Arvind Academy

ENGLISH SP 1
Class 12 - English Core
Time Allowed: 3 hours Maximum Marks: 80

General Instructions:

1. Read the following instructions very carefully and strictly follow them:

2. This question paper has 13 questions. All questions are compulsory.

3. This question paper contains three sections - Section A : Reading Skills, Section B : Creative Writing Skills and

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Section C : Literature.

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4. Attempt all questions based on specific instructions for each part. Write the correct question number and part

thereof in your answer sheet.

5. Separate instructions are given with each question/part, wherever necessary.

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6. Adhere to the prescribed word limit while answering the questions.
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SECTION A – READING SKILLS
1. Read the passage given below: [12]
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1. When we think of the game of cricket, we come to the conclusion that it is primarily a game that depends
on outstanding physical activities, good hand-eye coordination, speed, skill and strength. It provides
entertainment and generates strong feelings of excitement. A good match of cricket or of any other game
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neither adds to the existing stock of human knowledge nor reveals any secret of existence. It does not carry
any deep meaning but most people, particularly the lover of sports attach deep emotions and numerous
meanings to it. Games are thought of as a metaphor for life. They are supposed to teach many lessons. In
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fact, more is said and written about a cricket match than about scientific findings or great philosophy.
2. This is because games, like morality play, in which settings and rules are made by us, can easily make
people test their fair and foul conduct, principles of reward and punishment, and emotions of joy and
disappointment. They can make us experience the thrill of war without exposing us to its dangers. A man
watching a cricket match on T.V. and munching popcorn is like a surrogate warrior. In fact, games provide
us with a safe outlet for our aggressiveness. If games become aggressive, they lose the very purpose of
providing entertainment and purging us of our aggressiveness. They can calm our impatience without
creating any conflict.
3. Commentators, journalists, politicians and analysts can do a great favour to the competing teams by keeping
the excitement within limits. The teams should play without being dominated by feelings of national honour
and shame. The excellent performance of the players of both teams should be enjoyed and appreciated.
Winning or losing in a game should not be taken seriously. A game is fun if it is played with a true spirit of
sportsmanship.
Answer the following questions, based on the above passage :

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 i. Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option: (1)
Most people conclude that cricket is primarily a game because ________.
a. it is played as a match
b. it requires two teams
c. it includes physical activity
d. it depends only on skill and strength
ii. Comment on the writer’s reference to that cricket does not reveal any secret of existence. (1)
iii. List two responses to which watching a game of cricket gives rise to. (2)
iv. Select the option that conveys the opposite of destroy from words used in the passage. (1)
a. reveals
b. experience
c. generate
d. purging
v. The writer would not agree with the given statements based on paragraph 2, EXCEPT (1)

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a. Rules of any game are made by people.

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b. Watching a cricket match makes the viewer believe that he is fighting a battle.
c. It is necessary for a game to be aggressive in order to build excitement.
d. A game can test people’s sense of fair judgment.
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vi. With reference to the passage, a spectator is compared to a surrogate warrior. (1)
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Choose the option that best describes this phrase:
a. a spectator who is paid to watch.
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b. a spectator who is in pain while watching the match.

c. a spectator who enjoys the match as an armchair soldier.
d. a spectator who makes judgments about reward and punishment.
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vii. Why does the writer compare games to a morality play? (1)
viii. Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference with respect to the following: (1)
The writer says that games can calm our impatience without creating any conflict by ________.
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ix. Why does the writer advise the players that games should not become aggressive? (1)
x. What are some reasons people attach deep emotions and meanings to the game of cricket, despite it lacking
deep philosophical or scientific significance? (2)
2. Read the following passage carefully: [10]
1. Without specialised equipment, humans would be lost in these deep-sea habitats, so how do fish make it
seem so easy? Much of this is due to a biological phenomenon known as electroreception - the ability to
perceive and act upon electrical stimuli as part of the overall senses. This ability is only found in aquatic
and amphibious species because water is an efficient conductor of electricity.
2. One fascinating use of electroreception has been observed between the weakly electric fish. When two such
electric fish meet in the ocean using the same frequency, each fish will then shift the frequency of its
discharge so that they are transmitting on different frequencies. Doing so prevents their electroreception
faculties from becoming jammed.
3. Electroreception can also play an important role in animal defences. Rays are one such example. Young ray
embryos develop inside egg cases that are attached to the sea bed. The embryos keep their tails in constant

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 motion to pump water and allow them to breathe through the egg's casing. If the embryo's electroreceptors
detect the presence of a predatory fish in the vicinity, however, the embryo stops moving (and in doing so,
ceases transmitting electric currents) until the predator has moved on.
4. Many people fear swimming in the ocean because of sharks. Sharks hunt with extraordinary precision. They
initially lock on to their prey through a keen sense of smell. As the shark reaches in proximity of its prey, it
tunes into electrical signals that ensure a precise strike on its target; this sense is so strong that the shark
even attacks blind by letting its eyes recede for protection. In areas where shark attacks on humans are
likely to occur, scientists are exploring ways to create artificial electroreceptors. These would disorient the
sharks and repel them from swimming beaches.
Answer the following questions, based on the above passage:
i. Infer the advantage that aquatic or amphibious species have over human beings. Answer in about 40 words.
(2)
ii. A possible use for electroreception that will benefit humans is to: (1)
A. use water as it is an efficient conductor of electricity.

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B. act on electrical stimuli.

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C. change electrical frequency to prevent it from being jammed.
D. jam electrical frequencies.
iii. Explain in about 40 words the use of electroreception between the weakly electric fish. (2)
iv. Identify a young ray embryo from the following: (1)
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A. It fears electric signals.
B. It keeps its tail in constant motion.
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C. It stations itself on land.

D. It disorients sharks.
v. Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
A shark hunts with accuracy because ________.
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vi. Why does a shark recede its eyes when it attacks? (1)
vii. In areas where shark attacks on humans are likely to occur, scientists: (1)
A. suggest putting barriers.
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B. are exploring ways to create artificial electroreceptors.

C. suggest blinding them.
D. are exploring ways to warn swimmers.
viii. State True or False. (1)
The title - Understanding Electroreception and its Uses is Significant for Human Beings' is appropriate for
this passage.
SECTION B – CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS
3. You are Bala/Bandhini, school counsellor of Bala Vidyagram School, Dharti Bagh. Your school is organising a [4]
Career Counselling Fair. Write a notice encouraging students to attend the fair. Mention the benefits and include
necessary details.
OR
Water supply will be suspended for eight hours (10 am to 6 pm) on 6th of March for cleaning of the water tank. Write
a notice in about 50 words advising the residents to store water for a day. You are Karan Kumar/Karuna Bajaj,

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 Secretary, Janata Group Housing Society, Palam Vihar, Kurnool.
4. You were invited by your friend Shahid to the marriage of his sister, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, [4]
you cannot leave station. Write an informal letter of reply in 50 words expressing your inability to attend the
function. You are Hamid/Henna of Aliganj, Nashik. Mention day, date, time and venue.
OR
You are Prof. R.K. Chadha, eminent environmentalist. You have been invited to chair a panel discussion on ‘Solar
Power - The Alternate Lifestyle’. Write a formal letter accepting the invitation in about 50 words. Mention day, date,
time and venue.
5. You are Ashutosh/Ashita Sarin, residing at 28, H-Block, Ashok Vihar, Delhi. You love Delhi and its beautiful [5]
architecture. Recently you visited the Red Fort and were disturbed to see the poor maintenance of the monument
by the authorities concerned as well as by the careless and negligent attitude of the visitors who spoil the
buildings by writing names, messages on the walls, domes, etc. Write a letter to the Editor, The Statesman,
expressing concern over this state and the need for awakening a sense of pride and love for such monuments
among the common people.

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OR
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JB Academy, Ayodhya urgently requires a post-graduate teacher to teach Political Science for which they placed an
advertisement in 'The Bhilai Express'. You are Sanjay/Sanjana Sharma from 21, Vasant Marg, Bhilai. Draft a letter
including a CV, applying for the advertised post (120-150 words)
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6. A spurt of violence previously unknown in Indian schools makes it incumbent on the educationists to introduce [5]
value education effectively in schools. Write an article in 150-200 words expressing your views on the need of
value education. You are Anu/Arun.
OR
Your school, Kanpur Secondary School, Kanpur celebrated ‘No Tobacco Day’ on 4th September. Write a report in
100-125 words on the activities performed for your school newsletter. You are Shobita/Sameer, Cultural Secretary of
your school. Invent the necessary details.
SECTION C - LITERATURE
7. Read the following text carefully and answer the questions that follow: [6]
Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.

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The massive weight of wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.
(Aunt Jennifer's Tigers)
i. Which of the following themes is best represented in the given extract? (1)
A. The maturity of adulthood
B. The glory of feminity
C. Victim of male domination
D. The superficial beauty
ii. State whether the following statement is True or False, with reference to the extract. (1)
Aunt Jennifer is nervous and traumatized because of the constraints of her marriage.
iii. Complete the following sentence appropriately: (1)
The fingers fluttering through her wool symbolize ________.
iv. The use of the words massive weight creates a powerful image of ________. (1)
v. Based on the rhyme scheme in lines 3 and 4, which word would rhyme with band and hand? (1)

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A. stand

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B. wind
C. bent
D. tent ad
vi. The heavy wedding ring is a source of: (1)
A. joy
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B. freedom
C. dignity
D. burden
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OR
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Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
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Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o'er darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits.
i. In which of the following options can the underlined words be replaced with despondence?
a. The man paced about the room showing restlessness.
b. A chat with a close friend can take away our blues.
c. I was in jitters, seeing the boy trapped in the trench.
d. Being dogged is what led him to negotiate the challenges.
ii. Pick the option that is NOT an example of unhealthy and o'er darkened ways.
a. A person who is egoistic and looks down upon others.
b. A person who seeks God's help for all his problems.

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 c. A person who uses evil ways to deceive others.
d. A person who is corrupt and manipulative.
iii. What is the message conveyed through the poem A Thing of Beauty?
a. Nature is the best healer
b. We should keep our surroundings clean and green
c. Dark and gloomy shades of life
d. We should love animals around us
iv. Answer in one word:
The poet says that we wreath a flowery band that binds us to Earth.
He means to state that nature's beauty fills man with a spirit of ________.
v. State whether the given statement is True or False with reference to the extract.
The poem suggests that beauty cannot alleviate the darkness in our spirits.
vi. What is the ultimate effect of beauty on our spirits as mentioned in the extract?
8. Read the extract and answer the questions that follow: [4]

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I got to wishing that you were right. Then I got to believe you were right. And, Charley, it’s true; I found the

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third level! I’ve been here two weeks, and right now, down the street at the Daly’s, someone is playing the piano,
and they’re all out on the front porch singing ‘Seeing Nelly Home.’
(i) What did the narrator initially wish for in the passage?
(a) That Charley was unhappy
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(b) That Charley was right
(c) To play the piano
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(d) To go back home

(ii) How long has the narrator been at the third level?
(a) One week
(b) Two days
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(c) Two weeks

(d) A month
(iii) The narrator mentions that someone is playing the piano at the __________.
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(iv) What song is being sung on the front porch according to the narrator?
OR
Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
DERRY: I hate it here.
MOTHER: You can’t help the things you say. I forgive you. It’s bound to make you feel bad things….and say them.
I don’t blame you.
DERRY: It’s got nothing to do with my face and what I look like. I don’t care about that and it isn’t important. It’s
what I think and feel and what I want to see and find out and hear. And I’m going back there. Only to help him with
the crab apples. Only to look at things and listen. But I’m going.
MOTHER: You’ll stop here.
DERRY: Oh no, oh no. Because if I don’t go back there, I’ll never go anywhere in this world again.
And I want the world....I want it....I want it....
i. What does Derry not care about now? What was Mr. Lamb’s contribution to this change?
ii. Which of the following characteristics of Derry’s mother reflects in this extract?

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 a. She is very understanding
b. She treats him with a sense of pity
c. She treats her son with a sense of dignity
d. She contributes to her son’s isolation
a. a and c
b. c and d
c. b and c
d. b and d
iii. Which of the following is the correct reason for Derry’s mother stopping him to stay with Mr. Lamb?
a. She feared that Mr. Lamb would scold him
b. Because Mr. Lamb was not well and she didn’t want Derry to bother him
c. She thought Mr. Lamb would influence her son negatively
d. She was overprotective and didn’t want him to stay with a stranger
a. Option (a)

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b. Option (b)

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c. Option (c)
d. Option (d)
iv. And I want the world, to which world Derry wanted to go and why
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9. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow: [6]
The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting. The chap that threw me in was
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saying, "But I was only fooling." Someone said, "The kid nearly died. Be all right now. Let's carry him to the
locker room."
Several hours later, I walked home. I was weak and trembling. I shook and cried when I lay on my bed. I
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couldn't eat that night. For days a haunting fear was in my heart. The slightest exertion upset me, making me
wobbly in the knees and sick to my stomach.
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I never went back to the pool. I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could.
i. With reference to the extract, Douglas was vomiting because
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a. he had got severe food poisoning.

b. he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.
c. he was frightened when he saw the big man.
d. he had gone for a swim on an empty stomach.
ii. Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with its inference.
For days a haunting fear was in my heart.
iii. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below:
I. The boy did not know how to swim.
II. The boy took a long time to recover from his fear.
a. I can be inferred from the extract but II cannot.
b. I cannot be inferred from the extract but II can.
c. I is true but II is false.
d. Both I and II are true.

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 iv. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the chap threw the boy into the pool just for fun
(clue : a phrase)
v. Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation as per the extract.
The slightest exertion upset the boy because ________.
vi. Replace the underlined word with its synonym from the extract.
The boy felt unsteady in the knees.
OR
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
Gandhi never contented himself with large political or economic solutions. He saw the cultural and social
backwardness in the Champaran villages and wanted to do something about it immediately.
He appealed for teachers. Mahadev Desai and Narhari Parikh, two young men who had just joined Gandhi as
disciples, and their wives, volunteered for the work. Several more came from Bombay, Poona and other distant parts
of the land. Devadas, Gandhi’s youngest son, arrived from the ashram and so did Mrs. Gandhi. Primary schools were
opened in six villages. Kasturbai taught the ashram rules on personal cleanliness and community sanitation.

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i. Which of the following never pleased Gandhiji?

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a. Large political or economic solutions
b. The British orders
c. The landlords' agreements ad
d. The peasants\ aggression
ii. Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the people agreed to help Gandhiji. (Clue: a phrase)
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iii. Select the suitable word from the extract to complete the following analogy:
Appealed: Requested :: ________ : Satisfied
iv. What did Kasturbai teach in primary schools?
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i. Basics of Sanskrit and Spiritual knowledge

ii. Basics of English Language
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iii. Community sanitation

iv. Ashram rules on cleanliness
a. (i) and (ii)
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b. (ii) and (iii)

c. (iii) and (iv)
d. (i) and (iv)
v. On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below.
(1) Gandhiji sought to remove the cultural and social backwardness of the village.
(2) Gandhiji's typical method dealt with the observation of the English people's behaviour.
a. (1) Can be inferred from the extract but (2) cannot.
b. (1) cannot be inferred from the extract but (2) can.
c. (1) is true but (2) is false.
d. (2) is the reason for (1).
vi. Complete the sentence with an appropriate information, as per the extract.
Followers of Gandhiji like ________ and ________ joined with their wives to teach the villagers.
10. Answer any five of the following questions in 40-50 words each: [10]

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 (a) Why did the iron master compare Edla to a parson? [2]
(b) Why has the mother been compared to the late winter’s moon? (My Mother at Sixty-Six) [2]
(c) State the reasons for which the cars from the city halt at the roadside stand. [2]
(d) Sophie flits from one dream to another. What trait of her character is brought out by this action? [2]
(e) Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on? [2]
(f) What according to Umberto Eco is the belief that most journalists and publishers have? (The [2]
Interview)
11. Answer any two of the following questions in 40-50 words each: [4]
(a) How can you say Students on Ice Programme was a step towards the future? (Journey to the End of [2]
the Earth)
(b) Why did Dr Sadao treat the American soldier even though, it was an unpatriotic act on his part? [2]
(c) Why did Geoff Green include young students in his programme? [2]
12. Imagine Saheb-e-Alam from Lost Spring as a young man who gets a job in Mumbai, the city of dreams. He [5]
works as an office boy in Gemini Studio (Poets and Pancakes) and is perplexed to find the way things are done

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there. His friend, Ahmed is influenced by him, and he too wants to go to Mumbai and work there.

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As Saheb, write a letter to Ahmed in 120-150 words discussing your personal experience at Gemini and telling
him how strange you find it to see the different ways in which people work together despite having a dislike for
each other. Also, discuss how the reel life differed from real life.
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Neruda in Keeping Quiet writes, we work endlessly so that we can achieve everything quickly because we are
continuously threatening ourselves with death. While the lesson Deep Water, deals with the subject of conquering
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fear.
You are Pablo Neruda. Write a letter to Douglas and appreciate him for his attempts to get over the fear.
You may begin this way:
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Dear William
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I recently read your autobiographical book “Of Men and Mountains” and...
You may end this way:
People fear death in vain as it is destined for one and all. They fail to identify the real fear. I hope your story will
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inspire people who are rushing against the timeline.

Warmly,
Pablo Neruda
13. In the story, The Tiger King the protagonist is obsessed with finding the hundredth tiger and goes on mindless [5]
tiger hunting.
In an attempt to lash out at the king for his obsession as an overall harmful one, as a resident of Pratibandapuram
express your thoughts in a diary entry.
Support your response with reference to the story.
You may begin this way:
The king has now doubled the land tax this week. We are under a constant state of terror fearing what crazy step
would he take now…
OR
Sights of various things were so entertaining for little Bama that it prevented her from going further.
A grown-up Bama recounts her stroll in the marketplace on her way back home from school.
As a grown-up Bama, create a diary entry, describing the sights she enjoyed.

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You may begin like this:
I still cherish the stroll from school to home that I enjoyed during my childhood…

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