted
dreams. She thought of the silent ante-chambers hung with Oriental tapestry,
lit by tall bronze candelabra, and of the two great footmen in knee-breeches
who sleep in the big arm-chairs, made drowsy by the heavy warmth of the hot-air
stove.
She thought of the long salons fitted up
with ancient silk, of the delicate furniture carrying priceless curiosities,
and of the coquettish perfumed boudoirs made for talks at five
o'clock with intimate friends, with men famous and sought after, whom all women
envy and whose attention they all desire.
When she sat down to dinner, before the
round table covered with a table-cloth three days old, opposite her husband,
who uncovered the soup-tureen and declared with an enchanted air,
"Ah, the good pot-au- feu! I don't know anything better than that,"
she thought of dainty dinners, of shining silverware, of tapestry which peopled
the walls with ancient personages and with strange birds flying in the midst of
a fairy forest; and she thought of delicious dishes served on marvellous
plates, and of the whispered gallantries which you listen to with a
sphinx-like smile, while you are eating the pink flesh of a trout or the wings
of a quail.
She had no dresses, no jewels, nothing.
And she loved nothing but that; she felt made for that. She would so have liked
to please, to be envied, to be charming, to be sought after. She had a friend,
a former schoolmate at the convent, who was rich, and whom she
did not like to go and see any more, because she suffered so much when she came
back.
A. Complete
the following sentences using the words highlighted in the text. [5×1=5]
a.
She attended the ………. school, finding
comfort in its peaceful surroundings.
b.
His ………. appearance and impressive
manners commanded respect wherever he went.
c.
The ……. sunset filled the sky with
breath-taking colours, leaving everyone amazed.
d.
They felt like they were in a magical
place as they explored the ……… forest.
e.
She worked …….. . , never stopping in
her efforts to achieve her goals.
B. Read the text again and state: [5×1=5]
TRUE
if the statement agrees with the information given in the text.
FALSE
if the statement contradicts the information given in the text.
NOT GIVEN
if there is no information in the text.
a. The
protagonist was born in a wealthy family.
b. Her
husband was a clerk.
c. She
was happy with her simple way of dressing.
d. She
longed for an ordinary life.
e. She
had an extramarital affair.
C. Give short answers to the following
questions in ONE SENTENCE each. [5×1=5]
a. Why did
the protagonist marry the little clerk?
b. What
does she believe makes women equal to the greatest ladies?
c. What
kind of lifestyle does the protagonist long for?
d. How does
she feel during her modest dinners with her husband?
e. Why does
she avoid seeing her rich friend?
2. Answer the following questions in brief. [5×2=10]
a. How
did the young man begin to weep at the end of the story? (Neighbours)
b. Why
is Gaston surprised with his wife’s expression towards the end of the story? (A
Respectable Woman)
c. In
what condition did the treasure hunters find the dead man? (The Treasure in the
Forest)
d. What
does the line ‘The news like squirrels ran’ mean? (A Day)
e. What,
according to cowherds, is the reason behind the death of Male? (The Bull) Or
How does
Monsieur Durand die? (Facing Death)
3. Write
long answers to the following questions. [2×5=10]
a. Explain
the following lines with reference to the context. (Every Morning I wake)
Every morning
when I wake
Dear Lord, a
little prayer I make,
O please do keep
Thy loving eye
On all poor
creatures born to die
b. Sketch
the character of famous Actress.. (A matter of Husbands)
4. What
is the most useful thing that you have ever learnt? Write two paragraphs about
it. [7]
5. Write
an email to your friend about the tour which was the most memorable while going
with close friends. [8]
6. Write
an essay on 'Corruption as a serious problem in Nepal’ in about 250 words. [10]
7. Rewrite
the following sentences as instructed. [10×1=10]
a. She
barely managed to reach the goal, ……? (add tag question)
b. Only
………. (a few /a little/ little/ few) employees
know how important the project was. (choose the best word from the brackets)
c. My
brother is in Japan. He telephones us. (Put the frequency adverb ‘from time
to time’ in appropriate place and rewrite the sentence.
d. You
…………..(might, should, could) think it’s
funny, but I think it’s pathetic. (Choose the best option to complete the
sentence)
e. We
look forward to………(hear/hearing) from you soon. (Choose the correct option from
the bracket to complete the sentence.)
f. Your
garden is super. … …………the flowers are beautiful. (All of, None of, Both of)
g. This
house is very small. I want to buy a …..one.(much/big) (Use the words from the
brackets to complete the sentences)
h. They
were talking about the new movie. (Make Wh-question so that the words in the
bold become the answer)
i. Neither
the gas nor the electric heaters (be) suitable for room heating. (Rewrite the
sentence with the correct form of the verb in the bracket)
j. We
study in the same college. We hardly see each other. (Use although/in spite /however/despite- whichever
is appropriate to join them)
8. Choose and copy the correct alternatives: [5×1=5]
a. Which
one of the following words has a different initial sound?
i) Check ii) chess
iii) chemical iv)
chairman
b. She
can’t ……the pain.
i) beer ii)
bare
iii) bear iv) bore
c. Transform
the adjective “real” into verb.
d. Add
two more words that are formed with the following prefix..
a.Ultra :
ultrahigh, _____________ ________________
e. Which
one of the following words does not take the prefix ‘un’.
i) fair ii)
certain
iii)
clear iv)
mortal
—0—
Comments
Post a Comment
facebook, twitter, google plus