St.

Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata

Class : 12 Date : 13-09-2021

Instructions :
• Make sure you write your name, class, section, roll no, subject and page no (in advance) on all sheets that
you submit.
• Ensure that the quality of the image/pdf of the answer script submitted is easily readable.

ALL QUESTIONS ARE COMPULSORY

Question 1
Write a composition (in approximately 400 – 450 words) on any one of the following subjects: [20]
(You are reminded that you will be rewarded for orderly and coherent presentation of material, use of
appropriate style and general accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar).
a. You have recently moved to a new neighborhood in your city. Describe the new neighborhood,
comparing it to the one you have just left.
b. Relate how the reading of literature has enriched and refined you.
c. “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?” Express your views on this statement.
d. ‘Today’s youth is more practical and less swayed by emotions.’ Argue for or against the given
statement.
e. Dreams.
f. Write an original short story with begins with the line –
The lone young man who sat hunched on the park bench had an unusual gleam in his eyes.
Question 2
a) You are planning to apply for an undergraduate course at the North Eastern University, USA, to
pursue your higher studies. Write a Statement of Purpose (SOP) using the following points-- [10]
Your family background---- the schools you have attended--- your achievements in academics-------
co-curricular activities---- other interests------- your choice of course-------- reasons for choosing the
university----- why you feel you should be given admission-------- how you would use your
knowledge to fulfil your future goals and aspirations.
b) As a member of the student council of your school, you wish to start a drive for collecting Covid
essential products like masks and sanitizers. These products will be distributed among the slum and
street dwellers nearby. Write a proposal in not more than 150 words, stating the steps you would
take to make it a success. [10]
Question 3
Answer sections (A), (B) and (C).
(A) In each of the following items, a sentence is given. Select the most appropriate
transformation of the given sentence out of the given options: [10]
1.As soon as the match ended, it began to rain.
(a) No sooner does the match end than it begins
1 to rain.
(b) No sooner does the match ends than it begin to rain.
(c) No sooner did the match end than it began to rain.
(d) No sooner had the match end than it began to rain.
2. It is probable that the ship will reach the shore.
(a) It is only probable that the ship will reach the shore.
(b) Thank God! The ship will reach the shore.
(c) Probably, the ship will reach the shore.
(d) In all probability, the ship will reach the shore.
3. Mother said to Paul, "A courier came for you yesterday."
(a) Mother said to Paul that a courier came for him yesterday.
(b) Mother said to Paul that a courier had come for him the day before.
(c) Mother asked Paul if a courier had come for him the day before.
(d) Mother told Paul, a courier came for you yesterday.
4. No other writer is as interesting as Charles Dickens.
(a) Only Charles Dickens is an interesting writer.
(b) Charles Dickens is the most interesting writer.
(c) Charles Dickens is more interesting than many other writers.
(d) Charles Dickens is very interesting as a writer..
5. Only trained graduates need to apply for the post.
(a) None but trained graduates need to apply for the post.
(b) Let only the trained graduates apply for the post.
(c) The trained graduates will only apply for the post.
(d) Only trained graduates will apply for the post.
6. He is so short that he cannot be a soldier.
(a) He is very short, so he will not become a soldier.
(b) He can become a soldier, if he grows taller.
(c) He is too short to be a soldier.
(d) He is short enough to be a soldier.
7. I will buy the horse if it is quite sound.
(a) I will only buy the horse, if it is sound.
(b) The horse will be bought by me, only if it is sound.
(c) Only I will buy the horse, if it is quite sound.
(d) Unless the horse is quite sound, I will not buy it.
8. Not only did he score a century but also took three important wickets.
(a) Not only he scored a century but also took three wickets.
(b) He scored a century and took three wickets.
(c) Besides scoring a century, he took three important wickets.
(d) He took three important wickets and then scored a century.
9. He is forgetful as well as careless with his work.
(a) Besides being forgetful, he is careless with his work.
(b) He is very forgetful and careless with his work.
(c) Unless he is careless, he cannot be forgetful with his work.
(d) Only if he is careless, he can be forgetful with his work.
10. His attitude towards his parents has always puzzled me.
(a) I have been puzzled when he shows attitude to his parents.
(b) He puzzles me always while showing attitude2 towards his parents.
(c) He wishes to show attitude but it always puzzled me when he did it to his parents.
(d) I have always been puzzled by his attitude towards his parents.
(B) Choose the most appropriate word to fill in the blank in the given sentences: [5]
1. He agreed to carry the manager’s orders.
(a) Up
(b) Out
(c) Into
(d) Off
2. Sam's son carried__________ the family business when Sam went abroad.
(a) Into
(b) Up
(c) Off
(d) on
3. She turned __________ the offer to work at the factory.
(a) down
(b) aside
(c) out
(d) off
4. Do not____________ till tomorrow what you can do today.
(a) Put on
(b) Put off
(c) Keep on
(d) Work on
5. I _________at my friend’s house for the night.
(a) Break in
(b) Turn in
(c) Put up
(d) Lock in
(C) Choose the correct option to fill in the blank in each sentence: [5]
1. If I _________ before, I would have certainly attended the party today.
(a) Know
(b) Would have known
(c) Had known
(d) Could know
2. By this December, Adit _______________ in Delhi for 6 years.
(a) Must be living
(b) Will have been living
(c) Could have lived
(d) Lived
3. I _______ in Varanasi ever since my college days.
(a) Could be
(b) Should be
(c) Will be
(d) Have been
4. As soon as the dog_________ out, close the kennel3door.
(a) Is running
(b) Could be running
(c) Runs
(d) Running
5. I usually ______________up my parents after lunch.
(a) Call
(b)Calling
(c) Had called
(d) Is going to call
Question 4
Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
I could hear the squeaking that heralded the evening arrival of the bats. I listened to the noises of
the approaching night. Every day my hearing grew sharper. I was learning to filter out whatever I
did not need to listen to, and giving no sign that I could hear everything that went on in the house.
I could not sleep. The air was heavy and still, the moon hidden behind thick banks of cloud. Lord
Otori was sound asleep. I did not want to leave the house I’d come to love so much, but I seemed
to be bringing nothing but trouble to it. Perhaps it would be better for everyone if I just vanished
into the night.
Now I heard the hiss of hot water as the bath was prepared, the clatter of dishes from the kitchen,
the sliding sigh of the cook’s knife, a dog barking two streets away, and the sounds of feet on the
wooden bridges on the canals. I knew the sounds of the house, day and night, in sunshine and
under the rain. This evening I realized I was always listening for something more. I was waiting too.
For what?
I began to wonder if I could get out of the house without setting the dogs barking and arousing the
guards. I started consciously listening for the dogs. I usually heard them bark on and off throughout
the night, but I’d learned to distinguish their barks and to ignore them. I set my ears for them but
heard nothing. Then I started listening for the guards: the sound of a foot on stone or a whispered
conversation. Nothing. Sounds that should have been there were missing from the night’s familiar
web.
Now I was wide-awake, straining my ears to hear. There came the slightest of sounds, hardly more
than a tremor, between the window and the ground.
For a moment I thought it was the earth shaking, as it so often did. Another tiny tremble followed,
then another. Someone was climbing up the side of the house.
My first instinct was to yell out, but cunning took over. I rose from the mattress and crept silently to
Lord Otori’s side. I knelt beside him and whispered in his ear, “Lord Otori, someone is outside”.
He woke instantly, and then reached for the sword and knife that lay beside him. I gestured to the
window. The faint tremor came again.
Lord Otori passed the knife to me and stepped to the wall. I moved to the other side of the window.
We waited for the assassin to climb in.
Step by step he came up the wall, stealthy and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world. We
waited for him with the same patience.
He paused on the sill to take out the knife he planned to use on us, and then stepped inside. Lord
Otori took him in a stranglehold. The intruder wriggled backwards. I leaped at him, and the three of
us fell into the garden like a flurry of fighting cats.
The man fell first, across the stream, striking his head on a boulder. Lord Otori landed on his feet.
My fall was broken by one of the shrubs. The intruder groaned, tried to rise, but slipped back into
the water. 4
“Get a light,” Lord Otori said.
I ran to the house, took a light that still burned in one of the candle stands and carried it back to the
garden.
The assassin had died without regaining consciousness. It turned out he had a poison pellet in his
mouth and had crushed it as he fell. He was dressed in black, with no marking on his clothes. I held
the light over him. There was nothing to tell who he was.
Adapted from: Tales of the Otori by Liam Hearn
(a)
(i) Given below are five words from the passage along with four options for each. Choose the option
which has a similar meaning in the passage: [5]
1. Approaching
a) Going away
b) Moving farther
c) Coming near
d) Walking forward
2. Vanished
a) Hidden
b) Materialized
c) Oblivious
d) Disappeared suddenly
3. Arousing
a) Get going
b) Setting out
c) Awakening from sleep
d) Getting out
4. Crept
a) Moved slowly and gradually
b) stumbled
c) stalked
d) moved hurriedly
5. Heralded
a) Concealed
b) Announced
c) Denied
d) withheld
(ii) With each of the five words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the word in a different
meaning from that which it carries in the passage. [5]
1. Bats
(a) Although she is not good in bowling, she bats very well.
(b) It is believed that the Covid -19 virus has its source in the bats.
(c) The bat used by Sourav Ganguly is made from the willow tree.
(d) The Indian skipper batted very well, leading to the team’s victory.

2. Sign
(a) There was no sign of rain when we came out of5 the house.
(b) She was made to sign on the dotted lines under pressure.
(c) The detective was looking for signs of struggle at the murder site.
(d) The annual report card was signed by both the parents.
3. Banks
(a) The new rule stated that the banks would remain open till 3 PM.
(b) I bank on my parents for advice when I am indecisive.
(c) As soon as the sun set, the moon peeped out from behind the banks of cloud.
(d) The robbers looted 3 lakhs from the ATM of the Bharat Bank.

4. Back
(a) The crocodile slipped back into the water, only to resurface again.
(b) The doctor advised her to give her back some rest as she was suffering from slip disc.
(c) The authorities were not ready for the backlash when they announced the new trade policy.
(d) The men were punished by getting whiplashes on their backs.
5. Web
(a) The web of night sounds seemed eerie on that desolate island.
(b) The cobwebs lashed across her face as she ran through the woods.
(c) The web of the spider attracts insects which become food for the spider.
(d) The webbed feet animals are usually found beside water bodies.
(b) Choose the correct option for the questions given below: [10]
1. What could the narrator hear as he was lying down?
(a) The narrator heard someone entering.
(b) The narrator heard the footsteps of an intruder.
(c) The narrator heard the main door open directly above their heads.
(d) The narrator heard the squeaking that heralded the evening arrival of bats.
2. Why couldn’t the narrator sleep?
(a) He was sure someone would come.
(b) He did not trust anybody.
(c) He felt that he was bringing nothing but trouble to the house.
(d) He felt he was doing nothing.
3. What did the narrator want to do?
(a) To show his repentance.
(b) Just vanish into the night.
(c) Cry his heart out.
(d) Drown himself.
4. What did the narrator wonder?
(a) If he could get out of the house without waking the dogs and the guards.
(b) If the door was locked from outside.
(c) If it would be sensible to behave like a thief.
(d) If it would be difficult to reach the door.
5. What was he trying to listen?
(a) The sound of the rain.
(b) The sound of a foot on stone or a whispered conversation.
(c) The sound of the howling wind outside.
(d) The sound of the swish of skirts and dancing feet.
6. What made him lay wide awake? 6
(a) The rumbling noise.
(b) The rustling of the wind.
(c) The slightest of sounds, more like a tremor.
(d) The squeaking of the bats.
7. When did he realize something was wrong?
(a) When he felt very tired and exhausted and couldn’t breathe.
(b) When a tiny tremble was followed by another- someone was climbing up.
(c) When he was feeling bitterly cold and had to cover himself up.
(d) When a hissing sound was followed by the noise of a snake climbing up.
8. The narrator’s first instinct was to yell out, but………… took over.
(a) Melancholy.
(b) Fear.
(c) Apprehension.
(d) Cunning.
9. What did the narrator do after this?
(a) He rose from the mattress and crept silently to Lord Otori’s side.
(b) He hit the intruder in the head and locked him inside.
(c) He jumped up on his feet and woke up Lord Otori.
(d) He slipped and fell into the water.
10. Arrange the sequence of events as they occur in the passage.
(i) The assassin slipped back into the water.
(ii) The three of them fell into the garden like a flurry of fighting cats.
(iii) The assassin had crushed a poison pellet in his mouth.
(iv) Lord Otori and the narrator waited near the window for the assassin to climb in.

(a) (iii), (i), (iv), (ii)