HSC Examination
Barisal Board
English (Compulsory) First Paper
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Time: 3 hours: Full Marks:100
[N.B. The figures in the margin indicate full marks.]
Part A: Reading Test (60 marks)
1. Read the following text and answer the questions A and B:
The river Buriganga is an example of a dying river. A report published in the Daily Sun describes what has happened to the river Buriganga and why. Its water is polluted and a perpetual stench fills the air around it. But that is not what it was like before. The report says that the river had a glorious past. Once it was a tributary of the mighty Ganges and flowed into the Bay of Bengal through the river Dhaleshwari. Gradually, it lost its link with the Ganges and got the name Buriganga. The Mughals marveled at the tide level of the Buriganga and founded their capital Jahangirnagar on its banks in 1610. The river supplied drinking water and supported trade and commerce. Jahangirnagar was renamed Dhaka which grew into a heavily populated city with a chronic shortage of space.
The city paid back the bounty of the river by sucking life out of it! According to newspaper report, the Buriganga is dying because of pollution. Huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river everyday. The city of Dhaka discharges about 4500 tons of solid waste everyday and most of it is directly released into the Buriganga. According to the Department of the Environment (DoE), 20,000 tons of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials, are released into the river everyday. Experts identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city as the primary sources of river pollution: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal.
The river would need a monster's stomach to digest all the wastes mentioned above. There is a limit up to which it can put up with its cruel and thoughtless treatment. We the humans have successfully killed one of our rivers. There are other rivers in the country that are being subjected to similar thoughtless treatment. Unless we take care of our rivers, there may come a time when we will cry 'water', water' and find it nowhere.
[Unit-8, Lesson-1, Page-93]
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives: 1×5=5
(a) The word 'tributary' mentioned in the passage means —.
(i) rivulet (ii) lake
(iii) pond (iv) estuary
(b) The word 'marvelled' mentioned in the passage means.
(i) offended (ii) grief-stricken (iii) overwhelmed (iv) hurt
(c) The word 'toxic' mentioned in the passage means —.
(i) tasty (ii) healthy
(iii) moderate (iv) poisonous
(d) How did Dhaka city pay back the bounty of the river?
(i) By cleaning the river
(ii) By polluting the river
(iii) By purifying its water
(iv) By making it glorious
(e) The word 'identified' in the passage means —.
(i) excluded (ii) traced out
(iii) carried out (iv) teased
Answer to the question No. 1.A
(a) i. rivulet; (b) iii. overwhelmed; (c) iv. poisonous; (d) ii. By polluting the river; (e) ii. traced out.
B. Answer the following questions: 2×5=10
(a) According to the passage, what happened in the year 1610?
(b) What, according to the expert, are the primary sources of river pollution in and around Dhaka city?
(c) What amount of solid waste is produced in Dhaka city and where does it go.
(d) What does DoE say?
(e) What may happen if we do not take care of our rivers?
Answer to the question No. 1.B
a. In 1610, the Mughals founded their capital Jahangirnagar on the bank of the river Buriganga.
b. According to the experts, there are nine industrial areas in and around Dhaka city, which are the primary sources of river pollution. Those industrial areas are: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal.
c. About 4500 tons of solid waste is produced in Dhaka city every day and most of it is directly released into the Buriganga.
d. DoE (Department of Environment) says that every day, 20,000 of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials is released into the river Buriganga.
e. If we do not take care of our rivers, one day, we will cry for water to drink, but find it nowhere.
2. Read the text and complete the table below with the given information: 2×5=10
I declared that the Assembly would continue to meet. But suddenly on the 1st of March the Assembly was shut down. Mr. Yahya Khan called the session of the Assembly in his capacity as the President and I declared I would be attending it. Mr. Bhutto said he wouldn’t be part of it. Thirty-five members of the Assembly came from West Pakistan to take part in its proceedings. But it was dissolved all of a sudden. The blame was put on the people of Bengal, the finger was pointed at me!
After the Assembly’s session was prorogued, the people of this country protested. I told them, “Observe the General Strike we have called peacefully”. I told them, “Shut down all mills and factories.” Our people responded to my call. They came to the streets spontaneously. They expressed their firm determination to carry out the struggle peacefully.
What have we got in return? Those who brought arms with our money to defend us from external enemies are now using those arms on the poor, -the wretched, -the downtrodden people of the land. Bullets are being aimed at their hearts. We constitute the majority in Pakistan; but whenever we Bengalis have tried to assume power they have used force on us.
[Unit-1, Lesson-2, Page-07]
Who/ What | Event/ Activity | Where/ Place | When/ How |
The Assembly | was shut down |
| (i) –– |
Mr. Yahya Khan | (ii) –– |
| as the president |
Bangabandhu | (iii) –– |
| to meet |
(iv) –– | disagreed to join the Assembly |
|
|
Thirty five members | joined the Assembly | (v) –– |
|
(vi) –– | was dissolved |
| (vii) –– |
Bangabandhu | told the people (viii) –– |
| peacefully |
The people | (ix) –– | to the streets | (x) –– |
Answer to the question No. 2
i. on the 1st of March; ii. called the session of the Assembly in his capacity; iii. declared; iv. Mr. Bhutto; v. from West Pakistan; vi. The Assembly; vii. all of a sudden; viii. to observe the General Strike; ix. came; x. spontaneously.
3. Write down the summary of the following passage: 10
Accessibility to higher education implies that students get the opportunity to get university education and sufficient support from educational institutions. Increasing enrolment at the secondary and higher secondary level puts pressure on higher educational institutions. But due to limited capacity, only a small number of students may be enrolled in universities. Thus, each year a large number of students are denied access to higher education. Also, due to poverty and increase in educational expenses, students of the lower middle class do not get easy access to higher education. Moreover, those who get places in the universities have limited access to avail all kinds of diversified educational facilities relating to their study fields. Only about 12 percent of graduates enter higher educational institutions. More than 80 percent of these students are admitted to NU affiliated colleges. Others are absorbed by the public and private universities.
[Unit-6, Lesson-2, Page-72]
Answer to the question No. 3
Access to higher education has been increased in Bangladesh, but still, the condition is not so satisfactory. Only a small number of students can enroll at public universities due to the shortage of seats. Besides, poverty and increase in educational expenses hinder the students' having access to higher education. The majority of the students are absorbed by the National University affiliated colleges. Some also take admission in private universities.
4. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with suitable word from the box. There are more words than needed. Make any grammatical change if necessary: 0.5×10=5
all | necessary | budget | use |
rise | begins | follow | answer |
have | through | careful | carefully |
Students should be strategic about their examination. It is (a) — for an examinee to (b) — some instructions. He should go (c) — the whole question before he (d) — to write. He must make a (e) — of his time so that he can (f) — enough time to answer (g) — questions. He must write his answer (h) —. He should be (i) — about his handwriting. He can (j) — double spacing if his handwriting is tiny or very large.
Answer to the question No. 4
a. necessary; b. follow; c. through; d. begins; e. budget; f. have; g. all; h. carefully; i. careful; j. use.
5. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words in each gap: 1×10=10
Many events of great importance (a) — during the last century. Significant advances (b) — in the field of science and technology. Many European colonies gained independence. The movement (c) — democracy became (d) — in many parts of the world. Two world wars (e) —in the century. It (f) — witnessed the misuse of atomic energy. Two cities of Japan were completely destroyed as a result of dropping of atom bombs. The Vietnam war and the Gulf war killed many innocent people. However the (g) — of Bangladesh as an independent nation (h) — a momentous event. After a (i) — war of nine months, Bangladesh was born. Now we (j) — our heads high as an independent country in the world.
Answer to the question No. 5
a. happened/took place; b. were made/occurred; c. for; d. vibrant; e. broke out/took place; f. also; g. birth; h. was; i. bloody; j. hold.
6. Rearrange the following sentences to make a coherent order: 10
(a) A number of people applied for the job.
(b) Once there lived a Sultan in a country.
(c) They came through a passage where gold coins were kept.
(d) Then he found the desired man.
(e) When they all arrived, the Sultan asked them to dance.
(f) He wanted to appoint an honest man as his tax collector.
(g) All the applicants blushed and refused except one.
(h) The applicants were asked to meet the Sultan one by one.
(i) So he asked for the wise counsellor's advice.
(j) Then he invited applications.
Answer to the question No. 6
(b)→ (f)→ (i)→ (j)→ (a)→ (h)→ (c) → (e)→ (g)→ (d)
Once there lived a Sultan in a country. He wanted to appoint an honest man as his tax collector. So he asked for the wise counsellor's advice. Then he invited applications. A number of people applied for the job. The applicants were asked to meet the Sultan one by one. They came through a passage where gold coins were kept. When they all arrived, the Sultan asked them to dance. All the applicants blushed and refused except one. Then he found the desired man.
Part B: Writing Test (40 marks)
7. Write a paragraph on "The Uses and Abuses of Mobile Phone" in about 200 words based on the answers to the following questions: 10
(a) What is a mobile phone? (b) How does it function? (c) Who are the users of it? (d) What are its uses? (e) What are its abuses?
8. The following is the beginning of a story. Complete it in your own words: 7
It was a hot summer day. There was scorching heat of the sun. On that day a crow became very thirsty. It wanted to drink but there was no water around it. So, it began to......
9. Write an e-mail to one of your friends thanking him/her for a gift you received from him/her on your birthday. 5
10. The pie-chart below shows the percentage of a family's household income distributed into different categories. Describe the pie-chart in 150 words: 10
11. Write down the theme of the following poem (Not more than 50 words). 8
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly;
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
That dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly..
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