General Instructions:
(i) The paper is divided into three Sections: A, B and C. All the sections are compulsory.
(ii) Separate instructions are given with each section and question, wherever necessary. Read these instructions very carefully and follow them faithfully.
(iii) Do not exceed the prescribed word limit white answering the questions.
SECTION A — (Reading)
1. Read the follow passage carefully.
1 The most powerful and respected oracle in the ancient world was to be found in Central Greece in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. To the ancient Greeks, Delphi was the centre of the world. According to Legend, Zeus, father of the gods, released two eagles from the opposite ends of the world and where they met — at Delphi — was judged the centre and marked by a stone called the omphalos or novel. Around 1400 B.C, Delphi was a sacred site dedicated to the earth goddess Gaia. Legend relates that the place was marked by a large python which Apollo, son of Zeus, killed. Apollo then set-up his oracle on the site, with a priestess, known as the Pythia, as the medium. In the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., during the height of the Oracle’s popularity, thousands of pilgrims, rich and poor, made the journey to consult Apollo through the Pythia.
2 In the inner sanctum of the temple, the Pythia sat on a sacred gold tripod placed over a deep crack in the earth. She was a local, middle – aged woman who would utter the oracle through a series of frenzied and incoherent sounds made while she was in a trance – like state, induced by chewing bay leaves or by inhaling the toxic volcanic vapours that rose from the chasm at her feet.
3 Questioners were first required to purify themselves in the waters of the Castalian spring nearby. Then followed a ritual in which a goat was sprinkled with cold water; if the goat trembled all over, it could be sacrificed and the God petitioned. The pilgrim paid his fee and presented his question, written on a tablet, to the attendant male priest, who then submitted it to the Pythia. Her garbled reply, delivered in a voice not her own, was interpreted by a priest, who gave the answer in verse to the supplicant. At the height of the Oracle’s popularity, three priestesses were required to cope with all the queries.
4 The Delphic oracle was consulted on political matters particularly the establishment of Greek colonies as well as on everyday issues such as marriage, fertility or money problems. Sometimes the Oracle’s pronouncements were straightforward ; for instance, Socrates was told that he was the wisest man in Greece. However, many of the Oracle’s replies were not. The king went ahead and attacked Persia, but it was his own empire that was destroyed.
On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following Questions briefly.
(a) Which was the most powerful and respected oracle of the ancient world?
(b) How was Delhi marked?
(c) Who was the Pythia?
(d) What were questioners required to do?
(e) What was Socrates told by the oracle?
(f) On what matters was the oracle consulted?
(g) How was the reply of the Pythia given?
(h) What type of replies did the Oracle give?
2. Read the passage carefully.
1 The French made it their home for almost 300 years. They stayed on the Riviera (the ville blanche or white town, as this part is known) where neatly laid out streets intersect at right angles, and the township is distinguished by a two kilometre long esplanade which skirts the town.
2 Raj Niwas, the magnificent Governor’s mansion, is the palace like residence where Duplex once lived. And along its side is a garden with a sculpture of Lord Vishnu as the varaha avatar (boar incarnation) along with Goddess Lakshmi. Here, the Government Park is resplendently laid out with flowerbeds and fountains, one of them dating back to period of Napoleon III (1852-1870). The Botanical Gardens, conceived in 1826, boast a variety of rare and exotic plants from India and abroad.
3 There still remains, in Pondicherry, an amazing French influence here simply because Pondicherry has the largest number of French citizens outside of France. The vestiges of French rule are all around.
4 High-roofed villas, tree-lined boulevards and even a war memorial in memory of the French soldiers who perished in the First World War; a statue of Joan of Arc and a monument called Place de Gaulle commemorating the French leader who never wanted to let go of this Indian territory.
5 But it is not just the French connection that draws people to this architecturally stunning coastal town. There are over 350 churches, temples and mosques in Pondicherry making it a virtual Mecca for the devout.
2.1 Answer the Questions in about 30-40 words.
(a) Describe the French quarters of Pondicherry.
(b) Describe the premises of the Governor’s mansion.
(c) What vestiges of French rue are still visible here?
(d) Why is Pondicherry dubbed a virtual Mecca for the devout?
2.2 Choose the word which is closest in meaning, to the words given below
(a) The word ‘intersect’ means ……………….
(i) a different faith
(ii) a different section
(iii) a place where two roads cross each other
(iv) a place where two towns cross each other
(b) ‘Grandly laid out’ means ……………… .
(i) resplendently
(ii) exotic
(iii) rare
(iv) boulevard
(c) To let go of something’ means ……………
(i) frightening someone away
(ii) letting someone or something leave
(iii) taking something away
(iv) holding on to something
(d) ‘A boulevard’ means ……………….
(i) a street lined with boulders
(ii) a wide road
(iii) a road with fruit trees
(iv) a road lined with trees
SECTION B — (Writing and Grammar)
3. Write a letter to the editor of the ‘Environment and You’ newspaper about the menace of food stall being set up inside parks. Sign yourself as Mohita/Mohit a concerned citizen residing in House No. 4 opposite Swadeshi Park, Elegant Road, Kolkata. You can take the help from MCB unit ‘Environment’.
Or
You are the editor of the school magazine which this year is themed on national integration. You decide to write a lead articled titled ‘Celebrating Festivals and National Integration.’ Sign yourself as Mohita/Mohit. Take ideas from MCB unit ‘National Integration.
4.Write a short -story in about 150*200 words based on the following cues given.
In the end he wrote home saying: ‘I am covered with spots, but the sun is shining.’ This is the conclusion of your story.
Or
At the crack of dawn, Ramphal would board the first bus into town.
On alighting he quickly went behind some shrubs and started his daily make-up.
5. Fill in blanks choosing the most appropriate options from the ones given below. Write the answers ift your answer-sheet against the correct blank numbers.
6.In the following passage one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it in the space provided
7. Change the following sentences into statements.
(a) ‘Did you hear what I said?’ she asked.
(b) ‘Should I have to repeat my orders?’ he enquired.
(c) ‘will you listen attentively the next time?’ he questioned.
SECTION C—(Literature Textbook and Long Reading Text)
8. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow.
The incidental expenses are so heavy,’ she confides to inquiring friends..
(i) Who is ‘she’ in these lines?
(ii) What does the term ‘incidental expenses’ seem to suggest?
(iii) What is the antonym of the word ‘incidental’?
Or
‘I thought how paltry, how vulgar , what a mean act!
(i) Who is the speaker and what act is he referring to?
(ii) Why was his act considered mean paltry?
(iii) What word in the line means ‘worthless’?
9. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words
(a) What impression do you form of the postmaster after reading the story ‘The letter’?
(b) Why does John not want to be a partner of Laura Hinkle at the Ouija Board party?
(r) How did the Frog once again become the unrivalled king of the bog?
(d) What three dominating traits did the character of the sisters have in the play ‘The Dear Departed’?
(e) Why did the writer not want to discuss the visit to the hospital with the boys?
10. Answer the following question in 80-100 words.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner show the intimate kinship that exists in all nature. Illustrate this value with incidents from the text.
Or
Using the incident of the story ‘Patol Babu, Film Star’, show how it is not payment
but job satisfaction that is valued by the sincere worker.
Attempt any one: Part A or Part B
Part A
11. How did the inhabitants react at the worst break-in at the annexe, when the police nearly reached the secret door? What restored their confidence? Write your answer on account of the novel ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’.
Or
Bring out the qualities of character in the personality of Margot Frank as depicted in the novel ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’..
Part B
11. What impression did great men leave on Helen’s mind as depicted in the novel ‘The Story of My Life’?
Or
Give a character sketch of Dr. Gilman.
