CBSE Board Class 11 English Elective Sample Papers 2007

ENGLISH ELECTIVE

CLASS XI
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER 2007

Time Allowed : 3 hours  Maximum Marks : 100 Marks
General Instructions
1. Question Nos. 1-4 are compulsory
2. Attempt either Question 5 or 6
3. Your answer should be to the point. Stick to word limit given.

Section A : Reading
Read the following passage and answer the questions  6 x 2 = 12 Marks

1.a)  I can still remember my first encounter with the fear of supernatural. I was
about 8 years old and my younger brother Sonu was 7. We lived in Meghalaya – a really beautiful part of India, and this was long before civilization really came to that part of the country. We were allotted a huge bungalow, complete with outhouse and servants quarters and sprawling lawns. The net result was that we were isolated from the hoi polloi .

It was about mid June, on a Saturday, my brother and I had just finished dinner. Our parents had gone to the club when it started raining in earnest. Father rang up to tell us that they would not be driving home in the storm and that we should lock the house up from inside after informing the guards. Now this left us alone in the huge house in the middle of what appeared to us in the night like a huge jungle. All of a sudden, there was a huge crack of lightning and the power failed. I was in my bed at that time – and started quaking with fear. My younger brother came running into my room absolutely terrified. Dee … dee, can I sleep with you ?

Now I could not admit that I was scared too. So like a very brave elder sister … I took charge. I smiled and told him “Sure, but let’s play knots and crosses”, a game he hated and I was addicted to. He agreed making a face. Both of us together lit a lamp, got out our pencils and some paper and started playing. As time went by, it was more like a night without parents and we were savouring our independence. We took the lamp and went to the kitchen, got ourselves some cookies, chips and sodas, and had a party. Then we sat down to laugh and discuss the daily happenings in school. The fear receded and we felt very brave and grown up – two children in a 7 bedroom house all alone. We both pretended that it was quite okay and together we could face anything. Soon the oil in the lamp went down and the wick needed trimming, the lamp-light became dim. So we decided that we should sleep together and got into my bed for the night.

There was a loud crash followed by a huge earthquake that woke us up. All pretence at bravery was over. The lamp had gone out and we did not even know what time it was. On the top of that, we could not find the matches. I had started crying and it was Sonu’s turn to be the brave macho brother. Both of us held hands, I was holding the lamp and we walked to the kitchen, Sonu leading the way. That walk is etched in my memory – a wooden floor with creaky floor boards, an open window slamming again and again in the storm, and tree branches rustling and groaning in the storm. We never reached the kitchen. We had reached the living room, which overlooked the boundary wall of the bungalow lawns – about a mile away. From the distance we could see the wall on and off in the flickering lightening. And all our fears were realized !!!! On the wall looking straight at us in the flickering light were two heads. I forgot all reserves and started wailing. The lamp slipped and fell out of my hands and broke. Sonu somehow managed to hold on to me and take me to the two seater sofa close by. Both of us sat down on the sofa with our eyes focused on the wall. We could not take our eyes away from the two people peering at us. I whispered to Sonu “Shall we scream for the guards” , Sonu did not even waste a minute and started yelling “Chowkidaar, chowkidaar” but most probably the guards were sitting inside the room, away from the cold rain and could not hear the screams of a terrified 7 year old boy. I had lost my voice and could not say anything – all efforts brought just a quavering “Help … bachao” from me.

Both of us kept sitting on the couch – our horrified eyes fixed on the heads that were looking at us menacingly all through the night. After a while, the tears and fear took its toll on us and we drifted into an uneasy sleep, cuddled into each other. I woke up with a start in the morning, weak sunbeams lighting up the room …. Our parents had just come home. Father and Mother came in to the house and saw us both on the couch, and woke us up. We had eyes for nothing but the boundary wall. What we saw had us speechless. Some one had apparently picked up coconuts from the palms growing near the gate, and placed on the wall were two halved coconut shells, and we had actually spent the entire night petrified because of two coconut shells.

1. What does the child remember about the bungalow?  2
2. What happened as result of lightning? What was the children’s reaction? 2
3. Why did Sonu agree to play knots and crosses? 2
4. How did the children enjoy the night without parents? 2
5. How were all pretences of bravery over? 2
6. When did the truth about the ghost come to light? 2

1.b) Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow: (8 marks)

This is a poem by war poet - Siegfred Sassoon. It describes the atmosphere when peace was finally declared after WW2 , so evocatively...

EVERYONE SANG

Everyone suddenly burst out singing;
And I was filled with such delight
As prisoned birds must find in freedom,
Winging wildly across the white
Orchards and dark-green fields; on--on--and out of sight.

Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted;
And beauty came like the setting sun ;
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror
Drifted away...O, but Everyone
Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.

Seigfred Sassoon

1. List out any four things that people felt when peace was declared after World War II  2
2. Setting of sun is a common sigh t. What makes it special on that day? 2
3. Point out a simile in the poem?  1
4. Give an example of alliteration from the poem  1
5. Complete the following :- 2
When peace was established everyone suddenly began to _________ .The song filled the poet with great happiness just as the _______ ______when they are set free. They fly _______ across the sky. The whole thing was so beautiful that the poet was moved to __________. The horror of war gradually drifted away. Every one, like a bird sang songs that had no words and the singing seemed never to end.

Section B – Writing

2.a)1) India entered into the 61st year of Independence. You watched a lot of
programmes showing the struggle and sacrifice of many leaders and of common men & women. You feel very strongly feel that this freedom must not be lost at any cost and the youth alone can take up the responsibility of building the India of tomorrow. Write an essay in about 150-200 words to this effect :- 10

OR

2) The newspapers have been reporting that many old people are left alone in their native places when their children settle down in other places. Life becomes lonely and difficult for them. They have to depend on outsiders. You feel that they certainly need better care. Write an essay in about 100-200 words.

2 .b) Study of arts and humanities helps us to become sensitized individuals. Study of the sciences helps us to develop a rational temperament required in the modern age. An individual who combines sensitivity and rational temperament is the one who can contribute to society meaningfully. Prepare a speech to express your opinion on this topic in about 150-200 words  10

Section C – Applied Grammar

3.a) In the passage given below, 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 your sheet. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.  10 x ½ = 5

There two types of exercises  _________
prescribed clients diagnosed _________
osteoporosis. Weight bearing _________
activities walking, stair climbing,  _________
jogging etc. and resistance exercises performed _________
with free weights or machine weights
used the gym.  _________
Swimming a non-weight bearing  _________
exercise, but considered as a
part of exercise regimen osteoporosis.  _________
Exercises prescribed _________
depending the severity of condition.  _________

3.b) Read the following report. Complete the paragraph using the information given below in your own words. 5 x 1 = 5
Delhi lawyer stabbed outside the court

1 New Delhi Bar association secretary said,

2 “I was standing outside my chamber with fellow lawyers.

3 Aman kumar came out rushing towards us

4 He was bleeding profusely”.

5 Aman Kumar said, “ I have been attacked by a group of men outside the gate. They took away all my cash and mobile phone”.

6 Secretary, “ I took him to the Hindu Rao Hospital in my car”.
New Delhi Bar Association Secretary reported that _________ with fellow lawyers when __________ bleeding profusely. Aman Kumar informed _____________outside the gate. He also said that ____________ robbed of all his cash and mobile phone. The secretary then _________to Hindu Rao Hospital in his car.

SECTION – D (Literature)

D1. a) Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:

(4 marks)
When did my childhood go?
Was it the time I realised that adults were not all they seemed to be.

i) Name the poem and poet. (1 mark)

ii) How does the poet attempt to answer his question in the first line of the extract? (1 mark)

iii) What aspect of adult behaviour does the poet convey in the lines following the above? (2 marks)

( OR )

Yet have I killed
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?


i) Name the poem and the poet. (1 mark)

ii) What does the father mean by ‘the seed I spent’?
(1 mark)

iii) Explain the last line of the extract.

(2 marks)

b) Answer the following questions in about 30 – 40 words each:

(3x2 = 6 marks)
i) How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem?

ii) The arrival of the goldfinch brings about a transformation. Describe it.

iii) What aspect of the sea does Shirley Toulson mention in ‘A Photograph’?


D2. Answer the following questions in about 30–40 words each:

(2x5 = 10 marks)
a) How does Rajender explain the change in the course of history to Professor Gaitonde?

b) Describe Millie Crocker Harris from ‘The Browning Version’.

c) What comment by Margaret Thatcher has become popular usage?

d) How has Nek Chand been recognised internationally?

e) What was the purpose of the CT machine donated by National Geographic Society?

D3. Answer the following questions in about 100-125 words:

(10 marks)
Who was King Tut and why has there been such wide speculation about him in modern times?

( OR )

Discuss the difference between the Chinese and Western art.


D4. Answer the following questions in about 100-125 words:

(4 marks)
What is your assessment of Dr. Andrew Manson?

( OR )

Imagine you are one of the residents of Melon City. Explain to your friend in a letter how the town got its name.


D5. Answer the following questions in about 30–40 words each:

(3x2=6 marks)
a) Why did the author regard Shahid as the national poet of Kashmir?

b) What warning did Mrs. Fitzgerald give Mrs. Pearson before she finally leaves?

c) What reasons did the head teacher give for expelling Albert from school?