ALAGU JOTHI ACADEMY SET - A

An International CBSE School

CLASS XII PERIODIC ASSESSMENT- 1 MAY (2024-25)

TIME: 09.30 PM – 12.45PM ENGLISH CORE (301) MAX. MARKS: 80

DATE: 11.05.24 DURATION: 3 Hrs.
Section A – 18 Marks (Reading Skills)
1. Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow:

PERIODIC ASSESSMENT 1 (2024 - 25)

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions:

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2. Read the passage given below:

The spread of education in society is at the foundation of success in countries that are latecomers to
development. In the quest for development, primary education is absolutely essential because it creates the
base. But higher education is just as important, for it provides the cutting edge. And universities are the life-
blood of higher education. Islands of excellence in professional education, such as Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), are valuable complements but cannot be
substitutes for universities which provide educational opportunities for people at large.

PERIODIC ASSESSMENT 1 (2024 - 25)

There can be no doubt that higher education has made a significant contribution to economic development,
social progress and political democracy in independent India. It is a source of dynamism for the economy. It
has created social opportunities for people. It has fostered the vibrant democracy in our polity. It has
provided a beginning for the creation of a knowledge society. But it would be a mistake to focus on its
strengths alone. It has weaknesses that are a cause for serious concern.

There is, in fact, a quiet crisis in higher education in India that runs deep. It is not yet discernible simply
because there are pockets of excellence, an enormous reservoir of talented young people and an intense
competition in the admissions process. And, in some important spheres, we continue to reap and benefits of
what was sown in higher education 50 years ago by the founding fathers of the Republic. The reality is that
we have miles to go. The proportion of our population, in the age group 18-24, that enters the world of
higher education is around 7 per cent, which is only one-half the average for Asia. The opportunities for
higher education, in terms of the number of places in universities, are simply not enough in relation to our
needs. What is more, the quality of higher education in most of our universities requires substantial
improvement.

It is clear that the system of higher education in India faces serious challenges. It needs a systematic
overhaul, so that we can educate much larger numbers without diluting academic standards. This is
imperative because the transformation of economy and society in the 21st century would depend, in
significant part, on the spread and the quality of education among our people, particularly in the sphere of
higher education. It is only an inclusive society that can provide the foundations for a knowledge society.

The challenges that confront higher education in India are clear. It needs a massive expansion of
opportunities for higher education, to 1500 universities nationwide, that would enable India to attain a gross
enrolment ratio of at least 15 per cent by 2015. It is just as important to raise the average quality of higher
education in every sphere. At the same time, it is essential to create institutions that are exemplars of
excellence at par with the best in the world. In the pursuit of these objectives, providing people with access
to higher education in a socially inclusive manner is imperative. The realization of these objectives,
combined with access, would not only develop the skills and capabilities we need for the economy but
would also help transform India into a knowledge economy and society.

Answer the following questions:

1. The principal focus of the passage is:

A. primary education B. intermediate education C. higher education D. entire education system

2. The style of the passage can be best described as:

A. academic B. critical and analytical C. comparative D. None of the above

3. What kind of society can provide the foundation for a knowledge society?
A. elite society B. contracted society C. exclusive society D. inclusive society

4. According to the passage, which one of the following is INCORRECT?

A. there are no quality institutes providing excellent professional education in India
B. not many people go for higher education in India
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 C. education is the basis of success
D. all the above options are correct

5. According to the passage, the current state of affairs of higher education in India is:
A. satisfactory
B. excellent, and there is no need of any expansion of opportunities for higher education
C. not good enough, and there is a need of expansion of opportunities for higher education, besides
creating institutions and universities that are models of excellence
D. not explained in the passage

6. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a challenge that confronts higher education in
India?
A. expanding opportunities for higher education
B. creating institutions and universities that are exemplars of excellence
C. substantial improvement in the quality of higher education in most of our universities
D. getting into World University Rankings

7. According to the passage, which of the following is CORRECT?

A. primary education is very important
B. Universities are the life-blood of higher education
C. transformation of economy and society in the 21st century would depend, in significant part, on the
spread and the quality of education among our people, particularly in the sphere of higher education
D. all the above propositions are correct

8. Should the entire university system in India be modeled on premier institutes, such as, IITs and IIMs,
providing professional education?
A. yes B. for sure C. no D. The passage is silent on this question

9. What is the antonym of the expression ‘cutting edge’?

A. conventional B. avant-garde C. advanced D. contemporary

10.What is the meaning of the word ‘discernible’?

A. unobtrusive B. noticeable C. unremarkable D. inconspicuous

Section B – 14 Marks (Creative Writing Skills)

3. You are Josely Mathew, the President of the school book club. The club is organising a drive for
promoting reuse of study materials and books. Draft a notice in about 50 words, for the school notice board,
addressing students of classes X-XII, informing them about this drive and urging them to contribute to the
endeavour. Mention how the donated books would benefit a charitable cause. (4 Marks)

4. Write a letter to the Editor of a magazine Expressions, New Delhi on the deterioration in the standard
of living in your city. Give suggestions for improvement. Sign yourself as PMR. (5 Marks)

PERIODIC ASSESSMENT 1 (2024 - 25)

5. LETTER WRITING (5 Marks)

Section C – 48 Marks (Literature)

Read the extract and answer the following questions: (5×4=20)

6. Poor man! It was in honor of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I
understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they
were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty
years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.

i) Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?

(a) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.
(b) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he was not rich.
(c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
(d) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his poverty.

ii) Which of the following idioms might describe the villagers’ act of attending the last lesson most
accurately?
(a) ‘Too good to miss’ (b) ‘Too little, too late’
(c) ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ (d) ‘Too cool for school’

iii) Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful service”.
(a) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class without him.
(b) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on the table”.
(c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when he wanted to go fishing.
(d) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the mills” for some extra
money.

iv) Choose the options that most appropriately fill in the blanks, for the following description of the given
extract.
The villagers and their children sat in class, forging with their old master a (i) _____ togetherness. In that
moment, the class room stood (ii) _____. It was France itself, and the last French lesson a desperate hope

PERIODIC ASSESSMENT 1 (2024 - 25)

to (iii) ______ to the remnants of what they had known and taken for granted. Their own (iv) _______.

(a) (i) graceful; (ii) still; (iii) hang on; (iv) country
(b) (i) bygone; (ii) up; (iii) keep on; (iv) education
(c) (i) beautiful; (ii) mesmerized; (iii) carry on; (iv) unity
(d) (i) forgotten; (ii) transformed; (iii) hold on; (iv) identity

7. M. Hamel went on to talk of the French language, saying that it was the most beautiful language in the
world the clearest, the most logical; that we must guard it among us and never forget it, because when
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 book and read us our lesson. I was amazed to see how well I understood it. All
he said seemed so easy, so easy

(i) Which of the following can be attributed to M. Hamel’s declaration about the French language?
(a) Subject expertise (b) Nostalgic pride
(c) Factual accuracy (d) Patriotic magnification

(ii) Read the quotes given below.

(I) Those who know nothing of foreign languages, know nothing of their own. – Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
(II) Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are
going. – Rita Mae Brown
(III) A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country. – Ali Ibn Abi Talib
(IV) The greatest propaganda in the world is our mother tongue, that is what we learn as children, and
which we learn unconsciously. That shapes our perceptions for life. – Marshal McLuhan

Choose the option that might best describe M. Hamel’s viewpoint.

(a) Option (I) (b) Option (II)
(c) Option (III) (d) Option (IV)

(iii) “I was amazed to see how well I understood it.”

Select the option that does NOT explain why Franz found the grammar lesson “easy”.
(a) Franz was paying careful attention in class this time.
(b) M. Hamel was being extremely patient and calm in his teaching.
(c) Franz was inspired and had found a new meaning and purpose to learning.
(d) Franz had realized that French was the clearest and most logical language.

(iv) Franz was able to understand the grammar lesson easily because he was___________ .
(a) receptive (b) appreciative
(c) introspective (d) competitive

8. “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
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have spent generations working around furnaces, wielding glass, making bangles for all the women in the
land it seems.

Mukesh’s family is among them. None of them know that it is illegal for children like him to work in the
glass furnaces with high temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could
get him and all those 20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight hours, often
losing the brightness of their eyes. Mukesh’s eyes beam as he volunteers to take me home, which he proudly
says is being rebuilt.

(i) The simile ‘dream looms like a mirage amidst the dust of streets’ indicates that his dream was:
(a) a reality, yet seemed distant (b) lost in the sea of dust
(c) illusory and indistinct (d) hanging in the dusty air

(ii) ‘I will learn to drive a car,’ he answers, looking straight into my eyes. This sentence highlights Mukesh
was _____________.
1. determined 2. Fearless 3. hopeful 4. Valiant 5. Ambitious 6. Stern

(a) 1 & 5 (b) 2 & 4 (c) 2 & 5 (d) 3 & 6

(iii) Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE with reference to the extract?
(a) Children work in badly lit and poorly ventilated furnaces.
(b) The children are unaware that it is forbidden by law to work in the furnaces.
(c) Children toil in the furnaces for hours which affect their eyesight.
(d) Firozabad has emerged as a nascent producer of bangles in the country.

(iv) Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles, indicates that:
(a) bangle making is the only industry that flourishes in Firozabad.
(b) the entire population of Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(c) majority of the population in Firozabad is involved in bangle making.
(d) bangle making is the most loved occupation in Firozabad.

9. She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes. “Ek waqt ser bhar khanabhinahin khaya.” she
says, in a voice drained of joy. She has not enjoyed even one full meal in her entire lifetime-that’s what she
has reaped! Her husband, an old man with a flowing beard says, “I know nothing except bangles. All I have
done is make a house for the family to live in.”Hearing him one wonders if he has achieved what many have
failed in their lifetime. He has a roof over his head! The cry of not having money to do anything except carry
on the business of making bangles, not even enough to eat, rings in every home. The young men echo the
lament of the elders. Little has moved with time, it seems in Firozabad, years of mind-numbing toil have
killed all initiative and the ability to dream.

(i) ‘She still has bangles on her wrist, but no light in her eyes.’ This implies that:
(a) She is married but has lost the charm in her eyes.
(b) She is a married woman who has lost her grace and beauty.
(c) Though she is married, her eyes are devoid of happiness.
(d) She is a married woman who has lost her eyesight.
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(ii) ‘He has a roof over his head!’ The tone of the author is ____________ .
(a) pessimistic (b) empathetic
(c) sympathetic (d) optimistic

(iii) Choose the term which best matches the statement ‘The young men echo the lament of their elders.’
(a) Acceptance (b) Reflection
(c) Reiteration (d) Doubtfulness

(iv) ‘Years of mind-numbing toil have killed all initiative and the ability to dream’. This shows that:
(a) The bangle makers are exhausted yet they are enterprising and have dreams.
(b) The drudgery of work has destroyed their willingness to improve their lot.
(c) The daily grind has stolen the dreams of the bangle makers and made them dull.
(d) The bangle makers have been working so hard that there’s no time to dream.

10. ……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 and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear, but all I said was, see you soon,
Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and
smile

Questions
(a) What did the poet do after the security check?
(b)Why did the poet compare her mother’s face to a late winter’s moon?
(c)What is her childhood fear?
(d)How do the parting words of the poet and her smile present a contrast to her real feelings?

11. Answer any 5 of the following questions in 30-40 words. (Flamingo) (5×2=10)

a) “But promises like mine abound in every corner of his bleak world.” What promise does the author
recall? In what context was it made? Was it fulfilled?

b) In the last line of the poem, ‘My Mother at Sixty-six’, why does the poet use the word ‘smile’ repeatedly?

c) “We’ve all a great deal to reproach ourselves with” said M. Hamel. Refer to the context and explain what
he wanted to convey to his students.

d) Explain: “For children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents.”

e) “She still has bangles on her wrist but no light in her eyes.” What exactly does the author want to convey
through this?

f) Which two distinct worlds does the author notice among the bangle-making industry?
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g) Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?

12. Answer any 4 of the following questions in 30-40 words. (Vistas) (4×2=8)

a) How did the Maharaja devote himself to realize his ambition? How far did he succeed?
b) What does the third level refer to? What is the significance of the third level?
c) In his letter to Charley, Sam writes, ‘…then I got to believing you were right.’ What could have made
Sam begins to believe?
d) How does the hundredth tiger take its final revenge upon the Tiger King?
e) Comment on the ‘rings episode’ in the story ‘The Tiger King’.

13. Answer the following questions in 100-150 words. (2×5=10)

a) Child abuse is a very serious problem in our country. Children are forced by circumstances to work in
various factories. Write an article, on the topic ‘Child Abuse’. Take ideas from the following lines:

“None of them knows that it is illegal for children like him to work in the glass furnaces 1 with high
temperatures, in dingy cells without air and light; that the law, if enforced, could get him and all those
20,000 children out of the hot furnaces where they slog their daylight /hours, often losing the brightness
of their eyes.” (Lost spring)
(or)

With fear and ache inside her heart and words of assurance on lips and smile on the face, the poet
presents two opposite and contrasting experiences. Why does the poet put on a smile? (My Mother at 66)

b) Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present times that
illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife? (Tiger King)

(or)

Our language is part of our culture and we are proud of it. Describe how regretful M. Hamel and the
village elders are for having neglected their native language, French. (The Last Lesson)

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