LUCKNOW PUBLIC SCHOOL

(C.P. SINGH FOUNDATION)

Holiday
Homework
C l a s s - X I I
023-24
Session : 2

25
Dear Children,

Exciting time is here again! Summer holidays are for relaxation and enjoyment.

As important as it is to rest and enjoy, it is also important to continue to learn.

Strike a balance between work and play and allow yourself to grow in the

process.

The Holiday Homework is designed specifically for providing a better practice,

before June’ 2023 Assessments.

The Practice Question Papers are to be solved in A-4 sheets and are to be

submitted to the respective Subject Teacher, once the School re-opens.

Let the vacation time be a doorway to creativity, learning growth and joy !

Relax, enjoy, have loads of fun and come back refreshed.

 PRACTICE PAPER -1
(SESSION 2023-24)
SUB - ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS - XII
TIME ALLOWED: 90 MINS M.M.: 40

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
i. All questions are compulsory.
ii. The Question Paper contains both objective and subjective questions.
iii. Separate instructions are given with each part of the question, wherever necessary.
iv. Read the instructions very carefully and follow them strictly.

SECTION A
READING SKILLS (10 MARKS)
1. Read the following text. (10 M)
1. Over the last five years, more companies have been actively looking for intern profiles, according to
a recent survey by Internshala, an online internship and training platform. Last year, India had 80%
more internship applications — with 2.2 million applications received in 2018 compared to 1.27 million
the previous year. The trend is in part due to more industries are looking to have fresh minds and ideas
on existing projects for better productivity. What was originally seen as a western concept, getting an
internship before plunging into the job market, is fast gaining momentum at Indian workplaces.
2. According to the data by Internshala, India’s national
capital region has been the top provider of internships,
with a total of 35% internship opportunities, followed
by Mumbai and Bengaluru at 20% and 15%,
respectively. This includes opportunities in startups,
MNCs and even government entities. The survey also
revealed popular fields to find internships. There has
been growing awareness among the students about the
intern profiles sought by hiring companies that often
look for people with real-time experience in
management than B-school masters.
3. Stipend or the monetary compensation has been an important factor for people taking up various
internships to enhance their skills. The average stipend offered to interns was recorded as ₹7000, while
the maximum stipend goes up to ₹85,000. According to stats, more number of people have been
considering virtual internships than in-office internships. Virtual internships have got three times more
applications than in-office since a large chunk of students are the ones already enrolled in various
courses, or prefer working from home.
4. Internship portals have sprung up in the last three to four years and many of them already report
healthy traffic per month. Reports suggest that on an average, an internship portal company has around
2,00,000 plus students and some 8,000 companies registered on it. It gets around two lakh visits every
month. The Managing Director of a leading executive search firm says that though these web platforms
are working as an effective bridge between the industry and the students, most established companies
are still reluctant to take too many interns on board for obvious reasons.
(Source: Businesstoday.in)
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.
i. State TRUE or FALSE. 1
“A lot many interns were appointed in 2018. This was partly because many industries preferred hiring
fresh minds who could enhance the overall productivity.”
ii. Select the option that displays the correct cause-effect relationship. 1
A. B.
CAUSE: Several Students had academic CAUSE: A large chunk of students referred in-
courses to complete office internships
EFFECT: Students applied for offline EFFECT: Applications were three times more
internship than for virtual internships

C. D.
CAUSE: A greater number of students wanted CAUSE: Students applied for online
to work from home internship
EFFECT: Several students had courses EFFECT: An equal number students applied
complete for work from home.

iii. Complete the sentence based on the following statement. 1

Virtual internship received more applications than in-office internships.
This happened because ______________________________________________________
iv. The Managing Director of a leading executive search firm says that though these web platforms are
working as an effective bridge between the industry and students, most established companies are
still reluctant to take too many interns on board for obvious reasons.
State an ‘obvious reason’ for certain established companies being reluctant on hiring interns.
Answer in about 40 words. 2
v. Complete the given sentence based on the following statement. 1
Internship, at some point of time was considered a ___________________________ concept.
vi. Select the option that displays the true statement with reference to the give image. 1
A. Internships for Engineering and Management are the top two favourites.
B. Design and Architecture internships are most popular than others.
C. Internships for Media and others have exact equal popularity percentage.
D. Management internships’ popularity is more than twice to that of Media.
vii. Describe in about 40 words how internship opportunities have been distributed among 2
metropolitan cities according to the survey.
viii. Pick a sentence from Para 4 that shows the success of internship portals. 1
SECTION B
WRITING SKILLS (8 MARKS)
2. You are the secretary of Green Housing Welfare Society, Lucknow. Draft a notice to be circulated to
its members stating that the last installment of home falls due on 30th May 2023. Sign as Kshitij/ Kashish.
(4)

3. Suicide has become an important issue in the Indian context. You have recently gone through the
survey in which you observed that more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide in our country.
The majority of suicides (37.8%) in India are by those below the age of 30 years specially teenagers
which is a matter of great concern and majority of studies note that around 90% of those who die by
suicide have a mental disorder. Considering the same, you have decided to write a letter to the editor in
about 120-150 words for raising the awareness on stress management in the society and enhance
mental health among the youth. Also suggest some required measures that can be taken in time to cope
up with stress and avoid such non-compensatory losses. (4)
 SECTION C
LITERATURE (22 MARKS)
4. Read the following stanzas and answer any one of the two extracts given. (5x1=5)
A. “standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear…”
i. Which of the following is NOT the correct meaning of the word ‘Wan’?
A. Pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion
B. Becoming bright and radiant
C. Lacking enthusiasm and energy
D. Dark and gloomy
ii. What childhood fear did the poet have?
iii. The “late winter’s moon” is an apt analogy for the “poet’s mother’s wan and pale face” because
___________________________________________
iv. Which line contains the example of the poetic device ‘Simile’?
v. The expression ‘familiar ache’ suggests that the:
A. fear expressed in the extract is universal
B. fear expressed in the extract comes with an old age
C. poet has seen her mother experiencing the fear described here
D. poet’s fear is an old and recurrent one
OR
B. “When I passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of the bulletin-board. For the last two
years all our bad news had come from there-the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the
commanding officer – and I thought to myself, without stopping, “What can be the matter
now?” Then, as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the blacksmith, Watcher, who was there, with
his apprentice, reading the bulletin, called after me.”
i. What had been the source of bad news? Answer in ONE WORD.
Who do you think, would have passed the town Hall?
A. Franz C. The blacksmith, Watcher
B. M. Hamel D. None of the above
ii. Why was the bulletin-board an attraction to the crowd?
A. There were beautiful pictures pasted on it
B. It had the list of winners in the competition
C. For the last two years all the bad news had come from it
D. None of the above
iii. The crowd that drew the writer’s attention had gathered _____________________.
A. near the church
B. in the market
C. in front of the bulletin-board
D. None of the above
iv. Give the antonym of ‘Apprentice’.

5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: (3x1=3)
“The clerk figured the fare – he glanced at my fancy band, but he figured the fare – and I had enough
for two coach tickets, one way. But when I counted out the money and looked up, the clerk was
staring at me. He nodded at the bills. “That ain’t money, mister,” he said, “and if you’re trying to
skin me, you won’t get very far,” and he glanced at the cash drawer, beside him. Of course the
money was old-style bills half again as big as the money we use nowadays and different looking.”
 i. Why did Charley ask for two tickets?
ii. Complete the sentence by choosing the correct option:
When Charley offered money to the booking clerk, the latter stared at Charley because the
booking clerk
A. thought it wasn’t money
B. did not trust Charley
C. thought Charley was trying to tease him
D. thought Charley had given him less money.
iii. Select the option that best describes Charley in this extract. He is __________________________
A. a cheat C. an opportunist
B. gullible D. an escapist

6. Answer any THREE of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (3x2=6)
i. What a thunderclap these words were to me! What were those words and what was their effect
on Franz?
ii. Explain how does rag-picking carry two different meanings for children and elders.
iii. Why are the young trees described as “sprinting”?
iv. What will counting upto twelve and keeping still help us achieve?

7. Answer any TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (2x2=4)
i. How does Jack Finney try to establish the reality of the Grand Central Station, New York?
ii. What was Sam’s reaction when Charley mentioned the discovery of the third level to him?
iii. Who is the hero of the story “The Tiger King”? How may he be identified?

8. Answer any ONE of the following questions in about 120-150 words (1x4=4)
A. What do you understand by ‘Linguistic Chauvinism’? Analyse the order from Berlin in the light
of this phrase. How do you justify M. Hamel’s views about French and the new found love of the
people towards their language?
B. Imagine you are an ardent environmentalist who is involved in the Save the Tiger campaign. You
have been asked to deliver a speech in a seminar related to your campaign and the need for the
youth to be involved in such campaigns. Draft your speech.
 PRACTICE PAPER -2
(SESSION 2023-24)
SUB - ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS - XII
TIME ALLOWED: 90 MINS M.M.: 40

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
i. All questions are compulsory.
ii. The Question Paper contains both objective and subjective questions.
iii. Separate instructions are given with each part of the question, wherever necessary.
iv. Read the instructions very carefully and follow them strictly.

SECTION A
READING SKILLS (10 MARKS)
1. Read the following text. (10 M)
1. The effects of plastic bags on the environment are really quite devastating. While there are many
objections to the banning of plastic bags solely on their convenience, the damage to the environment
needs to be controlled.
2. There is no way to strictly limit the effects of plastic bags on the environment because there is no
disposal method that will really help eliminate the problem. Where re-using them is the first step, most
people don’t do that. These are bags not durable enough to survive numerous trips to the store. The
best that citizens can do is to reuse them.
3. The biggest problem with this is that once they have been soiled, they end up in the trash, which then
ends up in the landfill or is burned. Either solution is very poor for the environment. Burning emits toxic
gases that harm the atmosphere and increase the level of VOCs in the air while landfills hold them
indefinitely as part of the plastic waste problem throughout the globe.
4. One of the greatest problems is that an estimated 300 million plastic bags end up in the Atlantic Ocean
alone. These bags are very dangerous for sea life, especially those of the mammal variety. Any hunting
mammal can easily mistake the size, shape and texture of the plastic bag for a meal and find its airway
cut off. Needless deaths from plastic bags are increasing every year.
5. The environmental balance of the waterways is being thrown off by the rate of plastic bags finding
their way into the mouths an intestinal tracts of sea mammals. As one species begins to die off at an
abnormal rate, every other living organism in the waterways is impacted.
6. The indefinite period of time that it
takes for an average plastic bag to
break down can be literally hundreds
of years. Every bag that ends up in the
woodlands of the country threatens
the natural progression of wildlife.
Because the breakdown rate is so slow
the chances that the bag will
harmlessly go away are extremely
slim. Throughout the world plastic
bags are responsible for suffocation
deaths of woodland animals as well as
inhibiting soil nutrients.
7. There are always alternatives to plastic bags and the search for more alternatives continues. Paper
bags are a possible option but they also take their toll on the environment. The use of trees to increase
the production of paper products will also have a negative environmental effect. Re-usable plastic bags
are being introduced to regions that want to outlaw the plastic bags altogether. These are stronger and
more durable and can be used for three to five trips to the store. Of course, the reusable cloth bag is fast
becoming a favourite among environmental supporters. While thus far no bag is without its issues, these
are the bags that are currently recommended for use to help protect environmental concerns.
(Source: World Economic Forum)
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.
i. State TRUE or FALSE. 1
“Banning plastic bag is greatly possible as it is easy to dispose them.”
ii. How do plastic bags adversely affect the wildlife? Answer in about 40 words. 2
iii. Complete the sentence based on the following statement. 1
Paper bags cannot be the best alternate for plastic bags.
This is because ___________________________________________________________________________________.
iv. Which is the most appropriate reason for people not reusing plastic bags? 1
A. Plastic bags are difficult to dispose.
B. Plastic bags have a shabby appearance.
C. Plastic bags are not strong enough to survive multiple trips.
D. Plastic bags do not have much capacity.
v. Reusable plastic bags are being introduced to regions that want to outlaw the plastic bags 2
altogether.
State an ‘obvious step’ for using reusable plastic bags. Answer in about 40 words.
vi. What is the impact of throwing plastic bags into the water bodies? 2
vii. Pick a sentence from Para 1 that shows preference for plastic bags. 1
SECTION B
WRITING SKILLS (8 MARKS)
2. While walking in the university campus, you found a small plastic bag containing some documents
and some cash. Write a notice in about 50 words to be put on the park notice board asking the owner
to identify and collect it from you. You are Smith/ Samaira of Delhi University. (4)

3. You felt alarmed on seeing how taking selfies has become a rage and is a global phenomenon. No
wonder it has immortalized several moments, but has also costed us several lives at the same time. As
a responsible citizen, you decided to write a letter to the editor in about 120-150 words highlighting
the trend of taking selfies and its impact on people so that to aware people to analyse the consequences
and behave responsibly. Add required suggestions as well. (4)
SECTION C
LITERATURE (22 MARKS)
4. Read the given extracts and answer any one of the two given extracts. (5x1=5)
“But after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon.”
i. Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as used in the last line of the extract.
A. As white as snow C. Life is full of ups and downs.
B. The lanky lad troubled all D. Nature is God’s gift to us.
ii. Which of the following is an apt title for the extract?
A. Old age has arrived C. Bidding Goodbye
B. Beauty Galore D. Full to the Brim with Joy
iii. Identify the phrase from the extract that suggests the following
The poet’s mother is very old.
iv. Fill in the blanks with reference to the extract.
The poet looked at her mother again in order to
v. Answer in ONE word:
When the poet looks at her mother again, she is trying to be _____________.
OR
B. “‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. His dream looms like a
mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his town Firozabad, famous for its bangles. Every other
family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles. It is the centre of India’s glass-blowing
industry where families have spent generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making
bangles for all the women in the land it seems”.
i. What is every other family in Firozabad involved into?
A. Rag picking C. Organizing political meetings
B. Making bangles D. Finding gold in garbage
ii. Why is it the centre of India’s glassblowing industry?
iii. What does the speaker dream of?
iv. What are the consequences faced by bangle makers if they try to organize themselves into a
union?
A. They are hauled by their family.
B. They are fired from the job.
C. They are put into jail for doing something legal.
D. They are helped by the policemen, sahukars and bureaucrats.
v. Give the synonym of the word ‘loom’.
5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: (3x1=3)

“He said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of mad, but he explained that he meant the
modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it, and that I just want to
escape. Well, who doesn’t? Everybody I know wants to escape, but they don’t wander down into
any third level at Grand Central Station. But that’s the reason, he said, and my friends all agreed.
Everything points to it, they claimed.

My stamp collecting, for example; that’s a temporary refuge from reality.” Well, maybe, but my
grandfather didn’t need any refuge from reality.”

i. Why did Sam’s verdict make Charley’s wife ‘mad’?

A. It made difficult for her to accept that Charley would consult a psychiatrist.

B. It seemed to suggest to her that she was the cause of Charley’s unhappiness.

C. It made her aware of Charley’s delicate state of mind.

D. It offended her that Charley and Sam collectively accused her.

 ii. Select the option that displays the correct cause-effect relationship.
A. C.
CAUSE: Charley’s wandering into the
CAUSE: Charley’s stamp collecting
third level
EFFECT: Wandering into the third level
EFFECT: Charley’s stamp collecting

B. D.

CAUSE: Everybody wants to escape CAUSE: Modern world full of insecurity

EFFECT: Modern world full of insecurity EFFECT: Everybody wants to escape

iii. Why didn’t Charley’s grandfather need refuge from reality?

6. Answer any THREE of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (3x2=6)
i. Who occupied the back benches in the classroom on the day of the last lesson? Why?
ii. “Garbage to them is gold”. Why does the author say so about the ragpickers of Seemapuri?
iii. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
iv. What is the theme of the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’?

7. Answer any TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (2x2=4)
i. Describe the third level as described by Charley.
ii. What considerations influenced the Tiger King to get married?
iii. Who actually killed the hundredth tiger? Why?

8. Answer any ONE of the following questions in about 120-150 words: (1x4=4)
A. Imagine that you come across Louisa’s diary. What might you find in it about the third level?
Compose at least one diary entry based on any of the events from the story ‘The Third Level’.

B. Grinding poverty and tradition condemn the children of ragpickers and bangle makers to a life
of exploitation. Such children are deprived of all opportunities in life. Mukesh who opts out of
the existing profession of his forefathers by resolving to start a new job of a motor mechanic
symbolises the modern youth. What lesson do we learn from Mukesh’s example?
 PRACTICE PAPER -3
(SESSION 2023-24)
SUB - ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS - XII
TIME ALLOWED: 90 MINS M.M.: 40

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
i. All questions are compulsory.
ii. The Question Paper contains both objective and subjective questions.
iii. Separate instructions are given with each part of the question, wherever necessary.
iv. Read the instructions very carefully and follow them strictly.

SECTION A
READING SKILLS (10 MARKS)

3. Read the following text. (10 M)

1. The term dietary fibres refer collectively to indigestible carbohydrates present in plant foods. The
importance of these dietary fibres came into the picture when it was observed that the people having
diet rich in these fibres, had low incidence of coronary heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, dental
caries and gall stones.
2. These dietary fibres are not
7 Benefits of Dietary Fibres
digested by the enzymes of the
stomach and the small intestine
whereas, most of the other
carbohydrates like starch and
sugar are digested and
absorbed. The dietary fibres
have the property of holding
water and because of it, they
1. Increases food volume without increasing caloric content to the same
get swollen and behave like a
extent as digestible carbohydrates, providing satiety which may reduce sponge as it passes through the
appetite. gastrointestinal tract. The
fibres add bulk to the diet and
2. Attracts water and forms a viscous gel curing digestion, slowing the
emptying of the stomach and intestinal transit, shielding carbohydrates increase transit time in the gut,
from enzymes. And delaying absorption of glucose, which lowers decreases the time of release of
variance in blood sugar levels. indigested food in colon.
3. Lowers total and LDL cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of 3. In recent years, doctors
cardiovascular disease. prescribe a certain amount of
4. Regulates blood sugar, which may reduce glucose and insulin levels fibre in the diet. Their
in diabetic patients and may lower risk of diabetes. beneficial effects help in
5. Speeds the passage of foods through the digestive system, which
preventing coronary heart
facilitates regular defecation. disease, and decreasing
cholesterol levels. The fibres
6. Adds bulk to the stool, which alleviates constipation.
like gums and pectin are
7. Balances intestinal pH and stimulates intestinal fermentation reported to decrease
production of short-chain fatty acids, which may reduce risk of postprandial glucose level in
colorectal cancer.
blood. These types of dietary
fibres are recommended for
the management of certain types of diabetes. Recent studies have shown that the fenugreek seeds,
which contain 40 percent gum, are effective in decreasing blood glucose and cholesterol levels as
compared to other gum containing vegetables.
4. The foodstuffs rich in these dietary fibres are cereals and grains, legumes, fruits with seeds, citrus
fruits, carrots, cabbage, green leafy vegetables, apples, melons, peaches, pears, etc. The diet having less
fibres is associated with colon cancer and the dietary fibres may play a role in decreasing the risk of it.
5. The dietary fibres hold water so that stools are soft, bulky and readily eliminated. Therefore, high
fibre intake prevents or relieves constipation. The fibres increase motility of the small intestine and the
colon and by decreasing the transit time there is less time for exposure of the mucosa to harmful toxic
substances.
6. Therefore, there is less desire to eat and the energy intake can be maintained within the range of
requirement.
7. This phenomenon helps in keeping a check on obesity. Another reason in helping to decrease obesity
is that the high-fibre diets have somewhat lower coefficients of digestibility.
8. The dietary fibres may have some adverse effects on nutrition by binding some trace metals like
calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and others and therefore preventing their proper absorption.
This may pose a possibility of nutritional deficiency especially when diets contain marginal levels of
mineral elements. This may become an important constraint on increasing dietary fibres. It is suggested
that an intake of 40 grams dietary fibres per day is desirable.
(Source: National Institutes of Health.gov)

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. Choose the option that is likely to be prevented by consuming fibre rich diet. 1
A. Coronary Heart Disease
B. Asthma
C. Bronchitis
D. Cervical
ii. What does high fibre intake prevent? How and why? Answer in about 40 words. 2
iii. How much intake of dietary fibres is advised on per day basis? 1
iv. Complete the sentence based on the following statement. 2
The dietary fibre is not ______________________ by the enzymes of the stomach. Moreover, if the diet is
fibre deficient it often results into __________________________ but if it is made fibre rich then it ____________
v. Why does rich fibre diet eliminate the risk of diabetes? 1
vi. Which phenomenon helps in keeping a check a check on obesity and how? 2
vii. Dietary fibres are mainly present in __________________________ 1
A. Animals
B. Birds
C. Plants
D. Water resources
SECTION B
WRITING SKILLS (8 MARKS)
2. You are the secretary of the Welfare Association, Sector-14, Chandigarh. Recently there have been a
spate of robberies in your area. Write a suitable notice in about 50 words to be circulated among the
residents informing them to attend the meeting regarding certain precautionary and security measures
to deal with such cases of crime in the colony. (4)
3. You are a resident of Shiva Greens Apartment, Delhi. Your residential area is flooded with slum
dwellers who are even deprived of the basic civic amenities like light, public toilets and bathrooms.
Write a letter to the Editor of The Hindustan Times, highlighting the problems of the sum dwellers as
well as the problems posed by them in the locality. Give suggestions for improvement. You are Harry/
Habiba. (4)
 SECTION C
LITERATURE (22 MARKS)
4. Read the following stanzas and answer any one of the two extracts given.
A. “Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would look at his hurt hands
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.”
i. What is suggested by ‘Fishermen would not harm the whales’?
A. The fishermen would not disturb the whales in water
B. The people will not destroy wild animals and nature
C. The fishermen will stop their business of fishing
D. None of the above
ii. What do you understand by ‘the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands’?
A. People will have time for their personal well-being
B. The salt gatherer will put medicine on his hurt hands
C. The salt gatherer will gather salt with gloves on
D. None of the above
iii. Explain “Green Wars”.
iv. Complete the sentence appropriately.
‘his hurt hands’ is the apt analogy for the ‘clean clothes’ because ______________________
v. What does “wars with gas” mean?
OR
B. “.... that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when a people are enslaved, as
long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison. Then he
opened a grammar and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it.”
i. Why does Franz say ‘I was amazed to see’?
A. His teacher did not scold him like other days
B. The class was sitting quietly
C. He understood the lesson so well
D. His teacher taught him so well like never again.
“This is a secret which should not be revealed at all.” What does this statement indicate?
ii. Complete the following statement appropriately.
The language will act as the key to their prison because ___________________________________________
iii. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that M. Hamel wanted to give them all he had at
one stroke.
iv. What does the term ‘how well I understood it’ indicate about the narrator?
v. How does M. Hamel explain the importance of French language to the students?
5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
“The child will grow up to become the warrior of warriors, hero of heroes, champion of
champions. But…” they bit their lips and swallowed hard. When compelled to continue, the
astrologers came out with it. “This is a secret which should not be revealed at all. And yet we are
forced to speak out. The child born under this star will one day have to meet its death.”
i. “This is a secret which should not be revealed at all.” What does this statement indicate?
A. The astrologer didn’t want to foretell about the child
B. The astrologer wanted to foretell the secret
C. The astrologer knew the open secret
D. The king asked them not to foretell
 ii. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that the astrologers were too afraid to reveal the
secret about the death of the child
iii. Complete the following sentence appropriately.
The child born under this star will one day have to meet its death because ___________________________

6. Answer any THREE of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (3x2=6)
i. “Listening to them, I see two distinct worlds……” In the context of Mukesh, the bangle-maker’s
son, which two worlds is Anees Jung referring to?
ii. “When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they hold the
key to their prison”. Comment on the basis of the story “The Last Lesson”.
iii. Why has the mother been compared to ‘late winter’s moon’?
iv. What symbol from nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness?

7. Answer any TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (2x2=4)
i. What did Charley discover when he went to a newsboy?
ii. What did Sam say in his letter to Charley?
iii. How was the crown prince Jung Jung Bahadur brought up?

8. Answer any ONE of the following questions in about 120-150 words: (1x4=4)
A. Even today so many of us believe in superstitions. An astrologer predicted about ‘The Tiger King’
that he would be killed by a tiger. He ‘killed’ one hundred tigers yet he was himself ‘killed’ by a
tiger. How did the superstitious belief ‘prevail’?
B. Our language is part of our culture and we are proud of it. As M Hamel, describe how regretful
you and the village elders are for having neglected the native language, French.
 PRACTICE PAPER -4
(SESSION 2023-24)
SUB - ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS - XII
TIME ALLOWED: 90 MINS M.M.: 40

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
i. All questions are compulsory.
ii. The Question Paper contains both objective and subjective questions.
iii. Separate instructions are given with each part of the question, wherever necessary.
iv. Read the instructions very carefully and follow them strictly.

SECTION A
READING SKILLS (10 MARKS)
4. Read the following text. (10 M)
1. For many years now the Governments have been promising the eradication of child labour in
hazardous industries in India. But the truth is that despite all the rhetoric no Government so far has
succeeded in eradicating this evil, nor has any been able to ensure compulsory primary education for
every Indian child. Between 60 and 100 million children are still at work instead of going to school, and
around 10 million are working in hazardous industries. India has the biggest child population of 380
million in the world; plus, the largest number of children who are forced to earn a living.
2. We have many laws that ban child labour in
hazardous industries. According to the Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, the
employment of children below the age of 14 in
hazardous occupations has been strictly banned.
But each state has different rules regarding the
minimum age of employment. This makes
implementation of these laws difficult.
3. Also, there is no ban on child labour in non-
hazardous occupations. The act applies to the
organised or factory sector and not the
unorganized or informal sector where most
children find employment as cleaners, servants,
porters, waiters among other forms of unskilled
work. Thus, child labour continues because the
implementation of the existing laws is lax.
4. There are industries, which have a special
demand for child labour because of their nimble
fingers, high level of concentration and capacity to
work hard at abysmally low wages. The carpet
industry in U.P. and Kashmir employs children to
make hand-knotted carpets. There are 80,000
child workers in Jammu & Kashmir alone. In
Kashmir because of the political unrest, children
are forced to work while many schools are shut. Industries like gem cutting and polishing pottery and
glass want to remain competitive by employing children.
5. The truth is that it is poverty which is pushing children into the brutish labour market. We have 260
million people below the poverty line in India, a large number of them are women. Poor and especially
woman-headed families, have no option but to push their little ones in this hard life in hostile conditions,
with no human or labour rights.
6. There is a lobby which argues that there is nothing wrong with children working as long as the
environment for work is conducive to learning new skills but studies have shown that the children are
made to do boring, repetitive and tedious jobs and are not taught new skills as they grow older. In these
hell-holes like the sweet shops of the old, there is no hope.
7. Children working in hazardous industries are prone to debilitating diseases which can cripple them
for life. By sitting in cramped, damp and unhygienic spaces, their limbs become deformed for life. Inside
matchstick, fireworks and glass industries they are victims of bronchial diseases and T.B. Their mental
and physical development is permanently impaired by long hours of work. Once trapped, they can’t get
out of this vicious circle of poverty. They remain uneducated and powerless. Finally, in later years, they
too are compelled to send their own children to work. Child labour perpetuates its own nightmare.
8. If at all the Government was serious about granting children their rights, an intensive effort ought to
have been made to implement the Supreme Court’s Directive of 1997 which laid down punitive action
against employers of child labour. Only compulsory primary education can eliminate child labour.
(Source: insightsonindia.com)
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.
i. Choose the option that can eliminate child labour. 1
A. Strict laws
B. Community effort
C. Compulsory Primary Education
D. Awareness campaigns
ii. State TRUE or FALSE. 1
“Indian government has been able to eradicate child labour.”
iii. Which argument is put forth in support of child labour? 2
iv. Which country has the highest rate of child labour? 1
v. Why is there a great demand for children in factories that manufactures hazardous products? 1
A. Children can be paid less
B. Children enjoy themselves in these factories.
C. Children can enhance productivity
D. It arguments their physical growth
vi. According to the image, which Indian State has the highest number of child labour count? 1
vii. Complete the sentence based on the following statement. 1
The factor that compels children to work in factories is _____________________________________________
viii. What are the children working in hazardous industries prone to? Explain in about 40 words. 2
SECTION B
WRITING SKILLS (8 MARKS)
2. You are Scout Master of St. Francis School, Vasco. You have decided to send a troop of scouts and
guides of our school to the jamboree to be held at Lucknow for a week. Draft a notice in not more than
50 words to be placed on the school noticeboard inviting names of those scouts and guides who are
interested to participate in the jamboree. Invent the necessary details. (4)
 3. You are Akanksha/Abhijeet staying in Kanishka, Cooperative Group Housing Society, Indira Nagar,
Mumbai. There are no street lights on the main road leading to this colony. The road gets so dark after
seven in the evenings in winter that the possibility of some major accident cannot be ruled out. Write a
letter to the Editor of a national daily drawing attention of the government to this serious problem of
the residents of Indira Nagar. (4)
SECTION C
LITERATURE (22 MARKS)

4. Read the following stanzas and answer any one of the two extracts given. (5x1=5)
A. “Yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep;”
i. “Pall” in the given stanza is:
A. a verb C. a preposition
B. a noun D. an interjection
ii. What is some shape of beauty?
iii. How does the poet celebrate the a ‘tree’?
iv. Complete the following statement.
The poetic device used in Simple Sheep is ______________________________
v. Why are the spirits referred as dark?
OR
B. “For one who has walked barefoot, even shoes with a hole is a dream come true. But the game
he is watching so intently is out of his reach.”
i. Why is he wearing shoes with a hole?
A. He didn’t want to get it repaired
B. He can’t afford to buy a new pair
C. He has only one pair of shoes
D. None of the above
ii. Complete the following statement.
The game he is watching so intently is out of his reach because _________________________________________
iii. How did he get the shoes?
iv. Pick the evidence from the extract that suggest that he was desperate to own a pare of shoes no
matter they are in what condition.
v. Who’s the speaker and who is he talking about?

5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: (3x1=3)
“The Maharaja’s tiger hunts continued to be highly successful. Within ten years he was able to kill
seventy tigers. And then, an unforeseen hurdle brought his mission to a standstill. The tiger
population became extinct in the forests of Pratibandapuram. Who knows whether the tiger
practised birth control or committed harakiri? Or simply ran away from the state because they
desired to be shot by British hands alone?”
i. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that the Maharaja’s hunts continued to be highly
successful in the beginning.
ii. Harakiri means:
A. Self defence C. Insurance
B. Ritual suicide D. Awareness
iii. Complete the following statement appropriately.
An unforeseen hurdle brought his mission to a standstill because __________________________________
6. Answer any THREE of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (3x2=6)
i. Explain the irony involved in the name of Saheb.
ii. Explain the use of literary device in the sentence “an army of barefoot boys who appear like the
morning birds and disappear at noon”.
iii. Why did M Hamel not scold Franz for not learning his lesson?
iv. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead’?

7. Answer any TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (2x2=4)
i. What contrast does Charley offer to the psychiatrist’s diagnosis?
ii. When was the Tiger King in danger of losing his throne?
iii. Describe the great miracle which took place when the prince was only ten days old.

8. Answer any ONE of the following questions in about 120-150 words: (1x4=4)
A. How can we attain calmness in the present hectic life? Write a narration with reference to
Charley.
B. Mukesh is not like others. His ‘dreams loom like a mirage amidst the dust of streets that fill his
town Firozabad’. Justify the statement in the light of contrast in the mindsets of Mukesh and the
people of Firozabad.
 PRACTICE PAPER -5
(SESSION 2023-24)
SUB - ENGLISH CORE (301)
CLASS - XII
TIME ALLOWED: 90 MINS M.M.: 40

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
i. All questions are compulsory.
ii. The Question Paper contains both objective and subjective questions.
iii. Separate instructions are given with each part of the question, wherever necessary.
iv. Read the instructions very carefully and follow them strictly.

SECTION A
READING SKILLS (10 MARKS)
5. Read the following text. (10 M)
1. By the time a child is six or seven she has all the essential avoidances well enough by heart to be
trusted with the care of a younger child. And she also develops a number of simple techniques. She
learns to weave firm square balls from palm leaves, to make pinwheels of palm leaves or frangipani
blossoms, to climb a coconut tree by walking up the trunk on flexible little feet, to break open a coconut
with one firm well-directed blow of a knife as long as she is tall, to play a number of group games and
sing the songs which go with them, to tidy the house by picking up the litter on the stony floor, to bring
water from the sea, to spread out the copra to dry and to help gather it in when rain threatens, to go to
a neighbouring house and bring back a lighted faggot for the chief's pipe or the cook-house fire.
2. But in the case of the little girls all these tasks are merely supplementary to the main business of
baby-tending. Very small boys also have some care of the younger children, but at eight or nine years of
age they are usually relieved of it. Whatever rough edges have not been smoothed off by this
responsibility for younger children are worn off by their contact with older boys. For little boys are
admitted to interesting and important activities only so long as their behaviour is circumspect and
helpful.
3. Where small girls are brusquely pushed aside, small boys will be patiently tolerated and they become
adept at making themselves useful. The four or five little boys who all wish to assist at the important,
business of helping a grown youth lasso reef eels, organize themselves into a highly efficient working
team; one boy holds the bait, another holds an extra lasso, others poke eagerly about in holes in the reef
looking for prey, while still another tucks the captured eels into his lavalava. The small girls, burdened
with heavy babies or the care of little staggerers who are too small to adventure on the reef, discouraged
by the hostility of the small boys and the scorn of the older ones, have little opportunity for learning the
more adventurous forms of work and play.
4. So while the little boys first undergo the chastening effects of baby-tending and then have many
opportunities to learn effective cooperation under the supervision of older boys, the girls' education is
less comprehensive. They have a high standard of individual responsibility, but the community provides
them with no lessons in cooperation with one another. This is particularly apparent in the activities of
young people: the boys organize quickly; the girls waste hours in bickering, innocent of any technique
for quick and efficient cooperation.
(Source: Coming of Age in Samoa, Margaret Mead- 1928)
i. The primary purpose of the passage with reference to the society under discussion is to 1
A. explain some differences in the upbringing of girls and boys
B. criticize the deficiencies in the education of girls
C. give a comprehensive account of a day in the life of an average young girl
D. delineate the role of young girls
ii. The list of techniques in paragraph one could best be described as 1
A. household duties
B. rudimentary physical skills
C. important responsibilities
D. useful social skills
iii. Complete the sentence based on the following statement. 1
The prime responsibility of a girl child by the time she is six or seven is _________________________
iv. Explain in 40 words, what simple techniques does she learn at such an early stage? 2
v. What household chores is she responsible for? Answer in 40 words. 2
vi. State TRUE or FALSE. 1
“Small girls have little opportunity for learning the more adventurous forms of work and play”
vii. In what way is a boy little different? 1
viii. Justify the following statement. 1
“Girls’ education is less comprehensive.”
SECTION B
WRITING SKILLS (8 MARKS)
2. Your school ABC Public School has planned to schedule the remedial classes during the first week of
the summer break for the late commers as well as low achievers so that to enhance their potential to
uplift them academically. Draft a notice in about 50 words, informing the same to the parents. Share all
the crucial details. (4)

3. Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop non-human
minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart...and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our
civilisation?” These questions were asked last month in an open letter from the Future of Life Institute,
an NGO. Rapid progress in AI is arousing fear as well as excitement. How worried should you be? How
to worry wisely about artificial intelligence. letter to the editor of the local daily newspaper in roughly
100-120 words giving your thoughts on the matter. (4)

SECTION C
LITERATURE (8 MARKS)
4. Read the following stanzas and answer any one of the two extracts given. (5x1=5)
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:”
i. Why do we ‘wreathe a flowery band’?
A. To present it to someone dear
B. To lay it on the dead body of a celebrity
C. To stay connected with mother earth
D. None of the above
ii. Complete the following statement.
‘Spite of despondence’ refers to ________________________________________
iii. ‘band to bind’ is an apt analogy for ‘noble natures’ because __________________________________
iv. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE, with reference to the extract.
By referring to “inhuman dearth of noble natures”, the poet emphasizes on the scarcity of nobility,
kindness, selflessness and care in the world.
v. Based on the poem rhyme scheme, evident in lines 2-5, of the given extract, which of the following
words would rhyme with line 1

OR

B. “Can a God-Given lineage ever be broken?” she implies. Born in the caste of bangle makers, they
have seen nothing but bangles – in the house, in the yard, in every other house, every other
yard, every street in Firozabad.
i. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that she thought that silent acceptance of fate is
the only way.
ii. Complete the following statement appropriately.
They have seen nothing except bangles because ___________________________________________
iii. Whom does ‘she’ refer to in the above lines?
A. Mukesh’s sister-in-law
B. Mukesh’s grandmother
C. Mukesh’s mother
D. The author
iv. Select the option that lists the facts about Firozabad.
A. Almost all the families are engaged in bangle making.
B. The children work as motor-mechanic.
C. The children work in a healthy atmosphere.
D. Firozabad is the centre of ragpicking.
v. What is the stigma in their lives?
5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: (3x1=3)

“Yes, I’ve taken the obvious step: I talked to a psychiatrist friend of mine, among others. I told him
about the third level at Grand Central Station, and he said it was a waking dream wish fulfilment. He
said I was unhappy. That made my wife kind of mad, but he explained that he meant the modern
world is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and all the rest of it and that I just want to escape.”
 i. Complete the statement appropriately.
The obvious step took by him was _______________________________________________________
ii. Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that survival in the present world has become
really challenging.
iii. Why did the narrator go to a psychiatrist?
A. Because he went through an experience which no one else did.
B. Because he was unhappy and wanted to know why.
C. Because he was depressed.
D. Because he wanted to meet him.

SECTION C
LITERATURE (22 MARKS)
6. Answer any THREE of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (3x2=6)

i. “Little has moved with time, it seems, in Firozabad.” State the reason why does the author say
this.
ii. What does M Hamel mean when he says, “We have all a great deal to reproach ourselves with”?
iii. What was people’s reaction when they realised that they would never be able to learn their
native language?
iv. What are the things that cause suffering and pain? Explain with reference to the poem “A Thing
of Beauty”.

7. Answer any TWO of the following questions in about 40-50 words: (2x2=4)

i. Where did Charley stray when he got lost at the Grand Central?
ii. Describe the irony involved towards the end of the chapter “The Third Level”.
iii. “From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram”.
Bring out the irony involved in this statement.
8. Answer any ONE of the following questions in about 120-150 words: (1x4=4)

A. Do you see an intersection of time and space in the story?

B. ‘Garbage to them is gold’. You have observed the pitiable condition of the ragpickers in
Seemapuri. Write a diary entry mentioning the sufferings and challenges they face for their
survival in Seemapuri?