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EXAMINATION 2011 SPECIAL ENGLISH XII Time: 3 Hrs. Instructions: 1. All questions are compulsory 2. Read the instructions carefully and answer the questions. 3. Marks of each question is indicated against it. 4. Answer must be complete and to the point. SECTION - A Q.1A. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: We live in a highly competitive age of science and technology and can no longer afford the luxury of mediocrity if we are to forge ahead. This rapidly changing nuclear age requires our youth to be intellectually far more alert and competent than their predecessors, and therefore every young man and woman today studying in schools, colleges and universities must aim at academic ability of the highest order. In a developing nation like ours, where large numbers are still unable to acquire even primary education, those undergoing higher education constitute a privileged elite. (i) (ii) Find a word opposite in meaning to "Successors Give the words from extract which have the same meanings ? a) b) (iii) Being not good at something People who have a lot of power 01 02 01 01 M.M. 100

What is the state of education in our country ? Who are the "Privileged elite"? 02

Q.1 B. Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow: How soon hath time, the subtle thief of youth, Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year! My hasting days fly on with full career, But my late spring no bud or blossom sheweth.

(i)

Give the words from extract which have the same meanings ? a) b) c) Something not obvious. Hurrying in Maturity

03 01 01 01 02

(ii)

What has the thief stolen ?

Q.2 (a) (b) (c)

Answer any two questions : Why does the speaker not want the battle cry to be raised ? How does global warming affect the climate pattern ? What moral do you draw from the story ? "The Beggar"

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Q.3 (a)

Answer any two question:

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How would you rate Mathilde - as an ambitious woman or as an honest woman ? Justify your