STELLA MARIS COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS), CHENNAI - 600086
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH - SHIFT II
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT TEST, MARCH 2021
COURSE TITLE : LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE - II MAX. MARKS : 50
COURSE CODE : 19EL/FC/LL23 DURATION : 90 MINS
SECTION A
I. Read the passage given below and answer the following questions: (10 marks)
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain
strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on
one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a
suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did
not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching
toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air. Now her bosom rose and
fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess
her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender
hands would have been.
When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said
it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that
had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the
coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear
and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
1. Describe Mrs. Mallard in your own words. 2 marks
2. Bring out the significance of the words, “free, free, free!” 3 marks
3. Briefly explain the changes in Mrs. Mallard after she receives the news of her husband’s
death. 2 marks
4. Make sentences using any three of the words given below. Do not copy sentences from the
passage. 3 marks
trivial monstrous exalted repression abandoned reflection
SECTION B
II. Answer any two of the following questions: (2x10= 20 marks)
1. Discuss the emotion of love as depicted in “Somewhere I have never travelled, gladly
beyond”.
2. Compare and contrast Aunt Jennifer and the tigers, in, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”.
3. How does Mrs. Mary Maloney get rid of the murder weapon?
SECTION C
III. Rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice: (1 x 5 = 5 marks)
1. Union members handed out invitations for the stand-up comedy show.
2. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic Games.
3. They have filled in the answers.
4. People are spending more money on masks and sanitisers this year.
5. Had she solved the problem?
IV. Rewrite the following sentences in the active voice: (1 x 5 = 5 marks)
1. To be honest, I’ve never been supported by my parents.
2. The dinner will be served at 10 o’ clock.
3. A tie is not being worn by him.
4. Will the book be written by her?
5. Elders should be respected.
SECTION D
V. Read the following passage carefully and make notes: (1 x 10 = 10 marks)
The coffee plant, an evergreen shrub or small tree of African origin, begins to produce
fruit 3 or 4 years after being planted. The fruit is hand-gathered when it is fully ripe and a
reddish purple in colour. The ripened fruits of the coffee shrubs are processed where they
separate the coffee seeds from their covering and from the pulp. Two different techniques
are in use: a wet process and a dry process.
The wet process - First the fresh fruit is pulped by a pulping machine. Some pulp still
clings to the coffee, however, and this residue is removed by fermentation in tanks. The
few remaining traces of pulp are then removed by washing. The coffee seeds are then dried
to a moisture content of about 12 percent either by exposure to the sun or by hot-air dryers.
If dried in the sun, they must be turned by hand several times a day for even drying.
The dry process - In the dry process the fruits are immediately placed to dry either in the
sun or in hot-air dryers. Considerably more time and equipment is needed for drying
than
in the wet process. When the fruits have been dried to a water content of about 12 per
cent the seeds are mechanically freed from their coverings.
The characteristic aroma and taste of coffee only appear later and are developed by the
high temperatures to which they are subjected during the course of the process known as
roasting. Temperatures are raised progressively to about 220-230°C. This releases steam,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other volatiles from the beans, resulting in a loss of
weight of between 14 and 23 percent. Internal pressure of gas expands the volume of the
coffee seeds from 30 to 100 percent. The seeds become rich brown in colour; their texture
becomes porous and crumbly under pressure. But the most important phenomenon of
roasting is the appearance of the characteristic aroma of coffee, which arises from very
complex chemical transformations within the beans. The coffee, on leaving the industrial
roasters, is rapidly cooled in a vat where it is stirred and subjected to cold air propelled by
a blower. Good quality coffees are then sorted by electronic sorters to eliminate the seeds
that roasted badly. The presence of seeds which are either too light or too dark depreciates
the quality.
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