Teachers recommend solving Kerala Syllabus Plus Two English Previous Year Question Papers and Answers Pdf March 2023 to improve time management during exams.
Kerala Plus Two English Previous Year Question Paper March 2023
Time : 2 1/2 Hours
Maximum : 80 scores
Questions 1 – 8 Answer all questions. Each carries 1 score. (8 × 1 = 8)
Read the passages and answer the questions that follow:
I come home at the end of four years of research in North India, having earned a doctoral degree and generous praise for my work on making toys with husk; bored with eating chapaties day after day, I’m eager to eat a meal of athikira rice.
Question 1.
Identify the poet.
Answer:
Chemmanam Chacko
Question 2.
Who has gone to North India?
Answer:
The elder son of the rice farmer. The farmer used to cultivate rice, but he has stopped cultivating rice and has moved to rubber.
Question 3.
What is the purpose of his journey?
Answer:
The purpose of his journey was to make researches and get a doctorate in “Making Toys with Husk”
Question 4.
What is he eager about to eat from home? She went about her repetitive, mundane work with an ‘infectious cheerfulness.
Answer:
He is eager to eat “athikira” rice from home.
Question 5.
Who is ‘she’ referred to in the passage?
Answer:
Ratna, the colleague of the narrator of “Horegallu”, by Sudha Murty.
Question 6.
Identify the speaker.
Answer:
The speaker is the narrator in the story “Horegallu” by Sudha Murty.
Question 7.
What is the figure of speech used here?
Answer:
Oxymoron (“infectious” and “cheerfulness” don’t go together).
Question 8.
Choose the phrase from the passage which means ability to spread happiness.
Answer:
Infectious
Questions 9-12. Answer any three questions. Each carries 2 scores. (3 × 2 = 6)
Question 9.
Why does the poet dislike sitting on a dentist’s chair ‘with his mouth wide open?’
Answer:
The poet dislikes sitting on a dentist’s chair with his mouth wide open because some tortures are physical and some tortures are mental but the dental torture is both.
Question 10.
(a) Neither the shoes nor the bag (match)the dress.
Answer:
matches
(b) These trousers (need) to be ironed.
Answer:
need
Question 11.
Ashapurna Debi compares women to match boxes. Do you agree? Give reason.
Answer:
don’t agree. Women are loving, tolerant and slow to anger. Mothers cannot be matchboxes.
Question 12.
‘Women deserve equality and not reservation.’ Write 2 points either to support or counter the statement.
Answer:
a) Women are not as aggressive as men and so they need reservation if we want to give them the recognition they deserve.
b) If there are no reservations for women, there will be no woman in our municipalities, corporations, Assemblies and the Parliament. Although there are more women in Kerala than men, there are only 3 women ministers here against the 18 men.
Questions 13-19. Answer any five questions. Each carries 4 scores. (5 × 4 = 20)
Question 13.
If you have the two options of becoming a government servant or an entrepreneur, which one would you prefer? Express your thoughts in a paragraph.
Answer:
I would prefer to be an entrepreneur. If I am an entrepreneur I can manage the things the way I want. By being an entrepreneur. I can use my various talents to their full potential. By being an entrepreneur I will be able to provide job opportunities ‘ to many other people. By being an entrepreneur, I can do the things I like, the way I like. I don’t like to work sitting at a particular place doing the same kind of job from 9 to 5 from Monday to Friday and ’ nothing to do on the weekends. I will be proud to know that I am the decision maker and I ara not following orders from anyone else. I enjoy taking risks and make use of my leadership qualities.
Question 14.
“Women sometimes lack confidence to match their competence.” Comment on the statement.
Answer:
Women are intelligent and competent in nature. We have seen very powerful women in history including our Indira Gandhi. But sometimes women, generally speaking, lack confidence and they are reluctant to do many things. The conviction that we can do things ’ is very important in life. For that you have to have belief in yourself. But very often many women lack this self-belief. They start doubting if they can do certain things and they are not willing to take the risk. In India we have very powerful women even now.
We have people like Mamata Banerjee who are very strong and they are not afraid of anybody or anything. But such ladies are rare. I think our society is responsible for making our women lack confidence. From the beginning of their lives, the women are told that they are to live as daughters, wives and mothers and they should learn to submit to the father first, and then to the husband. Unfortunately women are even branded the “weaker sex” which is an injustice to women.
Question 15.
Justify the aptness of the title of the story “Crime and Punishment.”
Answer:
I think the title “Crime and Punishment” by R.K. Narayan is an apt one for the story. There is crime and then there is punishment. The boy does the crime of repeating the same mistake wilfully and he gets slapped as punishment. Slapping is the crime by the teacher and he gets punishment from the boy. That is why he has to act as a station mater and tell him so many stories ad run after him, all against his will. In fact there is a world famous novel by the same name by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Narayan must have copied the title. But in Dostoyevsky’s novel, the crime is murder and not the small mishiefs in R.K. Narayan’s story.
Question 16.
“Stammer” symbolizes the ability to protest, respond and react to the evils of the society. Do you agree? Comment.
Answer:
I quite agree with the statement that stammer symbolizes the ability to protest, respond and react to the evils of the society. In his famous poem “Stammer”, the poet, K. Satchidanandan, stresses how stammer becomes equivalent to one’s mother tongue. It also specifies how these flaws which are specified here as stammer add additional power to the one who stammers. The poet says that stammer can be labelled as a mode of speech wherein silence alsd becomes something meaningful. The poet further stresses that there is a need for the reader to fill in the gaps themselves to derive their own meaning from stammering. The beauty of Stammer is how it basks in its own ambiguity. It is further shown how stammering is not just an item in the complex world of imperfections. The poet feels that God himself had stammered when he created man.
Question 17.
“Good fences make good neighbours”. Elaborate the idea in a paragraph.
Answer:
Good fences make good neighbours means it is good to have some limits between neighbours so that their relations will remain healthy at all times. If there is unlimited freedom between neighbours, trouble will soon start. Suppose you grow goats in your house. Your neighbour has a vegetable garden. If there is no fence your goats will go and eat up the vegetables of your neighbour. Will he like it? Suppose your neighbour’s children come and open your fridge and eat up all the good food you have kept there. Will you like it? So there ‘must be some boundaries between neighbours and only then there will be good relations.
Question 18.
Edit the following: Today, over fifty years later, the stream have dried up, women walks long distances to water which is not always clean, and children will never know what they has lost.
Answer:
Today, over fifty years later, the stream has dried up, women walk long distances to get water which is not always clean, and children will never know what they have lost.
Question 19.
Assistant : “No parcel for me to weigh?”
Mrs. Smith : Good gracious, no! I’ve sent all my presents and cards. I believe in posting early for Christmas.
Assistant : “I wish more people would do that.”
Answer:
The Assistant asked Mrs. Smith if she hadn’t any parcel for her to weigh. Mrs. Smith exclaimed and said she had sent all her presents and cards. She believed in posting early for Christmas. The Assistant wished more people did that.
Questions 20 – 25. Answer any five. Each carries 6 scores.
Question 20.
As the reporter of the BBC News you are present at the court during the time of Gresham’s trial. Give a live TV report regarding the trial.
Answer:
John Gresham was brought to the court for trial. He was looking sad and distressed. The charge against him was that he had misappropriated a huge sum of money from the bank which he owned. Robert Baldwin was the governor of the bank. Many people, including the children of Baldwin, think that he knew about the misappropriation. But the fact is that Baldwin is an honest man and he would not support such a crime.
The judge asked John Gresham if he was really guilty of the charge against him. Everybody expected John Gresham to deny the charge. But surprising everybody including the judge, Gresham said he was guilty. He added that Robert Baldwin who was the governor of the bank had no knowledge about the misappropriation, which he did all by himself. He is sorry for what he has done, and he is ready to accept whatever punishment the court gives him.
Question 21.
Explain the significance of the title ‘Horegallu’.
Answer:
“Horegallu” means a stone that can bear weight. In the story “Horegallu” by Sudha Murty, the horegallu is ‘a large flat stone placed horizontally over two vertical ones. Thus it acts as a stone bench where travellers can sit, talk with one another and share their burdens or troubles of life. “Horegallu” symbolically means an active listener who listens to the problems and worries of others with sympathy, patience and without any judgement. This active listener should be a positive person Who must have a positive outlook on life. Then only he/she can listen to the burdens of others and give them some kind of psychological relief. The listener may not be able to do anything to help the person who tells him of the problems. But these human horegallus give a chance for others to lighten their burdens. This is the significance of the title.
Question 22.
Imagine you are selected as the announcer of the match between Argentina and Portugal at the Fifa World Cup 2022. Write the script of the announcement to be made before the match.
Answer:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Qatar has become the focus of attention in,the world. The match between two of the world’s finest teams trying to grab the FIFA World Cup 2022 will soon start. It is Argentina Vs Portugal. The captain of the Argentina team is Lionel Messi. It hasn’t been all plain sailing for Argentina at this World Cup, losing their opening game 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history. But Argentina came back into the game in their next two group games to beat both Mexico and Poland 2-0. The Portugal team is captained by Christiano Ronaldo. It is a match between Messi and Ronaldo. Who will win? Will Argentina take the World Cup home? Or will Ronaldo’s Portugal beat Argentina? We shall soon see.
Question 23.
Akanksha Foundation is doing a significant job by transforming the lives of underprivileged children. Draft an e-mail to your friend on your impression about Akanksha Foundation.
Answer:
mehboobsaithu@hotmail.com
Dear Mehboob,
I am sending you this mail to let you know my impressions about Akanksha Foundation. The Akanksha Foundation was founded by Shaheen Mistri. It is a non-profit organization in India, which works with children from low-income communities. The foundation works primarily in the field of education, through its School Project model. Akanksha runs schools in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur in partnership with the municipalities. Akanksha was founded by Shaheen Mistri in 1991.
She saw that many underprivileged children had no chance of getting any kind of education. She felt sorry for them and she wanted to help. It was not easy for her to start this organization. She approached 20 schools to give her a room for 3 hours in the morning. But all of them refused giving various pretexts. She was about to give up when the principal of Holy Name High School in Colaba agreed to give her one room. This was the first Akanksha Centre. From then the organization has grown and flourished.
I was impressed with the work of Shaheen Mistri. I want to start something like Akanksha for our poor illiterate women in our towh and its outskirts. Let me have your ideas on my proposed project.
Manohar
Question 24.
Bring out the elements of satire in the poem “Rice” highlighting the changes in the attitude of people with the changing times.
Answer:
In his poem “Rice”, Chemmanam Chacko has vehemently satirised the socio-cultural changes especially among the farmers. The poem is laced with scorn and sarcasm. The son of a farmer goes to North India to do a research on making toys with rice husk. He works hard for four years, eating chapati day after day. Finally at the end of four years he succeeds in getting a doctorate. He must have thought of doing research on the possibilities of husk because as the son of a rice farmer, he had plenty of husk at home and also in the homes nearby. By using husk for toy making, a lot of people could find employment in a State notorious for unemployment.
But then there is an anticlimax. When the son returns home with his hard-earned doctorate on making toys with hifsk, there is no husk at all in his house or in the houses around. The farmers there had shifted to
cash crops like rubber as they found rice cultivation inconvenient and non-profitable. Moreover a lot of incentives were given by the promoters to cultivate cash crops. The son finds his father watching people setting up a machine for making rubber sheets.
All the paddy fields are gone and in their places what he sees are the rubber trees and deal-wood trees. There is biting sarcasm in the description of the Chief Minister flying to the Centre to request for more food grains to feed the people here. The son comes home to eat rice after getting fed up with chapatis made of wheat flour. But his wish can’t be fulfilled because here also he has to eat things made of wheat flour as there is no rice. His doctoral degree is now useless as there is no husk to make toys.
Question 25.
Irfan Alam says “It is important to take risks to achieve your dreams.” Comment on this statement.
Answer:
When Irfan Alam says “It is important to take risks to achieve your dreams” he is just repeating what the proverb says, “No pain, no gain”. To achieve one’s dreams one has to take risks. Once Irfan was travelling in a rickshaw and in the middle of the journey he was very thirsty. He asked the rickshaw puller if he had any water. He said he did not have any water because it was expensive to get bottles of water and stack them. Immediately Irfan realised that there was a market for selling water bottles in the rickshaws.
This incident made Irfan think of a project for selling water bottles in the rickshaws. He had the problem-solving skill. We know a child will never learn to walk if he is afraid to take the first step. The Wright brothers would have never flown if they had been afraid. If you have dreams you should be prepared to take risks. Could men go to the moon if they refused to take the risk?
When Pilan found that selling bottles of water in the rickshaws was profitable, he added more items like fruit juice, pre-paid cards, mobile phones etc. Rickshaws were designed to enable them to display advertisements. Then he started SammaaN Foundation which helped the rickshaw pulfers and their families in different ways. SammaaN is profitable, as in one year it made a profit of 8 lakhs.
Question 26-28. Answer any two. Each carries 8 scores.
Question 26.
Saving the youth from drug and alcohol addiction has become the need of the hour. As a volunteer of the anti-narcotic club, prepare a speech to be presented at the school assembly on the topic “Drug Abuse among Teenagers: Causes and Effects.”
Answer:
Drug Abuse among Teenagers: Causes and Effects:
The problem of drug abuse has become a serious menace threatening the future and even the life of the youth, especially the school and college-going youth. This age group is more vulnerable to drug abuse because most of them are teenagers. Teenage is the time of stress and strain. To overcome their stress and strain, many youngsters abuse drugs. These drugs give them temporary pleasure, relieving them of their tensions for some time.
There are many reasons for drug abuse among the youth. They get a lot of money from their parents. Since most families have only one child or two, the parents pamper them. Many parents do not find time to spend with their children. Another reason for drug abuse is peer influence. A third reason is the blind imitation of the so-called glamour boys and girls in films and sports who use drugs. A 4th reason is the easy availability of the drugs. Another reason is the moral laxity of the times. The law-enforcing agencies do not do their work sincerely. There is corruption everywhere and one can do anything if one has money.
Sensual drugs play havoc with the body and mind of their users. The drug addict experiences sensory deprivation. He has a general feeling of physical discomfort and there are personality changes in him. The addict feels depressed. His mental disturbance can be like parano. The addict knows he has a problem. But he does not know its source. He looks at external objects with suspicion. Anything outside scares him and he withdraws further and further into himself.
Drugs also affect the body adversely. Dirty needles and solutions can cause liver diseases, venereal diseases and infection of the kidney and brain. Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines can damage the tissue of the nose. Marijuana and tobacco smoking can cause lung diseases. Babies of women who are addicted to drugs are likely to be born with a lot of problems. A drug addict can easily get pneumonia, tuberculosis and have problems of malnutrition and weight loss. An overdose of any drug can cause resoiratorv or cardiac failure and death.
The drug problems can be solved only through the concerted efforts of the parents, teachers, community leaders and the law-enforcing agencies. Awareness programmes should be conducted about the dangerous effects of drug abuse. The community leaders should help the youth to channel their energies in the right directions. The police must ensure that sensual drugs are not easily available. Drug abuse is a demon that should be exterminated from our midst with all the might we can muster.
Question 27.
“Emancipation and empowerment of women is of prime importance in every society.” In the light of your understanding of the ideas expressed by Christine Legarde, prepare an editorial on the role played by women in the progress of the nation.
Answer:
The Role Played by Women in the Progress of a Nation India’s population today is something like 143 crores, of which 51.6% are male and 48.4 and female. That means nearly half of the population is female. So if we want to progress, we should ensure that both males and females can work with a sense of equality. But unfortunately ours is a patriarchal society which prefers to keep its women at home for doing the household chores, looking after the children and serving their husbands. This has to change. For that women have to be empowered.
If women are to get empowered and get equality with men in various walks of life, first of all they have to change their mindset. It is essential that women be ready to dare the difference. The problem with women is that most of them’ are satisfied with the status quo. They are happy to be ‘housewives’ and they willingly change their names to be Mrs. somebody after their marriage! It is this mindset that needs to change. Women should feel that they have their individualities; their personalities and their existence. They are not mere appendage to men.
Many women of today have multiple needs. Gone are the days when they would be happy at home doing the household chores and looking after the children. Today they need good education. They want to get knowledge and thereby increase their wisdom. They want to know what is happening around the world and they want to read great books about which they have been hearing so many things from others.
Today’s women also want equality with men in job opportunities. If we look at the various professions, we find that most of the employees are men. The people on top also will be men. It is rare to find women executives at the top. Except in professions like teaching and nursing women are not given opportunities like men. Women resent it and they believe that what a man can do a woman can do better. Today women want to be leaders also. Women are often kept out of leadership positions and this is more so in African countries. There they believe that women are incapable of good leadership. But today’s women want to change that attitude. In their opinion, women tend to make decisions based on consensus building, inclusion, compassion and sustainability.
They should be ready to take risk and step outside their comfort zones. The life outside the four walls of home is not all that smooth and comfy. Challenges will be there. Risks will be there. Obstacles will there. But then they have to overcome and show the world they are equal to the task. For that they need the 3 Ls of Empowerment – Learning, Labour and Leadership.
Question 28.
Read the following poem given belw and compare it with “Mending Wall”.
As I Grew Older
Langston Hughes
It was long time ago
I have almost forgotten my dream
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun
My dream
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands! ,
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
Answer:
The poem “As I grew Older” reflects on a dream the poet had many years ago and has nearly forgotten . by now. At first, his dream seemed as radiant as the sun itself, and he thought it was easy to realise it. But gradually, a barrier separated him and his dream The barrier grew higher, dimming his hopes until it blocked the dream completely like a wall blocking out sunlight.
It cast a shadow over his life, leaving him with the realization that society has defined him as Black. The shadow drains his energy. He can’t see his dream anymore, because of the huge racial barrier and the shadow it casts. He then urges his black hands to find the strength to smash the barrier and attain his dream. He hopes the radiance of the original dream will come back and he will have brighter dreams.
The poem by Langston Hughes is a fine one giving a very good message of hope and optimism. We see a fine simile when he compares his dream to be “bright like a sun”. There is hyperbole when he speaks of “break this shadow into a thousand lights of sun, into a thousand whirjing dreams of sun”. The poem has many themes: racism, alienation, dream and its shattering, optimism, strength, and the cruelty of the society.
Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” examines the nature of interpersonal interactions. There are two different types of people: those who favour barriers and those who do not.
The poet, a New England farmer, is seen in the poem walking alongside his neighbour to mend the stone wall that divides their two fields in the spring. Nature does not like walls. It tried to destroy them. But the neighbour feels “Good fences make good neighbours.”
“Mending Wall” discusses a universal theme. “As I Grew Older” discusses the problems of the Blacks, who feel discriminated. Between the two poems I prefer “As I Grew Older” as it speaks for the marginalised people and ends with high hope and optimism.