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

(a) “Things out, shutting things in.” (On the Face of It)
The above statement speaks about Mr. Lamb’s open-mindedness and large-heartedness despite his disability. Inspired by his thought, you as a student leader, give a motivational speech to your class on how positive attitude and broad-mindedness will help one succeed in life. vspace{0.5cm}

What is Pablo Neruda’s complaint against fishermen?
{(Keeping Quiet)}

How and why does Keats relate ‘mighty dead’ to the ‘Thing of Beauty’?
{(A Thing of Beauty)}

“Jansie, knowing they were both earmarked for the biscuit factory, became melancholy.” What inference about Jansie’s character is drawn from the above line?
{(Going Places)}

(ii) ‘I must get rid of this man for your sake’. (The Enemy)
How did Dr. Sadao act like a perfect husband?

“Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart.” What does the above statement speak of the father?
{(Deep Water)}

The tigers in the panel that she made will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. What is the tone of the poet reflected in the above lines?
{(Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)}

(b) Compare the joy that both Edla and Saheb experience after receiving their respective gifts.
{(The Rattrap, Lost Spring)}

The tigers in the panel that she made will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. What is the tone of the poet reflected in the above lines?
{(Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers)}

Then the poet spoke. He couldn’t have addressed a more dazed and silent audience – no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement – What are we doing? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry. The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery.

(Poets and Pancakes)

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions on ANY ONE.

(a) “Why do you do this?” I ask Saheb, whom I encounter every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps of my neighbourhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That’s why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives. “I have nothing else to do,” he mutters, looking away. “Go to school,” I say glibly, realizing immediately how hollow the advice must sound. “There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go.”

(Lost Spring)

Imagine you are Derry speaking at the funeral of Mr. Lamb highlighting Mr. Lamb’s optimism and the change he brought about in your attitude towards life.

From that day onwards, it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram. The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A proclamation was issued to the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated. The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred tigers. Initially, the king seemed well set to realise his ambition.

(The Tiger King)

Write an article highlighting how Dr. Sadao’s actions demonstrated the importance of humanity and living in harmony.

Read the two extracts given below and answer the questions on ANY ONE.

(a) The reason the programme has been so successful is because it is impossible to go anywhere near the South Pole and not be affected by it. It’s easy to be blasé about polar ice caps melting while sitting in the comfort zone of our respective latitude and longitude, but when you can visibly see glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing, you begin to realise that the threat of global warming is real. Antarctica, because of her simple eco-system and lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big repercussions.

(Journey to the End of the Earth)

… but soon put that thought away, and
looked out at Young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
out of their homes, but after the airport’s security check,
standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

(My Mother at Sixty-six)

Read the following extracts and answer the questions on ANY ONE of the given two.

Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;

(A Roadside Stand)

6. (b) Your school recently organized Y-20 Chaupal under G-20 initiative. The theme chosen for the event was Health and Wellness. Nearly 20 speakers from Classes IX to XII participated and presented their innovative ideas.

6. (a) Television has great educational value. It can be used as a tool for learning, both at home and in classrooms. There is a range of channels that offer educational content.

5. (b) To maintain work-life balance, there is a surge of people going on short and budgeted vacations. Seizing this opportunity, more people are offering the home-stay option. Write a letter to the editor of a national daily sharing your views on this trend. You may use the following cues along with your own ideas to compose this letter. You are Ankit/Ankita.

(a) You are Dinesh / Deepa of M.G. Nagar, Pratap Nagar. You are a pharma graduate. You saw the given advertisement in a newspaper and wish to apply for the position advertised. Write a letter to Ideal Pharma, along with your bio-data, expressing your interest in the advertised post.

b You are Mr. Anmol Gupta. You are planning to celebrate your sister's silver jubilee wedding anniversary. Draft the invitation card to be sent to relatives and friends, sharing all relevant details.

You are a student counsellor of N.J. Public School. You are invited by S.M. International School, Kala Puram, to address Class XII students on Goal Setting & Time Management. Write a formal letter of reply accepting the invitation and confirming your presence at the stated time, including relevant details.

(b) You are the President, RWA Silver Oak Society. Draft a notice for the society notice board informing residents about the appointment of security guards at Gate Nos. 2, 3, and 4 and an increase of {{\textrupee}} 1,000 in the annual maintenance charges to meet the expenditure. Mention relevant details.

(a) Bharat Public School, I.P. Nagar, has recently constructed a Science Park, a dedicated area where specific equipment based on principles of science is set up. As Rashi Kapoor, President of Science Club, draft a notice for the school notice board, informing students of the same. Mention relevant details.