Class 12 FREE Online practice paper 4 english

SECTION-A

READING     [20 marks]

  1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: [10]

(1) Archaeology is the scientific study of the remains of past human culture. Archaeologists investigate the lives of early people by studying the objects those people left behind. Such objects include buildings, artwork, tools, bones and pottery. Archaeologists may make exciting discoveries, such as a tomb filled with gold or the ruins of a magnificent temple in the midst of a jungle. However, the discovery of few stone tools or grains of hardened corn may reveal even more about early people.

(2) Archaeological research is the chief method available for learning about societies that existed before the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago. It also provides an important supplement to our knowledge of ancient societies that left written records. In America, archaeology is considered as a branch of anthropology, the scientific study of humanity and human culture. European archaeologists, however, think of their work as closely related to the field of history. Archaeology differs from history in that historians mainly study the lives of people as recorded in written documents.

(3) Archaeologists look for information about how, where, and when cultures developed. Like other social scientists, they search for reasons why major changes have occurred in certain cultures. Some archaeologists try to understand why ancient people stopped hunting and started farming. Others develop theories about what caused people to build cities and to set up trade routes. In addition, some archaeologists look for reasons behind the fall of such early civilizations as the Maya in Central America and the Romans in Europe.

(4) Archaeologists examine any evidence that can help them explain how people lived in past times. Such evidence ranges from the ruins of a large city to a few stone flakes left by someone making a stone tool long ago.

(5) The three basic kinds of archaeological evidence are artifacts, features and ecofacts. Artifacts are objects that were made by people and can be moved without altering their appearance. Artifacts include objects like arrowheads, pots and beads. Artifacts from a society with a written history may also include clay tablets and other large structures built by ancient people. Unlike artifacts, features cannot be separated from their surroundings without changing their form. Ecofacts reveal how ancient people responded to their surroundings. Examples of ecofacts include seeds and animal bones.

(6) Any place where archaeological evidence is found is called an archaeological site. To understand the behaviour of the people who occupied a site, archaeologists must study the relationship among the artifacts, features and ecofacts found there. For example, the discovery of stone spearheads near the bones of an extinct kind of buffalo at a site in New Mexico showed that early human beings had hunted buffalo in that area.

(7) If objects are buried deep in the ground, their position in the earth also concerns archaeologists. The scientists study the layers of soil and rock in which objects are found to understand the conditions that existed when the objects were placed there. In some places, archaeologists find many levels of deposits called strata. The archaeological study of strata, called stratigraphy, developed from the study of rock layers in geology.

(8) Archaeologists use special techniques and equipment to gather archaeological evidence precisely and accurately. They also keep detailed records of their findings because much archaeological research destroys the remains being studied. Locating sites is the first job of the archaeologist. Sites may be above ground, underground or underwater. Some large sites are located easily because they are clearly visible or can be traced from descriptions in ancient stories of other historical records. Such sites include the pyramids of Egypt and the ancient city of Athens in Greece.

(9) Archaeologists use systematic methods to discover sites. The traditional way to find all the sites in region is through a foot survey. In this method, archaeologists space themselves at measured distance and walk in preset directions. Each person looks for archaeological evidence while walking forward. Scientific methods are divused to help discover underground sites. Aerial photography, for example, can reveal ad ovariations in vegetation that indicate the presence of archaeological evidence.obmm

(10) Archaeologists describe, photograph and hocount the objects they find. They group the objects according to type and location. Three nu steps are followed to interpret the evidence found. They are classification, dating and evaluation.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete any ten of the statements given below with the help of options that follow: [1 x 10 = 10]

(a) Archaeology is the scientific study of:

(i) human bones.

(ii) human brain.

(iii) remains of past human culture.

(iv) human culture.

(b) One can learn about societies that existed before the invention of writing through:

(i) archaeological research.

(ii) meditating upon them.

(iii) invading old monuments.

(iv) all of these

(c) Archaeologists reach for answers about:

(i) how cultures developed.

(ii) where cultures developed.

(iii) when cultures developed.

(iv) all of these

(d) Special techniques and equipment help archaeologists to:

(i) read maps precisely and accurately. 

(ii) gather archaeological evidence precisely and accurately.

(iii) study the soil precisely and accurately.

(iv) break old monuments precisely and accurately.

(e) Archaeologists use systematic methods to :

(i) do scientific study

(ii) discover sites

(iii) invent cities

(iv) do research

(f) Archaeologists group the objects according to

(i) photograph and type 

(ii) map and location

(iii) type and location 

(iv) date and photograph

(g) Basic archaeological evidences are

(i) ruins of a large city 

(ii) remains of stone flakes

(iii) ancient monuments

(iv) both (i) and (ii)

(h) Which word in para-1 means same as lavish?

(i) Remains

(ii) Magnificent

(iii) Ruins

(iv) Reveal

(i) The word ‘anthropology’ means

(i) Study of animals

(ii) Study of human cultures

(iii) Study of monuments

(iv) Study of buildings

(j) What is the meaning of the word ‘precisely’ given in para-8? 

(i) Exactly

(ii) Rudely

(iii) Slowly

(iv) Questionably

(k) Which word in para-9 means same classical?

(i) Traditional

(ii) Measured

(iii) Underground

(iv) Evidence

  1. Read the given passage and on the basis of your reading of the passage answer any ten out of eleven questions by choosing the correct option. [1 x 10 = 10]

Amnesty International’s charge that ‘tens of thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, are languishing in Indian jails and that prisoners are routinely tortured in this country has to be seen in a much wider context than the organisation’s annual report cares to do. In its overall appraisal of 151 countries, Amnesty has accused 112 of torturing prisoners, 63 of harbouring prisoners of conscience, 61 of resorting to political killings and 53 of detaining people without a trial. Of these apparently overlapping categories, India seems to have been excluded from the list of the 61 which undertake political killings. The report has however, pointed out that scores of people in India die of torture in police and military custody and that many also simply disappear. Clearly, only a thin line separates the 61 charged with political murder from the rest. Before coming to such conclusions, however, it may also be necessary to classify the various countries according to their political systems.

Torture by the security forces and killings at the behest of the government make no difference to the victims whether they are in a democratic country or a totalitarian one. It is also nobody’s case that a democratic country is less culpable than a dictatorship in the event of human rights violations. But the point perhaps still needs to be made that torture or ‘disappearances’ represent a failure of the system in a democracy in contrast to being an integral part of state policy in a country ruled by an autocrat who is answerable to no one.

India may be guilty of keeping ‘tens of thousands’ behind bars and of the other human rights abuses mentioned by Amnesty, but it still remains a qualitatively different place from a totalitarian country. It is in this respect that Amnesty has been less than fair. It has chosen to ignore the distinctions between the good, the bad and the ugly. The openness of Indian society will be evident to anyone who spends half an hour in one of its chaotic market-places or visits the law courts or watches a political rally or reads a newspaper or strikes up a conversation with any person on the roads. There is no sense of fear in India, as in a dictatorship. There is also scope for securing relief from the heavy handed behaviour of the authorities, even if the human rights commission has not yet lived up to expectations. Unless such points are recognised, Amnesty’s assessment will seem to be a dry recital of statistics which may pillory India simply because of its larger population. Mercifully, Amnesty nowadays at least notes that the terrorists also indulge in human rights violations and that India has to cope with several insurgencies fomented by a country where the military does not always seem to be under the control of the elected government. True, there is much that is wrong in India’s prison system and with the way the terrorist challenge is sometimes met, but the stress should be on activating the self-correcting mechanism within a democracy and not merely on painting a grim, even biased, picture.

(a) In the report, India has been excluded from which of the following categories of violating human rights?

(i) Political killings

(ii) Harbouring prisoners of conscience

(iii) Torturing prisoners 

(iv) Detaining without trial

(b) Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage? 

(i) There is overlapping of cases in the categories of human rights abuses

(ii) India was one of the countries appraised by Amnesty International

(iii) India is guilty of some human rights abuses

(iv) Amnesty International appraised all the democratic countries

(c) According to the passage, through which media or forum Amnesty International has hurled the charges?

(i) Its Annual Report 

(ii) Its International Meet

(iii) Seminar on Human rights 

(iv) Its Regional Meet

(d) The author of the passage

(i) Disagrees that conditions of prisons India is bad 

(ii) Supports the totalitarian

(iii) Agrees with the report 

(iv) Disagrees with the report approach

(e) The Amnesty International’s report is based on the information of how many countries?

(i) 131

(ii) 115

(iii) 63

(iv) None of these

(f) The author suggests classification of various countries on one additional dimension. Which of the following is that dimension?

(i) Industrial progress 

(ii) Political systems

(iii) Economic progress

(iv) Human Rights

(g) According to the passage, what does political murder in a democratic country signify? 

(i) Need for autocratic rule 

(ii) Openness of society

(iii) Failure of system 

(iv) Policy of the country

  1. h) Which of the following human rights violation is most prevalent among the countries?

(i) Torturing prisoners

(ii) Harbouring prisoners of conscience

(iii) Killing with political motive 

(iv) Detaining without trial

(i) Synonym of Score is

(i) Many

(ii) Majority

(iii) A few

(iv) Grudge

(j) Synonym of Fomented is 

(i) Suppressed 

(ii) Instigated

(iii) Faced

(iv) Disturbed

(k) Synonym of Culpable is

(i) Capable 

(ii) Imputable 

(iii) Cynical

(iv) Troublesome

SECTION-B

WRITING SKILLS [16 marks]

  1. As Sports Secretary of G.D.G. Public School, Pune. Draft a notice in not more than 50 words for your school notice board informing the students about the sale of old sports goods of your school. You are Rohini/Rohit.

OR

You are Manager of Shree Restaurant, Gopal Road, Mathura. You need a pastry chef for your hotel. Draft an advertisement in not more than 50 words to be published in The Times of India under the classified columns.     [3]

  1. You are Rohini/Rohan living at 140-B Raj Nagar, Goa. You decide to hold a party for your father’s 50th birthday. Draft a formal invitation in not more than 50 words to all your family members and close friends to attend a grand dinner at home.

OR

You are Saurabh/Shalini. You have received an invitation from a close friend to attend birthday party. But due to some prior engagement you won’t be able to go. Send a reply in not more than 50 words expressing your inability to attend the function. [3]

  1. Write a letter the Editor, ‘The Hindu’ about the mosquito menace due to stagnant water in your locality. Give suggestions to improve the situation. You are Raman/Renu, living in Rajaji Nagar, Tiruneveli. (120-150 words)

OR

There is a flood of advertisements on television channels these days. Useless commodities and even superstitious beliefs are promoted through glamorous and exaggerated presentations.

Write a letter to the Editor, ‘New Indian Express’ about the negative influence such advertisements have on the minds of the people. You are Radha/Ramesh of Mayur Vihar, Lucknow. (120-150 words) [5]

Write an article in not more than 120-150 words on the following topic :

Possible steps to deal with the problems of domestic violence.

OR

Recently, you attended a seminar on Disaster Management arranged by your school, Red Roses Convent School, Meerut. Prepare a report in 120-150words on the seminar for your school newspaper. You are Kedar/Kaveri, reporter of your school newspaper. [5]

SECTION-C

Literature Textbooks [44 marks]

  1. Answer the questions of any two of the given extracts : [1×8=8]

(a) To make sure, I walked over to a newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet. It was The World; and The World hasn’t been published for years. The lead story said something about President Cleveland. I’ve found that front page since, in the public library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894.

(i) Who is the speaker of these lines?

(a) Sam

(b) M. Hamel

(c) Dr. Sadao

(d) Charley

(ii) He moved towards the news stand to

(a) buy newspapers

(c) confirm the year

(b) read latest news

(d) buy a ticket

(iii) The news on the front page was about

(a) The world

(b) Public Library files

(c) Newsboy

(d) President Cleveland

(iv) The author of this story is

(a) Tishani Doshi

(b) Jack Finney

(c) Susan Hill

(d) Pearl S. Buck

(b) Will ye please stop writing a wee while, Mr. Evans, and listen carefully. Candidates offering German, 021-1, should note the following correction. On page three, line fifteen, the fourth word should read goldenen, not, goldene; and the whole phrase will therefore read zum goldenen Löwen, not zum goldene Löwen.

(i) There is ……………… examination going on.

(a) English

(b) Calculation

(c) Spelling

(d) German

(ii) Who is giving the instructions?

(a) Evans

(b) Governor

(c) McLerry

(d) Jackson

(iii) The name of the chapter is

(a) The Third Level

(b) Evans Tries an O-Level

(c) On the Face of it

(d) The Enemy 

(iv) The author of the chapter is ………………….

(a) Jack Finney

(b) Pearl S. Buck

(c) Colin Dexter 

(d) John Updike

(c) The news of Gandhi’s advent and of the nature of his mission spread quickly through Muzzafarpur and to Champaran. Sharecroppers from Champaran began arriving on foot and by conveyance to see their champion. Muzzafarpur lawyers called on Gandhi to brief him; they frequently represented peasant groups in court; they told him about their cases and reported the size of their fee.

(i) Gandhiji’s mission spread through

(a) out India

(b) Muzzafarpur to Champaran

(c) out Delhi

(d) none of these

(ii) Who all came to meet Gandhiji?

(a) Lawyers

(b) British officers

(c) Sharecroppers 

(d) Landlords

(iii) The peasant groups were represented in courts by

(a) landlords

(b) all lawyers

(c) sharecroppers 

(d) lawyers of Muzzafarpur

(iv) Gandhiji rebuked lawyers for

(a) collecting big fee from sharecroppers

(b) not being able to win the case 

(c) lawyers’ relations with British officers

(d) all of these

  1. Answer questions of any one of the given extracts. [1 x 4 = 4]

(a) The stunted, unlucky heir

Of twisted bones, reciting a father’s gnarled

disease,

One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes live

in a dream,

Of squrrel’s game, in tree room, other than

this.

(i) The unlucky heir has received

(a) gnarled disease

(b) twisted bones

(c) dreams

(d) both (a) and (b)

(ii) Where is the unnoted young boy sitting?

(a) in a dim class

(b) on the road side

(c) in a jungle

(d) in a dream

(iii) The young boy is different because he

(a) is a dreamer

(b) is interested in squirrels play

(c) is not effected by his situation

(d) all of these

(iv) The poet of these lines is

(a) Adrienne Rich

(b) Stephen Spender

(c) John Keats

(d) Robert Frost

(b)….. and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make 

Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake, 

Rich with the sprinkling of pair musk-rose 

blooms;

(i) The clear rills _________

(a) make a cool place 

(b) make a safe place

(c) make shelter from heat

(d) all of these

(ii) The mid forest brake became rich with the

(a) animals 

(b) fragrance of rose

(c) mighty dead 

(d) various fruits

(iii) ‘Cooling covert’ the figure of speech used is

(a) simile

(b) personification

(c) metaphor

(d) alliteration

(iv) The poet of the above lines is

(a) John Keats

(b) Stephen Spender

(c) Pablo Neruda

(d) Robert Frost

  1. Answer any eight out of ten given questions very briefly. [1×8=8]

(1) Give one cause of human suffering.  (A thing of Beauty) 

(2) What were the last words of M. Hamel? 

(3) What are the common complaints of bangle makers?

(4) Why did the peddler become persuaded by Edla?

(5) How did Aunt Jennifer suffer all her life? 

(6) Why does Roger Skunk go to the wizard?

(7) Who was Derry? 

(8) Who was Carter?

(9) How is the slum a contrast to the real world?

  1. Answer any five out of six questions in 30-40 words. [2 × 5 = 10]

(1) List the things, which the poet expects would happen in the exotic moment.

(2) “Saheb is no longer his own master!” What happened?

(3) Describe the classroom of the slum elementary school. What is ironic about the situation?

(4) How were Shukla and Gandhiji received in Rajendra Prasad’s house?

(5) What made M. Hamel cry towards the end of the last lesson?

(6) What efforts did Douglas make to get over his fear of water?

  1. Answer any two of the given questions in 30-40 words. [2×4 = 4]

(1) What was the nickname given to Evans? What was the reason behind the nickname? Did he deserve it? 

(2) Why did Jack begin to find the story telling ritual a chore? 

(3) Why did Dr. Sadao seek Hana’s help to treat the U.S. soldier?

  1. Answer any one of the following questions in 120-150 words:           [5]

(i) Elaborate on how Gandhiji elevated the peasants of Champaran from their state of misery.

(ii) A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Elucidate. 

  1. Answer any one of the following questions in 120-150 words:           [5]

(i) How was injured McLerry able to befool the prison officers?

(ii) “And I want the world… I want it… I want it.” Elucidate Derry’s character before and after he met Mr. Lamb.

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