IA-BRL-M-FOHC I

ENGLISH

( COMPULSORY )

ITime allowed : Three Hours I IMaximum Marks : 300 I

Question Paper Specific Instructions
Please read each of the following instructions carefi,tlly before attempting
questions:
All questions are to be attempted.
The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it.
Answers must be written in ENGLISH only.
Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to and if answered in much
longer or shorter than the prescribed length, marks will be deducted.
Any page or portion of the page left blank in the answer book must be clearly struck off

QI. Write short essays in about 300 words on each of the

following : 50x2=100
(a) We Indians are hypocrites. 50
(b) Fitness and healthcare - latest fad in urban India. 50

Q2. Read carefully the passage given below and write your answers to the
questions that follow in clear, correct, and concise language of your
own : 10x5=50
In barely one generation, we've moved from exulting in the time-saving
devices that have so expanded our lives, to trying to get away from
them - often, in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect,
the more many of us seem desperate to unplug. Like a teenager, we appear to
have gone from knowing nothing about the world to knowing too much, all but
overnight.

A-BRL-M-FOHC 1
 The average person spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front
of the screen. The average teenager spends or receives 75 text messages a day.
Since luxury, as any economist will tell you, is a function of scarcity, the
children of tomorrow will crave nothing more than freedom, if only for a short
while, from all the blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines
that leave them feeling empty, and too full all at once. The urgency of slowing
down - to find the time and space to think - is nothing new, of course, and
wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the
moment, the less time and energy we have to place it in some larger context.
Even half a century ago, Marshall McLuhan warned, ''When things come at
you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself."

Yet few of those voices can be heard these days, precisely because
'breaking news' is coming through perpetually on the news channels, and
Meena is posting images of her summer vacation and the phone is ringing. We
barely have enough time to see how little time we have. And the more that
floods in on us, the less of ourselves we have to give to every snippet.

We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but

less and less to say. Partly because we are so busy communicating. And - as
he might also have said - we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we
hardly register that what we need most are lifelines. So what to do ? The
central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter,
quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best
use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual.
All the data in the world cannot teach us how to sift through data; images don't
show us how to process images. The only way to do justice to our onscreen lives
is by summoning exactly the emotional and moral clarity that cannot be found
on any screen.

Maybe that is why more and more people, even if they have no religious
commitment, seem to be turning to yoga or meditation, or tai chi; these are not
New Age fads so much as ways to connect with what could be called the
wisdom of old age. A series of tests in recent years has shown that after
spending time in a quiet rural setting, subjects "exhibit greater attentiveness,
stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both
calmer and sharper." More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought,

A- BRL-M-FOHC 2
 depends on neural processes that are "inherently slow". The very ones our
high-speed lives have little time for.

QUESTIONS:
(a) According to the author, what is likely to become a scarcity in the
future? 10
(b) What ability have people lost thanks to the constant inflow of data ? 10
(c) Why does the author say, "We have more and more ways to
communicate, but less and less to say" ? 10
(d) 'Why are people taking an active interest in old-age fads? 10
(e) Why is modern man unable to empathise with others? 10

Q3. (a) Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its
length. Please do not suggest a title. 60
Honesty in business dealings or in other areas are not the only
measures of morals and values. The strength of character of a person is
also measured by uncompromising aversion to cowardice, intrigue, envy,
ambiguity, falsehood, disloyalty, treachery, in short, all undignified
actions. There are, in reality. few human beings endowed with a truly
SJX>tless character. This is because an almost immaculate character does
not exist until the last lives in human form. Educated individuals are
not necessarily endowed with good morals and values. In fact, some of
them use education and their intellect as a tool for deceit. However, the
advantages and the need for education and culture cannot be denied.
They contribute largely for the development of intellectual ability and
the power to reason, which are the means by which the spirit analyses,
compares, infers and arrives at conclusions in the search for truth about
the meaning of life. The most precious assets of the soul are its morals
and values, but they are not easy to build. The character of each person
requires longer periods of thoughtfulness, reasoning and the practice of
those values, during many reincarnations, in the course of which, ideas
sink in under life experiences. It is only after enduring much
disillusionment, grief, injustice and ingratitude for many successive
corporeal lives, that a person will be able to measure, in the innermost
recesses of his soul, the extent of human moral misery. Then, disgusted,
he rebels against it and opens the door to a more ethical and honourable

A-BRL-M-FOHC 3
 life. Thus, having known and experienced suffering, the spirit, in
countless reincarnations, gradually frees itself from evil actions and,
through enlightenment and conviction follows the rigid tracks of a
flawless conduct. It is of great significance to talk about morals and
values but it is also crucial to define the lines of character that everyone
should consider in their lives. Some of the most important ones are: good
judgement, fairness, common sense, punctuality, loyalty, courage,
magnanimity, dignity, gratitude, politeness, faithfulness, moderation,
truthfulness, self-respect, respect for others, etc. All these qualities, if
properly cultivated, compose a prime set of dignifying virtues which
accounts for a refined character. For example, we all make mistakes and
to err is human. However, once an honest person is advised and becomes
convinced of his mistake, he should admit it and try not to repeat it.
Unfortunately it is common practice to conceal one's mistakes, instead of
avoiding them. This is very detrimental to spiritual growth. Most people
seldom use impartiality and justice in the innermost evaluation of their
own actions. Even those who are too harsh in the judgement of other
people's actions, for whom they always have words of criticism and
reproach, do not escape the usual tendency. When their own faults are
concerned, they find a full, lenient, absolvent justification. In this way,
not only it denotes lack of character, but mistakes often end up
incorporated to human habits. By acting this way, an individual loses
his self-respect and his sense of character and dignity and becomes
corrupted. What everyone should do, is to face up his mistakes and avoid
new mistakes, by improving his sense of morals and values, with the
help of his will-power. (537 words)

(b) Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its

length. Please do not suggest a title. 40
People write and publish autobiographies and autobiographical
sketches for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is to put on
record the events of a famous or influential career. But not all
autobiographies, not even the autobiographies most frequently and
widely read, are by famous or extraordinary men. Another reason is to
hand on to others, wisdom won through experience and hard labour. Yet
many fine autobiographers seem to have little concern to teach or to
persuade. A third reason is to distill from past experience events,
persons, and situations which hold a firm place in memory, and to put
true values on them. In this sense, autobiography is, as Somerset
Maugham has said, a 'summing-up', and its first utility is to its author
himself.
A-BRL-M-FOHC 4
 Whatever its purpose or the fame of the man who writes it,
autobiography is a thing created out of the recollections of life. It is not
life itself. Whether it be valuable or useless depends upon whether it is
well- or ill- made. Good autobiographies can be mined from
inconspicuous lives.
For autobiography is the inclusive and summary form of what we call
'themes of experience'. It may contain reminiscences, descriptions of
places, of animals, of people, the identification of characteristic
preferences and prejudices, and other matters as well. It has the traits
of all these minor forms.
An autobiography is objectively true, but is not indiscriminately
inclusive. It presents a selection of detailed episodes with sufficient
fullness to preserve their essential qualities. It is usually written within
the framework defined by a consistent point of view. It presents its
subject in more than two dimensions, fusing the person and· his actions
with setting, manner and purpose. One further trait of autobiographical
writing raises a few special problems: by its nature autobiography
tempts its author to proceed chronologically. The events sort themselves .
by the calendar, and it is a natural impulse of every autobiographer to
begin with the words "I was born on .... "
Strict chronological arrangement poses a discipline of some force. It
is by no means easy to ''begin at the beginning, go until you come to the
end, and then stop." Considerations other than the calendar have a way
of forcing their way to notice. With due care, however, a chronological
autobiography can be accomplished.
It is important to remember that chronology is not the only principle
by which autobiography can be organized. Benjamin Franklin, whose
procedure in his autobiography is basically chronological, does not
hesitate to recognize the Philadelphia girl who laughed at him as the
very one who subsequently became his wife. Joseph Conrad prefers the
pattern of walking tour to that of the calendar, and his richly
imaginative account is stored with pertinent associations of the past
with the present and future. Often, to the autobiographer, it seems that
life does not pass so much as it accumulates. Qualities emerge . as
identities independent of time. For this reason, we should not as we
write feel compelled to maintain a steady rate of advance through the
time marks of our stories. Like Hazlitt on his journey, we linger over a
choice adventure or a valued friend, and then, if we choose, we skip a
few years to catch up. (541 words)

A-BRL-M-FOHC 5
Q4. (a) Use each of the following words to make sentences that bring
out their meaning clearly. Do not change the form of the words.
(No marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences.) Ix10=10
(i) desultory 1
(ii) grapevine 1
(iii) holistic 1
(iv) insidious 1
(v) intransigence 1
(vi) paradigm 1
(vii) susceptible 1
(viii) ubiquitous 1
(ix) voracious 1

(x) venerable 1

(b) Correct the following sentences without changing their

meaning. Please do not make unnecessary changes in the
original sentence. lx10=10
(i) One must do what he thinks best. 1
(ii) He will surely not do that, did he ? 1
(iii) Can I leave the room now, Sir ? 1
(iv) My neighbour, along with two friends, were pushing his car which
is stalled. 1
(v) I thought to help him, but he did not welcome my suggestion. 1
(vi) When I was a child, I enjoyed to eat ice cream in the bench. 1

(vii) The Principal, along with the teachers, are planning to apply for a
leave. 1
(viii) Do you have an idea who is that man? 1
(ix) Unemployment as well as poverty influence the votes. 1
(x) When I woke up, the man already disappeared after committing
murder in the running train. 1

A-BRL-M-FOHC 6
 (c) Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without
changing the meaning: lx10=10
(i) No one dares to criticize her for what she says.
(Rewrite the sentence starting with 'No matter') 1
(ii) Radha was the eldest. She had to look after her parents.
(Combine to form a single sentence) 1
(iii) She decorated the room. The purpose was to make it look
beautiful.
(Combine using 'so that') 1
(iv) ''What a beautiful day!", said the young tourist.
(Change the narration) 1
(v) The one-man committee determined there was no need to take
action.
(Rewrite using passive structure) 1
(vi) The proud father remarked, ''What a wonderful batsman my son
is !"
(Change into indirect speech) 1
(vii) My mother remarked, "Aren't the children lovely ?"
(Change into indirect speech) 1
(viii) Cricket fans filled the streets during the World Cup.
(Rewrite using passive structure) 1
(ix) It would be wonderful if we could go to Shimla.
(Change into an exclamatory sentence using 'how') 1
(x) I could have finished the work. But I would have had to go out
early.
(Combine into one sentence beginning with 'Had') 1

(d) Fill in the blanks using one of the following linkers : lx5=5
in case, but, even though, so, provided, as.
(i) _ _ _ he was late for the meeting, his boss didn't get angry. 1
(ii) _ _ __ he was late for the meeting, his boss became angry. 1
(iii) I'll not get angry, ____ you are not late for the meeting. 1
(iv) I started early I was still late for the meeting. 1
(v) I'll give you her telephone number _ _ _ you have problems
finding her place. 1
A-BRL-M-FOHC 7
 (e) Rewrite the following sentences using 'it' at the beginning of the
sentence: 1x5=5
(i) Impressing Ramesh Mohan would be a piece of cake. 1

(ii) Visiting old people in hospitals is a very good idea. 1

(iii) To smoke 20 cigarettes a day is bad for your health. 1

(iv) Chatting with strangers on the computer can be very dangerous. 1

(v) My father says, keeping the computer on all day is a waste of

electricity. 1

(f) Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blanks. 1x5=5

(i) My teacher said that I need to ____ (practice, practise) more. 1
(ii) The hot weather _ _ _ _ (affects, effects) people in different
ways. 1
(iii) Wouldn't it be mce if we had to work only on
(alternative, alternate) days ? 1
(iv) Our politicians are known to _____ (avoid, evade) taxes. 1

(v) . The Principal (complimented, complemented) the

students on their fine performance. 1

(g) Write the opposite of the following words : lx5=5

(i) Amateur 1

(ii) Modesty 1

(iii) Shallow 1

(iv) Conceited 1

(v) Atheist 1

A -BRL-M-FOHC 8
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C-AVZ-O-FOHC

ENGLISH

( COMPULSORY)

Time Allowed: Three Hours Maximum M arks: 300

QUESTION PAPER SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS

Please read each o f the following instructions carefully before attempting

questions:

All questions are to be attempted.

The number of marks carried by a question is indicated against it.

Answers must be written in ENGLISH only.

Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to.

Any page or portion o f the page left blank in the Question-cum-Answer Booklet must be
clearly struck off.

Ql. Write an essay in about 600 words on any one topic : 100

(a) Impact of politics on society

(b) E-commerce : a win-win situation for all

(c) Harassment of women at workplaces

(d) Does the Indian cinema reflect social reality ?

C -A V Z -O -F O H C 1
Q2. Read carefully the passage given below and write your answers to the
questions that follow in clear, correct and concise language : 15x5=75

A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and

consequently living conditions are threatening for plant and animal life. The
lack of vegetation exposes the vulnerable surface of the ground to the processes
of denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the world is arid or
semi-arid. Deserts are usually hot and barren places; yet they are also
beautiful. A few plants, rocks and dusty red-brown soil make up the
ingredients of most North American deserts where there is sufficient food and
water for certain animals to survive. Deserts cover more than one-fifth of the
Earth’s land and they are found on every continent. A place that receives less
than 10 inches of rain per year is normally considered a desert. They are part
of a wider classification of regions called “dry land”. These areas exist under a
moisture deficit, which means they repeatedly lose more moisture through
evaporation than they receive from annual precipitation.

Deserts are biologically rich habitats with a vast array of animals and
plants that have adapted to harsh conditions there. Some deserts are among
the planet’s last remaining areas of total wilderness. Yet more than one billion
people, one-sixth of the Earth’s population, actually live in the desert regions.

Despite the common notion of deserts as dry and hot, there are cold
deserts as well. One famous dry and hot place in the world with no visible rock
or plant and barely any water is the Sahara desert. It is the largest hot desert
in the world that reaches temperatures of up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit during
the day. Some deserts are very cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the desert
on the continent of Antarctica. Only about 10 percent of deserts are covered by
sand dunes. The driest deserts get less than half an inch of precipitation each
year and that is from condensed fog.

C-A V Z -O -F O H C 2
 Desert animals have adapted ways to help them keep cool and use less
_____
water. Camels, for example, can go for days without food and water. The hump
stores fat, which can be used as both a food and a water source for the animal
when the going gets tough. Camels also have thick hair in their ears for
keeping out sand; they also sport closable nostrils, an eye membrane, and wide
feet that act like snow-shoes in the land.

Desert plants may have to go without fresh water for years at a time.
Some plants have adapted to the arid climate by growing long roots that tap
water from deep underground. Other plants, such as cacti, have special means
of storing and conserving water. Many desert plants can live to be hundreds of
years old.

Some of the world’s semi-arid regions are turning into deserts at an

alarming rate. This process, known as “desertification”, is not caused by
drought, but usually arises from the demands of human population that settles
on the semi-arid lands to grow crops and graze animals. The pounding of the
soil by the hooves of livestock may degrade the soil and encourage erosion by
wind and water. Global warming also threatens to change the ecology of
deserts. Higher temperature may produce an increasing number of wildfires
that alter desert landscape by eliminating slow-growing trees and shrubs and
replacing them with fast-growing grasses.

Questions:

(a) Explain what you understand by ‘barren and dry land’. 15

(b) What do you understand by rich habitats ? 15
(c) How have desert animals and plants in arid climate adapted themselves
to the use of less water ? 15
(d) Describe the process of desertification. 15
(e) What are the camel’s two most visible features that make it perfect for
deserts ? 15

C-A V Z -O -F O H C 3
Q3. Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length.
Do not give a title to it. The precis should be written in your own
language. 75

The means may be equated to a seed, the end to a tree; and there is just
the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is
between the seed and the tree. I am not likely to obtain the result flowing from
the worship of God by laying myself prostrate before Satan. If, therefore,
anyone were to say; ‘I want to worship God; it does not matter that I do so by
means of Satan’, it would be set down as ignorant folly. We reap exactly as we
sow.

If I want to deprive you of your watch, I shall certainly have to fight for
it; if I want to buy your watch, I shall have to pay you for it; and if I want it as
a gift, I shall have to plead for it; and according to the means I employ, the
watch is a stolen property, my own property, or a donation. Thus we see three
different results from three different means. Will you still say that means do
not matter ?

Let us proceed a little further. A well-armed man has stolen your

property; you have harboured the thought of his act; you are filled with anger;
you argue that you want to punish that rogue, not for your own sake, but for
the good of your neighbours; you have collected a number of armed men, you
want to take his house by assault; he is duly informed of it, he runs away; he,
too, is incensed. He collects his brother-robbers, and sends you a defiant
message that he will commit robbery in broad daylight. You are strong, you do
not fear him, you are prepared to receive him. Meanwhile, the robber pesters
your neighbours. They complain before you. You reply that you are doing all for
their sake, you do not mind that your own goods have been stolen. Your
neighbours reply that the robber never pestered them before, and that he
commenced his depredations only after you declared hostilities against him.
You are between Scylla and Charybdis. You are full of pity for the poor men.
What they say is true. What are you to do ? You will be disgraced if you now

C -A V Z -O -F O H C 4
 leave the robber alone. You, therefore, tell the poor men: ‘Never mind. Come,
my wealth is yours. I will give you arms. I will train you how to use them; you
should belabour the rogue; don’t you leave him alone.’ And so the battle grows.
The robbers increase in numbers; your neighbours have deliberately put
themselves to inconvenience. Thus the result of wanting to take revenge upon
the robber is that you have disturbed your own peace; you are in perpetual fear
of being robbed and assaulted; your courage has given place to cowardice. If
you patiently examine the argument, you will see that I have not overdrawn
the picture. This is one of the means.

Now let us examine the other. You set this armed robber down as an
ignorant brother, you intend to reason with him at a suitable opportunity; you
argue that he is, after all, a fellow man; you do not know what prompted him to
steal. You, therefore, decide that when you can, you will destroy the man’s
motive for stealing. Whilst you are thus reasoning with yourself, the man
comes again to steal. Instead of being angry with him, you take pity on him.
Henceforth, you keep your doors and windows open, you change your sleeping
place, and you keep your things in a manner most accessible to him. The
robber comes again and is confused as all this is new to him; nevertheless, he
takes away your things. But his mind is agitated. He enquires about you in the
village, he comes to learn about your broad and loving heart; he repents, he
begs your pardon, returns you your things, and leaves off the stealing habit. He
becomes your servant, and you find for him honourable employment. This is
the second method.

Thus, you see, different means have brought about totally different
results. I do not wish to deduce from this that robbers will act in the above
manner or that all will have the same pity and love like you. I only wish to
show that fair means alone can produce fair results, and that, at least in the
majority of cases, if not indeed in all, the force of love and pity is infinitely
greater than the force of arms. There is harm in the exercise of force, never in
that of pity. (766 words)

C -A V Z -O -F O H C 5
Q4. (a) Rewrite the followingsentences aftermaking necessary
corrections. Do not make unnecessary changes in the original
sentence. 1x10=10

(i) He enjoyed during the holidays.

(ii) Whoever works hard he will win.

(iii) The man who knocked at the door was stranger.

(iv) I asked my colleague when was he going to his home town.

(v) Besides clothes, the shopkeeper deals with cosmetics too.

(vi) He is desirous for joining the army.

(vii) The judge said that the truth always triumphed.

(viii) One should help his friend in difficulty.

(ix) Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman India has produced, isn’t
it?

(x) More you read less you understand.

(b) Supply the missing words : 1x5=5

(i) Mr. Sharma is senior_________ Mr. Verma.

(ii) He i s _____________ poor to afford travelling by air.

(iii) More than 160 million people suffer_________malaria.

(iv) Beware__________ pickpockets.

(v) Time and__________wait for none.

(c) Use the correct forms of theverbs given in brackets : 1x5=5

(i) Your friends______________ for you for over an hour, (wait)

(ii) It is not w orth _____________ so much money for this concert.

(pay)

(iii) When I reached the station, the train____________. (leave)

(iv) I _______________ the Taj Mahal last month, (visit)

(v) The criminal__________the victim with a blunt object, (attack)

C -A V Z -O -F O H C 6
 (d) Write the antonyms of the following: • 1x5=5

(i) Arrival

(ii) Introvert

(iii) Ascend

(iv) Save

(v) Mortal

Q5. (a) Rewrite each of the following sentences as directed without

changing the meaning : 1x10=10

(i) He is too arrogant to listen to advice.

(Change into a complex sentence)

(ii) He said to me, “What is your name ?”

(Change into indirect speech)

(iii) My mother asked me if I had finished my breakfast.

(Change into direct speech)

(iv) The people will make him president.

(Change into passive voice)

(v) My pocket has been picked.

(Change into active voice)

(vi) He confessed that he was guilty.

(Change into a simple sentence)

(vii) He ran fast to reach the bus stop.

(Change into an interrogative sentence)

(viii) To the best of my knowledge, he is a vegetarian.

(Begin the sentence : As far as ...)

(ix) A.R. Rehman is a versatile music composer,_______?

(Supply an appropriate tag question)

(x) It is a pity that a noble person should suffer.

(Change into an exclamatory sentence)
C -A V Z -O -F O H C 7
 (b) Use the following words to make sentences that bring out their
meaning clearly. Do not change the form of the words. (No
marks will be given for vague and ambiguous sentences) 1x5=5

(i) drought

(ii) profitable

(iii) plunge

(iv) deformity

(v) restraint

Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blanks : 1x5=5

(i) Slow and wins the race, (studv/steadv)

(ii) The farm scientists have discovered a new to

combat soil erosion, (device/devise)

(iii) Going back on your word is a of trust.

(breach/break)

(iv) A of cars was following the minister, (fleet/float)

(v) The businessman tried to a deal with the

inspector, (strike/stroke)

Use these idioms/phrases in sentences of your own to bring out

their meaning clearly. Do not change the form of the words. 1x5=5

(i) in spite of

(ii) a bed of roses

(iii) cold war

(iv) to rule with an iron hand

(v) to make haste

C -A V Z -O -F O H C 8