Answer to HS English Question Paper 2022, HS English Question 2022 Solution, Very important for class XII students of West Bengal, WBCHSE.
ENGLISH – B
(New Syllabus)
2022
Part – A
Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes | |Total Marks: 80
Marks: 60
1. Answer any two of the following questions, each in about 100 words.
a) How was the wounded man revived and nursed? Why did he ask forgiveness of the Tsar? What did the Tsar do when he had gained the man for a friend?
Answer:
The Tsar unfastened the wounded man’s clothes with the help of the hermit. Seeing a large wound in his stomach, the Tsar carefully washed it and bandaged it with his handkerchief and a towel. He rebandaged and washed the wound till the blood flowing stopped. Ultimately the wounded man came to his sense and drank fresh water and revived.
As the wounded man intended to kill the Tsar who has now saved his life, he asked forgiveness of the Tsar.
The Tsar forgave him, said he would send his servants and his own physician to attend him, and promised to restore his property.
b) “I’m tired of people telling me I have a pretty face.” – Who said this to whom and when? What did the person spoken to reply? (1+1+2+2)
The blind girl who was the author’s co-passenger said this.
The blind girl said this to the narrator or the author.
The blind girl said this to the narrator when they were travelling by train to Saharanpur and when the narrator remarked that she had an interesting face.
The person spoken to replied that an interesting face could also be pretty.
c) “…… the girl got up and began to collect her things.” – Who is the girl? When did she get up? Why did she get up to collect her things? What had the speaker thought about the brief meeting he had with the girl? (1+1+1+3)
Ans: The blind girl who travelled in the train as a co-passenger of the author is the girl.
She got up when the train was approaching Saharanpur station.
She got up to collect her things because she would get down at Saharanpur station.
The narrator thought that the girl would forget about their meeting but it would remain in his memory for the rest of the journey and even afterwards.
d) “I normally ate with my mother.” Who ate with his mother? Name his mother. Where did he eat with his mother? What did he eat with his mother?
Ans: The narrator, APJ Abdul Kalam, ate with his mother.
The name of his mother was Ashiamma.
He ate with his mother sitting on the floor of the kitchen.
His mother would place a banana leaf on which she would place rice and aromatic sambar, a variety of sharp homemade pickle, and a dollop of fresh coconut chutney.
e) “All the answers being different, the Tsar agreed with none of them.” – What were the questions to which the Tsar got different answers? Whom did the Tsar decide to consult when he was not satisfied? Where did the person live whom the Tsar decided to consult? What was he famous for?
Ans: The questions to which the Tsar got different answers were – what the right time to begin a work was, who the right people to listen to were, what the right action to undertake was.
The Tsar decided to consult the hermit when he was not satisfied.
The hermit whom the Tsar decided to consult lived in a wood.
The hermit was famous for his wisdom.
2. Answer any two of the following questions, each in about 100 words.
a) How does Keats show that the ‘poetry of earth’ is never dead? (6)
Ans: In summer the birds stop singing. They are too exhausted to sing. But earth’s music does not stop. The grasshopper comes out and he takes the lead. Thus earth’s music continues uninterruptedly.
On a winter evening, frosts deepen the silence. In such an atmosphere, the song of the cricket is heard. It seems to one half lost in drowsiness that it is but the continuation of the grasshopper’s song.
Both the songs represent the music of nature. The music of nature, thus, flows on ceaselessly, through the cycle of the seasons.
b) “And every fair from fair sometimes declines”
From which poem is the line quoted? Who is the poet? Briefly explain the meaning of the quoted line. How does the poet promise to make his friend’s beauty live forever? (1+1+2+2)
Ans: The above-mentioned line is quoted from the sonnet “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” or, Sonnet No. 18.
The poet of this poem is William Shakespeare.
Beauty is transient. It is short-lived. Every beautiful object or being will eventually experience decline or degeneration. Likewise, the poet’s friend’s beauty will also diminish in course of time.
The beauty of the poet’s friend is eternalized through the poem. As art is immortal, the poem will eternalize and thereby immortalize the poet’s friend’s beauty.
c) “His smile
Is like an infant’s…”
Whose smile is being referred to here? Explain the comparison in the given lines. How does Nature take care of him? (1+3+2)
Ans: The smile of the young soldier in the poem “Asleep in the Valley” is referred to here.
The smile of the soldier is like that of an infant’s. It is innocent, gentle, and without guile.
Nature provides the dead soldier with a pillow made of ferm, heavy undergrowth to lie on, sun-soaked bed, and flowers at his feet and keeps him warm.
d) “In his side there are two red holes” – Who is the person referred to here? What do the ‘two red holes’ signify? What attitude of the poet to war is reflected here? (1+2+3)
Ans: The dead soldier in the poem “Asleep in the Valley” is referred to here.
The ‘two red holes’ signify two bullet wounds received in the side of the soldier. The soldier has actually been killed in the war with two rifle-shots in his side.
The violence of war is expressed here.
e) “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see/So long lives this and this gives life to thee.”
What does the poet mean by ‘this’? Who is ‘thee’ being referred to? How does the poet think that ‘this’ will give life to ‘thee’? (1+1+4)
Ans: Here ‘this’ refers to Sonnet No. 18 or “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” by William Shakespeare.
Here ‘thee’ refers to the poet’s friend.
As long as this poem is read, the youth’s beauty, which is captured in the poem, will remain for all time.
4. (a) Do as directed:
i) The most important thing in the world was science. (Change into positive degree)
Ans: No other thing in the world was so/as important as science.
(ii) I don’t intend to give up what I have. (Use the underlined word as a noun and rewrite)
Ans: I do not have the intention to give up what I have.
iii) The door was open. (Turn into a negative sentence)
Ans: The door was not closed or shut
iv) The hermit was digging the ground. (Change the vice)
Ans: The ground was being dug by the hermit.
(v) My father could convey complex spiritual concepts. (Change the voice)
Ans: Complex spiritual concepts could be conveyed by my father.
vi) As soon as she left the train, she would forget our brief encounter. (Turn into a negative sentence)
Ans: No sooner had she left the train, than she would forget our brief counter.
OR
The Tsar said, “I come to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions.” (Change into indirect speech)
Ans: The Tsar said to or told the wise man that he (the Tsar) had come to him (the hermit) for an answer to his (the Tsar’s) questions.
(b) Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and/or prepositions. 1/2 x 6 =3
When my father came out ……. the mosque after the prayers, people of different religions would be sitting outside, waiting ……… him. Many of them offered bowls of water …….. my father, who would dip his fingertips ……… them and say ……… prayer. This water was then carried home ……… invalids.
Ans: i) of, ii) for, iii) to, iv) in, v) a, vi) for.
OR
Fill in the blanks with appropriate articles and/or prepositions:
The Tsar round and saw …….(i)……. bearded man come running …….(ii)…… ………(iii)……… the wood. The man held his hands pressed …….(iv)…….. his stomach and blood was flowing ……….(v)…….. ………..(vi)…….. them.
Ans: i) a, ii) out, iii) of, iv) against, v) from, vi) under.
c) Correct the error in the following sentence by replacing the underlined word with the right one from the options given below: (1×1 = 1)
His answers filled me with a strange energy and enthusiastic.
[Options: enthuse/enthusiastically/enthusiasm]
Ans: enthusiasm.
OR
Few girls can resist flattering.
[Options: flatter/flattery/flattery]
Ans: flattery.
5. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Sometimes it is hard to believe that I’ve been up here in the hills all these years — fifty summers and monsoons and winters and Himalayan springs (there is no real spring in the plains) —– because when I look back to the time of my first coming here, it seems like yesterday.
That probably sums it all up. Time passes, and yet it doesn’t pass: people come and go, the mountains remain. Mountains are permanent things. They are stubborn, they refuse to move. You can blast holes out of them for they are mineral wealth; aur strip them of their trees and foliage, or dam their streams and divert their currents; or make tunnels and roads and bridges; but no matter how hard they try, humans cannot actually get rid of the mountains. That’s what I like about them; they are here to stay.
Part – B
(Marks : 20)
1. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided: 1 x 4 = 4
i) The wounded man was actually
a) enemy of the hermit
b) enemy of the Tsar
c) friend of the Tsar
d) disciple of the hermit.
Ans: b) enemy of the Tsar
ii) Kalam’s ancestral house was built in
a) mid 19th century
b) late 19th century
c) early 20th century
d) early 19th century.
Ans: a) mid 19th century
iii) Abdul Kalam’s father would convey complex spiritual concepts in simple, down-to-earth
a) Arabic
b) Urdu
c) Tamil
d) Telugu
Ans: c) Tamil
iv) The narrator had the compartment to himself up to
a) Saharanpur
b) Dehradun
c) Rohana
d) Mussoorie.
Ans: c) Rohana
OR
The girl in the train compartment thought the narrator to be
a) gallant
b) serious
c) gallant and serious
d) pretentious.
Ans: c) gallant and serious
2. Answer the following questions, each in a complete sentence:
i) Where was the girl in the story “The Eyes Have It” getting off?
Ans: The girl was getting off at Saharanpur.
ii) Who was the priest of the Rameswaram temple?
Ans: The priest of the Rameswaram temple was Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry.
iii) What, according to the hermit, is the most important thing to do?
Ans: According to the hermit, the most important thing is to do good to the man who is present at the moment in front of us.
iv) How did the girl describe the narrator?
Ans: The girl remarked that the narrator was a very gallant and serious young man.
v) What was the hermit doing when the Tsar came to take leave of him?
Ans: The hermit was sowing seeds in the beds that had been dug the day before.
vi) Why did the Tsar put on simple clothes before meeting the hermit?
Ans: The Tsar put on simple clothes before he met the hermit because he did not want to reveal his identity; the hermit met only the common folk.
vii) What did Abdul kalam’s Father use to avoid?
Ans: APJ Abdul kalam’s father used to avoid all inessential comforts and luxuries.
viii) What does Kalam’s father say about the importance of prayer?
Ans: Kalam’s father says about the importance of prayer that it makes possible a communion of the spirit between people.
ix) Who did the narrator of “The Eyes Have It” think to be formidable creatures?
Ans: The narrator of “The Eyes Have It” thought aunts to be formidable creatures.
3. Complete each of the following sentences, choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided:
i) Nature is pleaded to keep the soldier
a) pleasant
b) warm
c) asleep
d) peaceful
Ans: b) warm
ii) Being tired, the grasshopper rests beneath
a) green hedge
b) bushes
c) pleasant weed
d) grassy hills.
Ans: c) pleasant weed.
iii) The marks of wound of the soldier are
a) on his head
b) on his chest
c) in his side
d) in his leg.
Ans: c) in his side.
OR
The darling bufs are shaken by rough winds in
a) March
b) April
c) May
d) June.
Ans: c) May.
iv) Nature’s changing course is
a) deemed
b) temperature
c)untrimmed
d) lovely
Ans: c) untrimmed.
4. Answer any four of the following questions is in a complete sentence. 1 x 4 = 4
i) Where does the stream leave “long strands of silver’?
Ans: The stream leaves “long strands of silver” on the bright grass in a small green valley.
ii) From where is the shrill song of the cricket heard in “The Poetry of Earth”?
Ans: The shrill song of the cricket is heard from the stove or fireplace.
iii) What shall death not brag about in Shakespeare’s poem?
Ans: Death shall not brag about that the poet’s friend’s beauty would wander in its shadow.
iv) What does the ‘eye of heaven’ refer to?
Ans: The ‘eye of heaven’ refers to the sun.
v) Where do the birds hide when they are ‘faint with the hot sun’?
Ans: The birds hide in cooling trees when they are ‘faint with the hot sun’.
vi) How long will the young man be remembered in Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 18 ?
Ans: The young man will be remembered so long as men can breathe and eyes can see.
vii) What kind of a poem is “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”
Ans: “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” is a sonnet.
viii) Why is the soldier pale?
Ans: The soldier is pale because he is dead.
ix) Where does the soldier lie stretched?
Ans: The soldier lies stretched in the heavy undergrowth.
5. Complete each of the following sentences’ choosing the correct option from the alternatives provided:
i) Chubukov said that Lomov’s younger aunt had run away with
a) a hunter
b) drunkard
c) a count
d) an architect.
Ans d) an architect.
ii) Lomov’s aunt’s name is
a) Natalya Stepanovna
b) Natasha Vassilevitch
c) Nastasya Mihailovna
d) Natalya Mihailovna
Ans: c) Nastasya Mihailovna
iii) The worst of Lomov’s physical problems is
a) the way he sleeps
b) his palpitations
c) his headache
d) his limp.
Ans: a) the way he sleeps.
iv) Lomov went to his neighbour, Chubukov’s house
a) to borrow money
b) to settle a dispute
c) to give a marriage proposal
d) to complain
Ans: c) to give a marriage proposal.
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