Comilla Board-2016, English First Paper

Comilla Board-2016                                               English First Paper

Part A : Reading Test (50 Marks)

Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.   

Severe moral degradation is a crucial problem of mankind which is affecting the meaningful living of human beings. In society, morality ensures development of the heavenly qualities like love, affection, respect and appreciation for others. It is moral values and institutions which ensure establishment of social peace, order and justice. There is no denying the fact that morality is the best virtue of mankind at any individual, social and global level. Without attaching the essence of morality, a fruitful, honest and durable democratic, socio-economic, administrative and judicial institution can never be dreamt of Social ills and vices, in most cases, occur mainly due to human activities devoid of moral senses. So, it is necessary to develop moral awareness and conscience among the world's people irrespective of colour, religion and nationality by arranging seminars, symposia at different levels of society to motivate and encourage the people of all strata to accelerate moral uplift from their respective families to social levels.

1.     Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1 ´ 7 = 7

(a)   The word 'accelerate' stands for¾

        (i) essence                      (ii) associate

        (iii) hasten                     (iv) hurl

(b)   What does the phrase 'meaningful living of human being' in the 1^st line mean?

        (i) Living with moral qualities

        (ii) Living with rejection 

        (iii) Leading life to frustration 

        (iv) Making our life significant 

(c)   Which of the following statements is not true about the hazard of human beings?

        (i) Moral values ensure social peace

        (ii) Morality does not add any value to our life

        (iii) Moral decadence is a crucial problem of mankind

        (iv) Moral uplift is extremely needed now

(d)   In line 4 it is said, `Morality is the best virtue of mankind'. What does the sentence mean?

        (i) Morality rejects all human achievements

        (ii) Morality is devoid of social ills and vices

        (iii) Morality combines all human qualities

        (iv) Morality is liked by all great personalities

(e)   In society, morality is the main source of development of the heavenly qualities. Here `heavenly' is a/an¾

        (i) preposition               (ii) adverb 

        (iii) adjective                 (iv) noun

(f)    The expression 'social ills and vices' means¾

        (i) social duties             (ii) ugliness 

        (iii) crimes in society  (iv) social values 

(g)   The message of the text is¾

        (i) significance of morality

        (ii) to make people aware of the social vices 

        (iii) to hold seminars and debate

        (iv) to establish a democratic system 

2.     Answer the following questions.                 2 ´ 5 = 10

(a)   What do you understand by moral degradation?

(b)   "Social ills and vices occur mainly due to human activities devoid of moral senses". What does the sentence mean?

(c)   What are the consequences of lack of morality?

(d)   How can we develop morality in our society?

(e)   Do you think that human beings are heading towards moral degradation? Why/Why not?

3.     Summarize the above passage in 60 -70 words.          10

4.     Read the following text carefully. Complete the table below with information from the text. Write only the answers serially.                                                                                              5

        Milton was a great poet after William Shakespeare. His father early decided that Milton was to have a literary career. At the age of 7, in 1615, he got himself admitted into Star Palace School. But Milton could not pay attention to his studies in this school. After a couple of years, he left the school and studied at St. Paul's School till 1624. In the succeeding year John Milton entered Christ College in Cambridge. He took his M. A. degree at the age of 24 and went to his father's house in the village of Horton. Milton's father, however, had faith in his son and allowed him to continue his studies at Horton from 1632 to 1638. During this time he made himself master of everything worth knowing in the literature of Rome, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and the Bible. In 1643 Milton met Mary powell in an occasion and married her. But this great poet became blind in 1652. The idea behind his famous work "The Paradise Lost" developed after his blindness. "The Paradise Lost" saw the light of the day in the year 1665. Nine years after its publication, this great artist in English Literature died.

Name of the events	Place	Year/Time	Contribution
Born		(i) ......
Studied from 1617 - 1624	(ii) ......
(iii) .......		at 24
Married Mary Powell		(iv) .....
Famous work			(v) .......

5.     From your reading of the above passage, fill in the blanks with suitable words. Use only one word in each blank. Write only the answers serially.                                                                    1 ´ 5 = 5

        John Milton was a (a) ¾ figure in English literature after William Shakespeare. His father's support and (b) ¾ always inspired him to involve in literary works. This great poet has (c) ¾ knowledge about Roman, Greek, Italian, French and Spanish literature and also about the Holy Bible. This helped him to write the (d) ¾ "The Paradise Lost" as we find allusions from different historical and literary elements in it. However, it is so (e) ¾ that Milton wrote his great epic after his blindness. 

6.     Match the parts of sentences given in column 'A' and column 'B' to write five complete sentences. There are more parts of sentences in column 'B' than required. Write only the answers serially. 1 ´ 5 = 5

Column A	Column B
a.  Hamlet was the	i.     of games and pastimes.
b.  He was very fond	ii.    a great sorrow that had fallen on him.
c.  His father was treacherously killed	iii.   and so he was more sad when his mother married his uncle Claudius.
d.  He was a brave prince but a	iv.  changed person all on a sudden.
e.  He loved his father more than anything in the world	v.   prince of Denmark.
	vi. wanted to take revenge.
	vii. by his wicked and cunning uncle.

7.     Put the following parts of the story in correct order to rewrite the whole story. Write the sequence only.         1 ´ 8 = 8

(a)   She saw a box marked half a crown and considered that the box would be the most appropriate gift for him.

(b)   The princess had a fixed allowance for pocket money and she was not permitted to exceed it.

(c)   But her governess said, "No, you see the princess has not the money and so, of course, she cannot buy the box".

(d)   Queen Victoria was taught economical habits by her governess when she was a little girl.

(e)   Once at a market at Wales, she spent all her money in buying a number of presents for relatives and friends.

(f)    The people in shop wanted to enclose the box with the other articles.

(g)   But alas! She had no money.

(h)   As she was leaving, she remembered another cousin for whom she did not buy any present.

Part B : Writing Test

8.     Answer the following questions to write a paragraph on 'Water Pollution'.             10

(a)   What is environment pollution?

(b)   Why is water called life?

(c)   How is water polluted?

(d)   What are the effects of water pollution?

(e)   What measures should we take to prevent water pollution?

9.     Read the beginning of a story. Write ten new sentences to complete the story and give a title to it.    1 ´ 10 = 10

        In his boyhood Hazrat Abdul Quadir Zilani (R.) was going to Baghdad for education. On the eve of his departure from home, his mother said to him, "My son, never tell a lie and don't get frightened in danger". Baghdad was far away from his home. He began his journey in the company of a band of merchants. The way was infested with robbers and after five days............

10.  The graph below shows 'The number of people in percentage, living below poverty line" from 1995 to 2010. Describe the graph in 150 words. You should highlight and summarize the information given in the graph.      10

11.  Suppose you are Helal/Helen. You have a friend called Limon/Luna. Limon/Luna informed you about his/her plan after the SSC Exam. Now, write a letter to your friend telling him/her what you intend to do after the SSC Examination.   10

12.  Newspaper plays an important role in our modern life. It is the storehouse of knowledge. It increases our general knowledge. Now, write a dialogue between you and your friend Rima/Rimon about the importance of reading newspaper.    10