1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B
I caught sight of her at the play, and in answer to her beckoning, I went over during the interval and sat down beside her. It was long since I had last seen her, and if someone had not mentioned her name I hardly think I would have recognized her. She addressed me brightly.
”Well, it’s many years since we first met. How time does fly! We’re none of us getting any younger. Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon.”
Did I remember?
It was twenty years ago and I was living in Paris. I had a tiny apartment in the Latin quarter overlooking a cemetery, and I was earning barely enough money to keep body and soul together. She had read a book of mine and had written to me about it. I answered, thanking her, and presently I received from her another letter saying that she was passing through Paris and would like to have a chat with me; but her time was limited, and the only free moment she had was on the following Thursday; she was spending the morning at the Luxembourg and would I give her a little luncheon at Foyot’s afterwards? Foyot’s is a restaurant at which the French senators eat, and it was so far beyond my means that I had never even thought of going there. But I was flattered, and I was too young to have learned to say no to a woman … I had eighty francs (gold francs) to last me the rest of the month, and a modest luncheon should not cost more than fifteen. If I cut out coffee for the next two weeks, I could manage well enough.
I answered that I would meet my friend— by correspondence— at Foyot’s on Thursday at half-past twelve. She was not so young as I expected and in appreance imposing rather than attractive. She was, in fact, a woman of forty ……. and she gave me the impression of having more teeth, white and large and even, than were necessary for any practical purpose. She was talkative, but since she seemed inclined to talk about me I was prepared to be an attentive listener.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives.
(a) The phrase ‘catch sight of’ means ——.
(i) natural beauty (ii) holding sight (iii) see (iv) watch
(b) How time does fly! It is an ——.
(i) interrogative sentence (ii) exclamatory sentence
(iii) optative sentence (iv) imperative sentence
(c) Cemetery’ refers to ——.
(i) market place (ii) seabeach (iii) park (iv) graveyard
(d) In the passage, the play refers to ——.
(i) drama (ii) game (iii) restaurant (iv) theatre
(e) The writer had ——.
(i) 80 silver francs (ii) 40 glittering coins
(iii) 80 gold francs (iv) 80 taka
B. Answer the following questions.
(a) What is Foyot’s?
(b) How was the economic condition of the writer 20 years back?
(c) What did the lady guest write to the writer in her 2nd letter?
(d) Why did the writer agree to entertain the lady guest at Foyot’s?
(e) What was the appearance of the lady admirer?
3. Summarize the poem in your own words.
I love to rise in a summer morn,
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me:
O what sweet company!
But to go to school in a summer morn, —
O it drives all joy away!
Under a cruel eye outworn,
The little ones spend the day
In sighing and dismay.
Ah then at times I drooping sit,
And spend many an anxious hour;
Nor in my book can I take delight,
Nor sit in learning’s bower,
Worn through with the dreary shower.
5. Fill in the blanks with appropriate word in each gap.
Beauty is easy to appreciate but difficult to define. As we look around, we discover beauty in (a) —— objects and sights in nature, in the (b) —— of children, in the kindness of strangers. But asked to define, we run into (c) ——. Does beauty have an independent objective identity? Is it (d) —— or is it dependent on our sense (e) ——? Does it lie in the (f) —— of the beholder? Thus, we ask (g) ——. However, poets, artists, philosophers and thinkers (h) —— always in search of beauty in their works and arts. But most of them have the common opinion that where there is beauty, there is (i) —— that is a thing of beauty is a joy (j) ——.
6. Rearrange the following sentences to make a coherent order.
(a) He asked him where God was.
(b) He praised him highly.
(c) Once a lad went to a famous teacher.
(d) The teacher thought highly of the boy’s understanding.
(e) The lad replied that he would answer if he would tell where He is not.
(f) The boy devoted himself in learning knowledge.
(g) He begged to instruct him in the arts and sciences.
(h) He agreed to teach the lad.
(i) He had expressed his desire to acquire knowledge.
(j) The teacher wished to find out the ability of the boy.
Part–II : Writing (40 Marks)
7. Write a paragraph on the significance of the Historic 7th March Speech delivered by Bangabandhu in about 200 words based on the following questions :
(a) When was the speech delivered? (b) Where was the speech delivered? (c) Who were addressed in this speech? (d) How was the speech related to our national history? (e) What was the impact of the speech?
8. Read the beginning of the following story and complete it in your own way. Give a suitable title to it.
Once upon a time there lived two brothers in a certain village. They were Quashem and Ali Baba. Quashem was rough and tough, on the contrary, Ali Baba was meek and mild and maintained his family by cutting wood in the deep delved forest and selling in the local market. One day he was astonished to notice a gang of robbers and hear a strange word c..e..s..i..n.g.. fuck ……………
9. Suppose, you are Sumona. Sabina is your close friend. Now, write an email to your bosom friend pointing out in brief about your concept of dream.
