Compulsory English
Grade XI (Model Question)
Full Marks: 75 Time: 3 hours
Candidates are required to give their
answers in their own words as far as practicable. The figures in the margin
indicate full marks.
1. Read the text and do the tasks. 15
Mt Everest grows by nearly a metre to
new height
The world’s highest mountain Mount Everest is 0.86m
higher than had been previously officially calculated, Nepal and China have
jointly announced. Until now the countries differed over whether to add the
snow cap on top. The new height is 8,848.86m (29,032 ft). China’s previous
official measurement of 8,844.43m had put the mountain nearly four metres lower
than Nepal’s. Everest Officials at Nepal’s foreign ministry and department of
survey said surveyors from both countries had co-ordinated to agree on the new
height. The agreement to jointly announce the new measurement of the Earth’s
highest point was made during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the
Nepalese capital, Kathmandu last year. Chinese authorities had said previously
Mount Everest should be measured to its rock height, while Nepalese authorities
argued the snow on top of the summit should be included.
The Chinese surveyors had calculated their figure
after they measured the mountain in 2005. Nepal’s government officials told the
BBC in 2012 that they were under pressure from China to accept the Chinese
height and therefore they had decided to go for a fresh measurement to “set the
record straight once and for all”. The 8,848m height, Nepal had been using for
Mount Everest was determined by the Survey of India in 1954, but for the first
time the country has now conducted its own measurement of the summit. Four
Nepalese land surveyors spent two years training for the mission, before
heading to the summit. “Before this, we had never done the measurement
ourselves,” Damodar Dhakal, spokesman at Nepal’s department of survey, told the
BBC. “Now that we have a young, technical team [who could also go to the
Everest summit], we could do it on our own,” Mr. Dhakal said. Nepal’s lead
surveyor Khimlal Gautam lost his toe due to frostbite while on the summit to
install height-measuring equipment last year. “For summiteers, scaling the
highest peak means a great accomplishment.
For us, it was just the beginning,” Mr. Gautam had
told BBC Nepali after his return. “Unlike other surveys of the Everest in the
past, we chose 03:00 to minimise errors that could have been caused because of
sunlight in the day time.” Some geologists have suggested a major earthquake in
2015 may have had an impact on Mount Everest’s height. The 7.8 magnitude
earthquake killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal, and caused an avalanche which
buried parts of the base camp at the mountain. At least 18 20 climbers were
killed. Some geologists said the earthquake may have caused Everest’s snow cap
to shrink. Scientists had found that some other Himalayan peaks such as
Langtang Himal, mostly to the north of Kathmandu and close to the epicentre,
had reduced in height by approximately a metre after the earthquake. Others
have argued that Mount Everest, like other Himalayan peaks, may have actually
grown over time because of the shifting tectonic plates it sits on. But experts
say major earthquakes can result in that process being reversed. “The 2015
earthquake is also a major reason why we re-measured the mountain,” said Mr.
Dhakal.
A. Choose the best answer. (5X1=5)
a. The word ‘announce’ in the 7th line means:
i. utter words to convey information.
ii. make a formal statement about a
fact.
iii. communicate information to someone.
b. The word ‘fresh’ in the phrase ‘fresh measurement’
in the second paragraph means:
i. having its original qualities unimpaired.
ii. not frozen, tinned or otherwise preserved.
iii. not previously done, new or
different.
c. The word ‘accomplishment’ in the 22nd line means:
i. the omission of expected action.
ii. an act or instance of falling.
iii. something that has been achieved
successfully.
d. The word ‘shrink’ in the 29th line is opposite in
meaning to:
i. expand.
ii. contract. iii. reduce.
e. The word ‘approximately’ in line 30 line means:s
i. exactly. ii. nearly. iii. precisely.
B. Complete the following sentences in
NOT MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. (5×1=5)
a. Nepal and China previously had different views
about adding the snow to the height of Mt. Everest.
b. Surveyors from both Nepal and China had worked
together to come up with the same view on the new height of Mt. Everest.
c. China’s earlier official measurement of 8844.43m
was based on the measurement done in 2005.
d. The team leader of Nepal’s surveyors lost his toe
during the installment of height measuring equipment on the top.
e. Some geologists also had their view that the
change in plates under Mt. Everest may have increased its height.
C. Answer the following questions. (5)
a. What did the surveyors from both
Nepal and China agree on to come up with about Mt. Everest?
The surveyors from both Nepal and China agree on to
come up with the new height about Mt. Everest.
b. Why did both countries determine to
carry out the new measurement of Mt. Everest?
Both countries determine to carry out the new
measurement of Mt. Everest because there is a contradiction about the height.
c. Which sentence in the text indicates
that it was the first time for Nepal to measure the height of Mt. Everest?
The sentence 'but for the first time the country has
now conducted its own measurement of the summit' indicates that it was the
first time for Nepal to measure the height of Mt. Everest.
d. Why did the Nepali team take 3:00 as
a reference in measuring the summit?
The Nepali team take 3:00 as a reference in
measuring the summit to minimize errors that could have been caused because of
sunlight in the day time.
e. What covered the parts of the base
camp at the mountains during 2015 earthquake?
Avalanche covered the parts of base camp at the mountains
during 2015 earthquake.
2. Write short answers to the following
questions. (5×2=10)
a. Why is the speaker saying that ‘the
children are the most beautiful flowers of all’? (The Selfish Giant)
The speaker is saying that ‘the children are the
most beautiful flowers of all’ because in the presence of children only the
garden of the Giant (the speaker) looks beautiful and attractive. In the story
'The Selfish Giant', where the Giant is presented very aggressive and he didn't
allow the children to play in his garden. As a result his garden remain cold
and only snow and frost were pleased.
b. What were the circumstances that led
to Aksionov’s imprisonment? (God Sees the Truth)
Aksionov was imprisoned because he was accused of
murdering his fellow merchant whom he spent the night with in inn. He was
arrested 25 miles away by the police officers as he set off early in the
morning from the inn. At that time he was taking rest and playing guitar then
police officers search his things and found a knife with blood strains. The
knife was the strong evidence against Aksionov and from there he was arrested
and imprisoned. He was not trusted even by his wife although he was an innocent
man.
c. What is the speaker’s attitude toward
war? (The Gift in War Time)
The speaker's attitude toward war is bitter and a
ruinous event. In the war, she lost her caring and loving husband. After then
her life became like nightmare, she doesn't have anyone to share her problems.
As a result, she wishes to meet him in their next life.
d. What do you think is the main idea of
the essay ‘What is Poverty?’? Is the main idea of the essay explicit or
implicit?
The main idea of the essay is about the poverty and
the writer explicitly presented it. Where
she explains poverty as an acid which drips on pride until all pride is worn
away. It means looking into black future; survive all the time for asking help.
There is always scarcity and you cannot handle it, only you will see it passive
and calmly.
e. Why are Don Gonzalo and Laura annoyed
with each other? (A Sunny Morning)
Don Gonzalo and Laura annoyed with each other at the
moment of meeting each other. Laura is annoyed with Gonzalo due to his manner
less behavior. He scares the birds which were fed by Laura. Gonzalo is annoyed
due to her interruption in his disappointment. They are interrupting to each
other because it's natural in the old age.
3. Write long answers to the following
questions. (2×5=10)
a. Jobs contends that you need to love
what you do in order to be great at it. Do you agree or disagree? Why? (How
to Live Before You Die)
Steve Jobs is one of the greatest figures ever born
in this world. He had to face a lot of ups and downs throughout his life. He
could not complete his graduation and was kicked out from his own company due
to serious arguments and disputes. So, every single word of his is a great
inspiration for the people belonging to the young generation. He never gave up
which resulted in the success of apple company. So, in order to inspire the
youths, he gave a motivational speech at Stamford University in 2006 AD.
Steve Jobs highlighted the ways to live in this
world and get maximum satisfaction in life. He explained his story of life and
provided a strong advice to the people to love what they do. Life is a game
full of diehard levels. Every action that we perform is not necessarily
performed by us according to our willingness. We may feel monotonous and
boredom from our life when we do not enjoy what we do. The best way of
achieving maximum success and satisfaction from a particular work is to love
and enjoy the work. Love is such an affection that attracts you and makes you
do every single thing in an organized way. We can make a reasonable benefits
from the action performed with rejoice and happiness.
Steve Jobs also did every single work in his life
with full enjoyment and happiness. So, I personally agree with the statement of
Jobs and suggest all the people to enjoy the time and their work to be
successful in life.
b. Write the summary of the poem ‘All
the World’s a Stage’.
'All the World’s a Stage’ is one of the finest
poetry of William Shakespeare, who was born on 26th April, 1564 AD in England.
He was one of the greatest literary person during the Elizabethan Era. He is
often considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. He has written 37
plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems. Along with the contribution in
the field of plays, he has also contributed in the field of poetry. He has
written many amazing poems and sonnets. Hence, he is often considered to be the
national poet of England. Among his poems, ‘All the World’s a Stage’ is one of
the great poems that describes the cycle of human life.
The poem has tried its best to highlight the basic
phases that occurs in the life of each and every individual. The poet explains
that when a human being is born, he is an infant and does not have any idea
regarding the physical world. The human grows up and becomes a school boy and
does not want to go to the school. Lots of spirit and affection develop in the
mind of human beings as they grow up. Human beings enter into the phase where
they search for their love. Similarly, another phase appears in the life of
human beings where human beings are very strong and can do everything in their
life which according to poet is the phase of soldiers.
People grow old and try to turn themselves into a
justice. People try to give advices and suggestions to the young people
regarding life. People slowly and gradually turn old where people are unable to
do their basic activities on their own. By the time people get very old, they
are not able to work and do other things. This is the way how human life circle
works. Everybody has to go through these 7 phases in their life so, we keep on
saying life is all about ups and downs.
4. The following bar graph shows the
total cases of COVID-19 infection in Nepal from 2020-01-01 to 2021-01-20.
Write an interpretation of it in about 150 words. 7
The most vulnerable age group is 21-30, who are
infected more than 70, 000 because the people in this age group are mostly
students and job holders. They could not stay separately because they have to
go to colleges and offices. The second most vulnerable age group is 31-40, the
people in this group as well working people who have to go to offices and
purchase necessary items from the market. As a result 70, 000 people infected.
More than 40, 000 people infected from COVID-19 in
the 41-50 years age group and the numbers of male is higher than female. Around
30, 000 people infected from COVID-19 in the 51-60 years age group and the
numbers of male is higher than female. This age group people also have to go
for work and could not escape themselves from the virus.
Nearly 20, 000 people infected from COVID-19 in the
11-20 years age group and the numbers of male is higher than female too. More
than 10, 000 people infected from COVID-19 in the 61-70 years age group and the
numbers of male is higher than female as well. And below 10, 000 people
infected from COVID-19 in the 0-10, 71-80 and over 80 years age group but the numbers
of male and female is nearly equal. These age groups people can stay at home
and remain safe from the virus that's why their infected number is low than
other age groups.
5. Suppose you are the coordinator of
the organizing committee for the ‘Sports Week’ at your school. Write an email
inviting the other members of the committee for its first meeting. 8
Kathmandu
08/11/2021
The Sports Week Members,
ABS School,
Balaju.
Subject: Meeting for the Sports Week
Dear Members,
Hi there, Ashwin Adhikari here. I am extremely
rejoiced to share you the information that our committee is going to organize a
sports week in our school very soon. Sports and games are very essential for
the physical and mental development of students. Considering that fact we have
decided to organize a sports week to uplift the spirit of our school and move
one step further in the competition of modern world.
Organizing a sports week is a really challenging
task. There is the involvement of lots of people in the event. Good managerial
skills are required to handle such an auspicious occasion. Sports week is not
organized just to show our managerial skills and sports skills of the students.
But it is organized to move one step further in the competition of the modern world.
As we are aware about the fact that children are not made book worms in the
present context. The overall developments of children are really necessary to
be more competitive. Children of the modern world should be sharp and strong.
We are also well known about the fact that sports and games cement the
condition of physical and the mental development of the children. Sports
include different physical activities that boost immunity of the children and
make them really sharp and strong. Similarly, making different strategies and
plans throughout the sports week help children to develop their mental strength
as well.
As we are aware about the fact that nothing can be
done without proper planning. We need to come up with different ideas and
skills to make the sports week successful. Different sports equipments are
required along with referees and other staffs. Managing children during week is
also another big problem. Hence, we need to arrange a proper meeting in order
to make this event happen. So, I would like to invite you all to the meeting on
coming Sunday where we will be discussing about different plans and policies to
make this event happen in a successful way. I also hope that all of you will
cooperate with me and join the meeting on Sunday.
Thank you for your kind cooperation.
Coordinator,
Ashwin Adhikari
6. Is the use of smartphones useful for
the students of secondary level? Write an essay discussing the advantages and
disadvantages of smartphones in about 300 words. 10
Smartphones, the Revolutionary Impact
Comfort and luxury are the terms associated with
human beings after the arrival of modern world. It’s scary when we look back to
the stone ages. We can’t believe how people sustained their life because we
have everything to support us to fulfill our basic necessities. The
developments of machineries are very rapid due to the rise of capitalism. We
are dependent on machines for almost every work we do in our daily life. When
we talk about the influence of modernization in almost every sector, we cannot
ignore its impact on educational sector as well. Various technologies like
smartphones and computers are manufactured targeting the students and their
education. Use of smartphones in education is really good thing as far as
research based and project based learning is concerned. As we are aware about
the fact that anything beyond the limit may consequent in a negative manner.
Use of smartphones in the secondary level of education is really a boon for the
students until and unless they misuse it. A famous scholar David Thomas
remarked “Smartphones are like nuclear weapons. You can only use them for
defensive purposes and not to offend others”. The statement directly emphasizes
on the proper and careful use of smartphones in our life. We are going to
discuss about smartphones detailed way along with its impacts on students, its
advantages, disadvantages and the ways to use smartphones for studies.
Smartphones are undoubtedly and undeniably the
perfect example of modernization. Smartphones were limited to calling and
listening radio at the beginning. But, the progressive natures of human beings
have made the smartphones smarter than the human minds. The first smart phone
was invented in around 2004 AD and it got really popular in 2006 after the involvement
of operating systems like ios and android. Smartphones have evolved as one of
the greatest gifts for the students.
Smartphones have made the studies really easier and
transparent. Practical learning and project based learning have a special priority
due to smartphones. We should be looking at the use of smartphones by the
students of secondary level in a positive way. We have seen many instances
where students have got benefited due to smartphones. A very dangerous pandemic
named covid-19 attacked all the human beings and all the professional works
were affected. The process of education looked next to impossible. It was smart
phone that provided all the hopes to the students. Looking into the present
context, we cannot find any loop holes in educational sector due to the
efficient contribution of smartphones.
Smartphones are really the part of revolution for
the students. There are lots of advantages of smartphones as it supports the
students to learn in a different way. Students are willing to get better and
better by the use of different methods. Developed countries have already
utilized smartphones in the education but we are still abstracted in the
question whether we should use smartphones in education or not. We feel that
the students are not socialized due to the use of smartphones. But, that may
not necessarily be the case. Students are able to socialize even more by the
use of smartphones than they socialized physically. Smartphones let you
cooperate and coordinate with the people all around the globe that develops the
feeling of global fraternity and universal brotherhood. Ideas and knowledge of
the people all around the world can be acquired using the smartphones. Use of
smartphones is a new dimension for the students. Use of smartphones let the
students search multiple answers for the same questions that increase the
flexibility and creativity of the minds of the students. Smartphones have even
made the students independent as the students can research and study by
themselves. Open universities are the perfect examples of research based
learning. Use of smartphones can even let the students to earn name and fame as
it encourages students to write different articles and blogs and post them in
the internet. Use of smartphones becomes essential because it comes in such
advantageous features.
Every aspect in the world has both positive and
negative sides. Likewise, smartphones can also have negative impact on students
if not utilized properly. Smartphones may decrease the intensity of the
students towards the studies. Basically, the secondary level students are
teenagers. So, smartphones may have a negative impact in their minds and as
internet is not a pure site. Online games and unnecessary content may be
destructive for the minds of the students if consumed beyond the limits. The
use of smartphones may also limit the students in terms of physical and mental
strength. We are aware about the fact that people are suffering from different
mental diseases due to extreme use of smartphones. The smartphones can cause
various problems like anxiety, depression, autism etc. that can destroy the
brain. Social networking sites have become the part of criminal activities. So,
students of secondary level can get involved in criminal activities that may
lead to destruction.
Every aspect in the world is made in a way that
consists both positive and negative sides. It completely depends on us how we
use them. It is necessary for us to stay positive and use the smartphones for
intellectual purposes. Proper monitoring should be done to the students to make
sure that the students utilize the smartphones. Students should not be left
free after they are provided with smartphones. Government should also take
strict action against the impure sites in the internet so that the students can
keep themselves motivated in the studies. Use of smartphones is a really good
aspect for student because many of the students who are differently able can
enrich themselves in education. Smartphones are the revolution and they should
be continued to encourage skilled human resources.
7. Do as indicated in brackets and
rewrite the sentences. (10)
a. The good boy behaved
well. (Underline the adverb in the sentence)
The good boy behaved well.
b. Many of the houses in this
neighbourhood (don’t/doesn’t) have garages. (Choose one form from the
bracket to complete the sentence)
Many of the houses in this neighbourhood don’t
have garages.
c. We insist …………. punctuality in this
office. (Put the correct preposition in the blank)
We insist on punctuality in this
office.
d. It …………. be Anton’s car. I saw him
driving the car yesterday. (Put the correct modal in the blank to complete
the sentence)
It must be Anton’s car. I saw him
driving the car yesterday.
e. She …………. (write) three books and she
is working on another one. (Put the verb from the bracket in correct tense
to make a meaningful sentence)
She has written three books and she is
working on another one.
f. I need to stop (doing/to do) my
homework late at night. I keep making terrible mistakes. (Choose one form
from the bracket to complete the sentence)
I need to stop doing my homework late
at night. I keep making terrible mistakes.
g. The minister stood still …………. the
request to take her seat. (Put the correct conjunction in the blank to
complete the sentence)
The minister stood still in spite of
the request to take her seat.
h. Marie Curie is the woman. She
discovered radium. (Join the sentences with a relative pronoun)
Marie Curie is the woman who
discovered radium.
i. She said, “Would you like me to help
you?” (Use the reporting verb offer to change the sentence into indirect
speech)
She offered to help me.
j. I hate people laughing at
me. (Change into passive)
I hate being laughed at.
8. Do as instructed. (5)
a. The art of producing beautiful writing with a special
pen or brush is called calligraphy. What word class does the underlined
word in the sentence belong to?
The underlined word 'special' in the sentence
belong to adjective.
b. Arrange the following words as per the order in a
dictionary:
[chanting, chopper, chirruping, chivalry,
chancellor]
chancellor, chanting, chirruping, chivalry,
chopper,
c. What does the sentence ‘He burnt his fingers
by interfering in his neighbour’s affair.' mean?
i.
He got himself into trouble. ii. He burnt himself?
ii.
iii. He got himself insulted. iv. He got rebuked.
d. What does the prefix ‘under-' in the word
UNDERESTIMATE mean?
i. Below ii. in iii. around iv. above
e. Which of the following sentences is correct?
i. Kelsey said I want to go to Aunt Joy’s for
Thanksgiving.
ii. Kelsey said, “i want to go to Aunt Joys for
Thanksgiving.”
iii. Kelsey said, “I want to go to Aunt
Joy’s for Thanksgiving.”
iv. Kelsey said “I want to go to Aunt Joys for
Thanksgiving.”
The End!
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