ISC Class 12 Specimen Paper 2022 English Elective Semester 2

ISC SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATION
SPECIMEN QUESTION PAPER
ELECTIVE ENGLISH
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Maximum Marks: 40
Time allowed: One and a half hour
Candidates are allowed an additional 10 minutes for only reading the paper.
They must NOT start writing during this time.
The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in brackets. [ ]
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Attempt ten questions from Section A on any three out of the five prescribed
textbooks.

Attempt three questions from Section B on any three out of the five prescribed
textbooks.

Do not attempt extra questions.
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SECTION A - 10 MARKS
(Attempt any ten subparts of Question 1)

Question 1 [10]
Choose the most appropriate option from among those given for each question or
statement.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD – Harper Lee
(i) Where do Scout, Jem and Dill watch the trial from?
(a) The front row, behind their father
(b) From the courtyard of the court
(c) The balcony, with Reverend Sykes

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(ii) How has Mayella Ewell violated the social code of Maycomb?
(a) By making advances to a black man
(b) By falling in love with a black man who is already a married man
(c) By accusing her father of physical and sexual abuse

(iii) What will Tom's sentence be if he loses his appeal?
(a) Life in prison without parole
(b) Seven years of hard labour
(c) Death

(iv) Underwood’s editorial likens Tom’s death to
(a) cancelling “advertising and subscriptions”.
(b) the “miscarriages of justice” for children.
(c) the “senseless slaughter of songbirds”.

THE HUNGRY TIDE: Amitav Ghosh
(v) Nirmal imagines teaching what myth and geology have in common in terms of
(a) goddesses, titanic elements, and scale of time.
(b) Bon Bibi, the “bagh”, and “Kaliyuga”.
(c) Vishnu, dwarfish elements, the Matla.

(vi) What did Fokir give Tutul “as though it were a victor’s spoils”?
(a) The tooth of a tiger
(b) The tail of a sting-ray
(c) The root of a mangrove

(vii) According to Nilima, home is where she can brew a pot of tea.
(a) The underlined portion is correct and needs no change.
(b) The underlined portion is incorrect and should read as the Orcaella are.
(c) The underlined portion is incorrect and should read as the Badabon Trust
is.

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(viii) “It took her a while to grow used to the feel of them but … the pace quickened.”
What is “them” and how did the pace quicken?
(a) “Them” is Piya’s GPS tools that helped locate Orcaella pods faster.
(b) “Them” is crude oars and progress was quicker with two people rowing.
(c) “Them” is crabs in the net and the pace quickened once Fokir got his catch
of the day.

A DOLL’S HOUSE: Henrik Ibsen
(ix) Anne-Marie is
(a) Nora’s nanny
(b) Nora’s maid
(c) Nora’s daughter

(x) What dance will Nora perform at the party?
(a) Tango
(b) Salsa
(c) Tarantella

(xi) Why does Torvald sometimes wish that Nora's life were in danger?
(a) She needs to learn what fear is all about.
(b) He likes it when she suffers.
(c) He wishes it so that he could be her saviour.

(xii) Why does Mrs. Linde refuse to give up her position in the bank for Krogstad?
(a) Because she was better at banking matters than Krogstad was
(b) Because Nora had asked her not to
(c) Because it would not be of any benefit to Krogstad

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DEATH OF A SALESMAN: Arthur Miller
(xiii) Linda happily says that she cannot get over
(a) the shaving lotion in the house.
(b) the eggs frying for breakfast for everyone in the house.
(c) the boys leaving together at eight o’clock.

(xiv) Willy declares he is “always in a race with …”
(a) his dreams.
(b) the junkyard.
(c) other salesmen.

(xv) For how many years had the Lomans been paying for the mortgage on the house?
(a) Nine years
(b) Too many to count
(c) Twenty-five years

(xvi) Why does Linda applaud Willy’s “spirit”?
(a) He is going to have dinner with his boys and discuss the Loman Line with
them.
(b) He is going to knock Howard for a loop, and get an advance and a New
York job.
(c) He is going to tell Howard off and get his salary back with a New York
posting.

NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURY VERSE – Ed. Chris Woodhead
(xvii) Man too is responsible for killing and slaughter as portrayed in
(a) Ravens by Ted Hughes
(b) Crow Tyrannosaurus by Ted Hughes
(c) Pike by Ted Hughes

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(xviii) W.H. Auden exercises the rhetorical power of poetry in Refugee Blues to address
the
(a) situation of Jewish refugees granted asylum in countries outside Germany.
(b) issue of Jewish refugees who were killed in the Holocaust.
(c) situation of Jewish refugee refused asylum in countries other than
Germany.

(xix) Crow Tyrannosaurus sequences the grotesque description of the circle of life as
(a) insect – bird – cat – dog – man as slaughterhouse – worms stabbed by crow
eating man’s decayed body
(b) bird - cat - dog - the man's body as a slaughterhouse- insects - finally man
consumed by the very worms stabbed by the crow
(c) the man's very body as a slaughterhouse – insects - bird - cat - dog - finally
man’s decay - worms stabbed by the crow.

(xx) The poem The Unknown Citizen is presented
(a) as an epitaph of a man identified merely by letters and numbers.
(b) as a paean to the common citizen asserting individuality.
(c) as a blues song lamenting the death of capitalism.

SECTION B – 30 MARKS
Attempt three questions from Section B on any three out of the five prescribed
textbooks.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD – Harper Lee
Question 2
(i) Illustrate with close reference to the text how Aunt Alexandra’s tea for her [10]
‘missionary circle’ echoes the theme of social hypocrisy.

OR

(ii) Atticus emerges as a champion of justice and fairness. Comment on this [10]
observation, drawing upon his closing argument at the trial of Tom Robinson.

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THE HUNGRY TIDE: Amitav Ghosh
Question 3
(i) Describe Piya’s interaction with Mr. Sloane. How is this incident significant to [10]
the novel?
OR
(ii) At the end of the novel, how does Kanai express his understanding of Piya’s [10]
state of mind after the storm? What plans does Piya return to Lusibari with?

A DOLL’S HOUSE: Henrik Ibsen
Question 4
(ii) Do you believe Torvald’s “little skylark” was truly a helpless and incapable [10]
“silly girl”? Support your opinion with your reading of Acts II and III of the
play.
OR
(ii) Briefly narrate the conversation between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad in Act III of [10]
the play to bring out its significance.

DEATH OF A SALESMAN: Arthur Miller
Question 5
(i) Narrate Willy’s conversation with Ben as it plays out in Willy’s mind once [10]
Howard Wagner leaves Willy exhausted in the Wagner office.
OR
(ii) At the Requiem, how does Charley prove he was Willy’s friend and truly [10]
understood him?

NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURY VERSE – Ed. Chris Woodhead

Question 6
(i) Who is the ‘Unknown Citizen’ and why has the state erected a monument in his [10]
memory in W.H Auden’s The Unknown Citizen?
OR
(ii) Philip Larkin’s Dockery and Son depicts Larkin’s meditations on marriage and [10]
the children who are born of marriage. Discuss.

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