CBSE Class 12 English Functional Sample Paper 2014 Set 01

SECTION-A: READING 

A.I. Read the given passage carefully and answers the questions given below:

1. In the hospital, I was thinking about the most exceptional people I’ve known. They were the ones who kept going when others quit; the ones who found ways to do what everyone else thought couldn’t be done. They didn’t just hold down a job or work hard. They were reaching deeper inside and finding something more. They made a greater difference. I don’t believe they would have understood these words - “he held the frame so we both could see the inscription” - “the way I did.”

2. “I remember my parents and other adults in my hometown saying, “Study hard and work hard but don’t let your dreams get too big. If you do that, you’ll only be disappointed.’

3. “Learn to fit in and go along,’ they said, ‘that’s what successful people do.’ I got very good at fitting in and going along.” His voice trailed off.

4. “Robert, you’re going to hear the same kinds of things from people around you. They’re well-intentioned but they’re wrong. What if I hadn’t accepted it? What if everyday I had questioned yesterday’s definition of my best? What if I’d listened to my own heart instead of their words? Then I might have kept looking deeper and giving the world more of the best that was hidden inside me. 

5. “And if I’d done that,” he said, “more of the best would have come back to me, and to this family, and to you, Robert. But it won’t,” he said, “because I didn’t do it.”

6. “So this is my challenge to you-to live these words.” He handed me the frame. There was no glass in it; I ran my fingertips over the words and felt the brittle paper. “But grandfather,” I said, not wanting to disappoint him but unsure of how to accomplish what he was asking me, “maybe when I’m older...” 

7. “Age has nothing to do with it. Every day you can learn something more about who you are and all the potential that’s hidden inside you. Every day  you can choose to become more than you have been. I’m asking you straight right now.”

8. “But how?”

9. “By looking inside yourself. By testing new possibilities. By searching for what matters most to you, Robert. Few of us ever do that for  ourselves. Instead, we hold our breath. We look away. We get by or go along. We defend what we have been. We say, “It’s good enough.” I pray you don’t wake up one day and say, “I’ve been living my life wrong and now it’s too late to make it right.”

10. Young as I was, I could still see the pain his regret was causing him, and even then I recognized that the gift he was giving me was as much in honesty as in the specific words he was so determined for me to hear.

11. “Robert, all of us are mostly unused potential. It’s up to you to become the most curious person you know and to keep asking yourself, What is my best? Keep finding more of it every day to give to the world. If you do that, I promise that more of the best than you can ever imagine - and in many ways beyond money - will come back to you.”

12. And it has. Despite my struggles and mistakes along the way, I have learned that there are opportunities, for each of us that exist beneath and beyond conventional thinking and self imposed limits. What my grandfather realized too late that he had not done, he challenged me to do. In this book, I pass the challenge to you. (599 words)

(An excerpt from The Other 90% by Robert K. Cooper)

Q .a. Who, according to the writer, are exceptional people? 

Q. b. What, according to his parents, did ‘successful’ people do? 

Q. c. What does one need to do to “become more than you have been”? 

Q. d. Explain the phrase “looking inside yourself”. 

Q. e. What did the writer learn from his struggles and mistakes? 

Q. f. Find words from the passage which mean the same as:- 

a) of unusual high quality (para 1)

b) hard but easily broken (para 6)

c) possibility for developing (para 11)

d) following accepted customs and traditions (para 12) 

A.2. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: 

Cosmetic surgery is the latest beauty mantra in India, as more and more people want to look young and feel good. Be it a crooked nose, cleft lip or excessive body flab, cosmetic surgery can correct it all. Moreover, in the last decade, the popularity of medical tourism has soared among people in developed nations due to the elevated cost of healthcare in their own countries. A career as a cosmetic surgeon entails years of training and developing exceptional skill. However, once established, clients will flow in. Cosmetic surgery entails specialization in a wide variety of arenas such as rhinoplasty (nose job), abdominalplasty (tummy tuck), otoplasty (ear surgery), chin, cheek, and liposuction.

The level of education is expanding in the field of medical science, and the demand for cosmetic surgeons in India is at an all-time high. Cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is a fine tuned branch of medicine and requires intensive training. After an MBBS degree, students would have to pursue a three-year Masters in Surgery (MS) degree and decide upon their area of specialization. The MS degree involves a house job, a junior residency and a senior residency for one year each.

Students then have to give a dissertation for approval to the university, after which they can sit for the MS examinations. Aspiring cosmetic surgeons need to specialize in plastic and reconstructive surgery, also known as MCh degree. Another option after MBBS is the Diploma National Board DNB), which is parallel to the conventional medical system and offers various specialization options including plastic and cosmetic surgery. The basic requirement of a cosmetic surgeon is an elevated sense of aesthetics and beauty. A sense and perception for the perfection of the human anatomy is vital in cosmetic surgery.

During their practising years, students must aim to train under renowned surgeons in the field, and soak up as much as possible from their expertise. Being an apprentice to a good surgeon will not only give you the much required exposure to the reality of the cosmetic operations but will also build your confidence and client base. The practising years are crucial because in cosmetic surgery, perfect results are essential. Medical science is not a stagnant field, and hence one must also keep abreast of the latest in the field of cosmetic surgery.

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