Comprehensive Passages HSEB/ NEB 2072 Old Questions of Compulsory English Class 11
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
Halloween is the last night of October, and it used to be thought the most enchanted night of the year. It was the night when witches and evil spirits came back on earth to weave their magic spells. Superstitious people kept up many strange old customs in an effort to keep these influences away. Farmers used to light big fires in their field , and the farm workers and their families would walk around the fields singing old songs and hymns. Aa intervals , the strange procession would stop to hear the local priest offer prayers to the good spirits and ask them to help the evil ones away.
Great care was taken that none of the farm animals were left in the fields. They would all be locked up safely in their stables and sheds, and over each of the stable and shed doors a few rowan leaves would be hung . Witches and evil spirits would not go anywhere near the rowan tree.
Questions
i. When did the witches and evil spirits come back to the earth and why?
ii. What did the superstitious people do to keep the evil influences away?
iii. How did the farmers and farm workers change the evil spirits?
iv. What did the priest ask people to do?
v. For what purpose, did the farmers use the leaves of rowan trees?
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
A motorist saw two men walking along a lonely country road. They were carrying heavy bags, so he at once informed the police. That morning the police had broadcast a message on the radio asking for information which might lead to the arrest of two thieves who had stopped a train and stolen mail-bags containing a lot of money. The police arrived on the scene soon. They questioned both men but neither of them could speak English . The men tried hard to resist arrest and kept shouting loudly at the police all the way to the station. When they arrived there, both men refused to say any thing and simply pointed at their bags. The police opened them at once and then realized that they had made a terrible mistake. The men were French onion-seller and their bags were full of onions ! Apologizing for their mistake, the police set the men free immediately.
Questions
i. Whom did the police want to catch?
ii. Who was the motorist suspicious of?
iii. What were the men carrying?
iv. Who were they?
v. What mistake had the police made and what did they do afterwards?
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
A heavy load of wine barrels made it difficult for the lorry to climb the hill. Near the top , the driver had to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a log which was lying in the middle of road. Immediately there was a loud crash from behind. The driver looked out of the window and noticed that one of the barrels had slid off the back. As there was no hope of getting it back now, the man drove away. Meanwhile , the barrel was travelling at full speed down the hill. It narrowly missed a lamp post and then it changed direction and struck a tree with great force. The noise woke up an old beggar who was sleeping by the roadside. He jumped up with a shock and it nearly broke his heart when he realized what had happened. The wine barrel had split open and a stream of good red wine was flowing past him into a field.
Questions
i. What was the lorry carrying?
ii. Why did the driver stop all of a sudden?
iii. What slid off the lorry at the moment?
iv. Where did the barrel roll? What did it hit?
v. What woke up the beggar sleeping by the roadside?
A heavy load of wine barrels made it difficult for the lorry to climb the hill. Near the top , the driver had to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a log which was lying in the middle of road. Immediately there was a loud crash from behind. The driver looked out of the window and noticed that one of the barrels had slid off the back. As there was no hope of getting it back now, the man drove away. Meanwhile , the barrel was travelling at full speed down the hill. It narrowly missed a lamp post and then it changed direction and struck a tree with great force. The noise woke up an old beggar who was sleeping by the roadside. He jumped up with a shock and it nearly broke his heart when he realized what had happened. The wine barrel had split open and a stream of good red wine was flowing past him into a field.
Questions
i. What was the lorry carrying?
ii. Why did the driver stop all of a sudden?
iii. What slid off the lorry at the moment?
iv. Where did the barrel roll? What did it hit?
v. What woke up the beggar sleeping by the roadside?
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
A lioness in her prime can pick up 600 pounds heifer and jump a corral fence, without as much as a leg touching the ground. We knew this yet we fed the lioness for a few more days by throwing meat to her as her wound was half healed. One night she came right up to me as I sat in a camp chair, cutting a haunch of buck for her dinner. She growled quietly as she came, but took the meat I threw her, purred in her throat, happy as a well fed cat. By and by she became our regular partner during dinner time and we marked a change in her behavior. She was no more a ferocious creature for us. But one day suddenly something happened that changed her norms and she flew at one of my assistance and swallowed his head. It was a terrible sight.
Questions
i. What is the power of a lioness?
ii. Why was the lioness fed by the writer?
iii. What happened one night?
iv. How could she become their partner during dinner time?
v. What happened one day, all of a sudden?
A lioness in her prime can pick up 600 pounds heifer and jump a corral fence, without as much as a leg touching the ground. We knew this yet we fed the lioness for a few more days by throwing meat to her as her wound was half healed. One night she came right up to me as I sat in a camp chair, cutting a haunch of buck for her dinner. She growled quietly as she came, but took the meat I threw her, purred in her throat, happy as a well fed cat. By and by she became our regular partner during dinner time and we marked a change in her behavior. She was no more a ferocious creature for us. But one day suddenly something happened that changed her norms and she flew at one of my assistance and swallowed his head. It was a terrible sight.
Questions
i. What is the power of a lioness?
ii. Why was the lioness fed by the writer?
iii. What happened one night?
iv. How could she become their partner during dinner time?
v. What happened one day, all of a sudden?
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
Science has told us so much about the moon that it is fairly to imagine what it would be like to go there. It is certainly not a friendly place. As there is no air or water, there can be no any kind of life. There is no any variety of scenery either. For mille after mile, there are only flat plains of dust with mountains around them. Above, the sun and the stars shine in a black sky. If you step out of the mountain shadows, it will mean moving from the severe cold into great heat. These extreme temperatures continually break rocks away from the surface of the mountains. The moon is also a very silent world, for sound waves can only travel through air. But beyond the broken horizon, you see a friendly sight. Out earth is shinning more brightly than stars. From this distance, it looks like an immense ball, colored blue and green and brown.
Questions
i. Why is the moon unfriendly?
ii. What can be seen there?
iii. What effect of extreme temperatures has on the moon?
iv. Why is the moon said to be a very silent world?
v. How does the earth appear from the moon?
Science has told us so much about the moon that it is fairly to imagine what it would be like to go there. It is certainly not a friendly place. As there is no air or water, there can be no any kind of life. There is no any variety of scenery either. For mille after mile, there are only flat plains of dust with mountains around them. Above, the sun and the stars shine in a black sky. If you step out of the mountain shadows, it will mean moving from the severe cold into great heat. These extreme temperatures continually break rocks away from the surface of the mountains. The moon is also a very silent world, for sound waves can only travel through air. But beyond the broken horizon, you see a friendly sight. Out earth is shinning more brightly than stars. From this distance, it looks like an immense ball, colored blue and green and brown.
Questions
i. Why is the moon unfriendly?
ii. What can be seen there?
iii. What effect of extreme temperatures has on the moon?
iv. Why is the moon said to be a very silent world?
v. How does the earth appear from the moon?
HSEB/ NEB 2072: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below. [5*2=10]
The inhabitants of Tango, a small island in the south pacific, discovered a plant which contained a powerful drug. This drug made it more difficult for them to think rationally – it stopped them worrying about the future and enabled them to forget their all problems. At the same time, it made it much easier for them to relax and enjoy themselves. So much so, indeed, that the whole population of the island stopped working and spent all their time singing and dancing and looking at the sea.
Questions
i. What is Tango and where is it located?
ii. What did the people find out?
iii. What did the drug make things easier for people?
iv. What did the drug make difficult?
How did people enjoy it?
The inhabitants of Tango, a small island in the south pacific, discovered a plant which contained a powerful drug. This drug made it more difficult for them to think rationally – it stopped them worrying about the future and enabled them to forget their all problems. At the same time, it made it much easier for them to relax and enjoy themselves. So much so, indeed, that the whole population of the island stopped working and spent all their time singing and dancing and looking at the sea.
Questions
i. What is Tango and where is it located?
ii. What did the people find out?
iii. What did the drug make things easier for people?
iv. What did the drug make difficult?
How did people enjoy it?
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