List of top English Core Questions asked in CBSE Class Twelve Board Exam

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store.
Where they won't have to think for themselves anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits,
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way. (A Roadside Stand)
 

Read the passage carefully:
 

(1) This report presents findings from the Youth Aspirations in India Survey in which 5,764 youth between the ages of 15 and 30 were asked about their employment, education, and skilling aspirations.
 

(2) Indian youth valued higher education. 50 percent of respondents aspire to attain a post-graduate degree, 24 percent a PhD, and 21 percent a bachelor's degree. Only 2 percent of respondents hope to attain a college or vocational diploma as their highest form of education.
 

(3) Respondents have a strong preference for attaining higher education degrees. At the same time, there is an awareness of changing skills requirements and an interest in augmenting their skills. 76 percent of youth report being very interested in pursuing a skills development programme. 70 percent of youth identified more employment opportunities as the main motivation for wanting to pursue skills development training.
 

(4) A study related to their job preference reveals their strong desire for job security and opportunities for career advancement. It is evident from the following data:

(5) In the context of technological adoption and digitization, jobs and tasks, along with the competencies required to execute them, are changing. 86 percent of youth feel very or moderately up to date with changes in skills requirements. Yet, 39 percent of youth feel very prepared or prepared for their ideal job, while 16 percent of youth feel either not prepared or very unprepared for their ideal job.
 

(6) Female respondents' education and employment aspirations match, if not exceed, those of male respondents. Yet, female respondents face discriminatory biases in hiring, have less paid work experience than their male counterparts, and face greater barriers in pursuing skills development opportunities. 60 percent of female respondents, for example, report having no paid work experience, compared to 54 percent of male respondents. In addition, 15 percent of female respondents report personal biases such as marital status, gender, age, or family background as a main barrier to employment compared to 9 percent of male respondents. While more female respondents report being very interested in participating in a skills development programme, only 19 percent have enrolled in a programme, compared to 26 percent of male respondents.
 

Answer the following questions, based on the given passage:
 

How did Tishani Doshi’s visit to Antarctica as part of the Students on Ice Programme make her realise the importance of preserving the Earth? (Journey to the End of the Earth) 
 

My Last French Lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write ! I should never learn any more! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds 'eggs or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn't give up and M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was. Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
(The Last Lesson)

Those were the days of mainly indoor shooting, and only five percent of the film was shot outdoors. I suppose the sets and studio lights needed the girls and boys to be made to look 1 ugly in order to look presentable in the movie. A strict hierarchy was maintained in the make-up department. The chief make-up man made the chief actors and actresses 2 ugly, his senior assistant 3 'second' hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main comedian and so forth. The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy. (Even the make-up department of the Gemini Studio 4 had an 'office boy')
On the days when there was crowd-shooting, you could see him mixing his paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players. The idea was to close every pore on the surface of the face in the process of applying 1 make-up

Mr. Lamb :
When I go down the streets, the kids shout “Lamey Lamb’. But they will come into the garden, into my house; it’s a game. They're not afraid of me. Why should they be? Because I’m not afraid of them, that’s why not.
Derry
Did you get your leg blown off in the war?
Mr. Lamb :
Certainly
Derry
How will you climb on a ladder and get the crab apples down, then?
Mr. Lamb :
Oh, there’s a lot of things I’ve learned to do and plenty of time for it. Years. I take it steady. (On the Face of it)
 

When I heard this, I didn't want to laugh any more, and I felt terribly sad. How could they believe that it was disgusting if one of us held that package in his hands, even though the Vadai had been wrapped first in a banana leaf, and then parcelled in paper? I felt so provoked and angry that I wanted to touch those wretched Vadais myself straight away. Why should we have to fetch and carry for these people. I wondered. Such an important elder of ours goes meekly to the shops to fetch snacks and hands over reverently, bowing and shrinking, to this fellow who just sits there and stuffs them into his mouth. The thought of it infuriated me. (Memories of Childhood)

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves with death.
Perhaps the Earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
And you keep quiet and I will go.
 

Paragraph 5 uses the words ‘competencies’ and ‘adoption’. 
Classify the following sentences which talk about ‘competency’ and which talk about ‘adoption’. 
Sentence 1: Ria embraced new technology to gain a global market for her paintings. 
Sentence 2: Ria displays her artistic skill through her paintings. 
 

Complete the following sentence suitably: 
The driving force for the Indian youth to join a skill development programme is _________.

As per the survey, Indian youth is broadly focused on

Choose the correct option: 
“...Humour can be a device for connecting people who are operating on the same wavelength.” 
By the phrase “same wavelength,” the author refers to: 
 

1. Read the following passage carefully:

(1) Having a sense of humor might mean having the ability to entertain other people by making them laugh, but it can also mean having a quick wit that is frequently employed to criticize other people with mischief comments. Some might define a sense of humor as the ability to see humor in everyday life or as appreciating the cleverness of puns and wordplay, and many think it is possible to possess a good sense of humour without ever having those around them be aware of it.
 

(2) In any case, a sense of humour is a socially valued trait that almost all of us would rather have more, rather than less of – akin to the way that we think about intelligence or good looks. A person with an undeveloped sense of humour lacks a social skill that puts him or her at a severe disadvantage in the hurly-burly of everyday adult life.
 

(3) Freud thought of humour as an outlet for forbidden impulses, and philosophers ranging from Aristotle to Descartes believed that we are amused by something when it makes us feel superior to other people.
 

(4) Evolutionary psychologists believe that humour, along with other creative abilities, such as art and music, evolved as an honest signal of intelligence and genetic quality. The value of such a skill in defusing tension, aggressive situations and in managing alliances and friendships should not be underestimated either.
 

(5) Schmoozing with a bunch of new people at a cocktail party is an opportunity to engage in light-hearted banter, and other people are grateful when someone is skilful enough to turn a stiff and awkward situation into fun. Cracking jokes, making witty remarks, or engaging in humorous, cheeky observations about the social scene can be like fishing for other minds that connect naturally with one’s own. When it works, humour can be a device for connecting people who are operating on the same wavelength.
 

(6) Observing the operation of other people in such situations gives you a feel as to who you would like to get to know better – and who might be best left behind, wallowing in indignation and bitterness. In short, a sense of humour is the Swiss Army Knife of social skills. Perhaps it is indeed a single instrument, but it contains an arsenal of tools – each exquisitely designed for a unique social purpose.
 

Answer the following questions, based on the given passage: