HBSE Class 11 English Core Annual Exam 2023 | Full Paper Solution | Section A–C Explained ✍️📚
Code No. 2301
CLASS : 11th (Eleventh) ENGLISH (Core) [For all Groups I, II, III] (Only for Fresh/School Candidates) Time allowed : 3 hours Maximum Marks : 80
General Instructions : (i) This question paper is divided into Four Sections : A, B, C and D. All the Sections are compulsory. (ii) Attempt all the parts of a question together. (iii) Stick to the word limit wherever prescribed.
SECTION – A (Reading Skills) [M.M. : 20]
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow by choosing correct options given :
Ride, work, ride, repeat. It’s a scientifically proven system that describes some unexpected benefits of cycling. In a recent study in the ‘Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research’, scientists found that people scored higher on tests of memory, reasoning and planning after 30 minutes of spinning on a stationary bike than they did before they rode the bike. They also completed the tests faster after pedaling.
Exercise is like fertilizer for your brain. All those hours spent on exercising your muscles, create rich capillary beds not only in leg and hip muscles, but also in your brain. More blood vessels in your brain and muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients to help them work. When you pedal, you also force more nerve cells to fire. The result : you double or triple the production of these cells – literally building your brain. You also release neurotransmitters (the messengers between your brain cells) so all those cells, new and old, can communicate with each other for better, faster functioning. That’s a pretty profound benefit to cyclists.
This kind of growth is especially important with each passing birthday, because as we age, our brains shrink and those connections weaken. Exercise restores and protects the brain cells. Neuroscientists say, “Adults who exercise display sharper memory skills, higher concentration levels more fluid thinking, and greater problem-solving ability than those who are sedentary.”
Cycling also elevates your mood, relieves anxiety, increases stress resistance, and even banishes the blues. “Exercise works in the same way as psychotherapy and antidepressants in the treatment of depression, may be better,” says Dr. Manjari. A recent study, analyzing 26 years of research, finds that even some exercise – as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day – can prevent depression over the long term.
Questions : 1 × 5 = 5 (i) In which tests did people score higher after spinning on a stationary bike ? (A) Memory (B) Reasoning (C) Planning (D) All of the above
(ii) What is like fertilizer for our brain ? (A) Green manure (B) Compost (C) Exercise (D) None of these
(iii) What creates rich capillary beds in our brain ? (A) Reading (B) Writing (C) Speaking (D) Exercising our muscles
(iv) What does adults display who exercise ? (A) Sharper memory skills (B) Higher concentration levels (C) Greater problem-solving ability (D) All of these
(v) What relieves anxiety and elevates our mood ? (A) Cycling (B) Thinking (C) Concentration (D) None of these
OR
Stress is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition, when a person makes up his mind to surpass what has been achieved by others, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It is a part and parcel of everyday life.
Stress has a different meaning, depending on the stage of life you are in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult, the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there were nothing more to be achieved.
Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion and hyper-acidity. Ultimately, the result is self-destructive behaviour such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively or relying on tranquillisers. There are other signs of stress such as trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing.
A professional under stress behaves as if he were a perfectionist. It leads to depression, lethargy and weakness. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of the students, executives and professionals. A person under stress reacts in different ways and the common ones are flight or fight depending upon the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person. Responses can be elegantly chosen to cope with the stress so that stress does not damage the system and become distress. When a stress crosses the limit peculiar to an individual, it lowers his performance capacity. Frequent crossings of the limit may result in chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. This may make the person mentally undecided, confused and accident prone as well.
Questions : 1 × 5 = 5 (i) What is body reaction to any demands in internal and external environment ? (A) Pollutants (B) Humidity (C) Stress (D) All of these
(ii) What causes psycho-social stress ? (A) Imbalance between demands and resources (B) Temperature (C) Balance between demands and resources (D) All of these
(iii) When does adolescent feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning ? (A) Loss of companion (B) Loss of youth (C) Fails an examination (D) None of these
(iv) Who behaves as if he were a perfectionist ? (A) a child (B) a professional (C) an adult (D) All of these
(v) What lowers ones performance capacity ? (A) When stress crosses the limit (B) Peculiar to an individual (C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these
- Read the following passage carefully and make notes on it. Supply a suitable title also : 1 + 4 = 5 (The topic of thought is one area of Psychology and many observers have considered this aspect in connection with robots and computers; some of the old worries about artificial intelligence were closely linked to the question of whether computers could think. The first massive electronic computers capable of rapid computation and little or no creative activity, were soon dubbed ‘electronic brains’. A reaction to this terminology quickly followed. To put them in their place, computers were called ‘high-speed idiots’, an effort to protect human vanity. But not everyone realized the implications of high-speed idiot tag. It has not been pointed out often enough that even the human idiot is one of the most intelligent life forms on earth. If the early computers were even that intelligent, it was a remarkable state of affairs.
One consequence of speculation about the possibility of computer thought was that we were forced to examine with new care the idea of thought in general. It soon becomes clear that we were not sure what we meant by such terms as thought and thinking. We tend to assume that human beings think, some more than others, though we often call people thoughtless or unthinking. Dreams cause a problem, partly because they usually happen outside our control. They are obviously some type of mental experience, but are they a type of thinking ? And the question of non-human life forms adds further problems. Many of us would maintain that some of the higher animals – dogs, cats, apes and so on – are capable of at least basic thought, but what about fish and insects ? It is certainly true that the higher mammals show complex brain activity, when tested with the appropriate equipment. If thinking is demonstrated by evident electrical activity in the brain, then many animal species are capable of thought. Once we have formulated clear ideas on what thought in biological creatures is, it will be easier to discuss the thought in artifacts. And what is true of thought is also true of many other mental processes. One of the immense benefits of Artificial Intelligence research is that we are being forced to scrutinize with new vigour, the working of human mind.
It is already clear that machines have superior mental abilities to many life forms. No fern or oak tree can play chess as well as even the simplest digital computer nor can frogs weld car bodies as well as robots. The three-fingered mechanical manipulator is cleverer in some ways than the three-toed sloth. It seems that, viewed in terms of intellect, the computer should be set above plants and most animals. Only the higher animals can, it seems, compete with computers with regard to intellect – and even then with diminishing success.)
SECTION – B (Grammar/Writing Skills) [M.M. : 25]
- Attempt any twelve of the following : 1 × 12 = 12
(a) Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in brackets : (i) I …………… (see) this picture several times. (ii) He …………… (receive) your message yesterday. (iii) If you run fast, you …………… (win) the race.
(b) Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners given in brackets : (i) …………… (A/An/The) best essay will get a prize. (ii) I have invited …………… (some/any) friends to the party. (iii) …………… (A little/Little/The little) knowledge is a dangerous thing.
(c) Fill in the blanks with suitable modal : (i) …………… that I were a bird ! (ii) He ran fast so that he …………… catch the bus. (iii) We …………… practise virtue.
(d) Change the following sentences into passive voice : (i) Whom do you want ? (ii) Kindly show me your new watch. (iii) His behaviour surprised me.
(e) Combine these two sentences into a complex sentence containing a noun clause : (i) I said something. I am sorry for it. (ii) I was wrong. The teacher told me this. (iii) He will improve. This is our hope.
(f) Name the parts of speech of underlined word in the following sentences : (i) He came just when the guests were about to leave. (ii) They are intelligent enough to answer it. (iii) Hurrah ! We have won the match.
- The Principal of your school has invited the Inspector of Police (Traffic) to deliver a lecture on ‘Road Safety’ in the school. Draft a notice informing the students to assemble in the school auditorium. 5
OR
Read the given telephone conversation between Nisha and Neetu. Neetu is about to leave home and will not be able to meet Vicky. She leaves a message for him. Write that message.
Nisha : Hello ! Is that Neetu ? Neetu : Ya ! Speaking. Nisha : It is Nisha here. You know, Neetu, that ‘Trade Fair’ is going on in Pragati Maidan. I am visiting it today. You should bring Vicky with you. Neetu : But he is not at home. I am sure that he will be with us because he desired so earlier. Nisha : Then it is done. Please wait for me at platform No. 1 on railway station Jaipur till 11:00 a.m. we shall leave together. Neetu : Okay. It shall be all right. We shall reach in time. Nisha : All right. Bye till then. Neetu : Bye.
- Write a paragraph on one of the following : (i) Afforestation : The Need of the Hour. (ii) Good Manners (iii) Work is Worship (iv) My Aim in Life 5
- You are Avni, the Head Girl of Class XI. On behalf of the students of Class XI, write an application to the Principal requesting him to arrange for an Educational Trip. 5
OR
You are Ajay/Sonam. Your younger brother, Arun, needs your advice for the preparation of his Secondary School Examination. Write a letter to him giving some tips in brief.
SECTION – C (Main Reader ‘Hornbill’) [M.M. : 31]
[A : Prose]
- Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
By morning on January 3, the pumps had the water level sufficiently under control for us to take two hours’ rest in rotation. But we still had a tremendous leak somewhere below the waterline and, on checking, I found that nearly all the boat’s main rib frames were smashed down to the keel. In fact, there was nothing holding up a whole section of the starboard hull except a few cup board partitions.
We had survived for 15 hours since the wave hit, but Wavewalker wouldn’t hold together long enough for us to reach Australia. I checked our charts and calculated that there were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the east. One of them, Ile Amsterdam, was a French scientific base. Our only hope was to reach these pinpricks in the vast ocean. But unless the wind and seas abated so we could hoist sail, our chances would be slim indeed.
Questions : 1 × 5 = 5 (i) Name the chapter and its author. (ii) What was the name of the boat in which the narrator and his family were travelling ? (iii) What did the narrator calculate after checking his charts ? (iv) What happened to the boat ? (v) Would the boat be able to reach Australia in that condition ?
OR
Taplow : Well, I’m not so sure, sir. That would be true of the ordinary masters, all right. They just wouldn’t dare not to give a chap a remove after his taking extra work. But those sort of rules don’t apply to the Crock – Mr Crocker – Harris. I asked him yesterday outright if he’d given me a remove and do you know what he said, sir ?
Frank : No. What ?
Taplow : (Imitating a very gentle, rather throaty voice) “My dear Taplow, I have given you exactly what you deserve. No less; and certainly no more.” Do you know sir, I think he may have marked me down, rather than up, for taking extra work. I mean, the man’s hardly human. (He breaks off quickly) Sorry, sir. Have I gone too far ?
Questions : (i) What do ordinary masters dare not to do ? (ii) Who is Mr. Crocker-Harris ? (iii) What kind of voice did Crocker-Harris have ? (iv) What did Crocker-Harris do ? (v) Who envies Crocker-Harris ?
- Answer in about 100 words : 5 Describe in brief the pen-picture of the narrator’s grandmother highlighting her noble qualities. (The Portrait of a Lady)
OR
Describe the narrator’s journey from Rames to Hor and the problems he had to face on the journey. (Silk Road)
- Answer any five of the following in about 30 words each : 2 × 5 = 10 (i) Mention three reasons why the author’s grandmother was disturbed when he started going to the city school. (ii) List the deeds that led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as “Wacky”. (iii) Who was Quinten Metsys ? Whom did he want to marry ? (iv) What does the notice “The world’s most dangerous animal” at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify ? (v) What does Millie ask Taplow to do ? (vi) Who is Professor Gaitonde ? What is the subject of the lecture that he is going to deliver ? (vii) Who was Norbu ?
🟦 SECTION – A (Reading Skills)
Q1. MCQs
(i) (D) All of the above
(ii) (C) Exercise
(iii) (D) Exercising our muscles
(iv) (D) All of these
(v) (A) Cycling
Q1 OR (Stress passage)
(i) (C) Stress
(ii) (A) Imbalance between demands and resources
(iii) (C) Fails an examination
(iv) (B) a professional
(v) (A) When stress crosses the limit
Q2. Note-Making & Summary
Title: Understanding Thought
Notes
-
Idea of Thought
1.1 Linked to robots & computers
1.2 Early computers = electronic brains
1.3 Called high-speed idiots to defend human pride -
Unclear Definition
2.1 Unsure meaning of thinking
2.2 Dreams = mental activity
2.3 Animals show brain activity -
AI Impact
3.1 Helps examine mental processes
3.2 Machines better than plants & most animals
3.3 Higher animals compete with computers -
Future Scope
4.1 Clear ideas on biological thought needed
4.2 Helps understand artificial thought
Key: comp = computer, tht = thought, AI = artificial intelligence
Summary (50–60 words)
The idea of thought has been discussed widely, especially with reference to computers and robots. Since we do not clearly understand what thought means, AI research forces us to examine the human mind more closely. Many animals show brain activity indicating thought, and machines already surpass many life forms. Defining thought in biological creatures will help understand artificial thought better.
🟦 SECTION – B (Grammar & Writing)
Q3. Grammar (Any 12)
(a) Verb forms
(i) I have seen this picture several times.
(ii) He received your message yesterday.
(iii) If you run fast, you will win the race.
(b) Determiners
(i) The best essay
(ii) some friends
(iii) A little knowledge
(c) Modals
(i) Would that I were a bird!
(ii) He ran fast so that he might catch the bus.
(iii) We must practise virtue.
(d) Voice
(i) Whom do you want? → Whom is wanted by you?
(ii) Kindly show me your new watch. → You are requested to be shown your new watch.
(iii) His behaviour surprised me. → I was surprised by his behaviour.
(e) Complex Sentences (Noun clauses)
(i) I said that I was sorry for it.
(ii) The teacher told me that I was wrong.
(iii) It is our hope that he will improve.
(f) Parts of Speech
(i) just — adverb
(ii) enough — adverb
(iii) Hurrah — interjection
Q4. NOTICE
SJS GGSSS, Silana
NOTICE
Road Safety Lecture
All students are informed that the Inspector of Police (Traffic) will deliver a lecture on Road Safety on 10 March 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in the School Auditorium. Students must be seated by 9:45 a.m.
Avni
Head Girl
(Approx. 45 words)
OR Message
Message for Vicky
Nisha called to say that the Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan is open today. She asked us to meet her at Platform No.1, Jaipur station, by 11:00 a.m., from where we will go together.
— Neetu
Paragraph (Any One)
Afforestation: The Need of the Hour (100 words)
Afforestation means planting trees on a large scale. Today forests are disappearing rapidly due to industrialization, construction and increasing population. This leads to climate change, soil erosion, floods and loss of wildlife. Trees control pollution, bring rainfall, provide oxygen, and support biodiversity. Without forests, life on Earth cannot survive. Afforestation is essential to restore ecological balance. Every citizen must plant trees every year and protect them. Schools, NGOs and government should organize plantation drives and spread awareness. Saving trees today means saving our future.
Application for Educational Trip (100–120 words)
To
The Principal
SJS GGSSS Silana
Subject: Request for Educational Trip
Sir,
We, the students of Class XI, request you to arrange an educational trip to Jaipur Science Park and Museum. Such a trip will enhance practical learning, observation and general awareness. It will give us exposure beyond classroom knowledge. We assure you of disciplined behaviour and full cooperation. Kindly grant permission and make necessary arrangements.
Thanking you,
Yours obediently,
Avni
Head Girl, Class XI
(Approx. 110 words)
🟦 SECTION – C (Hornbill)
Extract Qs
Q1
(i) Chapter — We’re Not Afraid to Die… if We Can All Be Together by Gordon Cook & Alan East
(ii) Wavewalker
(iii) Two islands: Ile Amsterdam etc. for survival
(iv) Main rib frames smashed; huge leak below waterline
(v) No, the boat could not reach Australia in that condition
100-word Question
Pen-picture of the Grandmother
The narrator’s grandmother was a deeply religious, kind and noble lady. She constantly prayed and spent most of her time telling beads. She was caring and looked after the narrator in his childhood, preparing him for school, and accompanying him every day. She loved birds and fed them daily. She was simple in appearance, always in spotless white, and believed in moral and spiritual education. Even in old age, she remained active and dignified. Her silent endurance, devotion and purity made her an ideal example of Indian womanhood.
(Approx. 110 words)
30–40 Word Questions
(i) She disliked English school because it taught no religious education, she could not accompany him, and science & music classes hurt her feelings.
(ii) Ray Johnson called Akhenaten “wacky” because of his strange religious reforms, worship of Aten, and unconventional art.
(iii) Quinten Metsys was a blacksmith who wanted to marry a painter’s daughter.
(iv) The notice means man is the most dangerous animal causing destruction through wars and violence.
(v) Millie asks Taplow to wait for Crocker-Harris and not leave.
(vi) Professor Gaitonde is a historian going to deliver a lecture on the theory of the 20th-century transition.
(vii) Norbu is a Tibetan scholar who wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.
