1st Semester Exam Std 12th

STD: XII                    SEMESTER EXAM-2021

Time:2:30Hrs.                           Marks: 50

(SECTION I)

 Reading for Comprehension / Language Study/ Summarizing

Q.I (A) Read the following extract and complete all the activities given after it:    (12 Marks)   

The young lift-man in a City office who threw a passenger out of his lift the other morning and was fined for the offence was undoubtedly in the wrong. It was a question of “Please.” The complainant entering the lift said, “Top.” The lift-man demanded “Top-please,” and this concession being refused he not only declined to comply with the instruct, but hurled the passenger out of the lift. This, of course was arraying a comment on manner too far. Discourtesy is not a legal offence, and it does not excuse assault and battery. If a burglar breaks into my house and I knock him down, the law will acquit me, and if I am physically assaulted, it will permit me to retaliate with reasonable violence. It does this because the burglar and my assailant have broken quite definite commands of the law. But no legal system could attempt to legislate against bad manners, or could sanction the use of violence against something which it does not itself recognize as a legally punishable offence. And our sympathy with the lift-man, we must admit that the law is reasonable. It would never do if we were at liberty to box people’s ears because we did not like their behavior, or the tone of their voices, or the scowl on their faces. Our fists would never be idle, and the gutters of the city would run with blood all day.   I may be as uncivil as I may please and the law will protect me against violent retaliation. I may be haughty or boorish and there is no penalty to pay except the penalty of being written down an ill-mannered fellow. The law does not compel me to say “Please” or to attune my voice to other people’s sensibilities any more than it says that I shall not wax my moustache or dye my hair or wear ringlets down my back. It does not recognize the laceration of our feelings as a case for compensation. There is no allowance for moral and intellectual damages in these matters. 

A.1 From the sentences given below, find out the false statement and 

rewrite them correctly. (2) 

i.The lift-man invited the passenger into the lift. 

ii.If you knock down a burglar, the law will acquit you. 

iii.There is no legislation against bad manners. 

iv.The complainant had to pay a fine. 

A2. State what the lift-man wanted the passenger to do and the 

consequences of not doing it. (2) 

A3 Select the correct words from the following box and complete the given 

table. (2) 

Discourtesy, Violence Assault and Battery Haughtiness, 

Burglar, Rude behavior

A4 Describe a person you have come across who is always polite and 

helpful and your reactions towards him/her. (2) 

A5 Write the antonyms of the following using prefixes: (2) 

i. Courtesy ii. Legal iii. Violence iv. Civil 

(B) Do the following language activities as instructed: 

(2 Marks) 

(B1) Teachers and students working together have demonstrated an amazing 

ability to usher in change.

(Identify and write down the verb/s and state the tense.) (1) 

(B2) Spot the error in the following sentence: (1) 

“Where was you yesterday?” 

Q.II (A) Read the following extract and complete all the activities given 

after it: (12 Marks) 

To read a lot is essential. It is stupid not to venture outside the examination ‘set 

books’ or the textbooks you have chosen for intensive study. Read as many 

books in English as you can, not as a duty but for pleasure. Do not choose the 

most difficult books you find, with the idea of listening and learning as many 

new words as possible: choose what is likely to interest you and be sure in 

advance, that it is not too hard. You should not have to be constantly looking 

up new words in the dictionary, for that deadens interest and checks real 

learning. Look up a word here and there, but as a general policy try to push 

ahead, guessing what words mean from the context. It is extensive and not 

intensive reading that normally helps you to get interested in extra reading and 

thereby improve your English. You should enjoy the feeling which extensive 

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