HSC Arts (Marathi Medium) १२ वीं कक्षा - Maharashtra State Board Question Bank Solutions

(A) Read the extract and do the activities that follows :

  “Pluck the flowers off”, said the other boy and the daisy trembled for fear, for to be pulled off meant death
to it; and it wished so much to live, as it was to go with the square of turf into the poor captive lark’s cage.
“No, let it stay,” said the other boy, “it looks so pretty.” And so it stayed, and was brought into the lark’s cage. The poor bird was lamenting its lost liberty, and beating its wings against the wires; and the little daisy could not speak or utter a consoling word, much as it would liked to do so. So the forenoon passed. “I have no water,” said the captive lark, “they have all gone out and forgotten to give me anything to drink. My throat is dry and burning. I feel as if I had fire and ice within me and the air is so oppressive. Alas! I must die, and part with the warm sunshine, the fresh green meadows, and all the beauty that God has created.” And it thrust its beak into the piece of grass, to refresh itself a little. Then it noticed the little daisy, and nodded to it, and kissed it with its beak and said : “You must also fade in here, poor little flower. You and the piece of grass are all they have given me in exchange for the whole world, which I enjoyed outside. Each little blade of grass shall be a green tree for me, each of your white petals a fragrant flower. Alas! You only
remind me of what I have lost .

A1. True / False - 
State whether the following statements are true or false :
(i) The boys had kept water in the cage for the lark.
(ii) The daisy had a desire to console the poor lark.
(iii) The lark was reminded of its lost liberty.
(iv) The daisy did not want to go into the lark’s cage.

A2. Write an imaginary ending : 
Write an imaginary paragraph in about 50 words to give a different ending to the above extract.

(B) Read the extract and do the activities that follows :

“May I come in?” asked the pink lady.
“Please come in,” said my mother. “Do sit down. Do you require a room?”
“Not today, thank you. I’m staying with Padre Dutt. He insisted on putting me up. But I may want a room
for a day or two – just for old times’ sake.”
“You’ve stayed here before.”
“A long time ago. I’m Mrs. Green, you know. The missing Mrs. Green. The one for whom you put up that handsome tombstone in the cementery. I was very touched by it. And I’m glad you didn’t add ‘Beloved wife of Henry Green’, because I didn’t love him any more than he loved me.”
“Then – then – you aren’t the skeleton?” Stammered my mother.
“Do I look like a skaleton?”
“No!”, we said together.
“But we heard you disappeared,” I said, “and when we found that skeleton —”
“You put two and two together.”
“Well, it was Miss Kellner who convinced us,” said my mother. “And you did disappear mysteriously. You
were missing for years. And everyone knew Mr. Green was a philander.”
“Couldn’t wait to get away from him,” said the pink lady. “Couldn’t stand him any more. He was a ladykiller
but not a real killer.”
“But your father came looking for you. Didn’t you get in touch with him?”
“ My father and I were never very close. Mother died when I was very young, and the only relative I had
was a cousin in West Africa. So that’s where I went – Sierra Leone!”

B1. Complete - 
Complete the following sentenses :
(i) Mrs. Green couldn’t stand Mr. Green, because ________.
(ii) The relationship between Mrs. Green and her father ________.
(iii) Mrs. Green cousin lived in ________.
(iv) Miss. Kellner convinced the narrator’s mother that the skeleton was of Mrs. Green, because ______.

B2. Convert dialogue into a story :
Convert the above dialogue into a story form in about 50 words.

Write the following sentence in reported indirect speech:

He said, “If you find my answers satisfactory, will you give me five rupees?”

Write the following sentence in reported indirect speech:

The astrologer said, “You were left for dead. Am I right?”

Write the following sentence in reported indirect speech:

“I should have been dead if some passerby had not chanced to peep into the well,” exclaimed Guru Nayak.

Write the following sentence in reported indirect speech:

He told her, “Do you know a great load is gone from me today.”

Read a part of a conversation between Neha and Nidhi.

The above conversation is written in exact words spoken. If this conversation was to be reported by a third person then it would be written as:

Neha asked Nidhi where she was going. Nidhi replied that she was going for her music lessons.

Notice the changes in the reported sentence. Note the changes in pronouns, tenses, reporting, and reported verbs and other changes. Now find sentences from the text in the direct speech and convert them into the reported speech.

Read the following sentence given in indirect speech and convert them into direct speech.

Shirish said that he would not be able to solve the problem.

Read the following sentence given in indirect speech and convert them into direct speech.

Lata told me to give her a glass of water.

Read the following sentence given in indirect speech and convert them into direct speech.

Ananya exclaimed with joy that she had received the Ph.D. degree.

Read the following sentence given in indirect speech and convert them into direct speech.

Shilpa asked us if there was any other document to be typed.

Read the following sentence given in indirect speech and convert them into direct speech.

Swati said that she would not get the money.

Write a blog in the proper format on 'Personality Development' in about 100-150 words.

Blog Writing:

Write a blog in a proper format on 'Communication skills'. in about 100-150 words with the help of the following points:

• Importance of communication
• Aspects of communication skills
• Ways to improve them
• Add your own points

Write a ‘Blog’ in a proper format on "Cycling – A better way to Commute", with the help of the following points. (100-150 words)

• Choice of bike
• Safety equipment
• Road safety rules
• Benefits

Write a ‘Blog’ in a proper format on ‘Safety Measures’, with the help of the following points. (100-150 words)

• Need and Purpose
• Safety equipment and use
• Safety action plan
• Management and Implementation
• Advice/Suggestion/Guidance

Write a ‘Blog’ in a proper format on ‘Positivity in life’, with the help of the following points. (100-150 words).

• Hurdles/Problems in life
• Accepting facts and flaws
• Reorganisation/Restart
• Human instinct/Fight back
• Will to Win.

Write a ‘Blog’ in a proper format on ‘recipe of my favourite dish’, with the help of the following points. (100-150 words)

• Type of dish
• Why you like it
• Steps

Read the extract and complete the activities given below :

    Luxurious houses on the edge of a big city which one promoter sold with the tagline ‘‘Where Nature peeps through every window.’’ All the advantages of a modern lifestyle but with the added bonus of fresh air. But nature isn’t greenery alone; it also includes wild animals.
   While the view from the picture windows was easy on the eye, occasionally, it made them gulp with nervousness. At dusk, wild cats leaped out of the adjoining forest on to the top of the peripheral walls and strolled nonchalantly. Sometimes, they lounged on ledges with their long tails swinging freely, oblivious of the many worried human eyes pinned on them. Their cold yellow aggressive eyes turned black as their pupils dilated with failing light.
   Some Mumbaikars paid a lot of money to see leopards on safari in Africa. But to watch them from one’s own home was disconcerting. These predators were out of line, stepping off nature into the city. Why did the leopards not stay within the 100-square kilometre Sanjay Gandhi National Park? Perhaps, the leopards thought that if people could venture into nature to jog, walk and picnic, why couldn’t they hang around apartment blocks? If people could enjoy nature, couldn’t nature savour humanity’s offerings?
   Capturing leopards is extraordinarily simple. These curious cats seem incapable of resisting a free meal, walking into baited traps without hesitation. The reason the felines are attracted to their residential community is prey : stray dogs that live on rubbish heaps. Taking care of the food source is the best course of action, the volunteers said.

A1. Rewrite the following sentences as per their occurrence in the extract :

1. Instead of capturing leopards we can take care of their food.
2. Leopards leave their habitat and enter the human habitat.
3. Modern lifestyle and nature both attract the dwellers.
4. Leopards can enjoy human surroundings by leaving nature.

A2. Complete the following sentences :

1. Nature is a combination of ______ and ______
2. The best of both the worlds include ______ and ______
3. The wild animals are out of line as ______
4. The wild cats are attracted towards residential areas because ______

A3. Find out the words for leopards used in the extract :

1. ____________
2. ____________
3. ____________
4. ____________

A4. ‘‘If people could venture into nature to jog, walk, and picnic, why couldn’t the wild animals hang around apartment blocks?’’ Express your opinion.

A5. Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :

1. Taking care of the food source is the best course of action.
   (Use infinitive form of the underlined word and rewrite.)

2. Nature isn’t greenery alone; it also includes wild animals.
   (Rewrite it by using ‘not only ... but also’.)

A6. Find a word for each of the following expressions from the extract :

1. Enjoy the taste of something
2. Embarrassing and confusing to watch
3. Not conscious or aware of something or someone
4. Relaxed and in an unworried manner

Blog writing:

Write a blog in an appropriate format on "Necessity of social awareness" regarding cleanliness/Hygiene in about 100 to 150 words.