CBSE Class 12 English Core Question Paper 2020 Set 1-2-2

Code No. 1/2/2
Candidates must write the Code on the
Roll No. title page of the answer-book.

 Please check that this question paper contains 11 printed pages.

 Code number given on the right hand side of the question paper should be
written on the title page of the answer-book by the candidate.

 Please check that this question paper contains 10 questions.

 Please write down the Serial Number of the question in the
answer-book before attempting it.

 15 minute time has been allotted to read this question paper. The question paper
will be distributed at 10.15 a.m. From 10.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., the students will
read the question paper only and will not write any answer on the answer-book
during this period.

ENGLISH (Core)

Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 80

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General Instructions :

Read the following instructions very carefully and strictly follow them.
(i) The question paper comprises three sections - A, B and C.
Section A – 20 marks
Section B – 30 marks
Section C – 30 marks

(ii) There are 10 questions in the question paper. All questions are compulsory.

(iii) There is no overall choice. However, an internal choice has been provided in one
question in Section A, four questions in Section B and three questions in
Section C. Make your choices correctly.

(iv) However, separate instructions are given with each section and question,
wherever necessary.

(v) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

SECTION A
(Reading Skills) 20

1. Read the passage given below : 12
Donated Organs and their Transportation

1 Once an organ donor’s family gives its consent and the organs are
matched to a recipient, medical professionals are faced with the
onerous challenge of transporting organs while ensuring that the
harvested organ reaches its destination in the shortest possible
time. This is done in order to preserve the harvested organs and
involves the police and especially the traffic police department.

2 The traditional method of transporting organs by road is referred
to as a ‘green corridor’. This process entails police escorting an
ambulance, so as to move around traffic  usually a specific traffic
lane is chosen and all signals on the route stay green to ensure it

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reaches its destination in the shortest possible time. A green
corridor is a route cleared and cordoned off by the traffic police to
ensure the smooth and steady transportation of harvested organs,
on most occasions, to those awaiting a life-saving transplant.
Organs tend to have a very short preservation time, such as the
heart, which has to be harvested and transplanted within four
hours or the lungs, which can be preserved for only six hours once
they are harvested.

3 The first green corridor in India was created by the Chennai
Traffic Police in September 2008 when they accomplished their
task of enabling an ambulance to reach its destination within
11 minutes during peak hour traffic. That organ saved a
nine-year-old girl whose life depended on the transplant.

4 Similarly, such green corridors have been created by traffic police
of various cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, etc. Personnel
are stationed at selected points to divert, control and clear the
traffic giving way to the ambulance. Apart from this, a motorcade
of police vehicles accompanies the ambulance ensuring that it does
not face any problems. Delhi Traffic Police provided a green
corridor from IGI Airport to the Institute of Liver and Biliary
Sciences in Vasant Kunj for transportation of a liver. The distance
of 14 kms was covered in 11 minutes.

5 Experts point out the lack of a robust system to transport organs to
super-speciality hospitals in least possible time. The National
Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), the
country’s apex organ donation agency, is now framing a proposal to
airlift cadaver organs and will send a report to the Union Health
Ministry. ‘‘Cadaver organs have a short life and so transplant
should be done within a few golden hours,’’ Director (NOTTO)
expressed. ‘‘Therefore, we are preparing a proposal for airlifting
organs at any given moment.’’

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6 Most States do not have enough well-trained experts to retrieve or
perform transplant procedures. Also, there is an acute shortage of
advanced healthcare facilities to carry out a transplant. So, it is
referred to other big centres in metropolitan cities. Organs
retrieved from Aurangabad, Indore, Surat, Pune are sent to
Mumbai as these cities do not have super-specialty healthcare
centres, informed officials.
7 ‘‘In India, about fifty thousand to one lakh patients are suffering
from acute heart failure and need heart transplant at any point of
time. In a private set-up, a heart transplant costs < 15 – 20 lakh,
which is followed up by post-operative medication of about
< 30,000 per month lifelong.’’

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer
any five of the following questions by choosing the most appropriate
options : 15=5

(a) The first green corridor in India was created in
(i) New Delhi
(ii) Chennai
(iii) Mumbai
(iv) Pune

(b) The organisation which is framing a proposal to airlift cadaver
organs is
(i) Union Health Ministry
(ii) Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation
(iii) National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation
(iv) State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation

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(c) The onerous task that the author is talking about in para 1 is

(i) finding organ donors.

(ii) finding doctors capable of performing transplants.

(iii) to carry the harvested organ in the shortest possible time.

(iv) to arrange the requisite facilities for the transplant.

(d) Most of the people do not go for heart transplant as

(i) it is very risky.

(ii) it is very painful.

(iii) it may cause death of the recipient.

(iv) the cost is prohibitive.

(e) Most states refer organ transplant cases to big hospitals because

(i) they don’t have well-trained experts.

(ii) the patients don’t trust local doctors.

(iii) the state hospitals are very crowded.

(iv) they don’t have a pool of harvested organs.

(f) Heart retrieved from a body is alive only for _________ hours.

(i) two

(ii) three

(iii) four

(iv) five

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1.2 Answer the following questions briefly : 15=5

(a) What is a ‘green corridor’ ?

(b) Why is smooth transportation of the retrieved organ necessary ?

(c) What opinion do you form of the Chennai Police with regard to the
transportation of a harvested heart ?

(d) What does the author mean by ‘a few golden hours’ ?

(e) How much does a heart transplant cost a patient in a private
hospital ?

1.3 Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the
following : 12=2

(a) save (para 1)

(b) achieved/carried out (para 3)

2. Read the following passage : 8
1 How does television affect our lives ? It can be very helpful to
people who carefully choose the shows that they watch. Television
can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are high
quality programmes that help us understand many fields of study,
science, medicine, the different arts and so on. Moreover, television
benefits very old people, who can’t leave the house, as well as
patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the
advantage of daily informal language practice. They can increase
their vocabulary and practise listening.

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2 On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of
television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax
and spend our free time, but in some countries people watch
television for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children
stare at the TV screen for more hours a day than they spend on
anything else, including studying and sleeping. It’s clear that TV
has a powerful influence on their lives and that its influence is
often negative.
3 Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television
viewing, a person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just
before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the
human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children
who view a lot of television can often concentrate on a subject for
only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay attention only for the
amount of time between commercials.
4 Another disadvantage is that television often causes people to
become dissatisfied with their own lives. Real life does not seem so
exciting to these people. To many people, television becomes more
real than reality and their own lives seem boring. Also many
people get upset or depressed when they can’t solve problems in
real life as quickly as television actors seem to.
5 Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven
thousand murders on the TV. He or she begins to believe that
there is nothing strange about fights, killings and other kinds of
violence. Many studies show that people become more violent after
viewing certain programmes. They may even do the things that
they see in a violent show.

(a) One the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on
it using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations
(minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Supply a
suitable title to it. 4

(b) Make a summary of the above passage in about 80 words. 4

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SECTION B
(Writing Skills) 30

3. You have received an invitation to preside over the annual function of
Goodwill Public School, Noida. But due to some urgent prior engagement,
you have to decline the invitation. Send a formal letter of reply. You are
M. Mohan, Secretary, M.D.B. International School, Delhi. (50 words) 4
OR
You need to buy a flat. Draft a suitable advertisement to be published in
the classified columns of a local newspaper, giving all your requirements
of a 2-bedroom set – park-facing, near market, etc. You are
Kiran/Kashish, F-105/41, Krishna Park, Rohtak. (50 words) 4

4. You are Keerti/Kartik of Flat No. 31, Station Road, Mumbai. Last month
you bought an automatic ‘VIP’ washing machine from Messrs Rajneeti
Electronics, Andheri (E), Mumbai. You find that the machine is making
an unbearable noise and its spinner is not working properly. Write a
letter to the Sales Manager, complaining about the machine and
requesting him to replace the machine as it is very new and within the
guarantee period. (120 – 150 words) 6
OR
You are Kamini/Kamal of 21/14, Civil Lines, Indira Nagar, Agra. The
main road leading to the colony has three uncovered manholes which
have caused a couple of accidents. Describing the accidents, write a letter
to the Editor, ‘National Times’, drawing attention of the Municipal
Commissioner to this problem of the residents, requesting him to take
appropriate action. (120 – 150 words) 6

5. You are a reporter of ‘Aaj Kal’, a newspaper. You witnessed a quarrel
among a group of boys outside a college gate over some minor issue. The
quarrel took an ugly turn when some more students joined in. Write a
report for your newspaper, giving an account of the quarrel, its cause, the
number of students involved, etc. Give your comments on the lack of
tolerance in today’s youth. (150 – 200 words) 10
OR

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As sports captain of your school, write an article for your school magazine
emphasising the need of adventure sports in youngsters’ lives. Such
sports help us in being strong, both in body and mind. There is a lot of
geographical diversity (mountains, hills, rivers, beaches, etc.) in our
country. There is a great scope for such sports. These sports prepare us to
face the future challenges of life. You are Rohit/Roshani of Happy Public
School, Mathura. (150 – 200 words) 10

6. Morning Assembly in schools gives a cool and calm start to the otherwise
hectic schedule of the day. It is an occasion for a light exercise or yoga.
The Principal can impart much needed moral education as well as some
other important information to the students. Write an article in
150 – 200 words on ‘The Importance of Morning Assembly’. You are
Neerja/Neeraj. 10
OR
As a School Management Committee member of a government school,
you have supervised the mid-day meal menu, cooking of food and its
distribution. Write a report to be published in the school magazine in
150 – 200 words on all aspects of the scheme. Give your suggestions, if
any, to improve the scheme. You are Mr. N. Chopra/Mrs. S. Rana. 10

SECTION C
(Literature : Text Books) 30

7. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow : 4+4=8

(a) Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the Earth
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

(i) Name the poem and the poet. 1
(ii) What does the poet hope to achieve by keeping still ? 1
(iii) What does he want us to do for one second ? 1
(iv) Describe the pun on the word, ‘arms’. 1
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(b) This went on until July. But I was still not satisfied. I was not sure
that all the terror had left. So I went to Lake Wentworth in New
Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles
across the lake to Stamp Act Island. I swam the crawl, breast
stroke, side stroke, and back stroke. Only once did the terror
return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under
and saw nothing but bottomless water. The old sensation returned
in miniature.
(i) Name the chapter and its writer. 1
(ii) Why was the writer still not satisfied ? 1
(iii) What did ‘he’ do to satisfy himself ? 1
(iv) Which ‘old sensation’ did he experience ? 1

8. Answer any five of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each : 25=10
(a) What was the importance of the bulletin-board near the town
hall ? (The Last Lesson)
(b) Why did the ironmaster invite the peddler to his house ?
(c) What change occurs in Saheb’s life ? Is it a change for the better or
worse ?
(d) How does the poet describe her mother in the poem, ‘My Mother at
Sixty-six’ ?
(e) Why did Jack agree to use Skunk as the hero of his story ?
(f) ‘‘I felt like sinking to the floor’. Why did Zitkala-Sa say so ?
(g) Why does Hana believe that the American prisoner is a ‘menace,
living or dead’ ?

9. Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words : 6
How did the Champaran episode prove to be a turning point in Gandhiji’s
life ?
OR
Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios ?

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10. Answer the following question in 120 – 150 words : 6
What are Geoff Green’s reasons for including high school students in the
‘Students on Ice’ expedition ?
OR
Mr. Lamb died just as soon as Derek was beginning to feel positive about
life. Do you think that this would bring about a setback in his life ? Give
reasons for your answer.

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