CBSE Class 12 Sample Paper 2025 for English Elective

CENTRAL BOARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

SAMPLE PAPER
CLASS 12
2025

SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER
ENGLISH ELECTIVE- CODE 001
CLASS XII - (2024-2025)

Total Time: 3 hours Marks: 80
General instructions
i. This paper is divided in THREE sections.
A. SECTION A -READING
B. SECTION B – GRAMMAR & WRITING
C. SECTION C- TEXTBOOK
ii. Separate instructions are given with each part and question, wherever necessary. Read
the instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully.
iii. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.

SECTION A- READING 20 Marks
1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 12x1=12
(1) The postmaster’s office was located in the village of Ulapur. He was a young man
from Calcutta. Stationed here, away from the known limits of civilisation, he often
felt like a fish out of water. The plantation workers nearby seemed to have their
own community. Social miscegenation between two different classes of people
seemed all but impossible.
(2) In truth, the boy from the city wasn’t good at mixing with people. Uprooted and
exiled to a foreign land, his feelings oscillated between arrogance and shame. He
rarely met any of the villagers. At times, he tried writing. He wrote poems: poems
in which the marrow of life seemed to resonate with the faint tremble of young
leaves, where the memory of existence was rejuvenated by the sight of rain
clouds—and yet, in his heart of hearts, he knew that the only way he’d welcome
the sight of a new life would be if some fantastical djinn from the Arabian Nights
arrived at night, unawares, and secretly swept away this maze of maddening
vegetation. He longed for the security of metalled roads, of tall houses which
blocked the sight of clouds in the open sky. The city was spreading its tentacles,
calling him back.
(3) The postmaster’s salary was meagre. He had to cook his own meals and his
housework was under the care of an orphan girl called Ratan. Ratan was thirteen
years old and called him dadababu. Her marital prospects seemed bleak.
Evenings would arrive with plumes of smoke rising from the cowshed. The
postmaster would light his lamp. The flame would sputter as he’d call out,
“Ratan?”
Ratan would be waiting for this call. But on its arrival, she’d rush into the room,
feigning surprise.
“You called, dadababu?”
“Are you busy?”
“Well, I need to go and make the fire . . .”
“You can afford to do that later, can’t you? Do be a dear and dress my tobacco..”
(4) Ratan would enter with the coal-filled hookah, blowing on it feverishly. The
postmaster would snatch it from her hands and ask, quite suddenly, “Ratan, do
you remember your mother?” Memories would flow back in. Her father, she
remembered, loved her more than her mother. She remembered his smile clearly,

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the smile he’d carry home when he returned every evening. His face would return
to her like a revenant, and the little girl, still lost in thought, would proceed to sit
on the floor by the postmaster’s feet. Looking at the young man, she’d remember
how she had a brother once. She’d remember the past like it was only yesterday;
how they’d played by that old pond, using a branch as a fishing pole! She’d find
herself remembering bits of insignificant things. The larger tragedies of life were
murky.
(5) There were days of magnetic nostalgia—sitting on the wooden plank by the hut,
the postmaster would find himself remembering his own history—as he’d think of
his little brother, his sister, of everyone he’d left behind. He was infinite and
infinitesimal, engulfed by a gaping emptiness—if only, if only he had someone to
share this with!
And just like that, all of nature was echoing his abyssal vacancy.
My heart is in free fall. Won’t anyone catch it?
(6) On one afternoon during monsoons, Ratan walked into the postmaster’s room
and found him lying on his cot under a pile of blankets and was running a fever.
Something was happening to Ratan. The pale fire of steady resolution crackled
under her skin. In the force of an instant, she assumed the authority of a mother.
Rushing out of the hut, she called the local doctor, stayed awake for the entirety
of the night, crushing herbs, and feeding them to her patient, punctuating the
stillness of this frightening night with the words, “Are you feeling better,
dadababu?”
(7) It took the postmaster weeks to recover from his illness. When he had completely
recuperated, he thought to himself, “Enough is enough!” He had to get out of here.
He had to. He immediately wrote a letter to his superiors in Calcutta asking for a
transfer on medical grounds. Her duties relieved, Ratan spent her days outside
his room, book in hand, waiting for that old call. But the call never arrived. Finally,
after weeks of waiting, Ratan was called in one evening. Nursing secret
excitement and tender trepidation, she walked into the room.
“Dadababu, you called?”
“Ratan,” he began, “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Where are you going, dadababu?”
“I’m going home.”
“When will you come back?”
The postmaster pursed his lips.
“I don’t think I will.”
Ratan stood still for a while. Words seemed to be losing their way in the labyrinth
of her silence.
“Dadababu, will you take me with you?”
The young man stared at the girl and then laughed.
“That’s ridiculous!”
Shaken, she burst into tears.
“Listen, Ratan. I never thanked you for everything you did. Now that I’m leaving,
I want to give you something. Keep this. It’ll make your ends meet for some time
at least.” The postmaster handed her a pouch. Peering inside, Ratan found that it
contained all of her master’s earnings. Stunned, the little girl fell onto the floor,
clutching the postmaster’s feet.
“Dadababu!” she stuttered, “I b-beg of you! You don’t have to give me anything!
Please! Please! I don’t want your kindness! No one—no one has to take charge
of me!”
And she ran out, vanishing into the mist enveloping the hut.

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(8) Sighing, the postmaster picked up his bags, and walked to the riverbank where a
boat was waiting for him. When the boat finally slid into the current, it was then
that the postmaster felt the sudden weight of crushing grief that his heart was
gravitating with. “I should turn back,” he thought to himself. “Let me take her with
me; she, who has always been neglected. She, who has never been welcomed.”
But by then, the wind had begun pushing the sails. The lukewarm heart of the
voyager consoled itself with eternal philosophy: ‘life was a river of partings and
departings, of death and uprooting, of longing and belonging. What was the use
of looking back? Who belonged to whom in this world?’
But Ratan’s little heart harboured no such philosophy. She had been circling the
old hut cradled in the river of her own tears. Perhaps she nursed a tender hope
that her dadababu would return one day. Anchored by its roots, she refused to
move away from the debris of her own heartbreak. (1155 words)
‘The Postmaster by Rabindranath Tagore’ - translated from the Bengali by Utsa Bose

On the basis of your reading of the above excerpt, choose the correct option
to answer the following questions: (Any twelve)

I What was the postmaster's relationship with the villagers?
A. Close and friendly
B. Distant and aloof
C. Hostile
D. Collaborative

II The postmaster’s decision to leave reveal about his character shows that
he is __________
A. determined and resolute
B. indifferent and uncaring
C. hopeful and optimistic
D. weak and indecisive

III What all would Ratan recall while conversing with the postmaster?
A. A lot of things about her mother
B. Large tragedies of her life
C. Her father, brother and many insignificant things
D. Her father, brother and many significant things

IV What does the postmaster mean when he thinks- ‘My heart is in free fall.’?
A. His heart is aching
B. His heart is longing for love
C. His heart is longing to explore
D. His heart is throbbing at a fast pace

V Statement 1: Ratan refuses to take the salary offered by the postmaster.
Statement 2: Ratan is annoyed at the postmaster’s refusal to take her along with
him.
A. Both 1 & 2 are correct and 2 is the reason for 1.
B. Both 1 & 2 are correct and 2 is not the reason for 1.
C. 1 is correct and 2 is incorrect.
D. Both 1 & 2 are incorrect.

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VI What does the image of the "faint tremble of young leaves" symbolize in the
poem?
A. The postmaster's longing for the city
B. The beauty of nature
C. The fragility of life
D. The growth and renewal of life

VII What literary device is used in the phrase “life was a river of partings and
departings”?
A. Metaphor
B. Simile
C. Hyperbole
D. Personification

VIII The postmaster often felt like a ‘fish without water’ in Ulapur because:
A. His urban background made him a bad mixer in an unfamiliar place like
Ulapur.
B. He was always thirsty and hungry.
C. The villagers were cordial with him.
D. He had forgotten his native place.

IX What does the river symbolize in the final paragraph?
A. The postmaster's journey to a new life
B. Ratan's grief and isolation
C. The passage of time
D. The inevitability of change

X And just like that, all of nature was echoing his abyssal vacancy.’’ What does this
tell about the mental condition of the postmaster?

XI Tagore seems to be suggesting that the powerful natural world is capable of
influencing those who come into contact with it—for better or for worse. Justify it
with an example from the story.

XII Complete the sentence appropriately.
Ratan could not reconcile herself to the postmaster’s ‘eternal philosophy’ and
therefore chose to ___________________

XIII State whether the following opinion is TRUE or FALSE.
When the postmaster fell ill, Ratan took up the role of a dictator and called the
doctor.

XIV What does the postmaster mean when he thinks, “Who belonged to whom in this
world?”

XV In paragraph 3, the narrator says, “But on its arrival, she’d rush into the room,
feigning surprise. “Which of the following expressions correctly display the
meaning of ‘feigning surprise’?
A. genuinely surprised
B. pretending to be surprised
C. trying earnestly to be surprised
D. elated at being surprised”

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2. Read the poem ‘A Noiseless Patient Spider’ by Walt Whitman given below: 4x1=4

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

Based on your understanding of the poem, answer FOUR of five given
questions.
I
The poem uses spider as a metaphor for:
A. Human beings’ tireless efforts for survival.
B. Human soul’s search for meaning and purpose in life.
C. Human beings’ striving for power.
D. Human soul’s search for anarchy.
II
How has the poet described the existence of both the spider and the soul?
A. solitary, detached
B. isolated, gregarious
C. amiable, explorative
D. imaginative, isolated
III
Complete the sentence appropriately.
The poet’s use of Repetition in ‘It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament’
indicates __________.
IV
The mood of the poem is:
A. Gloomy and baffling
B. Reflective and mocking
C. Poignant and nostalgic
D. Pensive and sedate
V
What does the image of ‘gossamer thread’ suggest?

3 Read the passage given below. 4x1 =4
(1) Education opens up new opportunities to access new information and technology
that enables an individual to make the right decisions in both personal and
professional life. It allows children to understand policies, rights, laws from the
young age which will be helpful in the future. As 65% of the population of India is
situated in rural areas, emphasizing on rural education will help boost the overall
economy. Furthermore, it will also help in reducing migration of people from rural
areas to cites of employment and create new opportunities.
(2) And to further increase the literacy and growth rate, the government of India has
launched many initiatives and the goal is to increase the enrolment rate and also
to encourage the already enrolled students to attend regularly. (125 words)

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Year Rural Literacy (as a % of total rural population)
2003 60
2004 61
2006 64
2007 65
2011 69
2014 71
Source: MOSPI
(3) Comparison of total number of schools in India and rural India (million)

Year Number of Schools in Total Number of
Rural India Schools in India
2016-17 1.30 1.54
2017-18 1.31 1.56
2018-19 1.30 1.55
2019-20 1.26 1.51
Source: Department of School Education and Literacy

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY FOUR of the given
questions.

I Fill in the blank by selecting the appropriate option.
It is important for education to reach rural areas as it will give an _________ to
the Indian economy.
A. understanding
B. impetus
C. caution
D. alleviation
II ‘With education, the rural population can apply new knowledge and implement
better technology and practices into their businesses.’ Considering this statement
and according to the data in chart 1 in which year from 2003-2014, Ramnarayan
who is a native of a village in Uttar Pradesh, would face the maximum challenge
in digitalizing his start-up.

III State TRUE or FALSE
The following question could have been a part of the study survey.
Question: How many job opportunities were created in rural areas between 2003-
2014?
IV Complete the sentence appropriately.
The above chart 2 shows the data on schools in rural parts of India. As per this,
not less than ________ percentage of the total schools are located in rural India.

V State a point in support for the given opinion:
A substantial budget should be allocated to rural literacy in India.

Adapted from: https://www.ibef.org/blogs/rural-education-integral-to-india-s-progress

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SECTION-B
APPLIED GRAMMAR & WRITING 28 Marks

4 Transform the following sentences as per the given instructions. ( ANY EIGHT) 8x1=8
I. The delegates arrived. The meeting started immediately.
(Start the sentence with No sooner….)
II. We lost our ticket. We lost our luggage.
(Combine using as well as)

III. The sign said, “Do not enter the room.”
(Begin: The sign stated …….)
IV. Unless the car arrives on time, we shall miss the concert.
(Begin: If……)
V. Dance and drama were all we cared about.
(Begin: All .........................)
VI. They were asked to combine all their ideas into one document.
(Re-write using: ‘combination’)
VII. It was so hot that the rally could not be held.
(Begin: It was too .............................)
VIII. I have never seen Sumirna lose her temper.
(Begin: Never……)
IX. “Will you lend me the book tomorrow?” Priya asked her classmate.
(Begin: Priya asked her classmate if..............................)
X. Their dog is too friendly to be an effective guard dog.
(Begin: Their dog is so............................)

5 Attempt any THREE of the following four questions in 120-150 words each. 3x5=15

I Write an analytical essay discussing the pros and cons of remote work. Analyse
how remote work affects productivity, work-life balance, and employee satisfaction.
Consider both the benefits and challenges, providing examples to support your
discussion.

II Write an essay interpreting the influence of technology on traditional hobbies.
Analyse how advancements in technology have transformed hobbies such as
reading, gardening, and crafting. Discuss whether these changes are enhancing
or diminishing the value of these activities. Provide examples to illustrate your
interpretation

III Write an essay interpreting the significance of environmental conservation in the
modern world. Discuss the importance of protecting natural resources and
ecosystems for future generations. Use examples to highlight successful
conservation efforts and the consequences of neglecting environmental issues.

IV In an era characterized by rapid advancement in digital technology and wide spread
use of smartphones and social media the nature of human relationships has
undergone significant changes. Write a discursive essay in which you critically
examine the impact of digital technology on human relationships.

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6 Read the questions below and attempt ANY ONE of the following- 1x5=5

I Imagine you are a student representative at your school. Write a report on the
recently held Science Exhibition at your school.

II Mental health has become a significant public health concern. Write an article
discussing the factors contributing to the rising rates of mental health issues, such
as stress, social media, and economic inequality.

SECTION C-TEXTBOOK 32 Marks

7 (I) Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below: 1x6=6
(A) Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

“She had consented to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise? She tried to
weigh each side of the question.”
i. Who does ‘she’ refer to in the lines quoted above?
ii. What was her dilemma?
iii. How would her leaving have an impact on Stores?
iv. How was Miss Gavan’s attitude towards her?
v. How would people at the Stores judge her?
vi. Which word can be a good synonym for ‘consented’
A. requested B. collected
C. complained D. agreed

OR
(B) Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
“Vienna was still an old imperial city, whose geographical position between the two
irreconcilable worlds left behind by the second World War had turned it into a
paradise of black marketeering and international espionage. I could not have
imagined a more suitable spot for my fugitive compatriot, who still ate in the
students’ tavern on the corner only out of loyalty to her origins, since she had more
than enough money to buy meals for all her table companions. She never told her
real name.”
i. Who does ‘her’ refer to here?
ii. How did the narrator know ‘her’ as?
iii. What new status had Vienna acquired after Second World War?
iv. Was ‘her’ a native of Vienna? Pick the word/phrase which shows that.
v. Why did ‘her’ still eat at students’ tavern?
vi. Which word is a good synonym for ‘espionage’?
A. spying B. esoteric
C. eclectic D. espoused

7 (II) Attempt any one of the two extracts (A) and (B) given below: 1x6=6

(A) Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
Could I survive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight, ‘t would win me,

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That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
i. Who does ‘her’ refer to here?
ii. What does the poet wish about the song?
iii. What does the poet want to achieve through music?
iv. How does the poet intend to achieve it?
v. Where is the ‘sunny dome’ located?
vi. Which word is a good antonym for ‘survive’
A. recuperate B. flourish
C. kill D. restore
OR
(B) Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.
The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

i. In which season is the poem set?
ii. What is the significance of the number "59" in the context of the poem?
iii. What does the phrase "the trees" in the second stanza represent
symbolically?
iv. What is the state of the sky in the poem?
v. For how many years has the poet been counting swans?
vi. Which word serves as an antonym of clamorous’?
A. vociferous B. raucous
C. boisterous D. tranquil

8 Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in 30-40 words. 1x2=2

I What were the dynamics of relationship between Eveline and Frank?

II What do the swans in the poem, ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ symbolize?

9 Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in 40-50 words each. 1x3=3

I Why did the author think that Frau Frieda’s dreams were a stratagem for surviving?

II How can the poem Kubla Khan by Coleridge be read as an illustration of the power
of imagination?

10 Answer ANY ONE of the following two questions in 120-150 words each 1x5=5

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I How does ‘Time and Time again’ reflect the poet’s attitude towards communal
disharmony.
II What according to Bergman, is the relationship between a film-maker and his
audience in the essay ‘Filmmaking’?

11 Answer ANY ONE of the following questions in 30-40 words 1x2=2

I What is the central conflict in ‘A Tiger for Malgudi.’
II How does Margayya's initial success as a financial expert contribute to his downfall
later in the story?

12 Answer ANY ONE of the following questions in 40-50 words. 1x3=3
I The creation of the role of Master is intended to serve as an ideal. Justify.
II Margayya’s rise and fall in life makes the readers introspect on various notions of
ethics and integrity. Elaborate.

13 Answer ANY ONE of the following questions in 120-150 words.
I In "A Tiger for Malgudi," how is the theme of the interaction between humans and 1x5=5
animals examined?
II In "The Financial Expert," discuss the evolution of Margayya's character from his
early success as a moneylender to his ultimate downfall. Analyze the key factors
and decisions that contribute to this transformation, and explain how the novel
portrays the consequences of his actions on both a personal and societal level.”

Page | 10

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