SAMPLE PAPER

CLASS XI -ENGLISH
Time: 3 HOURS Max Marks: 80

General Instructions:
1.There are three sections in the paper: Section A-Reading, Section B-Grammar and
Creative skills and Section C -Literature section.
2. All sections are mandatory to attempt.
3. Please read all the questions carefully.
4. Do not exceed the prescribed word limit.
5. Attempt each section at a time.
6. Attempt the questions in sequence and number your answers correctly.

Reading Section: 26 Marks

1. Read the passage given below. (10 Marks)

Elections were in the air of the world’s youngest democracy when I arrived in Thimphu. This
was for a by-election in the capital city, that dominated the conversation at dinners, even in
Thimphu’s most fun night-spot Mojo Park (the best music in town). Bhutan has taken to
democracy with ease ever since 2008 when the first proper elections were held, a process India
has helped with, sending officials from the Election Commission travelling to check
arrangements, explain electronic voting machine (EVM) technology and procedures. However,
there are many things uniquely Bhutanese:

Monks and nuns in this deeply religious Buddhist majority are not allowed to vote, so as to
avoid mixing religion and politics. All voters must wear their national dress on polling day, but
no one—candidate, campaigner, or voter—is allowed to wear the kabney silk and gyentag
(scarf of honour, for men and women respectively, bestowed only by the King), patang
(ceremonial sword), or any other sign of rank or royal patronage to avoid a misuse of influence.
And, in deference to the environment, no posters can be put up on any public property,
including trees, and are mostly restricted to a community billboard for all. Maybe a thing or
two the world’s largest democracy could learn from the youngest?

If you’re in Thimphu, put the Textile Museum on your must-do list. The museum, run by the
Royal Textile Academy is the project of Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck, one of the Queen
Mothers of Bhutan (the former King had four Queens, all sisters). The museum is dedicated to
preserving the oldest and rarest woven fabrics worn in Bhutan and used in their
religious scrolls and Thangkhas.
While polygamy is practiced in some parts, so is polyandry, and divorce settlements are equal
and even-handed. Even so, Bhutanese women lag behind in one place that it counts: parliament.
In the last National Assembly elections, 3/4ths of the 47 seats had only male candidates (nine
had females), and four women were elected as MPs.. “Women just don’t vote for women, and
the lack of women role models in modern Bhutan becomes a vicious cycle.”

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While Bhutan’s government tell you they are devoted to preserving the country and its beauty,
it is plain to see Bhutan changing every day in little ways. Less youngsters adhere to the
traditional once mandatory national dress (Goh and Kira), more and more buildings now get
permission to rise above the originally regulated two storeys, and glass and granite is seen more
in Thimphu where once only wood and paint were allowed. Some modernity is welcome, and
the abundance of hydropower electricity means many Bhutanese (including the very dashing
U.S.-educated Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay) drive hybrid cars. The countryside is still
pristine, and not covered with the plastic waste ubiquitous in India, even as Bhutan explores
more ‘non-wood’ uses for its 70% forest cover that is also mandated in the constitution.

There is, however, one place that doesn’t change, and it is always my first stop when I land in
Paro: the Kyichu Lhakhang. This is one of Bhutan’s oldest and simplest monasteries, believed
to be constructed in 659 CE, by Tibetan king Song Tsen Gampo and has a link to the Jokhang
temple in Lhasa.
A. Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions:
(1x10=10) (1) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the 2008 Elections
of Bhutan?
i. India helped Bhutan in elections by sending officials from Election Commission of India.
ii. Monks and nuns were not allowed to vote.
iii. Wearing National Dress on Election Day was compulsory.

iv. Bhutan’s oldest and simplest monasteries has remained unchanged

(a) All are Correct (b) ii and iii only (c) i and iii only (d) i and ii only
(2) Who is 'Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk' as mentioned in the passage?
(3) Pick out the statements which are true regarding the 'Mojo Park' as mentioned in the
passage.
i. It is situated in the Northeast India.
ii. It is famous for its Music Shows.
iii. It is situated in the City of Thimphu
iv. It is a squalid park
(a) All are Correct (b) ii and iii only (c) i and iii only (d) i and ii only
(4) Which of the following statements is correct as given in the Passage?
(a) Polyandry is not practiced in Bhutan. (b) Polygamy is practiced in Bhutan.
(c) There is not a single Female Member in Bhutan's Parliament.
(d) None is Correct
(5) Why was candidate, campaigner or voter not allowed to wear any sign of rank or royal
patronage in the 2008 Elections of the country?
(6) Consider the following statements regarding the 'Kyichu Lhakhang' as given in the
passage: [choose the correct option]
i. He was the first Prime Minister of Bhutan.

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ii. It is one of Bhutan’s oldest monasteries.
iii. It was built in 7th Century.
iv. Tourists are disappointed when they visit the place
(a) i and ii only (b) All are Correct (c) i and iii only (d) ii and iii only
(7) Choose the word which is most similar to the word Scrolls
(a) Document (b) Aimless (c) Rolling (d) None is Correct
(8) What are the changes taking place in Bhutan [choose the correct option]
(a) Less youngsters adhere to the traditional once mandatory national dress (Goh and
Kira), (b) Many youngsters are moving abroad
(c) Only wooden houses are being built (d) Modernity is not welcomed in Bhutan

(9) What is the incorrect statement about Tshering Tobgay according to the passage:
(a) very dashing (b) U.S educated Prime Minister (c) drives hybrid cars
(d) does not take interest in the development of Bhutan
(10) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding: the Kyichu Lhakhang
(1) This is one of Bhutan’s oldest and simplest monasteries,
(2) believed to be constructed in 659 CE,
(3) constructed by Tibetan king Song Tsen Gampo
(4) has a link to the Jokhang temple in Lhasa.
( ) All the above are correct(b) Only 1 and 3 are correct
(c)Only 1 and 4 are correct (d) All are incorrect

2. Read the passage given below. (1x8=8m)

1.This passage is adapted from Rachel Ehrenberg, “Salt Stretches in Nanoworld.”

©2009 by Society for Science & the Public.

The “nanoworld” is the world observed on a scale one billionth that of ordinary human
experience. Inflexible old salt becomes a softy in the nanoworld, stretching like taffy to
more than twice its length, researchers report. The findings may lead to new approaches
for making nanowires that could end up in solar cells or electronic circuits. The work
also suggests that these ultra-tiny salt wires may already exist in sea spray and large
underground salt deposits. “We think nanowires are special and go to great lengths to
make them,” says study co-author Nathan Moore of Sandia National Laboratories in
Albuquerque. “Maybe they are more common than we think.” Metals such as gold or
lead, in which bonding angles are loosey-goosey, can stretch out at temperatures well
below their melting points. But scientists don’t expect this super-plasticity in a rigid,
crystalline material like salt, Moore says. This unusual behaviour highlights that
different forces rule the nanoworld, says theoretical physicist Krzysztof Kempa of
Boston College. “Forget about gravity. It plays no role,” he says. Surface tension and
electrostatic forces are much more important at this scale.

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2. Moore and his colleagues discovered salt’s stretchiness accidently. They were
investigating how water sticks to a surface such as salt and created a super-dry salt
sample for testing. After cleaving a chunk of salt about the size of a sugar cube with a
razor, the scientists guided a microscope that detects forces toward the surface. When
the tip was far away there was no measured force, but within about seven nanometers a
very strong attraction rapidly developed between the diamond tip of the microscope and
the salt. The salt actually stretched out to glom on to the microscope tip.
Using an electron microscope to see what was happening, the researchers observed the
nanowires. The initial attraction between the tip and salt might be due to electrostatic
forces, perhaps good old van der Waals interactions, the researchers speculate. Several
mechanisms might lead to the elasticity, including the excessive surface tension found in
the nanoworld (the same tension that allows a water strider to skim the surface of a
pond).

3.The surface tension is so strong that as the microscope pulls away from the salt, the
salt stretches, Kempa says. “The inside has no choice but to rearrange the atoms, rather
than break,” he says. This bizarre behavior is actually mirrored in the macroworld, the
researchers say. Huge underground deposits of salt can bend like plastic, but water is
believed to play a role at these scales. Perhaps salty nanowires are present in these
deposits as well. “Sodium chloride is everywhere—in the air, in our bodies,” Moore
says. “This may change our view of things, of what’s happening at the nanoscale.” The
work also suggests new techniques for making nanowires, which are often created
through nano-imprinting techniques, Kempa says. “We invoke the intuition of the
macroworld,” he says. “Maybe instead of stamping [nanowires] we should be nano
-pulling them.”

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1 One central idea of the passage is that:

(a) sometimes materials behave contrary to expectations.

(b) systems can be described in terms of inputs and outputs.
(c) models of materials have both strengths and weaknesses.
(d) properties of systems differ from the properties of their parts.

2 Which choice best describes the overall structure of the passage?

(a) A list of several ways in which salt’s properties differ from researchers’
expectations
(b) A presentation of a hypothesis regarding salt behaviour, description of an
associated experiment, and explanation of why the results weaken the hypothesis
(c) A description of two salt crystal experiments, the apparent disagreement in their
results, and the resolution by more sensitive equipment

(d) An introduction to an interesting salt property, description of its discovery, and

speculation regarding its application

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3. Rachel Ehrenberg’s findings in the laboratory may lead to new approaches for making
nanowires that ________________

(a) might be used in street lights (b) might be used in pinhole cameras
(c) might be used in electronic circuits (d) might be used in jewellery making

4. As mentioned, among the different forces ruling the nanoworld, which force does not
rule:

(a) elasticity (b) surface tension (c) electrostatic force (d) gravity

5. According to the passage, researchers have identified which mechanism as potentially

responsible for the initial attraction between the microscope tip and the salt?

(a) Gravity (b) Nanoimprinting (c) Surface tension (d) Van der Waals interactions

6. Based on the passage, which choice best describes the relationship between salt
behaviour in the nanoworld and in the macroworld?

(a) In both the nanoworld and the macroworld, salt can be flexible.
(b) Salt flexibility is expected in the nanoworld but is surprising in the macroworld.
(c) Salt nanowires were initially observed in the nanoworld and later observed in
the macroworld.
(d) In the nanoworld, salt’s interactions with water lead to very different properties
than they do in the macroworld.

7. Based on the passage and the graph, which label on the graph indicates the point at
which a salt nanowire breaks?

(a) P (b) Q (c) R (d) T

8. According to the information in the graph, when the microscope tip is moving away
from the salt surface and is 15 nanometers from the surface, what is the approximate
force on the microscope tip, in micronewtons?

a) 0 b) 0.25 c) 0.75 d) 1.25

3. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (8 marks)
1.The effects of plastic bags on the environment are really quite devastating. While there are
many objections to the banning of plastic bags based solely on their convenience, the damage
to the environment needs to be assessed too.

2.Lack of proper disposal method of plastic is the biggest issue so the best a citizen can do is
to reuse them. The biggest problem with this is that once they have been soiled, they end up in
the trash, which then ends up in the landfill or is burned. Either of these solutions is not good

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for the environment. Burning emits toxic gases that harm the atmosphere and increases the
level of VOCs in the air while landfills hold them indefinitely as a part of the plastic waste
problem throughout the globe.
3.One of the greatest problems is that an estimated 300 million plastic bags end up in the
Atlantic Ocean alone which is affecting the mammal variety. The environmental balance of the
waterways is being thrown off by the rate of plastic bags finding their way into the mouths and
intestinal tracts of sea mammals. As one species begins to die off at an abnormal rate, every
other living organism in the waterways is also impacted.

4.Throughout the world plastic bags are responsible for the suffocation deaths of woodland
animals as well as for inhibiting soil nutrients. It has been estimated that one bag has the

potential to unintentionally kill one animal every three months due to unintentional digestion
or inhalation.
5.While it’s a noble thought to place the plastic bags in the recycling bin every week, studies
have proven that there are very few recycling plants that recycle them because funding for the
upgrading of the recycling units just has not happened and thus less than 1% of all bags are
sent to recycling plants worldwide. Most municipalities either burn them or send them off to
the landfill after sorting. This is because it can be expensive to recycle this type of plastic. It
doesn’t melt down easily and is often not fit to be reused in its original form.
6.Paper bags are a possible option to replace the plastic bags, but the production of paper
products will also have a negative environmental effect. Reusable plastic bags are stronger and
more durable and can be used for three to five trips to the store. While so far, no bag is without
its issues, these are the bags that are currently recommended for use to help protect
environmental concerns.
i. Make notes from the contents of above paragraph in any format, using abbreviations. Supply
a suitable title also. 5 marks
ii. Make a summary of the passage. 3 marks
. GRAMMAR (7 Marks)
4.Attempt any Seven questions out of Eight questions given below:
i-In the question below, there is a sentence with jumbled up parts. Rearrange these parts,
which are labelled A, B, C and D to produce the correct sentence. Choose the proper
sequence.
One cannot recall any movement……
(a) which has gripped the imagination of the entire human race
(b) in world history (c) which started nearly twenty-five years ago
(d) so completely and so rapidly as the Green Movement
ii-Rearrange these parts, which are labelled a, b, c and d to produce the correct sentence.
Choose the proper sequence.
Hearing the door..…
(a) to the window (b) he ran in alarm (c) slam violently (d) to see if anybody just went out
iii. Rearrange the following jumbled words to form meaningful sentence.
to / the popularity / every corner / junk food / has led / of eating / joints / around / of / the /
opening

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iv. What time …….. you …….. (reach) home in the evening?

(a) do, reach (b) does, reach (c) did, reached (d) have, reached

v. He …….. (wait) for me since morning.

(a) has been waiting (b) have been waiting (c) had been waiting(d) is waiting

vi. Transform any two of the given sentences as directed by choosing the correct option:

I watched a football match today and it was exciting. (Transform into simple sentence)

(a) The football match was exciting, so I watched it.

(b) As the football match was exciting, so I watched it
(c) Since it was an exciting football match, I had to watch it.
(d) I watched an exciting football match today.

vii. We avoided that restaurant because of its bad reputation. (Transform into compound)

(a) Since that restaurant had a bad reputation, we avoided it.

(b) That restaurant had a bad reputation and we avoided it.

(c) We had to avoid that restaurant as it had a bad reputation.

(d) That restaurant had a bad reputation for which we had to avoid it.

viii. Many people want to travel the world. (Transform into negative.)

(a) Many people want to travel the world, isn't it?

(a) Many people do not want to travel the world.

(b) Don’t many people want to travel the world?
(c) There aren’t few people who want to travel the world.

5. Creative Writing Skills (16 Marks)

i. You are Vikram/ Sonia , an electronic engineer who has recently returned from the US and
looking for a suitable job in the IT industry. Draft a suitable advertisement in about 50 words
for the Situation Wanted column of a national newspaper. (3 m)
OR

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You are Vikram/ Sonia. You want to sell your car as you are planning to but a new one. Draft
a suitable advertisement to be published in the vehicles column of a newspaper. (3 m)

ii. You are a fitness trainer in a health club. Design a poster in not more than 50 words, to
emphasize the importance of exercise in maintaining mental and physical fitness. You are
Prem/Priya. (3m)
OR
You are Simar / Smriti of Lotus International School, Jodhpur. Your school is organizing a
workshop on “Prevention of Drug Abuse‟ in the coming week. Prepare a poster with
complete information for the students of class X-XII. (3 m)

iii. Write a speech on the topic “Student bullies should be expelled” in 125-150 words to be
delivered in the school morning assembly. You are Anika/ Vedant from Alps Sr. Secondary
School New Delhi. (5m)

OR

Write a speech on the topic “Reservation system creating more inequality” in 125-150 words
to be delivered in the school morning assembly. You are Priya/ Priyank from Indian Sr.
Secondary School New Delhi.

iv. ‘Our large population is not a cause of poverty but an asset, a resource.’ Write a debate in
125-150 words either for or against the motion. (5 m)
OR

‘Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is being used to create disaffection in society.’ Write
a debate in 125-150 words either for or against the motion.

LITERATURE SECTION: (31 MARKS )

5. Reference To Context
i. . Attempt any one extract out of two extracts from the Poetry : (1 x 3=3)

A. It is the engine of her family.

She stokes it full, then flirts out to a branch-end
Showing her barred face identity mask.
1-Who is the engine of her family?
a) Laburnum tree b) Chicks c)Goldfinch d)Autumn season
2-Choose the correct figure of speech in the phrase “barred face identity mask”
a) personification b) transferred epithet c) metaphor d) imagery
3-What does stoke mean here?

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a) fuel b) encourages c) feed d) strengthen

B. “I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust layers of the globe, And all that in them
without me were latent, unborn; And forever by day and night, I give back life to my own
origin, And make pure and beautify it.”

1. ‘And all….unborn’ brings out which of the following qualities of rain?

a) pride b) beauty c) permanence d) generative ability

2. The expression, “I give back life to my own origin’ means?

a) I am the source of all b) I keep regenerating myself

c) I return to elements d) I come back from death

3. ‘It’ in the last line refers to?

a) earth b) life of the rain c) the origin and the source of life d) greenery on earth

ii. Attempt any one extract out of two extracts from the prose (Hornbill) :((1x3=3)

A.
It was the monopoly of harlots and beggars and not meant for gentlefolk. She said nothing but
her silence meant disapproval. She rarely talked to me after that.
I. Who does it refer to?
a. Grandmother
b. Narrator
c. Harlots
d. Music

2.Choose the correct usage of word “Monopoly” as used in the above text.
a. The government is determined to protect its tobacco monopoly.
b. Monopoly is an interesting game.
c. A monopoly is a market structure where a single seller or producer assumes a dominant
position in an industry or a sector.
d. Communist parties held a monopoly of power in communist countries.

3.What disapproval is being talked in the above lines?

a. The Narrator should not go to the University.
b. The Narrator should not go to the city.
c. The Narrator taking music lessons.
d. The Narrator should not go abroad.

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B. More problems arose when our hand pumps started to block up with the debris floating
around the cabins and the electric pump short-circuited. The water level rose threateningly.

1.Assertion(A)- The narrator connected an electric-pump to an out-pipe, after the hand pumps
started to get blocked with the debris floating around the cabins.

Reason (R) - The narrator was unworried about the safety of the vessel amidst the gigantic
waves.

(a) A is true but R is false. (b) A is false but R is true.

(c) Both, A and R, are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

(Sample Paper/11)

(d) Both, A and R, are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.

2. Who was able to resolve the problem in the above lines?

a) Narrator b). Sue c). Larry d) Mary

3.The above action of Narrator shows

a. Courage and promptness b. intelligent and courageous

c. determination and courageousness d. alertness and bravery

6. Attempt any one extract out of two extracts from the prose (Snapshot) :((1x4=4)

ONE day back there in the good old days when I was nine and the world was full of every
imaginable kind of magnificence, and life was still a delightful and mysterious dream, my
cousin Mourad, who was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me, came to
my house at four in the morning and woke me up tapping on the window of my room.

Aram, he said.I jumped out of bed and looked out of the window. I couldn’t believe what I
saw.

1. The story begins in the mood of…….

a) Nostalgia b) Regretful narration c) Sense of loss d) Adventure
2. Pick out the word in the passage which means the same as magnolious
a) Mysterious b) Magnificence c) Delightful d) Crazy
3. Assertion(A)- Mourad was considered crazy by everybody who knew him except me.
Reason (R)– Aram was in awe of Mourad
a) Both A and R are true.
b) Assertion is true but Reason is false.
c) Assertion is false but Reason is true
d) Both Assertion and Reason are false.

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 4. Pick out the antonym of reticent
a) Mysterious b) Imaginable c) Tapping d) Dream

OR
‘I’ve come here specially on the train. I wanted to talk to you for a moment.’
‘It is not convenient for me now,’ said the woman. ‘I can’t see you. Another time.’
She nodded and cautiously closed the door as though no one inside the house should be
disturbed.

1. What character traits of the woman in the passage are exhibited?

a) Cold, selfish, rude, cautious
b) Charitable, forgiving, caring, unstinting
c) More traits of a and some traits of b
d) More traits of b and some traits of a
2. What was the purpose of the narrator’s visit?
a) To check on Mrs Dorling
b) To collect her mother’s belongings
c) To meet her mother’s friend after the demise of her mother
d) To let Mrs Dorling know that she was alive and back.
3. Pick out the word which means the same as expedient.
a) Convenient b)Specially c) Moment d) Nodded
4. Pick out the antonym of reckless
a) Disturbed b) Cautiously c) Though d) Convenient
7. Attempt any Two (one from Prose and one from Poetry from the book Hornbill) questions
out of Four, to be answered in 40-50 words (3X2=6m)
a) How does the author react to the idea of the grandmother being young at a point of time and
playing games?
b) Engine is the driving force for any machine to start. Why is the image of the engine evoked
by the poet?
c) Our only hope was to reach these pinpricks in this vast ocean. Elucidate.
d) How does the poet react to her past? Why has she not mentioned anything about her
mother’s death?
8. Attempt any One question out of Two, to be answered in 40-50 words: (3x1=3)
a) Why did the narrator return to Marconi Street after a long time?
b) ‘An Assyrian who, out of loneliness, had learned to speak Armenian.’ Who is being talked
about and what was his problem? How did Uncle Khosrove react to his complaints?

9. Attempt any One question out of Two, to be answered in 120-150 words: (5 m)

‘We’re Not Afraid to Die … If We Can All Be Together’ traces down the saga of hardship and
bravery as portrayed in this adventure story. Discuss it quoting examples from the story.
OR
Give a brief account of the sounds and movement of the Goldfinch on the Laburnum Top.

10. Attempt any One question out of Two, to be answered in 120 -150 words: (5m)
War usually makes people selfish and indifferent, which leads to depression and desolation.
Elucidate it with reference to the story “The Address.”

OR

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“The distribution of the various kinds of spirit of our tribe had been from the beginning
capricious and vagrant.” Elucidate the statement in reference to the characters in the story.

Shilpy Verma
Mob-9599100140
Ms Bela Bhan
HOD English
Mob-9971150631

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