time management for HSC exam of English

 🕑Time Management for English Paper🕜

             Section. I Prose Lesson 

Q 1 A. Seen Extract.       18 Minutes.

Q 1 B. Language Study.  08 Minutes.

                          Total =  26 Minutes

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Q. 2. A  Unseen Extract.     20 Minutes.

Q 2. B 1 Summary.            10 Minutes. 

Q 2.B 2 Mind - Mapping.   10 Minutes.

                            Total =  40 Minutes

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             Section III. Poetry 

Q 3. A Seen Poem.      15 Minutes.    

Q. 3. B Appreciation.   10 Minutes.

                      Total =  25. Minutes

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Section IV Writing Skill 

Q 4 A.                                 15  Minutes. 

Q 4 B.                                  15  Minutes. 

Q 4 C.                         15  Minutes. 

Q 4 D.                         15  Minutes.

                        Total =  60 Minutes 

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Section V. Literary Genre Novel 

Q 5 A.                                 10  Minutes. 

Q 5 B.                                  11  Minutes. 

Q 5 C.                         11  Minutes. 

Q 4 D.                         11  Minutes.

                         Total =  43 Minutes

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                       Total =  194 Minutes.

              Cross checking 16 Minutes. 

               Total time        210 minutes 

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📌Please note that the above time management is just a guidelines for the students to manage the time during exam. 

📌Every individual person has different ability and speed of writing, so they can manage as per their speed of writing.

📌 This is not the final time management, every student can plan their own, based on their strong and weak areas. 

📌Take care that you have cover all the questions within time. 

📌 Don't forget the cross check the answers you have written before you submit the answer sheet.

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Important Instructions for Students. 

📌(1) Each activity has to be answered in complete sentence/sentences. Answers written in only one word will not be given complete credit. Only the correct activity number written in case of options will not be given any credit.

📌(2) Web diagrams, flow charts, tables etc. are to be presented exactly as they are with answers.

📌(3) In point 2 above, only the words written without the presentation of activity format/design, will not be given credit. Use of colour pens/pencils etc. is not allowed. (Only blue/black pens are allowed.)

📌(4) Multiple answers to the same activity will be treated as wrong and will not be given any credit.

📌(5) Maintain the sequence of the Sections/Question Nos./Activities throughout the activity sheet

cherry tree

Cherry Tree Poem by Ruskin Bond 

Table of Contents

Introduction

Line 1-8

Line 9-17

Line 18-24

Line 25-31

Line 32-41

Conclusion

Introduction

The poet Ruskin Bond belongs to India. He considered himself richer having a cherry tree at his door. He felt proud for planting his own tree. The title of the poem is related to the central character i.e., a cherry tree whose journey from planting to upward growth to the blossomed tree is given. The poem deals with the poet’s feeling of great joy over a tree that he planted and took eight years to grow.

The poem talks about nature; thus, it falls under the category of nature poetry. The tone used is optimism which means that the poet focuses on the growing aspect of nature and how the cherry plant struggles to survive. The poem is realistic as it describes the everyday struggle of a plant to mature into a blooming tree.

Line 1-8

Eight years have passed

Since I placed my cherry seed in the grass.

“Must have a tree of my own,” I said,

And watered it once and went to bed

And forgot; but cherries have a way of growing,

Though no one's caring very much or knowing.

And suddenly that summer near the end of May,

I found a tree had come to stay.

The poet says that it has been eight years since he planted a cherry seed in the grass. He did it so that he could have a tree that he could claim but after he watered it once he forgot about it and went to bed. The poet explains that cherries can grow even when they are not being taken care of, they can grow naturally without having to water every day

or take care of it. Suddenly that summer by the end of May the poet notices a tree growing from the place he planted the seed.

Line 9-17

It was very small, five months child,

Lost in the tall grass running wild.

Goats ate the leaves, the grass cutter scythe

Split it apart and a monsoon blight

Shrivelled the slender stem...... Even so,

Next spring I watched three new shoots grow,

The young tree struggle, upward thrust

Its arms in a fresh fierce lust

For light and air and sun.

The tree was very small and almost five months old. The tree was so small that it wasn’t even visible amongst the long grasses. Goats came and ate the leaves of the plant; Grasscutter had split the plant apart and even the monsoon damaged the plant. The thin stem of the plant dried and even then, by the spring the tree managed to survive and the poet saw three new shoots grow. The young cherry tree struggled to grow upward however its branches managed to grow fiercely upwards to get light air and sun.

Line 18-24

I could only wait, as one

Who watched, wandering, while Time and the rain

Made a miracle from green growing pain.......

I went away next year-

Spent a season in Kashmir-

Came back thinner, rather poor,

But richer by a cherry tree at my door.

The poet waited and watched the tree grow while the time passed and it rained, how the tree survived even in pain. The poet goes to Kashmir next year to spend a season and when he came back, he became thinner and rather poor but on the other hand, the tree grew richer at the door. It had grown six feet high; the poet couldn’t believe that it was the same tree that he planted in which dark cherries had grown.

Line 25-31

Six feet high my own dark cherry,

And I could scarcely believe it-a berry.

Ripened and jeweled in the sun,

Hung from a branch-just one!

And next year there were blossoms small

Pink, fragile, quick to fall

At the merest breath, the sleepiest breeze. .....

The tree had become mature and fruits shined like pieces of jewelry in the sun which hung from the branches of the cherry tree. By the next year, the flowers blossomed which were pink in color, fragile and quick to fall even in the slightest movement of breeze.

Line 32-41

I lay on the grass, at ease,

Looking up through leaves at the blue

Blind sky, at the finches as they flew

And flitted through the dappled green.

While bees in an ecstasy drank

Of nectar from each bloom and the sun sank

Swiftly, and the stars turned in the sky,

And moon-moths and singing crickets and l

Yes, I! — praised Night and Stars and tree:

That small, the cherry, grown by me.

The poet lies on the grass to relax and describes nature in full swing that is, the sky, finches, bees, crickets, and the blooming cherry tree. The bees drank the nectar from every flower until the sunset. The stars were visible in the sky and the poet could hear the moon-moths and crickets singing. The poet praised the night and stars and the tree, the tree that he had planted and was grown by him.

Conclusion

The poem gives an underlying message about the tree’s adapting nature and its determination to grow despite all odds. The poet wants to highlight that humans too can overcome all the obstacles that they face in their life and become strong and tough like the cherry tree

On To The Summit: We Reach The Top

On To The Summit: We Reach The Top Lesson Summary & Explanation in English

Table of Contents

Introduction

Important names

The narrator and Hillary were determined to reach the top of the world

The beginning of their journey to Mount Everest

The narrator and Hillary reach Kathmandu

The narrator expressed his gratitude

Conclusion

Introduction

Tenzing and Hillary set out from Camp Nine early on Friday morning to continue their journey to the Top. Tenzing was determined to conquer the peak even at the cost of his life. They took turns to take the lead because the one that follows has the difficult job of acting as the anchor for the team. Tenzing was carrying the flags of Great Britain, Nepal, India, and the United Nations to plant them at the summit.

After an hour of steady climbing, they had to cut across the south face and begin climbing the west side where they had to cross a steep line of rocks. This proved to be difficult and thus took some time. However, once they had cleared these, they only had to make it past a snow-covered incline.

This became progressively easier as the steepness of the incline decreased as they neared the top. Although the last sixty or seventy feet up the top were not very dangerous, they maintained the same steady pace and reached the small, flattened summit almost together. The rope that was tied between them was a symbol of their teamwork and companionship.

Important names

Edmund Hillary: Mountain climber and Antarctic explorer who, with the Tibetan mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest

The narrator: Tenzing Sherpa a Nepali-Indian Sherpa mountaineer.[2][3] He was one of the first two individuals known to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

(C.W.F.) Noyce: Cuthbert Wilfrid Francis Noyce (31 December 1917 – 24 July 1962) was usually known as Wilfrid Noyce. He was an English mountaineer and author. He was a member of the 1953 British Expedition that made the first ascent of Mount Everest.

(W.G.) Lowe: Wallace George Lowe (15 January 1924 – 20 March 2013), was known as George Lowe. He was a New Zealand-born mountaineer, explorer, film director, and educator.

The narrator and Hillary were determined to reach the top of the world

When the narrator and Hillary left Camp Nine on Friday morning he was determined to get on the top of the mountain even if at the cost of his death. He wasn’t afraid if he died that day. They started early and lead the journey alternatively, sometimes the narrator took the lead, and sometimes Hillary. The man who would be behind had the most difficult job both in climbing up and down like an anchor. The man leading cuts the steps and breaks the way.

When the narrator was in camp four Colonel Hunt gave him three flags of Britain, the United Nations, and Nepal which he was asked to plant at the top of the mountain when they reach. The narrator asked for permission to let him plant the Indian Flag as well which he had brought with him.

Colonel Hunt was glad that he had an Indian flag and after an hour they cut across the south face and started the west side which had a steep line of rocks. This way took time and was difficult to cross. After this there were no barriers left except a snow-covered incline, sloping less and less as they get nearer to the top.

The beginning of their journey to Mount Everest

The last sixty to seventy feet up was not very dangerous and they kept moving at the same pace. During the last fifty feet from the peak, Hillary and the narrator were almost twenty feet apart but were tied with a rope which helped them stay together in difficult situations. They were not different individuals but a team.

The narrator has been asked by many who was the first to reach the summit to which they had no answer as climbing is not about reaching first but overcoming the barriers. Their main thought was that both of them reach the top, one couldn’t have done it alone.

The narrator and Hillary reach Kathmandu

The narrator and Hillary had become a controversy when they reached Kathmandu yet it didn’t affect them. They decide to sign a pact in the office of the Prime Minister of Nepal which stated that they will not be a part of any controversy and embrace every part of the journey.

The narrator’s first thought on reaching the top was gratitude to God. He and his wife are Buddhists, e wanted to kneel but couldn’t because of the clothes and the equipment yet he offered a silent prayer in his heart. He offered biscuits, candy, and a little blue pencil that his daughter Nima had given him when he was leaving home so that he would put it on top of the mountain as her offering.

The narrator plated the flags along with his offerings and Hillary took picture of it. The narrator was very thirsty and when he took out his metal container, the water was frozen and he couldn’t satisfy his thirst so he ate some biscuits and offered them to Hillary.

The narrator expressed his gratitude

He wore a scarf that his friend gift him up the mountain, remembered him, and felt as if he was with him. The narrator didn’t feel tired and was happy at that moment. All the hills and mountains looked like gods and goddesses to him which also looked like broken pieces of the map.

Only two or three people could stand on the top of the world. Twenty to thirty feet below there was enough space for two people to sleep. They stayed on the top for a little more than fifteen minutes and the next thought was to get down safely. The climb down was more dangerous than climbing up.

Climbing down took less time but it needed more caution. When they reached camp nine is when they were relieved that they reached safely. The narrator and Hillary were not in the mood of talking to and rested for a while. Just above camp eight were others who could see them and the narrator gave a thumbs up. Noyce and Lowe saw and flushed out of joy, this way the narrator could tell them that their journey was a success.

By the time they reached camp eight which was another fifty feet down Noyce brought some tea which smelled like kerosene and they enjoyed it anyway as the gentleman took the trouble to bring it to them.

Conclusion

The narration is a real-life experience of Tenzing Norgay also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing and Edmund Hillary who were the first two individuals known to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. In this particular lesson, Tenzing describes the climb to the top and all events that occurred during the historic climb 

The Call of the Soil

The Call of the Soil Lesson Summary & Explanation in English Class 11

Table of Contents

Introduction 

Characters

The writer’s first crop

Moru Dada Insisted on using pesticides

The writer learned about Kasbai

The writer is hopeful of finding Kasbai

The writer finally finds the Kasbai rice

Conclusion

Introduction 

The narration is about the story “Call of Soil” which is written about the engineer Venkatesh Iyer. He wanted to plant organic food through organic farming. He met a farmer named Mugra who suggested he buy a plot in Surat. He planted the crops there with his hand. Then Mugra suggested he apply the pesticides. The scientist denied saying he wants to grow organic food. He learned about the Kasbi rice which is less pesticide, so he grew it.

Characters

Writer: Venkatesh Iyer who wants to grow rice without using any chemicals.

Moru Dada: The writer’s uncle who insists and helps him in growing moong in his land.

Baban: the one who traveled with the writer in search of Kasbai rice.

Devu Handa: The ex- sarpanch.

Jeevan: Translator who helped the writer communicate with the old lady who gave them Kasbai rice.

The writer’s first crop

In April 2004 the writer stood in the middle of the dense green field of moong. The writer’s feet got muddy because the ground was damp. The field was surrounded by chikoo trees and the moong plants were almost two feet tall and had green pods hanging out. The writer was happy that the pods were almost ripe and there was still time for harvest. It was the writer’s first crop as a farmer and owner of the land.

It was Moru Dada who got him the land and insisted on planting moong dal at once even when the writer wasn’t ready and trying to figure out what they could sow. Moru Dada advised him to buy seeds from Surat and thus with Moru Dada’s help, the writer went to Surat rented a tractor to plow the land, and quickly planted moong all over the land.

A few days later, the writer was delighted to see small plants grow just like when as a child he planted a hibiscus plant and saw it grow for the first time at the railway quarters in Vile Parle in Mumbai. The writer was pleased to take Moru Dada’s advice.

Moru Dada Insisted on using pesticides

Moru Dada also wanted him to spray chemicals but the writer was clear that he didn’t want to use any pesticides. It took a lot of convincing to make sure that Moru Dada didn’t use chemicals however they didn’t understand anyway. On the contrary of what everyone had told them, nature did its job and it didn’t need any offerings for successful harvesting. Soon it was harvest time and they managed to gather 300 kilograms. The writer was now sure that the land was fertile and it was possible to grow crops naturally.

In the first year, they were a little late for rice-sowing and thus they decided to start a little early the next day and try to find some good traditional variety of rice to grow. The writer now learned rice did not need high input of fertilizers and were quite strong which resisted pests and thus the writer knew what type of rice to grow now. Previous years’ experience and low yield had taught them a lesson and now they were sure that they would not plant hybrids this year.

The writer learned about Kasbai

In April 2005 they started to look for a good variety of rice where one of the neighbors in the village suggested that they should plant a local scented variety of rice. Most of the farmers preferred hybrids and the young generation thought that the writer was crazy to ask for natural variety. The writer’s regular visits to the villages around searching for a good traditional variety did not turn out to be successful.  

The writer decided to give one last try to search and spoke to Baban’s father and some other elders and got familiar with Kasbai which is a variety of rice. It is a traditional long-grained rice variety that has a distinct aroma that is much milder than basmati. It is a long-duration crop most of the older people used to grow it years ago but no one knew where he could find its seeds.

The stories about this traditional seed made the writer more determined to find it anyhow. The writer even visited the agricultural officer for the matter but it turned out that he didn’t even know about it. The officer took several hybrid names and even offered to give some free of cost for trial. The writer found it a waste of time and moved to the next destination.

The writer is hopeful of finding Kasbai

The writer went to the Adivasi Mahamandal at Kasa which buys rice from the tribal villagers on behalf of the government. They did not sell Kasbai but the officer in charge had the knowledge about it and remembered Kasbai being sold to him a few years ago.

When the writer and Baban went to Dhanivari they were searching for Devu Handa and found him as a greying old man wearing a cap sitting outside his house on a charpoy who turned out to be an ex-sarpanch. He had acres of land, a huge house, and a large family. The writer offered him some gifts and talked about Kasbai. The ex-sarpanch told them that once the entire village used to grow Kasbai and everyone in the village cooked the same rice but now everyone shifted to hybrid variety as they were forced to do so.

Farmers were convinced to grow a second crop instead of Kasbai as it took a long time, replaced by hybrids that took a shorter time and could be done earlier. The writer was curious to know the reason why they shifted to hybrid if it made them unhappy. The ex-panchayat explained that since they did not have any fence and once the harvest was over the cattle were released on the fields and Kasbai would become a treat for the cattle.

It is better to go with the community, hybrids need more water fertilizers, and pesticides as if this new variety had innumerable capacity for chemicals. On the other hand, Kasbai could uphold even floods, such as the strength of it.

The writer finally finds the Kasbai rice

The writer revealed the reason for his visit and learned that only the tribals in a hamlet at the foothills of the mountains in the next village called Asarvari grew it. There they asked the sarpanch to help them communicate as they were not very familiar with the local language. They were assisted by Jeevan who took them to a sleepy hamlet (small settlement) of Boripada. There they met an old lady who had the rice they have been searching for all along.

The writer had difficulty having a straight face because he couldn’t keep his happiness inside and wanted to hug her. They bought a basket of rice from her in hundred rupees. While leaving the old women’s place the writer realized that the real people of India lived in the foothills of an unknown mountain away from all the hustle. These were the kind of people who held on to the rich biodiversity of our land that no one cared about. They are not aware of the hybrids and grew their rice and ate what they got. The old lady had probably never left Boripada and her world remained unspoiled and the writer was grateful for that.

Conclusion

The word ‘Scent’ in the subtitle ‘Scent of Rice’ has a deeper meaning than its usual meaning of fragrance or ‘perfume’ in the context of the text and for the author because he was trying to revive the tradition of Kasbai rice which everyone agreed had an alluring aroma. Modern farmers are forgetting conventions and have fallen prey to hybrids.

The natural ‘scent’, that is ‘flavor’ of Kasbai had drawn the writer towards real India, unspoiled by progress. The ‘scent’ was largely responsible for his quest. The writer wants to highlight the importance of organic and why it is important to be preserved and it is the tribals that help in preserving even when others do not consider it as an important duty.