CBSE Guess > Papers > Question Papers > Class XII > 2007 > Functional English > Delhi Set -II

Functional English - 2007 (Set II - Delhi)

SECTION A - READING 20

Q. 1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow :

The Power of a Dream

1. In order to make something happen, there must first be a dream. All great pioneers and visionaries were, first and foremost, dreamers whose dreams contained a touch of the impossible. Let us take the example of Gandhi, who also dreamed an “impossible” dream. To dream of freeing India from more than 100 years of British rule — a powerful imperial power — was novel enough, but to dream that freedom would be achieved without a single shot being fired was audacious.
2. Dreams (or day dreams) play a very important role in our lives. They provide us with a vision of what we want to achieve in life. Why is it important to have mighty goals, to dream great dreams ? When our dreams and visions have a touch of the impossible, it stretches us. It grabs and pulls us out of our comfort zone. It forces us to employ new and innovative ways to achieve our goals. As Peter Senge states in his book, “The Fifth Discipline’, “The loftiness of the target compels new ways of thinking and acting.” We are forced to ‘think outside the box’.
3. With Gandhi at the helm, India embarked on one of the most unique freedom struggles in the history of the modern world. With truth, compassion and non-violence as his only weapons, Gandhi took on the might of the British empire. Gandhi painted a compelling picture of a free India — a united and truly self-reliant nation. Although many people initially doubted the efficacy of his methods, they gradually changed their minds as they saw Gandhi lead by example. People began to commit to this cause in larger numbers with each passing day. At one point, it was no longer Gandhi’s vision; it had become a shared vision. Gandhi also helped them understand that this was a struggle of historic importance; if Indians could prove that freedom could be won through the non-violent way, then it would be a message of vital significance for future generations.
4. This shared vision lifted common men and women to greater levels of heroism and courage. These “ordinary” folk became so inspired that they bravely and willingly joined in the struggle for Indian sovereignty. They endured physical blows and assaults without retreating or retaliating. They joined in Gandhi’s hunger strikes and marches. The feeling that they were participating in something sacred and profound elicited the very best from these men and women. Their courageous actions are not understandable unless one realises that a powerful vision can inspire heroic acts and extraordinary courage from even the most seemingly ordinary person.
5. Gandhi himself was a very fearful and painfully shy child. This shyness continued well into his late twenties. He was so shy and fearful that at social gatherings, he could not make the simplest of speeches. At meetings, somebody else would have to read aloud what he had written. To top it all off, his first appearance as a lawyer in court was an unmitigated disaster; as Gandhi’s turn came to speak, he found himself overwhelmed and tongue-tied. In his autobiography, he speaks of the innumerable occasions when he found himself in similar embarrassing situations, all due to his shyness.
6. And yet this person became the leader of millions. He became an extremely proficient speaker. He grew so self-confident that he was soon meeting and negotiating with very important and influential leaders, such as British viceroys and generals who were in the top echelons of power. What happened ? How did this painfully shy and fearful person end up as one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20 century ? What triggered such a powerful transformation ?
7. The answer is simple : when we care about something deeply, it unleashes within us immense courage; it inspires in us great daring, and we venture forth boldly. The vision of a free India and a peaceful and harmonious world was so compelling to Gandhi that he was no longer a slave to his fears. Inspired by this dream, he rose to the occasion. It enabled him to overcome his shyness. He cared so deeply about issues of freedom and non-violence that he tapped into his inner reservoirs of courage, will power and self-confidence.
8. Only when we have a great dream — will we truly know the extent and the depth of our potential, our courage and creativity. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: when we do not have an overarching vision, even the trivial becomes painful, molehills appear as mountains and mere winds seem like hurricanes.

Anand Kumarasamy

(a) On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following in your own words :

1. What were the two main features of Gandhi’s ‘impossible’ dream ? 2
2. Mention two factors which are a result of having mighty dreams. 2
3. What were Gandhi’s weapons in his struggle for freedom ? 1
4. What led to the transformation of Gandhi from a shy person to one of the greatest revolutionaries of the 20 century ? 2
5. What happens when we do not have a great vision or dream ? 1

(b) Pick out words/phrases from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following : 4

1. daring and shocking (para 1)
2. a course of action which produces the desired effect (para 3)
3. terrible in every way (para 5)
4. a level/rank within an organisation (para 6

Q. 2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

Coastal environments constitute a critical national and global resource that suffers widespread degradation due to human impact. The importance of the coast can be gauged more precisely if we look at its place in the overall classifications of the physical divisions and relief features of the Earth. The principal divisions of the Earth are air, water and land. We recognise these more technically as atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.

Coast is the meeting ground of the two. Hence coasts are subjected to geological actions of air, water and all the landward processes including human actions. They are endowed with rich renewable resources, accessibility and a communication network. This provides an ideal situation for infrastructure development and economic activities, attracting more people into the coastal domain. Today, 50 percent of the world’s population (about 3-2 billion) lives along the coastline, spread over 80 percent of the world’s 218 sovereign states. In the US, over 80 percent of people live within, 50 miles of the coast, while in India over 250 million people live within 50 km from the ,00881. But coasts are also subjected to the ill-effects of all human activities on land and are prone to the fury of Nature from air, sea and land.

Recent years have witnessed large-scale destruction along the coasts in India due to cyclonic storms, floods, erosion and tidal inundation in the low-lying areas of the western and eastern coasts and the Andaman Islands. The importance of coasts in India — their human and resource potential and vulnerability to natural hazards — has been understood after the huge damage to life, property and habitat as a result of
the December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

India is a major sea-front nation with a mainland coastline of 5,422 km and island coastline of 2,094 km, extending from Kachchh in the west to West Bengal in the east.

Unlike the remarkably straight western coast, the eastern coast and the continental shelf bordering it are irregular because of their comparative antiquity in relation to the western coast. The western coast has narrow plains, whereas the eastern coast and the coast in Gujarat have wider plains with subdued topography, large marshes, mudflats etc.

Coastal geomorphic features do regulate the vulnerability of the coasts due to storm surges, tidal and wave impacts and resource availability. This has been proved in the extreme case of tsunami waves. It is therefore recommended that setback lines (lines beyond which natural hazard impact will be minimal or nil in the event of natural hazards along the coastal areas) need to be demarcated based on location ----- specific coastal geomorphic features, stability of the coastal rock strata, erosion rates, sea-ward coastline characteristics, wave dynamics and vegetation cover.

In thickly populated low-lying coastal areas, erection of a first line defence from storm surges (be it mangrove vegetation or a sea-wall depending on local specifics) is also important. The demarcation of setback lines requires, skilled inputs from a number of Government agencies. Disaster management schemes need to be overhauled for the purpose.

Dr. K. Soman

1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. 5
2. Using the notes write a summary of the above passage in 80 words. 3

SECTION B ----- WRITING 25

Q. 3. The Health Club of ‘Peach Glow Senior School’ is launching a ‘Eat Fresh Fruit and Junk
Junk Food Drive’ in and around the school. You are Vinay / Vineeta, Secretary of the Health Club. Draft a poster for display in and around the school premises. 5

Or

Read the following information provided and write a factual description of the place referred to. You are Vishnu / Veena, an executive working for a travel company. Do not use more than 80 words.

Beautiful Bhubaneswar !

Q. 4. You are Ira / Inder, Sports Captain of ‘Super Excel Senior School’. Write a letter registering your complaint about a mix-up in the order of tennis and badminton rackets, to the Sales Manager, Sports India Pvt. Ltd., Ludhiana. Request them to rectify the problem. 10

Or

The alarming sex-ratio in some of the states of the country has raised concern about the growing scourge of female foeticide. Challenges posed by the killing of the unborn girl child need to be addressed by insisting on a ‘zero tolerance approach’. Write a letter to the editor of a local daily highlighting the problem and provide a few remedial suggestions. You are Amitabh / Anuradha.

Q. 5. You are Fatima / Farhan, a budding journalist for a local magazine. Write an article on "Crisis of Childhood" based on the input given below : 10

• Junk food ----- obesity; diseases
• Greater affluence ----- lack of exercise
• Competitive schooling ----- stress, anxiety and depression in many cases
• Life-style changes ----- working parents, dependence on electronic means of
  entertainment
• Leisure activities ----- structured rather than unorganised

Or

You are Sarit / Seema, a volunteer of the Health Club of your school. Based on the inputs given below prepare a speech for the slum dwellers of your neighbourhood.
‘Prevention is Better Than Cure’

• Mosquito borne diseases
• Spread and consequences
• Preventive measures
• Supportive Therapy
• Sustained effective eradication and control programme

SECTION C ----- GRAMMAR 20

Q. 6. Rearrange the following sentences sequentially to make complete sense. The process described is related to making soft centred chocolates. 5

1. The solution is heated slowly until the sugar dissolves and then the syrup is boiled.
2. After it cools the fondant is re-heated and an enzyme called invertase is added in.
3. Soft centred chocolates contain fondant which is made by mixing sugar with a
   quarter of its own weight of water.
4. Next, the hot, sticky, clear solution is poured out and left to cool.
5. Finally, the fondant is moulded into fancy shapes.
   

Q. 7. You are Abhishek / Aishwarya and are set to meet Dr. Salim, a specialist on birds. Based on the input given below construct a dialogue between the two of you. Make five sets of exchanges. The first one has been done for you as an example. 5
Aishwarya / Abhishek : Good morning, Sir.
Dr. Salim : Good morning.

• possible for birds to find their way home after long journeys.
• can find
• how — manage
• extra sensory capabilities of birds — detect changes in atmospheric pressure, weather and
  earth’s magnetic field.
• birds - sleep - on one leg - how
• bird’s body weight causes the bird to bend its knees, close its claws and sleep on even
  one leg.
• sleep at night
• yes, but not nocturnal species
• eagles - save energy - how
• adopt - energy saving technique - gliding

Q. 8. The following passage has ten errors. Identify the errors in each line and write them along with the corrections as shown in the example. 5

Alan Davidson

Q. 9. Raj Vasudeva runs an old age home in Jallandhar. Frame ten questions that you would like to ask her regarding her work based on the items given below : 5

Inspiration; Beginning; Atmosphere of the old age home; funding; inmates; care;
visitors; support — community; school attached; road ahead.

SECTION D ----- LITERATURE 35

Q. 10. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :

‘Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store ?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find,
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies while thy hook,
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

1. Name the poem and the poet. 1
2. What does the first sentence actually mean ? 1
3. Who does ‘thee’ stand for ? 1
4. What is the ‘figure of speech’ used here ? Give a brief description. 2
5. What does the hook held by the girl do and why has it stopped now ? 2

Or

Is it so easy, then ? Goodbye no more than this
Quiet disaster ? And is there cause for sorrow
That in the small white murder of one kiss
Are born two .ghosts, two Hamlets, two soliloquies
Two worlds apart, tomorrow ?

1. Name the poem and the poet. 1
2. Who are the questions addressed to ? 1
3. What does ‘quiet disaster’ mean ? 1
4. Why does the poet allude to Hamlet ? Who is he compared to ? 2
5. Why is ‘two’ used thrice ? 1
6. What is a soliloquy ? 1

Q. 11. Answer any two of the following in about 50 words each : 4×2 = 8

1. Comment on the title of the poem ‘Of Mothers, Among Other Things’.
2. ‘Ars Poetica’ epitomises what the characteristic features of a good poem are. Comment.
3. Bring out the birds’ feelings of despair and the empathy of the poet as expressed in the poem ‘Sympathy’.

Q. 12. Answer any one of the following in about 80 - 100 words :

‘Who is the Master of the World
Who shall I condemn to death’

1. Name the play and the author. 1
2. Who speaks these words and to whom ? 1
3. Who does ‘Master of the World’ refer to ?
4. What is his dilemma ? 1
5. Why does he call it ‘his last act of mercy’ ? 1

Or

What are the three wishes that the white couple makes ? What happens as a result ? 5

Q. 13. Answer any two of the following in about 50 words each : 4×2 = 8

1. Mention four important characteristic features of Einstein’s model of education.
2. How was the deal between Jacques Roux and Robichon beneficial to both of them ?
3. How does Lynd differentiate between mosquitoes, bees and wasps ?

Q. 14. Answer any one of the following in 100 - 125 words : 7

Do you think ‘Grief is an appropriate title for the story written by Chekhov ? Also suggest an alternate appropriate title.

Or

Attempt an appraisal of Asoka as a mighty ruler. Elucidate his strengths on the basis of your reading of the lesson.

Functional English 2007 Question Papers Class XII
	Delhi
	Set I		Set II