Mp board abhyas prashn patra 2023 class 12th English Set B full solution
Practice Set Paper-2
Class-XII
Subject-English
Time:3 hours Total Marks:80
Instructions:
Read all the questions carefully.
Read the instructions given with the questions before attempting them.
Marks of each question are indicated against them.
Section-A (Reading)
Q.1. Read the passages and answer the questions that follow. 1×10=10
Once upon a time, there lived a queen in the city of Benaras. Her name was
Khema and she was the wife of King Bahuputtaka. One night, the Queen had a
dream of a beautiful golden goose that spoke with great wisdom, almost as if he
was a sage. She told her husband that she desperately wanted to see a bird just
like the one in her dream. So the King asked his ministers to find out all that they
could about a bird such as this. He was told that such a bird did exist but was
extremely rare and difficult to find. They advised him to build a beautiful lake on
the outskirts of Benaras so that he may attract such a rare and lovely creature
to reside there. In this way, the queen might have her wish. Towards the north,
on Mount Cittakuta, there lived about ninety thousand wild geese headed by a
beautiful golden goose called King Dhatarattha. He got to hear of this exquisite
lake surrounded by water lilies and lotuses floating on the surface. The King had
invited all the birds to come and live on it; promising that none of them would
ever be harmed. Corn was scattered on a daily basis in order to attract the birds.
So a couple of geese went up to their King, the golden goose and told him that
they were quite tired of living up on the mountains and would like to see this
wonderful lake where they had been promised food and protection. The king
agreed to their request and took the flock down towards Benaras. Meanwhile,
at the lake King Bahuputtaka had placed hunters all around in order to capture
any golden goose that happened to pass by. So the next morning, when the
head-huntersaw this flock of geese approaching he was very excited to see their
golden leader. He immediately went about setting up a snare amongst the water
lilies and lotuses, as he knew that the leader would definitely be the first to
alight. The whole flock came flying down in one mighty swoop and as expected
it was the King‘s foot that touched the water first. He was ensnared and could
not escape. Seeing this, the other geese flew into a panic. But none had the
courage to try to free their king and so flew back to Mount Cittacuta for safety.
All except one. He was the chief captain, Sumukha. King Dhatrattha entreated
him to fly to safety too, as he would surely be captured if he stayed by his side.
But Sumukha replied that he would never desert his master in the face of danger
and would either try to save him or die by his side. At this point the hunter
approached and as Sumukha saw him he decided to appeal to his compassion.
The hunter asked the golden goose how come he had not noticed the trap that
was set. The golden goose replied that when one‘s time was up it was no use to
struggle against what was fated and one must just accept it. The huntsman was
very impressed with his grace and wisdom. He then turned to Sumukha and
asked why he had not filed with the other birds even though he was free to do
so. Sumukha answered that the golden goose was his King, best friend and
master and that he could never desert him even at the cost of his own life.
Hearing this, the hunter realized that these were a couple of rare birds of great
nobility. He didn’t care much for his own King‘s reward and decided to do the
right thing and set them free. He told Sumukha that as he was ready to die for
his King he would set them both free to fly wherever they wished.
Questions:
i Why were the geese keen on visiting the lake in Benaras?
(a) They were invited personally by King Bahuputtaka
(b) They were tired of their old lake
(c) They were amused by the water lilies and lotuses
(d) The lake was not very far from the mountains
ii. Why did the king approach the ministers?
(a)In order to find out the best location for the lake
(b)In order to find out if a golden goose existed
(c)To enquire about his wife‘s dreams
(d) To devise a plan to capture all rare bird species
iii. Why did the head-hunter release the King, golden goose?
(a) He was impressed by his wisdom and nobility
(b) The geese were a rare species of birds
(c) The golden goose, King Dhatarattha promised him a handsome reward
(d) The hunter sympathised with a golden goose
iv. What was the king‘s intention behind building a lake?
(a) To attract all rare species of living animals and birds
(b) To beautify the city of Benaras
(c) He did not want to go against the wishes of his wife
(d) He wanted to capture the golden goose
v. Why did the flock of geese panic and retreat to Mount Cittacuta?
(a) Their King took the wrong route to the lake and they lost their way
(b) Their King, the golden goose, was captured
(c) Their chief captain, Sumukha betrayed the King
(d) They spotted many hunters by the lake
vi What advice did the ministers give to the king?
(a) That no such golden goose existed and he was only wasting his time
searching for one
(b) To create an artificial golden goose, for the queen
(c) To build a lake in order to attract the golden goose
(d) To open a sanctuary of rare birds for the queen
vii. Which of the following statements would best describe the qualities of
Sumukha?
(1) Betrayer of the flock
(2) The Selfless Goose
(3) Loyal towards the king
(4) The native and ignorant goose
(a) Only (1) (b) Only (2)
(c) Only (3) and (4) (d) Only (2) and (3)
Instructions:(Q. viii to X) Choose the word which is most nearly the same in
meaning to the word asked.
viii. Exquisite
(a) Expensive (b) Delicate
(c) Elaborate (d) Wonderful
ix. Snare
(a) Trap (b) Alarm
(c) Plan (d) Arrangement
x. Desert
(a) Displease (b) Encourage
(c) Abandon (d) Escort
Q.2. Read the following passage carefully and make notes on it also give a
suitable title to it. 4
How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people who
carefully choose the shows that they watch. Television can increase our
knowledge of the outside world; there are high quality programmes that help us
understand many fields of study, science, medicine, the different arts and so on.
Moreover, television benefits very old people, who can’t leave the house, as well
as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the advantages of daily
informal language practice. They can increase their vocabulary and practice
listening.
On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of television, of
course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend our free time, but
in some countries, people watch television for an average of six hours or more
a day. Many children stare at the TV screen for more hours a day than they spend
on anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear that TV has a
powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is often negative.
Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television viewing, a
person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before the person falls
asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is that it seems to cause
poor concentration. Children who view a lot of television can often concentrate
on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay attention only for
the amount of time between commercials.
Q.3. You are Harsha sport secretary of your school write a notice for your school
notice board about the sports meet to be held in the next week.
4
Or
Design an attractive and effective poster against the use of drugs.
Q.4. You are Shubh Chauhan residing at A/33 Basant Kunj, Gwalior. Write a
letter to the Municipal Chairman complaining about the poor sanitary condition
of your locality. 4
Or
You are Riya Verma, residing at 158, Vasu Nagar, Khargone. Write a letter to
your friend inviting her to your birthday party.
Q.5. Your school organised an inter-school debate competition last month.
Write a report of this event for your school magazine giving details like
schedule, venue, topic, winners etc. 4
Or
Write a short paragraph on any one of the following topics in about 120 words.
A. Importance of Games and Sports B. Impact of Global Warming
C. Man, Computer and Mobile. D. Importance of English.
E. Power of Press in Democracy
Q.6. Fill in the blanks (any five) 1×5=5
i. He ——– my pen in his bag. (hide/hid/hidden)
ii. How ——–times have you visited Shimla? (many/much/any)
iii. Anuj is junior———-me. (at/to/than)
iv. Work hard lest you ——- fail. (should/would/will)
v. Don’t walk carelessly —– you will fall down. (and/ but/else)
vi. Hardly had the thief seen the police – he ran away. (when/than/so)
Q.7. Do as directed (any five) 1×5=5
i. I believe so. You have acted wrongly.
(Combine the sentences using Noun Clause)
ii. Unless I have money, I cannot buy this car.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘if’)
iii. The tea is too hot for him to drink.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘so……..that’)
iv. She hurt her friend. (Change the sentence into interrogative)
v. This is the school where I teach.
(identify the underlined clause)
vi. There is life. There is hope.
(Combine the pair of sentences using ‘as long as’)
Q.8. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow. 1×5=5
Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, was said to have had ‘a just
horror of the interviewer and he never consented to be interviewed- It was his
horror of being lionized which made him thus repel would be acquaintances,
interviewers, and the persistent petitioners for his autograph and he would
afterwards relate the stories of his success in silencing all such people with much
satisfaction and amusement.
Questions:
i.‘Alice in Wonderland’ is created by ——
(a) Lewis Carroll (b) Rudyard Kipling (c) V. S. Naipaul
ii. Lewis Carroll’s opined that interviews and auto graph create—
(a) wonder (b) terror (c) horror
iii. Who has expressed on the interviewers negatively?
(a) Rudyard Kipling (b) Lewis Carroll (c) Christopher
iv. The above extract has taken from—
(a) The Last Lesson (b) Lost Spring (c) The Interview
v. Who is the author of the lesson from which the above text has been taken?
(a) Alphonse Daudet (b) Christopher Sylvester (c) Asoka Mitran
Q.9. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
(A) The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.
Questions: 1×3=3
i. Name the poem and the poet of the above text.
ii. What do the flowers of cities in a roadside stand refer to?
a. city people b. city cars
c. village crowd d. The pleasures of cities
iii. What is a Roadside Stand in the poem?
a. a bus stop b. a waiting point
c. a shed outside a roadside d. a traffic stand
(B). At that very moment, a great miracle took place. An astonishing phrase
emerged from the lips of the ten-day old Jung Bahaddur ‘O wise prophets’
Everyone stood transfixed in stupefaction. They looked wildly at each other and
blinked.
‘‘O wise prophets! It was I who spoke.’’ This time there were no grounds for
doubt. It was the infant born just ten days ago who had enunciated the words
so clearly. The chief astrologer took off his spectacles and gazed intently at the
baby. ‘‘All those who are born will one day have to die. We don’t need your
predictions to know that. There would be some sense in it if you could tell us the
manner of that death,’’ the royal infant uttered these words in his little squeaky
voice.
Questions: 1×4=4
i. Who is ‘I’ in the above lines?
a. The Tiger King b. the prophet
c. The tiger king’s father d. The Tiger King’s wife
ii. Who spoke at the age of 10 days?
a. The Tiger King b. Dr.Sadao
c. Evans d. Jack
iii. What did the royal infant want to know?
a. The exact manner of his marriage
b. The exact manner of his death
c. The exact manner of his sitting on his throne
d. The exact manner of his life
iv. Find out the synonym of ‘utter’ from the following.
a. to speak b. to express
c. to let out d. All of these
Q.10 Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any five) 2×5=10
i. Why did Franz not want to go to school that day?
ii. How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?
Iii. Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
iv. Why did the servants think Gandhi to be another peasant?
v. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios?
vi. With reference to the lesson ‘The Interview’, How does V. S. Naipaul
comment on interview?
vii. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of?
Q.11. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any three) 2×3=6
i. In the poem keeping Quiet What does the poet mean by saying ‘victory with
no survivors’??
ii. According to John Keats, How long do we experience things of beauty?
iii. In the poem ‘A Road Side Stand , What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet
refers to?
iv. Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with?
Q.12. Answer the following questions in about 30 words. (any two) 2×2=4
i. Why doesn’t Charley consider ‘stamp collecting habit’ a way of escapism?
ii. In what condition did Dr. Sadao and Hana find the white man at the seashore?
iii. What were the different names given to the King of Pratibandapuram?
Q.13. Answer the following questions in about 75 words. (any two) 3×2=6
i. How did the order from Berlin change the atmosphere in the school?
ii. Subbu has been described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special
abilities.
iii. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person?
Q.14. Answer the following question in about 75 words. 3×1=3
Write the central idea of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’.
or
What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’?
Q.15. Answer the following question in about 75 words. 3×1=3
What is the significance of the title ‘Journey to the End of the Earth’
or
How did Zitkala-sa feel when her long heavy hair was cut?
