HSSC ENGLISH PAPER 2 2008

THE GIRL: But this town! The children just don’t seem to care about anything–whether they get good
grades or bad, whether they pass or fail, or anything else. On top of that, almost all of them are unruly.
The only thing they seem to be interested in is either games or the sea. That’s why I’m on my way to the
beach now. I thought if I could watch them on a Saturday I might understand them better.
HARRY: Yes, that’s a thought.
THE GIRL: Nobody seems to have any sensible ambition. It’s all fun and play. How can I teach
children like that? What can I teach them?
HARRY: English.
THE GIRL: Of course.
HARRY (drying his face): Singing, dancing, cooking.
THE GIRL: Cooking?
HARRY: The question is, shall you stay, or shall you go back to San Francisco?
THE GIRL: Yes.
HARRY: The answer is, go back while the going’s good.
THE GIRL: Why?
HARRY (after a pause): You’re too good for a town like this; too young and too intelligent.

a. Which play are these lines from? (1 Mark)
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b. Write THREE sentences in your own words, describing the children of the town. (3 Marks)
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c. Why did Harry seem non-serious about the unruly behaviour of the children? (1 Mark)
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d. Describe the teacher’s problem and the solution given by Harry. (4 Marks)
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e. Why did Harry suggest to the girl to leave the town? (1 Mark)
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The Feed
Holding a grain of millet in her beak
The mother sparrow has come to feed.
The young ones are so tiny and small
From head to toe they are beaks
When they cry.
One grain to be fed to the ten young ones.
To whom the mother sparrow should feed?
Conjoining beak with beak
With whom should she solace?
Fissuring the atom,
You have learnt to weep and wail in a loud tone,
Splitting the grain,
You have learnt to set life on foot
Could you split the grain?
One grain to be fed to ten young ones.
(Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi)
O Where are You Going?
“O Where are you going?” said reader to rider,
“That valley is fatal when furnaces burn,
Yonder’s the midden whose odours will madden,
That gap is the rave where the tall return.
“O do you imagine,” said the fearer to farer,
“That dusk will delay on your path to the pass,
Your diligent looking discover the lacking,
Your footsteps feel from granite to grass?”
“O what was that bird,” said horror to hearer,
“Did you see that shape in the twisted trees?
Behind you swiftly the figure comes softly,
The spot on your skin is shocking disease.”
“Out of this house”– said rider to reader,
“You never will”– said farer to fearer,
“They’re looking for you”– said hearer to horror,
As he left them there, as he left them there.
(W. H. Auden)

a. What does the phrase ‘Fissuring the atom’ in line 10 mean? (1 Mark)
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b. What does the reader tell about the valley? (1 Mark)
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c. Compare the difficult situation faced by the mother sparrow and the rider. (4 Marks)
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d. Compare the role of the rider and reader in the poem “O Where are You Going?” (2 Marks)
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e. Write any TWO positive attributes EITHER of mother sparrow OR the rider.
(2 Marks)
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The ability to read English with understanding is the skill which will be needed most by our
students in their future life – while acquiring education as well as in practical life. However, asking
the students ____________ read aloud is of little value ____________ helping them become
efficient readers of ____________ , because normally, reading is a silent ____________ individual
activity. Nevertheless a teacher ____________ English needs a high level of ____________ in
reading aloud clearly, since he/she ____________ to provide a good model of ____________
spoken language ____________ his/her learners. Most of the exposure___________ English
language in our school takes place through the reading of texts. Nearly all new learning takes place
while the pupil is reading. Therefore, the quantity and quality of reading are of first importance. The
textbooks of English must provide the situations and the context in which learning takes place.

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be impossible but still dreams make the thinking easy and facing difficulties possible.
Write an essay discussing what role dreams play in your life.
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Write a story describing the innocence of a person who suffers because of this belief.
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c. Responsibility for preserving the natural environment ultimately belongs to each individual and not
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Express your own views and support them with reasons and examples from your own experience,
observation or reading.

HSSC ENGLISH MCQ'S PAPER CLASS XI EXAMINATION 2008

Listening Comprehension Section
In this section you will hear two recordings. Each one will be played twice.
Listen carefully to the first recording then read the 10 questions. You will have two minutes’ reading
time.
The recording will then be replayed. You can make notes on your question paper.
When the recording has finished, enter your answers on your separate answer sheet. You will have
five minutes to pencil in your answers.
Follow the instruction on the front page of paper 1 to show which of the options; A, B, C, or D you
have selected for each question.
Passage One
This recording is a dialogue between a lady and a young boy. He tried to snatch her purse but she
managed to grab him. Let us listen to the conversation which takes place in the house of the lady
after the incident.
Now listen to the recording.

1. When the boy told the woman his name,
she asked him to
A. go away.
B. sit down.
C. wash his face.
D. write the name down.
2. The boy asked the woman if she was going
to take him to the jail
A. loudly.
B. violently.
C. happily.
D. hesitatingly.
3. The woman handed him a
A. towel.
B. pencil.
C. napkin.
D. tissue paper.
4. The name of the boy was
A. Rohail.
B. Raheel.
C. Rehan.
D. Rashid.
5. Who was waiting for the boy at home?
A. Parents
B. Friends
C. Siblings
D. Nobody
6. The boy tried to snatch her purse because
he wanted
A. shoes.
B. food.
C. money.
D. clothes.
7. If things are taken by devilish ways they
A. cause harm.
B. are lost later.
C. are useful always.
D. bring good luck.
8. The phrase “fix us something to eat”
means
A. buy food.
B. order food.
C. prepare food.
D. set the table.
9. The boy wanted to drink
A. tea.
B. water.
C. coffee.
D. cocoa milk.
10. The lady gives the boy money for
A. buying shoes.
B. getting some food.
C. behaving well in future.
D. buying her the canned milk.

Now, we will play the second recording. It will also be played twice.
Listen carefully to the first playing, then read Questions 11 to 20. You will have two minutes’
reading time. The recording will then be replayed.
When the recording has finished, enter your answers on your separate answer sheet. You will have
five minutes to pencil in your answers.
Passage Two
This recording is an account of Gama Pehelwan, popularly known as the lion of Punjab. Let us listen to
the long list of victories Gama enjoyed in the ring.
Now listen to the recording.

11. Another name used for Gama Pehelwan is
A. Bholu.
B. Kotwale.
C. Rustam-i-Hind.
D. Rustam-i-Zaman.
12. ‘He never lost a bout’. Here the word
‘bout’ means
A. a match.
B. an activity.
C. a ceremony.
D. a long journey.
13. The phrase ‘pin down to earth’ means
A. use pins.
B. to dig the earth.
C. to put down on the floor.
D. to admit one’s defeat.
14. What was Gama’s most distinct
achievement?
A. Gama was never defeated.
B. He was a quick wrestler.
C. He challenged many wrestlers.
D. He took ten minutes for a fight.
15. Rustam Mahmood was from
A. Italy.
B. Turkey.
C. Moscow.
D. New York.
16. Which of these happened first?
A. Zebisco was defeated.
B. Gama made friends with Zebisco.
C. Gama became the wrestler of the
court.
D. Gama went to London for an
international event.
17. During the tour, Gama participated in
A. 40 contests.
B. 42 contests.
C. 43 contests.
D. 44 contests.
18. What makes the bout with Zebisco
remarkable?
A. Gama was defeated.
B. They fought at Patiala.
C. It continued for three hours.
D. Zebisco was easily defeated.
19. Gama died when he was
A. 40 years old.
B. 50 years old.
C. 60 years old.
D. 80 years old.
20. The text is a
A. speech.
B. debate.
C. biography.
D. factual report.

Reading Comprehension Section
This section has two reading passages; each followed by 10 multiple choice questions. You have 20
minutes’ time for this section. You are advised to spend approximately 10 minutes on each of the given
passages.
Read the passages carefully and then answer the multiple choice questions which follow.
Passage One
Plagiarism
The dictionary defines plagiarism as “to copy another person’s ideas, words or work and
pretend that they are your own”. In simple words, it is called ‘copy and paste’ practice, where
the source from which the matter is taken is not mentioned. This has become a widely
practised habit.
5 Plagiarism is also referred to as theft or stealing. Using someone else’s work without asking
or giving credit is just as bad as stealing. Plagiarism is mostly practised in assignments; there
are other places too where it is practised but the highest rate is found in educational areas.
Do’s and don’ts of plagiarism
􀁺 If you do use sources to spruce up your article, make sure they are properly referenced
10 i.e. give the proper reference and use quotation marks to highlight the given text.
􀁺 Cut and paste is cheating, so is copying something word for word.
􀁺 If you are able to say where you got the work from, that is fine, as then you are not
trying to pass off someone’s work as your own.
􀁺 You can paraphrase, but need to ensure that you express it in an original way and it is
15 not just re-arranging of words.
􀁺 Facts that are general knowledge for instance ‘Quaid-i-Azam is the founder of Pakistan’
can be used easily because this is not special or privileged – however, when you use
interpretations the reference must be acknowledged.
􀁺 If a student builds a software project and uses textual or visual imagery from another
20 website, he/she must quote the source or obtain permission from the website owner.
􀁺 Give credit wherever it is due.
􀁺 At university level, paying somebody or allowing someone else to write a paper for you
or even using someone else’s unpublished work is also plagiarism.
What is not plagiarism
25 Your own thoughts and ideas, personal experiences, assumptions and conclusions are not
plagiarism.
Writing your self-drawn conclusions, using your own resources like videos, audios or when
you use fables or myth or general facts/common knowledge are not plagiarism.
Generally speaking, you can regard something as common knowledge if you find the same
30 information undocumented in at least five credible sources. Additionally, it might be common
knowledge if you think the information you are representing is something your readers
already know, or something that a person could easily find in general reference sources.
For more information on plagiarism read the article from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/wl/resource/589/02/.

21. The dictionary defines ‘plagiarism’ as
A. telling lies.
B. using Paste command.
C. copying someone’s ideas.
D. suffering from the plague.
22. According to the text plagiarism is mostly
practised
A. by internet users.
B. in communication.
C. at educational institutes.
D. in television programmes.
23. The word ‘spruce’ in line 9 means to
A. finish.
B. refine.
C. publish.
D. conclude.
24. The word ‘paraphrase’ in line 14 means to
A. copy the same idea.
B. jumble up words and ideas.
C. practise ‘cut and paste’ technique.
D. rewrite the original text in your
words.
25. The writer suggests that if you use
someone’s ideas or work, you should
A. re-arrange the words.
B. pay him or her well.
C. attach the original text.
D. acknowledge the source.
26. What does the following
sentence suggest (line 21)?
‘Give credit wherever it is due.’
A. Settle bank dues.
B. Lend money to your friends.
C. Do your assignments on time.
D. Acknowledge the real author.
27. Which of the following acts is NOT
plagiarism?
A. Using others’ explanations
B. Using examples from myths
C. Using others’ unpublished material
D. Using privileged or special
knowledge
28. According to the text, common knowledge
is like
A. reference material.
B. general information.
C. unpublished material.
D. special software.
29. The purpose of this text is to give
A. warning.
B. information.
C. guidelines.
D. a moral message.
30. This text is most likely to appear in a
A. notice.
B. diary.
C. dictionary.
D. magazine.

Passage Two
At the end of market day, the rich people with vehicles of all kinds, carts, gigs, wagons, and
dumpcarts gathered at a great big hall for a great meal. There were chickens, pigeons and legs
of mutton in the roast and an appetising odour of roast beef and gravy dripping over the
browned skin increased the appetite and made everybody’s mouth water. Everyone told his
5 affairs, his purchases and sales. The diners discussed the crops and the weather, which was
favourable for the green crops but not for wheat.
Suddenly at the sound of a drum beat in the court everybody rose from their seats except a
few who still had food in their hands. After the drum beat had ceased, the drummer called out
to the people, who were now attentive and impatiently waiting for him to make the public
10 announcement. “It is hereby made known to the inhabitants of this place and in general to all
persons in the market that a black leather pocket-book containing five hundred shillings and
some business papers was lost on the road between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning. The finder
is requested to return the same to the mayor’s office or to Mr. James, the caretaker of this
public hall. There will be a reward of 20 shillings.”
15 After the meal had concluded the chief of the police appeared on the scene. He inquired, “Is
Mr. Hubert here?” Mr. Hubert, seated at another end of the table replied, “Here I am.” The
police officer went up to him and said. “Mr. Hubert, will you please accompany me to the
mayor’s office. The mayor would like to talk to you.” Mr. Hubert, surprised and disturbed,
followed the police officer. The mayor, a heavy but serious man, was waiting for Hubert.
20 “Mr. Hubert”, he said, “you were seen this morning to pick up the pocket-book lost by Mr.
James.” Mr. Hubert a sheer simple countryman looked at the mayor astounded and already
terrified by the suspicion resting on him. “Why me? Me? Me picked up the pocket-book?”
“Yes you yourself”. “By my word of honour I never heard of it.” “But you were seen.” said
the mayor.

31. The names of vehicles implies that this
passage presents
A. the year 2000.
B. the present time.
C. a primitive era.
D. a time before motor cars.
32. The appetite of the people increased
because
A. it had been a long day.
B. they wanted to celebrate.
C. they were talking.
D. of the smell of food.
33. People were discussing their
A. love affairs.
B. false affairs.
C. family affairs.
D. business affairs.
34. The weather was discussed as it was
A. bad for all crops.
B. good for all crops.
C. suitable for some crops.
D. destructive for green crops.
35. A drum was beaten to make the audience
A. attentive.
B. confused.
C. comfortable.
D. enjoy their meal.
36. The announcement was meant for the
A. traders only.
B. attentive people only.
C. inhabitants of that place.
D. people eating in the hall.
37. The announcement was about a
A. theft.
B. kidnap.
C. murder.
D. lost item.
38. ‘The chief of the police appeared on the
scene’ means he appeared
A. on the stage.
B. in a film.
C. on the spot.
D. in the picture.
39. The mayor was
A. an old man.
B. a fat person.
C. a frail person.
D. a young man.
40. In the mayor’s office, Mr. Hubert was
terrified because he was
A. falsely accused.
C. asked about his meal.
B. a simple countryman.
D. beaten by the police.

Listening Here