Class 12 English Official Sample Question Paper (2021-22- Term II) | English Class 12 PDF Download

 Page 1


Page 1 of 6 
 
TERM II 
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER (2021-22) 
ENGLISH – CORE 
CLASS-XII  
Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40 
     General Instructions: 
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. 
 
 SECTION A – READING (14 marks) 
 
Marks 
 
1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
5 
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and                                                                                           
became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was 
always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at 
any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 
on the Connecticut coast, where I lived.  
 
 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I 
decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the 
sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive 
with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 
humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive 
after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere 
other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most 
people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very 
stupid.   
15 
 
 
 
 
 
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks 
intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to 
sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak 
lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their 
pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 
20 
 
 
 
 
25 
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow 
divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride 
to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, 
“Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with 
me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 
shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers 
feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks 
in a very benign light.  
  
 
 
30 
I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex 
predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 
ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2


Page 1 of 6 
 
TERM II 
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER (2021-22) 
ENGLISH – CORE 
CLASS-XII  
Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40 
     General Instructions: 
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. 
 
 SECTION A – READING (14 marks) 
 
Marks 
 
1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
5 
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and                                                                                           
became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was 
always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at 
any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 
on the Connecticut coast, where I lived.  
 
 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I 
decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the 
sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive 
with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 
humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive 
after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere 
other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most 
people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very 
stupid.   
15 
 
 
 
 
 
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks 
intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to 
sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak 
lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their 
pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 
20 
 
 
 
 
25 
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow 
divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride 
to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, 
“Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with 
me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 
shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers 
feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks 
in a very benign light.  
  
 
 
30 
I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex 
predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 
ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2 of 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i. 
 
 
ii. 
 
 
iii. 
 
 
iv. 
 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
vi. 
 
 
vii. 
 
 
 
viii. 
 
 
ix. 
 
 
 
their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the sea grass beds. 
Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have 
a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans 
continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, 
and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the 
nine given below.                                                   
 
Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer's post-Jaws fear was 
not justified. 
 
State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason 
for your choice.  
 
People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people 
think that he was ‘very stupid’?   
 
Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least 
afraid of them? 
 
Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, 
from lines 10 – 20. 
Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or 
wrong issue. 
 
What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s 
viewpoint about the tiger sharks?    
 
Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence 
appropriately.  
I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next 
time after they get this tournament __________________________. 
 
Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger 
sharks are apex predators? 
 
Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empowers tiger sharks to 
emerge winners if global warming persists.                                                                                                                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1*8 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
         
1 
 
2. 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
 
5 
Changing food preferences have brought about rapid changes in the 
structure of the Indian diet. The rapid proliferation of multinational fast- 
food companies and the influence of Western culture have replaced 
traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods thus 
increasing the risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Therefore, nurturing 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 3


Page 1 of 6 
 
TERM II 
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER (2021-22) 
ENGLISH – CORE 
CLASS-XII  
Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40 
     General Instructions: 
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. 
 
 SECTION A – READING (14 marks) 
 
Marks 
 
1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
5 
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and                                                                                           
became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was 
always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at 
any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 
on the Connecticut coast, where I lived.  
 
 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I 
decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the 
sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive 
with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 
humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive 
after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere 
other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most 
people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very 
stupid.   
15 
 
 
 
 
 
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks 
intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to 
sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak 
lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their 
pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 
20 
 
 
 
 
25 
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow 
divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride 
to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, 
“Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with 
me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 
shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers 
feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks 
in a very benign light.  
  
 
 
30 
I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex 
predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 
ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2 of 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i. 
 
 
ii. 
 
 
iii. 
 
 
iv. 
 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
vi. 
 
 
vii. 
 
 
 
viii. 
 
 
ix. 
 
 
 
their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the sea grass beds. 
Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have 
a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans 
continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, 
and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the 
nine given below.                                                   
 
Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer's post-Jaws fear was 
not justified. 
 
State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason 
for your choice.  
 
People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people 
think that he was ‘very stupid’?   
 
Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least 
afraid of them? 
 
Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, 
from lines 10 – 20. 
Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or 
wrong issue. 
 
What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s 
viewpoint about the tiger sharks?    
 
Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence 
appropriately.  
I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next 
time after they get this tournament __________________________. 
 
Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger 
sharks are apex predators? 
 
Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empowers tiger sharks to 
emerge winners if global warming persists.                                                                                                                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1*8 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
         
1 
 
2. 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
 
5 
Changing food preferences have brought about rapid changes in the 
structure of the Indian diet. The rapid proliferation of multinational fast- 
food companies and the influence of Western culture have replaced 
traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods thus 
increasing the risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Therefore, nurturing 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 3 of 6 
 
healthy eating habits among Indians from an early age would help to reduce 
health risks. 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
15 
To date, little is known about the quality and quantity of foods and 
beverages consumed by urban Indian adolescents. This lack of evidence is 
a significant barrier to the development of effective nutrition promotion 
and disease prevention measures.  
 
Therefore, a self-administered, semi-quantitative, 59-item meal-based food 
frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess the dietary intake 
of adolescents. A total of 1026 students (aged 14–16 years) attending 
private, English-speaking schools in Kolkata completed the survey.  
 
A sample percentage of the food consumption pattern is displayed (Fig. 1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20 
 
 
The survey results report poor food consumption patterns and highlights 
the need to design healthy eating initiatives. Interestingly, while there 
were no gender differences in the consumption of legumes and fried 
snacks, the survey found more females consumed cereals, vegetables and 
fruits than their male counterparts. 
 
 
 
 
25 
 
In conclusion, the report suggested that schools ought to incorporate food 
literacy concepts into their curriculum as they have the potential of 
increasing the fruit and vegetable intake in teenagers.  Additionally, 
healthy school canteen policies with improved availability, accessibility, 
variety and affordability of healthy food choices would support the 
consumption of nutritious food in students. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
Page 4


Page 1 of 6 
 
TERM II 
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER (2021-22) 
ENGLISH – CORE 
CLASS-XII  
Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40 
     General Instructions: 
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. 
 
 SECTION A – READING (14 marks) 
 
Marks 
 
1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
5 
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and                                                                                           
became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was 
always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at 
any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 
on the Connecticut coast, where I lived.  
 
 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I 
decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the 
sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive 
with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 
humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive 
after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere 
other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most 
people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very 
stupid.   
15 
 
 
 
 
 
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks 
intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to 
sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak 
lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their 
pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 
20 
 
 
 
 
25 
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow 
divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride 
to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, 
“Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with 
me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 
shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers 
feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks 
in a very benign light.  
  
 
 
30 
I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex 
predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 
ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2 of 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i. 
 
 
ii. 
 
 
iii. 
 
 
iv. 
 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
vi. 
 
 
vii. 
 
 
 
viii. 
 
 
ix. 
 
 
 
their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the sea grass beds. 
Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have 
a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans 
continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, 
and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the 
nine given below.                                                   
 
Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer's post-Jaws fear was 
not justified. 
 
State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason 
for your choice.  
 
People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people 
think that he was ‘very stupid’?   
 
Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least 
afraid of them? 
 
Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, 
from lines 10 – 20. 
Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or 
wrong issue. 
 
What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s 
viewpoint about the tiger sharks?    
 
Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence 
appropriately.  
I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next 
time after they get this tournament __________________________. 
 
Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger 
sharks are apex predators? 
 
Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empowers tiger sharks to 
emerge winners if global warming persists.                                                                                                                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1*8 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
         
1 
 
2. 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
 
5 
Changing food preferences have brought about rapid changes in the 
structure of the Indian diet. The rapid proliferation of multinational fast- 
food companies and the influence of Western culture have replaced 
traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods thus 
increasing the risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Therefore, nurturing 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 3 of 6 
 
healthy eating habits among Indians from an early age would help to reduce 
health risks. 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
15 
To date, little is known about the quality and quantity of foods and 
beverages consumed by urban Indian adolescents. This lack of evidence is 
a significant barrier to the development of effective nutrition promotion 
and disease prevention measures.  
 
Therefore, a self-administered, semi-quantitative, 59-item meal-based food 
frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess the dietary intake 
of adolescents. A total of 1026 students (aged 14–16 years) attending 
private, English-speaking schools in Kolkata completed the survey.  
 
A sample percentage of the food consumption pattern is displayed (Fig. 1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20 
 
 
The survey results report poor food consumption patterns and highlights 
the need to design healthy eating initiatives. Interestingly, while there 
were no gender differences in the consumption of legumes and fried 
snacks, the survey found more females consumed cereals, vegetables and 
fruits than their male counterparts. 
 
 
 
 
25 
 
In conclusion, the report suggested that schools ought to incorporate food 
literacy concepts into their curriculum as they have the potential of 
increasing the fruit and vegetable intake in teenagers.  Additionally, 
healthy school canteen policies with improved availability, accessibility, 
variety and affordability of healthy food choices would support the 
consumption of nutritious food in students. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
Page 4 of 6 
 
Adapted from: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-017-0272-3 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven 
questions given below. 
 
i. What does the researcher mean by ‘changing food preferences’?  
 
ii. Why was this survey on the food consumption of adolescents undertaken? 
 
iii. With reference to fig.1, write one conclusion about students' consumption of 
energy-dense drinks. 
FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED CANDIDATES 
What do you understand by the term food frequency, as stated in lines 12-13? 
 
iv. What can be concluded by the ‘no intake’ data of fruit consumption versus 
energy dense snacks, with reference to fig.1? 
FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED CANDIDATES 
Comment on the significance of incorporating food literacy concepts into 
student curriculum. 
 
v. There were no gender differences observed in the consumption of healthy 
foods, according to the survey. Substantiate. 
 
vi. Why is ‘affordability’ recommended as a significant feature of a school 
canteen policy? 
 
vii. Identify a word from lines 9 - 18 indicating that the questionnaire was 
specifically designed to be completed by a respondent without the intervention 
of the researcher collecting the data.  
 
 
 
1*6 
 
 
1 
 
1 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 SECTION B – WRITING 
 
8 
3. You are Natasha, residing in Pune. Your cousin, from the same city is hosting your 
grandmother’s eightieth birth anniversary and has extended an invite to you. He has 
also requested your assistance for arrangements needed.  Draft a reply of acceptance, 
in not more than 50 words. 
 
       
3 
 
4. 
 
A. 
 
 
 
Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 
 
You are Shantanu, residing at Ghar B-94, Balimela Road, Malkangiri. You come across 
the following classified advertisement in a local daily. Write a letter, in about 120-150 
words, applying for the position of a volunteer for the Each One Teach One campaign.  
 
 
5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 5


Page 1 of 6 
 
TERM II 
SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER (2021-22) 
ENGLISH – CORE 
CLASS-XII  
Time allowed: 2 Hrs.                                                               Maximum Marks: 40 
     General Instructions: 
1. The Question Paper contains THREE sections-READING, WRITING and LITERATURE. 
2. Attempt questions based on specific instructions for each part. 
 
 SECTION A – READING (14 marks) 
 
Marks 
 
1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
5 
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and                                                                                           
became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was 
always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at 
any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 
on the Connecticut coast, where I lived.  
 
 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I 
decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the 
sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive 
with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on 
humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive 
after getting certified—which meant it would be my first dive anywhere 
other than a swimming pool or a quarry—and without a diver’s cage. Most 
people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very 
stupid.   
15 
 
 
 
 
 
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks 
intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to 
sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak 
lovingly of the tiger sharks the way people talk about their children or their 
pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. 
20 
 
 
 
 
25 
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow 
divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride 
to the site in the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, 
“Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with 
me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger 
shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers 
feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks 
in a very benign light.  
  
 
 
30 
I think it would be unfair not to mention that though tiger sharks are apex 
predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean 
ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limit 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 2 of 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
i. 
 
 
ii. 
 
 
iii. 
 
 
iv. 
 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
vi. 
 
 
vii. 
 
 
 
viii. 
 
 
ix. 
 
 
 
their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the sea grass beds. 
Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have 
a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans 
continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, 
and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the 
nine given below.                                                   
 
Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer's post-Jaws fear was 
not justified. 
 
State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason 
for your choice.  
 
People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people 
think that he was ‘very stupid’?   
 
Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least 
afraid of them? 
 
Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, 
from lines 10 – 20. 
Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or 
wrong issue. 
 
What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s 
viewpoint about the tiger sharks?    
 
Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence 
appropriately.  
I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next 
time after they get this tournament __________________________. 
 
Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger 
sharks are apex predators? 
 
Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empowers tiger sharks to 
emerge winners if global warming persists.                                                                                                                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1*8 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
         
1 
 
2. 
Read the passage given below. 
 
 
 
 
 
5 
Changing food preferences have brought about rapid changes in the 
structure of the Indian diet. The rapid proliferation of multinational fast- 
food companies and the influence of Western culture have replaced 
traditional home-cooked meals with ready-to-eat, processed foods thus 
increasing the risk of chronic diseases in urban Indians. Therefore, nurturing 
6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 3 of 6 
 
healthy eating habits among Indians from an early age would help to reduce 
health risks. 
 
 
 
10 
 
 
 
 
 
15 
To date, little is known about the quality and quantity of foods and 
beverages consumed by urban Indian adolescents. This lack of evidence is 
a significant barrier to the development of effective nutrition promotion 
and disease prevention measures.  
 
Therefore, a self-administered, semi-quantitative, 59-item meal-based food 
frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to assess the dietary intake 
of adolescents. A total of 1026 students (aged 14–16 years) attending 
private, English-speaking schools in Kolkata completed the survey.  
 
A sample percentage of the food consumption pattern is displayed (Fig. 1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20 
 
 
The survey results report poor food consumption patterns and highlights 
the need to design healthy eating initiatives. Interestingly, while there 
were no gender differences in the consumption of legumes and fried 
snacks, the survey found more females consumed cereals, vegetables and 
fruits than their male counterparts. 
 
 
 
 
25 
 
In conclusion, the report suggested that schools ought to incorporate food 
literacy concepts into their curriculum as they have the potential of 
increasing the fruit and vegetable intake in teenagers.  Additionally, 
healthy school canteen policies with improved availability, accessibility, 
variety and affordability of healthy food choices would support the 
consumption of nutritious food in students. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
Page 4 of 6 
 
Adapted from: https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-017-0272-3 
 
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer ANY SIX out of the seven 
questions given below. 
 
i. What does the researcher mean by ‘changing food preferences’?  
 
ii. Why was this survey on the food consumption of adolescents undertaken? 
 
iii. With reference to fig.1, write one conclusion about students' consumption of 
energy-dense drinks. 
FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED CANDIDATES 
What do you understand by the term food frequency, as stated in lines 12-13? 
 
iv. What can be concluded by the ‘no intake’ data of fruit consumption versus 
energy dense snacks, with reference to fig.1? 
FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED CANDIDATES 
Comment on the significance of incorporating food literacy concepts into 
student curriculum. 
 
v. There were no gender differences observed in the consumption of healthy 
foods, according to the survey. Substantiate. 
 
vi. Why is ‘affordability’ recommended as a significant feature of a school 
canteen policy? 
 
vii. Identify a word from lines 9 - 18 indicating that the questionnaire was 
specifically designed to be completed by a respondent without the intervention 
of the researcher collecting the data.  
 
 
 
1*6 
 
 
1 
 
1 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 
 
1 
 SECTION B – WRITING 
 
8 
3. You are Natasha, residing in Pune. Your cousin, from the same city is hosting your 
grandmother’s eightieth birth anniversary and has extended an invite to you. He has 
also requested your assistance for arrangements needed.  Draft a reply of acceptance, 
in not more than 50 words. 
 
       
3 
 
4. 
 
A. 
 
 
 
Attempt ANY ONE from A and B given below. 
 
You are Shantanu, residing at Ghar B-94, Balimela Road, Malkangiri. You come across 
the following classified advertisement in a local daily. Write a letter, in about 120-150 
words, applying for the position of a volunteer for the Each One Teach One campaign.  
 
 
5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Page 5 of 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
B. 
 
OR 
 
The efforts of 400 volunteers working with the NGO, 4Literacy, in the district of 
Malkangiri, Odisha, was lauded by the District Collector, Shri V.  Singh (IAS). As a staff 
reporter of ‘The Odisha Bhaskar’, write a report about this in 120-150 words covering 
all the details of the event, such as training, teaching and infrastructure involved in the 
‘Each One Teach One’ campaign, initiated by the district administration in association 
with the NGO. 
 
 
 SECTION C - LITERATURE 
 
18 
5. Attempt ANY FIVE of the six questions given below, within 40 words each. 
 
i. A mistaken identity led to a discovery of a new one for the rattrap peddler. 
How did this impact him?  
 
ii. As the host of a talk show, introduce Rajkumar Shukla to the audience by 
stating any two of his defining qualities. 
You may begin your answer like this: 
Meet Rajkumar Shukla, the man who played a pivotal role in the Champaran 
Movement. He …… 
 
iii. Adrienne Rich chose to express her silent revolt through her poem, Aunt 
Jennifer’s Tigers, just as Aunt Jennifer did with her embroidery. Explain. 
 
iv. Rationalize why Keats uses the metaphor ‘an endless fountain of immortal 
drink’ in his poem, A Thing of Beauty.      
 
v. How do you think Derry’s mother contributes to his sense of alienation and 
isolation? (On the Face of It) 
 
vi. Validate John Updike’s open-ended title, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’.    
2x5=10 
 
 
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2 
 
 
 
2 
 
 
2 
 
 
2 
 
 
2 
 
6. Answer ANY TWO of the following in about 120-150 words each.  4*2 
   i. How does Keats’ poem, A Thing of Beauty appeal richly to the senses, stimulating the 
reader’s inner sight as well as the sense of touch and smell? Write your answer in about 
120-150 words. 
 
 
4 
SITUATION VACANT 
WANTED committed volunteers, aged 18 years and above, to teach underprivileged 
children, for one hour a week, in the district of Malkangiri. Ability to speak, read 
and write Odiya fluently, important. Experience not necessary. All volunteers to 
receive training.  Contact Nethra N, Coordinator (Each One Teach One), 4Literacy, 
Ambaguda, Malkangiri, Odisha -764045