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HBSE Class 12 English Half Yearly Question Paper 2024 Answer Key
Section – A (Reading Skills)
1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow : (5 Marks)
The journey of a seed is really a long journey to become a seed again. Seeds germinate only in favourable conditions of soil, water, minerals etc. A seed first changes into a seedling which is just above the ground. Then it changes into a sapling which is called a young tree. These two nursery stages of a plant are usually found in a plant nursery. Then after showing a few leaves and a tender stem, it attains a height of two to three feet and its chances of survival increase. It is usually seen that many plants die at their juvenile stage. Every plant grows into a mature tree when it starts showing buds which slowly bloom into flowers. These flowers grow further towards maturity and become fruits which are relished by us. There is a huge variety of fruits and flowers around us. Almost all of them have seeds inside them. There are different ways of seeds getting mature. Some of them ripe inside the fruit and vegetables while some of them get ready when they are dried. But all of them are ready to give birth to a plant as and when they get favourable conditions of environment.
Questions :
(i) When do the seeds germinate?
(a) only in soil
(b) only in water
(c) only in minerals
(d) only in favourable conditions
Answer – (d) only in favourable conditions
(ii) What is called a young tree?
(a) seedling
(b) sapling
(c) both of them
(d) none of them
Answer – (b) sapling
(iii) When a plant starts showing its flowers it is called …………….
Answer – a mature tree
(iv) Where are the seeds usually found?
Answer – Inside fruit
(v) The word in the passage which means the same as ‘germinate’ is …………
(a) fade
(b) die
(c) develop
(d) wizen
Answer – (c) develop
2. Read the following passage carefully and make notes on it and also supply a suitable title : (5 Marks)
Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on hearing and to concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent listeners fail in a number of ways. First, they may drift. Their attention drifts from what the speaker is saying. Second, they may counter. They find counter-arguments to whatever a speaker may be saying. Third, they compete. Then, they filter. They exclude from their understanding those parts of the message which do not readily fit with their own frame of reference. Finally, they react. They let personal feelings about a speaker or subject override the significance of the message which is being sent.
What can a listener do to be more effective? The first key to effective listening is the art of concentration. If a listener positively wishes to concentrate on receiving a message his chances of success are high. It may need determination. Some speakers are difficult to follow, either because of voice problems or because of the form in which they send a message. There is then a particular need for the determination of a listener to concentrate on what is being said. Concentration is helped by alertness. Mental alertness is helped by physical alertness. It is not simply physical fitness, but also positioning of the body, the limbs and the head. Some people also find it helpful to their concentration if they hold the head slightly to one side. One useful way for achieving this is intensive note-taking, by trying to capture the critical headings and sub-headings the speaker is referring to.
Note-taking has been recommended as an aid to the listener. It also helps the speaker. It gives him confidence when he sees that listeners are sufficiently interested to take notes; the patterns of eye-contact when the note-taker looks up can be very positive; and the speaker’s timing is aided-he can see when a note-taker is writing hard and can then make effective use of pauses.
Posture too is important. Consider the impact made by a less competent listener who pushes his chair backwards and slouches. An upright posture helps a listener’s concentration. At the same time, it is seen by the speaker to be a positive feature amongst his listeners. Effective listening skills have an impact on both the listener and the speaker.
Answer –
Notes :
1. Eff. Speaking Depends on
1.1 eff. listening
1.2 Concen. on listening
1.3 Concen. on understanding What you hear
2. Reasons why in competent listeners fail
2.1 Their attention drifts
2.2 They find counter arguments
2.3 They compete and then filter
2.4 They react
3. Ways of a listener to be more eff.
3.1 Concen. on the msg reed.
3.2 Mental alertness
3.3 Phys. alertness-positioning body
3.4 Note taking aid to the listener helps the speaker gives him confidence, encourages the eye contact
4. Imp. of Posture
4.1 helps listeners in concen.
4.2 seen by spkr. as a +ve feature among listeners
Abbreviations used :
Eff. → effective
concen. → concentrating
msg. → message
reed. → received
phys. → physical
+ve → positive
imp. → important
spkr. → speaker
Title : The Art of Effective Listening
Section – B (Writing Skills)
3. Write a letter to the editor of Newspaper complaining against Open manholes in our locality. (5 Marks)
Answer –
| 46-Janakpuri New Delhi16 Sep, 20xx The Editor Subject : Open manholes Sir / Madam, Yours sincerely |
Section – C (Grammar)
4. Attempt any six out of eight parts : (1 × 6 = 6 Marks)
(i) The patient ……………. before the doctor came. (Tense)
(a) had died
(b) had not die
(c) have became dead
(d) has dead
Answer – (a) had died
(ii) How many cups of tea …………. yesterday? (Tense)
(a) Did you drink
(b) You have drunk
(c) Do you drink
(d) You were drinking
Answer – (a) Did you drink
(iii) The doctor will examine him tomorrow. (Voice)
(a) He examined by the doctor tomorrow.
(b) He will be examined by the doctor tomorrow.
(c) He has the doctor examine him tomorrow.
(d) He may examine at the doctor tomorrow.
Answer – (b) He will be examined by the doctor tomorrow.
(iv) Are you making a good plan? (Voice)
(a) Is a good plan made by you?
(b) Is a good plan being made by you?
(c) Was a good plan made by you?
(d) Was a good plan being made by you?
Answer – (b) Is a good plan being made by you?
(v) The teacher said, “Don’t make a noise”. (Narration)
(a) The teacher said to the boys do not make a noise.
(b) The teacher said to the boys that do not make a noise.
(c) The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise.
(d) The teacher ordered the boys that do not make a noise.
Answer – (c) The teacher ordered the boys not to make a noise.
(vi) He said, “I will return tomorrow.” (Narration)
(a) He said that he will return tomorrow.
(b) He said that he would return tomorrow.
(c) He said that he would return the next day.
(d) He said that I would return the next day.
Answer – (c) He said that he would return the next day.
(vii) I read …………… Geeta every day. (Article)
(a) a
(b) the
(c) an
(d) x
Answer – (b) the
(viii) You ……….….. follow the law of your country. (Modal)
(a) could
(b) must
(c) need
(d) will
Answer – (b) must
Section – D (Prose and Poetry)
5. Read the passage / stanza given below and answer the questions that follow : (5 Marks)
The experience had a deep meaning for me, as only those who have known stark terror and conquered it can appreciate. In death there is peace. There is terror only in the fear of death, as Roosevelt knew when he said, “All we have to fear is fear itself.” Because I had experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror that fear of it can produce, the will to live somehow grew in intensity.
Questions :
(i) Name the chapter.
(a) The Last Lesson
(b) Poets and Pancakes
(c) The Rattrap
(d) Deep Water
Answer – (d) Deep Water
(ii) Name the author.
(a) Ashokamitran
(b) William Douglas
(c) Alphonse Daudet
(d) A.R. Barton
Answer – (b) William Douglas
(iii) Does one fear death itself?
(a) Yes
(b) No
(c) Sometimes
(d) Maybe
Answer – (b) No
(iv) Which word has the meaning similar to ‘feeling’?
(a) sensation
(b) stark
(c) intensity
(d) fear
Answer – (a) sensation
(v) “All we have to fear is fear itself.” – Who said this?
(a) Franklin D. Roosevelt
(b) Abraham Lincoln
(c) John F. Kennedy
(d) Richard Nixon
Answer – (a) Franklin D. Roosevelt
OR
..…realised with pain
that she was as old as she
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling out of their homes,
Questions :
(i) Who is the poet of these lines?
(a) Kamala Das
(b) Stephen Spender
(c) Pablo Neruda
(d) Adrienne Rich
Answer – (a) Kamala Das
(ii) What is the name of the poem?
(a) An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum
(b) My Mother at Sixty-six
(c) Keeping Quiet
(d) A Roadside Stand
Answer – (b) My Mother at Sixty-six
(iii) Who does ‘she’ refer to in the above stanza?
(a) Poetess’s Aunt
(b) Poetess’s Mother
(c) Poetess’s Daughter
(d) Poetess’s Grandmother
Answer – (b) Poetess’s Mother
(iv) What did the poetess realize with pain?
(a) She had left her wallet at home.
(b) Her mother was old and prone to death.
(c) She had a headache.
(d) Her mother had forgot to take her pills.
Answer – (b) Her mother was old and prone to death.
(v) The mood outside of the car is ……………… that inside the car.
(a) the same as
(b) the opposite of
(c) more mossier than
(d) more green than
Answer – (b) the opposite of
6. How did the hundredth tiger take revenge on the Tiger King? (The Tiger King) (5 Marks)
Answer – The Tiger King got a wooden toy-tiger as a birthday present for his son. The father and the son played with the wooden tiger. Its surface was rough. One of the silvers pierced the Maharaja’s right hand. After a few days, infection spread over his arm. He was operated by three expert surgeons, but it could not save the king. At last the king died. Thus, the hundredth tiger (wooden tiger) took revenge upon the king.
OR
When Franz reached his school, what unusual situation did he observe? (The Last Lesson)
Answer – When Franz reached school, an unusual situation prevailed in its atmosphere. Usually, there would be a great hustle and bustle when the school began. The noise of opening and closing of the desks, lessons being repeated in unison and the hitting of the teacher’s ruler on the table could be heard out in the street. But that day, it was all very quiet and as still as on a Sunday morning.
7. Answer any three questions : (2 × 3 = 6 Marks)
(i) Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler? (The Rattrap)
Answer – The crofter was an old man. He had no wife or children. He lived alone in his house. When the peddler knocked at his door and asked for shelter, he was happy to receive someone to talk to in his loneliness. So, he was so talkative and friendly with the peddler.
(ii) Why do bangle makers end up losing their eye-sight? (Lost Spring)
Answer – The bangle makers in the glass bangles industry in Firozabad faced many problems. They had to work in the dingy cells without air and light in the high temperatures of the furnace. The dust particles from the bangles injured their eyes. They often lost their eyesight before they became adults.
(iii) What is the aim of the program ‘Students on Ice’? (Journey to the End of the Earth)
Answer – The ‘Students on Ice’ programme aims to take high school students to the ends of the world. It provides them with inspiring educational opportunities which foster in them a new understanding and respect for our planet. It offers the future generation of policymakers a life-changing experience at an age when they are ready to absorb, learn and act.
(iv) What did Dr. Sadao and his wife do with the enemy? (The Enemy)
Answer – Dr Sadao and his wife found an unconscious wounded war prisoner who posed a huge threat to their own safety. However, Dr Sadao decided to go with his gut feeling and operate on him. He saved his life even though it was for the time being. Though half heartedly, both took good care of the patient’s health and other needs.
9. Why are cars called ‘selfish’? (A Roadside Stand) (3 Marks)
Answer – The poet uses a transferred epithet here. He actually means to say that the owners of the cars just pass by without a thought for the plight of the stall owners. They do not stop to buy anything from them, instead, either ask for directions, or prices of things or to sell gas to the stand. Thus, the urban people riding in cars are called ‘selfish’.
OR
Why has the mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’? (My Mother at Sixty-Six)
Answer – The poet’s mother has been compared to the late winter’s moon to bring out the similarity of ageing and decay. The late winter moon looks hazy and obscure. It lacks shine and strength. The poet’s mother has an ‘ashen’ face resembling a corpse.