SECTION A-READING
1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: [8 ]
1. A fisherman, enfeebled with age, could no longer go out to sea so he began fishing in the river. Every morning he would go down to the river and sit there fishing the whole day long. In the evening he would sell whatever he had caught, buy food for himself and go home. It was a hard life for an old man. One hot afternoon while he was trying to keep awake and bemoaning his fate, a large bird with silvery feathers alighted on a rock near him. It was Kaha, the heavenly bird. “Have you no one to care for you, grandpa?”
asked the bird. “Not a soul.” “You should not be doing such work at your age,” said the bird. “From now on I will bring you a big fish every evening. You can sell it and live in comfort.” True to her word, the bird began to drop a large fish at his doorstep every evening. All that the fisherman had to do was take it to the market and sell it. As big fish were in great demand, he was soon rolling in money. He bought a cottage near the sea, with a garden around it and engaged a servant to cook for him. His wife had died some years earlier. He had decided to marry again and began to look for a suitable woman.
2. One day he heard the royal courtier make an announcement. Our king has news of a great bird called Kaha,” said the courtier. “Whoever can give information about this bird and help catch it, will be rewarded with half the gold in the royal treasury and half the kingdom!” The fisherman was sorely tempted by the reward. Half the kingdom would make him a prince!
3. “Why does the king want the bird,” he asked. “He has lost his sight,” explained the courtier. “A wise man has advised him to bathe his eyes with the blood of Kaha. Do you know where she can be found?” “No…I mean …no, no…” Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply. The courtier, sensing that he knew something about the bird, informed the king. The king had him brought to the palace.
4. “If you have information about the bird, tell me”, urged the king. “I will reward you
handsomely and if you help catch her, I will personally crown you king of half my domain.” “I will get the bird for you,” cried the fisherman, suddenly making up his mind. “But Kaha is
strong. I will need help. The king sent a dozen soldiers with him. That evening when the bird came with the fish, the fisherman called out to her to wait. “You drop the fish and go and I never get a chance to thank you for all that you‘ve done for me,” he said. “Today I have laid out a feast for you inside. Please alight and come in. Kaha was reluctant to accept the invitation but the fisherman pleaded so earnestly that she finally gave in, and alighted. The moment she was on the ground, the fisherman grabbed one of her legs and
shouted to the soldiers hiding in his house to come out. They rushed to his aid but their combined effort could not keep Kaha down.
5. She rose into the air with the fisherman still clinging onto her leg. By the time he realised he was being carried away, the fisherman was too high in the air to let go. He hung on grimly, and neither he nor Kaha were ever seen again.
I. Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer three of the four questions.
a. Why did the fisherman start fishing in the river?
Ans: The fisherman had become old and weak and wasn’t able to do fishing in the sea, so he started fishing in the river
b. How did the fisherman spend the day before he met Kaha?
Ans: Every morning he would go down to the river and sit there fishing the whole day long. In the evening he would sell whatever he had caught, buy food for himself and go home. It was a hard life for an old man. He used to bemoan his fate.
c. How did the fisherman betray Kaha?
Ans : Fisherman betrayed Kaha saying that he wanted to thank her for her generosity and had prepared a feast for her
d. Why was the fisherman doubtful about revealing information about Kaha to the courtier?
Ans: Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply to the courtiers.
II Pick out the words/phrases from the passage which are opposite in meaning to the following:
a. Take off (Para 1)
b. Readily (Para 4)
Ans :(i) alighted
(ii) reluctantly
Q2. Read the given case-based passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Case study of museums
1.We don’t go to museums. We prefer malls, cinema halls, and restaurants. Visiting a museum is best left to schools which make it mandatory. After all, it is an academic exercise. And what entertainment can these places possibly offer? India doesn’t boast the greatest of museums, but one can’t doubt the collection of artifacts in these repositories of heritage, even for a second. Our eventful history has handed down us numerous masterpieces, but unfortunately, we don’t find them compelling enough. Cultural historian and museologist Jyotindra Jain says that the habit of going to museums has just not been inculcated in us. One o the best museums in the country, National Museum in Delhi charges a mere Rs. 20. According to Joyoti Roy, outreach consultant, National Museum, it receives between 6,00,000 to 7,00,000 visitors each year and anything between 2,500 and 3,000 per day. The mix includes Indians, foreigners, and school students. For an Indian museum, it is an astounding figure, but still nowhere close to the footfalls museums, we consider the finest, get.
2. It has not been many days since the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore, hosted A. Ramachandran’s expansive retrospective covering five decades of his artistic journey. As we sat outside the first-floor gallery after Ramachandran walked me through his sketches, sculptures, and paintings, the senior artist, a bit disappointed said, “Had an exhibition of this scale taken place abroad, people would have come in thousands.” There were about three-five visitors inside the gallery at that time. Jain, who has also helmed institutions like the Crafts Museum and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, puts the onus on museums. “We developed the museums but didn’t evolve the infrastructure around it. And it is the museum’s responsibility to do it. When you know, people are not going to come to you, you must go to them. Crafts Museum shares its wall with India Trade Promotion Organisation. It receives lakhs of people during the trade fair. I fought tooth and nail to get that door opened during my tenure (1984-89) so that the visitors spill over to
the Crafts Museum as well. Museums need to rethink their strategies and outreach should be a major point of concern for them.”
3. In 2010, UNESCO brought out a report on the terrible conditions at India’s top eight museums, citing substandard maintenance, lighting, and signage, among other issues. The Ministry of Culture put together a 14- point museum reforms agenda and things have moved forward since then. Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, the oldest museum in Mumbai has received 3,00,000 visitors over the past year. On an average, the museum witnesses 500 visitors every day, with an average of 2,000 visitors over weekends. Not big numbers again, but impressive enough in the Indian context. And this is when the museum re-emerged after a revamp in 2008 with an extensive exhibition programme. Collaborations, screenings of movies of different genres, and workshops for adults and children contributed to the increase in the number of footfalls. The public-private partnership model of the museum is unique and can be replicated in other cases as well.
4. Robust publicity of exhibitions and creating links between different art spaces can also fetch the audience. Different art institutions located in proximity can host a series of events to be held in each one of them simultaneously. Museums also need to transform their cafes, upgrade their museum shops, and most importantly, invest in their human resource. So, what do we do until then? Let’s go and explore these storehouses of history, culture, and knowledge because unless and until we claim them, they will remain indifferent to our needs.
After studying the case study of museums, answer any three of the following questions.
Q a. What according to the author is the reason for fewer footfalls to the museums in India?
Ans: People prefer malls, cinema halls, and restaurants. No entertainment value The habit of going to museums has not been inculcated.
Q b. What measures are suggested in the passage to multiply the visitors to the museums?
Ans :Robust publicity of exhibitions-Creating links between different art spaces -Different art institutions located in proximity can host a series of events to be held in each one of them simultaneously. Museums also need to transform their cafes, upgrade their museum shops, and most importantly, invest in their human resource-Public-Private partnership
Q c. What was the proposition given by A. Ramachandran during his tenure at Crafts Museum?
Ans :Crafts Museum shares its wall with India Trade Promotion Organisation. It receives lakhs of people during the trade fair. He proposed to get that door opened so that there is an increase in visitors to the Crafts Museum.
Q d. Between National Museum of Delhi and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, which museum has more footfall on daily basis? Justify using statistics provided in the study.
Ans :National museum witnesses more footfall compared to Bhau Dauji museum. It sees 2500-3000 daily visitors compared to around 500 visitors of Bhau Dauji museum.
SECTION B- CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS
3.Answer any one of the two questions given in about 120 – 150 words :
(a) “Teenagers are never too young to teach others a thing or two -be it about technology or environment”. This is the topic on which Shirin/Sharad ,the Head Girl/ Head Boy of your school has to deliver a speech on, during the morning assembly. Write the speech within the given word-limit.
OR
(b) Recently your school held a Seminar on Conservation of Water as a part of World Water Day celebrations. As the Head Boy/ Head Girl of your school, who participated in the event, write a report for your school magazine in 120- 150 words. You are Ravi/ Ravina.
Ans : Writing Skills
Format-1mark (heading +by line/ salutation )
Content- 2 marks
Expression- 2 marks (grammatical accuracy, vocabulary, coherence, fluency)
Credit to be given to the candidate’s creativity in presentation of ideas, appropriate use of language and skills of reasoning.
Speech– Value points:
Recent pandemic crisis got youngsters to teach technology to parents,grand-parents; students like Greta Thunberg’s protest against callous attitude of governments, statesmen etc.
Report Value points:
Details of the date, time, venue, chief guest must be included; use of passive voice and a formal tone in the writing must be present.
SECTION C – APPLIED GRAMMAR
4. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with each question.. Answer any five out of the given six questions:
(i)Lata said she would only go to the party if her mother bought her a new dress.
(Use’ UNLESS’ )
Lata said she ……………………………………………………………………. . her mother bought her a new dress.
Ans :Lata said, she would not go to the party unless her mother bought her a new dress.
(ii) I’m sorry I didn’t meet you at the airport – my car wasn’t working.
(Use’ MET’)
I…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. . at the airport if my car had been working.
Ans : I would have met you at the airport if my car had been working.
(iii) My uncle would call my dog ‘the wolf’ when he used to visit.
(Use ‘ REFER’)
My uncle would ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. . ‘the wolf’ when he used to visit.
Ans :My uncle would refer to my dog as ‘the wolf’ when he used to visit
(iv) Fifty years ago, cars were slower than they are nowadays.
(Use‘AS’)
Fifty years ago, cars ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. they are nowadays.
Ans : Fifty years ago, cars were not as fast as they are nowadays
(v) Some shops try really hard to help you.
(Use’ EFFORT’)
Some shops really ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. to help you.
Ans :Some shops really put in effort to help you.
(vi) Have you got a belt that is cheaper than this one?
(Use ‘ LESS’)
Have you got ………………………………………………………………………………………………… than this one?
Ans : Have you got a belt that is less expensive than this one?
SECTION D – LITERATURE
5. Answer any one out of the two questions in (30-40) words
(a) Why did Dr. Margolin not want his wife to accompany him to the wedding?
Ans : wanted to save himself from the embarrassment of facing the mess of American Judaism in front of his wife
Jewish laws and customs being distorted- no regard for Jewishness
OR
(b) What were the personality traits that endeared Dr. Margolin to others in his community?
Ans : though poor origin, but self taught, was considered a prodigy in his childhood Treated rabbis, refugees and Jewish writers without charge
Q6. Answer any two out of three questions in (40-50) words.
(a) What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of summer?
Ans : Psaltery – stringed instrument, refers to sounds of nature, wind plays through leaves, chirping of birds
(b) What is the central theme of the poem- ‘Time and again’?
Ans : poem of the tower clock- neither a Shakespearean tower nor a Hazlittian sundial- neither mechanical nor cosmic time- more about human relationships, making and unmaking in the course of time, tangible human relations, forging alliances, different communities at strife and bonding- it is about communities at peace or strife-narrow mentalities’ clashes -time rejoins them and makes them.
(c) Draw out the contrast between the liveliness of the swans and human life?
Ans : poet feels he has grown so old, that he is no longer young and active like the Swans- Swans can move around with full of energy as they were some nineteen autumns back- they still could go around carefree with no worries, but he feels it’s no more the same with him-time has gradually decayed his youthful and robust body, while the swans are still the same, full of life.
Q7. Answer any one out of two questions in (40-50) words.
(a) What does the author mean by ‘tremulations on ether’ and ‘the novel as a tremulation’?
Ans: novels induce liveliness in the readers where the other books are not proficient enough- Reading regular books indicate reading messages or gathering news that is being read over the radio- one can feel happy or sad about the specific news for some time-whereas novel portrays a multi-dimensional view of the characters, and the readers can relate with them personally. A novel teaches valuable life lessons which any reader can inculcate in their own lives and make their decisions-novel is a life inducing factor in the writer’s thought processes- in turn, significantly affects the readers.
OR
(b) What apprehensions does Ingram harbour regarding the contemporary film industry?
Ans : -Modern crop of film makers rely on solitude for making movies-
-seeking inspiration, borrowing from others works is often termed as plagiarism
-film making a continuous process- involves constant inspiration and learning from each other
Q8. Answer any one of the following questions in 120-150 words.
(a) “If I find you fighting again, I’ll be back to stop it. Take care; you should not need a tiger to keep the peace.” How do the above lines align with the novel‘A Tiger for Malgudi’?
Ans: Raja, the tiger, after coming under the influence of the Master, behaves more humanly than human beings. listens to the Master’s discourses on The Bhagavad Gita tries to elevate himself from mundane level to a higher plane of existence Raja symbolises a soul striving for perfection Narayan, seems to suggest that the people of Malgudi need an exemplary personality like Raja, the tiger to emulate and then improve themselves As Master and the tiger leave Malgudi, they come across a rioting mob engaged in bloody strife- they disperse when they see a tiger Forgetting their strife with each other Master says or country also needs a tiger to keep us disciplined
OR
(b) Describe the relationship between Captain and his wife in the novel ‘A Tiger for Malgudi’.
Ans : Captain’s relationship with his wife remains tense as both are attracted by their own Interests-Captain was deeply concerned with the promotion of his circus and its animals the wife was tired of blindly following the wishes of captain in her role of acrobat opposition of taste often resulted in heated arguments between the husband and wifeNarayan downplays the petty domestic feuds between husband and wife as a token of their personalized love Same wife after the tragic end of Captain commits suicide as both were unable to live without each other though they complain of their misunderstandings
OR
(c) Lakshmi Holmstrom in “The Novels of R. K. Narayan” Calcutta: Writers Workshop Publication, 1973, comments “Different abilities and values are opposed and matched until Pal becomes a “nightmare to Margayya”. Keeping the above statement in mind, trace the evolution of Margayya and Mr. Pal’s relationship.
Ans : main purpose is to create happiness in the world to prevent tragedies relating to ill-matched couples-crucial in lifting Margayya’s economic status-Balu’s constant companion- initiated him into immoral activities-Dr. Pal is the cause for the ruin of Margayya’s son- spreads rumours about him and brings about his decline
OR
