Board Paper of Class 12-Science 2012 English (SET 3) - Solutions

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
1. While there is no denying that the world loves a winner, it is important that you recognise the signs of stress in your behaviour and be healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life. While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognise your individual limit. For instance, there are some individuals who accept competition in a healthy fashion. There are others who collapse into weeping wrecks before an exam or on comparing mark-sheets and finding that their friend has scored better.

2. Stress is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition when a person makes up his mind to surpass what has been achieved by others, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It is a part and parcel of everyday life.

3. Stress has a different meaning, depending on the stage of life you are in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.

4. Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual, as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion and hyper-acidity. Ultimately the result is self-destructive behaviour such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilisers. There are other signs of stress such as trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing.

5. The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist. It leads to depression, lethargy and weakness. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of the students, executives and professionals.

6. In a study sponsored by World Health Organisation and carried out by Harvard School of Public Health, the global burden of diseases and injury indicated that stress diseases and accidents are going to be the major killers in 2020.

7. The heart disease and depression – both stress diseases – are going to rank first and second in 2020. Road traffic accidents are going to be the third largest killers. These accidents are also an indicator of psycho-social stress in a fast-moving society. Other stress diseases like ulcers, hypertension and sleeplessness have assumed epidemic proportions in modern societies.

8. A person under stress reacts in different ways and the common ones are flight, fight and flee depending upon the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person. The three responses can be elegantly chosen to cope with the stress so that stress does not damage the system and become distress.

9. When a stress crosses the limit, peculiar to an individual, it lowers his performance capacity. Frequent crossings of the limit may result in chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. This may make the person mentally undecided, confused and accident prone as well. Sudden exposure to un-nerving stress may also result in a loss of memory. Diet, massage, food supplements, herbal medicines, hobbies, relaxation techniques and dance movements are excellent stress busters.

(a) (i) What is stress? What factors lead to stress?
(ii) What are the signs by which a person can know that he is under stress?
(iii) What are the different diseases a person gets due to stress?
(iv) Give any two examples of stress busters.
(v) How does a person react under stress?

(b) Which words in the above passage mean the same as the following?
(i) fall down (para 1)
(ii) rebuke (para 3)
(iii) inactive (para 9) VIEW SOLUTION

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow
Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words a minute. The difference between the two at 350 is quite large.

So a speaker must make every effort to retain the attention of the audience and the listener should also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication calls for good listening skills. A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener.

Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. Hearing, in other words, is necessary but is not a sufficient condition for listening. Listening involves hearing with attention. Listening is a process that calls for concentration. While listening, one should also be observant. In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well as with the eyes and the mind. Listening is to be understood as the total process that involves hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations. Good communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation and involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary to be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested in knowing what the other person has to say.

Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be developed. A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade but not to cut off or interrupt what the other person has to say. At times the speaker may or may not be coherent, articulate and well-organised in his thoughts and expressions. He may have it in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the right words while communicating his thought. Nevertheless a good listener puts him at ease, helps him articulate and facilitates him to get across the message that he wants to convey. For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be both physical and psychological. Physical barriers generally relate to hindrances to proper hearing whereas psychological barriers are more fundamental and relate to the interpretation and evaluation of the speaker and the message.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes in points only, using abbreviations wherever necessary. Supply a suitable title.
(b) Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.
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You want to sell your house at 15 Rajendra Nagar, Kancheepuram. Draft an advertisement in not more than 50 words, giving the necessary details, to be published in the classified columns of ‘The New Indian Express’, Chennai. You are Krishnan /Alka.
Your school is organising a Talent Search in Music and Dance. As Co-ordinator of cultural activities, draft a notice in not more than 50 words, inviting the names of those who are interested in the competition. Also give other necessary details, to be placed on your school notice board. Sign as Uday/Vijaya of G.P. Senior Secondary School, Agra. VIEW SOLUTION

You are Fatima/Mohd. Azam, Secretary, Cultural Club, Raj Narain Public School, Allahabad. Your school has recently built a well planned auditorium. Write a description of the auditorium in 100 - 125 words. 
Recently Bhuj was severely rocked by an earthquake causing an enormous loss of life and property. The social service wing of your school rendered substantial help to the victims in terms of money, material and service which was appreciated by the people as well as the government agencies. Write a report in 100 - 125 words for a national daily. You are Anil/Aruna of B.N. Public School, Surat. VIEW SOLUTION

Of late, you have been observing that the senior citizens are also being allotted the upper berths in the trains, which causes a lot of inconvenience to them. Draft a letter to the Editor of ‘The Hindu’, Chennai, drawing the attention of railway authorities to look into the matter and redress the grievance of senior citizens. You are Rajan/Parvati of 16, Avadi, Chennai.
You are Anil/Anu Sharma, P.E.T. of KLM Public School Ambala. Last month you placed an order for the supply of a few sports goods with Messrs Pioneer Sports, Meerut. On receiving the supply you found that some items were short in number while some others were defective. Write a letter of complaint to the supplier detailing all the shortages and defects. VIEW SOLUTION

Most of the students remain glued to television resulting in a lack of activity. Although the introduction of comprehensive assessment makes it necessary for them to participate in one activity or the other, a majority of them try to avoid sports and games. Write an article in 150 - 200 words on the need for making sports and games compulsory for students in schools. You are Praveen/Priya.
Delhi Metro enjoys a top ranking among the metros of the world. The ride is easy, comfortable, fast and convenient. Some young boys have been seen to violate the rules by jumping the queue, entering the ladies’ compartment, playing loud music, etc. Write a speech in 150 - 200 words to be delivered in the morning assembly on the need to observe metro manners. You are Albert/Christine. VIEW SOLUTION

(a) Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
…………… and
looked but soon
put that thought away, and
looked out at young
trees sprinting, the merry children spilling 
out of their homes.
(i) What did the poet realise? How did she feel?
(ii) What did she do then?
(iii) What did she notice in the world outside?
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms 
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.
(i) Explain ‘the grandeur of the dooms’.
(ii) What does the poet mean by the mighty dead?
(iii) What is the source of the endless fountain of immortal drink?

(b) Answer any three of the following in 30 – 40 words each:
 (i) “So blot their maps with slums as big as doom,” says Stephen Spender. What does the poet want to convey?
(ii) Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death? Give a reasoned answer. (Keeping Quiet)
(iii) What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
(iv) How has Aunt Jennifer created her tigers? What traits of the tigers do they reveal?
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Answer the following in 30–40 words each:
(a) What factors made Douglas decide in favour of Y.M.C.A. pool?
(b) How did Gandhiji begin his mission in Champaran?
(c)What do you learn about the literary taste of the staff of Gemini Studios as far as English poetry was concerned?
(d) Why did Rudyard Kipling refuse to be interviewed?
(e) Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey? VIEW SOLUTION

Answer the following in 125 – 150 words:
Give a character sketch of M. Hamel on the basis of your study of the story, ‘The Last Lesson’.
The story, ‘The Rattrap’ has many unexpected reactions of the characters to others’ behaviour. Describe at least three instances.
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Answer the following in 125 – 150 words:
The actual pain or inconvenience caused by the physical impairment is often much less than the sense of alienation felt by the person with disability. Do you agree with this statement? Why/Why not?
How was Evans able to devise a foolproof plan for his escape from the prison as well as procure items for his disguise in spite of severe restrictions and strict observation?
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Answer the following in 30 – 40 words each:
(a) How does Jack Finney give a realistic touch to his description of the third level?
(b) Who is the tiger king? Why does he get that name?
(c) What unique opportunities does Antarctic environment provide to the scientists?
(d) What does Zitkala-Sa remember about her first day in the land of apples? VIEW SOLUTION