Std XII English : Activity Sheet

Section A - Prose

(Reading skill, Grammar, Note-making and Summary)


Q 1 (A) Do the activity , read the following extract and do all the activities given below: (12M) (Each activity carries 2 marks)
Fill in the blanks
a) Michael's father was ......... by profession.Orthodontist. Write complete sentence.
b) His mother was ............ by profession. Stockbroker
Growing up in Houston, Texas, Michael and his two brothers were imbued by their parents, Alexander and Lorraine – he an orthodontist, she s stockbroker – with the desire to learn and the drive to work hard. Even so, stories about the middle boy began to be told early. Like the time a saleswoman came asking to speak to “Mr. Michael Dell” about his getting a high school equivalency diploma. Moments later, eight-year-old Michael was explaining that he thought it might be a good idea to get high school out of the way. A few years later Michael had another good idea, to trade stamps by advertising in stamp magazines.
With the $2000 he made, he bought his first personal computer. Then he took it apart to figure out how it worked. In high school Michael had a job selling newspaper subscriptions. Newlyweds, he figured, were the best prospects, so he hired friends to copy the names and addresses of recent recipients of marriage licenses. These he entered into his computer, then sent a personalized letter offering each couple a free two-week subscription. This time Dell made $ 18,000 and bought an expensive BMW car. The car salesman was flabbergasted when the 17-year-old paid cash.
Questions:

A2. Narrate Michael's trading.
ANS:Michael in his early age started trading stamps by advertising in stamp magazines. In high school days he used to sell newspaper.
A3. Arrange jumbled sentences in order of the occurrence in the extract.
a) Michael bought an expensive car.
b) He bought his first personal computer.
c) He earned $2000 by advertising in stamp magazine.
d) He made $ 18,000 by selling newspapers.
ANS: cbda (Students should write/copy complete sentences as answers)
A4. Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) Filled with a quality - imbued (ii) understand - figure out
A5. Put your views about Dell's idea of earning while learning.
(Students are expected to express their views. so answers may be varied students to students.)
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) If you think you have a good idea, try it. (Use ‘Unless)
Ans: Unless you think you have a good idea, don't try it.
(ii) This time Dell made $ 18,000 and bought an expensive BMW car. (Rewrite it as simple sentence.)
This time making $ 18,000 Dell bought an expensive BMW car.

(B) Grammar (Do as directed):

(i) My friend is..... able translator and.......impartial editor as well.(Rewrite it using appropriate article) an,an Write complete sentence.
(ii) I was..........my regular walk through the forest ..........9 a.m. (Fill in the blanks with proper prepositions.)on,at(Write complete sentence.
(iii) I whispered to him hesitantly, “Could you stay here for a day?” Gandhiji said, “It is very difficult.” (Change it into indirect speech.)
Ans:I asked him hesitantly if he could stay there for a day. Gandhiji replied that it was very difficult.



Q.2 (A) Read the following extract and answer the question given blow: (12M) (Each activity carries 2 marks)
A1 Complete the statements:
a) The narrator left India in 1975 because ........ he went to the US for graduate studies.
b) You might languish in a long waiting list and never receive a telephone connection because..........having telephone was a rare privilege

When I left India in 1975 to go the US for graduate studies, we had perhaps 600 million residents in the country and just two million land-line telephones. Having a telephone was a rare privilege; if you weren’t an important government official, or a doctor, or a journalist, you might languish in a long waiting list and never receive a phone. Telephones were such a rarity (after all, 90% of the population had no access to a telephone line) that elected members of Parliament had amongst their privileges the right to allocate 15 telephone connections to whomever they deemed worthy. And if you did have a phone, it wasn’t necessarily a blessing. I spent my high school years in Calcutta, and I remember that if you picked up your phone, you had no guarantee you would reach the number you had dialed. Sometimes you were connected to someone else’s ongoing conversation, and they had no idea you were able to hear them; there was even a technical term for it, the ‘cross-connection’
(appropriately, since these were connections that made us very cross. If you wanted to call another city, say Delhi, you had to book a ‘trunk call’ in the morning and then sit by the telephone all day waiting for it to come through; or you could pay eight times the going rate for a ‘lighting call’- but even lighting struck slowly in India in those days, so it only took half an hour instead of the usual three or four or
more to be connected.
Questions:

A2 Enlist the special rights elected members of parliament used to have .
Ans: Elected members of Parliament had amongst their privileges the right to allocate 15 telephone connections to whomever they deemed worthy.
A3 Differentiate between a ‘trunk call’ and a ‘lighting call’.
Ans : A trunk call was system to call another city.One had to book a call in the morning and wait for three / four hours to get in touch. Lightening call was a similar system in which one could call within half an hour.
A4 Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B:

Column ‘A’	Column ‘B’
(i) Privilege	(a) means to reach or get
(ii) Access	(b) remedy
	(c) special right

Ans: i)-c; ii)-a
A5 The cell phone has made us global. Explain.
(Personal Response)
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:

(i) You could pay eight times the going rate for a ‘lighting call’. (Rewrite it using model auxiliary showing compulsion.)
Ans:You must pay eight times the going rate for a ‘lighting call’.
(ii) I spent my high school years in Calcutta. (Rewrite it using Past perfect Tense)

Ans:I had spent my high school years in Calcutta.
(B) Note-making: (3M)

Read the following extract carefully and make the notes with the help of the clues given below:
Naturally occurring platinum and platinum-rich alloys have been known for a long time. The Spaniards named the metal ‘platina’ or little silver, when they first encountered it in Colombia. The platinum group metals are rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum. Of these, platinum is the most important. These metals are very similar in many ways and are extremely rare. On an average, there is only a gramme of ruthenium in each tone of rock and barely a gramme of rhodium in over a 1000 tonnes of rocks! Platinum’s wear and tarnish resistance characteristics are well suited for making fine jewelry. Other distinctive properties include-resistance to chemical attack,
excellent high temperature characteristic and stable electrical properties. These metals are uniquely durable and can be used extremely efficiently- meaning that a very little goes a very long way. When recycled, over 96 percent can be recovered. The platinum group metals- or PGMS – plays an important role in our everyday life, for they are used in so many things from foundation pens to aircraft turbine. In facts, one in four of the goods manufactured today either contain one or the other of these metals. The catalytic converter – a pollution control device – is the largest application of platinum group metals.

Platinum Group of Metals

* First encountered	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
* Platinum group metals include	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Iridium and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
* Nature	* Similar in many ways, extremely rare.
* Availability	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ barely a gramme of rhodium_ _ _ _ _ .
* Distinctive properties	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ * resistance to chemical attack * durable, long-lasting
* Platinum groups	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
metals used in:	*_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Platinum Group of Metals

* First encountered	*in Colombia.
* Platinum group metals include	*rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum.
* Nature	* Similar in many ways, extremely rare.
* Availability	*only a gramme of ruthenium in each tone of rock and barely a gramme of rhodium in over a 1000 tonnes of rocks.
* Distinctive properties	*Platinum’s wear and tarnish resistance *high temperature characteristic * resistance to chemical attack * durable, long-lasting
* Platinum groups	*high temperature characteristic
metals used in:	*pens to aircraft turbine

Q.3 (A) Read the following extract and answer the questions given below: (12M) (Each activity carries 2 marks)
A3 Say whether the following statements are true or false.
a) Many of our young people spend more time in their classroom than before TV sets.
b) Teenagers are considerably influenced by the electronic media.
c) The television has become the single most powerful influence in their lives.
d) There are many advantages of T. V.
Ans : a)False b)True c) True d)True. Students should write given statements also.
We often hear this statement that’ many of our young people spend more time before their TV sets, than they do in their classrooms or with their textbooks. : A bit exaggerated though it may sound, it is nearly true and our teenagers are being considerably influenced by the electronic media, particularly the TV. The television has become the single most powerful influence in the lives of many of our youngsters today. Too often this happens to us much before we realize it ourselves. I am in no way trying to deny the many advantages of TV, or minimize its manifold contributions to our world. On the other hand, I consider, TV as one of the greatest scientific achievements of our times,bringing people closer than ever before. Television’s use of the modern satellite technology brings today even the remotest regions of the world to us in seconds, making the world a small (global) village. As we know, television also provides us with a fuller and more impressive coverage of current events than any other media. The TV does serve, in addition, as a medium of education as well as entertainment. Besides helping us to learn subjects taught in school, college in greater depth, it enables us (National Geographic, Discovery channel etc.) to see and appreciate from close quarters (without having to go there, which is very expensive or even impossible for most of us) the wonders of God’s creation in any part of the world.
Questions:


A2. Write at least two advantages of TV from the passage.
Ans: Television brings even the remotest regions of the world together, making the world a small (global) village. Television also provides us with a fuller and more impressive coverage of current events than any other media. The TV does serve, in addition, as a medium of education as well as entertainment.
A3. The TV does serve in addition to education and entertainment. Opine.
Ans: TV helps us to learn subjects taught in school, college in greater depth. It enables us (National Geographic, Discovery channel etc.) to see and appreciate from close quarters the wonders of God’s creation in any part of the world.

A4. Find out the synonyms of the following words from the extract:
(i) refuse - deny(ii) an activity designed to give pleasure - entertainment (iii) costly - expensive (iv) surprise -wonders


A5. Do you agree with the statement that many of our young people spend more time with their TV
set? Justify your answer.

A6. Rewrite the following sentence in the ways instructed:

(i) Our young people spend more time before their TV set than in their classrooms.
(Rewrite it using positive degree)
Ans : Our young people do not spend as much time in their classroom as they do before TV sets.
(ii) The TV does serve as a medium of education as well as an entertainment.
(Rewrite it using ‘not only……but also’)
Ans : The TV does serve not only as a medium of education but also as an entertainment.

(B) Summary: (M3)
Write a brief summary of the above extract with the help of the given clues and suggest a suitable title. Clues: TV – misunderstanding – influence on youngsters – advantages – other benefits.




SECTION– B (Poetry)

Q.4 (A) Read the following extract and answer the questions given below: (8M)

All drawn pass
leaving them in the dark.
They do not fear death,
they died long ago.
Old women once
were continents.
They had deep woods in them,
lakes, mountains, volcanoes ,
even raging gulfs.
When the earth was in heat
they melted, shrank,
leaving only their maps.
You can fold them
and keep them handy:
who knows, they might help you find
your way home.
Questions
A1 Complete the web :
Old women
|_______|____________| |
| | |
Ans: continents , woods, lakes,volcanoes
A2 Point out the examples of geographical imagery mentioned in the extract.
Ans:They had deep woods in them,
lakes, mountains, volcanoes ,
even raging gulfs.
A3 “All dawns pass leaving them in dark.” Identify The figure of speech.
Ans: Antithesis : 'dawns' and 'dark' opposite ideas are used for poetic effect.
A4 Describe your grandmother in poetic manner.
Ans:
SECTION – C (Rapid Reading and Composition)

Q.5 (A) Read the following extract carefully and complete the activities : (4M)
I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone.
On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half- hidden behind a birch tree. I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German, “Do you have something to eat?” She didn’t understand. I inched closer to the fence and repeated the question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes I saw life. She pulled an apple from her woolen jacket and threw it over fence. I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day. She was always there with something for me to eat – a hunk of bread or better yet, an apple. We didn’t dare speak or linger. To be caught would mean death for us, both. I didn’t know anything about her. Just a kind farm girl, except that she understand Polish.
What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me?
A1. Describe the characters that appear in the extract.
Ans : The narrator and a girl are two characters in the story extract.The narrator is thin and gaunt with rags wrapped around his feet. The girl was little with luminous curls.
Add an imaginary extract after the extract.
(B) Read the following extract carefully and complete the activities: (4M)

George : (contemptuously) I wasn’t afraid of the bulldog.

Tom : No, may be you weren’t; but I’m not sure that the savage beast hasn’t torn
off a bit of young Alfie’s suit, and if he has there won’t half be a row!
(Alfie fidgets nervously at the mention of his damaged suit)

Tom : (down R.C.) How much money have we collected?

Ginger : (crossing C. to George) let’s have a look under the light.
(after counting coppers, with the aid of George’s torch) Eight pence half penny.

Tom : (in a tone of disgust) only eight pence half penny – between four of us – after yelling
our heads off all the evening! Crikey! Money’s a bit tight round these parts, isn’t it?

George : I told you it was too early for carol-singing. It’s too soon after Guy Fawke’s day.

(Faint distant scream off R.)

Tom : (startled) What was that?

George : What was what?

Tom : That noise – it sounded like a scream.

George : Nonsense.

Alfie : (L) Let’s go home.

George : You chaps do get scared easily. It wouldn’t do for you to be in the club that Bert
Williams and I are running. We go out looking for adventures like this.

Ginger : Club? I thought it was a gang.

George : Gangs are getting too common. We have tuned ours into a club – “The Do and Dare Club” we call it and no one in it must ever show a sign of fear.

Tom : I shouldn’t think you’d have many members. Why, everybody’s afraid of something – if
it’s not one thing, it’s bounded to be another.

George : (in a very superior tone) Ours isn’t a club for kids; it’s for daring young fellows keen on
adventure.
A1 Throw light on the language used in the extract.
Ans : The language used here in the extract is simple and appropriate to situation.Language used here is befitting the age of the characters.
A2 Convert the extract into a short continuous write-up in about 120 words.
You may begin with:”George wasn’t afraid of the bull-dog….”

SECTION – D (Writing Skills)

Q.6 (A) Letter Writing:

Write any ONE of the following letters:
(4M)
(1) Write an application in response to the advertisement using information given in the CV
Provided.

Wanted Smart, young Computer Operators / cum Data Entry Operators having good Knowledge of English and Marathi. Write to: The manager, Vision Infotech, D.N. Road, Dhantoli, Nagpur.

Name : Saurabh Akolkar Address : 25, Parth Society, M. G. Road, Aurangabad – 431001 Age : 24 years Nationality : Indian Experience: Working as a Computer Operator at ‘Wonder Travels,’ Mumbai. Academic Achievements: Sr.           Exams. Passed         University/ Boards       Years of Passing                Percentage 1.                  B.Com                            Mumbai                    March-2010                          64% 2.                  MSCIT                           MKCL                                  2011                          82% 3.      Diploma in Information             MKCL                                  2012                          90%             Technology

OR
(2) Write a letter to the manager of your local bus depot pointing out that there are very few buses on your route in the morning and these are invariably late, thereby causing inconvenience to many junior college students and other passengers. Request him to solve the problem.

(B) Write on any ONE of the following items as directed:
(4M)
(1) Write a short tourist leaflet on any hill station you know with the help of the following points:

(i) How to reach there?
(ii) Where to stay?
(iii) What to see?
(iv) Shopping attractions.
(v) Add your own points.

OR
(2) Read the following intro and write a headline, a date-line and a short continuing paragraph
(Any one)
(i) Intro
A Medical check-up camp has been organised at local Shri Lami Narayan Vidyalaya under Joint auspices of Ashish Homeo-clinic and District General Hospital on December 27.
OR
(ii) Intro
Dozens of people were feared dead in Myanmar after a landslide hit a jade mining region.
(C) Write on any ONE of the items as directed:
(4M)


(1) View – Counter –view

Prepare a paragraph to be used for the Counter –View Section on the following topic (about 120
words)

‘Study says homework does not help students score better grades.’

View Section

Homework: Still a key part of Education

(i) It helps students to get better standardized test scores.

(ii) It engages the child with his study more effectively.

(iii) Integrates the child with what is going on in the classroom.

(iv) Homework inculcates student with life skills.
OR
2. Observe the diagram and prepare a paragraph.

Q.7 (A) Framing Interview Questions:
(4M)
Imagine you are going to interview some important personality. prepare a set of 8-10 questions/ focusing on his/ her social behavior and the activities he/she carries out.

(B) Speech Writing: (3M)
Write a short speech to be delivered in your college on Tree Plantation on the occasion of ‘The World Earth Day.’ with the help of the following points (about 100 words):
(1) Air, water and noise pollution.

(2) Depletion of natural resources.

(3) Trees prevent soil erosion

(4) Live in harmony with nature.