CBSE Class 12 English Core Sample Paper 2014 Set 02

SECTION-A-READING 

1. Read the following passage carefully.

1.“We become brave by doing brave acts”, observed Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics. Dispositions of character, virtues and vices, are progressively fixed in us through practice. Thus “by being habituated to despise things that are terrible and to stand our ground against them we become brave, and it is when we have become so that we shall be most able to stand our guard against them”

2. Standing ground against threatening things is not to be confused with fearlessness, however. Being afraid is a perfectly appropriate emotion when confronted with fearful things. The great American novelist Herman Melville makes the Aristoelian point beautifully in a telling passage in Moby Dick, where Starbuck, the chief mate of the Pequod, first addresses the crew. “I will have no man in my boat,’ said Starbuck, ‘who is not afraid of a whale.’ By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.”

3. The brave person I not who is never afraid. That is rather the description of a rash or reckless person, someone who may do more harm than help in an emergency, It is hard to “educate” such a person, on the spot. The coward, on the other hand, the one who characteristically lacks confidence and is disposed to be overly fearful, may yet be susceptible to encouragement of example.

4. The infectious nature of strikingly courageous behavior on the part of one person can inspire-and also in part shame- a whole group. That was one key to the kind of courage inspired by Horatius at the bridge in ancient Rome and by Henry V at Agincourt . It was one 

key to the kind of courage displayed by those who silently suffered abuse when they joined ranks with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., in acts of non-violent protest directed at rousing the public conscience against injustice.

5. Another key to their success, of course, was reason: practical reason delivered with the kind of eloquence that is informed by a real command of one’s cultural heritage and that steels the will to take intelligent action. The mere inclination to do the right thing is not in itself enough. We have to know what the right thing to do is. We need wisdom- often the wisdom of a wise leader- to give our courage a determinate form, to give it intelligent direction. And we need the will, the motivating power that inspiring leaders can sometimes help us discover within ourselves, even when we are unable to find it readily on our own.

6. If Aristotle is right- and I think that he is- then courage is a settled disposition to feel appropriate degrees of fear and confidence in challenging situations (what is “appropriate” varying a good deal with the particular circumstances). It is alsoa settled disposition to stand one’s ground, to advance or to retreat as wisdom dictates. Before such dispositions become settled, however, they need to be established in the first place. And that means practice, which in turn means facing fears and taking stands in advance of any settled disposition to do so: acting brave when we don’t really feel brave.

7. Fear of the dark is almost universal among young children, and it provides relatively safe opportunities for first lessons in courage. In families, older siblings are greatly assisted in cultivating their own dispositions in this respect by putting up a brave front before their younger brothers or sisters. “You see? There’s really nothing to be afraid of”. This excellent practice, and a fine place to begin. Occasions for being brave on behalf of others – for standing by them in challenging circumstance_ are occasions for becoming brave ourselves; that is for learning how to handle our own confidence and fear, for figuring out the right thing to do, and for mustering the will to do it.

8. So. Daring to do what is not good and beautiful for all is far more insidious than not daring to do something for a right cause. Naturally, bravery well nurtured and backed by moral courage alone is exemplary, and so, should be performed.

1. a) Based on your reading of the passage, answer the following questions.

1. Explain: ‘We become brave by doing brave acts’ 

2. When is ‘being afraid’ an appropriate emotion?  

3.How is a brave person different from a :

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