I. Answer the following questions in about 120-150 words.

(5 marks)
1. Describe the changing relationship between the author and his grandmother. Did their feelings for each other
change? (The Portrait of a Lady)
Ans: In the early days, they both shared a good bond. She would get him ready for school, accompany him and would
come back with him later in the day. She would help him with his studies and would teach him prayers by singing in a
monotonous tone every morning. When they moved to the city, their relationship was strained. He started going to
an English medium school. She would no longer accompany him to the school or could not help him with the lessons.
She didn’t like his new school as they never taught him about God or scriptures. Later, when he started taking music
lessons, she disapproved of it as she thought that music was only for beggars or harlots. She stopped talking to him
afterwards and would spend her day alone while chanting prayers. When the author went to university and then
abroad, their bond weakened. She would spin the wheel the whole day and chant her prayers. She accepted the
seclusion. No, their feelings for each other didn’t change but during the time, a distance developed between them.
2. Describe the shifts in the narration of the events as indicated in the three sections of the text. Give a subtitle to
each section. (We’re Not Afraid to Die…..)

Ans: The first section: Beginning of the Round - the – Voyage. The first section was cheerful and full of hope as the
family began their planned voyage just like the one done 200 years ago by the famous Captain James Cook. They had
perfected their seafaring skills for 16 years. They built a ship ‘Wavewalker’ professionally which was a 23 meters
long, 30 tons wooden-hulled ship. They celebrated Christmas on the ship despite the bad weather.
The Second Section: the struggle with the big attack. This section changed from cheerful to intense. The family was
under great pressure to survive the oncoming waves and bad weather conditions. A giant wave created chaos and
the ship was about to overturn. The narrator was thrown off into the water and he almost drowned and got injured.
Along with two hired crewmen, the narrator pumped out the water from the ship for a continuous 36 hours. He also
tried repairing the parts of the ship. He almost lost his hope and believed they would die. But his children were
fearless and courageous enough which gave him the determination to fight back.
The third section: Victory. With the support of his children, the narrator kept trying to save the ship in order to reach
the two small islands, lle Amsterdam. They finally reached the destination and got help from the inhabitants of the
island. His son called him the best daddy and best captain.

3. Traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected. Knowledge about the past is useful to complete
our knowledge of the world we live in. (Discovering Tut)

Ans: For:
Every religion has its own tradition, rituals and funerary practices which must be respected. It should not be
disturbed as Carter did with King Tut’s tomb.
Against:
There are many speculations made for ancient history, traditions, rituals and funerary practices which should be
cleared in order to know the truth. The people living in modern time should follow anything which can danger their
lives or make the conflict between communities.
Ans: For:
Knowledge of past events and important personalities help us understand where our roots are from. It helps us to
know how our modern world was formed gradually. From past experiences and lessons, we learn not to commit the
same mistake or we are gradually more alert. Knowing about King Tut’s life and getting answers to the questions
helped us understand Pharaoh Dynasty and the Egypt Empire.
Against:
Always digging the past doesn’t help as it only wastes the time and resources. No one can change the past and we
cannot change what already has happened. So, we should focus on what present and future will bring for us and we
must work to make our tomorrow better. Ranting about what happened yesterday cannot help us.

4. Explain the concept of ‘Shanshui’. (Landscape of the Soul)

Ans: The Chinese concept of art is also expressed as ‘Shanshui’ which also means mountain water. It is used together
to represent the word ‘landscape’. The two complementary poles of an image reflect the Daoist view. The mountain
in the landscape is Yang which means to reach vertically towards heaven, stable, warm and dry in the sun, whereas
the water is the Yin, which is receptive and feminine aspect of universal energy. The Yang is active and masculine,
and the opposite of Yin. There is a third essential element which is a Middle Void which is the place where they
interact. This middle void can be compared to Pranayama which means to breathe in, retain and breathe out. Here,
the suspension of the breath is the void in this meditation process. It is an essential part as nothing can happen
without it. Hence the white unpainted space in Chinese landscape is equally important. This is also where Man finds
a fundamental role. In that space between Heaven and Earth, he becomes the conduit of communication between
both poles of the Universe. His presence is essential, even if it’s only suggested; far from being lost or oppressed by
the lofty peaks, he is, in Francois Cheng’s wonderful expression, “the eye of the landscape”.

5. Discuss - “Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and
an ailing environment?” (The Ailing Planet)
Ans: The above lines were mentioned in the first report of the Brandt Commission. With the rising scale of distortion
of the environment, humans are going to leave a burned planet with aided deserts, poor landscapes and a poor
environment for our future generations. Our earth is like a patient with declining health and it is not a good sign.
Deforestation and over populations are some of the reasons behind the deterioration of the earth. We must realize
our ‘Era of Responsibility’ before it's too late. We must conserve the earth as if we have borrowed it from our future
generations. From many decades, humans are using the resources of the earth at a very alarming rate without
worrying about future generations. Now the environment has become critical enough that humans must realize the
era of responsibility towards it. With quite some time, human perception is changing and the earth is seen as a
‘holistic and ecological view’. Earth is seen as a living organism which has its own metabolic and vital needs. We must
protect the resources for future generations. Use of ‘Sustainable Development’ means meeting the needs of the
present generation without compromising with future generations. Thus, the earth’s resources should be utilized in a
way that doesn’t affect the future.

6. Discuss how an effective teacher-student relationship should be in a school. (The Browning Version)
Ans: Students often discuss teachers among their friends. They sometimes make fun of them behind their back or
give them a name like Taplow did in the play – Crock. This is not the right thing to do as a student must understand
that a teacher will never do anything to hurt them. They want to see them successful and sometimes being strict is
what they have to do at that moment. One must respectfully address any teacher in front of other teachers.
Whatever you think about them, never disrespect them. Students tend to get very frank in front of their teachers
and starts saying things they should not have. It can backfire.

7. Reality is what is directly experienced through the senses. (The Adventure)

Ans: For: As Gangadharpant experienced a different reality in the different world for two days, he even brought back
a torn-off page of Bakhar book. He was experiencing different realities one at a time. It happened due to the lack of
determinism in quantum theory and catastrophic theory. We sense our reality with our taste buds, hearing, seeing,
smelling and a sense of touch. Against: Reality is not entitled to the senses. Electrons can move to any direction at
any point in time. They don’t have a definite path to travel. When we can predict the direction of the fired bullet, we
cannot predict the same thing about electrons.

8. The author’s experience at Hor was in stark contrast to earlier accounts of the place. Explain. (Silk Road)
Ans: Hor was an ugly and miserable place which had no vegetation and just dust and rocks. It was scattered with
gathered refuse and it is luckless that it was on the shore of Lake Mansarovar which is Tibet’s most respected water.
Ekai Kawaguchi was a Japanese monk who arrived in the town in 1900’s was so moved with the purity of the lake
that he cried. After a few years, similar effect was on Sven Hedin a Swedish who didn’t have such an emotional
outburst. The protagonist’s car suffered from two punctures in that place. When he reached that place’s only café to
have some tea, the place was filled with badly painted concrete and three broken windows.

9. "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..."The story begins in a mood of nostalgia. Can
you narrate some incident from your childhood that might make an interesting story? (The Summer of the
Beautiful White Horse)

Ans: By reading those lines, no one can stop themselves from travelling back to the memory lane. I remember when I
was twelve years old. I used to visit my grandparent’s home which was located at a hill station. I would spend my
entire summer vacation with them. We would go to the market to eat delicious snacks, would go shopping and
watch TV together. I remember once going to a summer camp for a month. They would drop me off to the place and
would come to pick me up after the classes got over. Sometimes, my grandmother would bring a packed lunch for
me. I would eat it as fast as we would go shopping after that. I always got sad whenever I had to go back to my home
to go back to school.

10. ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment. (The Address)
Ans: The war always brings a lot of suffering to human beings. It brings them both destruction and death. ‘The
Address’ is based on the same theme. During the war, all the belongings were taken by Mrs. Dorling who promised
to keep them safe. The mother of the protagonist died and all the possessions were left with the acquaintance. Years
later the girl decided to visit the house whose address was given by her mother years ago. The woman showed no
sympathy to her and took the time to even recognize her. She thought everyone in her family had died. The girl
wanted to take back her belongings. She didn’t allow the girl to enter the house. She seemed like a woman who
didn’t have any human emotions. So, the war leaves the world desolated and it cannot be healed.

11. Comment on the influence of English — the language and the way of life — on Indian life as reflected in the
story. What is the narrator’s attitude to English? (Ranga’s Marriage)
Ans: The story talks about the influence English language had decades ago in his village. Not many people in the
village at that time could understand or talk in English. Only a few courageous people would send their children to
study in cities like the village accountant sent Ranga to Bangalore. When Ranga came back to the village, everyone
was keen on seeing how their culture had transformed him. As far as cultural influence is concerned, the story
mentions how Ranga wanted to marry a girl who was mature, someone who understands him and is compatible with
him. This is completely in opposition to the arranged marriages that were widely prevalent in those times. The
narrator finds it disgraceful when people mix Kannada language with English. He recounts how one day a lady
delivered firewood to Rama Rao’s place and he told her to come the next morning because he had no “change”. The
lady did not know what “change” meant and left while muttering to herself. The narrator confesses that he too did
not know what it meant until he asked Rama Rao.

12. What do you understand about Einstein’s nature from his conversations with his history teacher, his
mathematics teacher and the head teacher? (Albert Einstein at School)
Ans: Albert was a boy who believed in standing up for his beliefs. It is evident from the way he portrayed his views in
front of his history teacher. He is someone who puts his energy in understanding logic rather than facts. His
conversations with his Mathematics teacher tell us how passionate he is about the subject. The teacher’s remark that
soon Albert will be ready to teach him shows that Albert is hard-working. He is on very good terms with his
mathematics teacher and that is why the teacher gave him a referral. This tells us that Albert had potential. He was
just different from other students of his age. The head teacher and Einstein never agreed on one thing except when
the teacher felt Albert is better-off without school and vice-versa. Even though Albert felt a bit insulted upon being
shown the door, he resisted his desire to say anything bad or slam the door behind him. This shows that he
respected his elders and was polite. He was not a rude boy.

13. This play, written in the 1950s, is a humorous and satirical depiction of the status of the mother in the family.
What are the issues it raises? (Mother’s Day)
A. The play has thrown light upon crucial and common life issues. The first and foremost concern is the plight of
housewives in a household. The husband or the children, all 8-hour shifts a day people overlook the housewife’s 24
hour efforts to make their life comfortable. A housewife constantly does work she is never appreciated and
accounted for. The other subject being talked about in the lesson is the reason why a housewife’s efforts are
overlooked. It is because they never boast about what they do and don’t ask for anything in return. They don’t even
speak up for the respect they deserve just because they do not want to make their families realize they are
insensitive. One more issue that has been highlighted by somehow lost its essence is that, mothers and wives shower
love unconditionally and unapologetically. The flow of their love is one-way. They never ask for anything in return
even if it’s the simple things they want like their family to spend time with them. The lesson talks about how precious
mothers and housewives are and how they deserve a lot more than that is given.