HSC Arts (Marathi Medium) 12th Standard Board Exam [इयत्ता १२ वी] - Maharashtra State Board Question Bank Solutions for English

If everything goes well they will get a reward. (Rewrite using 'unless')

Group Discussion:

You along with your friends Sujit, Rohit and Kishore discussing their likes and dislikes. But all are fascinated with the reading habit. Write a short group discussion in the form of dialogue telling the importance of reading for enhancing knowledge.

Read the following extract and then do all the activities that follow :

I rain into a stranger as he passed by
“Oh, excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “please excuse me too; wasn't even watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on out way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told.
How we treat out loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knoked her down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
“While Dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But children you love, you seem to abuse.”

A1. Order- 
The incidents narrated in the extract are arranged in a jumbled manner here, Rearrange them in a proper order as they occur in the extract:
(i) The poet and the stranger went on their way saying good-bye.
(ii) Seeking excuse politely from the stranger, she went her way.
(iii) The poet ran into a stranger on the road.
(iv) The poet yelled at her daughter.

A2. Poetic device:
Make a list of rhyming pairs from the second stanza and note down the rhyme scheme of the same stanza.

A3. Personal Response:
Understanding and politeness are the essentials of out everyday life. Explain your views in brief.

A4. Creativity -
Frame two poetic lines on the following situation using a rhyming pattern with the help of clues given:
“While introducing great personalities, we praise them highly and talk about their qualities, but while speaking
about our friends we may not follow the same trend.”
While introducing great personalities, — a
------------------------------------ — a
But while speaking about our friends, — b
------------------------------------ — b

Read the extract and do the activities that follow:
The duke senior and his follower were sitting down to a meal one day when Orlando rushed out from among the trees, his sword in his hand. ‘Stop, and cat no more!’ he cried. The Duke and his friends asked him what he wanted.
‘Food,’ said Orlando. ‘I am almost dying of hunger’. They asked him to sit down and eat, but he would not do so. He told them that his old servant was in the woods, dying of hunger. ‘I will not eat a bite until he has been fed,’ Orlando said.
So the good Duke and his followers helped him to bring Adam to their hiding-place, and Orlando and the old man were fed and taken care of. When the Duke learned that Orlando was a son of his old friend sir Rowland de Boys, he welcomed him gladly to his forest court.
Orlando lived happily with the Duke and his friends, but he had not forgotten the lovely Rosalind. She was always in his thoughts andevery day he wrote poetry about her pinning it on the trees in the forest. ‘These trees shall be my books,’ he said, ‘so that everyone who looks in the forest will be able to read how sweet and good Rosalind is’.
Rosalind and Celia found some of these poems pinned on the trees. At first they were puzzled, wondering who could have written them; but one day Celia came in from a walk with the news that she had seen Orlando sleeping under a tree, and she and Rosalind guessed that he must be the poet. Rosalind was happy to think that Orlando had not forggoten her, because she loved him as much as he loved her.

A1. Complete - (2)
Complete the following sentences:
(i) Rosalind was happy to think _______
(ii) The Duke and his followers helped Orlando to bring _________
(iii) Orlando pinned the poems written about Rosalind on ______
(iv) When the Duke cam to know that Orlando was a son of his old friend, he _________

A2. Write a gist: (2)
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.

Discuss with your partner, the preparations you would like to make for the journey chosen.

Discuss the ways in which you would overcome the problems/ hindrances/ difficulties you face during your journey.

Pick out the lines showing that the poet is prepared to enjoy every moment of his journey.

Have a Group Discussion on the topic ‘The need of soft skills at workplace’. Use the following points.

(a) Written and verbal communication

(b) Ways of interacting with others

(c) Creative abilities

(d) Emotional intelligence

Read the text and state whether the following statement is True or False. Correct the False statement.

Great wars could have been avoided by a little courtesy.

Read A. G. Gardiner’s essay ‘The Open Window’ and compare its theme with the essay ‘On Saying “Please.’’

‘Nothing clears up my spirits like a fine day’ - Keats. Collect the information of the poet Keats and write it in your notebook.

Soft skills are required in all walks of life including careers and industries. They are increasingly becoming the essential skills of today’s workforce.
Soft skills are an integral part of finding, attracting, and retaining clients also. Highly developed presentation skills, networking abilities, and etiquette awareness can help you win new clients and gain more work.

The following are considered the most important soft skills.

Following are the institutions where you will get the courses related to soft skills.

a. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
b. Indian School of Business Management, Hyderabad
c. XLRI  Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur
d. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi

Jobs available at

•  Customer service centre
• Management schools
• Hotel industry

When you see a cop approaching, you feel either ‘relieved’ or ‘scared’. Discuss with your partner the situations when you feel ‘relieved’ or ‘scared’.

Give reason and complete the following:

The cop did not arrest Soapy for breaking the glass window because _______.

Give reason and complete the following:

The cop did not arrest Soapy for shouting and dancing because _______.

Write an incident in which you did something wrong and repented for it later. Give reasons.

Find out the words used for the ‘degraded state of Soapy’.

Convert the following sentence into negative without changing their meaning.

Soapy drifted along twice unsuccessful.

Convert the following sentence into negative without changing their meaning.

The island seemed very far away.