Total number of printed pages : 5 NB/XI/AEN/1

2021
ALTERNATIVE ENGLISH
Full marks : 80 Time : 3 hours

General instructions:
i) Approximately 15 minutes is allotted to read the question paper and revise the
answers.
ii) The question paper consists of 22 questions.All questions are compulsory.
iii) Marks are indicated against each question.
iv) Internal choice has been provided in some questions.

N.B: Check that all pages of the question paper is complete as indicated on the top left side.

SECTION -A (Prose)

1. Name the first locality in which gas had spread. 1

2. What kind of a woman was Mrs.Field ? 2

3. How does Christy describe the chalk that had caught his attention one cold
December afternoon? 2

4 What was the momentous decision taken by Christy’s mother? 3

5. How did the author spend time at his grandmother’s place? 3

6. Describe how Sunil manage to survive the gas tragedy. 4

7. a. How did the author have his revenge in the end in ‘The Luncheon’? Was it
really a revenge? 5
Or
b. The way Sunil carried himself as the tragedy unfolded despite just being eleven
years of age speaks a lot about his character and resolve. Comment.

SECTION- B (Poetry)

8. Why does the neighbour appear as if he is moving in the dark? 2

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9. How has the poet presented the intellectual and spiritual beauty of the woman in
the poem’ She Walks in Beauty’? 4

10. Critically analyse the lines given below: 4

Bread should be free,
Shelter should be free,
fire should be free
to all and anybody, all and anybody,all over the world.
We must regain our sanity about money
Before we start killing one another about it.
It’s one thing or the other.

11. a. How can people overcome ‘money-madness’ according to the poet? 5

OR
b. Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen ground swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

i) What could be the object that doesn’t love a wall ? 1

ii) What does it make the frozen ground to? 2
iii) What does ‘it’ do to the wall? 2

SECTION- C (Drama)

12. Name the book that Mrs Blanchard was reading. What was it about? 2

13. What is the story behind Mrs Courtney-Page’s pearls? 3

14. a. Mrs Payne -Dexter appears to be the imposing personality in the group of
women. Comment.
Or 5
b. Are the women in the play really as liberated as they are made out to be or are
they held back on some accounts because of their gender? Cite instances from
the play.
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SECTION -D (Fiction)

15. How did Ralph call the first meeting? 1

16. Why do the boys need fire ?What did the boys use to start fire? 2

17. What psychological effect does dancing and chanting have on the boys? 3

18. a. What is the significance of the conch shell in the ‘Lord of the Flies’.
Or 4
b. Sketch the character of Ralph.

19. a. Comment on the theme of ‘the loss of innocence in ‘Lord of the Flies’.
Or 5
b. Compare and contrast the character of Piggy and Simon.

SECTION -E (Grammar)

20. Answer the following as directed in the brackets: 5x1=5

(a) I_______(watch) a play with my friend last Sunday.

(fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in bracket)
(b) My brother was snoring at night. (state whether the verb is transitive or
intransitive )
(c) I remember visiting my village during Christmas holiday. (Underline the
gerund)
(d) I intend________ yoga class very soon.(complete the sentence using an
infinite verb)
(e) We have hanged some beautiful family pictures in our living room.( rewrite
the sentence correctly)

21. Answer the following as directed in the brackets: 5x1=5

(a) The chief guest has arrived.(state the tense)

(b) She _____(exercise) before she fainted. ( rewrite the sentence in past perfect
continuous tense)
(c) She slept all evening.(rewrite the sentence in present perfect continuous
tense)
(d) He_____(perform) on the stage when we arrive. (rewrite in future continuous
tense)
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(e) I would eat breakfast in the morning. (rewrite in simple past tense)

SECTION-G (Reading)

22. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
My name is Bachendri Pal. On May 1984 ,when I was 29 years old,I became
the first Indian to climb the Mt.Everest. I was always a very good sportsperson.
However,while growing up ,my first priority was to complete my education.
But I was always very restless and proactive, and very fond of the outdoors.
Mountaineering was a part of my lifestyle. I was born and brought up in the
mountains, in a small village in Uttarkashi, a town in Uttarakhand.
I spent a year at home after training to be a teacher,doing nothing except
looking for a job. During this time , I met Colonel Premchand, a renowned
mountaineer. He was visiting our village and when he met me, he asked me to
stop wasting my time. He told me about the famous Nerhu Institute of
Mountaineering in Uttarakhand. He said ‘You’re living right next to the place
that so many people visit from across the world to get trained in
mountaineering’. This made me feel like I had become a little complacent.
That was all I needed, someone to point out my weakness so that I could mend
it and make it my strength. When I was selected for my Everest expedition, my
family ,of course ,did not seem very positive. They thought I was pursuing a
very far-fetched dream. Everest to them was synonymous with risk,death and
hardship .Unfortunately, nowhere in our education system are we taught to
convert a hardship into a challenge and overcome it. But I was stubborn and
determined. I never thought about taking up mountaineering as a career option
but I didn’t want to let any opportunity slip out of my hands. It was exciting.
However, tackling the family and society was a big challenge. All I used to
hear around was , ‘What will you achieve by climbing a mountain?’.
The first peak I climbed was a peak in Uttaranchal,called ‘Black Peak’.at a
height of 6,387 metres. I was still training and the amount of appreciation I
received for my technique and stamina was exceptional. I was one of the two
girls selected to climb from the lower camp right up to the peak. The other
climbers were asked to pitch a camp at an intermediate point. It was a full-
fledged test of my endurance. We had to constantly perform and outperform
every day. Each day was a battle to get that one spot in the summit team. Only
the best of the best used to make it. You had to perform, not just physically ,but
also behaviourally.
Later, climbing Mt. Everest was like the fulfilment of a dream. Nowadays,
the climb still exists, you still use your feet and apply the same techniques, but
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it’s not as challenging. The experience is , in a way, losing its charm. It’s not
about teamwork anymore. Now it’s more about an individual’s achievement
and you learn less that way.

i. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer these questions:

(a) Who is Bachendri Pal? 1
(b) What are the challenges she faced to pursue her carrier? 2
(c) Why is the experience of climbing the first Peak important to her? 2

ii . Fill in the blanks: 3x1=3

(a) __________ was a part of Bachendri Pal’s lifestyle.
(b) _____________mentioned her the famous Nehru Institute of
Mountaineering in Uttarakhand.
(c) The first peak she climbed was ________.
iii. Give the synonyms of the following words from the passage: 2x1=2
a) Self-satisfied b) chance

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