English First Paper Model Test for HSC 2017

HSC English 1^st Paper Model Test

Time: 3 Hours                                                               Full Marks: 100

                                                   Part-A: Marks-60

Read the passage below and answer the following questions 1 and 2.

Beauty is easy to appreciate but difficult to define. As we look around, we discover beauty in pleasurable objects and sights – in nature, in the laughter of children, in the kindness of strangers. But asked to define, we run into difficulties. Does beauty have an independent objective identity? Is it universal, or is it dependent on our sense perceptions? Does it lie in the eye of the beholder? -we ask ourselves. A further difficulty arises when beauty manifests itself not only by its presence, but by its absence as well, as when we are repulsed by ugliness and desire beauty. But then ugliness has as much a place in our lives as beauty, or may be more-as when there is widespread hunger and injustice in a society. Philosophers have told us that beauty is an important part of life, but isn’t ugliness a part of life too? And if art has beauty as an important ingredient, can it confine itself only to a projection of beauty? Can art ignore what is not beautiful?

Poets and artists have provided an answer by incorporating both into their work. In doing so, they have often tied beauty to truth and justice, so that what is not beautiful assumes a tolerable proportion as something that represents some truth about life. John Keats, the romantic poet, wrote in his celebrated ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ by which he means that truth, even if it’s not pleasant, becomes beautiful at a higher level. Similarly, what is beautiful forever remains true. Another

meaning, in the context of the Grecian Urn-an art object-is that truth is a condition of art.

Poetry in every language celebrates beauty and truth. So does art. Here are two poems from two different times that present some enduring ideas about beauty and truth. The poems are by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an English poet of the Romantic tradition, and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), an American poet who wrote about the human scene, love and death.

1. A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1´5=5

(a)   Which of the following has the closest meaning of the word “pleasurable”?

(i) dissatisfaction         (ii) pain                  (iii) offend             (iv) delightful

(b)   What is the closest meaning of the word “incorporate”? 

(i) embody   (ii) corporation   (iii) incorporeal   (iv) intangible

(c)   ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is written by ——-.

(i) Lord Byron              (ii) John Keats      (iii) Wordsworth (iv) PB Shelly

(d)           What does the word ‘tolerable’ mean?

(i) not so good                              (ii) bad                   (iii) moderately good          (iv) tolerant

(e)   Lord Byron is a ——– poet?

(i) Revolutionary  (ii) Romantic  (iii) Classical (iv) Modern

1. Answer the following questions. 2´5=10

(a)   How can we discover beauty in our surroundings?

(b)   How much place does ugliness have in our life?

(c)   What is the name of the poet of “Ode and a Grecian Urn”?

(d)   Do you get any definition of beauty from the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’?

(e)   What was Byron’s intention?

2. Read the following text and make a flow chart showing how a child becomes

acquainted with its culture/manners/etiquette.  (one is done for you)        1×5=05  

As a child you must have been told to greet your elders and visitors to your home according to your culture and tradition. You must also have been taught to be polite in company and keep quiet while others, especially your elders, spoke. Possibly, you at times grudged such schooling. Possibly, at times you even protested such disciplining. Now, certainly you know that you can’t always behave the way you want especially in the presence of others. There are rules of behavior you have to follow in a company. We are social beings and have to consider the effect of our behavior on others, even if we are at home and dealing with our family members. We have two terms to describe our social behavior-‘etiquette’ and ‘manners.’ ‘Etiquette’ is a French word and it means the rules of correct behavior in society. The word ‘manners’ means the behavior that is considered to be polite in a particular society or culture. Manners can be good or bad. For example, it is a bad manner to speak with food in one’s mouth. No one likes a bad-mannered person. Remember that etiquette and manners vary from culture to culture and from society to society. We learn etiquette and manners from our parents, families and various institutions, such as schools, colleges or professional bodies. There are rules of behavior for all kinds of social occasions and it is important to learn them and practice them in everyday life. The manners that are correct in a wedding reception will not do in a debating club. Therefore, we have to be careful about etiquette and manners. We know how important it is to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ in everyday life. A few more polite expressions such as ‘pardon me,’ ‘excuse me’, ‘may I,’ are bound to make your day smooth and pleasant.

1. Learning from family —–   2.      3.     4.      5.      6.

3. Write a summary of the following text.                                05

The term ‘Diaspora’ is used to refer to people who have left their homelands and settled in other parts of the world, either because they were forced to do so or because they wanted to leave on their own. The word is increasingly used for such people as a collective group and/or a community. The world has seen many diasporas but scholars have been studying the phenomenon with great interest only in recent decades. Among the great diasporas of history is that of the Jewish people, who were forced to leave their lands in ancient times. The movement of Aryans from Central Europe to the Indian sub-continent thousands of years ago is also a noteworthy Diaspora, although the causes of this diaspora are unclear. In twentieth century history, the Palestinian diaspora has attracted a lot of attention and been a cause of concern for world leaders because of the plight of Palestinians. There have been massive diasporas in Africa, too, over the centuries, either because of war or because of the ravages of nature. But the chief reason why the phenomenon of diaspora is attracting so much attention now is globalization.

4. Write a synonym and antonym of the following words. 1×10=10

Homeland (synonym), phenomenon (synonym), natural (antonym), charming (synonym), sure (antonym), literate (antonym), issue (synonym), remote (antonym), participate (synonym), present (antonym )

5. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with suitable word from the box. There are more words than needed. Make any grammatical change if necessary. 0.5×10=5

        Most of us do not know what the words ‘brain drain’ mean. The (a)—of highly trained or qualified people from a (b)—country is called brain drain. Brain drain (c)—countries to lose (d)—professionals. Every year a good number of talented people are (e)—our country in (f)—of better living. This has (g)—a great impact on our economy. The country is (h)—of the service of these talented people though it (i)—-a huge sum of money to educate them. There are other loses too. (j)—necessary steps should be taken to stop this tendency.

6. Fill in the blanks with appropriate word in each gap. 1×10=10

Shamsur Rahman was a Bangladeshi poet. As a poet he was deeply (a)—in his own tradition. He built his literary (b)—against the (c)—of the 30’s poets. He developed the (d)—and added new (e)—to it. From the late sixties, he began to influence the (f)—scene. He brought new (g)—in Bangla poetry. He expressed his (h)—about people’s (i)—rights. His poems also expose moral (j)—of people.

7. Rearrange the following sentences to make coherent order. 0.5×10=05

        (a)   Once he fell in love with a beautiful daughter of a rich Businessman.

(b)   But she is afraid to reveal her feelings to her father because Antonis has given lots of traffic tickets to a bus belonging to her father’s company.

(c)   He is very sincere to his duty.

(d)   The film was made by Eilippos Fylaktos, a Greek film maker.

(e)   Her name was Kiki.

(f)    It was made in 1963.

(g)   In this film, Antonis is a devoted traffic police.

(h)   Though this event makes Antonis’ life complicated, the movie ends with a happy outcome for everyone involved in the society.

(i)    Antonis Pikrocholos is the central character of the film ‘My Brother the Traffic Policeman’.

(j)    He enforces traffic laws very strictly.

Part-B

8. Use article where necessary. Put a (x) where an article is not needed. 0.5×10=05

English is (a) — richest language among other languages of the world. It is spoken all over (b) — world. Today English is (c) — must in order to get a good job. Today who speak and write (d) — standard form of English are in great demand. So, it helps (e) — man to get (f) — honorable job. It is (g) — official or semi official language in many countries, (h) — official must have (i) — good command over English. In order to keep pace with time Bangladesh has to know (j) — English.

9. Use appropriate connectors in the blank spaces of the following passage.

                                                                                                                              0.5×10=05

Feeding the ever-growing population is a big challenge for Bangladesh in the coming decades. (a)___ when the country loses cultivable land every day due to excessive pressure on land for human settlement. (b)___, river erosion and other non-agricultural uses contribute to the loss of agricultural land (c)___, we need some immediate steps to meet the challenge. (d)___, we need more imaginative and effective organizations of productions. (e)___, we can take up “contract farming” for promoting food production. (f)___, we can go for land reclamation in the Bay of Bengal. (g)___, it is essential to improve agricultural production in general. (h)___, support from the public sector is necessary to generate and promote technologies. (i)___, we need bio-technology research and development of hybrid crops and animal species. (j)___, we must develop partnerships with multinational private sector firms and institutions.

10. Write a paragraph by answering the following questions on “Globalization”. 05

(a)   What is globalization?

(b)   What is the positive effect of globalization?

(c)   How does it affect the developing countries?

(d)   How can globalization be used for the betterment of humanity?

11. Read the following outlines and develop them into a complete story. Give a suitable title to it. 7

Once upon a time, there was a king called Midas. He was very rich and loved his gold more than anything else. He had a large kingdom, and a lovely little daughter, But he was not happy because he ————–

12. Write a letter to your friend about the importance of physical exercise. 5
13. The chart/graphs shows the gradual rise in the internet users in Bangladesh. Now, write a paragraph analyzing/describing the graph and give a suitable title to it.                                                                                                           10

14. Write down the theme of the following poem (Not more than 50 words) 08

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship,

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, everywhere,

And all the boards did shrinks;

Water, water, everywhere.

Nor any drop to drink

1.a) iv) delightful b) i) embody c) ii) John Keats  d) iii) moderately good  e) i) revolutionary

2. 1) learning from family 2) learning from parents 3) learning from schools 4) learning from friends 5) learning from surroundings 6) learning through entertainment
3. a) homeland-motherland b) phenomenon – scenery c) natural – artificial d) charming-attractive e) sure- unsure f) literate- illiterate g) issue – topic h) remote – near i) participate- attend j) present- absent
4. a) immigration b) particular c) causes d) valuable e) leaving f) search g) certainly h) deprived  i) spends  j) so

6. a) rooted b) career c) background d) perspective e) feathers  f) literacy g) dimension h) consciousness i) democratic j) peculiarity

8. a) the b) the c) a d) the e) a f) an g) x h) the/an i) a j) x
9. a) especially b) moreover c) so d) again e) besides f) furthermore g) so h) for this i) again j) in fine