CBSE Class 12 English Sample Paper 2018 Set D

SECTION-A

1. Read the following passage. 

(1) It looks weird to denounce the comfort of civic amenities invented with scientific development designed by eminent noble scientists. Here is an exclusive one with irony of physical distress. An air-conditioned office seems an unlikely place for a work-related injury. Yet, more and more white-collar workers in hi-tech offices are complaining of disorders involving hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, neck and back. The common factor in most cases is swelling and growing pain at one of these sites.

(2) The many variations of this problem are now covered by a common name--Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI), also commonly known as Cumulative Trauma Disorder. No statistics are available for India, but the US Bureau of Labour Statistics recently reported that in their heavily mechanised work environment, 48 per cent of all occupation injuries were RSI. There are different electronic gadgets which suffer their users' allegations in domestic and professional domains.

(3) With computer keyboards becoming almost standard equipment, Repetitive Stress Injuries crop up most frequently in modern offices. But anyone who spends long hours in repetitive motion everyday is at the risk of injuring the muscles and joints involved. Modern infrastructures are the close victim of RSI suffered by their diligent associates due to long hours involvement with computers orientation. This includes post office staff involved in non-stop sorting and stamping, assembly workers and packers.Small scale industries suffer the setback of such ailments making deterrent effect in growing assets of the nation. Swollen finger joints are a common complaint among children who earn their living by rolling thousands of bidis a day. Musicians 'and athletes in heavy practice can also be struck by RSI. The condition could begin with the occasional ache or numbness, later leading to a permanently painful condition.

4. Why are Repetitive Stress Injuries in the limelight now, although people have been working at repetitive stress jobs since time immemorial? Why didn't the typists who slaved over stiff typewriters complain of RSI, while modem operators working on "Soft touch" keyboards need treatment for swollen wrists? To some extent, such injuries probably went unreported. (What was earlier known as a tennis elbow or housemaid's knee would now be called a Repetitive Stress Injury!)

(5) But there are also other reasons, say RSI specialists. Jobs are becoming mere specialised. A few decades ago, the office clerk got relief from the keyboard when he got up to file, attended the phone or walked to other departments.Now that everything from record-search to faxing, proof-reading to filling is done on computer, the office worker is pounding on the keyboard almost non-stop all day. There's less old fashioned paper insertion or carriage-throwing and that adds to the speed and productivity. Less office space means tight seating, with limited leg room and no place to stretch.

(6) RSI experts also blame the pressures of modem day working life. The need to appear "on top of the work", performance anxiety and the fear of being laid off all makes the average office worker a bundle of stress that affects muscle tension. Sedentary lifestyle practised by modem inhabitants is a root cause of physical distress emerging in the society.

(7) Individual habits also increase the risk of RSI. Working on the keyboard while cradling a receiver between neck and shoulder, stretching the neck to read the screen or hitting the keys with excess force are some traits which put extra strain on hand and neck joints.

(8) The risk ofRSI goes up significantly when your workstation makes you operate in an unnatural posture : A monitor that makes you look upwards all the time, a keyboard that bends your wrists awkwardly, a chair that gives no back support or a writhing surface that is very high. "The human body can take heavy duty but it protests with misuse," says one orthopaedic specialist.

(a) Answer the following questions briefly :

(i) What is the unexpected fact stated by the writer? 

(ii) What is RSI? 

(iii) Who are the people most vulnerable to RSI. 

(iv) According to the writer, what is the chief reason for RSI? 

(v) How does the pressure of modem day working life, cause problems? 

(b) Find the words from the passage which mean the same as :

(i) infrequent (Para 3)

(ii) public glare (para 4)

(iii) beat heavily (Para 5) (3) 

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

The world today is confronted with a large number of problems like arms proliferation, fundamentalism, separatist movements as well as international terrorism. International terrorism has today emerged as one of the most ominous threats to world peace and security.

There has been considerable growth of terrorism between the 1960s and 1980s. This has largely been due to the characteristics of the international system. The most important of these are deep and bitter ethnic, religious and ideological conflicts which remain unsolved and which fester in the international system, spawning many forms of violent conflicts, terrorisms and periodically erupting into civil and international wars. Another underlying factor for the growth of terrorism is the use of unconventional and proxy war method. Here terrorism becomes an attractive instrument of police states and sub-state organizations such as national liberation movements. Such methods are low-cost, relatively low risk and yet afford the possibility of high yields. The world wide dissemination of new technology has also facilitated the growth of terrorism. For example, the development of international civil aviation has created new vulnerabilities and lucrative targets to exploit. Modern weapon technology has proved to be a boon to. terrorists.

Terrorism today has taken different forms. These include political terrorism involving not only the use of terrorism by the state but also against the state, religious terrorism, micro terrorism as well as the recent emergence of nuclear terrorism.The legitimacy of terrorism depends on various factors, Perceptions vary. The greatest justification which a terrorist finds is in a struggle between two adversaries : it is not the means but the end which is important. The United Nations Human Rights Commission has recognised that terrorism can destroy human rights and fundamental freedom of the people and threatens the territorial integrity of nations.

One of the most basic rights of every individual is the right to life. Terrorism, which basically involves violence and killing thus takes away this right from individuals. Besides, the use of violence for achieving a goal, no matter how justified, cannot beapproved. Terrorism also poses a law and order problem for the state :while, at the same time, the economy suffers as a result of damage to trade, valuable resources, as well as scaring away investors. It is thus imperative to look for some mechanisms to check the problem of international terrorism.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it using recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. Also suggest a suitable title for the passage.

(b) Write a summary of the passage in 80 words. 

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