Karnataka 2nd PUC Question Paper 2026 English

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Registration No. :

V1 – 2026
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02 (NS)
Subject Code

EAVèõï / ENGLISH
[¸ÀªÀÄAiÀÄ: 3 UÀAmÉUÀ¼ÀÄ] [MlÄÖ ¥Àæ±ÉßUÀ¼À ¸ÀASÉå : 36] [UÀjµÀ× CAPÀUÀ¼ÀÄ : 80]
[Time : 3 Hours] [Total No. of questions : 36] [Max. Marks : 80]

Instructions : 1. Answer the questions in all the sections.
2. Follow the prescribed limit while answering the questions.
3. Write the correct question number as it appears on the
question paper.
4. For Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), choose the correct
answer and rewrite it.
5. For Part - A questions, only the first written answers will be
considered for evaluation.
6. Answers to the question numbers 30 (A) (a - i) or 30 (B)
(a - i), should be in one sequence and at one place.
7. For question numbers 30, 31, 32 and 36, internal choices
are there. Hence, answer either (A) or (B).

PART – A

I. Answer the following questions by choosing the right option : (10 × 1 = 10)
1) In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, __________ is described as ‘gentle, loving and
black-browed’.
a) an Ethiope b) night
c) a crow d) a raven
P.T.O.

02 (NS) -2-

2) In ‘Too Dear!’, ___________ was the initial punishment given to the
criminal.

a) life imprisonment

b) temporary stay in a lock up

c) death sentence

d) exiled from Monaco

3) According to the speaker in ‘On Children’, ‘life does not tarry with
___________.’

a) today

b) tomorrow

c) day after tomorrow

d) yesterday

4) Match the items in Column A with Column B with reference to the play
‘A Sunny Morning’ and choose the correct option.

A B

A) wild boar’s head i) Dona Laura’s boudoir

B) tiger’s skin ii) as a shoe brush

C) handkerchief iii) Don Gonzalo’s study

a) A-iii, B-ii, C-i b) A-iii, B-i, C-ii

c) A-ii, B-iii, C-i d) A-i, B-iii, C-ii

-3- 02 (NS)

5) In ‘The Gardener”, ___________ beddecked himself with gold, built a
mansion and invited scholars to his house.
a) Tammanna
b) The owner of the plantation
c) Basavaiah
d) Lokya

6) In the interview, Borges does not make this statement about books
a) A book goes beyond it’s author’s intention
b) If books disappear, surely history would disappear and man would
disappear
c) Modern developments would replace books with more dynamic
things
d) A book always retains something sacred, mortal and magical

7) The life of ___________ is becoming more hazardous everyday in Brazil,
according to George Mikes.
a) pedestrians
b) car drivers
c) hunters
d) prey

8) In the story ‘The Voter’, ___________ was the leader of the ‘Progressive
Organisation Party’.
a) Marcus Ibe
b) Maduka
c) Ezenwa
d) Roof

02 (NS) -4-

9) The secondary school teacher mentioned in the essay, ‘Where There Is
A Wheel’ is ___________.

a) N. Kannammal

b) Jameela Bibi

c) Manormani

d) Fatima

10) According to the poem ‘water’, ___________ is a witness to the centuries
of social injustice.

a) Blood

b) Jesus the Jew

c) Water

d) The panchama

11) Fill in the blanks with the passive form of the verbs given in the brackets :
(3 × 1 = 3)

Chipko movement took place in the Garhwal Himalaya. It ___________
(support) by the peasent women. A large scale deforestation
___________ (oppose) by them. Many songs ___________ (compose) to
spread the message of the movement.

-5- 02 (NS)

12) Fill in the blanks by choosing the appropriate expressions given in the
brackets : (2 × 1 = 2)

(brain child, swept across, go out)

Cycling has ___________ Pudukkottai. It was the ___________ of
Sheela Rani Chunkath, who was the former District Collector.

13) Read the following paragraph and match the pronouns in column A with
the nouns/noun phrases in column B they refer to : (5 × 1 = 5)

Oliver Goldsmith was sometimes called Dr. Goldsmith because he (a)
had studied medicine. One day, a poor woman came to his (b) house and
she (c) asked him if he would come to see her husband who (d) was sick
and would not eat any food. Dr. Goldsmith gave her a small box which (e)
had money in it.

A B
(Pronouns) (Nouns/Noun Phrases)

a) He i) poor woman’s husband

b) His ii) poor woman

c) She iii) Dr. Goldsmith

d) Who iv) a small box

e) Which v) House

vi) Dr. Goldsmith’s

02 (NS) -6-

PART - B

II. Answer any three of the following questions in one or two
sentences/words/phrases each. (3 × 2 = 6)

14) Name any two images that Romeo uses to describe Juliet’s beauty in
‘Romeo and Juliet’.

15) According to the prophet in ‘On Children’, who bends the bow and why?

16) According to Vandana Shiva, what had logging led to in the Himalayan
region?

17) Which is the mighty movement mentioned in the poem ‘water’? Where did
it happen?

III. Answer any four of the following questions in about 60 words each : (4 × 3 = 12)

18) Write a brief note on Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya Farm.

19) What circumstances, according to Don Gonzalo, made his cousin run
away from Valencia in ‘A Sunny Morning’?

20) How does the poet portray that his love is different from that of others in
‘When You Are Old’?

-7- 02 (NS)

21) Write a note on the life of the foot in the shoe as described in ‘To The
Foot From Its Child’.

22) ‘Heaven lies all over!’ Illustrate this with reference to the poem ‘Heaven, If
You Are Not On Earth’.

23) Why does George Mikes consider the Japanese as ‘Well-mannered
people’?

IV. Answer any three of the following in about 100 words each : (3 × 4 = 12)

24) What were the arguments putforth by the criminal for not going out of the
prison in ‘Too Dear!’?

25) How does Dona Laura decorate her own funeral in the play ‘A Sunny
Morning’? Explain.

26) How did Tammanna avenge himself with reference to ‘The Gardener’?

27) ‘The function of books is irreplaceable’. Substantiate this statement with
reference to ‘Books Will Never Disappear’.

28) Why did the people of Umuofia feel that they had underrated the power of
ballot paper before, in ‘The Voter’?

29) Describe the role of Arivoli Iyakkam in liberating and empowering rural
women of Pudukkottai, as narrated by P. Sainath.

02 (NS) -8-

PART - C
V. 30)

A) Read the following passage and answer the questions set on it :
(9 × 1 = 9)

Widely regarded in his life time as the most accomplished novelist
from the English speaking Caribbean, V.S. Naipul was born to a family of
Indian descent in Trinidad. He was educated at Queen’s Royal College,
port of Spain and at University College, Oxford. After settling in England,
he became the editor of ‘The Caribbean Voices’ programme at BBC and
he worked there for 2 years from 1954. He then worked as the fiction
reviewer for the ‘New Statesman’ from 1957 to 1961. He won the Booker
Prize in 1971 for his work ‘In a Free State’. He received the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 2001.

‘The Mystic Masseur’, ‘The suffrage of Elvira’ and ‘Miguel street’
are the comedies of manner of Naipul. His first major novel ‘A House
for Mr. Biswas’ was published in 1961. It is partly based on his father’s
experience. Following a declining fortunes of it’s gentle hero from cradle
to grave, this tragiocomic novel, traces the disintegration of a traditional
way of life. His subsequent novels continued to explore the desperate and
destructive conditions of people who struggle with cultures in complicated
streets of transition and development. Because of his bitter, even
withering critiques of so called third world states and societies, Naipul
was controversial among readers of post colonial fiction.

Naipul also produced essays on a variety of themes including a
travel narrative about the Southern America another about African beliefs
and traditions. Usually, his writings carry the readers to Africa, England,
the Indian sub-continent, the middle East, South and North America.
As the years passed, his vision of human conditions grew darker and
more pessimistic. He laid bare the insensitives and disconnections that
bedevil relations among individuals races and nations.

-9- 02 (NS)

Tremendous disjunctions and dire consequences of immigration to
America are revealed in his prize winning novel ‘In a Free State’. It
engages the readers emotionally yet ironically and allows them to
understand what it means to be free. The story follows the fortunes of
Santhosh, an Indian immigrant to the United States of America. His sense
of self changes dramatically in relation to various liberating and
imprisoning spaces and cultures. In contrast to narratives of immigration
as empowerment, the story represents the promise of more freedom,
more status and more economic opportunities in America as coming at
the price of an intensified isolation and alienation.

Questions :

a) Where was V.S. Naipul born?

b) When did V.S. Naipul receive the Nobel Prize for literature?

c) How long did Naipul work for the BBC?

d) Why was V.S. Naipul controversial among the readers of post
colonial fiction?

e) Which of Naipul’s novels follows the fortunes of Santhosh in the
United States?

f) According to V.S. Naipul, the immigration to America for
empowerment comes at the price of ___________. (Fill in the blank)

g) Which novel of V.S. Naipul, traces the disintegration of a traditional
way of life?

h) The noun form of the word, ‘accomplished’ is ___________.
(Fill in the blank)

(i) Add a prefix to the word ‘educated’ to make its antonym.

OR

02 (NS) -10-

B) Read the following poem and answer the questions set on it. (9 × 1 = 9)

OZYMANDIAS

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said : two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on those lifeless things,

The hand that mock’d them and the heart that fed ;

And on the pedestal these words appear :

‘‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings :

Look on my works, Ye Mighty, and despair !’’

Nothing beside remains. Round and decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level stands stretch far away.

-11- 02 (NS)

Questions :-

a) What did the traveller see in the desert?

b) Where does the shattered Visage lie?

c) According to the poet, what has been inscribed on the pedestal?

d) What do the phrases ‘Wrinkled lip’ and ‘sneer of cold command’
suggest about the king?

e) Who are ‘Ye Mighty’ in the context of the poem?

f) What do the expression on the stone say about the sculptor?

g) According to the speaker, what is there around pedestal?

h) Which word in the poem means, ‘very old’?

i) Complete the analogy.

land : sand : : stone : ___________.

PART – D

VI. 31)

A) Rewrite as directed : (4 × 1 = 4)

i) We walked along a long distance ___________ foot.

(Use proper preposition)

ii) of my home / and shut the door / my daughter in / I called.

(Rearrange the segments into a meaningful sentence)

02 (NS) -12-

iii) The flock of birds ___________ (is / are) flying over head.

(Choose the right verb that agrees with the subject)

iv) I ___________ (see) him at the mall last week.

(Use proper form of the verb given in the bracket)

OR

B) Fill in the blanks with right linkers. (4 × 1 = 4)

[as, atlast, and, but]

One fine day, a wealthy man drove out of his city. He saw a farmer’s
horse on his way ___________ he was attracted to it. He wanted to buy
it, ___________ it was looking great. ___________ the farmer was not
willing to sell his horse. However, the rich man pleaded with him and was
ready to pay more. ___________ the farmer was convinced and he
agreed to sell his horse.

32)

A) Rewrite as directed : (2 × 1 = 2)

i) I do not know what to do, ___________?
(Add a question tag)

ii) A policeman was clearing the traffic.
[Frame a ‘wh’ question to get the underlined word as answer]

OR

B) Rectify the errors in the following sentences and rewrite them. (2 × 1 = 2)

i) Children likes sweets.
ii) A sun rises in the east.

-13- 02 (NS)

33) Read the following paragraph and make notes by filling the boxes given
below : (4 × 21 = 2)

The phantom is a fictional comic strip who was created by Lee Falk,
an American. He lives in the fictional African country of Bangalla, solving
the problems of the tribal people. He is also called Mr. Walker, the Ghost
who walks. Lee Falk also created the character Mandrake, the magician.

The Phantom

created by another name

① ②

another
nationality character
created

③ ④

34) Report the following conversation. (5 × 1 = 5)

Roof : I have given you three shillings. What else do you expect
from me?

Ezenwa : We wouldn’t have asked more if Marcus is a poor man.

Roof : I will give you one more shilling. Don’t expect more.

02 (NS) -14-

35) Complete the following dialogue : (3 × 1 = 3)

[Conversation between two friends]

Mayura : Hi, Madhura, you ___________. (complementing)

Madhura : ___________. (expressing gratitude)

Mayura : Is today a special day for you?

Madhura : Yes, ___________. (responding)

Mayura : Many more happy returns of the day, Madhura.

Madhura : Thank you, Mayura.

PART – E

VII. 36)

A) Write a letter of application in response to the following advertisement
that appeared in the ‘Deccan Herald’ dated 3rd March 2026. (5)

Wanted : Office Assistants

Qualification : PUC

Skills required : - Basic computer knowledge
- Fluency in English and Kannada

Apply to : The Manager,
5G Digital Solutions,
Hassan – 573201.

OR

-15- 02 (NS)

B) Imagine that you are the President of your college’s cultural union.
You are celebrating Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s Jayanthi. You are required to
deliver a speech on the life and achievements of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Prepare a speech of about 120 words using the following clues. (5)

Born on 14th April 1891 – faced humiliation due to untouchability –
determined to fight back – studied at Columbia University – London
School of Economics – Chairman of Indian Constitution Drafting
Committee – the first Law Minister of India – passed away on 6th
December 1956 –awarded ‘Bharath Ratna’ posthumously.

———————

02 (NS) -16-