English Language and Literature : 2018 [Outside Delhi] Set I

Read the passage given below:

(1) Tourists to Jammu and Kashmir have another attraction a floating post office on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, the first in the country. ‘Floating Post Office, Dal Lake’- claimed to be the only one such post office in the world-is built on an intricately carved maroon houseboat, fastened on the western edge of the Dal Lake.

(2) this post office lets you avail of all the regular postal services available in the country while being afloat. The seal used on everything posted from Floating Post Office is unique – along with the date and address, it bears the design of a boatman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake. The special feature of this post office is that letters posted from here carry a special design which has the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar city. These pictures reach wherever these letters are posted to and hence promote Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world.

(3) This is actually a heritage post office that has existed since British times. It was called Nehru Park Post Office before 2011. But then the chief postmaster John Samuel renamed it as ‘Floating Post Office’.

(4) The Post office’s houseboat has two small rooms – one serves as the office and the other a small museum that traces the philatelic history of the state postal department. It has shop that sells postage stamps and other products.

(5) But for the locals, Floating Post Office is more than an object of fascination. 1-2 crore is deposited per month in Floating Post Office by communities living and around the Dal Lake. The lake has several islets that are home to more than 50,000 people.

(6) The greatest fear is the recurrence of 2014 like floods in which the houseboat had gone for a toss uncontrollably pushed by the flood. Rescue teams has to anchor it using special mechanism in a nearby highland. Then it was brought back on the Dal after the water receded. The biggest boon is that at no time of the year do you need a fan in this post-office!

1.1 Attempt any eight of the following questions on the basis of the passage you have read:           1×8 = 8

(i) What is the location of the Floating Post Office in Srinagar?

(ii) What is special about the seal used in the post office?

(iii) How is the post office helpful in promoting tourism?

(iv) Who renamed the post office as ‘Floating Post Office’?

(v) What are the two rooms of the post office used for?

(vi) How is the post office beneficial to the locals?

(vii) What is the greatest fear that the post office has?

(viii) How is the post office a big boon to the people?

(ix) Find the word from the passage which means the same as ‘attraction’. (para 5)

Read the passage given below.                       12

(1) It is an indisputable fact that the world has gone too far with the innovation of new technologies such as mobile phones, the Internet and so on, due to which people are able to tour the cosmos virtually sitting at one place using their smart devices or other technological gadgets. Though mobile internet access is oftentimes hurried and short, it can still provide common internet features like alerts, weather data, emails, search engines, instant messages, and game and music downloading.

(2) Due to the easy access of smart phones, communication has been very effective and instant people are able to convey their message all around the globe to their loved ones without spending hefty sums of money. Adults are always fond of such gadgets and they always welcome and adopt such new technology readily. Further, young people have been able to broaden their minds and improve their skills by doing research on the Internet. For instance, they use smart phones to look up any new word they come across. As we know that most of the universities have online teaching provision and smart phones assist the students to complete their assignments on time.

(3) The mobile phone has been a lifesav3er for a lot of people in case of an emergency Likewise, use of smart phones can be of vital importance in preventing crimes in the society by providing information to the security forces in time.

(4) Nonetheless, for the young the use of mobile phone can be like an addiction and they can misuse it. Young people are also prone to getting involved in undesirable activities on the Internet. This might have adverse effect on their academic performance. Therefore, young people should always be monitored and made aware of its bad outcomes.

(5) Also  a major contributor to its popularity it the availability of prepaid or pay as you go services from a phone shop or an online store. This allows subscribers to load text or airtime credits to their handsets by the use of their credit cards, debit cards or by buying a prepaid card from network they subscribe to. This plan also doesn’t commit a particular customer to a contract. If prepaid card is not that appealing to you then you can opt to subscribe using the pay by month plan.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each: 2×4=8

1. How are smart phones helpful in communication?
2. What are the benefits of mobile phones for the young generation?
3. How can mobile phones be considered ‘lifesavers’?
4. Mention any two demerits to mobile phones.
5. How is a prepaid card useful to mobile phone users?

2.2 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following:                                        1×4=4

(i) In para 1, synonym of ‘innovation’ is ………………

       (i) production                  (ii) sincerity

       (iii) invention                  (iv) prevention

(ii) Mobile internet can provide access to:

       (i) telegram                     (ii) emails

       (iii) schools                      (iv) university

(iii) Grown-ups should -------------- the use of new technology by the young people.

       (i) reject                          (ii) negative

       (iii) monitor                     (iv) accept

(iv) Meaning of the word ‘adverse’ in para 4 is;

       (i) positive                       (ii) negative

       (iii) admirable                 (iv) unguided

(v) According to the passage, one can opt for …………….. plan if prepaid plan doesn’t suit.

       (i) yearly                          (ii) weekly

       (iii) monthly                           (iv) daily

You are Prabhu Kumar/Parvati of 17E, Ravi Dass, Kochi. Write a letter in 100-120 words to the editor fo a newspaper about the nuisance caused by loudspeakers in the city during examination days drawing attention of the concerned authorities the problem.

You are Pratibha/Rahul of Class X. Write an article in 100-120 words on ‘Ill effects on students of too much of television’. You can use the following clues:

• Increasing addiction
• A great variety of programmes
• Easy availability
• Neglect of studies
• Drop in academic performance
• Result-poor physical and mental health

Write a story in 150-200 words with the help of the following outline:

Tortoise and hare – good friends – tortoise – known for his slow speed – hare has fast speed – makes fun of tortoise – challenges him – referee selected – race starts – hare overconfident – takes a nap – tortoise wins.

Complete the story in 150-200 words which begins as the following:

       There was a joint family of six members including grandparents. It was the 75^th birthday of the grandmother and the family planned to celebrate ………

Fill in any four of the blanks in the paragraph given below with the help of options that follow:

The modern student ....(a)…… the importance …..(b)…. Physical exercise. He spends one to two hours in open air …..(c)… he takes part in different sports. However, care should ….(d)…. not to overstrain …..(e)… body.

a. (i) understood                           (ii) understand

(iii) have understand (iv) understands

b. (i) of (ii) by   (iii) from      (iv) with

c. (i) how (ii) which (iii) where (iv) why

d. (i) be taken (ii) took (iii) takes (iv) has taken

e. (i) a   (ii) an   (iii) the               (iv) some

The following paragraph has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the error as well as the correction as shown in the example. Do any four.   1×4=4

In the prisoner’s room a candle is

burning dimly. A prisoner himself

sat by the table. Only him back,

the hair by his head, and his

hands are visible from outside

through any window.

                                  Error                   Correction

Rearrange the following words/phrases to form meaningful sentences. Do any four.               1×4=4

(i) work and play / things / different / parents see / as two

(ii) is a / of time / they / waste / think / that playing

(iii) important / games / studies / are as / as

(iv) a student / to both / proper / should / attention / pay

(v) can /life / only / succeed/ he / in / then

(Literature: Textbooks and Long Reading Text)   30

8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:                                                                            [1×4=4]

“But, please, Stephen Stepanovitch, how can they be yours? Do be a reasonable man! My aunt’s grandmother gave the Meadows for the temporary and free use of your grandfather’s peasants. The peasants used the land for forty years and got accustomed to it as if it was their own, when it happened that…….

a. Who is the speaker of the above lines?

b. Why did his aunt’s grandmother give the meadows?

c. Why did the peasants treat the land as their own?

d. What light do these lines throw on the speaker’s character?