Grade –XII English Core

A. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. 12

1. Hundreds of thousands of years ago giant mammoths still roamed the earth and the
surface of the earth was covered by dense forests. Men took shelter in caves and
covered their bodies with animal skins. At that time, dogs became man’s best friend. At
first, they followed man on his hunting trips and waited to get whatever scraps it could
get, from the kill its master made. Then the instinct for companionship made it adopt
man as its leader.
2. Soon, the man began to train dogs to help him during the hunt, to carry his burdens,
and to give him companionship as he sat by the fireside in the evenings. These changes
took place much before recorded history came into practice.
3. These findings can only be confirmed by the study of the bones of primitive dogs that
lay beside the bones of primitive men in caves. As the history of the dog goes back to a
time when records were not maintained, it is impossible to be sure of these happenings.
4. Some scientists believe that dogs are the result of a mating between wolves and
jackals. Other scientists say that some species of dogs descended from wolves while
others descended from jackals. Some even go on to say that dogs descended from
coyotes and foxes. A widely held theory is that the modern dogs that we keep as pets
descended from a remote common ancestor.
This last substantiates the differences in size and appearance between various breeds
of dogs. Other evidence of the wild ancestry of dogs is the built of their bodies, which is
very distinctly adopted for speed and strength. Together with their keen sense of smell,
hearing qualities, it becomes obvious that they have wild hunters in their genes.
5. From the time when recorded history began, there have been references to dogs in
them. There are images of dogs on Egyptian tombs that are 5000 years old. The
Egyptians considered their dog as the sacred and the whole family would go into
mourning if the dog in an Egyptian home died. Today, the dog is an indispensable part
of our lives. For hundreds of young, healthy blind people, the dog is their seeing eye.
6. A seeing-eye dog is usually a German shepherd dog. It takes three months to train a
guide dog. First, come to the obedience exercise repeated daily as ‘setting up exercises’.
Then a U – shaped leather harness is buckled on and the dog learns to walk at the left
of the trainer. The dog is taught to stop and wait at the curb, watch traffic, and let the
cars pass. Before the dog is passed on to a blind master, a final check is made. Then the
blind master and his dog train together for four weeks before they go home to work
smoothly as a team.
1. Dogs became man’s best friend at an early age by ________. 1
1. Hunting food for his master
2. Being a constant companion
3. Protecting man from mammoths
4. Not letting the man feel alone in dark caves
2. Comment on any two theories about the origin of dogs as given in paragraph four. 2
3. List the the ways in which historians come to know that man and dog were
historical companions. 2
(Clue: Think about the evidences and findings)
4. Select the option that conveys the opposite of ‘unfasten’, from words used in
paragraph .6
i. Buckled 2. taught 3. curb 4. Master
5. What makes us believe that dogs have a wild ancestry?
A. Many varieties of dogs
 B. Differences in the body built
C. Differences in strength and stamina
D. Sense of smell and hunting skills
i. Only A
ii. Only B and C
iii. Only B, C and D
iv. All of these
6. Some records share that since recorded history began, there have been references
to dogs in them. Based on your understanding of paragraph 5, list the importance of
dogs in an Egyptian family.
7. How can a dog be a "seeing-eye" for a blind man? 2m
8. Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference, with respect to the
following:
________ are considered to be ancestors of dogs (paragraph 4).
9. Which of the following conclusions, suggested in paragraph five, can be inferred?
i. Wild ancestry of dogs
ii. Similarity in their size and appearance
iii. They are trained to be wild hunters
iv. Only a few breed has keen sense of smell

Creative Writing—08 m
1. You are Anoop / Arya, the Cultural Secretary of your school. As a
part of National Heritage Programme, the school has decided to put
up a show on ancient art forms. Write a notice to be put up on the
school notice board inviting students to watch the show and
encourage the artists. Write the notice in not more than 50 words.
4m

2. You are Dhruv/Deepa. Your father, Shri Dheeraj Garg of Gurugram

Literature-20 M
1. Read the text carefully and answer the questions: 4m
He was flung up out of the ocean - flung, it seemed, to his feet by a breaker. He
staggered a few steps, his body outlined against the mist, his arms above his head.
Then the curled mists hid him again. "Who is that?" Hana cried. She dropped Dr.
Sadao's arm, and they both leaned over the railing of the veranda.
i. The synonym of leaning.
a. inclined
b. Straighten
c. Forget
 d. rise
ii. Who was he?
iii. How did he come out of the ocean?
iv. Who said: Who is that?
a. Hana
b. Tom
c. Dr. Sadao
d. Old General
2. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow. 4m
He made them himself at odd moments, from the material he got by begging in
the stores or at the big farms. But even so, the business was not especially
profitable, so he had to resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body
and soul together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken,
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
1. Name the text and its writer.
2. What does the phrase to keep body and soul together mean..
3. What's the synonym of the word petty…?
4. What’s the figurative meaning of the word Rattrap?

3. Answer Any Three of the following questions in about 30 -40 words. 3x3=9m
1. Will Dr Sadao be arrested on the charge of harboring an enemy?
2. Who was Sadao’s wife? Where had he met her? Why did he wait to fall in
love with her?
3. How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human
predicament?
4. How does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by
the crofter, the iron master and his daughter?

5. Answer the following in about 60 – 70 words. 3m

Give an account of the peddler’s meeting with the old crofter. How does the
peddler conduct himself? What light does this episode throw on human
nature?
Or
What impression do you form of Dr Sadao as a man and as a surgeon from
your reading of the story ‘The Enemy’?