HS English Question Paper 2015
WBCHSE Higher Secondary Previous Years English Question Paper with MCQ, SAQ and grammar answers- HS 2015 English Question Paper.
HIGHER SECONDARY EXAMINATION-2015
ENGLISH-B (New Syllabus)
Time: 3 hrs 15 min || Full Marks: 80
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE CANDIDATES
1. Special credit will be given for answers which are brief and to the point.
2. Marks will be deducted for spelling mistakes, untidiness and bad handwriting.
3. Figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions.
PART- A [Marks: 60]
1. Answer any two of the following questions each in about 100 words: 6×2=12
(a) “I’m tired of people telling me I have a pretty face.” —Who said this to whom and when? What did the person spoken to reply? 1+1+2+2
(b) “Why don’t you say this, to the people who come to you …?”- Who says this and to whom? What is referred to by the word this? Why do the people come to the person spoken to? 1+1+3+1
(c) How did the Tsar nurse the wounded man?
(d) Eat some more, son.” – Who is the speaker? What is offered by the speaker to the listener? What picture of the speaker’s character is revealed in this line? 1+1+4
2. Answer any two of the following questions each in about 100 words: 6×2=12
(a) Why does it take “much time to kill a tree”? How is the tree finally killed? 3+3
(b) Justify the title of the poem ‘Asleep In The Valley”
(c) But thy eternal summer shall not fade.” –Who is the poet? What is meant by “thy eternal summer”? How does the poet suggest that “thy eternal summer” shall never end? 1+1+4
(d) Why does Keats feel that the poetry of earth is never dead?
3. Answer any one of the following in about 100 words: 6×1=6
(a) What did the peasant tell Charandas about the famine in the village and the landlord’s role? What did Charandas do to the landlord and to what end? 1+ 1+ 2+ 2
(b) What is the functions of song in the play?
(c) Habib Tanvir tries to criticize our existing social and political set up through the play ‘Charandas Chor’- Discuss.
4. (a) Do as directed: 1×6=6
(i) Who doesn’t know Ramlal? [Rewrite as an assertive sentence]
(ii) “You have already been answered”, said the hermit to the Tsar. [Turn into indirect speech]
(iii) I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes. [Turn into a complex sentence]
(iv) The hermit was digging the ground. [Change the voice]
(v) The man who had entered the compartment broke into my reverie. [Split into two simple sentences]
(vi) This is the best time. [Use the positive degree of ‘best’]
(b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and/or prepositions: 3
I have endeavored ..(i).. understand ..(ii).. fundamental truths revealed ..(iii).. me ..(iv).. my father, and feel convinced that there exists ..(v).. divine power that can lift one up from confusion, misery, melancholy and failure and guide one ..(vi).. one’s true place.
(c) Correct the error in the following sentence by replacing the underlined word with the right one from the options given below: 1×1=1
It could be a fascinated game, guessing what went on out there.
(Options: fascination, fascinate, fascinating]
5. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The country’s biggest inland lake, Chilka, connects with the Bay of Bengal through a narrow mouth, hence making it by nature a tropical lagoon. The lake is dotted with a number of picturesque islands bearing evocative names like Honeymoon Island, Breakfast Island and Bird Island. Its beauty is further enhanced by its wide variety of acquatic fauna and resident and migratory birds. Its shores are the habitat of beautiful black bucks. The 19th century Oriya poet, Radhanath Roy, remarked that Chilka was truly a thing of beauty, a joy forever.
The lake is surrounded by numerous hills. Its colour changes magnificently with the passing clouds and the sun’s position. The picture postcard beauty is enhanced by the hundreds of boats which set sail everyday, wafted by the breeze from the sea, the fishermen making a bountiful catch of prawn, mackerel and crab. Chilka wears a grand look specially in winter when it becomes home to exotic species of migratory birds arriving in large number from lands as far of as Siberia and Mongolia and from some other cold countries.
There is a goddess Kalijai temple, abode of its presiding deity, on a tiny island in Chilka. Another attraction is the island home of migratory birds called Nalabana, Visitors of the lake can reach the emerald green islands by motor launches of the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) stationed at Barkul and Rambha that are available on hire. Motor launches of the state revenue department are also available at nearby Balugaon. Besides, country boats can be hired from private operators at all these points.
(a) State whether the following statements are True or False. Write T for True and ‘F’ for False:
(You need not write the sentences, write only the numbers)
(i) Hills surround Chilka.
(ii) On an island in Chilka, there is a temple.
(iii) Chilka has no connection with the Bay of Bengal.
(iv) Prawn, mackerel and crab are unavailable in Chilka.
(b) Answer each of the following questions in about 30 words: 2×3=6
(i) Who spoke about Chilka and what did he say? 1+1
(ii) When does Chilka wear a grand look and why? 1+1
(iii) How can a visitor explore the islands on Chilka? 1+1
6. (a) Recently your school organized a magic show. Write a report on it for the local periodical magazine. (Word limit: 150 words) 2+8=10
Or, (b) Write a letter to MK Electronics, Kolkata, requesting for repair or replacement of the MK TV set which you had bought from them only 2 months ago as it has developed certain defects. (Word limit: 150 words) 2+8=10
Or, (c) Write a précis of the following passage. Add a suitable title. 2+8=10
Man is inquisitive by nature. He seeks to know the unknown, to see the unseen. Books and pictures fail to give him full satisfaction; he wants to know, see with his own eyes. That is why he is so fond of travelling. There are various means used for travel –trains, cars, aeroplanes. Some even prefer to take sea cruises. But the best is to travel by cycle. This enables us to get in direct touch with all we pass through or meet. Travelling has a great educational value. It gives us first hand knowledge of the places through which we pass; their physical features, their people, their crops and minerals, their natural beauty. We can learn much about the manners and customs of different people. These are lessons more interesting and more effective than what we see on television or what we get from books.
We read about the majesty of the Himalayas and the vastness of the ocean, of the original tribes and the lives of the village people in the interior. But we cannot have any clear conception of them unless we see them with our own eyes. That is why educational tours are encouraged everywhere in today’s world.
Travelling gives us pleasure too. Even a short trip to an ordinary place relieves monotony and fills the mind with joy. We can go to a health resort and can recover our health. Thus travelling combines the pleasure of adventure with the joy of knowledge and experience. (250 words)
PART-D Marks: 20
[Multiple Choice Type Questions (MCQ) and Short Answer Type Questions (SAO) of 1 mark.]
1. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided: 1×4= 4
(a) The lady picked up the boy from the street by holding his
(i) trousers
(ii) shirt front
(iii) wrist
(iv) arm
(b) According to Ruskin Bond, the best time for visiting the hills is
(i) September
(ii) October
(iii) November
(iv) December
(c) The Tsar asked the hermit
(i) one question
(ii) two questions
(iii) four questions
(iv) three questions
(d) One of the forebears of Kalam’s mother was awarded by the British the title of
(i) Bahadur
(ii) Raibahadur
(iii) Padmashree
(iv) Bharat Ratna
2. Answer any four of the following questions, each in a complete sentences: 1×4= 4
(a) At which station did the blind girl get into the train?
(b) Who was the high priest of Rameswaram temple?
(c) What were there behind the screen in Mrs Jones’s room?
(d) Where did the Tsar fall asleep?
(e) Who would receive the blind girl at the destination?
(f) In whom did Abdul Kalam’s father have an ideal helpmate?
(g) Why did Roger want to snatch the large purse of Mrs Jones?
(h) What was the hermit doing when the Thar came to visit him?
3. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided: 1×4= 4
(a) The silence in “The Poetry of Earth’ has been wrought by
(i) summer
(ii) winter
(iii) frost
(iv) rain
(b) “The eye of heaven” In Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet No. 18’ refers to
(i) the sun
(ii) the moon
(iii) the poet
(iv) the clouds
(c) The smile of the soldier in the poem ‘Asleep In The Valley’ is
(1) gentle
(ii) witty
(nl) foolish
(iv) cunning
(d) “Miniature boughs”: — The word ‘boughs’ means
(1) leaves
(ii) roots
(ili) branches
(iv) stems
4. Answer any four of the following questions, each in a complete sentence:1×4= 4
(a) What do the “two red holes” in the poem ‘Asleep In The Valley’ signify?
(b) Where are the feet of the soldier?
(c) What according to Gieve Patel is the most sensitive part of a tree?
(d) “Not so much pain will do it…” –What task does the word ‘H’ refer to?
(e) Who takes the lead in summer luxury?
(f) a voice will run.” – Whose voice is referred to here?
(g) What will make the beauty of the poet’s friend eternal?
(h) What shall death not brag in Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet No. 18’?
5. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided: 1X4= 4
(a) The merchant’s wife got her ornaments made from
(i) Raipur
(ii) Raigaon
(lll) Raigarh
(iv) Junagarh
(b) The amount of money that the Guru asked from the gambler as gurudakshina was
(i) one rupee twenty-five paise
(ii) twenty-five paise
(iii) fifty paise
(iv) one rupee fifty paise
(c) The smoker offered the guru
(1) Cigarettes
(ii) Bidis
(iii) Chillum
(iv) Cigars
(d) The merchant’s wife in the play ‘Charandas Chor’ was from
(i) Nandgaon
(ii) Bhatgaon
(iii) Raigarh
(iv) Pune