CBSE Class
12 English (Core) Board 2013 Exam Papers
I am
writing this note to point out the following errors in the CBSE class 12
English (Core) question papers (Series SKS 2) used in the examination
held on the 1st of March 2013.
First of
all, let me point out a few glaring errors:
Error 1. [Common
to all three sets] Question no 3 OR on page 7
‘You are
interested in disposing it of as you are going to settle abroad.’
The
correct expression will be:
‘You are
interested in disposing of it …’
Let me
quote just three authentic examples to substantiate my view:
How did
they dispose of the body?
We'll then
collect it from your premises and dispose of it, carefully…
Please Dispose of this Carefully
Error
2. [Common to all three sets] Question no 8 on
page 9
(c) Why does Robert Frost feel that we should not be so ‘single-minded’?
My
comment:
By putting the word single-minded in quotes the question-setter certainly means that
he/she has quoted this word verbatim from Robert Frost’s poem A Roadside
Stand, whereas this word appears nowhere in the poem. As a matter of fact,
this word appears in Pablo Neruda’s poem Keeping Quiet (part of the syllabus)
where he writes:
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives
moving,
...
Error
3. [Set Code no 1/2/3] Question no. 13 on page 11
(d)
Why had Hana to wash the wounded man herself?
The
correct English will be ‘Why did Hana have to …?’
Citation: Why did he have to die?
Other
Major & Minor Errors:
Error
4. [Common to all three sets] The last
sentence of question no. 2 on page 6 reading
passage is:
‘It
is suggested that an intake of 40 grams dietary fibres per day is
desirable.’
The correct expression will be:
‘…40
grams of dietary fibres….’ [Yet, the better expression will be
either ‘It is suggested that people take 40 grams of dietary fibres per
day’ OR an intake of 40 grams of dietary fibres per day is
desirable.]
Error
5. [Common to all three sets] Question no. 3 on page 7
(i) notice-board should be correctly written as
noticeboard
Citation: the term’s list of lectures has been put on the noticeboard
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/noticeboard?q=noticeboard
(ii) ‘…informing the members regarding
a free medical camp…’ should have been better expressed as …informing
the members about / of a free medical camp… OR …informing
the members that a free medical camp is going to be organized…
Citation: hardly required
Error
6. [Set Code no 1/2/3] Question no. 4 on page 7
‘…awarded a trip to Singapore as well as scholarship
for higher studies’ should be correctly written as ‘…as well as a
scholarship for higher studies’.
Citation: She won a
scholarship to
study at Stanford. http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/scholarship
Error
7. [Same
set] Question no. 4 OR on
page 7
‘…one-act-plays…’ should be ‘…one-act plays…’
…contest for one-act
plays in performance throughout England.
Citation: http://www.aetf.org.uk/
Error
8. [Same
question]
‘…there
was an over-whelming response.’ should
be ……an overwhelming response.
There
was overwhelming support for our policies
Error
9. [Set Code no 1/2/1] Question no. 4 on page 7
‘As
School Pupil Leader of …’
My
comment:
The phrase ‘Pupil leader’ is hardly used in the schools of India or in any part
of the world. The phrase used universally is ‘student leader’.
Error
10. [Set Code no 1/2/2] Question no. 12 OR on page 10
‘Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of
relief? Why / Why not?’
My
comment:
Since the answer of the first part of this question is not explicit from the
way the story ends (as it seeks to test the examinee’s skills of
extrapolation), the wording of the question ought to be ‘Do you think
the Governor and his staff finally heave …? Why
/ Why not?’
CBSE Class
10 English (Communicative) Board 2013 SA II Exam Papers
Please
refer to Question no 15 (C) on page 12 of the CBSE class 10
English (Communicative) question papers (Series RSH/2 Common to all three
sets) used in the examination held yesterday (8 March 2013). The question
is as follows:
BRUTUS:
Then none have I offended. I have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to
Brutus.
(a) In
which…?
(b) How
does Brutus justify his action?
(c) What
was the immediate reaction of the listeners?
To my
mind, question (c) is seriously flawed for the following reasons:
First and
foremost, the question is ambiguous as it is not clear whether the
question is asking the students to describe listeners’ reaction to Brutus’
statement “Then none have I…” OR to describe listeners’
reaction to Brutus’ justification of his action, which is question (b)
cited above.
1. Let
us suppose that the question-setter says that he/she wants the students to
describe listeners’ immediate reaction to Brutus’ statement “Then none have I…”
My
Comment: In that case the question is wrong as in the original text
of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus’ statement is not followed by any
‘immediate reaction of the listeners’. What actually follows Brutus’
aforementioned statement is the continuation of his own dialogue which is:
The question of his death
is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy,
nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered death.
And this in turn is
followed by the line
Enter ANTONY and others, with CAESAR’S body. Thus, there is no
‘immediate reaction’ from the listeners.
2. Let
us suppose that the question-setter says that he/she wants the students to
describe listeners’ immediate reaction to Brutus’ justification of his action,
which is question (b) cited above.
My
Comment: That also is impossible because after Brutus finishes
justifying his action saying that he slew Caesar as he was ambitious, etc…, he
himself asks the listeners:
Who is here so base that
would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude
that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here
so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended.
I pause for a reply.
My
Comment: To this the listeners’ immediate reaction is: “None,
Brutus, none.” And if that is what the CBSE question-setter
wants the examinees to write in answer, then the quotation BRUTUS: Then
none have I offended. I have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus
should be replaced in the question paper by Who is here so base that would be a
bondman?…
Who is here so vile that will not love his country?... I
pause for a reply.
To which
the listeners’ immediate reaction is: “None, Brutus, none.”
Thus Question (c) is
fundamentally flawed.
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