Commerce (English Medium) Class 12 - CBSE Important Questions for English Core

Read the given extracts to attempt the questions with reference to context.

(i) What is the tone of the poet in the above lines? (1) 

1. aggressive
2. tolerant
3. sarcastic
4. resigned
5. sentimental

Choose the most appropriate option.

1. Only (i)
2. (ii) and (iii)
3. (i), (iv) and (v)
4. Only (iii)

(ii) Identify the phrase from the extract, that suggests the following: (1)

No one bothers to take ‘their’ consent before pushing the promise of a better life, their way.

(iii) What quality of the villagers can be inferred through these lines? (1)

1. gullible
2. futuristic
3. hypocritical
4. ambitious

(iv) Complete the following analogy correctly. Do NOT repeat from used example. (1)

greedy good doers: alliteration :: ______ oxymoron.

(v) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to (1) and (2) given below. (1)

(1) The city dwellers make promises for the betterment of the villagers.

(2) The city dwellers have ulterior motives.

1. (1) is true but (2) is false.
2. (2) is true but (1) is false.
3. (2) is the reason for (1).
4. Both (1) and (2) cannot be inferred from the extract.

(vi) Fill the blank with an appropriate word, with reference to the extract. (1)

‘… calculated to soothe them out of their wits’ implies that ‘them’ are being ______.

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

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
(a) Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer's tigers?
(b) How are they described here?
(c) How are they different from Aunt Jennifer?
(d) What does the word, 'chivalric' mean?

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

Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

(a) What is Aunt Jennifer doing with her wool?
(b) Why does she find it difficult to pull her ivory needle?
(c) What does 'wedding band' stand for?
(d) Describe the irony in the third line.  

Why did Aunt Jennifer decide to create animals so different from her own character ? 

Adrienne Rich chose to express her silent revolt through her poem, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, just as Aunt Jennifer did with her embroidery. Explain.

How can we say that marriage was a compromise for Aunt Jennifer? Support your response with two justifications.

Explain the significance of the 'denizens pacing in sleek certainty' in the poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'.

What is the significance of the image "Massive weight of uncle's wedding band" in the poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'?

Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character?

Answer the following question in about 40-50 words.

How might the message of the poem, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ be different, if the following last four lines were omitted?

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Answer the following question in about 120-150 words.

The different portrayals of women in the texts 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers', 'Going Places', 'Lost Spring', and 'My Mother at Sixty-six', offer insights into the experiences of women in society.

You have been asked to address your peers and share -

⇒ the ways these portrayals highlight the diversity of the female experience.

⇒ the importance of understanding each individual woman's challenges and experiences.

Compose this draft, with reference to any three of these prescribed texts. listed above.

You may begin this way:
Good morning, everyone.
As I analysed the allotted texts...

You may end this way.
To conclude, I’d like to say that ...