The figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions.
1. (a) “If you are here …… if you learn who I am you’ll be appalled. I …. I am a runaway convict.”
i) Who is the speaker? (1mark)
-> Pyotr Petrovich Milkin is the speaker here.
ii) Why does he say these words? (2marks)
-> He said these words because Kondrashkin was compelling him to propose to his daughter at any cost. But Pyotr never courted his daughter. So he was trying to worm his way out of the situation.
iii) What is the listener’s immediate reaction? (4marks)
-> When listener heard that pyotr was a runaway convict, he did not bother. His reaction was very cool and calm. He said that as Nastye loud him, she could be with Pyotr in time of his distress. So PYotr might propose to her. He insisted pyotr to marry Anastasia as he had seven daughters and Pyotr has spent lots of time with Nastya, eating drinking and chatting to the girls all the time. He behaved like a suitor, so he must propose his daughter Anastasia.
(b) “Be a friend and certify me insane”.
i) Who is this being said to? (1marks)
-> Ptotr said this to his doctor friend. Doctor Fituyev.
ii) What question does the listener ask? (2marks)
-> The listener asked Peter if he did not want to get married.
iii) What does the listener finally say? (4marks)
-> Finally the doctor Fituyev refused to clarify that pyotr was mad. He said that anyone who did not want to get married was not crazy, rather he was very wise. He further told him to come when he wanted to get married. As per doctor that would be the time for him to come for the certificate of insane. If he agreed to marry, it meant he had gone stark, mad. – So the listener finally refused to give the certificate.
(c) “As I wrestled with the clauses and sections his voice rose like a gale.”
i) Who says this? (1mark)
-> A fellow passenger who boarded the train at the next station.
ii) Where was the speaker and what was he trying to do? (2marks)
iii) What were the topics being discussed? (4marks)
-> The speaker was discussing international politics criticizing France and Germany.
d) “He’s gone at last! Really, I was all in a tremble for fear”.
i) Who says these words? (1mark)
-> Mrs. Bouncer says these words.
ii) Why is the speaker afraid? (2marks)
-> The speaker is afraid because the box will arrive at any moment. She does not want to see both box and cox at the same moment. Because neither of them knew that they live in the same room.
iii) Are the speaker’s fears groundless or justified? Give a reasoned answer. (4marks)
-> The person’s fears are not groundless though not fully justified. Because if they met she would fall in an awkward position. But she should not have done such a thing only for the sake of earning a little more money.
(e) The authors of ‘The Many and the none’ claim that vegetables are being doctored.
i) Name the authors. (1mark)
-> Ashish Kothari and Bansuri Tanya are the authors of “The Many and the none.
ii) What is meant by ‘doctored’? (2marks)
-> In the purpose- piece the author had mentioned about the various systems applied to vegetables. Nowadays various processes are applied to make them “look good” and also to grow faster with help of various kinds of manures, pesticides, insecticides etc. the process of applying medicines for the above mentioned purpose has been mentioned as “ being doctored” by writers.
2. Give short answers to the following: (1×6=6)
a) Where were the daffodils growing?
-> The daffodils are growing beside a lake under green trees.
b) Where does the memory of the daffodils flash?
-> The memory of the daffodils flashes in the mind of the poet whenever he felt lovely and had a pensive mood.
c) Who shook out the hearts of the trees?
-> It is the autumn season.
d) Where did the bird fly out from when the traveler knocked on the door?
-> When the traveler knocked out the door the bird flew out of the turn above his head.
e) Does anyone answer his knock?
-> No one answered his knock.
f) From whom does the speaker want to unlearn all these muting things?
-> The speaker wants to unlearn all these muting things from his son.
3. Give brief answers to the following: (2×6=12)
a) What ‘wealth’ does the poet gain from the daffodils?
-> The view of the golden daffodils is the ‘wealth’. The poetic device is metaphor. The view made him happy and joyful in times of his solitude. It helped him in times of his distress.
b) What comparison does the poet draw between the waves and the daffodils?
-> As per william Wordsworth with the dance of the daffodils the waves of the lake also danced. But the dance of the daffodils was better than the waves. The daffodils were dancing cheerfully like the infinite twinkling stars in the sky but the waves sent out flashes of light while dancing.
c) What happened to the birds when autumn came?
-> In the autumn season, the birds go away from far off places as if they spend time in exile. No birds can be seen on the trees and the song of birds could not be heard.
d) What message does the traveler leave behind for ‘them’ in ‘the Listeners’?
-> He told the listener that he had kept his promise. The traveler gave this message to the listener to tell the residence of the house.
e) Briefly explain the following lines:
“I have learnt to wear many faces like dresses ___”
-> These lines have been quoted from Gabriel Okara’s poem “once upon a time”
Here the person deals with the artificial and mechanical behavior of modern man.
Here the poet tells his son about the artificial world of modern man. He has lost his previous identity. He changes the expressions of his face and becomes Hippocratic. He has learnt to smile mechanically. His face has got numerous expressions according to place and person. Here the poet has a drawn smile. While comparing facial expression with that of the changing dresses.
f) What difference do we see in their laugh between then and now?
-> According to the poet now a day’s people laugh with their teeth only and search behind others’ shadow. But in the past people laughed with heart.
4. Answer the following: (6×2=12)
a) Attempt a critical appreciation of “when Autumn Came’?
-> “When the autumn came” by Faiz Ahmed Faiz is a metaphoric personification of change having a huge impact on something near and dear to him. This is a revolutionary poem. Through this poem, the poet expresses his voice against exploitation of the poor people (the Laborers or workers) by the rich or capitalist class people. The rich people led a luxurious life at the cost of the poor people. However the workers and laborers worked hard and got nothing and the poor did nothing but looted everything from the poor. The workers’ voice is not in position to protest against any exploitation because they have to survive. The same condition happens with the trees with the coming autumn season. Tress is lifeless and their leaves turn yellow. The birds forget to sing merrily. Here autumn represent the exploiter and the trees are being exploited.
Therefore the poet prays to the god of May to give back life to the lifeless trees so that the trees get back their leaves and again the birds can sing merrily. With such expression the poet praises god to renew the life of the poor laborer with life and hope so that they can have a meaningful life. Their lives should not more be dried as dust and fresh blood should flow through their views. So that on one should be exploited by anybody. He wants to see a young and energetic one.
b) Bring out the central idea of the poem ‘Once Upon a Time’.
-> The poem “once Upon a time” is a very simple but a very practical poem. The poet wants to show the contrast between the people in the past and in the modern time. He notices a marked change in the attitudes of his people – those who were once so genuine, warm and sincere have now suddenly turned cold and hostile towards him. He wants to show the difference between original and artificial behavior of the people. The poem is a satire on modern life that is very much artificial. The people are gradually affected by the culture. The poet himself finds behaving in the same way as those around him. He is also influenced by the artificial world and modern time. He begins to lose his previous identity and follow the western way of living. He feels a great sense of guilt and self-loathing and thinks about how fake he has become, losing his identity and donning different, fixed expressions for different occasions, as an unnatural smile plastered across his face.
The poet says that people laughed with heart in the past but now they laugh artificially. Life-less smiles can be seen nowadays. People greet one another just for the sake of greeting and not heartily. People invite people but not really welcome. The poet resentfully admits that he, too, makes hollow greetings and started behaving in the same way the people behaved with him. He confesses to his son that he does not like the person he has become. He is not happy with such Hippocratic dealings. He wants to change and go back to the way he was before, in his childhood. He beseeches his son, the only person he knows who has not been affected by the new culture, to teach him how to be enthusiastic and happy and live life again. He asked his son to help him go back to who he was, and get back his lost identity. He expresses a desire to unlearn whatever he had forced himself to learn, in order for him to gain his sense of self back. He asks his son to help him be happy once again and acquire the childlike innocence he once possessed as a child.
5. Frame sentences with any five of the words given below to bring out their meaning: (2×5=10)
Gazed, pensive, perplexed, ebony, resurrection, conforming, phantom, succumb, appalled, alias.
-> Gazed- Their eyes gazed at the beautiful panorama of nature.
Pensive- He glanced from time to time at her pensive face.
Perplexed- He was perplexed at his rude behavior.
Ebony- Great black beams like polished ebony support the ceiling.
Resurrection- There will be the resurrection of the dear.
Conforming- They were enjoying the party with their conforming smiles.
Phantom- I do not believe in phantom.
Succumb- If I succumb he will consume my existence with relish.
Appalled- He was appalled when he came to know of the theft in his home.
Alias- The convict is living under an alias.
6. Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions: (1×5=5)
1. The lion was resting _______ the shade of the tree.
-> Under
2. The aeroplane flew right _______ the black cloud.
-> Into
3. The ship rolled _______ the huge breakers.
-> Onto/over
4. The chicks’ _______ the nest were sleeping.
-> In
5. The fruits _______ the tree were ripe and sweet.
-> Of/on
7. Add tag questions to the following: (1×5=5)
i) He travels a lot.
-> doesn’t he?
ii) She will come for dinner.
-> won’t she?
iii) He has come from Bangalore.
-> has n’t he?
iv) They enjoyed themselves.
-> didn’t they?
v) It is quite late.
-> isn’t it?
8. You are Rohit/Radhika from Kaziranga. Your friend, Arvind from New Delhi, is planning a visit to the sanctuary and you are in his Delhi home discussing the proposed trip. Write down your discussion in the form of dialogues. (10marks)
9. Write a brief paragraph on the American President’s recent visit to India. (5marks)
