Sample Paper –2013

Sub: English

Class XII

Time- 3 hr M.M.-100

SECTION – A {READING SKILLS} 20 Marks

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow it: 12

Swami Vivekananda is a striking figure with his turban and his kindly features. On my enquiring as to the significance, if any, of his name, the Swami said, “Of the name by which I am not known, the first word is descriptive of a Sanyasin, or one who formally renounces the world, and the second is the title I assumed- as is customary with all Sanyasins – on my renunciation of the world; it signifies, literally, the bliss of discrimination.”

“And what induced you to forsake the ordinary course of the world Swami?” I asked.

“I had a deep interest in religion and philosophy from my childhood”, he replied, “and our books teach renunciation as the highest ideal to which man can aspire. It only needed the meeting with a great teacher- Ramakrishna Paramhansa to kindly in me the final determination to follow the path he himself had trod, as in him I found my highest ideal realism.”

“Then did he found a sect, which you now represent”?

“No”, replied the Swami quickly. “No, his whole life was spent in breaking down the barriers of sectarianism and dogma. He formed no sect. Quite the reverse He advocated and strove to establish absolute freedom of thought. He was a great Yogi”.

“Then you are connected with no society or sect in this country? Neither Theosophical nor Christian Scientist and any other?

“None whatever!” said the Swami in clear and impressive tones. “My teaching is my own interpretation of our ancient books, in the light which my master shed upon them. I claim no supernatural authority. Whatever in my teaching may appeal to the highest intelligence and be accepted by thinking men, the adoption of that will be my reward”. “All religions”, he continued, “have for their object the teaching either of devotion, knowledge or yoga, in a concrete form. Now the philosophy of Vedanta is the abstract science which embraces all these methods, and this is that I teach, leaving each one to apply in to his own concrete form. I refer each individual to his own experiences, and where reference is made to books, the latter are procurable, and may be studied by each one for himself. Above all, I teach no authority proceeding from hidden beings speaking through visible agents, any more than I claim learning from hidden books or manuscripts. I am the exponent of no occult societies, nor do I believe that good can come of such bodies. Truth stands on its own authority, and truth can bear the light of day.”

“Then you do not propose to form any society, Swami”? I suggested.

“None; no society whatever. I teach only the self, hidden in the heart of every individual and common to all. A harmful of strong men knowing that self and living in its light would revolutionize the world, even today, as has been the case by single strong men before, each in his day”.

“Have you just arrived from India”. I inquired.

“No,” he replied, “I represented the Hindu religion at the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893. Since then I have been travelling and lecturing in the United States. The American people have proved most interested audiences and sympathetic friends, and my work there has to take root that I must shortly return to that country”.

“And what is your attitude towards the western religions, Swami”?

“I propound a philosophy which can serve as a basic to every possible religious system in the world, and my attitude towards all of them is one of extreme - sympathy my teaching is antagonistic to none. I direct my attention to the individual, to make him strong, to teach him that he himself is divine, and I call upon men to make themselves conscious of this divinity within. That is really the ideal- conscious or unconscious – of every religion”.

Questions:

Answer the following questions briefly: 8 Marks

What does Swami Vivekananda tell the interviewer regarding significance of his name?

What influence did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa have on Swami Vivekananda?

What according to Vivekananda is the philosophy of Vedanta?

Why had Swami Vivekananda gone to Chicago?

How did Vivekananda find the American audience?

Explain: “I direct my attention to the individual”.

Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following: 4 Marks

Importance; the meaning of something.

Abandon; give up

Very old.

Q. 2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 8 Marks

Do children really need such long summer breaks, was a question posed by some experts recently. Apparently, such a long break disrupts their development and comes in the way of their learning process. Let’s get them back to their books, is perhaps the expert view, if not in so many words. One would have thought the children are doing too much during their vacations and not too little, given the plethora of classes, camps and workshops involving swimming, art, personality development, music, computers and the like that seem to cram their calendar. Even the trips taken in the name of holidays seem laden with exotic destinations and customized experience packed into a short period of time. We can do Europe in ten days and Australia in a week and come back armed with digital memories and overflowing suitcases. Holidays are in some ways, no longer a break but an intensified search for experience not normally encountered in everyday life.

It is a far cry from summer holidays one experienced while growing up. For holidays every year meant one thing and one thing alone------ you went back to your native place logged in with the emotional headquarters of your extended family and spent two months with a gaggle of uncles, aunts and first and second cousins. The happiest memories of the childhood of a whole generation seem to be centered around this annual ritual of homecoming and of affirmation. We tendered tacit apologies for the separateness entailed in being individuals even as we scurried back into the cauldron of community represented by family. Summer vacation was a time sticky with oneness, as who we were and what we owned oozed out from our individual selves into a collective pot.

Summer was not really a break, but a joint. It was the bridge used to reaffirm one’s connectedness with one’s connectedness with one’s larger community. One did not travel, one returned. It was not an attempt to experience the new and the extraordinary but one that emphatically underlined the power of the old and the ordinary. As times change, what we seek from our summer breaks too has changed in a fundamental way. Today, we are attached much more to work and summer helps us temporarily detach from this new source of identity. We refuel our individual selves now; and do so with much more material than we did in the past. But for those who grew up in different times, summer was the best time of their lives. (418 words)

Source: The Times of India

Make notes of the above passage using an acceptable format including abbreviations, with suitable titles. 5

Make a summary of the above passage in not more than 80 words. 3

SECTION—B [ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS] 35 Marks

3. You need two salesmen in your shop. Write an advertisement to be published in the columns of

a local daily. 5

Or

You are Asha/Ashok. Write a letter to your friend inviting him to a house warming party of your

new house at 972, Sector 15, Chandigarh. Write the invitation is not more than 50 words.

4. Your school is going to celebrate ‘Annual Sports Day’. Write out an attractive invitation to be sent

to all parents for your school’s ‘Annual Sport Day’ celebration. 10

Or

You are kiran/Karan of East Point Sr. Sec. School, Preet Vihar, Delhi. Your school has just

celebrated its 26th foundation day. Now write an article is not more than 100-125 words on the

programmes that your school conducted on this occasion, to be published in your school magazine

‘Bandana’.

5. You are Rahul/Renu of 2 staff road, Dehradun. Write a letter to:

The editor of a leading daily expressing your concern over the deteriorating law and order

situation in the country. 10

Or

Write a letter to the Director of Delhi Public Library putting in a request to start a reading room-

-cum-library in your area.

6. Write a composition in not more than 200 words on ‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’. 10

Input:

.Health is Wealth .Regular Exercise .Holy Thought .Good Company .Saving on Medicines

. Intelligence

Or

Deepika Sundaram is a student of class XII B of Mata Sundari Public School, Jalandhar. Having

watched the last solar eclipse of the millennium on the TV, she decided to write an article about it

for her school magazine. Write her article in not more than 150-200 words.

Due to paucity of time it will not be possible for us to answer all of the questions. It will be highly commendable if you draft the answers on your own. However, one of the question is being answered for your help.

 

SECTION—B [ADVANCED WRITING SKILLS] 

 A6. 

A healthy mind  in a healthy body

Health includes overall well being of an individual: physical, psychological and spiritual. To maintain good health one should exercise regularly, take adequate sleep, follow a balanced diet and drink a lot of water. As it is said that 'all work and no play will make Jack a dull boy'. Therefore, it is important for youngsters to include physical sports and exercises to their routine. Youngsters should avoid junk food, sweets and cola drinks which are harmful to one's health.We should also take care of our hygiene and the cleanliness of our surroundings. Medicines are drugs that are taken by a sick individual to cure a disease. They should not be taken on a regular basis as they bear many side effects such as hair fall, headaches, allergies etc. Medicines should be taken only at the doctor's prescription and not on individual's perception. Access to good health care facilities should be provided by the government in every area. It should also be ensured that all the rural areas should have proper access to the health care facilities. The individuals below poverty line should be provided free health care facilities and awareness about the diseases by the government. 



 

 

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