CBSE Board Class 11 English Core Previous Year Question Papers 2008

Previous Paper – 2008
Class – XI
Subject – English


General Instructions

This paper is divided into five sections:
Section A Reading   20 Marks
Section B Writing   20 Marks                                 
Section C Grammar   10 Marks    
Section D Literature   40 Marks
Conversation Skills    10 Marks

1. All answers must be correctly numbered as in the question paper and written in your answer sheet.
2. Attempt all questions in each section before going on to next section
3. Read each question carefully and follow them faithfully.
4. Strictly adhere to the word limit given with each question. Marks will be deducted for exceeding the word limit.

  SECTION - A
(Reading Skills – 20 Marks)

1. Read the given below passage carefully and answer the questions that follow :  

1.Money came into existence to answer a need of mankind, but this need did not arise until civilization had grown beyond its earliest stages. Primitive man lived by hunting, each hunting only for himself and his family or tribe. At such a stage when strangers were avoided or driven away, money and even trade were unnecessary. Later, when he had learnt to domesticate wild animals, man lived a nomadic and pastoral life, constantly wandering as he drove his flocks and herds to new pastures. As the road to wealth was then the possession of beasts, money in its modern form was still not necessary, although the beasts themselves were a form of money. It would suit, what few craftsmen there were to be paid for their wares in cattle and farmers and herdsmen to pay in that way.

2.When human communities began to settle down and cultivate the land, instead of wandering over it with their flocks and herds, the division of labour increased and people specialized in crafts and trades. Most men specialized in growing or producing something of which only a very small portion was necessary for their own wants. So they had to get rid of their surplus. In exchange for it, they wanted something which would give them the power to choose what they wanted from the surpluses of other people. A few transactions might take place in straight forward exchange or barter, but only certain things could be treated in this way. It was unlikely for instance, that a shoe-maker needing supplies of corn for his family from time-to-time would always find that the farmer would take shoes in exchange. It would be more convenient, if there were some other object that would always be useful to both the shoe-maker and the farmer.

3.Once the people have agreed what this other object is to be and once they are prepared always to accept it or offer it in payment, then we have money in its primitive form. It is the go-between in all business transactions or as the economists say, ‘a medium of exchange’. We have seen that in the pastoral stage of human history, cattle themselves were this generally acceptable commodity; it is therefore not strange that the Latin word for money, ‘pecunia’ comes from a similar Latin word, ‘pecus’ meaning cattle. In modern English we still use the adjectives, ‘pecuniary’ meaning, concerned with money, and ‘inpecunious’ meaning having no money.

4. The trouble about the cattle is that they may become diseased, are easily driven away while their owners are asleep, require a lot of land on which to graze and cannot easily be subdivided without being killed and so losing their value. The precious metals such as gold and silver do not suffer from any of these disadvantages. It can be buried and hidden away easily, it does not rust or lose weight through storage; it can be weighed out into quite small quantities without loss of value. Even some modern communities have used the precious metals by weight as their standard money, although they have used coins for pocket money and small change. For many years the standard money of China was the ‘tael’ which was not a coin but a weight of silver, the dollar and the cash were used for small change and minor transactions.

5.There are, however, disadvantages in using weighed quantities of these metals. Dishonest persons may mix them with less valuable metals of the same appearance and weight. In time, so many mixtures might then be passing from hand to hand that every business man would need to be accompanied by an assayer to test and weigh every piece presented to him. The obvious way out of this difficulty is for the state to make coins of a standard shape, weight and fineness which are then called currency.

1.1 Based on your reading of the passage, answer the following questions briefly:    

i) Why did the primitive man not feel the necessity of money as a means of exchange ? 
ii) Mention the three stages in the development of human society.                           

iii) How did the word ‘pecuniary’ originate ?                              

iv) What necessitated the people to think of having a common medium of exchange ?     

1.2 Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :                    

i) early    (para 1)

ii) business dealings  (para 4)


iii) clear    (para 5)

2. Read the following passage carefully :                  

The work of the heart can never be interrupted. The heart’s job is to keep oxygen-rich blood flowing through the body. All the body’s cells need a constant supply of oxygen, especially those in the brain. The brain cells live only four to five minutes after their oxygen is cut off, and death comes to the entire body.

The heart is a specialized muscle that serves as a pump. This pump is divided into four chambers connected by tiny doors called valves. The chambers work to keep the blood flowing round the body in a circle.

At the end of each circuit, veins carry the blood to the right atrium, the first of the four chambers. Its oxygen has been used up and it’s on its way back to the lung to pick up a fresh supply and give up the carbon dioxide it has accumulated. From the right atrium the blood flows through the tricuspid valve into the second chamber, the right ventricle. The right ventricle contracts when it if filled, pushing the blood through the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs. In the lungs blood gives up its carbon dioxide and picks up fresh oxygen. Then it travels to the third chamber, the left atrium. When this chamber is filled it forces the blood through the mitral valve to the left ventricle. From here it is pushed into a big blood vessel called aorta and sent round the body by way of arteries. Heart diseases can result from damage to the heart muscle, the valves or the pacemaker. If the muscle is damaged, the heart is unable to pump properly If the valves are damaged, blood cannot flow normally and easily from one chamber to another, and if the pacemaker is defective, the contractions of the chamber will become un-coordinated.

Until the twentieth century, few doctors dared to touch the heart. In 1953, all this changed. After twenty years of work, Dr. John Gibbon of USA had developed a machine that could take over temporarily from the heart and lungs. Blood could be routed through the machine, bypassing the heart so that surgeons could work inside it and see what they were doing. The era of open heart surgery had begun. In the operating theatre, it gives surgeons the chance to repair or replace a defective heart. Many patients have had plastic valves inserted their hearts when their own was faulty. Many people are being kept alive with tiny battery-operated pacemakers; none of these repairs could have been made without the heart-lung machine. But valuable as it is to the surgeons, the heart-lung machine has certain limitations. It can be used only for a few hours at a time because its pumping gradually damages the blood cells.

a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using headings and subheadings. Also use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary (Minimum 4 ). Use a format you consider suitable. Supply an appropriate title.                                 

b) Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.                                                

SECTION - B

(Advanced Writing Skills – 20 Marks)

3. You are B. Reddy of 18, Lad Masjid Road, Hyderabad. You have a building in the Akram Square suitable for housing office / bank / showroom, and it is, at present, vacant to be let out. Write out an advertisement in not more than 50 words, to be published under ‘To Let’ in a newspaper.                

OR

You are the General Manager of a leading industrial concern. You need a Chartered Accountant for your office. Draft an advertisement in not more than 50 words to be published in ‘The Times of India’, New Delhi, under the classified columns.    

4. You are Rahul / Renu of 202-B, Bharat Enclave, New Delhi. Your colony is plunged into darkness due to frequent, unscheduled breakdowns of electricity. Write a letter to the Editor of ‘The Hindustan Times’ drawing the attention of the concerned authorities towards your plight in not more than 150 – 200 words.       

OR

You are Reena Ghai, personal assistant to the G. M. in a private company. You come across an advertisement for a lady secretary in a reputed multinational company, offering attractive packages. Since your qualifications and experience match the required ones, you decide to write a letter of application in response to it. Write your letter in not more than 200 words, using appropriate formats.

5. During his visit to the hilly areas of Himanchal Pradesh, Harris was moved at the large scale deforestation. He felt perturbed at the arbitrary felling of trees and the dangerous consequences of deforestation. He writes an article for publication in the newspaper on ‘Harmful Consequences of Deforestation.’ Write this article in not more than 200 words.      

OR

You purchased a Q.P. Air-conditioner 3 months ago. It was working well initially and suddenly the cooling effect has been reduced and also there is rattling sound. Write a letter to the Regional Manager, Q.P.  Electronics, New Delhi, asking for the repair / replacement of the A.C. unit. You are Suneet Arora / Suneeta of 182, Greater Kailash, New Delhi. (Word limit 150 words)

SECTION - C

(Grammar - 10 Marks)

6. Complete the following report written by an eye-witness of an accident with the correct form of the words given in the brackets.                                           

The Car could not (a)………… (see) by the cyclist from a long distance.  He (b)………… (crush) by the speeding car. He (c)………… (warn) by another cyclist on the road but it was rather late.  The victim (d)……… (declare) dead on (e)…….(reach) the hospital by the doctor. The car driver (f)……………… (arrest).

7. Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful sentences. First one has been done for you as an example.               

Example : day / too / penguins / have / schools /. /
Answer : Penguins too have day schools.

a) a / secluded and elevated / be safe / they are / where / would / the chicks / usually / situated in / place.

b) the food hunting / the young ones / ways from / the parents / pick up /

c)top of / the child /  its voice / the parent / at the / responds to it / cackles / and /

8. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line. Write the incorrect word and the correction as given in the example against the correct blank number in your answer sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.                                             

Lila’s favourite subject in school was Maths. She enjoy     e.g. enjoy   enjoyed 

solving problems, and was enthusiastic for new problems  a)

done in class. But a lot many of her friends found Maths  b)

extremely difficult, and until they thought it was a   c)

difficult subject they saw no point to work at it.   d)

Maths is the least popular subject in class.    e)

Then Lila decided to help three of her friend. She was  f)

patient and good in explaining things. Her friends realised  g)

that Maths is easy if they paid attention.    h)

SECTION - D

(Literature - 40 Marks)

9. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow :                        

We speak like strangers, there is no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.

i) How do they speak to each other ?                       
ii) Why can’t one share what the other loves ?                  
iii) Give the antonym of : a)    Strangers  b)     Loves        

OR

Silence surrounds us. I would have
Him prodigal, returning to
His father’s house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too,

i) Name the poem and the poet.                                           
ii) ‘Silence surrounds us’. Why ?                                       
iii) Find words from the stanza which means :   a)   situated all round   b)   extravagant.

10.Answer any two of the following questions in about 30 words each.

i) In the poem ‘A Photograph’, how does the mother as well as the daughter suffers from a sense of loss. What was the mother’s loss ? Was the daughter’s loss also same  ?

ii) Identify what the poet talks of :

a)     individuality     b)     rationalism    c)     hypocrisy  – in the poem ‘Childhood’ .

iii) How does the rain become the voice of the earth ?                          

11.Answer any five of the following questions in about 30 words each.

i) Describe the Tibetan mastiffs. Why did they become popular in China’s imperial courts ?

ii) How is the population explosion perpetuating poverty ?

iii) Who was Howard Carter and what was his discovery ?

iv) Why and when did captain send ‘May day calls’ ? What was the response ?

v) How did Rajendra Deshpande try to rationalise Professor Gaitonde’s experience on the basis of the catastrophe theory ?

vi)  The grandmother was ‘an expanse of pure white serenity, breathing peace and contentment’. Elucidate this statement.                                            

12.Answer any one of the following question in about 150 words.                                                  

i) Write a letter to your friend describing the narrators journey to Mount Kailash as narrated in ‘Silk Road’

ii) Imagine that you are Professor Gaitonde, who had a collision with a truck followed by the bitter experience in Azad Maidan. Regaining your consciousness after two days you decide to make a diary entry on your bitter experience. Make the diary entry.
    
13.Answer any one of the following question in about 100 words. 

i) Describe Andrew Manson’s frantic efforts to save the child. How did he succeed at the end ?

ii)Narrate ‘The Tale of the Melon City’ in your own words.                
                   
14. Answer any two of the following questions in about 30 words each.

i) What common interests did Amitav Gosh share with Shahid Ali.

ii)Describe how both Mourad and Aram were crazy about horses.

iii) Contrast the two ladies : Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald in the play ‘Mothers Day’     
(3 x 2 = 6)

15. Conversation Skills - ( Listening + Speaking)