Madhyamik Examination (WBBSE) - 2018 ENGLISH (Second Language)
SECTION—A [Reading Comprehension (Seen)]
1. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
It is the last time we shall be walking with Bapu. It was an agonizing walk. Thousands silently watched the procession. Bapu lay on an open truck covered with flowers. Thousands of people wept, trying to touch Bapu's feet. It was impossible to move in the thick crowd.
As I moved forward slowly I understood I was not merely in the midst of grieving people. This was even more than the funeral procession of India's beloved leader. I was among people for whom walking with Bapu had a special meaning. We had walked with Bapu over the rough and smooth of India's recent history. We could not now accept the fact that the man who had led us over many difficult paths, was never going to walk with us again. Bapu's slight figure had walked, staff in hand, over a large part of India. To walk is to make slow progress. It is to think with clarity and closely look at all that is around you, from small insects to the horizon in the distance. Moreover to walk was often the only way open to the average Indian. It required no vehicle except his own body and cost him nothing but his energy.
A. Write the correct alternative to complete the following sentences: 1 x 5=5
(i) The last walk with Bapu was—
(a) pleasant (b) painful (c) strange (d) delightful
(ii) According to the narrator, walking with Bapu was—
(a) quite boring (b) a usual affair (c) not a commonplace affair (d) meaningless
(iii) While walking, Bapu used to carry a —
(a) staff (b) flag (c) book (d) bag
(iv) The narrator comments that to walk is to make—
(a) a tiresome journey (b) no progress (c) rapid progress (d) slow progress
(v) According to the narrator, walk required—
(a) a lot of money (b) vehicle (c) one's own body and energy (d) a walking stick
B. Complete the following sentences with information from the text : 1x3=3
(i) Bapu was being carried ——————
(ii) Thousands of people were eager to ————
(iii) Indian's recent history was both ————
C. Fill in the chart with information from the text: 2x2=4
| Statement | Reason | |
| (a) | The crowd was thick | |
| (b) | Walking is making slow progress | because .... |
2. Read the poem and answer the questions that follow:
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
Ami all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
A. Write the correct alternatives to complete the following sentences: 1 x 4=4
(i) The call of the running tide—
(a) can be easily denied (b) cannot be denied (c) is not at all attractive (d) is most discouraging
(ii) The poet would like to hear the cry of the—
(a) nightingale (b) skylark (c) cuckoo (d) seagull
(iii) The poet likes to lead a gypsy life because it is—
(a) a carefree life full of adventures (b) full of responsibilities (c) full of luxury (d) dull and uninteresting
(iv) The wind on the sea is like a whetted—
(a) sword (b) arrow (c) spear (d) knife
B. State whether the following statements are True or False. Write 'T' for true and 'F' for false in the boxes on the right-hand side. Provide sentences/phrases/words in support of your answers: 2x2=4
(i) The poet is not going out to the sea for the first time.
Supporting statement:—————————
(ii) The poet does not want to sleep when the journey is over.
Supporting statement: —————————.
[Reading Comprehension (Unseen)]
3. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
For the second year in a row, tiger population in the Indian Sundarbans has shown an increase. This year, a camera-trap exercise has captured at least six more tigers in the mangroves.
According to a forester associated with the exercise, 87 unique frames were captured by the camera-traps in the mangroves, including the tiger reserve area and the South 24 Parganas forest division. The count was 81 last year. The latest exercise was conducted between December 2016 and June 2017.
The mangroves is home to at least 87 tigers, with the possibility of more big cats being present, said the forester. He further added, "It's not possible to photograph all the tigers in a forest."
While the average figure is yet to be analysed, officials expect the number to be around 90 this time, compared to last year's 81. "The trend is positive, but we are still in the process of analysing the final figure that will also be checked by the Wildlife Institute of India," said the Chief Wildlife Warden Ravikant Sinha.
He, however, added that the cubs which were camera-trapped last year have grown up and have probably been photographed again this year. This. he observes, can be a reason behind the positive trend.
Sources revealed that while 62 tigers were photographed in the tiger reserve area—seven more than last year—25 were clicked in the South 24 Parganas division, the forests outside the core area. Pictures of three cubs were also captured, though they were not included in the final figure.
All eyes are now on the 1500 sq. km South 24 Parganas forest division that has added, at least, eight tigers in the last five years. It recorded seventeen tigers when the camera-trap exercise was first conducted in 2012.
[Adapted from a report published in The Times .of India, dated June 30, 2017]
A. Write the correct alternative to complete the following sentences: 1x6=6
(i) For two successive years the number of tigers in the Indian Sundarbans has—
(a) been captured (b) decreased (c) increased (d) remained the same
(ii) 87 unique photographs of tigers were captured by—
(a) a forester (b) the camera-traps (c) officials (d) hunters
(iii) The mangroves shelter—
(a) 87 tigers (b) 81 tigers (c) 25 tigers (d) more than 87 tigers
(iv) Ravikant Sinha is—
(a) the Chief Wildlife Warden (b) a photographer (c) a journalist (d) a minor forest official
(v) The number of tigers photographed last year was—
(a) 81 (b) 90 (c) 55 (d) 62
(vi) The camera-trap exercise was conducted for the first time in—
(a) 2016 (b) 2012 (c) 2017 (d) 1986
B. Each of the following statements is either True or False. Write 'T' for true and 'F' for false in the boxes on the right-hand side. Also pick out suitable line(s) or phrase(s) from the passage in support of your answers: (1+I)x3=6
(i) The camera traps were laid only in the forest division of the South 24 Parganas.
Supporting sentence:————————
(ii) According to a forester, it is impossible to photograph all the tigers in a forest.
Supporting sentence:————————
(iii) The average number of tigers has not yet been calculated.
Supporting sentence:————————
C. Answer the following questions: 2x4=8
(i) Which trend, according to the reporter is positive ?
(ii) What is the observation of the Chief Wildlife Warden regarding the increase in tiger population ?
(iii) How many tigers were clicked in the tiger reserve area and how many in the forests outside the core area ?
(iv) State the number of tigers added to the tiger population in the last five years in the South 24 Parganas forest division.
SECTION—B [Grammar and Vocabulary]
4. Write the correct alternatives to fill in the blanks: 1x3=3
Although children ——— (love / has love / are love) outdoor games, their parents —— (is considering / consider / has considered) their interest as harmful and meaningless. A child who spends time and energy in outdoor activities —— (grows / had grown / is growing) up to be healthy and strong.
5. Do as directed:
A. Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and prepositions: 1x3=3
In —— evening they would sit together —— the dining table and rearrange the stamps. He had —— album for each country.
B. (i) Garbage causes pollution. It may be used as a source of energy. 1x3=3
(Join into a single sentence using a relative clause)
(ii) The teacher delivered a lecture to a group of students. (Change the voice)
(iii) The trainer said, "Why is everybody late today ?"
(Change into indirect speech)
C. Choose the correct phrasal verbs from the list given below to replace the words underlined. Write the correct phrasal verbs in the boxes on the right-hand side changing the form where necessary. There is one extra phrasal verb in the list: 1x3=3
(i) They started their journey early in the morning. ◘
(ii) I cannot understand what you are saying. ◘
(iii) The man abandoned evil company. ◘
[List: make out, give up, give off, set out]
6. Given below are the meanings of four words which you will find in Question No. 3. Find out the words and write them in the appropriate boxes on the right-hand side. 2x4=8
(i) recorded in camera. ◘
(ii) studied and explained. ◘
(iii) definite and sure. ◘
(iv) a person in charge of a particular place. ◘
SECTION—C [Writing]
7. Write a letter to the Inspector-in-Charge of your local police station complaining about the loss of your mobile phone in your area. Give details of the phone and the way in which it was lost: 10
8. Write a biography of Virat Kohli (within 100 words) using the following points: 10
Date of Birth: 5th November, 1988, Delhi.
Father: Prem Kohli, criminal lawyer.
Mother: Saroj Kohli, homemaker,
Showed interest in cricket at the age of three. Enrolled at West Delhi Cricket Academy, when nine. Right hand batsman, right-arm medium pacer, outstanding fielder. Test debut 2011— captain of the Indian team 2014. More than 5000 runs in test matches— more than 8000 run in One Day International Matches. Received Arjuna Award —2013.
9. Write a newspaper report (within 100 words) on the outbreak of fire In your local market. You may use the following points:
[Points: Date and time—place—cause of fire—damages—actions taken]
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