Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow:

Hasana’s Lover

You girls who cast your eyes about

To catch a handsome man.

Come, hear the tale of Hasana

And how her love began.

She stepped into the market place

And held her head up high:

While others smiled with downcast eyes,

She stared about the sky.

She levelled her eyes about the place

But sought no husband there:

Rather than marry one of you I’d shave off half my hair.

I’d rather live in prison bonds

Or rot inside my grave,

Than marry a single one of you,

And live and die a slave.

Her father whipped her on the back.

Her mother groaned aloud. Yet never a man Hasana took

Hasana was so proud.

But pride’s a sin, old time will win,

And walking through the town,

Hasana saw a man so fine

He might have worn a crown.

He might have sat upon a throne.

And ruled the lives of men.

And he cast his eyes on Hasana.

And she never looked up again.

(a) To whom is the poem addressed? Why do the girls cast their eyes about?

(b) How is ‘she’ different from other girls?

(c) What did her parents expect from her?

(d) How did they react when she refused to listen to them?

(e) How did Hasana respond when a handsome man cast a glance on her?

(a) (i) Prepare a speech in 80–120 words on the topic ‘Cleanliness is essential for a healthy environment.’

(ii) Stray animals are a menace. They are a health hazard and often cause accidents. Write an article in 80 – 120 words on, ‘The problem of stray animals in cities.’ You are Jasprit /Jaspal.

(b) Choosing a career is indeed a tough task. There are so many options and so many suggestions that one feels confused. Career counsellors advise one to choose the career in which one is interested. Write an article in 150 – 200 words on, ‘Choice of Career’. You are Rohan / Rohini.

OR

‘‘Unruly students should be expelled from school.’’ Write a debate in 150 – 200 words either for or against the motion.

Read the conversation given below and complete the paragraph that follows:

Mohan: I am a stranger in this town. Could you suggest a reasonably priced hotel?

Old Man: Ashok Hotel will suit you the most.

Mohan: How can I get there?

Old Man: Take a rickshaw.

Mohan: Thank you.

Mohan met an old man and told him that ____(i) ____ and asked him ____(ii) ____. The old man replied that Ashok Hotel ____(iii) ____. When Mohan asked him ____(iv) ____, he replied that he should take a rickshaw. Mohan ____(v) ____.

Choose any two of the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow in 50 – 60 words each:

(a) ‘‘I only came to tell you that I dreamed about you last night.’’ she said, ‘‘you must leave right away and not come back to Vienna for five years.’’

(i) Who is speaking and to whom?

(ii) How do you know that the speaker’s advice was followed?

(b) When I grow old, I said, And very rich

I shall rebuild the fallen walls and make new this ancient house.

(i) Who is ‘I’? What promise does ‘I’ make?

(ii) Does the poet fulfil his promise or not? How do you know?

(c) No matter where he goes, you must bring him back. Distance is nothing for you. He showed no pity to me. I shall show none to him.

(i) What does the speaker ask ‘you’ to do?

(ii) What is the speaker’s attitude to ‘he’?