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St. Mary s ICSE School Second Assessment English Language Class: XII (One hour and a half) Marks: 50 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Attempt all questions. Time allotted on the question paper is for writing the answers. Do not toggle between tabs. Each page should be numbered. The intended marks for questions or parts of questions are given in the brackets []. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Question 1 You want to apply for admission into a prestigious college for doing an undergraduate course in Computer Applications. Write a Statement of Purpose for the same, using the details given below: [20] Brief mention of your personality traits interests - reason for choosing the college why you should be given admission in the college role of the institute in achieving your goals and aspirations. (You may also include other relevant details.) Question 2 Read the passage given below and answer the questions (a), (b) and (c) that follow: [15] 1. In the fading light of a close dull autumn afternoon Martin Stoner plodded his way along muddy lanes and rut-seamed cart tracks. He was going nowhere in particular. 2. The hounds of Fate were certainly pressing on him with unrelenting insistence; hunger, fatigue and despairing hopelessness had numbed his brain. 3. With the clothes he stood up in, a half penny in his pocket and no single friend or acquaintance to (5) turn to, he trudged stolidly forward. He came to a halt by an open gateway leading to a spacious and rather neglected farm garden. A drizzle was setting in and Stoner thought of obtaining shelter for a short while. 4. Before he had time to knock, the door opened and a bent, withered-looking old man stood aside in the doorway as though to let him pass in. (10) 5. Could I come in out of the rain? Stoner began, but the old man interrupted him. 6. Come in, Master Tom. I knew you would come back one of these days. 7. The old man showed a strange quavering eagerness to usher him in. Stoner s legs gave way from weariness and he sank inertly into a chair. After just a few minutes he was devouring the meal served to him. (15) 8. I ll go and tell your aunt that you ve come; she won t be seeing you, but she ll let you stay, the old man said. 9. The old man hobbled away down a long passage, escorting him to his room. Without a word Martin followed his ministering angel along, into a large room lit with a cheerfully blazing fire. The night passed peacefully. (20) 10. In the cold light of morning Stoner laughed mirthlessly as he slowly realised the position in which he found himself. 11. The old man told him that all his things are just as he had left them and with almost an offended air he added, The folk around here haven t forgotten or forgiven you, so no one will come near you. 12. Martin wondered, as to what was the bygone crime which had come to him as a legacy from the absent Tom. (25) 13. He feared ignominious exposure, and remained curious to glean at least some fragmentary knowledge of the young man whose place he had usurped and whose ill-repute he had fastened on himself. 14. A few days before Christmas, one night the old man asked him to slip away quietly, thrusting a few sovereigns in his hand, as some Michael Ley was seeking Tom, to settle an old score. (30) 15. Martin stole away from the back gate of the farm, and was feeling relieved ceasing to be the uneasy ghost of another. Suddenly stepped out from the shadow of an oak tree a man with a gun. There was no need to wonder who he might be; the moonlight falling on his white set face revealed a glare of human hate. He was Michael Ley for sure. The hounds of fate had caught up with Stoner. (a) (i) Given below are two words and phrases. Find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage: [2] 1) tiredness - 2) eating (ii) Make a sentence of at least ten words, using the given word unchanged in form, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage: [1] 1) passage (line 18) - (b) Answer the following questions in your own words as briefly as possible: 1) Explain briefly the circumstances that made Martin to seek shelter in the farm garden. [2] 2) Why did the old man take Martin in? [2] (c) Describe in not more than 100 words, how hounds of fate caught up with Martin Stoner (Paragraphs 6 to 15). Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. You will be required to write your points in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. [8] Question 3 a) In each of the following items, sentence A is complete, while sentence B is not. Complete sentence B, making it as similar as possible to sentence A. Write sentence B in each case. [5] 1) A. Despite his annoyance, he kept quiet. B. Though 2) A. Julie was absent from school but all other students were present. B. Except for 3) A. He is too young to travel alone. B. He is so young .. 4) A. Every time I visited my aunt, I took a box of sweets. B. I never . 5) A. She had her breakfast and then went to school. B. Having b) Fill in each blank with a suitable word. [5] 1) He is slow . speech. 2) His brother is slow . reasoning. 3) He succeeded . passing the entrance test. 4) Akbar succeeded . the throne of his father. 5) The hijackers surrendered themselves . the police. 6) They insisted on the immediate surrender . all weapons. 7) He sympathised . her in her sufferings. 8) He has no sympathy . the poor. 9) Do not be vexed . me. 10) I am vexed . his silence. c) Fill in the blanks in the passage given below with the appropriate form of the verb given in brackets. Do not write the passage, but write the verbs in the correct order. [5] A traveller (1) . (be) on his way from one village to the next. As evening fell, he found himself a little distance from a river. Try as he might, he (2) . (can) not cross the river before nightfall. So, the traveller decided to wait till daybreak to do so and continue his journey further. He found a place under a tree and (3) . (lie) down to sleep. As he did so, he felt something (4) . (prick) into his back and making him feel uncomfortable. He (5) . (surprise) to discover a bag with some stones in it. Not having anything to pass time with, the traveller threw one of the stones into the river. As the stone (6) . (strike) the water, it made a ping noise which quite soothed his tired nerves. The traveller could imagine the concentric circles (7) . (make) by the stone as it hit the surface of the water. He continued (8) . (take) a stone out of the bag and threw it in the river. So (9) . (do) he fell asleep. In the morning he looked for the bag and examined it closely. Only one gem stone (10) . (remain). ________________________________________
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