Class 12 - English Question bank
(December 2022)with solution
with%20solution%20-%20Section%20C.jpg "Pragati Educare")
Section C
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1. Summarize the Passage and Suggest a Suitable Title
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Passage 1
"Lhatoo was following us and caught up with us when we rested below the south summit. After drinking some tea, we moved on. Lahtoo had brought a nylon rope, so Ang Dorjee and I roped up while Lahtoo walked in the middle, holding the rope with one hand, more for balance than security. Lahtoo noticed that I had been climbing with oxygen at about two and a half liters per minute against the normal four for these heights. After he increased the oxygen flow on my regulator, I found even the steeper stretches comparatively easy."
- Summary and Title
Title : Climbing with Lhatoo
Summary: The passage describes a climbing experience where Lhatoo joins the narrator and Ang Dorjee, helping them navigate the steep terrain. With the help of additional oxygen that Lhatoo adjusts, the narrator finds the challenging ascent easier. The passage highlights the team’s reliance on each other and the importance of small adjustments in the climb.
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Passage 2
"After a light breakfast of a few biscuits and half a slab of chocolate, I left my tent around 5:30 a.m. Ang Dorjee was standing outside. No one else was about. Ang Dorjee was going to climb without oxygen. However, his feet would get very cold, so he wanted to avoid long exposure at high altitudes and a night at the Summit Camp. He aimed to reach the peak and return to the South Col the same day or abandon the attempt."
- Summary and Title
Title: Ang Dorjee’s Ascent
Summary: In this passage, the narrator describes Ang Dorjee’s determination to climb without oxygen, which he hopes will allow him to avoid extended exposure to cold. Despite the challenges, Ang Dorjee plans to reach the summit and return the same day, demonstrating his strength and resolve.
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Passage 3
"There is the greatest difference in the world between conquering by power and conquering by kindness. The former is like building a dam across a stream of water. It may stop its flow for a little while, but eventually, the dam will give way, and the stream will rush on with more force and fury than ever. Conquering by power is like chaining a lion; conquering by kindness keeps the lion from doing harm by changing his nature and turning him into a lamb."
- Summary and Title
Title: The Power of Kindness
Summary: This passage explains the contrasting outcomes of conquering through power versus kindness. While power only temporarily suppresses, kindness transforms and pacifies. The author compares the effects of kindness to taming a lion, suggesting that kindness can lead to genuine change, unlike power.
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Passage 4
"The Tobors were strange beings. They came during the Third World War when a lot of people were killed. They built a huge city and became the rulers, making the Nems their slaves. The city was like a huge factory with a silver roof. The Nems lived and worked there, never seeing the sun. Most Nems were content, but a few, like Derf and his friends Kram and Nor, wanted to escape. They believed the Tobors' power came from the Centre, a forbidden place within the city."
- Summary and Title
Title: Derf’s Plan to Escape
Summary: In this passage, the narrator describes a futuristic city ruled by the alien Tobors, who have enslaved the Nems. While most Nems accept their fate, Derf and his friends dream of escaping. They suspect the Tobors' power lies in the Centre, a restricted area they hope to infiltrate to regain freedom.
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Passage 5
"Yes, the ‘enemy’ was killed without the loss of a single life or shedding one drop of blood. He went in the morning to confess his ingratitude to his kind neighbor and to ask his forgiveness. The very man known for his wickedness became the friend of all. There is the greatest difference in the world between conquering by power and conquering by kindness."
- Summary and Title
Title: Conquering with Kindness
Summary: This passage describes how a man defeated his enemy by showing kindness rather than force, transforming a wicked person into a friend. It reinforces the idea that kindness is a powerful tool, contrasting it with the use of force, which often leads to more conflict.
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2. Poetry Comprehension
(Read the following stanza and answer the questions)
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Stanza 1
"Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labor not different from our own
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognize and understand."
- Question 1: How can we win strength?
Answer: We can win strength through love.
- Question 2: What do we all understand?
Answer: We all understand the common life shared by people everywhere.
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Stanza 2
"Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign,
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we shall lie."
- Question 1: What breathes beneath all uniforms?
Answer: A single human body breathes beneath all uniforms.
- Question 2: Where shall we all lie in the end?
Answer: We shall all lie in the earth in the end.
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Stanza 3
"Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn
Remember, we who take arms against each other
It is the human earth that we defile."
- Question 1: What is told us to do?
Answer: We are told to hate our brothers.
- Question 2: Give similar words for ‘disloyal’ and ‘criticize’.
Answer: Similar words for ‘disloyal’ and ‘criticize’ are ‘betray’ and ‘condemn.’
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Stanza 4
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken into fragments
By narrow domestic walls."
- Question 1: What type of world does the poet want?
Answer: The poet wants a world where people are fearless, dignified, and united without divisions.
- Question 2: What does the poet say about the mind?
Answer: The poet envisions a mind that is free from fear.
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Stanza 5
"Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit."
- Question 1: Does ‘dead habit’ mean ‘old habit’ or ‘new habit’?
Answer: ‘Dead habit’ refers to ‘old habit.’
- Question 2: How can we get perfection?
Answer: We can achieve perfection through tireless striving.
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Stanza 6
"Where the mind is led forward by Thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."
- Question 1: What does the poet want for his country?
Answer: The poet wants his country to awaken into a heaven of freedom.
- Question 2: Which word is used for God in this stanza?
Answer: The word used for God in this stanza is "Thee.
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