MBOSE Class 12 Question Paper 2020 for English Elective

Total No. of Printed Pages—8
HS/XII/A/e/20

2020

ELECTIVE ENGLISH

Full Marks : 100

Time : 3 hours

The figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions

General Instructions :
(i) Write all the answers in the Answer Script.
(ii) Attempt Part—A (Objective Questions) serially.
(iii) Attempt all parts of a question together at one place.

( PART : A—OBJECTIVE )
( Marks : 50 )

SECTION—I
( Marks : 20 )

1. State whether the following statements are True or
False : 1×6=6
(a) It is Velan’s unwavering faith that gives Raju the
power he needs to try the fast for real.
(b) Nalini had to scrape up a bail bond for ten thousand
rupees.
(c) “The Cultural History of South India” was written by
Marco.

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(d) To make himself more ‘modern’ for Rosie, Marco
spent money on new clothes and invested in hair
and face lotions and perfumes of all kinds.

(e) Raju’s lawyer is shrewd at spinning his tales and
manages to get Raju only two years instead of ten in
prison.

(f) James J. Malone is a TV producer from New Delhi.

2. Name the speaker and the person spoken to : 1×6=6

(a) A shocking sacrifice, isn’t it? Such beauty ! such
intellect ! such modesty ! wasted on a middle-aged
servant man.

(b) Yes : sell your manhood for 30 levas, and buy me
for 10.

(c) My rank is the highest known in Switzerland : I am
a free citizen.

(d) You are a romantic idiot.

(e) A Swiss? What was he doing in the Serbian army?

(f) I have found a Russian officer, thank Heaven :

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3. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words : 1×8=8

(a) The filaria _____ could neither walk nor fly.
( parasite / worm / insect )
(b) In the course of _____ years, Ross discovered the
enemy and showed how it could be conquered.
( four / two / five )

(c) “I’m going to walk where I like. We’ve got _____ now.”
( freedom / rights / liberty )

(d) We are much more conscious of the _____ of others
in this respect than of our own.
( imperfections / flaws / faults )

(e) But they _____ his daughter and bound her to the
foot of her narrow bed.
( silenced / smothered / gagged )

(f) They stretched and strained in the darkness and the
hours _____ by like years.
( passed / trailed / crawled )

(g) I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I _____ up the hill,
( climbed / mounted / walked )

(h) And that one _____ which is death to hide.
( work / gift / talent )

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SECTION—II

( Marks : 30 )

4. Answer any ten of the following questions in
2/3 sentences each : 3×10=30

(a) How does the Highwayman respond to the news
about Bess?

(b) What is the ostler’s name? Describe him. 1+2=3

(c) Who are referred to as the ‘mosquito-men’?

(d) Why is the policeman a symbol of liberty and not
tyranny?

(e) Give one example of a person who had no social
sense in Gardiner’s essay.

(f) Who, according to Milton, serve God best?

(g) How could Wordsworth hear the song of the Solitary
Reaper when it could be heard no more?

(h) Who are the ‘weary bands’ in Wordsworth’s poem?
What welcome notes do they hear? 1+2=3

(i) What was the tragedy that befell Raju that made
him change his business venture?

HS/XII/A/e/20/20 [ Contd.

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(j) Who is Raju’s creditor? What trouble did Raju face
with him? 1+2=3

(k) Why was Sergius’s cavalry charge at Slivnitza
considered ‘foolish’?

(l) Why and how did Sergius challenge Bluntschli to a
fight?

(m) Describe Petkoff’s library.

( PART : B—DESCRIPTIVE )
( Marks : 50 )

5. What was Sir Patrick Manson’s ‘discovery’ that set
certain men thinking? 5
Or
What did A. G. Gardiner mean by the term ‘liberty
drunk’? Cite examples from the text to substantiate your
answer. 5

6. What is the cause of Milton’s lament in his Sonnet,
On His Blindness ? How does he ultimately console and
resign himself to his fate? 2+3=5
Or
The Solitary Reaper is a poem that depicts a simple
peasant girl with an extraordinary voice. What qualities
make the girl unforgettable? 5

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Or
Describe Alfred Noyes’s The Highwayman as a romantic
ballad of love and betrayal. 5

7. Answer any one of the following questions : 10

(a) Sergius’s exclamation at the end of the play, “What
a man ! Is he a man !” is so poignant and fitting.
Examine Bluntschli’s character in the light of the
remark made by Sergius.

(b) How is the theme of class discrimination and social
snobbery highlighted in Arms and the Man?

(c) Write short notes on any two of the following : 5×2=10
(i) Paul Petkoff
(ii) Raina
(iii) Nicola

8. Answer any one of the following questions : 10

(a) Describe the theme of marriage as depicted in R. K.
Narayan’s novel, The Guide.

(b) The coming of the Railway train to Malgudi was a
turning point in Raju’s life and career. Describe the
development of his character as ‘Railway Raju’.

(c) Write short notes on any two of the following : 5×2=10
(i) Raju’s uncle
(ii) Velan
(iii) Raju’s father

HS/XII/A/e/20/20 [ Contd.

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9. Read the poem given below and answer the questions
that follow :

Home they brought her warrior dead :
She nor swoon’d nor utter’d cry :
All her maidens, watching, said,
“She must weep or she will die.”

Then they praised him, soft and low,
Call’d him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stept,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee—
Like summer tempest came her tears—
“Sweet my child, I live for thee.”

(a) Who is ‘her’ in the first line and what was ‘her’
reaction when she saw the warrior’s dead body? 2

(b) What are the mourners’ deliberate attempt to make
the wife cry? 2

(c) What did one of the maidens do to break her out of
the state of shock? 2

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(d) What is the dominant theme in the poem? 2

(e) Explain how the nurse was wiser than the maidens. 2

10. Write a short essay in about 250 words on any one of
the following : 10

(a) Is technology limiting creativity?

(b) An experience that taught you to appreciate life
more

(c) A perfect vacation destination

(d) Books—A treasure-house of knowledge

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HS/XII/A/e/20/20 20K