HBSE Class 12 Question Paper 2020 English Core

CLASS : 12th (Sr. Secondary) Code No. 4901
Series : SS-M/2020
Roll No. SET : A
ENGLISH (Core)
[ For all Groups I, II, III ]
ACADEMIC/OPEN
(Only for Fresh/Re-appear Candidates)

Time allowed : 3 hours] [ Maximum Marks % 80

• Please make sure that the printed pages in this
question paper are 16 in number and it contains
13 questions.
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question paper should be written by the candidate
on the front page of the answer-book.
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entertained after examination.

4901/(Set : A) P. T. O.

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General Instructions :

(i) This question paper is divided into four
Sections : A, B, C and D.

(ii) All the sections are compulsory.

(iii) Attempt all the parts of a question together.

(iv) Stick to the word-limit wherever prescribed.

SECTION – A

(Reading Skills) [ M. M. : 9

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

About one in five of all the people in the world
follow the teachings of the Buddha, who lived
about 2600 years ago. He was born in 563 B.C.
The Buddha is a title, not a name. It means 'The
Enlightened One' or 'The One Who Knows.' The
Buddha's real name was Siddhartha. He was the
son of a Sakya King in northern India. He and
his family were all Hindus and belonged to the
Gautama clan.
Gautama Siddhartha was brought up in
luxury. He lived in his father's palace and saw
nothing of the outside world until he was a
young man. Then one day accompanied by his

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charioteer Channa, Prince Siddhartha went
round the city. On his way, he saw some sights
that he had never seen before. First, he saw a
man who was very old and bent with age. Then
he saw a man who was suffering from a terrible
disease, possibly leprosy. And then he saw a
dead man who was being taken to the cremation
ground. These sights made the prince very sad.
Questions : 1×4=4
(i) 'The Buddha' means ............. .
(a) Gautama the Buddha
(b) Siddhartha the Buddha
(c) Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha
(d) The Enlightened One
(ii) The real name of the Buddha was ............. .
(a) Siddhartha
(b) Gautama
(c) Sakya
(d) The Enlightened One
(iii) Who was Channa ?
(a) Prince Siddhartha's charioteer.
(b) The chief of the Gautama clan.
(c) A Sakya King in northern India.
(d) A cook in the King's palace.

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(iv) Prince Siddhartha knew nothing of ...........
until he was a young man.

(a) luxuries and joys of life

(b) the life outside his father's palace

(c) the life inside his father's palace

(d) anything inside and outside the palace

OR

Today we know about each and every part of the
world. There is no land or sea that is not known
to us. Man has explored every corner of the
world, and he knows all the ways and routes
from anywhere to everywhere in the world. He
can reach from one place to the other as safely,
easily and quickly as he likes. He has maps to
guide him and fastest means of transport to
carry him.

But for ages most of the world was
unknown to man. To begin with, he lived in
caves. Then he came out of caves and started
making homes in little corners of forests or
behind the hills. He was afraid of wild animals
and also of the clouds and the winds. He offered
prayers and sacrifices to gods who, he thought,
controlled the clouds and the winds. But, slowly

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through long centuries, men began to explore
what lay beyond their caves, hills and forests
where they had their homes. They went in their
boats, first on the rivers and then across the
seas. At first they remained close to the shore
and each new voyager went a little farther than
the previous one.
Questions : 1×4=4
(i) Today there is no part of the world that
is ............ .
(a) unknown (b) unexplored
(c) Both (a) & (b) (d) Neither (a) nor (b)
(ii) To begin with man lived ............ .
(a) in caves (b) in forests
(c) in small homes (d) in little villages
(iii) The early man used to offer prayers and
sacrifices to gods because ........... .
(a) he was afraid of the clouds and the
winds.
(b) he thought gods controlled the clouds
and the winds.
(c) he lived in caves and forests.
(d) he had very little homes in the corners
of forests.

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(iv) What did the early explorers do ?
(a) They went in boats on the rivers.
(b) They went in big ships across the seas.
(c) They went farther and farther into the
sea.
(d) They used steamships in place of
boats.

2. Read the following passage carefully and make
notes on it using headings and sub-headings.
Supply an appropriate title also : 4+1=5

A vast blanket of pollution stretching across
South Asia is cutting down sunlight by 10
percent over India, damaging agriculture,
modifying rainfall patterns and putting
hundreds of thousands of people at risk,
according to a new study. The startling findings
of scientists working with the United Nations
Environment Programme indicate that the
spectacular economic growth seen in this part of
the world in the past decade may soon falter as
a result of pollution. Research carried out in
India indicates that the haze caused by pollution
might be reducing winter rice harvests by as
much as 10 percent, the report said. "Acids in
the haze may, by falling as acid rain, have the

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potential to damage crops and trees. Ash falling
on leaves can aggravate the impact of reduced
sunlight on earth's surface. The pollution that is
forming the haze could be leading to several
hundred of thousands of premature deaths as a
result of higher level of respiratory diseases," it
said. Results from seven cities in India alone,
including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and
Kolkata, estimate that air pollution was annually
responsible for 24000 premature deaths in the
early 1990s.

SECTION – B
(Grammar/Writing Skills) [ M. M. : 26

3. Attempt any two from each sub-part :
(a) Change the form of narration : 1×2=2

(i) Ram will say, "I saw my teacher in the
park."
(ii) I said to her, "Do you want my help ?"
(iii) He said, "What a great misery !"
(b) Supply articles wherever necessary : 1 × 2 = 2
(i) He is ………. one-eyed man.
(ii) Keep to ………. left.
(iii) Life is not ………. bed of roses.

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(c) Fill in the blanks with suitable modal
auxiliary verbs given in the brackets :1 × 2 = 2

(i) She …….. dance very well. (can/may)

(ii) You ……. give up smoking.
(should/shall)

(iii) There …….. be some more buses.
(ought to/would)

(d) Change the voice : 1×2=2

(i) The thief stole a number of things.

(ii) When will he return your money ?

(iii) Kindly call in the doctor.

(e) Use the correct form of verbs given in the
brackets : 1×2=2

(i) He …….. (be) a teacher since 1988.

(ii) Last Saturday, I …….. (stay) at home.

(iii) She always …….. (find) faults with
others.

4. Attempt any two of the following : 3×2=6

(a) Your pet dog is missing. Write out a
suitable notice in not more than 50 words
for the "Lost and Found" column of a local
newspaper.

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(b) You are working for an advertising agency.
Draft an attractive advertisement for a
Company which is launching Solar Geysers.

(c) Design a poster for creating and promoting
awareness for education for girls.

5. Attempt any one of the following : 5

(a) Write a report on the poor bus service on
local routes in your area.

(b) Write a paragraph in about 100 words on
"Importance of Yoga".

6. Write an application to the Regional Manager,
State Bank of India of your city, asking for a
loan for further studies. 5

SECTION – C

(A) Main Reader [ Prose ] [ M. M. : 20

7. Read the passage given below and answer the
questions that follow :

Then as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the
blacksmith, Wachter, who was there with his
apprentice, reading the bulletin, called after me,
"Don't go so fast bub; you'll get to your school in

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plenty of time !" I thought he was making fun of
me, and reached Mr. Hamel's little garden all out
of breath.

Questions : 1×5=5

(i) Name the chapter from which this passage
has been taken ?

(a) The Last Lesson

(b) The Enemy

(c) The Rattrap

(d) Lost Spring

(ii) Who was Wachter ?

(a) A blacksmith

(b) A carpenter

(c) A teacher

(d) An apprentice

(iii) Who is the writer of this chapter ?

(a) Anees Jung

(b) Alphonse Daudet

(c) A. R. Barton

(d) Asokamitran

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(iv) Who was standing with Wachter ?

(a) His wife

(b) His son

(c) His apprentice

(d) His teacher

(v) Who does 'I' in the passage refer to ?

(a) the writer

(b) the student

(c) the teacher

(d) the blacksmith

OR

Most of the arable land in the Champaran
district was divided into large estates owned by
Englishmen and worked by Indian tenants. The
chief commercial crop was indigo. The landlords
compelled all tenants to plant three twentieths
or 15 percent of their holdings with indigo and
surrender the entire indigo harvest as rent. This
was done by a long-term contract.

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Questions : 1×5=5

(i) Who owned large estates in the Champaran
district ?

(a) The Indian tenants

(b) The Englishmen

(c) The government

(d) The lawyers of the district

(ii) Who worked at the estates ?

(a) The Indian tenants

(b) The English tenants

(c) The labourers engaged by the
government

(d) None of the above

(iii) Name the chief commercial crop of
Champaran.

(a) Wheat

(b) Sugarcane

(c) Barley

(d) Indigo

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(iv) How much of the land was planted with
indigo ?

(a) 25% (b) 50%

(c) 20% (d) 15%

(v) What do you mean by 'arable land' ?

(a) Land suitable for growing crops.

(b) Land suitable for giving on rent.

(c) Land suitable for developing a park.

(d) Land suitable for using as a play-
ground.

8. Answer any one of the following : 5

How does the writer describe Seemapuri, a place
on the periphery of Delhi ?

OR

Write a brief note on the make-up department of
the Gemini Studios.

9. Answer any five of the following : 2 × 5 = 10

(i) How would you describe the character and
temperament of Sophie's father ?

(ii) What is distinctive about Umberto Eco's
academic writing style ?

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(iii) Name the poets who visited Gemini Studios.
(iv) Where did Gandhiji decide to go first and
why ?
(v) Why did the rattrap peddler take his way
through forest ?
(vi) When did the writer join the Y. M. C. A.
pool and why ?

SECTION – C
(B) Main Reader [ Poetry ] [ M. M. : 11

10. Read the stanza given below and answer the
questions that follow :
I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter's moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood's fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
all I did was smile and smile and smile ........
Questions : 1×5=5
(i) Name the poem and the poet.
(ii) What looked as a late winter's moon ?
(iii) What comparison does the poet make in
these lines ?
(iv) What did the poet say and to whom ?
(v) How did the poet feel and why ?

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OR

At back of the dim class

One unnoted, Sweet and young.

His eyes live in a dream of squirrel's game,

in the tree room, other than this.

Questions : 1×5=5

(i) Why do you think the class was dim ?

(ii) Who was sitting at the back of the class ?

(iii) What was the little one dreaming of ?

(iv) What comparison does the poet make in the
words : "other than this" ?

(v) Name the poem and the poet.

11. Answer any two of the following : 3×2=6

(i) Do you think the poet advocates total in
activity and death ? (Keeping Quiet)

(ii) List the things of beauty mentioned in the
poem.

(iii) Where was the roadside stand put up and
what for ?

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SECTION – D

(Supplementary Reader) [ M. M. : 14

12. Answer any one of the following : 5

Describe Charley's experience at the third level.

OR

Why did the Tiger King take a vow to kill one
hundred tigers ?

13. Answer any three of the following : 3×3=9

(i) How long was the author's journey to
Antarctica ?

(ii) Who was Dr. Sadao ? Where was his
home ?

(iii) What kind of stories does Jo's father tell
her ?

(iv) Why had Derry come into the garden of
Mr. Lamb ?

S
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