ENGLISH CORE (301)

CLASS – XI SAMPLE PAPER

Name– Maximum Marks - 80

Date- Time Allotted – 3 hrs.
General Instructions:
1.The paper is divided into three sections Section-A: Reading Comprehension, Section-B: Writing Skills
and Grammar and Section-C: Literature.
2. All the sections are compulsory. 2. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the
questions.
3. Please write down the serial number of the question in the answer script correctly before attempting it.
4. Separate instructions are given with each question, wherever necessary.

Section A (Reading)
1. Read the following passage carefully:
In a hot country like ours, there is always a danger that most vaccines may lose their effectiveness due to
exposure to high temperature either during transit or due to poor storage facilities. It is not possible for a
common man or even a doctor to know whether a vaccine or medicine has lost its effect due to exposure to
high temperature. Some researchers have also started questioning whether the much-publicized polio vaccine
is really effective in rural areas because it may not be stored or transported at the desired low temperature.
The scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in Hyderabad have developed new type
of temperature sensitive warning labels for vaccine vials. These labels change their colour if the vaccine or
medicine contained in the vial is exposed to temperature higher than the prescribed one. According to K V
Raghavan, Director of IICT, the institute is ready to transfer the technology and is looking for industrialists to
take up commercialization. Such labels are compulsory in developed countries.
One of the simplest and certainly most colourful of the procedures to indicate the temperature of surfaces is
based on colour changes that certain materials undergo when they are heated. Coatings of these substances
which can be applied to metal, glass, ceramic bricks or practically any other surface, change their shade
completely at specific temperatures. The resulting hue in most cases does not change when the material cools,
but remains as a permanent visual record.
Temperature indicating paints known as thermo-colours were developed before World War-II by German
chemists in connection with its fuel research and aircraft engine efficiency studies. Mixtures of indicators may
be used for colour changes at more than one temperature. The thermal indicators are easy to use. The ability
of thermo-colours to indicate thermal conditions of entire surface - not merely a few isolated points - and the
value of enduring record suggests industrial potential.
Their uses include supervising the heat of reactors, studying heat distribution and heat transfer in processing
equipment, pointing, insulation failures or flaws in castings, and signalling thermal strains and overheating.
The colour change is also influenced by the length of time the paint is exposed to high temperature.
Someday not too far away, it may be possible to have colour changing labels so sensitive as to indicate body
temperature from 36 to 42 degrees Celsius when applied to the forehead of any patient to indicate whether he
has fever or not. For children, they will be a boon because the danger of swallowing mercury by the accidental
breaking of a thermometer under the tongue will be a thing of the past.
1.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions: (1 x 10=10)
(a) Some people doubt the effectiveness of the polio vaccine because they think:
(i) It has failed to check polio in some people (ii) It cannot be established whether it is effective or not
(iii) It is not in any probability stored in an ideal temperature (iv) It is not available in all parts of the
country
(b) The changed colour of the label on a vial would mean:
(i) The outside temperature is unbearable (ii) The medicine is much too heat sensitive
(iii) The temperature is just ideal for safe storage of medicine
(iv) The medicine has been stored in an unsuitable environment
(c) The surface temperature can be studied from:
(i) Specific temperatures found on different surfaces (ii) Change in the shade of surface layer of paints
(iii) Change in the colour of the surface after cooling (iv) Heating the surfaces at unusually high
temperatures
(d) Which of the following is true in context of the passage?
(i) Colour changes may be faster or slower depending on the length and degree of exposure
(ii) The longer a paint is exposed to heat, the better the quality of paint is
(iii) A chart determines what colour should be used for different kinds of temperatures
(iv) All colour changes are influenced by the length of time the paint is exposed to high temperatures
e) What doubt has been raised about the pulse polio programme in the rural areas?
f) How can the temperature sensitive labels be useful for vaccine vials?
g) Who developed thermo-colours and how?
h) What makes thermo-colours especially useful for industry?
i) How can a thermo-colours clinical thermometer be a boon for children?

h) Find the word in the given passage which convey the meaning similar to –secluded (Para 4)
2. Read the given passage carefully.
When plastic waste is burnt, a complex weave of toxic chemicals is released. Breaking down polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) — used for packaging, toys and coating electrical wires — produces dioxin, an organochlorine
which belongs to the family of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). A recent Dioxin Assessment Report
brought out by the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) says the risk of getting cancer
from dioxin is ten times higher than reported by the agency in 1994.Yet the Delhi government is giving the
green signal to a gasification project which will convert garbage into energy without removing plastic waste.
Former transport minister Rajendra Gupta, the promoter of this project, says this is not necessary. He claims
no air pollution will be caused and that the ash produced can be used as manure. An earlier waste-to-energy
project set up in Timarpur failed. The new one, built with Australian assistance, will cost ₹ 200 crore. It will
generate 25 megawatts of power and gobble 1,000 tonnes of garbage every day.
“Technologies like gasification are a form of incineration,” says Madhumita Dutta, central coordinator with
Toxics Link, New Delhi. Incineration merely transfers hazardous waste from a solid form to air, water and
ash, she points out. Toxins produced during incineration include acidic gases, heavy metals as well as dioxins
and furans. “The ‘manure’ will be hazardous and a problem to dispose,” says Dutta. Municipal solid waste
contains a mix of plastics. Breaking down this waste emits hydrochloric acid which attacks the respiratory
system, skin and eyes, resulting in coughing, vomiting and nausea. Polyethylene generates volatile compounds
like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both suspected carcinogenic. Breathing styrene from polystyrene can
cause leukaemia. Polyurethane is associated with asthma. Dioxin released by PVC is a powerful hormone
disrupter and causes birth defects and reproductive problems. There is no threshold dose to prevent it and our
bodies have no defence against it.
“Even the best run incinerators in the world have to deal with stringent norms, apart from contaminated filters
and ash, making them hugely expensive to operate,” says Dutta. In Germany, air pollution devices accounted
for two-thirds the cost of incineration. Despite such efforts, the European Dioxin Inventory noted that the
input of dioxin into the atmosphere was the highest from incineration. “India does not have the facility to test
dioxin and the cost of setting one up is prohibitively expensive,” says Dutta. Besides, Indian garbage has a
low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg, since it has high moisture and requires additional fuel to burn. Toxics
Link calculates that the electricity generated from such technology will cost between ₹ 5-7 per unit, which is
six times higher than conventional energy. India has chosen a dioxin preventive route Page 9 of 175 and
burning of chlorinated plastics is prohibited under Municipal Solid Waste and Biomedical Rules. Nearly 80
per cent of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable. Resident associations, the informal sector and the
municipal corporation can make Delhi’s garbage disappear in a sustainable manner. “Instead, the government
promotes end of pipeline solutions,” says Dutta.
On the basis of the understanding of the passage above, answer any EIGHT of the following
questions by choosing the most appropriate options. (1 x 8 = 8 )
(a) Which organochlorine belongs to the family of Persistent Organic Pollutants?
(i) Hydro chlorine (ii) Carbon dioxide (iii) Styrene (iv) Dioxine
(b) Dioxine causes ………………..
(i) cancer (ii) heart attack (iii) sickness (iv) hypertension
(c) The gasification process transforms ………………..
(i) energy into garbage (ii) garbage into energy (iii) water into energy (iv)energy into water
(d) Garbage can be converted into energy by………
(i) Gasification (ii) gratification (iii) a chemical process (iv) firing
(e) Indian garbage contains …………………
(i) low moisture (ii) high moisture (iii) no moisture (iv) only moisture
(f) Incineration merely transfers hazardous waste from a solid form to
(i) air, water and ash (ii) water and ash (iii) air and water. (iv) waste, ash and gas
(g) Breathing styrene from polystyrene can cause ……..
(i) Asthama (ii) Leukaemia (iii) Coughing (iv) Nausea
(h) Nearly 80 per cent of Indian garbage ……………………….
(i) is recyclable or compostable. (ii) is dumped in seas and oceans
(iii) is dumped in outskirts of the cities (iv) is dumped in the forests
(i) India has chosen a dioxin preventive route because……
(i) electricity generated from such technology will cost between ₹ 5-7 per unit.
(ii) burning of chlorinated plastics is prohibited under Municipal Solid Waste and Biomedical Rules.
(iii) Indian garbage has a low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg. (iv) All the above
3. Read the following passage.
Good story telling is a social skill that everyone benefits from - the teller and the listener. It is a great bonding
experience that helps lift conversations from non-starters to unforgettable experiences; from the mundane to
extraordinary. A good storyteller is popular and always welcome in any company. A good story told well
projects the teller as a warm, likeable person. A recent study shows that women consider men who can tell
stories more attractive as long-term partners; perhaps because this ability seems to suggest that a man is able
to connect emotionally and is vulnerable.
So, how can you become a good storyteller? Stories in this context do not refer to fiction but to incidents and
experiences from everyday life that we share with others. When there is a point or a context to the telling of
that incident, it obviously becomes that much more interesting and valuable to the audience. For instance, if
you share a story to prove a point you made, such as how technology is having an adverse impact on our
memories, and give personal examples, this is something that affects everyone.
People who have a sharp sense of observation - not just for actual physical or the obvious aspects, but also
for the nuances, quirks and body language that go beyond - always make better storytellers. A good delivery
and tone of voice also help. Audiences should love their emotions to be aroused. Using your voice to express
emotions and drama is sure to keep your audience mesmerized. You can use your voice to great dramatic
effect to help build passion, tension and drama, or to arouse emotions.
Do not hog evenings or conversations with long-winded tales that go on and on. Learn to be brief and to the
point. Be on the watch-out for signs that you are boring your audience. If so, either change technique or wind
up your story to give another chance with theirs. And most important, do not repeat your stories so often that
people get scared of meeting you. Keep enjoying new experiences, examining them, hone your observational
and learning skills - and keep creating new stories. You will always be popular and cherished.
a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it, using recognizable abbreviations
wherever necessary. Supply a suitable title. (5)
b) Write a summary of the above passage in about 50 words. (3)
Section- B Writing and Grammar
4. Choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below to complete the following passage :

(0.5x6=3)
Asaf Khan who (a) ______the expedition against the city, (b) _______ that the little country which (c)
________ by a woman would (d) _______ very easily without (e) ______ even a blow. It was to his surprise
when he (f)_______that the city was prepared to offer a strong resistance.
a) had led / led / was leading / has led
b) expected / has been expecting / had expected / was expected
c) rule / was ruled / is ruled / was ruling
d) was taken / be taken / will be taken / is taking
e) striking/ is striking / has been striking / has struck
f) found / had found / finds / will find.
5. Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences. (1x4=4)
(a) before/calculate/exams/the/number of/days/the
(b) for/each/divide/the/days/of/number/subject
(c) day/each/number/subject/of/allot/for/the/chapters/per
(d) and/notes/prepare/revise concepts/finally
6. You are looking for a second-hand car. Draft an advertisement for the classified column of a newspaper,
specifying your requirements in 50 words. You are Sumit/Sunita of A-40,Vinod Vihar Delhi. (3)
OR
You are Shivam/Sheena of B-123, Vasundhara, Delhi. You are a young person of 35 with 5 years of experience
as an executive. You seek an immediate change to some prestigious export house in Mumbai. Draft a suitable
advertisement for the ‘Situation Wanted’ column of a National Daily in 50 words.
7. Prepare a graceful poster for the Inter-School Poetic Recitation contest that the Hindi Sahitya Sabha of
your school is organising to celebrate the birthday of Munshi Prem Chand. (3)
OR
You are the Director of National Agriculture Organisation, Jaipur. You have to make the people all over
Rajasthan state aware of the necessity of conserving water and also how to do it. Design a suitable poster to
be inserted in the newspapers as well as being put up at prominent places in the towns of Rajasthan.

8.You are upset after reading a report in the newspaper which shows a shocking decline in the girl child
population. Write a speech in 120-150 words to be delivered during the school assembly highlighting the
misconception still prevailing in our society where girls are considered a burden on the family. You are
Rajesh/Rupali. (5)
OR
The Science stream of study is no longer the only avenue for decent jobs. In fact, higher education is no longer
necessary securing good jobs. Information Technology, hospitality, fashion and entertainment industries have
opened the door to enterprising young men and women. Write a speech in 120-150 words to be delivered in
the school assembly on the topic ‘Careers today’. You are Rahim/Rehana.
9. “Academic excellence is only requirement for a successful career”. Write a debate in 120-150 words, either
for the motion or against the motion.
OR
“Homes for the aged is a necessity in India”. Write a debate in 120 to 150 words for the motion or against
the motion.
Section-C Literature
10. Read the extracts given below and attempt the questions that follow. (1 x 4 =4)
A. The Laburnum top is silent, quite still
In the afternoon yellow September sunlight,
A few leaves yellowing, all its seeds fallen
(i) The laburnum top is:
(a) Quite beautiful (b) Barren (c) Quite green (d) Quite silent and still
(ii) The time of the day described is:
(a) Early morning (b) Afternoon (c) Night (d) Evening
(iii) How does September sunlight appears
(a) Have fallen (b) Are growing red (c) Are turning yellow (d) Have dried
(iv) What happened to the leaves of the Laburnum tree?
(a) they were green (b) turned yellow (c) fallen down (d) new leaves growing
0R
B. Some twenty-thirty—years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty
And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
dressed us for the beach.”
(i) Who are Betty and Dolly?
(a) poet’s cousins. (b) poet’s mother’s cousins.
 (c) poet’s friends (d) poet’s daughters
(ii) When was the snapshot taken?
(a) when poet went to sea holiday with her cousins.
(b) when poet’s mother went to sea holiday with her cousins .
(c) at a party.
(d) None of the above
(ii) Why did she laugh?
(a) because of the funny dresses they were wearing at the sea holiday
(b) because one of them cracked a joke
(c) because of the funny dresses they were wearing at the sea holiday
(d) because of the funny man they saw at the beach

11. Read the given extracts carefully and answer the following questions (3)
A. An angry wind stirred up ghostly dust devils as King Tut was taken from his resting place in the ancient
Egyptian cemetery known as the Valley of the Kings. Dark-bellied clouds had scudded across the desert sky
all day and now were veiling the stars in casket grey. It was 6 p.m. on 5 January 2005. The world’s most
famous mummy gilded head first into a CT scanner brought here to probe the lingering medical mysteries of
this little understood young ruler who died more than 3,300 years ago.
(i) Who discovered Tut's tomb and when?
(a) Adam Cooper in 1901 (b) Howard Carter in 1922
(c) Howard Carter in 1930 (d) Sam Shaw in 1890
(ii) When was Tut's body taken for CT scan after being found?
(a) After 1 year (b) After 80 years
(c) After 50 years (d) After 30 years
(iii) For how many years did Amenhotep III rule Egypt?
(a) 5 years (b) 20 years
(c) 10 years (d) None of the above
OR
B.. In July 1976, my wife Mary, son Jonathan, 6, daughter Suzanne, 7, and I set sail from Plymouth,
England, to duplicate the round-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain James Cook. For the
longest time, Mary and I – a 37-year-old businessman – had dreamt of sailing in the wake of the famous
explorer, and for the past 16 years, we had spent all our leisure time honing our seafaring skills in British
waters. Our boat Wave walker, a 23 meter, 30-ton wooden-hulled beauty, had been professionally built, and
we had spent months fitting it out and testing it in the roughest weather we could find. The first leg of our
planned three-year, 105,000 kilometre journey passed pleasantly as we sailed down the west coast of
Africa to Cape Town.
(i) What was the occupation of the writer?
(a) a businessman (b) a sailor
(c) a doctor (d) a Navy office
ii) What does 'seafaring' mean?
(a) Swimming in a sea (b) trading by sea
(c) regular travelling by sea (d) None
iii) What was the name of their boat?
(a) Titanic (b) Voyager
(c) Wave walker (d) Avenger
12. Read the given extracts carefully and answer the following questions. (4)
A. At the corner of the road I looked up at the name-plate. Marconi Street, it said. I had been at Number 46.
The address was correct. But now I didn’t want to remember it any more. I wouldn’t go back there
because the objects that are linked in your memory with the familiar life of former times instantly lose
their value when, severed from them, you see them again in strange surroundings.
(i) Where was the name plate of Marconi Street put up?
(a) at the far end of the road (b) at the edge of the road
(c) at the front of the house (d) at the corner of the road
(ii) How did author convince herself that she had come at the right address?
(a) she had looked at the name of the street (b) she had looked at the number of the
house
(c) she had looked at the number of the house and name of the street
(d) she had looked at the colour of the house
(iii) Why did she not want to remember the address?
(a) number of the house was already displayed (b) she did not want to go there again
(c) name of the street was already displayed (d) she had a poor memory
(iv) Why did author not want to go back there again?
(a) she noticed her own thing there (b) her own things had lost their
importance for her
(c) her former life was still in her memory (d) the surrounding was unfamiliar
OR
B. CYRIL: [moving to the table; annoyed] Why not?
MRS. PEARSON: (coolly) I couldn’t bother.
CYRIL: Feeling off-colour or something?
Mrs. PEARSON: Never felt better in my life.
CYRIL: (aggressively) What’s the idea then?
MRS. PEARSON: Just a change.
CYRIL: [briskly] Well, snap out of it, Ma-and get cracking. Haven’t too much time.
(i) What can you say about Cyril from the given lines?
(a) he is dumb and acts superior in front of his mother
(b) he takes his mother for granted
(c) he is arrogant and egoistic
(d) he always disrespect his mother
ii. The phrase feeling off colour means
(a) feeling sleepy (b) feeling tired
(c) feeling ill (d) feeling lazy
iii. Why does Cyril act aggressive?
(a) because he was getting late (b) because his mother had not made tea for him
(c) because his mother was behaving strangely (d) because his mother insulted him
iv. The change referred to Cyril is a change in the way she is treated by the neighbour.
(a) True (b) False
13. Answer any two the following questions in about 40-50 words. (3x2=6)
(a) “The mummy is in very bad condition because of what Carter did in the 1920s.” Who was Carter? What
did he do to the mummy?
(b) What does the ‘Laburnum Top’ signify?
(c) What is the significance of sparrows in grandmother’s life?
(d) Why did the narrator call Amsterdam the most beautiful island in the world?
14. Answer any one of the following questions in about 40-50 words. (3x1=3)
(a) What are the unique traits of Garoghlanian tribe?
(b) What did the narrator learn about Mrs. Dorling from her mother?
15. Answer any one of the following questions in about 120-150 words (1x6=6)
(a) Describe how did writer and his family face the disaster of the storm. ?
(b) “He was the last of his family line.” What do you learn about Tut’s dynasty from the extract
‘Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues’?
16. Answer any one of the following questions in about 120-150 words. (1x6=6)
(a) How did Fitzgerald offer to help Mrs Pearson's set her family right?
(b) Have you come back?’ said the woman, ‘I thought that no one had come back.’ Does this statement give
some clue about the story? If yes, what is it?