Model Question 3 (Grade XI)

 Compulsory English

(ENG. 003)

Grade XI (Model Question-3)

Full Marks: 75

Pass marks :30                                                                Time: 3 hours

 

Attempt all the questions.

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

 

Laxmi Prasad Devkota was a Nepali poet, playwright, essayist and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakavi in Nepali literature, he was known as a poet with a golden heart. He is considered to be the greatest and most famous literary figure in Nepal. He was born on the night of Laxmi Puja on 13 November 1909 (B. S.1966 Kartik 27) to father Teel Madhav Devkota and mother Amar Rajya Lakshmi Devi in Dhobidhara, Kathmandu. He started his formal education at Durbar High School, where he studied both Sanskrit Grammar and English. After finishing his matriculation exams from Patna of India at the age of 17, he pursued Bachelor of Arts along with Bachelor of Law at Tri-Chandra College. He studied up to Master’s Degree in English. He worked in Nepal Bhasaanuwad Parishad, where he met famous playwright Balkrishna Sama. He taught at Tri-Chandra College and Padma Kanya College.

Devkota contributed to Nepali literature by starting a modern Nepali language romantic movement in the country. He was the first writer born in Nepal to begin writing epic poems in Nepali literature. Nepali poetry rose to new heights with Devkota's innovative use of the language. He departed from the Sanskrit tradition that dominated the Nepali literary scene at the time. He was also inspired from the Newari language ballad song. Then, he wrote Muna Madan, a long narrative poem in a popular folk tune Jhyaure bhaka. Muna Madan is undoubtedly the best-selling book in the history of Nepali literature. Even the Rana rulers were also attracted by the poem. It has remained widely popular among the readers of Nepali literature.

Devkota, inspired by his five-month stay in a mental asylum in 1939, wrote a free-verse poem Pagal. It is a poem that blends social, political, religious, psychological and philosophical issues. It, of course, attacks the social and political evils of the time which even influenced him personally in bad manner. The poem deals with his usual mental ability and is considered one of the best Nepali language poems. Later on, the poem was translated into English by Devkota himself.

Devkota had the ability to compose long epics and poems with literary complexity and philosophical density in very short periods of time. He wrote Shakuntala, his first epic poem in the Nepali language, in 1945 in just three months. Shakuntala demonstrates Devkota's mastery of Sanskrit meter and diction. Devkota also published several collections of short lyric poems set in various traditional and non-traditional forms and meters. Most of his poetry shows the influence of English Romantic poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Besides poetry, Devkota also made significant contributions to the genre of essay. He defied the conventional form of essays and broke the traditional rules of essay. His essays are generally satirical in tone and are characterized by their humour and criticism of the modernizing influences from the West on Nepali society. In the essay titled “Ke Nepal Sano Cha?” he expresses deeply nationalistic sentiments against the colonial forces from British India. His essays are published in an essays book entitled Laxmi Nibhandha Sanghraha. Devkota also translated William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet into Nepali.

Devkota was appointed member of the 'Nepal Advisory Committee' in 1952 by King Tribhuvan. Later in 1957, he was appointed as Minister of Education during Autonomous Governance under the premiership of Dr. K. I. Singh. Devkota's son, Padma Devkota, is also a poet and writer, and was the professor of Tribhuvan University. He was a chain smoker throughout his life. After a long battle with cancer, he died on 14 September 1959, at Aryaghat, along the bank of Bagmati River in Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu. His physical body has been departed, but he has always been immortal among the lovers of literature and the supporters of humanity.

A. Choose the best answer.                                                               5X1=5

 

a. The word 'literary' in the 3rd line means:

i. of or related to literal meaning.

ii. of or related to literature.

iii. of or related to language.

b. The word 'meter' in the phrase 'traditional and non-traditional forms and meters’ in the fourth  paragraph indicates:

i. unit of length.

ii. a line written in verse.

iii. collection of poems.

c. The word 'asylum' in the 17th line means:

i. madness

ii. refusal

iii. refuse

d. The word 'hard-heartedness’ is opposite in meaning to the word in the last paragraph, which is:

i. chain smoker

ii. Autonomous

iii. humanity

e. The word ‘colonial’ in the fifth stanza means:

i. social

ii. gregarious

iii. expansional

B. Complete the following sentences in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WORDS.

                                                                                                           5×1=5

a. Devkota had the ability to compose epics …………………………………

b. English Romantic poetry of ………………………. influenced Devkota.

c. Devkota’s supporters regard him …………...

d. “Pagal” …………………………… evils of the time.

e. Muna Madan is ……………………. in a popular Jhyaure bhaka.

C. Answer the following questions.                                                  5×1=5

a. When and where was Devkota born?

b. Where did Laxmi Prasad Devkota work as lecturer?

c. What happened to Nepali poetry because of Devkota?

d. What is the essay “Ke Nepal Sano Chha?” about?

e. In which highest political position was Devkota appointed?

 

2. Write short answers to any five of the following questions.         5X2=10

a. Describe the portrait that the narrator saw in the room. (The Oval Portrait)

b. To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza? Explain in short.                                                      (A Red, Red Rose)

c. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?

 (Sharing Tradition)

d. Why has the speaker come to the earth? (Corona Says)

e. How’s the title “A Sunny Morning” justifiable? (A Sunny Morning)

3. Write long answers to the following questions.                            2X5=10

a. Sketch the character of Wasserkopf. (Refund)

b. What’s the central theme of the story “Two Little Soldiers.”

(Guy de Maupassant)

4. Write a news story to be published in a newspaper about a local festival/fair you have witnessed. (Write in about 150 words)                                7

5. Write an informal email to your friend about your forthcoming meeting and planning to do something in collaboration for your career. (Write about 180 words)                                                                                             8

6. Write review of a book that you have recently read or of a film that you have recently watched. (Write in about 300 words)                                 10

7. Do as indicated in brackets and rewrite the sentences. 10×1=10

a. I have never been to Japan. (Underline the adverb in the sentence.)

b. A large percentage of population (is/are/were) voting against her. (Choose one form from the bracket.)

c. What time did you arrive ............. the airport? (Put the correct preposition in the blank space.)

d. Take an umbrella. It …….. rain later. (Put the correct modal in the blank to complete the sentence.)

e. She ............. (read) ten books by Dashain. (Put the verb from the bracket in correct tense to make a meaningful sentence.)

f. He promised (buying//to buy) me a candy. (Choose one form from the bracket to complete the sentence.)

g. Ram doesn’t work hard, (yet/hence/thence) he earns a lot. (Put the correct conjunction in the blank to complete the sentence.)

h. This is the bank …… was robbed last night. (Complete the sentence with a relative pronoun.)

i. She said, "Would you like me to help you?" (Use the reporting verb ‘offer’ to change the sentence into indirect speech.)

j. I hate people laughing at me. (Change into passive.)

8. Do as instructed. (5×1=5)

a. The nationwide closures are impacting over 60% of the world’s student population. What word class does the underlined word in the sentence belong to?

b. Arrange the following words as per the order in a dictionary:

ground, grouse, great, grateful, groan

c. What does the sentence 'They sojourned at a resort in Chitwan for two days.’ mean?

i. They lost money there.               ii. They dwelled there.

iii. They fought there.          iv. They paid heavy bill there.

d. What does the prefix 'pre-' in the word PREVIEW mean?

i. before        ii. more        iii. close       iv. over

e. Which of the following sentences is correct?

i. Rima reminded me to ring her later.

ii. Rima said me to ring her later.

iii. Rima said to me not to forget to ring her later.

iv. Rima reminded me to ring me later.

The End!

(This question is received from Mr. Sujit Karki, Itahari)