Class Test-3
English Core
Class XII
Time: 90 Minutes M.M: 50
General Instructions:
1. All questions are compulsory.
2. Separate instructions are given with each question. Read them carefully and follow them faithfully
3. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.
Q1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 8
In a very short period of time the internet has had a profound impact on the way we live. Since the Internet was made operational in 1983, it has lowered both the costs of communication and the barriers to creative expression. lt has challenged old business models and enabled new ones. Lt has provided access to information on a scale never before achievable. lt succeeded because we designed it to be flexible and open. These two features have allowed it to accommodate innovation without massive changes to its infrastructure. An open, border less and standardized platform means that barriers to entry are low competition is high, interoperability is assured and innovation is rapid.
The beauty of an open platform is that there are no gatekeepers. For centuries, access to and creation of information was controlled by the few. The internet has changed that and is rapidly becoming the platform for everyone, by everyone.
Of course, it still has a way to go. Today there are only about 2.3 billion internet users, representing roughly 30% of the world’s population. Much of the information that they can access online is in English, but this is changing rapidly.
The technological progress of the internet has also set social change in motion. As with other enabling inventions before it, from the telegraph to television, some will worry about the effects of broader access to information — the printing press and the rise in literacy that it effected were, after all, long seen as destabilizing. Similar concerns about the internet are occasionally raised, but if we take a long view, I’m confident that its benefits far outweigh the discomforts of learning to integrate it into our lives. The internet and the World Wide Web are what they are because literally millions of people have made it so. It is a grand collaboration.
It would be foolish not to acknowledge that the openness of the internet has had a price. Security is an increasingly important issue and cannot be ignored. lf there is an area of vital research and development for the internet, this is one of them. I am increasingly confident, however, that techniques and practices exist to make the internet safer and more secure while retaining its essentially open quality.
After working on the internet and its predecessors for over four decades, l’m more optimistic about its promise than l have ever been. We are all free to innovate on the net every day. The internet is a tool of the people, built by the people for the people and it must stay that way.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it using recognizable abbreviations (minimum four) wherever necessary. Use a format you consider appropriate. Supply a suitable title. (5 marks)
(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words. (3 marks)
Q3. You are the General Manager of Panton Herbal India Limited, Noida. You need sales executives for the marketing division of your company. Draft a suitable advertisement to be published in a national daily giving necessary details. 4
OR
You are Sonal Ragini of 12-A, R.K. Puram, New Delhi. You have been invited by the principal of St. Joseph Public School, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi to act as one of the judges at a debate Contest to be held on 29th Sep. 2014. But you are unable to accept this invitation due to a previous engagement. Write an informal reply to the Principal expressing your inability to accept the invitation. 4
Q4. You are Prateek/ Pratiksha staying at 34-C, Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad. Last month, you bought a Telephone Answering System with Facsimile from the Royal Electronics, 56-N, Palika Bazar, New Delhi against a warranty of two years. Now you discover that there is something wrong with the answering machine. It does not record the caller’s message. Write a letter to the dealer complaining about the problem. Also request him to replace it, if needed, against the warranty that goes with it. 8
OR
Mobile phones have become a necessity and are seen in the hands of young and old alike. Write an article highlighting the crucial role of mobile phones by way of communication and in promoting business and economy. Also point out the difficulties and dangers in using mobile phones while driving. You are Abhinav/ Alisha. 8
Q5. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: 4 marks
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
Questions:
1. What is it that should not be confused with total inactivity? 2
2. What is the life about? 2
Q6. Answer any four of the following in about 30-40 words each: 3×4 = 12
a. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?
b. What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
c. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
d. “If all the Japs were like you there wouldn’t have been a war,” said Tom. Justify.
e. How does Jo want the story to end?
b. What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?
c. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
d. “If all the Japs were like you there wouldn’t have been a war,” said Tom. Justify.
e. How does Jo want the story to end?
Q7. Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words each: 7
a. Bring out the contrast in the ironmaster’s attitude and behavior towards the stranger before and after he realizes his mistake.
b. Why does Jo want that the Wizard should hit the mommy? Does her stand reflect a child’s perspective on life? What is your choice?
Q8. Answer any one of the following in about 125-150 words each: 7
(a) Describe the meeting between Marvel and the Invisible Man. 7
(b) What was the general feeling in Iping about the existence of an invisible man?
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