RBSE Class 11th 2017 English-A-12-28-2017 Previous Year Papers

Section – A (Reading)

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the following questions: (10 Marks)

Questions:

1. What was the traditional attitude of men towards household work?

   Traditionally, men considered household work beneath their dignity. They never helped with washing, cooking, or childcare, believing such duties were only for women and girls.

2. How has the attitude of men changed in modern times?

   Today, even professionals like doctors and barristers willingly help in the kitchen and nursery. They no longer find it shameful to do household chores and often take pride in their domestic skills.

3. What is one major reason for this change in attitude?

   The shortage of domestic servants is a major reason. Earlier, girls worked as maids for low wages, but now they earn more in factories, leaving householders to do their own work with modern equipment.

4. Find words from the passage which mean the same as:

   • (i) lacking in self-respect – undignified
   • (ii) small in amount – moderate

Questions

1. What was done by women and girls?
2. What were few husbands dreamt of?
3. What view was supported by the whole family?
4. How are things today?
5. Who find nothing undignified and shameful in helping in the kitchen etc.?
6. For what is schoolboy expected?
7. What is the one reason for this change?
8. Where do the girls earn more money?
9. How does the wife now work?
10. Find the words from the passage which means:
    (a) of home or household
    (b) medium not extreme

Section - B (Writing)

Write a task in 100-120 words giving description of an event on ‘An Indian Wedding’ based on the hints given below:

1. Attended marriage ceremony
2. bridegroom on decorated mare with ‘barat’
3. Barati’s danced up to the bride’s decorated house
4. Garlanded each other
5. Dinner
6. ‘Phere’

OR

Write a task in 100-120 words giving description of an incident on ‘How You Helped Your Playmate’ based on the hints given below:

1. Play evening games
2. Playmate Mukesh hurt his arm
3. Hospital, treatment
4. Informed Mukesh’s parents
5. Thanked me

Write an article on ‘Morning walk’ in about 100-120 words.

OR

Write a speech on ‘Modern Age is the age of computer’.

Section – C (Grammar)

5. In the following part of speech do as directed:

1. Ramesh is working hard. (Find helping verb)
   Answer: is
2. Sheran fast. (Find Adverb)
   Answer: fast
3. Any dictionary can tell its meaning. (Find the determiner)
   Answer: Any
4. The hills are above the fields. (Find the preposition)
   Answer: above
5. She is an intelligent girl. (Find the Adjective)
   Answer: intelligent

Fill in the blanks with correct form of verbs:

1. We ____ the milkman for three weeks. (not pay)
   Answer: have not paid
2. Two and two ____ four. (make)
   Answer: make
3. Rita ____ to the radio when Rakesh called at her. (listen)
   Answer: was listening
4. She ____ tomorrow to see her father. (go)
   Answer: will go
5. We ____ in Amritsar when the war began. (live)
   Answer: were living

Fill in the blanks with suitable modals:

1. ____ you please tell me the time? (polite request)
   Answer: Could
2. She ____ speak English well. (ability)
   Answer: can
3. The students ____ attend the classes regularly. (compulsory)
   Answer: must
4. If you pass, I ____ give you a watch. (promise)
   Answer: will

8. Change the following sentences into Passive Voice:

1. We must search your things.
   
   Answer: Your things must be searched by us.
2. The Sahib liked the Indian dishes.
   
   Answer: The Indian dishes were liked by the Sahib.

9. Rewrite the following sentences by changing them from direct to indirect speech:

1. He said to the teacher, "My one question is incomplete."
   
   Answer: He told the teacher that his one question was incomplete.
2. He said to me, "When will the night bus for Jaipur leave?"
   
   Answer: He asked me when the night bus for Jaipur would leave.

10. Combine each of the following sentences into one compound sentence as directed:

1. Arun switched the light off. He went out. (use and)
   
   Answer: Arun switched the light off and went out.
2. Madhu can speak English. She can speak French too. (Use both-and)
   
   Answer: Madhu can speak both English and French.

Section - 9 (Text)

Transform the following sentences into Negative:

1. Original: Gopal gave me some chocolates.

   Negative: Gopal did not give me any chocolates.

2. Original: Raju is weak in English.

   Negative: Raju is not strong in English.

Read the text given below and answer the questions that follow:

1. Among whom is the solidarity growing?

   Solidarity is growing among the nations of the world who believe in freedom.

2. What is genuinely worldwide?

   The human rights movement is genuinely worldwide.

3. How may human rights be summed up?

   Human rights may be summed up in one word: liberty.

4. In which world are governments authoritarian?

   In the Third World, governments are authoritarian.

5. What is to be a cult of slow growth?

   Veneration for human rights promises to be a cult of slow growth.

6. Find from the passage the words which mean:

   • (A) valid: legitimate
   • (B) respect: veneration

OR

4.

No one wanted
To touch me—except later in the autopsy room
When they knew my mouth would not search
For anything—and my head could be measured
and bent cut apart.
I looked like a sliced pomegranate—
The fruit you never touched.

Section – C (Poetry)

Read the following stanza and answer the questions that follow:

1. What does the Ganga do in summer?

   In summer, the Ganga tends watermelons (i.e., its flow reduces and it becomes shallow).

2. Where does it stay in flood?

   In flood, the Ganga stays near the postman's house (i.e., it overflows its banks and reaches human settlements).

3. Which different roles does the river play?

   The river plays the roles of a beggar, a clown, and is shadowless, showing its changing and humble nature.

4. What does the Ganga mean by 'And I am shadowless'?

   The Ganga means that it has no permanent form or identity; it is ever-changing and cannot cast a fixed shadow.

Answer any three questions in about 10-15 words:

1. Who is addressing the mother and why? (Voice of the unwanted girl)

   The unwanted girl is addressing her mother, pleading for acceptance and love.

2. Why does the mother want to get rid of the girl child? (Voice of the unwanted girl)

   The mother wants to get rid of the girl child due to societal pressure and the burden of dowry.

3. What kind of weather do we have around Raksha-Bandhan? (Raksha-Bandhan)

   Around Raksha-Bandhan, the weather is cloudy and rainy, typical of the monsoon season.

4. Why do children, fisherman and monks seek the Ganga? (Songs of the Ganga)

   Children seek the Ganga for play, fishermen for livelihood, and monks for spiritual purification.

Answer any one of the following questions in about 50-60 words:

1. Why did Sindhu hesitate to reveal the secret of the girl's hair? (The three dancing goats)

   Sindhu hesitated to reveal the secret of the girl's hair because she feared that the truth would bring shame and dishonor to the family. The secret was about the girl's unnatural hair growth, which was considered a curse. Sindhu was torn between loyalty to her family and the fear of social ostracism, leading to her hesitation.

2. Why did Datta sit with both hands clutching his head? (The gold frame)

   Datta sat with both hands clutching his head because he was overwhelmed with grief and frustration. He had lost the gold frame that contained his mother's photograph, which was his only memory of her. The loss symbolized the erasure of his past and his connection to his mother, leaving him in deep despair.

Answer any two of the following questions in about 30-40 words:

1. How did the mother kill the son and herself? (The mother of a traitor)

   The mother poisoned her son's food to kill him, as he had become a traitor to the country. After his death, she consumed the same poison to end her own life, unable to bear the shame and grief of her son's betrayal.

2. How does the man passing help the old man? (The Refugees)

   The man passing by helps the old man by giving him food and water, and by offering him a place to rest. He also provides emotional support, listening to the old man's story of displacement and loss during the partition.

3. Why did the aunt transfer her property to Jumman's name? (Panchparmeshwar)

   The aunt transferred her property to Jumman's name because she trusted him and believed he would take care of her in her old age. Jumman had promised to support her, and she wanted to secure her future by making him the legal owner.