H.S. Test Exam, 2021 (English – B)

H.S. Test Exam, 2021

(English – B)

Questions & Answers

Important Questions & Answers

1. “I would say mine was a very secure childhood”

- Who is the speaker? Where did he spend his childhood? Describe his childhood.

Answer: Here the Speaker is Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

Kalam spent his childhood in their ancestral house in Rameshwaram with his parents.

In his childhood Kalam was provided with all the basic necessities like food, medicine and clothing but was prohibited from enjoying inessential comforts and luxuries. Kalam's mother Ashiamma worked tirelessly to feed her large family as well as many outsiders. The love, care and proper guidance of his worthy parents made Kalam’s childhood an emotionally and materially secured one.

2. ‘Beauty of Mussoorie’- ‘The Eyes Have It’

Describe the beauty of Mussoorie as narrated by the narrator and the girl in the story, ‘The Eyes Have It’

Answer: In the story ‘The Eyes Have It’ by Ruskin Bond, we found a disillusioned romance between the blind narrator and a girl.

When the girl, who was travelling with the narrator in the same compartment, asked the narrator about his destination, the narrator replied that he was going to Mussourie.

The girl then expresses her desire to visit Mussourie.

Hearing that, the speaker became nostalgic and gave a vivid description of the beauty of Mussourie.

According to the narrator, the beauty of Mussoorie is starkly exposed in the month of October. It is the perfect time to observe the beauty of Mussourie because by the time the hills are covered with wild dahlias. The sunshine is pleasant and at night one can sit in front of a log fire and drink a little Brandy. The roads, here, also become quiet and empty as the tourist season gets over.

3. Title of the poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’

Answer: The title of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem, ‘Asleep in the Valley’ is ironical. The title draws attention to both the soldier and the scenic valley.

The word ‘asleep’ signifies peace, rest, innocence and satisfaction. In Rimbaud’s poem the beautiful sunlit valley serves as an ideal place for the youthful soldier to take rest or sleep peacefully. So, the young soldier is seen lying under the open sky, in the lap of nature amidst the plants and the humming insects. Putting one of his hands on the chest, the soldier sleeps with an innocent smile on his face. It is an image of calmness.

The quiet valley paves the way for the shock in the last line of the poem. It is the only in the concluding line, when the poet mentions “in his side there are two red holes”, that the readers come to know that the soldier is dead.

He is engaged in internal sleep far away from the world of suffering and brutality. Beyond the cruelty of warfare the soldier was truly found the place of ultimate peace. The poet uses such a title intentionally to bring out the desired effect of the shock and irony in the ends as well as to expose the horrors and meaninglessness of war. There is a striking contradiction between the scenery and the harsh reality in the poem.

The title is very much appropriate as it conveys the message of the poem that war is a mindless act just like the dead young soldier in the peacefully beautiful valley.

4. "He takes the lead" – (The Poetry of Earth)

- Who takes the lead? When does it take the lead? How does it take the lead?

Answer: Click here

5. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

– Why does the poet compare his friend’s beauty to a summer's day?

In the Sonnet 18, the poet, William Shakespeare exposes the superiority of his friend's beauty to the beauty of summer.

The poet observes the beauty of summer in the month of May. He notices the majestic beauty in the nature. The ‘eternal summer’ pacified the poet's mind. Overall, he is enamored with the ineffable beauty of summer with its ‘darling buds’ and sunny days.

But at the same time, he feels that his friend is lovelier and gentler than in summer’s day because summer’s beauty is inconsistent whereas the dear friend of poet will always remain beautiful.

Thus, with a view to immortalize the friend’s beauty, the poet decides to compose the lines of his poetry in the realm of which the friend’s beauty will glow as long as human race continues to exist.

6. Character of Natalya in the play, The Proposal

Answer: Click Here

7. Importance of ‘Marriage Proposal’

- Why is the marriage proposal important to all the characters in the play, The Proposal?

Answer: In Anton Chekhov’s play, The Proposal, marriage is the main theme.

Marriage, in the 19 century Russian society, was not only important to a woman but also to a man because it was the only means through which a woman could attain social and economic stability and a man could maintain his social position.

Thus, Chekhov uses the characters of the play too satirize marriages made for personal gain rather than mutual love and respect. Lomov comes to Chubukov’a house to propose marriage to his 25 year old daughter, Natalya not because he has any kind of feelings for her but because he thinks she would make a good wife.

Natalya, on the other hand, dislikes Lomov and quarrels with him yet she is willing to marry him to have a secure life.

Chubukov considers his daughter a ‘burden' and desperately wants to get rid of his responsibility. So he is relieved when Lomov and Natalya finally get married at the end of the playful.

This shows how marriage is important to all the characters. They all consider marriage as a way to get relieved from their personal problems.

Poem (MCQ)

1. The pillow of the soldier made of – (a) oak (b) maple (c) fern (d) pine leaves

Answer: (c) fern leaves

2. The eye of heaven refer to the – (a) sun (b) moon (c) earth (d) Jupiter

Answer: (a) sun

3. The wind that blow in summer in the Sonnet No. 18 is – (a) mild (b) stormy (c) rough (d) gentle

Answer: (c) rough

4. From the mountain top stream fill the hollow full of light – (a) Sun rays (b) Moon rays (c) Rays of volcano (d) Ultraviolet rays

Answer: (a) Sun rays

Prose (SAQ):

1. Why were the beautiful girl's eyes not uses?

Answer: The eyes of the girl were much beautiful. But she was completely blind. Therefore, her beautiful eyes were useless to her.

2. What did Kalam take at lunch?

Answer: At lunch, Kalam took rice with aromatic sambar, a variety of sharp, home-made pickle and a dollop of fresh coconut chutney.

3. Why did the hermit live in a forest?

Answer: As the hermit received only common folk, he used to live in a forest quite far away from the urban life.

4. What type of text is "Strong Roots"?

Answer: APJ Abdul Kalam’s “Strong Roots’ is an extract from his autobiography, ‘Wings of Fire’.

Prose (MCQ)

1. The first thing that narrator guessed about the girl's was that - (a) she had beautiful eyes (b) she wore slippers (c) she had long hair (d) she was casual

Answer: (b) she wore slippers

2. The hermit was - (a) brave (b) wise (c) dishonest (d) clever

Answer: (b) wise

3. Kalam's father used to get out of bed at - (a) 4:30 a.m (b) 4 a.m (c) 5 a.m (d) 5:30 a.m

Answer: (b) 4 a.m

4. The girl's got off at – (a) Dehra (b) Rohana (c) Saharanpur (d) Mussourie

Answer: (c) Saharanpur

The Proposal (MCQ)

1. Chubokov has dog for breeding – (a) Tommy (b) Guess (c) Billy (d) Squeezer

Answer: (d) Squeezer

2. Natalya calls Lomov's aunt – (a) Witch (b) Wizard (c) ghost (d) lunatic

Answer: (a) Witch

3. The proposal is set in the rural countryside of – (a) Belgium (b) Russia (c) Africa (d) Canada

Answer: (b) Russia

Textual Grammar:

1. Few girls can resist flattery (Voice Change)

Answer: Flattery can be resisted by few girls.

2. I also remember people visiting our home to offer thanks after being cured. (Turned into a negative sentence)

Answer: Also I don’t forget people visiting our home to offer thanks after being cured.

3. The poetry of Earth is never dead. (Make it affirmative)

Answer: The poetry of earth is always alive.

4. It' is cold and I am trembling all over. (Simple sentence)

Answer: I am trembling all over for coldness.

5. His smile is like an infant, gentle without guile. (Split into two simple sentence)

Answer: His smile is like an infant. It is gentle without guile.

6."My parents were widely regarded as an ideal couple”, He said. (Change the mode of narration)

Answer: He said that his parents had been widely regarded as an ideal couple.

7. He lives in our "ancestral"…. (Use noun from of the word "ancestral")

Answer: He lives with our ancestors.

Writing Skill

8. ‘Corona awareness camp’ organized by your school. – Report Writing

Corona Awareness Campaign

-By a staff reporter

Kolkata, 05 December, 2021: India's public health is facing a tough challenge in the face of corona infection. In order to deal with the situation the administration has to spread the minimum hygiene rules widely.

The West Bengal government has directed all government schools in the state to ensure that students wash their hands or use tissues to wipe their nose and mouth in case of cold or cough to avoid the risk of coronavirus infection.

The school education department has issued a notification in this regard. The notification said that the district inspectors should instruct the headmaster of the school to distribute booklets to make the students aware. The students will be advised to follow the general hygiene rules, for example, washing hands frequently with sanitizer, using tissues to wipe nose and mouth in case of cold or cough, and obviously using face mask while going outsides etc.

The booklets will be sent to the schools by the health department for distribution in the schools.

All the heads of various Educational Institutions are requested to instruct the students under their supervision to spread awareness about hygiene.

An employee of our school education department said that the notification was given following a directive of the center. The officials of the health department instructed to create general awareness among all the students to avoid the virus and its infection. The notification regarding the harmful effects of Covid 19 and its multi variants issued on November 28, 2021 was given to the media on Wednesday.

Although the number of coronavirus infections and deaths in India is negligible considering the population of this country, the government is taking steps to curb its spread. From the beginning of March 2020, a special message has been being spread everywhere on behalf of the Ministry of Health of the Central Government.

The main focus of this campaign is on hygiene to prevent the spread of the virus. In case of sneezing and coughing, it has been said to cover the face and wash the hands frequently but, in this critical situation, why is it that hygiene needs to be promoted so widely? According to many, not only in India, but also in the subcontinent, the general population is less inclined to comply with minimum healthcare regulations. That is why the crisis has come to Shire and that is what has to be promoted.

9. Recent price hike of petroleum (Petrol and diesel) - Editorial Letter.

Answer:

Write an Editorial letter concerning the price hike of petroleum (Petrol, Diesel and LPG).

The Editor

The Statesman

Kolkata 700 001

Subject: Price Hike of Petroleum products

Sir,

May I request you kindly to allow me to highlight the abnormal increase of petroleum products through your esteemed daily?

During the festive season, state-owned oil companies are raising the price of fuel oil at lightning speed. The price of petrol and diesel is increasing every day. Cooking gas (LPG) prices are also rising.

Petrol and diesel prices have gone up in Kolkata for five consecutive days. Diesel prices have already crossed Rs 100 per liter in six districts of the state. In Kolkata today, the new price of petrol has been increased by 33 paise per liter to 106 rupees 11 paise. Diesel also stands right in the face of the century in the city.

The central government has no control over the price of petroleum products. The unbridled rise in fuel prices is having a direct impact on market prices. Going to the market every day, the middle class is feeling it. Skyrocketing prices of vegetables. Tomatoes have gone beyond Rs 100 per kg. The price of potato and onion is increasing by leaps and bounds. Similarly, prices of fish, meat and other daily necessities are increasing.

This time the bus owners are on their way to protest the skyrocketing price of petroleum products. West Bengal bus and minibus owners' organization staged a symbolic protest in Kolkata on Sunday by pulling a bus with a rope.

These obnoxious acts have forced me to write this letter in sheer disgust. I shall be highly obliged if you kindly provide little space in your esteemed daily for this letter. This may draw the attention of the authorities for taking immediate actions.

Thanks!

Yours faithfully

Tonmoy Roy

Date: 06^th December, 2021

*****

Read also: 🔎

👉 The Eyes Have It - S.A.Q.

👉 The Three Questions – Questions and Answers (D.A.Q)

👉 Strong Roots - Questions and Answers (D.A.Q)

👉 Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day - S.A.Q

👉 The Poetry of Earth - (S.A.Q)

👉 Asleep in the Valley - Questions and Answers (D.A.Q)