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Karnataka 2nd PUC English Previous Year Question Paper June 2018

Time: 3 Hrs. 15 Min.
Maximum Marks: 100

Instructions

  • Follow the prescribed limit while answering the questions.
  • Write the correct question number as it appears on the question paper.
  • One mark questions attempted more than once will be awarded zero.
  • Answers to question numbers 24 (a – j)and 25 (i – iii) should be in sequence and at one place.
  • For multiple-choice questions choose the correct answer and rewrite it.

I. Answer the following in a word, a phrase or a sentence each. (12 × 1 = 12)

Question 1.
Whom does the phrase ‘true beauty’ refer to in ‘Romeo and Juliet’?
Answer:
Juliet’s beauty

Question 2.
Name any one of the commodities taxed in Monaco in ‘Too Dear’.
Answer:
The commodities taxed in Monaco were tobacco, wine and spirit. The people also paid a poll tax.

Question 3.
Who is referred to as archer in the poem ‘On Children’?
Answer:
To God

Question 4.
Why did Vandana Shiva start the Navdanya Movement?
Answer:
Vandana Shiva started the ‘Navdanya’ movement for biodiversity conservation and organic farming in 1987.

Question 5.
Dona Laura was called as in the locality in ‘A Sunny Morning’.
(a) Golden girl
(b) Dreamgirl
(c) Silver maiden.
Answer:
(c) Silver maiden.

Question 6.
What was the old man well versed in ‘The Gardener’?
Answer:
Agriculture

Question 7.
Name any one of the things which teaches the foot that it cannot fly.
Answer:
As the child’s foot grows in time and starts walking on stones and bits of glass, streets, ladders, etc., it learns that it cannot fly.

Question 8.
According to Borges, which is the most astounding invention of man?
Answer:
‘Book’ is undoubtedly the most astounding invention of man.

Question 9.
Where does the poet create heaven in the poem ‘Heaven, If You Are Not Here On Earth’?
Answer:
On this earth itself.

Question 10.
How are the pavements decorated in the streets of Copacabana in Brazil?
Answer:
The grey pavements in Brazil are often decorated with beautiful black mosaics, a unique type of decoration. From this we can infer that these people are alive to beauty in their surroundings. Secondly, they walk very slowly and meditatively and have a lot of time for contemplation.

Question 11.
Where did Marcus Ibe build his big mansion in ‘The Voter’?
Answer:
‘Umuofia Mansions’ is the name of the biggest house in Umuofia, built by Marcus Ibe.

Question 12.
Which is the vehicle that is referred to as ‘humble vehicle’ in ‘Where There is A Wheel’?
Answer:
The writer calls the bicycle a humble vehicle.

II. Answer any eight of the following (choosing at least two from poetry) in a paragraph of 80 – 100 words each. (8 × 4 = 32)

Question 13.
How does Juliet express her feelings about Romeo?
Answer:
In her invocation speech to ‘Night’, fuiiet invokes night and along with ‘night’ her Romeo also. To her, Romeo is the ‘day’ at night. It also implies that Romeo is her life and so when the night falls, she imagines that he will come gliding upon the wings of night. In these lines ‘night’ Is personified as a raven and Romeo is likened to ‘new snow’ on a raven’s back. Juliet favours the arrival of the night because it is in the night that Romeo has promised to come. That is why Juliet praises night calling it ‘gentle night’ and ‘loving black-browed night’.

Love belongs to Juliet now that she is married, but she does not own it, and she can’t own love until Romeo possesses her. Once she gets her Romeo she does not fear death. Like all mortals, if she dies, Juliet begs fate to set him in heaven with the stars. His presence will make the face of heaven so beautiful that the world will fall in love with ‘night and the sun will no longer be worshipped. It also implies that their love will end in their tragic death because of the enmity that exists between the two families. Consequently, the world will come to know about the tragic death of the two lovers and thus Romeo will be immortalized.

Question 14.
Why did the authorities fail to carry out the death sentence given to the criminal in ‘Too Dear’?
Answer:
The authorities in Monaco failed to carry out the death sentence because there was neither a guillotine for cutting heads off, nor an executioner. Though they tried to borrow a machine and an expert from their neighbouring countries France and Italy, they realized that it would cost the kingdom a huge sum of money and the king would be forced to collect nearly two francs more per head on the taxes. Even if they were to get the machine, none of the soldiers in the army was ready to cut off the criminal’s head because they had not been taught how to behead a criminal. Therefore, the authorities
gave up the idea of carrying out the death sentence.

Question 15.
‘Write a note on the activities of Navadanya farm.
Answer:
Vandana Shiva describes ‘Navdanya’ as a movement for biodiversity conservation and organic farming which she started in 1987. Later, when she realized that they needed a farm for demonstration and training, she set up the Navdanya Farm in 1994 in the Doon Valley in the lower elevation Himalayan region of Uttarakhand province. She states that they have conserved and grown 630 varieties of rice, 150 varieties of wheat and hundreds of other species. She also says that they have set up more than 100 community seed banks across India. She also claims to help farmers make a transition from fossil-fuel and chemical-based monocultures to bio-diverse ecological systems nourished by the sun and the soil.

Question 16.
How does the poet express love towards his beloved in the poem ‘When You Are Old’?
Answer:
She would then be an old woman with grey hair and sleepy eyes. When she is in such a state, he wants her to read a book of memories from her youth. As the woman sits beside the fire, nodding her head and leaves through her memories, she would recollect the ‘soft looks’ she once had and the sorrows she had suffered until then. When she recalls her faded beauty she would also recall how she was admired by many suitors who were infatuated with her physical charms. At the same time, she would also recall how there was one man who loved her unique soul which was in search of true love. She would also realize that her true love has lingered on for a while, disappeared from the earth and hid amidst a crowd of stars in heaven.

Question 17.
How did the owner’s life change after the arrival of the old man in ‘The Gardener’?
Answer:
The owner had been working hard to improve his plantation, but there were many problems which he had not been able to solve. However, when the old man met him, he came to know that the old man was well-versed in agriculture and had native intelligence. Therefore he appointed him immediately. His expectations proved right. The old man proved his worth in solving all the problems.

Consequently, the income from the garden improved dramatically. This caused a perceptible change in the lifestyle of the owner. He expanded his plantation. However, he became lethargic and shied away from hard work. His wealth and social prestige also increased. He acquired a number of friends in the next town as well as in his own village. Even though he had precious little to do, his life became crowded with colourful events. He cultivated umpteen vices including adultery.

Question 18.
What are the views of Borges on books?
Answer:
According to Borges, a book is only an extension of our imagination and memory. We get access to literâture through books. Literature is a dream, a controlled dream. Borges believes that we owe literature almost everything we are, what we have been and what we will be. Our past is nothing but a sequence of dreams. He believes that there is no difference between dreaming and remembering the past. Books are undoubtedly the most astounding invention of man. It is books that serve as the repositories of great memories of all centuries and nothing else can replace books. Therefore, if books disappear, surely history would disappear and along with history man would also disappear. He says that books always retain something sacred, mortal and magical which brings happiness. Therefore, literature is very important for preserving the future of mankind.

Question 19.
Write a note on traffic in Brazil.
Answer:
George Mikes makes humorous comments on the ‘traffic’ in Copacabana and Avenida Presidente Vargas in particular and Brazil in general. He opines that Brazilians are easy-going and leisurely characters. But the very same people, the moment they get a steering wheel in their hands, no speed is fast for them. They drive with such speed that one would be inclined to believe that gaining a tenth of a second is a matter of grave importance for all of them, all the time. The writer talks about the increasing number of vehicles in Brazil and says that the increase in the number of vehicles is making the pedestrian’s life more hazardous every day. He then narrates an interesting anecdote to give a clear idea of the number of vehicles moving on the road at any given time in Avenida Presidente Vargas.

He asks the reader to imagine that he is standing on one side of the road trying to cross the road. He will spend hours on end contemplating a fascinating problem: How can crawling traffic proceed at such a terrifying speed? He strengthens the same idea by another example. He asks the reader to imagine that a man on his side of the road suddenly catches sight of a friend of his on the other side of the road and starts waving to him. Then he shouts at him asking “How on earth did you get over there?” The other person will yell back at him, “How? I was born on this side!” The author leaves it to the readers to draw their own inferences.

Question 20.
The roof was a very popular man in his village. Give reasons.
Answer:
Rufus Okeke, called Roof for short, was a very popular man in his village. This popularity was due to the fact that even after spending two years as a bicycle apprentice in Port Harcourt, Roof had come back to Umuofia of his own free will with the intention of guiding his people in difficult times. If he had stayed on in his job he would have enjoyed a rich life. By this gesture, he wins the gratitude and admiration of his people.

Question 21.
How did Sheela Rani Chunkath, the District Collector, promote the empowerment of women in ‘Where There Is A Wheel’?
Answer:
literacy drive, she wanted to train female literacy activists so that literacy would reach women in the interior. She had realized that the lack of mobility among women played a big role in undermining their confidence. Therefore, she included ‘mobility as a part of the literacy drive. Naturally, literacy activists learned cycling first. This inspired the neo-literates also to learn cycling. This, in turn, inspired every woman in the village to learn cycling. The literates, having become neo-cyclists, encouraged every woman in the district to learn cycling, by organizing ‘cycle training camps’. Thus, Sheela Rani Chunkath became instrumental in ‘cycling’ becoming a social movement in Pudukkottai district. This way Sheela Rani Chunkath should be commended for promoting ‘freedom’ of women by including ‘cycling’ in her literacy project.

Question 22.
Discuss the problems faced by Wada people while collecting water.
Answer:
In the poem ‘Water’, the speaker recalls the ‘role’ played by water as an agent of social change. Incidentally, she uses the context of the poem to highlight the travails and tribulations suffered by the people in wadas, with particular reference to the practice of untouchability in Andhra Pradesh in the pre- and post-independence periods. It Is an age-old practice that the Dalits or the untouchables live In separate colonies situated farther away from other communities and are called ‘wadas’. Whenever the Dalits needed water they used to wait near the pond or tank until a shudra came there and gave them some water. This caused a great deal of humiliation, pain, suffering and anguish to the Dalits.

The speaker describes how an upper caste person poured water from a distance at a higher level into the pot of a wada girl at a lower level and how some water would fall on her body making her feel humiliated. The writer also narrates a heinous incident that happened in Madigapalle in Karamchedu. it so happened that a Dalit boy tried to prevent two upper castes (Kamma) youths from washing their dirty buckets in their drinking water pond. The two upper caste youths tried to attack the boy but a Dalit woman by name Suvartamma came to the boy’s defence lifting her vessel to ward off their attack.

Enraged by this protest by a Dalit woman, the Kamma landlords attacked the Dalit colony. The speaker recalls how her wada people would thirst all day for a glass of water and narrates how people in wadas eagerly look forward to their weekly bathing day as If it was a wondrous festival while the people in the entire village bathed luxuriously twice a day. She also recalls painfully, how in her childhood she used to walk miles and miles to collect water from the big canal and carry back home heavy pots balanced on her head, with the muscles and veins on her necks straining and bursting.
Finally, the speaker mentions how several thatched huts in Malapalle (a Dalit colony) were reduced to ashes for want of a pot of water to douse the fire.

III. Answer the following questions in about 200 words. (1 × 6 = 6)

Question 23.
(a) How does the poet describe the responsibility of parents in the poem ‘On Children’?
OR
(b) Bring out the changes in Gonzalo’s attitude before and after occupying the bench in the park.
OR
(c) In what different ways does the bicycle help rural women in ‘Where There Is A Wheel’?
Answer:
(a) Kahlil Gibran tells the parents that they are not the owners of their children. He argues that children have come to this earth as Life’s longing for itself and are born as sons and daughters and they are not created by parents. Hence, parents cannot possess their Parents should consider themselves as ‘stewards’ and their role is only stewardship. Gibran wants parents not to look upon their children as their puppets and so not to impose their religion, politics and ideas on the innocent children. Parents may give their own love but not their thoughts, because the children have their own souls. They have the free will to do as they please and have a mind of their own. They are free to think for themselves.

Parents merely act as ‘guiding lights’ for their children. They have the will to act as who they are and lead their own life and not how their parents want them to. The children have their own future, parents belong tà the yesterdays, but children belonging to the tomorrows. We should only give as much love as we can and should let them grow according to their own potential. We may strive to be like them but we should never trust our past on them. We should resist the temptation of making our child a carbon copy of ourselves.
OR
(b) As soon as Don Gonzalo enters the park along with Juanito, he discovers that his usual seat has been occupied by three priests. He is annoyed and comments rudely saying that the priests were idling their time away when they should be saying mass in the church. Then, when Juanito suggests that he should sit on the bench where Dona Laura was sitting, Don Gonzalo tells Juanito that he wants a bench to himself. Then Juanito informs him that there is no other bench vacant. Don Gonzalo points at the bench that he usually sat on.

When Juanito tells him that there are three priests sitting on that bench, Don asks him to send them away. Later, he comments bitterly saying that the priests were sitting there as if they were glued to the seat. Then he and his servant walk towards the place where the birds are feeding on the bread crumbs.

When Dona Laura angrily asks him to look out, Don asks Laura whether she was speaking to him. Then, when she complains that he had scared the birds away, he answers rudely that he does not care about the birds. But she tells him that she cared for the birds and indirectly tries to make him feel guilty. But he tells her rudely that it is a public park suggesting that she was not right in complaining about him about birds being scared away in a public park. Dona tries to counter him asking why he had complained that the priests had taken his seat.

Feeling discomfited, Don Gonzalo tries to snub her telling her that she was a stranger and was not right in taking the liberty to address him. A little later, Don Gonzalo sits at the extreme end of her bench and prepares himself to read a book by wearing glasses and adjusting his lenses. Dona sympathises with him for having to read with all those glasses.
OR
(c) The idea of empowering women giving them ‘mobility’ came from Sheela Rani Chunkath, the District Collector of Pudukkottai in 1991. She included ‘mobility’ as a part of the literacy drive so as to facilitate female literacy activists to reach rural women in the interior. Once the literacy activists learned cycling, they taught the neo-literates cycling. Once the neo-literates learned cycling, every other woman in the district volunteered to learn cycling. Later, the Arivoli activists organized a ‘Cycling Training Camp’ and created Master trainers’ who in turn conducted several cycling training camps. This way, in a short period of time, over 100,000 rural women in Pudukkottai district learned cycling. The author opines that ‘cycling’ gave these women freedom, mobility and independence.

Consequently, these women stopped depending on the menfolk to transport their agricultural produce to bus stops. They themselves carried the product and sold them in the neighbouring villages and this way covered a larger area. Secondly, they also took care of the young ones at home and completed household chores in time as a result of the proper utilization of time. They could also fetch water from far off places and cart provisions on their bicycle. Thus, ‘cycling’ empowered rural women in many ways. Furthermore, the ability to carry on all the duties and responsibilities on their own gave the
women a sense of achievement and self-respect. Thus, the author who witnessed this silent revolution concludes that the humble vehicle the bicycle has become a metaphor for freedom, in Pudukkottai.

IV. Read the following passage and answer the questions set on it. (10 × 1 = 10)

Catch the rain where it falls was the point behind the construction of several thousand tanks in Karnataka by our forefathers. They have been the lifeline of people and were protected as the main source of water supply for drinking and irrigation. These water bodies have served as habitats for plants, frogs, fish etc. Some of them also support thousands of birds in certain seasons of the year including migratory ones from distant lands.

Things have changed over the years. Tanks have been used for dumping garbage, waste construction materials etc. They are also trained to convert the land into housing sites, bus stands and stadiums. The Sampangi tank in Bangalore has been drained to make Kanteerava Stadium. The famous Dharmambudhi tank has been drained to make Majestic bus stand. A recent study shows that 40% of water bodies are polluted due to the inlet of sewage.

The same has been the case with several of the twenty thousand or more tanks in the other parts of the state. It is time we reverse this trend and make efforts to conserve this life-saving resource.

Question 24
Answer the following in a word, a phrase or a sentence each:
(a) What was the point behind the construction of tanks in Karnataka?
(b) Who constructed several tanks?
(c) Why were the tanks protected?
(d) For whom have these water bodies served as habitats?
(e) What do tanks also support?
(f) Tanks support birds including ______ (migration/migratory) ones from distant lands.
(g) What have the tanks been used for?
(h) Why are tanks drained?
(i) Give an example of a tank that has been drained.
(j) Write the antonym of the word ‘inlet’.
Answer:
(a) Catch the rain where it falls was the point behind the construction of tanks in Karnataka.
(b) Our forefathers constructed several tanks.
(c) The tanks were protected as the main source of water supply for drinking and irrigation.
(d) These water bodies have served as habitats for plants, frogs, fish etc.
(e) Thousands of birds in certain seasons of the year.
(f) Migratory.
(g) The tanks have been used for dumping garbage, waste construction materials etc.
(h) Tanks are drained to convert the land into housing sites, bus stands and stadiums.
(i) Sampangi tank in Bangalore has been drained to make Kanteerava stadium.
(j) Outlet.

Question 25.
Read the following lines and answer the questions set on it. (3 × 1 = 3)
Child,
Child, how happy you are sitting in the dust, playing with a broken twig all morning!
I smile at your play with that little bit of a broken twig.
(a) Where is the child sitting?
(b) What is the child playing with?
(c) Whom does the word T refer to?
Answer:
(a) In the dust
(b) A broken twig
(c) The poet.

V. Complete the following by filling in the blanks using the right form of the verb given in brackets. (3 × 1 = 3)

Question 26.
The last-minute advice of Roof _____ (greet) with loud laughter. A smile of appreciation ______ (receive) for this act. All campaign boys ______ (ask) to put in their ballot papers.
Answer:
was greeted, was received, were asked.

Question 27.
Report the following conversation: (5 × 1 = 5)
Dona Laura: Are you coming tomorrow?
Don Gonzalo: Most certainly. I will bring a few crumbs.
Dona Laura: Thank you very much. Birds are grateful and repay attention.
Answer:
Dona Laura asked Don Gonzalo if he was coming the next day. Don Gonzalo replied that he would certainly come and added that he would bring a few crumbs. Dona Laura thanked Don Gonzalo and added that birds were grateful and repay attention.

Question 28.
Complete the following dialogue: (4 × 1 = 4)
A stranger wants to go to the railway station from the bus stand.
(Conversation between stranger and Ravi)
Stranger: Excuse me, _______ (asking for direction)
Ravi: _______ (giving direction)
Stranger: Is it far?
Ravi: _______ (approximate distance)
Stranger: _______ (expressing gratitude)
Answer:
Stranger: Excuse me, could you please tell me how to go to the railway station?
Ravi: Please go straight and turn left.
Stranger: Is it far?
Ravi: No. It is half a km from here.
Stranger: Thank you very much.

Question 29.
Fill in the blanks by choosing the appropriate expressions given in brackets: (2 × 1 = 2)
(taken to, give up, zip along)
In the heart of Puddukkottai, young women _______ the roads on their bicycles. Jameela Bibi, who has _____ cycling, told me: ‘It is my right. We can go anywhere’.
Answer:
zip along, taken to.

Question 30.
Fill in the blanks with appropriate linkers: (4 × 1 = 4)
(and, neither, so, nor)
In Monaco, there was ______ a guillotine for cutting the heads off _____ an executioner. ______ the ministers wrote a letter asking the French government whether they could lend them a machine _______ an expert to cut off the criminal’s head.
Answer:
neither, nor, So, and.

VI. Read the following passage and make notes by drawing and filling in the boxes given below: (8 × 1/2 = 4)

Question 31.
A rickshaw puller is a common sight in India. He can be seen standing at public places like bus stands, railway stations and road crossings waiting for passengers. He appears miserable and weak. He is not treated well by the general public and is generally overworked and unpaid. He is generally hated, humiliated by everyone.
2nd PUC English Previous Year Question Paper June 2018 image - 1
Answer:

  1. India
  2. public places
  3. bus stands
  4. railway stations
  5. road crossings
  6. miserable
  7. weak
  8. general public.

Question 32.
Write a letter of application in response to the following advertisement which appeared in ‘Deccan Herald’ dated 20th March 2018. (Write XXX for name and YYY for address.) [5]
Wanted Second Division Assistant
Qualification: Any graduate with knowledge of computers and fluency in Kannada and English.
Experienced candidates preferred.
Apply to:
The Secretary
R.K. Group of Institutions
Vidyanagar Bengaluru – 52.
Answer:

XXX
YYY
10 March 2017.

The President
Basaveshwar Education Society
Vidyanagar
Hubballi.

Dear Sir,
I write this letter of application for the post of First Division Assistant in response to your advertisement dated 09 March 2017 in Deccan Herald. As I fulfil your requirements, I hope you will consider me for the post.
I’m a B. A. graduate from Bangalore University. I passed out in the year 20 15-16 with a distinction.
My subjects were English Major, Psychology and Political Science. You would be happy to know that I’ve completed Basic and Advanced Computer Courses and know Tally. I am fluent in English, Kannada and Hindi. It would interest you that I’m a creative writer in Kannada and have also won many prizes in English Elocution competitions. I’ve also successfully completed Hindi Visharada Exam.
Given the chance to work in your esteemed institution, I will serve with sincerity and contribute towards the welfare of the Basaveshwar Education Society.
I eagerly await your response.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully,
XXX

Question 33.
(a) Your college has organized a Library Day programme to promote reading habits in students. You are the secretary of the college students union. You have to speak to the students about the programme. Use the following points and write a speech in about 100 words. [5]
Importance of reading habits – benefits – a collection of books – inviting authors to speak – spend as much free time in the library.
OR
(b) Given below is the bar graph that represents data showing the results of a survey on working patterns of both rural and urban women. The chart provides information about how these women spend the hours of their day for different activities. Based on this information, write a report in about 150 words.
2nd PUC English Previous Year Question Paper June 2018 image - 2
Answer:
(a) Dear friends,
It gives me great pleasure to speak to you about the Library Week that our college has organized from 2nd to 10th of November this year. Reading makes a man perfect. The aim of celebrating this week is to inculcate the reading habit among students. As part of the celebration, new arrivals in the reference section such as encyclopaedia and dictionaries and general books will be displayed. Orient Blackswan and Cambridge University Press are putting up an exhibition. We have invited Dr. Shobha Devi to inaugurate the exhibition and interact with students. Other authors like Smt. Shashi Deshpande and Dr. Paul will also pay us a visit. During the week, a literary quiz competition will be organized. The Reading Section will have more new magazines of general interest. I request all of you to spend as much free time in the library as you can.
Thank you.
OR
(b) The bar graph indicates the time spent on activities like cooking, watching TN., indulging in hobbies, rearing children, and reading, by rural and urban women. Surprisingly, in all five areas, urban women spend more time than rural women. Perhaps the fieldwork or other manual labour that the rural women take up leaves them with little time for the chosen activities. On cooking, if rural women spend less than one hour, urban women spend nearly two hours.

Similarly, if less than half an hour is spent on watching TV. by the rural women, the time indicated against the urban women is nearly one and a half hours. If the rural women spend negligible time on their hobby, the urban women keep aside at least an hour for the same. The biggest gap is seen in the time taken on rearing children. If rural women spend less than half an hour on rearing children, urban women spend nearly two and a half hours on the same. The entry for reading is the lowest of all the activities for both rural and urban women. Understandably urban women have a higher percentage in this area.

VII. What do the underlined words in the following extract refer to? (4 × 1 = 4)

Question 34.
Catch the rain where it falls was the reason behind the construction of tanks. They have been the lifeline of people. But now most of them have been used for dumping garbage which is a bad habit.
i. it: ______
ii. They: _____
iii. them: _____
iv. which: ______
Answer:
i. Rain
ii. Tanks
iii. Tanks
iv. Dumping garbage.

Question 35.
Rewrite the jumbled segments to form a meaningful sentence. (1 × 1 = 1)
disappear / I / books / that / will never / believe.
Answer:
I believe that books will never disappear.