HS 3rd Semester English Question Paper 2025
UNIT-1 (Prose)
1 x 10 = 10
- She was nothing to me. The speaker was
(A) the old station master
(B) the tea stall owner
(C) the new station master
(D) the narrator
Ans: (B) the tea stall owner - When Kalam’s father took him to the old mosque in their locality for evening prayers, Kalam
(A) understood each and every phrase of the Arabic words that were chanted
(B) partly understood the meaning of the Arabic words that were chanted
(C) did not understand the meaning of a single Arabic word that was chanted
(D) knew every Arabic word that was chanted by heart
Ans: (C) did not understand the meaning of a single Arabic word that was chanted - The narrator of “The Night Train at Deoli” used to visit Dehra in
(A) spring
(B) autumn
(C) summer
(D) winter
Ans: (C) summer - The girl, whom the narrator saw coming down the platform was selling
(A) flowers
(B) cane basket
(C) tumblers
(D) tea
Ans: (B) cane basket - The girl had a pale skin and ………………. troubled eyes
(A) green
(B) blue
(C) dark
(D) grey
Ans: (C) dark - Choose the appropriate reason for the following assertion:
The young lawyer renounced the two millions which he had once dreamt of as paradise but despised later.
(A) He learnt of the banker’s bankrupt condition
(B) He wanted to help the banker repay his debts
(C) He was merciful and forgave the caprice of the proud banker
(D) He realised how fleeting, futile and illusory material wealth and worldly pleasures were
Ans: (D) He realised how fleeting, futile and illusory material wealth and worldly pleasures were - In his first letter to the banker, the lawyer addressed him as ‘My dear …………. .’
(A) Brother
(B) Jailer
(C) Banker
(D) Friend
Ans: (B) Jailer - Kalam’s ancestral house was built in the middle of
(A) 16th century
(B) 17th century
(C) 18th century
(D) 19th century
Ans: (D) 19th century - Fill in the blanks underneath with the correct option:
The period of solitary confinement which the young lawyer chose for himself commenced at 12 O’clock from ………………. and would end at 12 O’clock on ……………….
(A) November 14, 1870 – November 14, 1885
(B) November 14, 1885 – November 14, 1990
(C) November 14, 1780 – November 14, 1795
(D) November 14, 1078 – November 14, 1093
Ans: (A) November 14, 1870 – November 14, 1885 - Rearrange the following statements in the correct order and select the correct option:
I. They offered him bowls of water into which his father would dip his fingertips and say a prayer.
II. Kalam’s father took him to an old mosque in their locality for evening prayers and his father came out of the mosque after the prayers.
III. This would cure the invalids who would return to his father to thank him.
IV. People of different religions would be waiting for his father, when he came out of the mosque.
(A) IV, III, II, I
(B) I, II, III, IV
(C) II, IV, I, III
(D) III, IV, I, II
Ans: (C) II, IV, I, III
UNIT-II (Verse)
1 x 10 = 10
- Case: “It is the tree’s lament, an eerie speech….” What is the poet describing here?
(A) The leaves falling off in winter
(B) The sound of the wind through the tree that seems like sorrow
(C) The tree’s flowers singing
(D) The tree weeping
Ans: (B) The sound of the wind through the tree that seems like sorrow - “A grey baboon sits statue-like alone”-
(A) Here the baboon is perching on the tree’s crest observing the sunset.
(B) Here the baboon is perching on the tree’s crest observing the sunrise.
(C) Here the baboon is perching on the tree’s highest branch for his prey.
(D) Here the baboon is perching on the tree’s crest observing the ruin of the earth.
Ans: (B) Here the baboon is perching on the tree’s crest observing the sunrise. - The casuarina tree in the poem is a symbol of
(A) change and impermanence
(B) loneliness and isolation
(C) strength and resilience
(D) sacredness
Ans: (A) change and impermanence - The poetess in “Our Casuarina Tree” wishes to preserve the tree through her
(A) memory
(B) painting
(C) prayer
(D) poetry
Ans: (A) memory - Choose the false statement regarding the poem ‘Our Casuarina Tree’ among the following:
(A) The lamentation of the tree reaches the unknown land
(B) The childhood memories of the poetess are being recalled in the poem
(C) The poetess is writing the poem in her childhood
(D) The casuarina tree is dear to the soul of Toru Dutt
Ans: (C) The poetess is writing the poem in her childhood - Statement 1: In the poem ‘Ulysses’, Ulysses compares himself to a sword that will “rust unburnish’d” if left unused.
Statement 2: He urges his mariners to sail eastward, toward the rising sun, in search of new adventures.
(A) Both statements are true
(B) Statement 1 is true, statement 2 is false.
(C) Statement 1 is false, statement 2 is true
(D) Both statements are false
Ans: (B) Statement 1 is true, statement 2 is false. - In the Happy Isles, Ulysses hopes to meet
(A) Telemachus
(B) His father
(C) The dead mariners
(D) Achilles
Ans: (D) Achilles - “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to ………………..”
(A) rest
(B) stop
(C) sleep
(D) yield
Ans: (D) yield - According to Ulysses, his son Telemachus is
(A) well-loved and judicious
(B) inexperienced and naive
(C) indifferent and careless
(D) ambitious and ruthless
Ans: (A) well-loved and judicious - What is Ulysses’ attitude towards his old age?
(A) He is content to rest and retire
(B) He feels bored and restless
(C) He is afraid of death
(D) He wants to live quietly with his family
Ans: (B) He feels bored and restless
UNIT-III (Drama)
1 x 5 = 5
- Cathleen and Nora hid the bundle in the turf-loft because
(A) they wanted to preserve it
(B) they were not sure what to do with it
(C) they wanted to hide it from Maurya
(D) the young priest asked them to do so
Ans: (C) they wanted to hide it from Maurya - “… and there isn’t anything more the sea can do to me.”
– These words were uttered by Maurya after
(A) Michael went missing
(B) Sheamus and his father were lost
(C) Bartley left home
(D) Bartley was found dead
Ans: (D) Bartley was found dead - Assertion (A): The sea in the play is both a giver and a taker.
Reason (R): The sea provides livelihood but also brings repeated death to Maurya’s family.
(A) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true
Ans: (A) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A) - The only thing found from Michael’s dead body was
(A) a piece of his jacket
(B) a pair of yellow stockings
(C) a shirt and a plain stockings
(D) a bit of apron
Ans: (C) a shirt and a plain stockings - Read the following sentences carefully and choose the correct set of True/False from the options given below:
I. Bartley is Maurya’s only living son at the end of the play.
II. The fishermen of the Aran Islands must go to the sea to earn their living.
III. Riders to the Sea is a tragedy written in one act.
IV. The sea finally claims all the members of Maurya’s family.
(A) (I) – False, (II) – False, (III) – True, (IV) – True
(B) (I) – True, (II) – False, (III) – False, (IV) – True
(C) (I) – False, (II) – False, (III) – False, (IV) – False
(D) (I) – False, (II) – True, (III) – True, (IV) – False
Ans: (D) (I) – False, (II) – True, (III) – True, (IV) – False
UNIT-IV (Textual Grammar)
1 x 5 = 5
- I was nervous and anxious as the train drew into Deoli.
Split into two simple sentences.
(A) The train drew into Deoli. I was nervous and anxious.
(B) The train was drawing into Deoli. I became nervous and anxious.
(C) The train having drawn into Deoli. I was getting nervous and anxious.
(D) I had been nervous and anxious. The train had been drawing into Deoli.
Ans: (A) The train drew into Deoli. I was nervous and anxious. - In the last two years of his confinement the prisoner read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately.
Use the verb form of ‘confinement’.
(A) In the last two years when the prisoner remained confined he read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately.
(B) In the last two years when the prisoner was confined he read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately.
(C) In the last two years the confined prisoner read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately.
(D) In the last two years the confined prisoner had read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately.
Ans: (A) In the last two years when the prisoner remained confined he read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately. - I had to run back to my compartment. The carriage shuddered and jolted forward.
Join into a complex sentence.
(A) As I had to run back to my compartment, the carriage shuddered and jolted forward.
(B) I had to run back to my compartment but the carriage shuddered and jolted forward.
(C) Although the carriage shuddered and jolted forward, I had to run back to my compartment.
(D) As the carriage shuddered and jolted forward, I had to run back to my compartment.
Ans: (D) As the carriage shuddered and jolted forward, I had to run back to my compartment. - I was born into a middle-class family. It was a Tamil family. It was in the island town of Rameswaram.
Join into a simple sentence.
(A) I was born into a Tamil family in Rameswaram.
(B) I was born into a middle-class family that was Tamil in Rameswaram.
(C) I was born in the island town of Rameswaram in a family which was Tamil and middle-class.
(D) I was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameswaram.
Ans: (D) I was born into a middle-class Tamil family in the island town of Rameswaram. - “Are you sure you don’t want a basket ?” she said.
Change the mode of narration.
(A) She said that are you sure you don’t want a basket.
(B) She asked that whether he was sure that he didn’t wanted a basket.
(C) She enquired of the narrator if he was sure that he didn’t want a basket.
(D) She asked whether he is sure that he wants a basket.
Ans: (C) She enquired of the narrator if he was sure that he didn’t want a basket.
UNIT – V (Reading Comprehension – Unseen)
1 x 10 = 10
Read the passage given below carefully and choose the correct alternatives:
One winter evening, Professor Shonku received a parcel from Europe. The parcel was a small wooden box, inside it was a scroll and a small stone box. The scroll was written in ancient Greek, parts of which were lost, and with the help of his friend, Pratul. It spoke of a legend which said that a person named Nebra, whose embalmed body was believed to contain the secrets of eternal life, the pharaoh had held a strange powder capable of proving that the secret was true. The next day, Professor Shonku conducted an experiment. He placed a small amount of the powder on a piece of a dead plant tissue. To his astonishment, the tissue turned green and showed signs of life. But that night, strange things happened in his lab — test tubes burst, papers flew, and mice, which entered in an unusual manner, ran to the small stone powder, had vanished, and the scroll was gone. Shonku later wrote in his journal: “Science moves forward, and sometimes it opens the wrong ones. One must know when to stop.”
- Choose the synonym of the word ‘Surprise’ as used in the story.
(A) Anger
(B) Astonishment
(C) Fear
(D) Joy
Ans: (B) Astonishment - The ancient Egyptian mentioned in the scroll was named
(A) Tutankhamun
(B) Imhotep
(C) Ramses
(D) Nebra
Ans: (D) Nebra - Who sent the parcel to Professor Shonku?
(A) A scientist from Berlin
(B) A friend from Cairo
(C) A student from Kolkata
(D) An assistant from Paris
Ans: (B) A friend from Cairo - When did Professor Shonku receive a parcel?
(A) One summer evening
(B) One winter evening
(C) One spring evening
(D) One monsoon evening
Ans: (B) One winter evening - The parcel contained a scroll and a small ……………. box.
(A) wooden
(B) plastic
(C) stone
(D) metal
Ans: (C) stone - According to Professor Shonku, “Science opens doors, but sometimes it opens the ……………. ones.”
(A) locked
(B) dark
(C) secret
(D) wrong
Ans: (D) wrong - Statement I: The scroll and the powder were missing the next morning.
Statement II: Professor Shonku handed the over to a governmental official.
(A) Only statement I is true
(B) Both statements are true
(C) Only statement II is true
(D) Both statements are false
Ans: (A) Only statement I is true - Choose the antonym of the word ‘Appeared’ from the passage.
(A) Vanished
(B) Disappeared
(C) Hidden
(D) Escaped
Ans: (A) Vanished - What did Professor Shonku do after noticing strange events?
(A) Called the police
(B) Burned the powder
(C) Wrote a journal entry
(D) Went back to sleep
Ans: (C) Wrote a journal entry - Statement I: The powder brought a piece of dead plant tissue back to life.
Statement II: Professor Shonku discovered the powder was made of sand from the Sahara.
(A) Both statements are true
(B) Only statement I is true
(C) Only statement II is true
(D) Both statements are false
Ans: (B) Only statement I is true
