Plus Two English Previous Year Question Paper March 2016

Kerala Plus Two English Previous Year Question Paper March 2016 with Answers

Time: 2^1/2 Hours
Cool off time: 15 Minutes
Maximum: 80 Score

General Instructions to candidates:

• There is a ‘cool off time’ of 15 minutes in addition to the writing time of 2^1/2 hours.
• You are not allowed to write your answers or to discuss anything with others during the cool off time’.
• Read questions carefully before answering.
• All questions are compulsory and the only internal choice is allowed.
• When you select a question, all the sub-questions must be answered from the same question itself.
• Electronic devices except non-programmable calculators are not allowed in the Examina­tion Hall.

(Question Nos. (1 – 3): Read the passage and answer the questions:

“Yes”, he said, “yes” and shipped his oars without bumbing the boat. He reached out for the line and held it softly between the bumb and forefinger of his right hand. He felt no strain nor weight and he held the line lightly. Then it came again. This time it was a tentative pull, not solid nor heavy, and he knew exactly what it was.

Question 1.
What is ‘he’ engaged in? (1)
Answer:
He is engaged in fishing.

Question 2.
What is the ‘line’ referred to in the passage? (1)
Answer:
The ‘line’ is the thread on which the hook is tied, in fishing.

Question 3.
What does the word ‘tentative’ mean here?
(i) Strong
(ii) Weak
(iii) Final (1)
Answer:
(ii) weak

Question 4.
After reading Christine Lagarde’s speech, a social worker is speaking to the people of your locality about the need for educating women. Fill in the blanks choosing the appropriate adjectives/adjectival clauses:
Education helps women to be (seriously/financially/sustainably) independent and to break
the shackles of exclusion. Women who ……….. (look good/look after children/study) actually help themselves and their community. If learning is the first step, labour is the second. Women who ……….. (procure labour/suffer discrimination/challenge the social norms) are able to flourish and achieve their true potential. They contribute to the development and well-being of the community. So it is ……….. (clear/essential / favourable) that women equip themselves with education. (4)
Answer:
financially, study, challenge the social norms, essential

(Question Nos. 5 & 6) Answer the questions after reading the passage from the play “The Hour of Truth”.

“I’ve got only a few years to live but I’ll live those as I’ve lived the rest of my life. I’ll go to my grave clean”.

Question 5.
Who speaks these words? (1)
Answer:
Baldwin

Question 6.
Why does he say so? (2)
Answer:
He says that because he was offered a bribe by his friend John Gresham for not telling the truth in the court. But Baldwin says he had always lived a clean life and he would never lie for money.

Question 7.
Irfan Alam comes to your school to inaugurate the Youth Club. Prepare a script for announcement introducing him (Young Entrepreneur – founder and chairman of SammaaN Foundation – recognized as one of the top thirty Youth Icons of India by the Times of India). (4)
Answer:
I am very happy to introduce Irfan Alam, who is here to inaugurate our Youth Club. You may have already heard about him. He is a young and energetic entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of SammaaN Foundation. Irfan was the one who suggested that rickshaws should be redesigned so that the spaces in the vehicles could be sold for brand promotion. He also suggested that additional incomes could be got by selling water, juice, biscuits, mobile cards and newspapers to the passengers in the rickshaws. This is his prize winning proposal.

SammaaN Foundation runs free evening classes called SammaaN Gyaan which is attended by the rickshaw pullers. The society needs more people like Irfan Alam with innovative ideas. The Times of India has said that Irfan Alam is one of the top thirty Youth icons of India. We are lucky to have such a great person in our midst. I am sure he will be an inspiration to all of us.

Question 8.
Edit the passage correcting the mistakes:
Excitement over what drugs can do have led people to believe that any ailments, infective or psychic, can be relieved by taking a pill. Medical journals now advertises tranquilizers, amphetamines and other mood-altering drugs; doctors prescribe them, and the public expect miracles from them (4)
Answer:
Excitement over what drugs can do have(has) led people to believe that any ailments(ailment), infective or psychic, can be relieved by taking a pill. Medical journals now advertises(advertise) tranquilizers, amphetamines and other mood-altering drugs; doctors prescribe them, and the public expect miracles from them.

Question 9.
After reading Sudha Murty’s “Horegallu”, you realize that it would be worth setting up horegallus on the pavements to help citizens to take a break and ease themselves. Write a letter to the Mayor of your city putting forth the suggestion and explaining the reasons. (5)
Answer:
Honourable Mayor,
I am writing this letter to request you to do something – to make travels easier for the people of this city. I happened to read a story called Horegallu by Sudha Murty. It impressed me greatly and I thought we too could do something to help our travellers.

A horegallu is a stone bench. It helps a person to sit down and rest for some time so that he can regain his energy. Horegallus are essential in a journey. Every now and then we need to sit down and refresh ourselves. So I request you to place horegallus at convenient venues for the use of tired travellers.

Horegallu also has another meaning. Horegallu also can be a person who can listen sympathetically to the problem of others. We all have problems. Life is a journey and we all need horegallus every now and then to regain our strength. We ourselves should be like a horegallu. We may not be in a position to help everybody, to solve his problems but at least we can give people a sympathetic hearing and it will help them. So, as the Mayor of this great city you can think how such horegallus could be provided at regular intervals.

I am sure you will give due consideration to my humble request.

Yours respectfully,
Natasha Joseph

Question 10.
You are a friend of the Amigo brothers and you witnessed the contest between them with great excitement. Prepare a blog entry describing the contest. (5)
Answer:
Felix Vargas weighed 144 pounds and his rival Antonio 133 pounds. The winner was to represent the Boy’s Club in the tournament of champions, The Golden Gloves. There would be no draw in the fight.

The referee gave instructions telling them that it should be a clean fight. In the first round, both the contestants did their best to outwit the other. Both were equally strong, in the second round also the same thing happened. Punches flew back and forth. But none was floored. Each punch was applauded thunderously by the crowd.

The third round came, each wanted to win. They punched each other very hard. Nobody fell to the canvas. The final bell rang but the fight continued. The bell rang again and again. But there was no stop to the fighting. People got worried. It looked as if they were witnessing a do or die fight and not a contest. Then the referee and the trainers separated the contestants. Now the contestants embrace. They were fighting like bulls a moment ago. Now both were winners. Let their tribes increase!

Question 11.
“Each time we stammer
we are offering a sacrifice
to the God of meanings”.
Why does the poet think so? (2)
Answer:
The poet thinks so because each time we stammer we cannot bring out our meanings properly and also it gives a wrong impression to our listeners. That is why the poet says when we stammer we are offering a sacrifice to the God of meanings.

Question 12.
“O train, will yoy run a little faster-
let me get home quickly and eat my fill”.
What does the poet want to eat? (1)
Answer:
The poet wants to eat his mother’s well-cooked rice.

Question 13.
Imagine you are the poet’s neighbour in “The Mending Wall”. You want to justify your viewpoint that “Good fences make good neighbors”. Present your reasons in the form of two arguments. (2)
Answer:
I strongly think good fences make good neighbours. It is because when there are good fences, it prevents trespassing. If there are no fences the cats, dogs and chickens from one home will encroach into the territory of another. Such trespasses create unnecessary disputes between neighbours.

Question 14.
Do you think that Nomita, the character in Ashapurna Debi’s story “Matchbox” acted impulsively without thinking about the consequense? Or is she a brave woman who questions her husband’s selfish ways? Prepare a character sketch of Nomita. (5)
Answer:
Nomita is the wife of Ajit. She lives in a joint family with 26 members. She comes from a poor family. She got married into a rich family. Her mother is a widow. Nomita has no brothers or sisters. She is called queen by her mother.

Nomita’s mother often requests for money. Ajit is not too happy because of the financial demands from his mother-in-law. Letters requesting for money come to Ajit and sometimes he doesn’t even show them to Nomita. One day while collecting the soiled clothes forgiving the washerwoman, Nomita sees a letter in the pocket of Ajit. It is torn and crumbled. It is addressed to her and from the postmark she knows it came some three days ago. Nomita is very unhappy that Ajit reads all her letters. He says he reads them to ensure that she has no secret lovers. Nomita calls him a common vulgar man and he calls her the daughter of a dung picker. Nomita is enraged at this insult and she sets fire to her sari. Ajit soon comes and puts out the fire.

Nomita often makes faces. She can tell lies, she can forget things fast. She is a snob, and she has forgotten where she came from. Her action of trying to bum herself was impulsive behaviour. She did that without thinking of the consequences. Fora married woman like her such behaviour is bad. I do not think she is a brave woman but an impulsive and thoughtless woman.

Question 15.
Bring out the humour in the title “This is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit” by Ogden Nash. (3)
Answer:
There is lot of humour in the title “This is Going to Hurt Just a Little Bit”. It describes the feeling of a person going to the dentist. Going to the dentist is really an unpleasant experience. Sitting in a chair with one’s mouth wide open is not something anybody likes. Some tortures are physical and some are mental. But the dental torture is both. In fact even the most courageous people feel nervous to go to a dentist. When sitting in the dental chair you feel like you are sitting before your slaughterer. All your senses seem to feel the pain. The title is actually just the opposite of exaggeration or hyperbole. Even when the dentist is drilling into you he goes on saying “This is going to hurt just a little bit” but actually it is hurting a lot.

Question 16.
A seminar on “Mangroves: A Rich Source of Bio-diversity” was conducted in your school. Read the programme schedule of the seminar and prepare a report.

“Mangroves : A Rich Source of Bio-diversity”
Venue : School Auditorium
Time : 10 a.m
Date : 20-07-2015

Programme
Prayer : School Choir
Welcome speech : Mrs. Suseela Kumari, Principal
Presidential Address : Dr. Satheesh Chandran, Environmental Activist
Felicitation : Santhi, Ward Councillor

Paper Presentations:
1. Mangroves: A Source of Bio-diversity – Athira M.
2. Pokkudan – The Legend of Mangroves – Noufiya
3. Ways to preserve Mangroves – Syam Gopal
4. Mangroves in Kerala – Vaisakh
Vote of Thanks – Divya Krishna, School Leader National Anthem (4)
Answer:
A REPORT
A seminarwas conducted in the school auditorium on 27th July 2015 on the topic “Mangroves: A Rich source of Biodiversity”. The seminar began at 10 am with a prayer by the school choir. It was followed by a welcome speech by Mrs. Suseela Kumari, the Principal. Then came the presidential address by Dr. Satheesh Chandran, a renowned environmental activist. He stressed the need to preserve our environment. He showed how we human beings are destroying nature by cutting down trees, filling up ponds and waterways and using insecticides everywhere and throwing garbage wherever we please. He said that unless we change, nature will destroy us through earthquakes, droughts, tsunamis and the like.

There was felicitation by Ms. Santhi, the Ward Counsellor, who said that the Ward was doing all its best to preserve the environment.

Then came Paper Presentations. There were four Papers by the following people: “Mangroves: ASource of Biodiversity” by Athira M„ “Pokkudan-The Legend of Mangroves” by Noufiya, “ Ways to Preserve Mangroves” by Syam Gopal, and “Mangroves in Kerala” by Vaishakh.

A discussion followed in which members of the audience clarified their doubts. This was followed by a Vote of thanks by Divya Krishna, the school leader. She said all the participants were immensely benefitted by the seminar. More seminars would be conducted in the immediate future. The seminar came to a close at 1 o’clock with the National Anthem.

Question 17.
A panel discussion on corporal punishment “ Corporal; punishment: Is it Justifiable?” was conducted in your school. The panel list who spoke first remarked, “Corporal punishment is not altogether bad. Children need some negative reinforcement when they behave in an undesirable way, Spare the rod and spoil the child is the dictum”.
Now prepare a brief script for the next panel list who wants to counter this argument and highlight the ill- effects of corporal punishment. (5)
Answer:
The previous speaker said that corporal punishment is not altogether bad. He said that children need some negative reinforcement when they behave in an undesirable way. To add some authority to his statement he even quoted the English proverb “Spare the rod and spoil the child”.

I completely disagree with the arguments put forward by the previous speaker. Corporal punishment is the meanest way to discipline or educate a child. You cannot teach a child by beating him blue. The child should be encouraged to learn things by positive and not negative reinforcement. By punishing the child you instil fear into him and he will develop distaste for learning and discipline. The trouble with discipline enforced by the rod is that when the rod is absent the child will tend to misbehave because he is not trained in self control.

We also know violence breeds violence. When children are beaten up, either to discipline them or to make them learn, they too will use violence on others to make them do what they want. I know many children who refuse to go to schools because they are afraid of the teachers who punish them severely. In all civilised societies, corporal punishment to children is banned.

Question 18.
a) “ The Hour of Truth” shows how an upright man resists the temptation of bride. Prepare a speech to be delivered in the school assembly about the topic “Honesty in Public Life”.
OR
b) Just like a traffic jam slows down the traffic, corruption slows down a country’s development. Prepare the script for a speech to be delivered on Gandhi Jayanthi on the topic “Corruption: Ways to counter it ” (6)
Answer:
a) HONESTY IN PUBLIC LIFE
In the story “The Hour of Truth” by Percival Wilde, we learned how Baldwin refused to take a bribe and tell a lie in the court. Gresham and Baldwin worked together in a bank of which Gresham was the governor and Baldwin was just a worker. Things were going smooth between them but Gresham misappropriates the bank money and the bank is closed. Gresham is in jail. Only Baldwin knows that it was Gresham who took the money. Therefore Gresham offers Baldwin a huge amount of $100,000 as a bribe just to say “I don’t remember” in the court when incriminating questions are asked. But Baldwin, in spite of his poverty, refuses to take the bribe. He says that he lived all his life in a clean fashion and he would like to die with his clean image intact.

Today we see corruption is rampant everywhere. In the newspapers, on radio, on TV, we always read, hear and watch stories of corruption and nepotism. Recently in Kerala we had so many cases of corruption. We don’t Know the truth about the allegations in the “Solar” case and the Gifting of lands to individuals and organisations. We also had the “Bar” issue which even forced a minister to resign.

Corruption is like a cancer that is eating into our society. All religions teach people to be honest but the followers refuse to be honest and they take bribes and show nepotism. If India is to progress, its citizens must be honest and this is especially so about people in public life who control our destinies.

b) Corruption – Ways to Counter it Today we see corruption everywhere. In the newspapers, on radio, on TV, we always read, hear and watch stories of corruption and nepotism. Recently in Kerala we had so many cases of corruption. We don’t know the truth about the allegations in the “Solar” case and the ‘Gifting of lands” to individuals and organisations. We also had the “Bar” issue which even forced a minister to resign.

Corruption is like a cancer that is eating into our society. All religions teach people to be honest but the followers refuse to be honest and they take bribes and show nepotism. If India is to progress, its citizens must be honest and this is especially so about people in public life who control our destinies.

There are ways to counter corruption. The first way is to give decent salaries to people in authority. If the police are not given salaries good enough to live decent lives, they will try to earn money in corrupt ways. The same is the case with doctors in government hospitals and workers in government offices.

Another method is creating awareness among people. Only if people give, officers will take bribes. So don’t give bribes. Insist on getting your work done without any bribes.

A third way is moral education. Give the people moral education. Spread the message that giving and taking bribes is immoral.

Another way is to punish the offenders very severely. Send those who take bribes into jails and confiscate their property. This will prevent others from indulging in corrupt practices.

Question 19.
a) ‘Damage to the brain is the most subtle, most often unrecognized and least understood consequence of drug abuse.” Prepare an eassy on the topic “The Hazards of drug abuse.”
OR
b) Dr. Hardin B. Jones gives a comprehensive idea about the effect of harmful sensual drugs on the human body. Write an essay enlisting the con¬sequences of drug addiction. (8)
Answer:
a) The Hazards of Drug Abuse
Drug abuse has both mental and physical impacts. The drug addict experiences sensory deprivation. He has a general feeling of physical discomfort and there are personality changes in him. The addict feels depressed. He fails to respond either to his environment or to other people. His mental disturbance can be like paranoia. The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know the source of his problem and he looks for its cause in everything but himself.

He looks upon external objects with suspicion. Anything outside scares him and he withdraws further and further into himself. There are also drug-related physical disorders. Dirty needles and solutions used for injecting drugs can cause abscesses in the arms and veins. They can cause liver disease, venereal disease and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Babies of women addicted to opiates are likely to be born addicted and to suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

Cocaine and amphetamines cause hair fall. Marijuana can damage cells. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis, malnutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any sensual drug can cause respiratory or cardiac failure and death.

b) The same as above.

Question 20.
Inspired by Shaheen Mistri, you want to join Akanksha Foundation as a teacher volunteer. You are Megha, a postgraduate in English Literature with good commandTwterthe language, Being a socially responsible person, you are willing to share your knowledge and skills for the benefit of the underprivi¬leged. Prepare a letter of application and a resume to be sent to the Foundation (8)
Answer:
The Chairman
Akanksha Foundation
New Delhi

Dear Sir,
I have seen your poster asking for people to work in your Enterprise. I would be glad to offer my services as a teacher at the secondary level.

I have a Master’s Degree in English from Ravishanker University, Raipur. I have worked as a teacher in HSS Irinjalakuda for 10 years, teaching English. I would like to utilize my talents for the betterment of the underprivileged.

I shall be pleased if my application is given due consideration. Although I am willing to come at anytime, anywhere, for an interview I would prefer any day between 20 June and 20 July, preferably in Thrissur district, of Kerala.

I had been dreaming of helping my countrymen in my own way and I look forward to this opportunity.

Thanking you cordially,

Yours faithfully
(Megha)

RESUME OF MEGHA:
Objective : To work in an Organization that works for the welfare of the underprivileged

Education:

Experience :
i) Teacher (HSS Irinjalakuda Teacher – 1998 – 2008)
ii) Lecturer in English (Students PG Centre Irinjalakuda 2009 – 2015)

Activities : I am a member of the YWCA, irinjalakuda Branch. I have organized blood-donation campaigns.

Achievements : I have published many journal articles on the teaching of English.

Skills : Conversant with computer, Word. I have been the volleyball captain while at College. I play the guitar.

Languages : Malayalam, Hindi, English

Interests : Reading, travel, Western music

Megha

Question 21.
Read the following poem and compare it with “ Any Women” by Katharine Tynan.

Rock Me To Sleep

Backward, turn backward, O time, in your flight
Make me a child again, just for tonight!
Mother, come back from that echoless chore;
Take me again in your heart as of yore –
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care;
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair,
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep –
Rock me to sleep, mother – rock me to sleep !

Mother, dear mother! the years have been long
Since I last listened to your lullaby song;
Sing, then and unto my soul it shall seem
Womanhood’s years have been only a dream;
With your light lashes just sweeping my face,
Never hereafter to wake or to weep –
Rock me to sleep, mother – rock me to sleep!
Elizabeth Akers Allen
(Yore – bygone days, furrows – lines or wrinkles) (8)
Answer:

ROCK ME TO SLEEP

This is an exquisite poem of nostalgia. The speaker in the poem is an old woman who is remembering her infancy and childhood. She is requesting Time to make her a child again. She also wants her dead mother to come back and sing a lullaby to her to make her sleep as she used to do when the speaker was a small child.

The mother of the speaker was a very loving mother. She used to kiss her forehead and smooth her hair. She used to rock her and sing lullabies for her to sleep. While sleeping, her mother’s eyelashes touched her face. Her mother kept watch over her. It has been many years since she heard the voice of her mother as she is dead. Now she thinks her womanhood years have been just a dream.

The speaker herself is old and she feels she is nearing her death. Her hair is grey and her face is wrinkled with long years of worries. She is now ready for the final sleep. She wants her mother to come and sing her a lullaby once more so that she can go to sleep from which she will not wake up.

There are some figures of speech in the poem. Time is personified and she wants time to turn back and make her a child once again. There is alliteration: ‘last listened’ and light lashes’. There is repetition. The word mother is repeated. The phrase ‘Rock to me sleep’ is repeated. We see some exquisite phrases like ‘echoless shore’ which means death, and ‘furrows of care’ which are wrinkles brought onto the face by anxiety and worry. The rhythm of the poem is excellent. The rhyming scheme of the poem is aa bb.

The poem ‘Any Woman’ by Katharine Tynan speaks of the importance of the woman in the family. She is the pillar of the house. She is the keystone of the arch. She is the roof and the walls. She is the fire upon the hearth. Without her the home would be colder than a stone. The children come to her for love and affection. She is the light of their love. The children could hardly thrive without her support. She is the one who holds the family together. No child wants to get away from the close-knit family group. She is all over the house, from the floor to the roof. Nothing happens without her knowledge. She decorates the house and makes the children’s bed cosy and warm. She protects the children from all dangers. At the end of the poem the woman prays to Jesus to spare her life till her children are properly grown up.

The poem has simple language. The entire poem is an exquisite metaphor. The imagery is great. The poem is in rhyme. Except in the first stanza, the rhyme scheme is abab.

Between the two poems I like “Rock Me To Sleep”.

Plus Two English Previous Year Question Papers and Answers