Unseen Passage For Class 12 With Answers PDF 2020 – Literary Passages
Read the following passages carefully:
Passage 1:
REACHING THE PEAK
My dad and I both started playing tennis at the same time in 1967. Though I was small for my age, I was fast on my feet and seemed to have an instinct for where my opponent would hit his next shot. At the age of nine, I put on my white shorts and shirt and started playing in tennis tournaments around the New York area. By the time I was 12,1 was No. 7 in the 5 country in the under-12 category. When I was 16,1 won my first national singles title. Then, in 1977, as a chubby faced 18-year old with brown ringlets and a red headband, I came out of nowhere to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon. Though I wouldn’t have told a soul back then, that’s when I realized I had the potential to be the best tennis player in the world.
10 I worked my way up the ranks and by 1979,1 was world No. 3, hunting down Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg. I was winning a lot and I loved it—loved being the lone gunfighter. I won the US Open in both ’79 and ’80. Then, more and more, the problem became that almost everybody was somebody I shouldn’t lose to. There was so much pressure to win in the early rounds of tournaments and make it to the finals. To conquer the pressure, I tried 15 building defences that almost nothing (and nobody) could get through.
But behind my defences were‘‘some very dark places. There was always a devil inside me that I had to fight against. And that devil was fear of failure.
Eventually I had made it to the finals at Wimbledon that year, earning the rematch I’d badly wanted with Borg. Though I’d beaten the great, smooth Swede in last year’s US 20 Open, Borg had won Wimbledon an incredible five times in a row, including against me. I got off to a sluggish start. I was tight, over impressed with the occasion. Borg won the first set, 6-4.
As I loosened up, the match turned into a dog fight. I won a tie breaker in the second set, and the third set was going in that direction too. Underneath my nerves and my 25 certainty that I had to play every point to my utmost, a strange idea was starting to materialise: He’s not quite as hungry as last year. This match is mine to take, if I can take it. After that, I knew in my bones that I was going to win, and I did. The final score was 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. When I beat Borg at the US Open a few months later, I officially replaced him as world 30 No. 1. I had thought that No. 2 was a pretty big deal. But No. 1 was a very strange place indeed—the peak of the mountain, the icy winds blowing around my head.
For four years I was the biggest winner in men’s tennis.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) The narrator won the match because of his ………………………….
- skills
- determination
- consistent practice
- all of the above
(b) The top position is called a very strange place because ………………………….
- of high expectations of the spectators
- rivals
- happiness of leading others
- none of the above
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) At what age, do you think, John McEnroe started playing tennis?
(b) What two distinctive qualities did the author possess at a tender age?
(c) How did he look when he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals? What did he realise about himself?
(d) What did he try to overcome pressure? Which devil troubled him?
(e) What helped McEnroe to win the match? How did he feel after becoming world No.l?
(f) Discuss the attributes of John McEnroe briefly.
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) hidden qualities (lines 5 to 15)
(b) impossible to believe (lines 15 to 25)
Answers:
A.
(a) 2. determination
(b) 4. none of the above
B.
(a) At the age of eight.
(b) (i) fast on his feet
(ii) instinct for where the rival would hit his next shot.
(c) He was a chubby faced 18-year old boy with brown ringlets and a red headband. He realised that he had the hidden talent to be the best tennis player in the world.
(d) He tried building unbreakable defences. The fear of defeat was the devil that troubled him.
(e) His assessment of his opponent that he was not as hungry as last year helped him to win the match. He played every point to the utmost. He was on the peak of the mountain with icy winds blowing around his head.
(f) John McEnroe was a great tennis player. He was hard working, determined and optimistic. He had the art of overcoming pressure.
C.
(a) potential
(b) incredible
Passage 2:
As a medium of literary expression, the common language is inadequate. Like the man of letters, the scientist finds it necessary to “give a purer sense to the words of the tribe”. But the purity of scientific language is not the same as the purity of literary language. The aim of the scientist is to say only one thing at a time, and to say it unambiguously and with the greatest possible clarity. To achieve this, he simplifies and jargonises. In other words, he uses the vocabulary and syntax of common speech in such a way that each phrase is susceptible to only one interpretation; and when the vocabulary and syntax of common speech are too imprecise for his purpose he invites a new technical language, or jargon specially designed to express the limited meaning with which he is professionally concerned. At its most perfectly pure form, scientific language ceases the matter of words and terms into mathematics.
The literary artist purifies the language of the tribe in a radically different way. The scientist’s aim, as we have seen, is to say one thing, and only one thing at a time. This, most emphatically, is not the aim of the literary artist. Human life is lived simultaneously on many levels and has many meanings. Literature is a device for reporting the multifarious facts and expressing their various significance. When the literary artist undertakes to give a pure sense to the words of his tribe, he does so with the express purpose of creating a language capable of conveying, not the single meaning of some particular science, but the multiple significance of human experience, on its most private as well as on its more public levels.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) The passage highlights the difference between ………………………….
- the language of science and of literature
- the language of the tribe and that of a civilised man
- jargon and the language of a common man
- the central purpose of science and literature
(b) ‘Jargon’ in the context of the passage means ………………………….
- difficult language
- technical language
- language with limited meaning
- mathematical language
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) What is the purpose of literature according to the writer?
(b) What kind of a language is used in science?
(c) Discuss the similarities between the language of science and that of literature.
(d) What is the objective of a scientist?
(e) How does a literary figure use a language?
(f) Why does a scientist use specific technical words?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) not suffice
(b) side by side
Answers:
A.
(a) 1. the language of science and of literature
(b) 3. language with limited meaning
B.
(a) To report multifarious facts of life.
(b) Precise.
(c) The language of science and that of literature, each in its own way, makes for pure expression.
(d) The objective of a scientist is to be unambiguous.
(e) A literary figure uses a language to convey multiple interpretations.
(f) A scientist uses specific technical words to be intelligible.
C.
(a) inadequate
(b) simultaneously
Passage 3:
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) Poet has compared rows of daffodils with which of the following?
- Rows of twinkling stars
- Rows of glistening leaves
- Rows of milky-way
- All of these
(b) Why does the poet become happy after seeing daffodils?
- They look beautiful.
- They will give fond memories to him.
- They shine brilliantly.
- They look like twinkling stars.
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) T in the first line refers to
(b) What does the poet witness there?
(c) How were the daffodils dancing?
(d) When did the poet recall his experience?
(e) Why does the poet feel happy in the end?
(f) What does this poem justify?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) loneliness
(b) joy happiness
Answers:
A.
(a) 1. rows of twinkling stars
(b) 2.they will give fond memories to him
B.
(a) The poet
(b) The poet witness the beauty of nature. He sees daffodils.
(c) The daffodils were tossing their heads and morning from one direction to the other.
(d) The poet recalls his experience in pensive mood.
(e) The poet rejoices because of his sweet experience of witnessing the daffodils dancing under the stars.
(f) This poem justifies Wordsworth’s definition of poetry. He said, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility.
C.
(a) solitude
(b) jocund
Passage 4:
LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sat reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) How does the poet feel after seeing nature?
- Happy
- Sad
- Mixed feeling
- Philosophical
(b) Which of the following is correct as per the poem?
- Pleasure is everywhere.
- Pleasure is everywhere except in poet’s mind.
- Humans do not enjoy nature.
- Humans enjoy nature.
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) Where did the poet hear the melodious music?
(b) Why did the poet feel sad?
(c) What does the poet justify in the last two lines of the first stanza?
(d) How did the birds behave?
(e) Why does the poet feel convinced that “there was pleasure there?
(f) What does the poet think about Nature’s plan?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) regret
(b) jumped
Answers:
A.
(a) 3. mixed feeling
(b) 2. pleasure is everywhere except in poet’s mind
B.
(a) The poet heard the melodious music in a grove.
(b) The poet felt sad because of man’s selfishness and greed.
(c) The poet justifies that pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts.
(d) The birds enjoyed life by hopping and playing around the poet.
(e) The poet felt convinced that there was pleasure there because he was enjoying in the lap of nature. He saw birds and animals living together happily.
(f) The poet thinks that Nature’s plan in divine. It promotes fraternity and happiness.
C.
(a) lament
(b) hopped
Passage 5:
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) What does the poet mean when he says about another road that it wanted wear?
- It was full of grass.
- Nobody had used it ever.
- It looked cleaner.
- It was an intelligent guess.
(b) Why did the poet want to take the less travelled road?
- To avoid the bumpy ride of another road
- To get lost in the dense forest
- In the hope of discovering something new
- He liked puzzles
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) Where was the poet?
(b) Why could the author not travel both roads?
(c) What is the theme of the poem?
(d) Why did the author doubt about coming back?
(e) Which road did he opt for?
(f) What did the poet know about passage?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) separated
(b) a mass of bushes and plants
Answers:
A.
(a) 2. nobody had used it ever
(b) 3. in the hope of discovering something new
B.
(a) The poet was in the forest where two roads diverged.
(b) The author was a single entity. He could not travel both roads at the same time,
(c) The poem is about making choices. Our choices set our destiny.
(d) The poet was pragmatic and practical. He knew that he would not be able to come at that place again as time and tide wait for none.
(e) He opted for the less travelled road.
(f) He knew that passages never come to an end. One passage leads to another.
C.
(a) diverged
(b) undergrowth
Passage 6:
STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sheep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) Why does the poet stop in between his journey?
- To enjoy the slight
- To take a break
- To recall the owner of the wood
- To hear the harness bell
(b) Why the horse may be surprised at the unscheduled stoppage?
- It was a very lonely place.
- It was the coldest month of the year.
- It was approaching darkness during one of the coldest days.
- There was risk of bandits.
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) What did the poet do at last?
(b) What can be said about the weather as described in the poem?
(c) Why is the poet’s act called strange here?
(d) What message does the poet want to convey?
(e) Why does the horse feel perturbed?
(f) Which sounds are mentioned in the last stanza?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) strange
(b) falling snow
Answers:
A.
(a) 2. to take a break
(b) 3. it was approaching darkness during one of the coldest days
B.
(a) The poet resumed his onward journey.
(b) The weather described in the poem is not pleasant, it is very cold.
(c) The poet’s act seems strange to the horse because there is no farmhouse in the vicinity. It was absurd to stay there.
(d) The poet intends to say that this would is an illusion. We must not get fascinated to the worldly pleasures.
(e) The horse felt perturbed because it was dark and the weather was unpleasant. He did not want his master to stay there.
(f) There sound of the blowing winds and the falling snow.
C.
(a) queer
(b) downy flake
Passage 7:
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow.
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth.
And then the justice, ‘
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modem instances;
And so he plays his part.
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)
(a) What have men and women been compared with?
- Audience
- Actors
- Judges
- Narrators
(b) What does the poet try to indicate by ‘bubble reputation?
- Transitory nature of life
- Meaningless heroics
- Short-lived reputation
- All of the above
B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6
(a) How has the lover been described here?
(b) How does a school boy behave?
(c) What happens at the sixth stage?
(d) Why is the old age called second childishness?
(e) What do you understand by ‘exits’ and ‘entrances’?
(f) How does a soldier behave?
C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2
(a) complaining peevishly
(b) forgetfulness
Answers:
A.
(a) 2. actors
(b) 4. all of the above
B.
(a) The lover is burning with melancholy.
(b) A school boy reluctantly goes to school.
(c) At the sixth age man becomes weak. His eyesight also becomes weak. He also loses his teeth.
(d) Man becomes forgetful at the old age. He behaves like a child. He needs company. He wants to attract attention as a child does.
(e) ‘Exits’ means death and ‘entrances’ means birth.
(f) A soldier is full of pride. He can do anything to safeguard his honour.
C.
(a) whining
(b) oblivion
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