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Board Paper of Class 12-Humanities 2014 English (SET 2) - Solutions

General Instructions:
(i) This paper is divided into three sections: A, B and C. All the sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary. Read these instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully.
(iii) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.


  • Question 1

    Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

    1. Too many parents these days can't  say no. As a result, they find themselves raising 'children'  who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn't satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators and parents think it's time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what's really important: values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher ‒ and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults  who were overindulged as children, paints a discouraging picture of their future: when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life's disappointments. They also have distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the work place and in relationships.

    2. Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids, set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today's parents themselves raised on values of thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where no was a household word. Today's kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this generation were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assault on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat screen TV as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave for something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.

    3. Today's parents aren't equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and '70s, swore they'd act differently from their parents and have closer relationships with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it's  tempting to buy peace with 'yes' and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about future is another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won't spoil a child. Too few limits will.

    4. What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure. Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think  their  kids  are  already  overburdened  by  social  and  academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one's  own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.
     

    (a) Answer the following:

    (1) What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
    (2) What are the results of giving the children too much too soon?
    (3) Why do today's children want more?
    (4) What  is  the  balance  which  the parents need  to  have in  today's world?
    (5) What is the necessity to set limits for children?

    (b) Pick out words from the passage that mean the same as the following:

    (1) a feeling of satisfaction (para 1)
    (2) valuable (para 3)
    (3) important  (para 4)
    VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 2
    Read the passage carefully.

    1. I remember my childhood as being generally happy and can recall experiencing some of the most carefree times of my life. But I can also remember, even more vividly, moments of being deeply frightened. As a child, I was truly terrified of the dark and getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some extremely uncomfortable moments.

    2. Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that scared me so much. There was never total darkness, but a street light or passing car lights made clothes hung over a chair take on the shape of an unknown beast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw curtains move when there was no breeze. A tiny creak in the floor would sound a hundred times louder than in the daylight and my imagination would take over, creating burglars and monsters. Darkness always made me feel helpless. My heart would pound and I would lie very still so that 'the enemy' wouldn't discover me.

    3. Another childhood fear of mine was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning, I got on the school bus right near my home ‒ that was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the curve, I was terrified that I would get on the wrong one and be taken to some unfamiliar neighbourhood. I would scan the bus for the faces of my friends, make sure that the bus driver was the same one that had been there in the morning, and even then ask the others over and over again to be sure I was in the right bus. On school or family trips to an amusement park or a museum, I wouldn't  let the leaders out of my sight. And of course, I was never very adventurous when it came to taking walks or hikes because I would go only where I was sure I would never get lost.

    4. Perhaps, one of the worst fears I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. First of all, I was quite shy. Secondly, I worried constantly about my looks, thinking people wouldn't like me because I was too fat or wore braces. I tried to wear 'the right clothes' and had intense arguments with my mother over the importance of wearing flats instead of saddled shoes to school. Being popular was very important to me then and the fear of not being liked was a powerful one.

    5. One of the processes of evolving from a child to an adult is  being able to recognise and overcome our fears. I have learnt that darkness does not have to take on a life of its own, that others can help me when I am lost and that friendliness and sincerity will encourage people to like me. Understanding the things that scared us as children helps to cope with our lives as adults.

    (a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.

    (b) Make a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title.

    VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 3
    You want to sell off your car as you are leaving the country. Draft a suitable advertisement to be inserted in 'The Hindu'. Write the advertisement in not more than 50 words.
     
    OR

    Public taps are always faulty and a lot of water is wasted. Design a poster in not more than 50 words to make people aware of the need for saving water. You are Rohan/Rohini. VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 4
    As an active member of the Interact Club of your school, you had participated in a summer camp organized by the Lions Club of your district. Write a report on the camp and its activities in 125 − 150 words. You are Gyan/Geeta of XYZ Public School, Rohini, Delhi.
     
    OR

    You are the Sports Captain of your school. The annual sports were conducted last month. Write a report in 125 − 150 words on the conduct of the same. You are Manish/Mita of PQR School, Mall Road, Amritsar. VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 5
    You are awaiting your class 12th results. Meanwhile, you would like to do a short term course on personality development. Write a letter to the Director, Personal Care, Hyderabad, enquiring about the course details. You are Kailash/Kusum of 148, Model Town, Delhi. (125 − 150 words)
     
    OR

    You are Sudhir/Sita, the head boy/girl of ABC Public School, Jayanagar, Bangalore. An excursion has been planned from your school to Mysore. Write a letter to the Secretary, Ace Youth Hostel, Mysore requesting him to provide accommodation for 15 girls and 20 boys for three days. (125 − 150 words) VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 6
    India is a country which has always respected women. Write an article in 150−200 words on 'Status of Women in Free India'. You are Ravi/Reena.
     
    OR

    Mahatma Gandhi once said, "I regard the English language as an open window for peeping into western thought and science." Write an article in 150 − 200 words on 'The Usefulness of the English Language in India'. You are Navin/Naina. VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 7
    Read the following extract from the poem and answer the questions that follow :

    When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
    Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
    The tigers in the panel that she made
    Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

    (a) Who is the aunt mentioned here?
    (b) Why is she 'ringed with ordeals'?
    (c) What is the difference between her and the tigers?
     
    OR

    I looked again at her, wan, pale
    as a late winter's moon and felt that old
    familiar ache, my childhood's fear,
    but all I said was see you soon Amma
    all I did was smile and smile and smile ......

    (a) What was the poet's childhood fear?
    (b) Why were the poet's parting words?
    (c) What is the poetic device used in these lines? VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 8
    Answer any two of the following question in 30 − 40 words each :

    (a) What change does the poet hope for in the lives of the slum children?
    (b) How do beautiful things help us to live a happy life?
    (c) What symbol from nature does the poet use to prove that keeping quiet is not total inactivity? VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 9
    Answer any six of the following questions in 30−40 words each :

    (a) Why did Gandhiji oppose when his friend Andrews offered to stay in Champaran and help the peasants?
    (b) What was the content of the letter written by the peddler to Edla?
    (c) Why had the rag pickers come to live in Seemapuri?
    (d) What shows M. Hamel's love for the French language?
    (e) How did the Dewan manage to get the 100th tiger for the Maharaja?
    (f) Why did Jo feel that the skunk's mommy was stupid?
    (g) What comic incident did Bama narrate to her brother? Why was he not amused? VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 10
    Answer any one of the following in 100−125 words:

    Douglas fully realized the truth of Roosevelt's statement 'All we have to fear is fear itself'. How did this realization help him brush aside his fear and become an expert swimmer?
     
    OR

    How did the negligence of the prison officers prove to be a boon for Evans? VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 11
    Read the following and answer the question that follows in about 100 words.

    Sophie was a dreamer. The lesson 'Going Places' reminds us that mere dreams will not help us to accomplish anything. What qualities, do you think, would help Sophie to realize her dreams? VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 12
    What was the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles? (about 125 words) VIEW SOLUTION


  • Question 13
    In the opening chapter of The Hound of the Baskervilles, what observations did Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson make on the identity of the owner of the stick found in Holmes' office? (about 125 words) VIEW SOLUTION
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