HSC Arts (English Medium) इयत्ता १२ वी - Maharashtra State Board Important Questions

Question:

Read the following graph regarding ‘High Awareness but Little Action’ about organ donation. Write a paragraph based on it in about 120 words:

View - Counter-view :
Prepare a paragraph to be used for the Counter-view Section on the following topic (about 120 words).
'Study says homework does not help students score better grades.' 

Imagine you are going to interview some important personality. Prepare a set of 8- 10 questions focussing on his I her social behaviour and the activities he I she carries out. 

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:

How do you know
Peace is a woman?
 I know, for
I met her yesterday
on my winding way 
to the world's fare.
She had such a wonderful face
just like a golden flower faded
before her prime.

(1) How does the poet describe the face of peace?
(2) Do you think there is a way out of the war-ridden world? What is it?.
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line:
"I met her yesterday 
on my winding way."
(4) The poet asks the question and herself answers it. What effect does it create in the extract?

Speech Writing: 

Write a short speech to be delivered in your college on 'Tree Conservation' on the occasion of 'The World Earth Day,' with the help of the following points (about JOO words):
(I) Air, water and noise pollution.
(2) Depletion of natural resources.
(3) Trees prevent soil erosion.
(4) Live in harmony with nature .  

Read the following extract and rewrite it as if the dentist is narrating it:

[You may begin as: I told George that I thought I had seen him somewhere before .......... ]

Read the following extract and convert it into a dialogue between Daisy and the captive lark in about 8 to 10 sentences : 

[ you may begia with : Lark : Oh! how painful it is to be in the cage ! ] 
         And  so the daisy stayed, and was brought into the lark 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 have 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 It.s 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." .
('I wish I could console the poor lark," thought the daisy. It could not move one of its leaves, but the fragrance of its delicate petals streamed forth, and was much stronger than such flowers usually have

Read the following extract and extend it by adding an imaginary paragraph of your own in about 120 words :

    Someone was standing in the doorway. An elderly woman,
very fluffy, very pink. Her cheeks were pink, her dress was pink,
her hair was bunched up and white. She was straight out of Agatha Christie.
        "Miss Marple!" I exclaimed.
        ''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. l'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 cemetery. 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."

A1. Choose two sentences that appropriately mention the theme of the passage :

(1) The extract deals with the writer’s concern over Chaitanya's handicap.
(2) The extract depicts the writer’s proud feelings towards her son’s achievement.
(3) The extract deals with how Chaitanya made the writer see positively towards life.
(4) The extract deals with how the writer helps Chaitanya to buy the bus ticket.

          Early in 1997-98, when he returned from state-level inter-school sports, he had two prizes to his credit and a silver medal. He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
         When I saw the prizes and read the citation Chaitanya had received, I was stupefied, in total disbelief, then–hugged him, kissed him and cried unabashedly to my heart’s content. That day, I cried for the first time out of joy and a sense of being vindicated. Without practice, he had competed with approximately 1,800 children drawn from various schools all over the state. He was subsequently selected for the marathon race, but he could not participate due to a health problem. “Maybe next year, he would”, I assured myself. And I, as his proud mother, would proudly chronicle his future achievements and success to inspire other - mothers of the world.
                 Looking back at my own life, I feel that it is the spirit with which we can accept our life gracefully is what
matters ultimately; and it is love that nourishes us. All other things are unimportant. Chaitanya has made me look inwards. His handicap doesn’t disturb me any longer. He and I shall live with it and still be happy. The mental strength which he has given to me is inexhaustible.
         One day, as both of us got onto a public transport bus, Chaitanya offered to buy the tickets for us.
           “One full, one half ”, he said to the conductor beaming with joy.
               Looking at him, I wondered whether he was really only a half? An incomplete person? Was I really full?
Complete in all respects? Why do then normal people feel that they are ‘full’ and others like Chaitanya are ‘half’ or incomplete? Chaitanya’s world is complete in itself, pure and innocent while our lives are full of deceit, jealousies, ill-feelings. 

A2. Point out - 

Point out two instances where you find Chaitanya's victory over his disability. 

A3. Give reasons - 

Chaitanya’s silver medal in a running race was very special for the writer, because :
(i) __________________
(ii) __________________ 

A4. Vocabulary - 

Match the pairs of the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’: 

A5. Personal response -

Explain, your views about the ill-treatment the special children receive in society. 

A6. Grammar - 

Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘not only...but also’.)
(ii) When I saw the prizes, I was stupefied.
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘No sooner.... than’.)

Read the following extract and then do all the activities that follow :

I rain into a stranger as he passed by
“Oh, excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “please excuse me too; wasn't even watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on out way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told.
How we treat out loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knoked her down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
“While Dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But children you love, you seem to abuse.”

A1. Order- 
The incidents narrated in the extract are arranged in a jumbled manner here, Rearrange them in a proper order as they occur in the extract:
(i) The poet and the stranger went on their way saying good-bye.
(ii) Seeking excuse politely from the stranger, she went her way.
(iii) The poet ran into a stranger on the road.
(iv) The poet yelled at her daughter.

A2. Poetic device:
Make a list of rhyming pairs from the second stanza and note down the rhyme scheme of the same stanza.

A3. Personal Response:
Understanding and politeness are the essentials of out everyday life. Explain your views in brief.

A4. Creativity -
Frame two poetic lines on the following situation using a rhyming pattern with the help of clues given:
“While introducing great personalities, we praise them highly and talk about their qualities, but while speaking
about our friends we may not follow the same trend.”
While introducing great personalities, — a
------------------------------------ — a
But while speaking about our friends, — b
------------------------------------ — b

Read the extract and do the activities that follow:
The duke senior and his follower were sitting down to a meal one day when Orlando rushed out from among the trees, his sword in his hand. ‘Stop, and cat no more!’ he cried. The Duke and his friends asked him what he wanted.
‘Food,’ said Orlando. ‘I am almost dying of hunger’. They asked him to sit down and eat, but he would not do so. He told them that his old servant was in the woods, dying of hunger. ‘I will not eat a bite until he has been fed,’ Orlando said.
So the good Duke and his followers helped him to bring Adam to their hiding-place, and Orlando and the old man were fed and taken care of. When the Duke learned that Orlando was a son of his old friend sir Rowland de Boys, he welcomed him gladly to his forest court.
Orlando lived happily with the Duke and his friends, but he had not forgotten the lovely Rosalind. She was always in his thoughts andevery day he wrote poetry about her pinning it on the trees in the forest. ‘These trees shall be my books,’ he said, ‘so that everyone who looks in the forest will be able to read how sweet and good Rosalind is’.
Rosalind and Celia found some of these poems pinned on the trees. At first they were puzzled, wondering who could have written them; but one day Celia came in from a walk with the news that she had seen Orlando sleeping under a tree, and she and Rosalind guessed that he must be the poet. Rosalind was happy to think that Orlando had not forggoten her, because she loved him as much as he loved her.

A1. Complete - (2)
Complete the following sentences:
(i) Rosalind was happy to think _______
(ii) The Duke and his followers helped Orlando to bring _________
(iii) Orlando pinned the poems written about Rosalind on ______
(iv) When the Duke cam to know that Orlando was a son of his old friend, he _________

A2. Write a gist: (2)
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.

Read the following extract and rewrite it as if Daisy is the narrator:
[You may begin with: "I grew on the bank of a ditch ______"]

There was a little flower garden with painted wooden palings in front of it: close by was a ditch on its fresh green bank grew a little daisy: the sun shore as warmly and brightly upon it as on the magnificent garden flowers, and therefore it thrived well. One morning it had quite opened, and its little snow-white petals stood around the yellow center, like the rays of the sun, It did not mind that nobody saw it in the grass and that it was a poor despised flower; on the contrary, it was quite happy, and turned towards the sun, looking upward and listening to the song of the lark high up in the air.

The little daisy was as happy as if the day had been a great
holiday, but it was only Monday. All the children were at school,
and while they were sitting on the forms and learning their lessons, it sat on its thin green stalk and learned from the sun and from its surroundings how kind God is, and it rejoiced that the song of the little lark expressed so sweetly, and distinctly its own feelings. With a sort of reverence the daisy looked up to the bird that could
fly and sing, but it did not feel envious. " I can see and hear," it
thought; "the sun shines upon me, and the forest kisses me. How
rich I am!"

Read the following extract and convert it into a dialogue (about 8 sentences):

[You may begin with : Rosalind: 'O, excellent young men.......']

'O, excellent young men!' cried Rosalind, delighted, and the Duke called out: 'No more! No more!'

'I beg you to let us go on, 'said Orlando. 'I have hardly begun!'

The Duke turned to ask Charles how he was, but the man lay without moving on the ground. 'He cannot speak, my lord,' said one of the nobles.

'Take him away,' said the Duke and then he turned to Orlando. 'What is your name, young man?' he asked.

'Orlando, my lord, the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys,'Orlando answered and the Duke looked at him in angry surprise. Sir Rowland de Boys had been faithful to the Duke Senior, and therefore Fredricks enemy.

'Your father was my enemy', said Frederick. 'I would have been better pleased by your brave deed if you had told me of another father.'

'I am proud to be Sir Rowland's son, 'answered Orlando angrily,' and I would not change my place to be the heir of this dukedom.'

The Duke and his lords went away, Leaving Orlando alone with Rosailand and Celia. Celia was angry with her father for speaking so unkindly to Orlando. 'Would have done this in my father's place?' she said to Rosalind. 

'My father loved Sir Rowland as much as his own soul,' Rosalind said to Celia,' and all the world agreed with him. If I had known that this young man was Sir Rowland's Son I should have begged him with tears not to take so great a risk.'

Extend the given extract by adding an imaginary paragraph of your own (about 120 words)

A couple of days later, I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed-wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone.

On the other side of the fence, I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half-hidden behind a birch tree.

I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German. 'Do you have something to eat?'

She didn't understand.

I inched closer to the fence and repeated the question in polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes, I saw life.

She pulled an apple from her woollen jacket and threw it over the fence.

I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, 'I'II see you tomorrow."

Write a summary of the above extract with the help of the following points and suggest a suitable title.

Organic farming – depends on – ensures soil fertility by – organic agriculture promotes – difficulty for farmers because – burden on the consumer.

Read the following extract and rewrite it from the point of view of Tom.
[You may begin with: I crossed from the right to the centre and said that it was a queer place ...... ]

Read the following extract carefully and convert it into a dialogue between Daisy and Lark.

You may begin with: 'Daisy: Why are you singing so sadly, little bird?'

Read the following extract and extend it by adding an imaginary paragraph of your own in about 120 words :

Orlando lived happily with the Duke and his friends, but he had not forgotten the lovely Rosalind. She was always in his thoughts and every day he wrote poetry about her, pinning it on the trees in the forest. 'These trees shall be my books', he said, 'so that everyone who looks in the forest will be able to read how sweet and good Rosalind is.'

Rosalind and Celia found some of these poems pinned on the trees. At first, they were puzzled, wondering who could have written them; but one day Celia came in from a walk with the news that she had seen Orlando sleeping under a tree. and she and Rosalind guessed that he must be the poet. Rosalind was happy to think that Orlando had not forgotten her, because she loved him as much as he loved her.

One day she and Celia met Orlando. He did not recognize them because of their stained faces and simple clothes. He thought they were a shepherd boy and his sister. He made friends with them.

Read the following extract and convert it into a dialogue between Rosalind and Orlando:
[You may begin with: Rosalind: Dear Orlando, it's better not to fight with Charles.]

Next day, the wrestling match was arranged to take place in front of the Duke's palace. Celia and Rosalind happened to be there when the Duke and his lords arrived, so they decided to stay and watch the fight. Frederick spoke to Orlando and tried to persuade him not to fight the Wrestler, but Orlando was determined.
At last, Frederick turned to Rosalind and Celia and said: 'Speak to him, ladies; see if you can persuade him.'
Charles had just fought three other young men and had nearly killed them. It seemed certain that Orlando would be treated in the same way. And so the two girls spoke to the tall, good-looking young man, begging him not to fight. 'You have seen cruel proof of this man's strength', said Celia. 'We pray you for your own sake to give up this fight. Do not run such a risk!'
'Please do what we ask, young sir,' said Rosalind. 'No one will call you a coward: We will ask the Duke to stop the wrestling.' But Orlando answered: 'Please do not be angry if I refuse to do what you ask. It is not easy to say no to ladies who are so beautiful and gentle. But let your fair eyes and gentle wishes go with me to my trial. No one will be sorry if I am killed, because I have no friends to love me. I fill up a place in the world which may be better filled by another man if I leave it empty.'

Write a news item on any one of the following headlines with proper dateline, lead/intro paragraph, and a short continuing paragraph:

(i) India wins T20 series.
{ii) Railway suspends two officials over derailment