CBSE Class-12 Compartment Exam 2019 : Question Paper-English Core

SECTION A — (Reading) 30

1. Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow : 20

1 So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialised labour. No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer, for there are countless ‘do-it-yourself’ publications. Armed with the right tools and materials, newly-weds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes. Men of all ages spend hours of their leisure installing their own fire-places, laying out their own gardens, building garages and making furniture. Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to make their own record players and radio transmitters. Shops cater for the ‘do-it-yourself’ craze not only by running special advisory services for novices but also by offering consumers bits and pieces which they can assemble at home. Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up energies, but unfortunately, not all of us are born handymen. 

2 Wives tend to believe that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and versatile. Even husbands who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters, plumbers and mechanics. When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuum cleaners fail to operate, wives automatically assume that their husbands will somehow put things right. The worst thing about the ‘do-it-yourself’ game is that sometimes husbands live under the delusion that they can do anything even when they have repeatedly been proven wrong. It is a question of pride as much as anything else. 

3 Last spring my wife suggested that I call in a man to look at our lawn mower. It had broken down the previous summer, and though I promised to repair it, I had never got round to it. I wouldn’t hear of the suggestion and said that I would fix it myself. One Saturday afternoon I hauled the machine into the garden and had a close look at it. I was not at all iffy about my skills and observed it as a professional technician would eye it. I moved all around the machine to analyse its every upgroove and bolt. After an hour’s scrutiny, I decided to work hands-on on the machine. To me, overall the machine only needed a minor adjustment; a turn of screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new. I did not waste more time in re-evaluating my decision-making skills and sat down to mend it out. Inevitably, the repair job was not quite so simple. The mower firmly refused to mow, so I decided to dismantle it. The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn mower. But I was extremely pleased with myself. I had traced the cause of the trouble. One of the links in the chain that drives the wheels had broken. 

4 But the mess all around me filled me with fear. For one moment my own decision of getting it repaired myself troubled me a lot. But the other moment, I despised it and moved ahead all full of confidence. I decided to go to the market to buy a new chain. But oops ! Whom and where to go to ? I wasn’t very much aware of the market too. I quietly called up my servant. Quietly because I did not want to be laughed at, and in no way by my wife, I gathered the required information from him and got all set to go to the nearby market. I went into the hardware shop to get a new chain.  

5 After buying a new chain I was faced with the difficult task of putting the parts together again. I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work even after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that there were still bits of metal around which did not fit anywhere. I gave up in despair. The weeks passed and my wife got angry with me when grass grew and our house became surrounded by a jungle. 

1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer each of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option from those that follow : 1x5=5 

(a) The work of decorating their homes themselves is generally taken up by ___________ .
(i) middle-aged people
(ii) senior citizens
(iii) professionals
(iv) newly-weds

(b) The author planned to fix the _____________ himself.
(i) electric motor
(ii) lawn mower
(iii) fan
(iv) air fryer

(c) Shops that cater to the ‘do-it-yourself’ craze provide ____________ .
(i) advisory services and record players
(ii) bits and pieces to assemble and build garages
(iii) advisory services and bits and pieces to assemble
(iv) outlet for people’s pent up energy

(d) First the writer thought that the unserviceable mower needed__________ .
(i) to be laid out in the garden
(ii) a replacement of the old link in the chain
(iii) a tightening of some screws
(iv) dismantling of its parts

(e) The writer could not buy a new chain for the lawn mower because__________ .
(i) he did not know from where and how to buy it
(ii) he needed his servant to buy it
(iii) he needed to gather more information
(iv) there was no hardware shop in the vicinity

1.2 Answer the following questions briefly : 1x6=6
(a) What do wives tend to believe about their husbands ?
(b) Why do husbands think that they can do anything even when proved otherwise ?
(c) What is the disadvantage of the ‘do-it-yourself’ game ?
(d) Why did the author’s wife get angry with him ?
(e) Why did he enquire from the servant about the hardware store in confidence ?
(f) Why was the author filled with fear ? 

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Courtesy: CBSE