Ahsec class 12 Alternative English solved paper - 2024| Hs. 2nd year
2024
ALTERNATIVE
ENGLISH
(NEW
COURSE AND OLD COURSE)
Full
Marks: 100
Pass
Marks: 30
Time:
Three hours
The
figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions.
NEW COURSE
GROUP-A
(Prose: 40 Marks)
1. Give brief answers to any five of the following questions in full sentence: 1x5=5
(a) Who is Miss Smith?
Ans:- Miss Smith is a young, poor
girl who represents the lower class in the story. She serves as a catalyst for
the main character, Rosemary Fell, who undergoes a transformation and confronts
the contrast between wealth and poverty.
(b) With Which dance form of Kamrupa
was Yakuma Natum compared?
Ans: - "Yakuma Natum dance is
reminiscent of the Deodhani dance of Kamarupa, showing the similarities and
shared roots of different cultures."
(c) Where did Hazarika buy his
Rolleiflex camera?
Ans:- Hazarika bought his Rolleiflex
camera during the ship's stopover in Aden.
(d) What is vestry?
Ans:- A vestry is a room attached to
a church or chapel used to store vestments, vessels, and records.
(e) What was the only thing Foreman
could write?
Ans:- Albert Edward Foreman, who
played the verger in W. Somerset Maugham's short story "The Verger,"
could only write his name and nothing else.
(f) Whose arm searched for the perfect
duck's egg?
Ans:- The wrestler's arm found the
correct duck egg.
(g) Name the restaurant Rama worked in
after his business was over.
Ans:- After Rama's food selling
business fails, he has to take up a job as a waiter at the Kohinoor Restaurant,
where he is treated rudely by customers.
(h) Who translated the Assamese story
'Bina Kutir' into English?
Ans:- Rabin Gohain translated the
Assamese story 'Bina Kutir' into English
(i) For which exam was the young man in
'Bina Kutir' preparing?
Ans:- In the story 'Bina Kutir', the
young man was preparing for his B.A. exam. It is mentioned in the passage that
"Last time he could not appear in the exam due to his family problems.
2.
Answer any five of the following questions: 2x5=10
(a) How does Philip react towards Miss
Smith?
Ans:- Rosemary's husband Philip is
shocked and disappointed when Rosemary brings home Miss Smith, a poor young
girl.
(b) Write a short note on the
significance of the title, 'A Cup of Tea'.
Ans:- The title "A Cup of
Tea" is highly significant and symbolic in Katherine Mansfield's short
story. Here is a brief explanation of its significance: The cup of tea serves
as the catalyst for the entire story. When a poor, hungry young woman asks
Rosemary Fell the price of a cup of tea, it sets in motion events that reveal
Rosemary's true character and values. The cup of tea symbolizes Rosemary's
superficial attempt at charity and compassion. By inviting the woman, later
revealed to be Miss Smith, into her home and serving her tea and a meal,
Rosemary believes she is making a meaningful gesture. However, this act
ultimately proves to be a hollow, momentary display of generosity, as
Rosemary's attitude immediately changes when she perceives Miss Smith as a
threat to her social status and beauty.
(c) Name the two places associated
with Buddhism as mentioned by Dr. Hazarika.
Ans:- Two places associated with
Buddhism mentioned by Bhupen Hazarika in "The Voyage" are Sarnath and
Bodhgaya.
Sarnath is located in Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh and is the place where Buddha gave his first sermon after
attaining enlightenment. Bodhgaya in Bihar is the place where Buddha attained
enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
(d) What is the 'lamentable ignorance'
discovered by the new vicar?
Ans:- The "lamentable
ignorance" discovered by the new pastor was that Albert Edward Foreman,
pastor of St. Peter's Church, could neither read nor write.
(e) Make a list of the regular
customers visiting Rama's stall.
Ans:- According to the passage,
Ram's regular customers included:-
(i) boot polish boys
(ii) jutka drivers
(iii) beggars
(iv) women selling grass
(v) crowd coming out of the
cinema after the evening show
The passage mentions that
"Ram's customers were boot polish boys, jutka drivers, beggars, women
selling grass and many others." It also states that "Ram's customers
liked him because he sold eatables at very reasonable and cheap rates."
(f) Why did Rama say, "Gently,
brother. I was once a hotel-owner myself"?
Ans:- When Rama was working as a
waiter at Kohinoor restaurant, a customer rudely gave him an order, so Rama
said "Slowly, brother. I was once a hotel owner myself".
When Rama's own hotel business
failed, he had to take up a job as a waiter, which paid him only Rs. 20 per
month. When a customer was rude to him, Rama would respond gently, showing
sympathy and understanding to the customer, citing his previous experience as a
hotel owner.
(g) Who enquired about the monthly
shipment of a product? What was the product?
Ans:- A couple asked about the
monthly shipment of a product, and that product was Glaxo.
(h) Present your impression of the neighborhoods
where Bina Kutir is located.
Ans:- The neighbourhood in which
Bina Kutir, an Assam-type single-storey house, is located has undergone drastic
changes due to rapid urbanisation and commercialisation. The once quiet area is
now dotted with newly-erected concrete buildings with iron rods protruding
haphazardly, obscuring the view and reducing open spaces. The presence of
business and commercial establishments such as warehouses, shops and
residential spaces for companies has created a chaotic and noisy environment.
3.
Give answer to any two of the following questions: 3x2=6
(a) Who, according to you, is the
Martyr in 'The Martyr's Corner'? Give reasons.
Ans:- The protagonist Rama can
be considered the true “martyr” in R.K. Narayan’s story “Shaheed Corner”. Here
is why:-
(i) Rama was a hardworking and
punctual food vendor who had established a successful business in a prime location
in the market.
(ii) However, due to a riot and
the death of a political leader, Rama’s shop was relocated to a less favorable
location, causing a significant drop in his customer base and income.
(iii) While the place was
renamed “Shaheed Corner” in memory of the martyred leader, it was ultimately
Rama who had to bear the consequences and lose his livelihood despite no fault
of his.
(iv) The story reflects the
“sick mentality of politicians” who prioritize honoring the dead rather than
addressing the plight of the living like Rama.
(b) What was the new vicar's talent?
Ans:- The new pastor had a talent
for quieting crying babies during christenings. As the story tells:-
"It was a source of pride
to him that he could almost always quiet a crying baby by the way he held it
and he was not unaware how happy mothers and nurses were to see him rocking the
baby to sleep in the crook of his arm." The verger Albert Edward
complimented the new pastor after the christening, saying, "Funny how the
baby stopped crying as soon as you took him." The pastor replied with a
slight smile, "I have noticed they often do that. After all I have quite a
bit of practice with them." So the new pastor's special talent was his
ability to calm and quiet crying babies during christening ceremonies in
church, which impressed the verger and others who witnessed it.
(c) How does Hazarika recount his
feeling about being an Indian as he moves forward in his journey?
Ans:- Bhupen Hazarika's songs and
writings reflect a deep sense of connection to India and its diverse cultures,
even though he sees himself as a "jajabor" or wandering singer.
Hazarika's music and poetry
celebrated the rich cultural fabric of Assam and the wider Northeast region,
drawing inspiration from the Brahmaputra River, local folk traditions and the
lives of ordinary people. He saw himself as a bridge between different
linguistic and ethnic communities, using his art to promote unity and
understanding.
At the same time, Hazarika was
critical of social divisions and inequalities, singing about the struggles of
the poor and marginalised. He was influenced by progressive thinkers such as
Marx, Gorky and Gandhi, and used his platform to advocate for social justice.
Though Hazarika briefly joined
the BJP late in his life, a decision that disappointed many, he is primarily
remembered as the voice of the common people and a unifying force in a
fragmented region. His songs continue to resonate in Assam and beyond, and
serve as a shared cultural experience that transcends borders and boundary
lines.
(d) How does the narrator use the
Cola-Cola bottle to facilitate the flight of his imagination in the story 'Bina
Kutir'?
Ans:- The narrator uses the
Coca-Cola bottle as a tool to activate and facilitate his imaginative flight in
the story "Bina Kutir". Specifically:
The narrator often visits the
neighboring stationery shop selling Coca-Cola, attracted by the hot and humid
weather. This repeated contact with the Coca-Cola bottle leads the narrator to
interact with the shopkeeper and customers about the small Assamese house,
which is blooming with the rare Bina flower.
As the house attracts the
narrator's attention, he becomes more and more curious about it and develops a
desire to rent it. Unable to do so, the narrator turns to his imagination to
recreate the past and present of the house as well as the lives and
personalities of its former residents.
By peering into the Coca-Cola
bottle and drinking from it, the narrator is able to imagine scenes and
characters from the house's history, merging reality with his own imaginative
interpretations. The Coca-Cola bottle serves as a medium that allows the narrator
to speed up and direct his imaginative process, bringing the past of "Bina
Kutir" to life. In this way, the Coca-Cola bottle becomes the catalyst for
the narrator's imaginative flights, facilitating his speculative reconstruction
of the house's history and the lives of its inhabitants.
4.
Answer any two of the questions given below: 5x2=10
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