CBSE Class 12 English Value Based Questions – Practice Test – 3

Question 1:
Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.    (1 x 4 = 4)
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.

1. Who does ‘Those’ refer to here?
2. What are green wars?
3. What does the poet mean by “victory with no survivors”?
4. What could be the ideal situation?

Or

We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

1. Who are the ‘mighty dead’?
2. Why does the poet make this reference?
3. What is the effect of the immortal drink?
4. Name the literary device used in the above lines.

Answer:

1. ‘Those’ refers to the politicians, the statesmen and the scientists who are involved in initiating and aggravating wars.
2. Green wars imply waging a war against nature by causing environmental degradation.
3. The war may be a victory of man’s scientific knowledge, but there would be no survivors
   to celebrate this victory as there would be no one alive.
4. An ideal situation would be happy people walking hand in hand, under shady trees, doing nothing, especially nothing destructive.

Or

1. The ‘mighty dead’ refers to those great men and warriors who glorified death by embracing it most gracefully and magnificently.
2. The poet does so because beauty can be seen not only in birth and growth, but also in magnificent death and the memorials erected in honour of the ‘mighty dead’.
3. The immortal drink that nature’s endless fountain pours into our hearts is a source of immense joy and pleasure to us.
4. The poet has made use of metaphor in ‘immortal drink’, and imagery in ‘endless fountain’ in the above lines.

Question 2:
Answer any four of the following questions.    (3 x 4 = 12)

1. Franz was even more surprised when he entered his class. What were the reasons?
2. Why was Gandhi’s stay with Professor Malkani an astonishing experience?
3. What do the parting words of Kamala Das to her mother signify?
4. Give details of the two things that happened on the seventh day after the wounded American was brought into the house by Sadao.
5. “There are some people I hate.” How does Mr Lamb react to this statement of Derek?
6. How was the narrator rescued from drowning at the YMCA pool?

Answer:

1. When Franz reached his class, the first thing that shocked him was his teacher’s attitude. M Hamel just looked at him kindly and told him to go to his desk. He then noticed that his teacher was formally dressed in the attire he never wore except on special occasions. But the thing that surprised him most was that, on the back benches, the village people were sitting quietly like students.
2. Gandhi’s stay for two days in the home of Professor Malkani, a teacher in a government school, was as extraordinary thing in those days. It was highly unlikely that a government employer would give shelter to a rebel like him, for fear of termination from service by the government.
3. The parting words of Kamala Das to her mother signify hope and reassurance. Through these words she tries to hide the feeling of pain and sense of guilt. Pain, because she is going away and afraid her mother might not live long, and guilt, as she could not be with her to look after her due to her busy life.
4. On the seventh day after the wounded American was brought into the house, two important things happened. Firstly, all the servants gathered their belongings and departed in the morning without having discharged their duties. Secondly, in the afternoon, Hana saw a uniformed messenger enter the house with the General’s message calling Sadao to attend to him.
5. Mr Lamb believes that hatred is Man’s worst enemy. So when he hears Derek say this Mr Lamb remarks that hatred would do Derek more harm than any bottle of acid, for acid had burnt only his face, but hatred can burn him away inside. Indirectly he tells Derek that hatred is unnatural and hence injurious to mankind.
6. When the narrator felt himself going down endlessly at the YMCA pool, he made constant efforts to save himself, but all in vain. Finally, all his efforts ceased and he was paralysed. He felt a blackness sweeping over his brain, and he fell unconscious. When he regained his senses, he was vomiting while lying on his stomach beside the pool. Apparently, he had been rescued by someone who happened to have seen him drowning.

Question 3:
Answer the following questions in about 120-150 words.    (6)
The Enemy’ is a story of conflict between Man’s inherent humanness and the hatred and prejudices created by psuedo-nationalism and war.
What is more important, loyalty to your country or saving a person’s life, no matter who he is? Explain you answer with reference to ‘The Enemy’.

Or

Slums are the ugly underbelly of all big cities the world over. Describe the contrasting world of ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’ treading these two worlds.
Answer:
War and narrow nationalism can stifle human feelings of love and compassion and turn friends and fellow human beings into enemies.
However Dr Sadao was true to his profession as it was his primary duty as a doctor to cure his patient without caring for his identity. He had to struggle between loyalty to his country and his training as a doctor to save someone’s life. He instinctively chose the latter. Though rationality told him to hand over the prisoner to the police, humanitarian feelings and professional ethics told him to save his life. While operating on him, he had called him ‘my friend’ and had for the moment forgotten that he was his enemy. Thus humanitarian considerations override man-made barriers of rationality and culture. Love and compassion are the basis of our consciousness; we thrive when we let them come to the forefront.

Or

It is a stark reality that the world can be divided into two types of people—the haves and the have-nots. Also, all affluent cities are surrounded by slums. Just as a coin has two sides, every city has two faces-the bright, well-lit and illuminated world of the rich and the dark, dingy, depressing world of the poor. The poor exist on the periphery, constantly yearning for the bright world and the rich are dependent on them to keep their world well scrubbed and spruced up.
Ironically , both the worlds exist in close proximity, but represent a stark contrast. People living in these worlds survive on give and take. Despite being the ugly underside of the big cities, slums and their dwellers have become an intrinsic part of the world of the rich, as existence is interlinked and interdependent for both.

Question 4:
Answer the following questions in about 120-150 words.    (6)
How does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by the crofter, the ironmaster and his daughter?

Or

Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolise?
Answer:
Initially, the peddler seems to be quite an ungrateful person with no principles in life. He heartily accepts the crofter’s hospitality and generosity, but later robs him of his hard- earned money just because ft is easy to get it. When the ironmaster mistakes him for his old regimental comrade, he does not disclose his true identity in the hope of getting some money. However, when the ironmaster pesters him, he feels a sense of entrapment, having stolen the money from the crofter’s, and declines the invitation.
However, he accepts Ed la’s invitation and goes to the manor house. The warmth, sympathy and hospitality he receives there transforms him in the end. He no more feels trapped but regards her kindness as an act of nobility. He decides to repay her faith in him by leaving behind the crofter’s money as well as a small rattrap as a Christmas gift for Edla.

Or

Sophie found in her brother, Geoff a patient listener to all her fantasies, and also one she could confide in. Geoff, who was a man of few words, not only listened to Sophie’s stories without questioning or interrupting her, but also gave her the impression that he believed her. This made Sophie adore him more than she did any other member of her family.
Geoff had left school three years ago and had taken up-work as an apprentice mechanic. To Sophie, he symbolised liberty from her dull, drab, monotonous and impoverished existence. She imagined that he met many exotic and interesting people. She wished that she could be loved by her brother so that she could understand him better. She visualised herself riding behind him to his fascinating new world, Geoff wearing new shining black leathers and she in a yellow dress, and people rising to greet them.

Question 5:
Answer the following questions in about 120-150 words.    (6)
Mr Heelas ditched Dr Kemp in his time of need. In the light of this statement, comment on his character.

Or

How did Eppie bring about a change in Silas’ life?
Answer:
Mr Heelas was the next door neighbour to Dr Kemp. He was one of the sturdy minority who refused to believe in the story of the Invisible Man and regarded it as nonsense, though his wife did. When it was proclaimed that everyone should be on high alert, he insisted upon walking about his garden as if nothing had happened. This shows his casual view towards the rumours and his ”seeing then believing” attitude.
However, he comes about as a coward who would not open his door to help his neighbour in distress. Griffin was after Dr Kemp. When Mr Heelas woke up and saw his neighbour’s home, he at once realised that the Invisible Man was after him. Dr Kemp came running to him but he denied him entry. Perhaps he was trying to save his family, but this was not a moral act.

Or

Eppie came into Silas’ life as an angel, guiding him from the darkness of loneliness into light and radiance. As Silas looked at the child, he was overcome by an instant change. He first thought that it was his little sister who had died in childhood, and was perhaps sent back by God. All his suppressed memories and the feelings he had tried to bury, surfaced, and Silas surprisingly felt quite placid about it. He adopted the girl as his daughter and brought her up with loving care. Eppie brought Silas closer to the villagers. She became a bridge between him and the rest of the world. Her desires were infectious, and as she hungrily explored the world around her, so did Silas. Eppie tempted Silas away from his work to play outside. When the villagers witnessed a change in Silas, their attitude towards him also changed. Smiles and cheerful inquiries greeted the man. Eppie brought a new meaning to Silas’ life; he owed her the rescue of his very soul.

Question 6:
Answer the following questions in about 120-150 words.    (6)
How does Eliot present community in Silas Marner?

Or

What did the Invisible Man do to show Mr Marvel that he has no imagination?
Answer:
Eliot describes Raveloe as a close-knit community where there were few secrets and people were suspicious of outsiders. Raveloe is described as a place where everybody knew everybody else. Silas was not a part of the close-knit community. In fact, Silas Marner’s weaving was seen as so strange in the community that he was suspected of devil worship. He did not even participate in the church services with the rest of the village. Church was very important to Raveloe. Silas would be a bigger part of the community and less suspected if he attended church because the church reinforced the social structure. The community was very family-like. There were few secrets, and the ones that there were, such as Godfrey’s underclass marriage, were very hard to keep.

Or

Mr Marvel was sitting beside a ditch, contemplating about his shoes, when the Invisible Man found him. He started talking to Mr Marvel, who was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn’t even bother to look around and kept talking. Finally, when he turned his head, he was startled, for there was no one behind him. Mr Marvel felt he was imagining things. This made the Invisible Man a bit angry and he decided to show Mr Marvel that he was indeed real and no imagination. In order to convince Mr Marvel of his presence, the Invisible Man started throwing stones at him. One of the stones even hit Mr Marvel. After getting hit and seeing the stones flying in the air, Mr Marvel realised that the Invisible Man was no imagination.

NCERT English for Class 12 Solutions