cbse class11 english sample paper

                ANNUAL EXAMINATION ENGLISH 
SAMPLE PAPER

Part A (40 Marks) 

READING (18 marks) 

1. Read the passage given below.

 (1x10 = 10)

 1. Every year about two million people visit Mount Rushmore, where the faces of four U.S. presidents were carved in granite by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son, the late Lincoln Borglum. The creation of Mount Rushmore monument took 14 years – from 1927 to 1941 – and nearly a million dollars. These were times when money was difficult to come by and many people were jobless. To move the more than 400, 000 tons of rock, Borglum hired laid-off workers from the closed-down mines in the Black Hills area. He taught these men to dynamite, drill, carve, and finish the granite as they were hanging in midair in his specially devised chairs, which had many safety features. Borglum was proud of the fact that no workers were killed or severely injured during the years of blasting and carving. 2. During the carving, many changes in the original design had to be made to keep the carved heads free of large fissures that were uncovered. However, not all the cracks could be avoided, so Borglum concocted a mixture of granite dust, white lead, and linseed oil to fill them. 2 | . Every winter, water from melting snows gets into the fissures and expands as it freezes, making the fissures bigger. Consequently, every autumn maintenance work is done to refill the cracks. The repairers swing out in space over a 500-foot drop and fix the monument with the same mixture that Borglum used to preserve this national monument for future generations.

 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer ANY TEN

i. . This passage is mainly about _______________. 

a. the visitors to the Mount Rushmore monument

 b. the sculptor of the Mount Rushmore monument 

c. the creation of the Mount Rushmore monument. 

d. The money spent for making Mount Rushmore monument 

ii. According to the passage, Borglum’s son ______________. 

a. is dead

 b. was a president 

c. spent a million dollars.

 d. Was of 14 years iii. What training did Borglum give to the workers?

 a. To dynamite b. To carve c. To drill d. All of the above iv. The men whom Borglum hired were _____________. 

a. trained sculptors

 b. Black Hills volunteers 

c. unemployed miners. 

d. Jobless people  

v. The word “devised” in line 7 of para 1 is closest in meaning to ______________.

 a. designed

 b. described

 c. elevated. 

d. hanging

 vi. It can be inferred from the passage that _____________________ 

a. the heads are not as originally planned 

b. the workers made mistakes when blasting.

 c. The heads were cut off 

d. The cracks caused serious injuries.

 vii. In para 1, the word “fissures” refers to _________________. 

a. designs

 b. cracks

 c. heads.

 d. midair 

viii. The word “avoided” in para 2, is closest in meaning to _________________.

a. circumvented

 b. prevented 

c. improvised.

 d. planned

 ix. Borglum’s mixture for filling cracks was ___________________. 

a. very expensive

 b. bought at the Black Hills miners

 c. invented by the sculptor himself.

 d. Got from workers 

x. Today, Mount Rushmore needs to be ________________. 

a. polished for tourists 

 b. restored during the winter

 c. repaired periodically. 

d. Harmed by tourists

 xi. With reference to the above passage, which of the following statement is NOT true?

 a. no workers were killed

 b. a mixture of granite dust, white lead, and linseed oil to fill the cracks 

c. The creation of Mount Rushmore monument took nearly a million dollars 

d. the faces of four U.K. presidents were carved .

2. Read the passage given below. (1x8 = 8)

 1. Human life changes constantly over time. Mobile phones were previously seen only among few high-class people and were considered as something lavish. Then slowly, even the average or the common men on the street, like a cobbler or vegetable vendor, could be seen having a cell-phone. In the world today, even young kids and school going children are found busily chatting away on their mobile phones. Now kids as young as seven and eight too have started owning a mobile phone. Welcome to the new age world! 2.Studies recommend that mobile phones should only be given to children above sixteen years of age. Children below the age of sixteen should not be given mobile phones since their brain is too sensitive to withstand the effects of mobile radiation. Since the tissues in the brain and body are still developing, these radiations can cause cell damage. Due to the absorption of radiation, children can have severe health issues. Although, adults also get affected by these radiations it will be more severe in children because of increased absorption of these radiation levels. Experts also believe there is a link between childhood cancer and mobile phone usage among children. 3. A survey to get the views of the parents and teachers as to whether the children below sixteen years of age should be given mobiles or not was conducted. The responses received were formulated into a pie diagram as under: Whether students should be given mobiles or not  On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer ANY EIGHT questions from the NINE that follow. (1×8=8) 

i. What was previously seen among only high-class individuals?

 a. Air conditioners b. Mobile phones c. Cars d. Laptops

 ii. Now-a-days, who are found busily chatting on their mobiles phones? a. Vegetable vendors b. Executives

 c. Cobblers d. Kids 

. What is the minimum age prescribed by the studies to give mobile phones to children? 

a. Ten

 b. Twelve

 c. Fourteen 

d. Sixteen 

iv. Which of these effects the tissues of the brains?

 a. Mobile battery

 b. Mobile radiation 

c. Mobile screen 

d. All of these 

v. Which of these diseases is linked to mobile phone usage?

 a. Childhood obesity

 b. Childhood cancer

 c. Childhood retardation 

d. All of these 

vi. Whose views were taken during the survey

 a. Teachers 

b. Parents

 c. Kids 

d.Both (i) and (ii) 

vii. What percentage of parents and teachers are against giving mobile phones to students in any situation? a. 7% b. 30% c. 20% d. 43% viii. Pick out the word or phrase from the passage which means the same as extravagant (used in Para 1).

 a. High-class 

b. Lavish

 c. Vendor 

d. Busily

 ix. Pick out the word or phrase from the passage which means opposite to contracting (Para 2). a. Recommending b. Developing c. Absorbing d. linking GRAMMAR (8 MARKS) 

3.. Choose the correct option to make meaningful sentence. (any four) (1X4=4 Marks)

 i. The efficiency of a truck__________by the load it can take. 

a. knows

 b. is known

 c. has been known

 d. has known

 ii. My maid _______ a plate every day. 

a. breaks

 b. was broken 

c. broke d. has broken 

iii. If I ___________ one more question, I would have passed. a. had answered 

b. would answer c. has answered d. would have answered 

iv. She has done ____________ mistake. 

a. None 

b. Any

 c. Much 

d. no

 v. We need to do ___________ of work before the event starts. 

a. Much 

b. a lot

 c. more 

d. some

4. Study the jumbled words and choose the most meaningful sentence from the options given below it. (Any four) (4 Marks) 

i. I have / risk/taken / saving /her /a/in/great.

 (a) Taken I have a great risk in saving her. 

(b) A great risk have I taken in saving her.

 (c) Her have taken la great risk in saving.

 (d) I have taken a great risk in saving her.

 ii. the road /of / obey / we/rules/the / must.

 (a) The rules of the road must we obey. 

(b) We obey the must rules of the road. 

(c) We must obey the rules of the road.

 (d) We must obey the road of the rules. 

iii. storm/clouds / the / seen / were/dark/ before.

 (a) Storm were seen before the dark clouds. 

(b) Dark clouds were seen before the storm.

 (c) Dark clouds were seen the before storm.

 (d) Storm the before dark clouds were seen. 

iv. at studies / he is / games/and /good . 

(a) He is good at studies and games. 

(b) And he is good at studies games. 

(c) He is studies at good and games.

 d.He is good games and at studies.

 v. teachers/a/is/ favourite / of all / Ramesh 

(a) Ramesh is a favourite of all teachers.

 (b) Ramesh a teachers is favourite of all. 

(c) Of all teachers a favourite is Ramesh. (d) A Ramesh is favourite of all teachers. 

                        LITERATURE (14 MAR

5. Read the extracts given below and attempt ANY ONE of the two given by answering the questions that follow. (1x3=3)

 I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe, And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn 

Questions:

 i. With what purpose does the rain descend from the sky? (a) To trouble the creatures of the Earth (b) To give life to the drought affected areas and plants (c) To wash the dust layers enveloping the Earth (d) Both (b) and (c)

 ii. What will happen if ‘I’ was not there? 

(a) It would result in happiness on the Earth (b) It would not matter to the residents of the Earth (c) The seeds will remain as seeds and plants will not grow 

(d) It would result in the rise of temperature on Earth iii. ……….. is the opposite of ‘latent’. (a) Inactive (b) Manifest (c) Dormant 

(d) Resolute 

                                                          OR 

Then sleek as a lizard, and alert, and abrupt, She enters the thickness, and a machine starts up Of chitterings and a tremor of wings, and trilling The whole tree trembles and thrills.

 Questions: 

i. The name of the poet who has written the above lines is… 

(a) Shirley Toulson 

(b) Walt Whitman 

(c) Ted Hughes

 (d) None of the above 

ii. Who is ‘she’ in the second line? Where does she enter?

 (a) She is the baby goldfinch who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree 

(b) ‘She’ is a squirrel who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree 

(c) ‘She’ is a lizard who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree

 (d) ‘She’ is the mother goldfinch who enters the thickness of the Laburnum tree 

iii. Find a word from the extract which is the synonym of ‘entire’.

 (a) Abrupt 

(b) Hole 

(c) Whole 

(d) Tremor 6

6. Read the extracts given below and attempt ANY TWO of the three given by answering the questions that follow. 

(Any two) (3+3=6 Marks)

 He was just a teenager when he died. The last heir of a powerful family that had ruled Egypt and its empire for centuries, he was laid to rest laden with gold and eventually forgotten. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922, the modern world has speculated about what happened to him, with murder being the most extreme possibility. Now, leaving his tomb for the first time in almost 80 years, 

 Questions:

 i. Who died in his teenage?

 a. Amenhotep

 b. Akhetaten 

c. Tutankhamun 

d. Smenkhkare

 ii. What happened in 1922?

 a. Mummy of King Tut was found. 

b. King Tut was buried under a grave.

 c. CT scan was found from the tomb. 

d. King Tut became 80 years old.

 iii. Tutankhamun was a -------------- 

a. Pharaoh

 b. Scientist 

c. Archeologist 

d. God 

                                                  OR 

As hills started to push up once more from the rocky wilderness, we passed solitary drokbas tending their flocks. Sometimes men, sometimes women, these well-wrapped figures would pause and stare at our car, occasionally waving as we passed.

 Questions: 

I. Name the lesson. 

a. The Adventure 

b. The Silk Road 

c. The Landscape of the Soul

 d. The Browning Version

 II. The car was moving towards ----- 

a. Mount Kailash 

b. Ravu

 c. Oxford

 d. Stupa

 III. Drokba means_______

 a. Ravu 

b. Nomads

 c. wild ass

 d. pilgrimage. 

                                                           OR 

That afternoon, when I was resting, Ranga came to my house with a couple of oranges in his hand. A generous, considerate fellow.it would be a fine thing to have him marry, settle down and be of service to society I thought. Questions: I. who was generous? a. Ranga b. Ratna c. Shama d. narrator II. Where did Ranga go? a. At narrator's Home. b. at his own home c. in temple d. in a marriage III. find out a word with the same meaning- solicitous. a. generous b. considerate c. resting d. none 7 Attempt any five from the questions given below. (1x 5 = 5) i. What did Andrew conclude from the whiteness of the child? (a) That he was healthy (b) That he suffered from lack of oxygen 12 | P a g e (c) That he should be taken to hospital (d) That Andrew couldn’t save him ii. Who are on both sides of her mother? (a) Cousins, Betty and Dolly (b) Parents

 (c) Cousins, Dolly and Adam

 (d) Friends 

iii. What happened to the author’s body when he managed to reach the deck?

 (a) his head smashed again (b) his left ribs cracked; mouth filled with blood and broken teeth (c) he broke his leg (d) his broke his left hand iv. What does the concept of ‘Shanshui’ represent? (a) Imaginary place (b) worship (c) ‘mountain water’ which when used together represents the word ‘landscape’ (d) None of the above v. Where was the first nationwide Green party founded? 

(a) USA

 (b) Australia 

(c) New Zealand

 (d) Canada 

vi. Unlike Mrs. Dorling, her daughter was __________ towards the author. 

(a) rude 

(b) mature 

(c) hospitable 

(d) mean 

PART B (40 MARKS) 

READING: 8 MARKS

 8. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: (5+3=8 Marks) Governments have seized on tourism as a way to creating employment and bringing income-preferably foreign exchange-into troubled economies. For years tourism’s capacity to filter wealth through communities has been a major argument in its favour. The tourist spends money on accommodation, food and souvenirs, bringing income to the suppliers of these foods and services, whose money will in turn circulate through the economy. 2. But if the hotels are foreign-owned, local people have little to gain. Nor are they better off. Tourists, though, stay among them, but come prepared to be selfsufficient. In both cases tourists are strongly resented by the locals, who see huge increases in prices as the only visible result of tourism’s economic impact. 3. Job creation is another common advantage of tourism. Governments subsidise tourism projects in the expectation of increasing employment opportunities in the new hotels and restaurants. But such work is frequently poorly paid and is seasonal. Local people may be neither willing to do small and mean unskilled jobs nor highly trained enough to be managers or tour operators. They stand on the sidelines while foreign staff and migrants fill the vacancies. Social tensions surface all too easily in such situations. 4. Any kind of change brings tensions, and economic development tends to increase the generation gap. The young learn new skills while the older generation finds its traditions devalued or rejected. Tourists bring with them different cultures and ideas. Their dress and behavior may be very attractive to the younger generation, but not to the older one. On the beaches and bar stripes of Asia, Africa and the Pacific you can see how readily young people have been lured from their villages by the promise of bright lights and money. 5. In relation to the environment, even the most blundering tourism enthusiast is faced with the truth that tourists destroy the very things they have come for. In Kenya, a country that depends heavily on tourism, there is a real danger of ‘tourist pollution’ in the most popular game parks. Animals in the Maasai Mara reserve are constantly disturbed by tourist buses, their prey scattered, their feeding grounds damaged. If the animals disappear, so may tourism. 14 | P a g e i. On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary. Give the passage a suitable title. (5 marks) ii. Write a summary of the above passage in about 50 words. (3 marks) 

WRITING SECTION: 16 MARKS 9. Attempt ANY ONE of the following:

 (3 marks)

 You are Sports Secretary of Lalwani Public School, Udaipur. Draft a notice in not more than 50 words for your school notice board asking your students to give their names for participation in various events to be held on the Annual Sports Day of your school. Invent all details and sign as Lalit/Lalita. OR As secretary of the ‘Eco Club’ of St. Anne’s School, Ahmedabad. Draft a notice in not more than 50 words informing the club members about the screening of Al Gore’s film, ‘Inconvenient Truth’ in the school’s audio-visual room. 

10. Attempt ANY ONE of the following: (3 marks)

 Your school is organising a ‘Book Week’ in the school premises. Draft a poster, making a request to the students to donate used books for the school library. Add catchy slogans. 

OR

 FRIENDS, a non-government organisation, working for underprivileged children, is organising a two-day Children’s Festival. Events arranged for children include mask making, salad making, recitation and mono acting workshops. The highlight of the event is a puppet show. The festival is open to children in the age group of four to sixteen. Special invitees will be the children of Sanand village. Design a poster giving details of the event.

 11. Attempt ANY ONE of the following: (5 Marks)

 Dipak Vaishnav of Surat has purchased a Frost-free LG refrigerator of 300 litres from ‘Life Style’, Dumas Road, Surat. After a month of purchase, the freezing section of the refrigerator has failed to function. Write a letter to the Sales Manager of the firm complaining about it and requesting for the piece to be replaced, since there is a two-year warranty. 

                                                           OR 

 You are J K Parmar librarian, Model Secondary School, Gandhi Nagar. You saw the following advertisement in the newspaper. Write a letter to Crossword, Shri Krishna Centre, Mithakhali Circle, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009, placing an order for books (Mention at least 4 titles of the books) to be supplied immediately.

 12. Attempt ANY ONE of the following: (5 Marks) Since 1995, 6 March is celebrated as National Immunization Day to raise awareness on vaccination all over India. Prepare a speech in about 100-120 words for the same with the help of the poster given below. You are Ketan/Unnati. Value points (What is vaccination? Why is vaccination important? How does a vaccine work? How do vaccines protect individuals and communities? Why should one get vaccinated? Are Vaccines safe? What diseases do vaccines prevent? When should a child get vaccinated? Who can get vaccinated? How are vaccines developed and  tested?. What should one do, if till has questions about vaccination? What is in a vaccine?)

                                                          OR

 Since April, you are attending online classes on virtual platforms, write a debate in about 100-120 words either in favour of or against the motion: Can a Mechanical Teacher replace a Human teacher? You are Kiran/Sarita.

                                              LITERATURE SECTION: 

16 MARKS 

13. Attempt ANY TWO out of the four questions given below in 30-40 words each: (2x2=4 MARKS)

 i. How does the rain justify its claim ‘I am the Poem of Earth’?

 ii. What is the poet trying to convey when he says that childhood is hidden in an infant’s face? 

iii. What do you understand by the statement, “Forests precede mankind; deserts follow?” 

iv. The grandmother has been portrayed as a deeply religious lady. What details in the story create that impression?

 14. Attempt ANY ONE of the following questions in 40-50 words: (1x2=2 Marks) 

i. Contrast the characters of Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Fitzgerald. 

ii. ‘The Address’ is a story of human predicament that follows war. Comment.

 15. Attempt ANY ONE of the following questions in 120-150 words: (5 Marks) (A) Taplow is shown to be a sincere and dedicated student. How far do you agree to it? OR (B) The hurdles of life can be challenged if we have confidence to make optimum use of our potential. Elaborate it with reference to the lesson ‘We Are Not Afraid to Die … if We can All be Together” 

16. Attempt ANY ONE of the following questions in 120-150 words: (5 Marks) 

(A) Ranga represents modern rural India where the youth aspire to improve their life through education. Comment. 

                                          OR

 (B) What are Einstein’s views on education as revealed in his conversation with the History teacher?