Grade-XII-Revision

Grade xIi First term examination 2018-19 Revision question paper & Answer key REVISION QUESTION PAPER Time: 3Hrs. ENGLISH Marks:100 1. Read the passage given below: 12 Servants of People The Father of the Nation wanted ministers and bureaucrats of the new independent India not to live as ‘Sahibs’ This is evidence from Gandhiji’s allusion to the ministers of Bengal when they came to pay their respects to him on August 15, 1947. He said, ‘Today you have worn on your head a crown of thorns. The seat of power is a nasty thing. You have to remain ever wakeful on that seat. You have to be more non-violent, more humble and more for bearing. You had been put to test during the British regime. But in a way it was no test at all. But now there will be no end to your being tested. Do not fall a prey to lure of wealth. May God help you. You are there to serve the villages and the poor.’ The emphasis on serving the people had always been the cornerstone of Gandhiji's utterances on the role of public men. These days when the word ‘public servant’ is used so freely, it may be apt to recall Gandhiji’s concept of the term. In fact, he said in clear terms in The Harijan of January 12, 1942, ‘Legislators are not the masters, but the servants of their electors- the nation’. Such a public servant or public worker, according to Gandhiji, should place the country above him and should reduce himself to a ‘cypher’. He can have no pride, no power, no prestige except such as his service gives him. As for their private lives, they should be so simple as to inspire respect or reverence rather than provide material for tabloids; ‘An Indian minister or Governor should use as far as possible only Indian-made goods- bungalows and motor cars should be ruled out. Of course, if he has to go far on an urgent business, he should certainly use a car, but its use should be definitely very limited- he should give one hour to productive physical labour….Members of his family, including children should do all household work themselves. Servants should be used as sparingly as possible.’ says Gandhiji. Today, there is a growing demand for greater transparency in spending of money by political parties and auditing of party accounts, as also the incessant demand for disclosure of all assets of all candidates standing for elections. It is ironical that such demands be made in the country of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji was meticulous in keeping accounts and in making these accounts public. Public money belongs to the poor public of India- there is none poorer on earth. Carefully kept accounts are in sine qua non for any organization. If we do not account for every single paisa we receive and do not make a judicious account of the funds, we shall deserve to be blotted out of public life. Writing in Young India on August 20, 1928, he said, ‘The safety of the public fund lies more even in an intelligent vigilance of the public than in the strict integrity of those who are in charge of funds. Absolute honesty of the trustees is a necessity, but public inertia is a crime.’ With regard to spending of public money, Gandhiji always exhorted his workers to be as miserly as he himself was and not become lax or extravagant simply because the money was not their own! Also he said, ‘We must learn to make our expenditure commensurate with our national resources, not with what generous donors may give us.’ Wasteful extravagant expenditure, such as reception committees often indulge in, amounted to ‘criminal misappropriation’ of funds and he laid down a certain conduct and code: recruit a few volunteers, minimize motor hire for local purpose, maintain separate account for those who bear their own expenses and collect the same from them, reduce printing costs, ‘purse’ money not be spent on decoration and no addresses be presented out of ‘purse’. He asked the organizers of his tours in provinces to be simple and economical in catering for the party. He admitted, ‘I know that of my party I am the costliest member to feed but let my hosts not ponder on my weakness, by importing, tempting superfluities.’ Public men were only trustees of the public and they should not abuse the trust reposed in them by using the money for personal use. Gandhiji was perhaps the only political leader who owned no property or had no bank account of his own. Asked how he bore his expenses, he had said, ‘I draw nothing from the AICC or Gujarat Committee. Friends fund my travelling expenses including food and clothing. My hosts cover me with kind attention. People present me with much more khaddar than I need. The balance goes to clothe those who need it or is put in the general khaddar stock in Khadi Bhandars.’ On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer each of the questions given below with the help of the options that follow 1x4=4 (a)Gandhi urged the ministers that they should always remain (i) proud (ii) humble and money minded (iii) humble and for bearing (iv) humble and power greedy (b) Gandhi gave strict instructions to the organizers of tours to (i) be economical in spending money (ii) purchasing food of their choice (iii) giving special protection to him (iv) hiring a fleet of cars (c) Gandhi used to regularly maintain accounts in order to (i) use public money as he wished (ii) deceive his followers (iii) gain the love and sympathy of his people (iv)ensure transparency in the use of money. (d)Auditing of cash spend by political parties during elections is carried out to check (i) swindling of money (ii) sources of money inflow (iii) misappropriation of funds (iv) both (ii) and (iii) Answer the following questions briefly: 1x6=6 (e) What essential norms did Gandhi outline for a public worker? (f) How should a public servant conduct himself in his personal life? (g) What was Gandhiji’s opinion about spending public money? (h) How did Gandhi curb the misappropriation of funds by the reception committees? (i) How did Gandhi meet his day to day expenses? (j) Gandhi is a perfect role model for political leaders of all times. Explain . (k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following: 1x2=2 (i) main idea (para 4) (ii) sluggishness (para 9) 2. Read the passage given below: It was on our way to the tent, after lunch the next afternoon, that Ernest made the most important discovery since we had landed. The children had been wandering to the left and right of our usual path when he came running towards us. He was holding in his hands a stalk with three or four small balls of a light green colour hanging from it. “Potatoes, papa! I have found some potatoes!” he cried. Indeed they were potatoes, and we quickly followed him to the place where nature had grown for us a whole field of them. Jack at once threw himself upon his knees and started digging up the earth to get at them. The monkey, jumping off the dog’s back, was quick to copy its master. In a few minutes they had dug out a large quantity of excellent potatoes, which little Francis pulled in heaps as fast as Nip and Jack threw them on the ground. Another day we built a sledge, by putting together some planks of wood and placing upon them a big chest which we had brought from the wreck. The sledge could be pulled by the animals and would be useful to bring out heaviest things from the tent. On our first trip out with the sledge, Ernest caught a huge fifteen-pound salmon, the tastiest of all fish; and later shot a most uncommon animal. The coat and the mouth of this creature were like those of a mouse, and its tail was like a tiger’s. Its front legs were very short, and its back legs very long. “Oh,” he cried in great joy, “what will my mother and brothers say when they see an animal of this big size, and learn that I killed it all by myself.” “Truly,” I said, “you have a good eye and a sure hand; but I should very much like to know the name of the animal.” “It has,” said Ernest looking at it very carefully, “four long teeth and must therefore be of the rat family.” “You have thought well,” I said, “but it also has a pouch below the breast. If I am not mistaken, I think we have here a female kangaroo. It is an animal that was unknown till Captain Cook discovered Australia. You may indeed feel proud.” Another day, Ernest, using his keen intelligence and habit of observing, got us some roots. “They appear to me to be a kind of radish.” he said. “If I am not mistaken,” I said after examining them carefully, “you have made a most useful discovery, which added to the potato field, will always save us from famine. For these seem to be the roots of the tapioca plant from which the Indians of America make a kind of bread called cassava. But first the plant has to be properly cleaned, for it can also be poisonous.” An extract from ‘The Swiss Family Robinson’ On the basis of your understanding of the passage complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow: 1x2=2 (a) Ernest hunted a salmon and a kangaroo because………………….

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