PM SHRI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA, NAD SUNABEDA

Monthly Test - April

English Core (301)
Session: 2024-25
Class- XII,

Time allowed: 90 Minutes Maximum Marks: 40

General Instructions-
The Question Paper contains THREE Sections-Reading, Writing and Literature.
Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[14 Marks]
Section A - Reading
1. Read the following passage.
Marie was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father was a Professor of
Physics. At an early age, she displayed a brilliant mind and a blithe personality.
Her great exuberance for learning prompted her to continue with her studies
after high school. She became disgruntled, however, when she learned that the
university in Warsaw was closed for women. Determined to receive a higher
education, she defiantly left Poland and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a
French University where she earned her master’s degree and decorate in
Physics.

Marie was fortunate to have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest
scientists of her time. One of them was Pierre to whom she was married in
1895 and spent many productive years working together in the physics
laboratory. A short time after they discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a
horse-drawn wagon in 1906. Marie was stunned by this horrible misfortune
and endured the heart- breaking anguish. Despondently, she recalled their close
relationship and the joy that they had shared in the scientific research. The fact,
that she had two young daughters to raise by herself, greatly increased her
distress.

Curie’s feeling of desolation finally began to fade when she was asked to
succeed her husband as a physics professor at the Sorbonne. She was the first
woman to be given a professorship at the world- famous university. In 1911, she
received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolation of radium. Although Marie
Curie eventually suffered a fatal illness from her long exposure to radium, she
never became disillusioned about her work. Regardless of the consequences,
she had dedicated herself to science and to revealing the mysteries of the
physical world.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions

from the given nine. [8x1=8]
 I. According to the passage why did Marie’s distress increase?
II. Which word can replace ‘disillusioned’ in the given sentence?
“Although Marie Curie eventually suffered a fatal illness, she never
became disillusioned about her work.”
III. Which word can be used as opposite in meaning to ‘Contact/Accessibility’?
IV. What was so special about Marie according to the passage?
V. She had studied and succeeded her husband at:
VI. She was awarded the Nobel Prize .
VII. The misfortune of losing her husband had endowed responsibility with:
VIII. What can best describe Marie Curie’s personality?
IX. Marie Curie's doctorate was in which academic discipline?

2. Read the following passage.

The chart below gives information about the amount of carbon emissions in
different countries during three different years.

1975
1990
800,000
2005
600,000
400,000
200,000

The bar chart compares the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere of six
countries, including two of them coming from emerging nations, for three decades
starting from 1975 until 2005.
As an overall assessment, it can clearly be seen that only Germany and United Kingdom
managed to reduce the carbon emissions compared to the other countries.
USA, being the number one polluter of all, emitted 1,200,000 thousand metric tonnes in
1975 and this count increased to 1,300,000 and 1,600,000 thousand metric tonnes in
1990 and 2005 respectively. In contrast, the carbon emissions of China was nearly
300,000 thousand metric tonnes in 1975 and it rose by nearly 100% in 1990 and surged
dramatically to just below 1,600,000 thousand metric tonnes in 2005. In terms of the
percentage increase, China was the largest contributor in carbon emissions of all.
The figures for Germany and the United Kingdom remained relatively stable throughout the
period of time, and so were for Canada until 1990. The carbon dioxide emissions in India
increased exponentially from around 100,000 in 1975 to just below 400,000 thousand
metric tonnes in 2005.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the
seven questions given below. (1 × 6 =6)

I. In terms of the percentage increase, which country was the largest contributor in
carbon emissions of all in year 2005?
II. Which country is the most polluted country?
III. What do you think can be the reason for surging of CO2 emission in million tonnes?
IV. Which country has the lowest emission of CO2 in the graph?
V. Which country has observed a dramatic rise over its years in CO2 emission?
VI. What is the highest quantity unit of global emission of CO2 by different countries?
VII. What can be inferred after studying the given graph?
________________________________________________________________________________________

Section B - Writing Skill [8 marks]

3. Your School is planning to organize a Water Conservation Awareness Programme

for the students. As the school captain of SLV Public School, Lukhnow, draft a
notice in about 50 words informing the students about the programme
mentioning day, times and venue. You are Sanjeev/Soma. [4]
4. Attempt ANY ONE from (A) and (B) given below.
(A) You are a student of Chandrayan Public School, Mirzapur. The school is holding
its Annual Function on 8th May, 2024. The Education Minister of State Mr.
Chetak Singh has consented to be the Chief Guest. Design an invitation card to be
sent to parents and other invitees. Mention necessary details of date, time and
venue. Do not exceed 50 words (4)
OR
(B) On 30th November your school is going to hold its annual sports day. You want
Mr. Dhanraj Pillai, a noted hockey player, to give away the prizes to the budding
sportspersons of the school. Write a formal invitation in about 50 words
requesting him to grace the occasion. You are Karuna/ Karan, Sports Secretary,
Sunrise Global School, Agra. (4)

Section C - Literature [18 marks]

5. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each.
(2 × 5 = 10)
I. “You realise the true value of a thing only on losing it.” Comment on this statement in
the light of the story, The Last Lesson.
 II. State the common issue faced by most of the aged in the current times, with reference
to the poem My Mother at Sixty-six.
III. “And
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s
security check, standing a few yards
away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache… ”

A) What is the most likely reason the poet capitalised ‘Young Trees’? This was to-
a) convey a clearer meaning.
b) highlight the adj.-noun combination.
c) enhance the contrast.
d) draw a connection with the title.

B) Choose the option that completes the sentence given below.

Just as the brightness of the winter’s moon is veiled behind the haze and mist,
similarly, ____________________________________________.
a) the pain of separation has shaded mother’s expression.
b) age has fogged mother’s youthful appearance.
c) growing up has developed a seasoned maturity in the poet.
d) memories warm the heart like the pale moon in winter.

IV. Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday
clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in
the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone
to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of
faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no
more.

A) Choose the option that might raise a question about M. Hamel’s “faithful
service.
a) When Franz came late, M. Hamel told him that he was about to begin class
without him.
b) Franz mentioned how cranky M. Hamel was and his “great ruler rapping on
the table”.
c) M. Hamel often sent students to water his flowers, and gave a holiday when he
wanted to go fishing.
d) M. Hamel permitted villagers put their children “to work on a farm or at the
mills’ for extra money.

B) Why does the narrator refer to M. Hamel as ‘Poor man!’?

a) He empathizes with M. Hamel as he had to leave the village.
b) He believes that M. Hamel’s “fine Sunday clothes” clearly reflected that he
was not rich.
c) He feels sorry for M. Hamel as it was his last French lesson.
 d) He thinks that M. Hamel’s patriotism and sense of duty resulted in his
poverty.
V. Have you ever been there? It’s a wonderful town still, with big old frame houses,
huge lawns, and tremendous trees whose branches meet overhead and roof the
streets. And in 1894, summer evenings were twice as long, and people sat out on
their lawns, the men smoking cigars and talking quietly, the women waving
palm-leaf fans, with the fire-flies all around, in a peaceful world. To be back there
with the First World War still twenty years off, and World War II over forty years
in the future... I wanted two tickets for that.

A) Who does ‘you’ refer to?

a) Charley’s psychiatrist, Sam Weiner
b) Charley’s wife, Louisa
c) The reader
d) Nobody in particular, it is a figure of speech.

A) Which of the following is a conclusion that can be drawn from the story?
a) Reality is indeed stranger than fiction.
b) With all its worries, modern life is not worth living.
c) The past is undoubtedly better than the present.
d) Imagination might be the only great escape.

VI) What is ‘First-day-cover’ in the story The Third Level?

6. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each. (4 × 2 =8)
I. Analyse the message of "The Last Lesson" in the context of the importance of cultural
heritage and the preservation of language. How does the story encourage readers to
reflect on the value of their own cultural backgrounds and the impact of language on
personal and collective identities?
II. Trace the chain of thought that occurred in the mind of the poet as she travelled from
her home to the airport and analyze why My Mother at Sixty-six is a confessional
poem.
III. What does the third level refer to? Elucidate.