One summer day in 1955, on a beach near the village of Opononi, New Zealand, 13 year old Jill Baker waded into the water to join a friend, one of the strangest playmate the world has ever known. A torpedo-like body streaked towards her and swam between her legs, spilling her into the surf. She put her arms around the huge creature, got on its back and took a ride. Later Jill tossed a beach ball to her playmate. Rising from the water, huge mouth spread in a grin, the creature batted it back with its nose. As the game progressed, people gathered on the beach staring in amazement. Jill baker’s playmate was a porpoise. The ancients, who called the porpoise a dolphin, knew him as friendly. “He is the only creature who loves man for his own sake”, wrote Plutarch. “Some land animals avoid man altogether, and the tame ones such as dogs and horses are tame because he feed them. To the dolphin alone, nature has given what the best philosophers seek: friendship for no advantage”. Pliny the Elder wrote of a wild porpoise that took a boy for a ride at Hippo, a Roman settlement in Africa; Roman coins of 74 B.C. show such a scene. Everything about the porpoise could be written in superlatives. Not a fish but an air-breathing mammal, he swims incredibly fast, kills sharks, communicates with his own kind, herds fish. He may have the world’s best sonar equipment. One scientist believes that his brain is so similar to a human being’s that he might even be taught to talk. Questions:
(i) What has nature given to the porpoise alone?
(ii) How did the huge creature react when Jill tossed a beach ball to the creature?
(iii) Why did people gather on the beach?
(iv) What did Jill Baker do when a torpedo-like body swam between her legs?
(v) What type of a scene is shown in Roman coins?
(vi) Find out word from the passage which means ‘very old’.
(vii) Animal that gives birth to live babies not eggs.
(viii) “Jill Baker waded into the water to join a friend…………………” , who was Jill Baker’s friend?

Rabindranath Thakur was born in Calcutta on May 07, 1861. His father Devendranath Thakur was a well-known social and religious leader. In school, Rabindranath found the teaching too elementary. It did not take his teacher long to recognise his high intelligence. He was given ‘Macbeth’ to translate and to everyone’s surprise Rabindranath made a very good translation into Bengali. However his limitless curiosity to know more and newer things could not be satisfied in school. It was therefore, decided to withdraw him from there. From 1881 onwards his talent as a writer expressed itself in the form of countless compositions in poetry, drama, music, fiction, philosophy and painting. In 1901, he founded a school at Shantiniketan near Bolpur in Bengal. The work which brought him universal recognition was a collection of poems named “Gitanjali”. This won him Nobel prize in literature in 1913 and made him internationally famous. Questions:
(i) When and where was Rabindranath Thakur born?
(ii) Why was Rabindranath withdrawn from School?
(iii) How did he express himself as a writer?
(iv) Write down the name of university founded by him.
(v) Which book of him won Nobel prize in literature?

You are Nehal / Vihan studying in Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Udaipur. Your school is going to organise a “Science fair”. Draft a notice in not more than 80 words informing the students of Class XII.

OR

You have received an invitation from your friend Mr. Mohak to join his birthday party but as you have an urgent work, so you are unable to attend it. Write an informal reply to decline the invitation.

Yesterday night, a train met with an accident. As a correspondent prepare a report on the event to be published in newspaper in about 100 words with the help of following hints –
Train accident … go off … the rails … derail … great loss cries and shrieks … pain … government … help … victim … enquiry committee.

OR

Write a paragraph in about 100 words on “Water conservation” with the help of given clues.
(Tree help – conservation of water – Rain water harvesting – roof of building – save water)

Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper complaining of noise pollution in your locality giving suggestions as solution.

OR

Write an application to the Secretary, Board of Secondary Education Bhopal for making correction in the date of birth in your secondary certificate.

(i) Yesterday was a day. Everything went wrong. (When)
(ii) The student works hard. He has bright future. (Who)

(i) Rajasthan is large. Delhi is not equally large. (Complex sentence)
(ii) The farmer saw a snake. It was half dead. (use Adjective)

(i) His bail application was ………………… by the court. (turn on / turn down)
(ii) The car ………………… on the way yesterday. (broke with / broke down)

(i) I prefer tea ………………… my brother prefers coffee. (while / as well as)
(ii) ………………………………… he is very old, he enjoys good health. (Although / While)

But now it was all so still! I had not counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was. But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.”

I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt and the little black silk cap, all so embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and prize days. Besides, the whole school seemed so strange.

Questions:
(i) M. Hamel was walking with a –
(A) Walking stick in his hand    (B) Beautiful pen
(C) Terrible iron ruler      (D) None of these

(ii) The teacher used to dress up like that only on –
(A) Inspection    (B) Prize day
(C) Both (A) & (B)    (D) None of these

(iii) What the teacher was wearing?
(A) Beautiful green coat    (B) A frilled shirt
(C) An embroidered cap    (D) All of these

(iv) The strange thing at the school was so still and quiet as –
(A) Sunday morning    (B) Friday morning
(C) A Holiday    (D) Countryside

(v) Which of these words from the passage means “serious”?
(A) Strange    (B) Solemn    (C) Fright    (D) Former

(a) Why did the peddler call the world a rattrap? (The Rattrap)

OR

(b) How did Douglas experience when the strong boy threw him into the pool? (Deep Water)

(i) Why was Firozabad famous for glass bangles? (Lost Spring)

(ii) Why were the British landlords no longer interested in harvesting indigo? (Indigo)

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes,
and walk about with their,
brothers in the shade, doing nothing.

OR

The little old house was out with a little new shed
in front at the edge of the rode where the traffic sped
A roadside stand that two pathetically pled,
it would not be fair to say for a dole of breed,
But for the some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports,
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.

What is the theme of the poem “A Thing of Beauty”?

OR

Draw a character sketch of Aunt Jennifer.

(i) What does smile signify in the poem ‘My Mother at Sixty Six’? (My Mother at Sixty Six)

(ii) Why would keeping still be an exotic moment? (Keeping Quiet)

Why did Derry like secluded places? (On The Face Of It)

OR

What was the authenticity of the letter received by Sam? (The Third Level)

(i) Why was tiger hunting banned in Pratibandapuram? (The Tiger King)

(ii) How can you say that Sadao was a true doctor? (The Enemy)