Total number of pages – 16

29T ENGL

2019

ENGLISH

Full Marks : 100

Pass Marks : 30

Time : Three hours

The figures in the margin indicate full marks

for the questions.

Q. No. 1 Section A (Reading Skill) 10

Q. Nos. 2, 3 & 4 Section B (Advanced Writing Skills) 25

Q. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 Section C ( Grammar ) 20

Q. Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16 Section D ( Text books ) 45

Total = 100

Contd.
 SECTION A

( Reading Skill : 10 Marks)

1. Read the following passage carefully :

It is a disturbing fact that today many different kinds of

wild animals throughout the world are in danger of extinction.
The reasons for this are many and varied, but we must largely
blame pollution, pesticides, the disturbance of the animals’
natural environment and man’s greed and thoughtlessness.

Industry has grown enormously, and it has become

common practice for factories to dispose of waste matter in
streams and rivers, causing great loss of river life. Modern
agricultural methods include the use of pesticides which
effectively control insects classified as pests, but which also
destroy many that are not. An increase in population has
meant more building and with it the destruction of much of
the countryside that provides habitat for wild animals. To
satisfy man’s selfish desires the polar bear in North America is
under threat, hunted by sportsmen ; in Borneo and Sumatra
the orang-utan has become part of a smuggling racket ; in
South America the chinchilla is almost extinct because its fur
is in demand ; whales are massacred world-wide for the oil
and the food they yield. These are only a few of the species
under threat.

29T ENGL [2]

 But the problem is receiving world-wide recognition,
and some action is being taken. To name a few examples —
sewage pollution in the river Thames has been greatly
reduced ; a ban on trading in some furs has been agreed ; and
organizations like Friends of the Earth do valuable work in
this deserving cause.

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the

following questions :

(a) Cite the reasons as to why some species of wild animals

are on the verge of extinction. 2

(b) What has brought about the destruction of much of the

countryside ? 1

(c) Why are the polar bear and the whales under threat ?
2

(d) Which animal is hunted for its fur ? 1

(e) Mention the ways in which wild life is currently helped.

2

(f) Give the adjective form of ‘habitat’. 1

29T ENGL [3] Contd.

 (g) Find a word in the passage which means “a great
slaughter”. 1

SECTION B

( Advanced Writing Skills : 25 Marks)

2. Water is precious and each one of us must stop its wastage.

Prepare a poster in not more than 50 words urging people to
employ various methods of rain-water harvesting in their own
locality. 5

OR

Write a classified advertisement for the ‘Lost and Found’

column of a local newspaper stating the loss of your cell phone
while travelling in the local bus. You are Anwesha / Abhilash.
(Word Limit : 50 words) 5

3. Your school has recently celebrated “Tree Plantation Week”

organizing a number of inter-school competitions highlighting
the ecological balance. As the Secretary of the Eco-Club of
your school, prepare a report in 100-125 words, suitable to be
published in your school magazine. You are Nilim/Nilima.
10
29T ENGL [4]
 OR

Your District Administration has celebrated Silpi Divas at the

District Library auditorium recently. Prepare a report on it in
100-125 words to be published in “The Assam Tribune”.
10

4. You are Asha / Amit. You have seen an advertisement for the
post of a Sales Executive in a reputed company. Write an
application, along with your detailed resume, to the Regional
Director of the company in response to the advertisement
applying for the post. 10

OR

You are Aruna / Arun living in Amolapatty, Sivasagar. Write

a letter to the Editor of ‘‘The Sentinel” drawing the attention
of the concerned authority to the poor condition of water
supply in your locality. 10

SECTION C

( Grammar : 20 Marks)

5. Change the form of the narration in the following sentences :

2×2=4

(a) Reena said to the boy, “What’s the matter ? Why are you
crying ? Be cheerful.”

29T ENGL [5] Contd.

 (b) The customer inquired if he could get a garden-roller in
that shop. The assistant respectfully replied that he
would get it in the hardware department.

6. Change the voice of any three of the following sentences :

3×1=3

(a) Drive the car slowly.

(b) I am writing a letter now.

(c) We should not encourage indiscipline.

(d) Who wrote the Ramayana ?

(e) Promises should be kept.

(f) He will be forgotten in a few years.

7. Rewrite any five of the following sentences using the verbs

given in brackets in their correct tense forms :
5×1=5

(a) I met him while (go) to his office.

29T ENGL [6]

 (b) They (live) in this place since 1970.

(c) The train (leave) before I reached the station.

(d) I wish I (be) a bird !

(e) Your letter (reach) me yesterday.

(f) He (make) a doll now.

8. Rewrite any four of the following sentences filling in the blanks

with appropriate prepositions : 4×1=4

(a) What is the time ________ your watch now ?

(b) The students of this college have free access ________

the Principal.

(c) You should take proper care ________ your books.

(d) A sage has no desire ________ material wealth.

29T ENGL [7] Contd.

 (e) India is rich ________ minerals.

(f) He is very particular ________ his health.

(g) I did that without any malice ________ you.

9. Rewrite any four of the sentences as directed :

4×1=4

(a) Your hair is very lovely.

(Make it an exclamatory sentence)

(b) The Bhupen Hazarika Xetu at Dhola Sadiya is the

longest bridge in India.
(Change it into positive degree)

(c) I tried every plan.

(Make it negative without changing the meaning)

(d) He wants me to help him.

(Make it a complex sentence)

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 (e) The enemy fled as soon as they saw us.
(Make it a compound sentence)

(f) A stone that is rolling gathers no moss.

(Make it a simple sentence)

SECTION D

( Text books : 45 Marks)

10. Read one of the following extracts and answer the questions
that follow :

(a) ‘‘Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways

Made for our searching : yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits.”

29T ENGL [9] Contd.

 Questions :

(i) What do we do everyday ? 1

(ii) What removes the pall from the dark spirits ?

1

(iii) What is the message expressed in these lines ?

2

OR

(b) ‘‘Driving from 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...”

Questions :

(i) Where was the speaker driving to ? 1

29T ENGL [10]

 (ii) What did she notice when her mother sat beside
her ? 1

(iii) Find two words from the passage that mean ‘sleep
lightly’ and ‘dead body’. 1

(iv) Why was her mother’s face like that of a corpse ?

1

11. Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words :

3×2=6

(i) How did the travellers on the highways react to the

roadside stand ?

(ii) What, according to Keats, makes human beings love life

in spite of all its problems and miseries ?

(iii) Why quietness would be an exotic moment for the

speaker in ‘Keeping Quiet’ ?

(iv) What is Pablo Neruda’s opinion about different kinds of

wars ?

29T ENGL [11] Contd.

 (v) What is the significance of the parting words of the
speaker and her smile in ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’ ?

12. Answer any five of the following questions :

5×1=5

(a) What is the name of the river mentioned in ‘‘The Last

Lesson” ?

(b) Where does Saheb originally hail from ?

(c) Which country had developed synthetic indigo ?

(d) Where did Gandhi stay in Muzzafarpur ?

(e) Who is Darek ?

(f) What did Sophie dream of ?

(g) Name the book from which “Memoirs of a Chota Sahib’’

is taken.

13. Answer any five in 30-40 words : 5×2=10

(a) What words did M. Hamel write on the blackboard

before dismissing the last class ? What did they mean ?

29T ENGL [12]

 (b) What would Franz love to do on that sunny morning
instead of going to school ?

(c) What is the actual name of Saheb ? What does it signify ?

(d) How was a solution to the problem of indigo share-

croppers of Champaran found ?

(e) Why didn’t Sophie want Jansie to know about her story
with Danny ?

(f) Give a brief description of the Peacock Island.

(g) What is a marboat and how is it operated ?

14. Answer any one of the following questions in 80-100 words :

1×5=5

(a) Describe the character of Sophie’s father and the role

played by him in the story “Going Places”.

OR

(b) Describe the exploitation of the indigo sharecroppers by

the English landlords. How did Gandhi help them to get
an honourable settlement ?

29T ENGL [13] Contd.

15. Answer any one of the following questions in 125-150 words :
1×7=7

(a) Write a character-sketch of Dr. Sadao Hoki as depicted

in “The Enemy”.

OR

(b) “Though both Mr. Lamb and Derry suffer from a

physical disability, their attitude to life is different.”
Justify the relevance of this statement with reference to
the story “On the Face of it”.

16. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words :

4×2=8

(a) What did the Maharaja decide to do when he

remembered the astrologer’s prediction ?

(b) Who was Hana ? What did she notice coming out of the
mist ?

(c) How did Derry get his face burnt ?

29T ENGL [14]

 (d) Why was Zitkala Sa in tears on the first day in the land
of apples ?

(e) What is the meaning of ‘Domahi’ ? What do people

usually have for lunch on that day ?

(f) How is the delicacy ‘Sunga-pitha’ prepared ?

——— ×———

29T ENGL [15]

29T ENGL [16] 300+