PSEB CLASS 11th GENERAL ENGLISH SEPTEMBER EXAM 2024 SAMPLE PAPER 

Time: 3 hours | Max. Marks: 80

SECTION: A (READING COMPREHENSION)

Q1(A): Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (10 marks)

Earth Day is an annual event that aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for our environment. It was founded in 1969 by peace activist John McConnell. He introduced the idea of a global holiday called “Earth Day” at a US conference on the environment in 1969. The first Earth Day celebration was in 1970. It was quickly adopted by the United Nations. In 1971, then Secretary General U Thant proclaimed that Earth Day should be held every year. He said: "May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life." It marked the birth of the modern environmental movement. Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries around the world. It is one of the largest events in the United Nation’s annual calendar. Earth Day is coordinated by the non-profit Earth Day network. They say more than half a billion people celebrate it every year. Earth Day has motivated countries to act together to help save our planet. The 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was the result of an earlier Earth Day campaign. Earth Day 2000 highlighted the urgent need for clean and green energy. Earth Day 2007 was huge with an estimated billion people participating in thousands of activities. The 2009 Disney movie ‘Earth’ raises awareness of the many ways people can help our planet on Earth Day.

1. Earth Day is an __________ event.
• (A) monthly
• (B) bimonthly
• (C) biannual
• (D) annual
2. It was founded in ________.
• (A) 1968
• (B) 1969
• (C) 1978
• (D) 1979
3. Who introduced the idea of a global holiday?
• (A) John McConnell
• (B) John McCann
• (C) John McCauley
• (D) John McCarthy
4. The first Earth Day celebration was in __________.
• (A) 1969
• (B) 1970
• (C) 1971
• (D) 1972
5. In how many countries is Earth Day observed?
• (A) 169
• (B) 170
• (C) 175
• (D) 172
6. Name the movie that raises awareness of the many ways people can help the planet on Earth Day.
• (A) Mother Earth
• (B) Earth Day
• (C) Earth
• (D) Earth Summit
7. What was the purpose of Earth Day?
8. In 1972, then Secretary General (United Nations) U Thant proclaimed that Earth Day should be held every year. (True/False)
9. Write two words with ‘-ful’ as a suffix.
10. Make nouns of the following verbs:
• Celebrate
• Observe

Q1(B): Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (6 marks)

The sun plays an important role in causing rain. It evaporates water from seas, lakes, rivers, and soil. This evaporated water or water vapors form clouds, which condenses into droplets or ice. As the air rises higher, more and more water vapors turn into water and the clouds grow bigger and darker. Finally, water droplets from the clouds fall to the ground as rain. Usually, rain results from nimbostratus or cumulonimbus clouds. Water falling from a cloud is called precipitation. Air temperature both inside and outside the cloud determines whether precipitation is rain, snow, or hail. The low temperature inside and outside the clouds results in snowfall. In hilly areas like Srinagar, Himachal, and other mountainous regions of Uttaranchal, it snows heavily, resulting in an overflow of water in rivers during summer and rainy months. Crops fail if there is no rain and people and animals may starve to death. There may be floods if there is too much rain. Thus, life on land depends on rainfall.

1. Life on Earth depends upon __________.
• (A) rainfall
• (B) snowfall
• (C) hail storm
• (D) thunderstorm
2. Water falling from a cloud is called __________.
• (A) perspiration
• (B) precipitation
• (C) respiration
• (D) annihilation
3. How is the sun instrumental in causing rainfall?
4. What are the two kinds of clouds?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage: If there is no rain people and animals may __________ to death.
6. Match the following words in column A with their meaning from column B:
• Condense - Thicken
• Farmer - Peasant

SECTION-B (WRITING SKILLS, GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION)

Q2: You lost your wrist watch yesterday in your school playground. Draft a notice about the loss of your watch. (4 marks)

OR

Draft an advertisement for "Swachh Bharat Mission" in rural areas.

Q3: You are Rita. You live at #2009, Sector 9, Chandigarh. Write a letter to your uncle thanking him for the birthday gift that he sent for you. (6 marks)

OR

Suppose you are Amit. You live at 38-A, New Model Town, Jalandhar. Write a letter to your younger brother Amitab, who is a bookworm, persuading him to take part in games.

Q4: (A) Translate the following from English to Punjabi. (2 marks)

1. We obey the traffic rules.
2. You do not like me.

(B) Translate the following from Punjabi to English. (2 marks)

1. ਅਧਿਆਪਕ ਨੇ ਟੈਸਟ ਨਹੀਂ ਧਿਆ।
2. ਕੀ ਉਹ ਸਾਡੇ ਲਈ ਚਾਹ ਬਣਾਏਗੀ?

Q5: DO AS DIRECTED. (1×8=8 marks)

1. Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners
• Ram Singh is _____ MA. (the/a/an)
• How ____ milk do you need? (many/much)
2. Fill in the blanks with suitable modals:
• It ______ rain tomorrow. (may/shall)
• We ____ help the poor. (would/should)
3. Change the voice:
• I know him.
• Shut the door.
4. She is writing a letter. (Change into past indefinite tense)
5. I shall buy this pen. (Change into present perfect tense)

SECTION -C (LITERATURE TEXTBOOKS)

Q6: Objective type questions. (12 marks)

1. How many people were there on the interview panel?
• (Five/six/seven/eight)
2. JRD was the owner of:
• (Reliance industries/Trident/Patanjali/Tata industries)
3. The portrait of grandfather hung above the:
• (tree/table/mantelpiece/hook)
4. The author went to school in the city. (by bus/on foot)
5. The astrologer carried on his job:
• (in a corridor/in a shop/under a tree/in a house)
6. Baldeo’s axe looked very ______ (fragile/strong)
7. There was a shopping centre at the back of the railway station. (true/false)
8. Name the writer of the chapter "GENDER BIAS": (Khuswant Singh/Sudha Murthy/William Slim)
9. Who wrote the story "AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY"? (R.K.Narayan/Ruskin Bond/Oscar Wilde)
10. How many years did the author study abroad? (two/three/four/five)
11. How old was Tembu? (ten years/eleven years/twelve years)
12. The astrologer had stabbed a man, Guru Nayak. (true/false)

Q7: (A) Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow: (1×4=4 marks)

The budding twigs spread out their fan
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

1. Name the poem and the poet.
2. What was there on the branches of the trees?
3. What were the budding twigs doing?
4. Name the figure of speech used in the very first line of the given stanza.

(B) Give the central idea of any one of the poems given below: (3 marks)

• Upagupta
• Mother’s Day

Q8: Answer the following questions (any three): (3×2=6 marks)

1. What type of questions was the author asked by the interview panel? (Gender Bias)
2. What did they have for breakfast? (The portrait of a lady)
3. What is discipline? (Liberty and discipline)
4. When did Sudha first see Mr. JRD Tata? (Gender Bias)
5. Why did Grandmother always go to school with the author? (The portrait of a Lady)

Q9: Answer the following questions (any three): (3×2=6 marks)

1. What was the astrologer’s professional equipment? (An astrologer’s day)
2. What was Baldeo’s axe like? (The Tiger in the Tunnel)
3. Why did Baldeo not run away from the tiger? (The Tiger in the Tunnel)
4. What were the different names given by the vendor of fried groundnuts to his groundnuts? (An Astrologer’s Day)

Q10: Give a brief pen-portrait of Grandmother. (3 marks)

OR

Describe Sudha’s life as a student at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. (3 marks)

Q11: Write a character sketch of the Astrologer. (3 marks)

OR

Write a brief character sketch of Baldeo. (3 marks)

Q12: Good handwriting (5 marks)