Pre-Board Examination-2023
Grade: XII Full Marks: 75
Subject: C. English ((004) Time: 3 hrs.
Candidates are required to give their answers
in their own words as far as practicable. The figures in the margin indicate
full marks.
If one word succinctly describes the rot in contemporary Nepali politics, it is bhagbanda or the culture of distributing power and perks based purely on self-serving political calculations. The culture seems to run in the veins of our politicians. Ideally, bhagbanda should mean a distribution of the state’s resources equitably, based on the ideas of justice and fairness. But in contemporary Nepali politics, bhagbanda culture is a different ball game altogether; here, qualification and democratic values are of secondary importance, as is evident in the appointments to various state institutions, ranging from the judiciary to ministries, and from constitutional bodies to the President’s Office. Fair competition based on ideology and conviction seems to be a thing of yore as leaders have turned politics into a game of arithmetic whose only intended result is to get hold of executive power. The latest iteration of the bhagbanda culture began at the end of December last year when Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal started running between Baluwatar and Balkot in his pursuit of the prime minister’s post. Frustrated by Sher Bahadur Deuba’s refusal to give him the prime minister’s position in line with a prior commitment, Dahal sealed a deal with KP Sharma Oli and various other parties, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the Rastriya Swatantra Party, to form a coalition government. But the coalition came crashing down in just two months after Dahal and Deuba again agreed to revive their old Bhagbanda deal. Hence the dramatic turnaround in politics, with the ouster of the UML and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party from the Dahal government. Prime Minister Dahal now leads a coalition government backed by 10 political parties of various hues and sizes, all of which are drooling for plum cabinet positions. Visibly weighed down by the burden of dividing the pie of power among his supporters, Dahal wants to wait until he gets the vote of confidence, for he has no confidence that his partners will continue to support him once the bhagbanda of ministries is over. No wonder Dahal presides over almost a dozen and a half ministry even as the government’s functioning suffers in the absence of dedicated ministers. The bhagbanda culture has damaged the country’s democratic fabric so much that Dahal recently had to assure top bureaucrats that the goings-on in the coalition would not hamper their work.
The current coalition’s bhagbanda politics recently developed a crack with the confusion over the nomination for the Vice President’s post, the election for which is slated for Friday. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) had earlier supported Dahal in the hope of getting the Vice President. If it did so, a way would have opened up for party chief Upendra Yadav to compete in by-elections in his bid to enter Parliament. The party then proposed yet another Vice President candidate as a backup option. The Janamat Party, meanwhile, nominated its own insider Mamata Jha to counter the JSP’s nominees although it is a partner with the JSP in the ruling coalition. That the parties with minuscule shares in votes for presidential elections would seek big parties’ votes for their candidates suggests how deeply the bhagbanda culture is ingrained in Nepali politics. But the calculative bhagbanda politics is undemocratic to the core and is an impediment to the country’s nascent democracy and its growth and prosperity. The political actors who identify themselves as democrats should wean themselves off this corrosive culture if they are serious about protecting the democracy they together fought for.
A. Answer the following questions briefly: (5x1=5)
i. What is the brief definition of Bhagbanda in Nepalese
culture today?
ii. When did the Bhagbanda
culture’s modern repetition come to an end?
iii. Who is now
being led by a coalition administration supported by ten political parties of
all sizes and types?
iv. Why did the Bhagbanda
politics of the current coalition recently advance a crack with the
misunderstanding?
v. Put forward an apt title for the preceding passage.
B. From the passage, find the words as mentioned in the brackets and write them down. (5x1=5)
i. supply (synonym)
ii. briefly (synonym)
iii. unfairly (antonym)
iv. insignificance (antonym)
v. notions (synonym)
C. Complete the blanks using a suitable word or phrase based on the passage. (5x1=5)
Previous year in December’s (i)….. the latest iteration of the bhagbanda culture began when Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal started running in Balkot and (ii)…..in search of his vital post. Dahal sealed a deal with KP Sharma Oli and various other parties, including the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and the Rashtriya Swatantra Party, to form a coalition government, (iii) ….. by the refusal of Sher Bahadur Deuba to give him the prime minister’s position in line with a previous promise. Then the coalition arose crashing down within two (iv)…..later Dahal and Deuba again agreed to revive their old Bhagbanda deal. From now the dramatic U-turn in (v)……, with the ouster of the UML and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party from the Dahal government.
2. Write short answers to the following questions. (5x2=10)
a. Why was the neighborhood astonished by the young guy and his wife's position in their family? (Neighbours)
b. By employing the terms "America" and "the USA," how does the author poke fun? (A Devoted Son)
c. Explain the following lines
concerning the context: (The Awakening Age)
Along the line may our
lives rhyme
To make a loving harvest of
space and time.
d. What is the main thesis of Bertrand Russell's article Knowledge and Wisdom?
e. How it is possible to claim that history is a hotly debated topic in today's global society? (Humility)
3. Write long answers to the following questions. (2x5=10)
a. Draw the persona of a
Famous Actress and explain how she differs from an Earnest Young Woman. (A Matter
of Husbands)
b. What do you believe the speaker means when he first states in the poem Soft Storm that “crocuses have grown over the stone,” but then changes it to "stones growing over flower" in the last stanza? Explain.
4. Write in three paragraphs about the most useful thing that you have ever learned from your college. (7)
6. Most individuals believe that the purpose of one's work should be to pursue a passion, while others believe it is merely a means of earning a living. Consider both perspectives and form your own opinion. (10)
7. Do as indicated in the brackets and rewrite the sentences. (10)
a. No sooner had I written the letter than I…….it. (Posted, had posted,
have posted)
b. People say, he never wants to marry,……? (Add a tag question)
c. He lived in a remote village when he was a boy. (Rewrite the sentence using ‘used
to’)
d. They are used to…… (make) fun of him. (Complete the sentence with the
correct form of the verb given.)
e. He is almost ninety, but he doesn’t use a stick while walking.
(Reproduce the sentence using the conjunction ‘In spite of’')
f. Last week, we (receive) heavy rainfall. (Rewrite the sentence using the
correct form of the verb given in the bracket)
g. Akbar is less intelligent than he pretends. Akbar is not as ………. (Complete
the sentence to mean the same as the first sentence.)
h. I don’t like people staring at me. (Change into passive voice)
i. In Nepal, many girls get married ………...an early age. (Fill in the blank
with a suitable preposition) (Make a complex sentence using the word ‘when.’)
j. I want to get … (much more/ many more/ a few more) … information on the topic from you. (Rewrite supplying the appropriate option from the blanks)
8. Choose the appropriate words in response to the questions. (5)
a. The word Picture has...............syllables.
i. 2 ii. 3 iii. 4 iv. 6
b. The final consonant sound of the word calls is pronounced--------?
i./s/ ii. /z/ iii. /ʒ/ iv. /ʤ/
c. The transcription of façade in British English is.
i. /fəˈsɑːd / ii. /fækeid / iii. /fe:kid/ iv. /fəsa:d/
d. The word ‘black’ has -----consonant clusters?
i 1 ii. 2 iii.3 iv. 4
e. The idiom paint yourself into a corner means………………
i. To find yourself in a difficult situation, where you have to act in a
certain way.
i. Something that is never going to happen.
ii. To be ignored or not considered.
iii. When a situation gets out of control.
-
Best of Luck -
1. b. i. distribution ii. Succinctly iii. Equitably iv. importance V. ideas
1. C. i end ii. Baluwatar iii. Frustrated iv. Months v. politics
a. Posted
b. does he?
c. He used to live in a remote village when he was a boy.
d. Making
e. In spite of his old age, he doesn’t use a stick while walking/ in spite
of the fact that he is almost ninety, he doesn’t use a stick while walking.
f.
Received
g. Akbar is not as intelligent as he pretends.
h. I don’t like being staring at
i.
In
j.
Much more
8.
a. ii. 2
b. ii. /z/
c. i. fəˈsɑːd/
d. ii. 2 (bl)
e. i. To find yourself in a
difficult situation, where you have to act in a certain way