HSC English First Paper Model Test

ENGLISH (COMPULSORY)
FIRST PAPER
Time—3Hours
Full Marks—100

[N.B. — The figures in the right margin indicate full marks.] Part A — Seen Comprehension

Read the passage and answer the questions 1—4:— The unit by which the loudness of sound is measured is called a decibel. According to the UN, the normal tolerance limit of sound is 45 decibels. When the vibration of sound is at a tolerable, pleasant level, it is simply called sound. But when it is sharp and harsh to the ears, it becomes noise. Serious harm can be caused to people if they are regularly exposed to sounds exceeding 70 decibels. Because of the growth of urban population and the increasing use of machines in our everyday life there has been a general increase in the level of sound around us. On an average, people in the cities are exposed to sounds ranging from 30 to 90 decibels or even more. A study in Japan has found that housewives who live in the city are exposed to almost the same amount of sound that a factory worker was exposed to at his/her work place. The occupations that the study has found to be the noisiest are factory work, truck driving and primary school teaching.

1.	Choose the right word to complete each sentence: —		1×5=5
	(a) Truck drivers fall victim to traffic jam/sound pollution/accidents. (b) The unit of sound is closely related to history/physics/economics. (c) Sound pollution is mainly caused in rural/urban/remote areas. (d) Primary school teaching is the mildest/noisiest/most pleasing. (e) The increasing use of machines causes water/sound/odor pollution.

2.	True or false? If false, give the correct information: —		1×5=5
	(a) Sound pollution is acute in cities. (b) In Japan primary education is not free from sound pollution. (c) The rapid growth of population is a threat to our sense of hearing. (d) Sounds exceeding 70 decibels are not harmful to us. (e) A housewife living in the city and a factory worker at his workplace are exposed to almost the same amount of sound.

3.	Fill in the gaps with the correct form of words in brackets. Add any preposition if necessary: —		1×5=5
	(a) Decibel is a unit (use) ____ measure sound. (b) (Raise) ____ public awareness is necessary for the control of sound pollution. (c) City areas are (noise) ____ that rural areas. (d) Sound pollution is harmful to our sense of (hear) ____. (e) People in the cities (expose) ____ sounds ranging from 30 to 90 decibels.

4.

Make a list of five things that cause sound.

1×5=5

Read the passage below and answer the questions 5—8:— Education is one of the basic needs of a human being and is essential for any kind of development. The poor socio-economic condition of Bangladesh can be largely attributed to most people’s inaccessibility to education. Many illiterate people do not have any knowledge of health, sanitation and population control. If they were educated, they could live a healthy and planned life. Education teaches us how to earn well and how to spend well. It enables us to make the right choices in life and to perform our duties properly. It enhances our ability to raise crops, store food, protect the environment and carry out our social responsibilities. It is only education which can help us to adopt a rational attitude. It provides us with an enlightened awareness about things and this awareness is the pre-requisite for social development.

5.	Fill in the gaps with the correct form of words in brackets. Add any preposition if necessary: —		1×5=5
	(i) What is the cause of mass illiteracy in Bangladesh? (ii) What would happen if all people were educated? (iii) What aren’t the illiterate people aware of? (iv) What does education teach people? (v) What don’t many illiterate people have?

6.	Fill in the gaps with suitable words: —		1×5=5
	Education is (a) ____ to be one of the basic needs of humans. Without (b) ____ education man cannot exactly decide what he has to do for a better life (c) ____ from the curse of poverty, malnutrition and diseases. In fact the (d) ____ of education creates (e) ____ in him with regard to his personal needs and duties to the society as well.

7.

Give the summary of the passage in five sentences.

5

8.	Based on your reading of the passage, make short notes in each of the boxes in the flow-chart showing the different functions that education does. (No. 1 has been done for you.): —		1×5=5
	1 Developing human mind → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6

Part B — Vocabulary
9.	Fill in the gaps with a suitable word from the box (make any grammatical changes if necessary). There are more words in the box than you need:—		1×10=10
	read use tips see dots print although touch develop bear way call
	(a) ____ blind people cannot (b) ____, their sense of (c) ____ becomes far more (d) ____ than that of most sighted people. This ability was put to use by a brilliant man (e) ____ Louis Braille. In the early 19th Century, he invented a (f) ____ of writing which (g) ____ his name. The Braille system reproduces the letters of the alphabet by a series of (h) ____ in certain positions, which are raised on the paper. The blind person runs the (i) ____ of his fingers across the pages of the Braille book and can work out the letters and numbers (j) ____ there.

10.	Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word in each gap:—		1×10=10
	Man pollutes water, an important (a) ____ of the environment by (b) ____ waste into it. Farmers (c) ____ chemical fertilizers and insecticides in their fields. Some of these chemicals (d) ____ away by rain and floods (e) ____ mixed with water in rivers, canals and ponds. Water is also (f) ____ by mills and factories which throw their (g) ____ chemicals and waste products into rivers and canals. Water vehicles also pollute water by (h) ____ oil, food waste and human waste into them. Unsanitary latrines (i) ____ on river and canal banks are also (j) ____ for further pollution.

Part C — Guided Writing
11.	Match the phrases in the following substitution table to make sensible sentences. Write out the sentences in full:—		2×6=12
	A B C D (i) We is easily with their family. (ii) Our family drag to keep our apartment clean. (iii) They try on very good terms day and night. (iv) These sounds have tried many times chairs around to give it up. (v) We are not used to tell them avoided. (vi) I can be to these sorts of sounds.

12.	The sentences in the following text are jumbled. Re-write them in the proper order and in a continuous paragraph to make a story: —		1×14=14
	(i) He bought a cat to kill the mice. (ii) They were doing a lot of mischief there. (iii) (iii) There was an old house in a village. (iv) (iv) The mice were in great difficulty. (v) There lived a number of mice in that house. (vi) At this all remained silent and none came forward. (vii) All the mice thanked the young mouse for his plan. (viii) There were several proposals but none was good. (ix) The master was annoyed and made a plan to get rid of them. (x) At last a young mouse rose to speak. (xi) They could not move freely as before. (xii) They held a meeting to find out a way to be free from this danger. (xiii) He said, "Let’s tie a bell round the cat’s neck." (xiv) Then an old mouse said, "It’s good but who will tie the bell?"

13.	Write a paragraph of about 400 words based on the following questions. Your answer to the questions should give as much details as possible:—		14
	What kind of family do you live in? Extended or nuclear? Why is nuclear family popular nowadays? What are the disadvantages of it? Do you like it? If so, why?