PRACTICE EXAM 2020

CANDIDATE’S NAME

CLASS/SECTION
XI-C
English Language 1123/22
Paper 2 – Insert MOCK 2020

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

The insert contains the two reading passages.
Mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar may be penalised in any part of the Paper.
Dictionaries are not permitted in this examination.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the beginning or end of each question or part question.

For Examiner’s Use

1

Sec 1: /25
Sec 2: /25

Total: /50

Beacon house School System XI-C

Beaconhouse School System XI-C Practice Exam 2020

 2
Passage 1 – Coral Reefs

1. A thriving coral reef is one of the most glorious sights on our planet. Anyone swimming underwater
near a coral reef for the first time cannot help enjoy the reef teeming with life of every description, set
among rich, vibrant colour patterns. For a first time visitor it is a spellbinding sight indeed. Like their
aesthetic appeal, the uses of corals are equally indisputable. They are second only to rain forests in the
number of plants and animals they support. Coral animals, the remarkable little creatures that build 5
reefs, are responsible for creating some of the largest structures on earth, big enough - in some cases- to
dwarf even the most ambitious man-made buildings.

2. People have been living near coral reefs since prehistoric times. Even today, coral reefs are essential to
the way of life of coastal people in the tropics. People are using it as a rich source of food as well as
other necessities the corals provide. Coral shells are used for making tools and have long been used for 10
decoration; whether as jewellery or simply to adorn walls. Meanwhile coral rocks provide some of the
most formidable building materials.

3. Just as forest plants have been used for hundreds of years for medicinal purposes by rain forest dwellers,
similarly some reef plants and animals have been used by people in coastal communities to help cure
diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and bronchitis. Both coral reefs and rain forests produce poisonous15
substances to defend themselves against predators. These are believed to be ideal in formulation of anti-
venoms and so, in recent years, drug companies have begun showing a growing interest in coral life.

4. However, this interest is not bringing many advantages to the people living near the reefs. These major
drug companies are starting to harvest coral reef life on a massive scale, depriving local people of their
traditional resource. Unfortunately, this could lead to a rich natural treasure being stolen away from the20
people who have acted as its custodians for centuries. Moreover, the financial benefit of drugs
developed from coral animals will go, not to locals, but to huge drug corporations.

5. Coral reefs and people living near them are also under threat from tourism. Hotel developers compete
for land, thus pushing up its price, and this in turn forces local people out of their homes. In some
places, hotels have been built on ancient burial sites on the coast, offending religious feelings. Similarly,25
construction of golf courses for tourists robs local people of shorelines where they traditionally came to
cast their nets. For maintaining the golf courses vast amounts of water, fertilizers and pesticides are
used. This water then drains out on to the coral reefs, carrying its deadly load of waste materials and
chemicals thus endangering the coral life.
30
6. With tourism, comes the inevitable building of airports along the coast. Sometimes these are built on
coral reefs if there is nowhere else to put them. Apart from the sacrifice of beautiful coastal sites, on
which airport runways are built, their construction produces large quantities of waste materials that are
likely to kill the nearby coral. In addition, the coral rock, which was traditionally used for building
houses of the islanders, is now being taken in huge, often uncontrolled quantities, to build hotels; thus
depriving the locals of building materials. Coral islands, sandy beaches and beautiful lagoons - the areas35
of water surrounding coral reefs - are beloved by all tourists in the tropics and are important attractions
in their own right. And yet the lagoons around coral reefs are deepened to make way for pleasure boats,
destroying the areas where fish breed, depriving the local people of food. Some fish species have
become so popular among tourists that their prices have sky rocketed, making it impossible for local
population to afford them. 40

7. For developing countries, in particular small island communities, tourism remains a means for
upgrading the natives’ living standard. However, this dream is rarely realized. Instead villages are
destroyed by pollution, noise, roads and hotels. Hotels often lack proper sewage treatment facilities, a
problem made worse by yachts and cruise ships- which in many cases- also dump sewage directly on to
the reefs. 45
Beaconhouse School System XI-C Practice Exam 2020
 8. The world needs to act quickly to secure a healthy future for coral reefs. In the past, governments have
sometimes worked to preserve the environment, but unfortunately, they have often disregarded views of
the people living there. It is now abundantly clear that environment protection campaigns must be
initiated and controlled by the locals, if they are to be successful.

Beaconhouse School System XI-C Practice Exam 2020

Passage 2

1 We were heading towards the Gobi Desert, on our route to liberty. Soon flat land outlined the
beginnings of that sunbaked desert. We stopped for the night by a tiny river where we enjoyed our last
drink of fresh water for a long, long time. Next morning, bright and early, we resumed our treacherous
trek, but the monotony of the parched landscape quickly took hold. Every so often Zaro hurried
impatiently to the summit of a sand hill, only to see the same bleak panorama beyond. Two days 5
elapsed. By now the heat was enveloping us, and mounting fatigue made our legs feel as if they were
encased in iron. Still we lumbered on, desperate for any sign of life.

2 Despite our hopes and struggles, our fortune did not change much, as the very next day came a further
sign of our growing debility; Kolemenos stumbled and looked up apologetically. “That was silly of me,
Ramiz, I must have tripped.” However, a few moments later I, too, was on my knees, though I was not 10
conscious of having fallen. This pattern was reiterated for all three of us, but we simply could not
surrender. We had to repudiate those clutching fingers of death; therefore, we took courage from each
other’s presence and kept going. Kolemenos now led the way. He was struggling up one of the sand
dunes when he stopped and pointed. Zaro and I hurried to his side. At first we saw nothing. We looked
again. There was something; a dark, shapeless patch quivered on the skyline. 15
“What is it Kolemenos?” we asked. “I have a hunch its trees,” he replied. “Let’s investigate.”

3 We often lost sight of our objective as we plunged up and down the sand hills, but gradually the trees
Kolemenos had spotted came into view. And trees must surely indicate the presence of water. All my
visions of water had been of cool, clear ponds, but the water we found consisted of tiny, muddy pools, 20
oozing from an almost dried –out stream. Nevertheless, we drank it voraciously, sand, mud and all.
Then we began to explore the stream, since water meant there might be something to eat. But we saw
nothing, apart from a few snakes.

4 “All this desert and only snakes,” said Zaro gloomily. “We can’t eat them.”
“Don’t be too sure,” Kolemenos answered. “There is hardly anything a starving man can’t eat. Any tree
in the creak will provide a stick. Split the bottom and you will have an implement for pinning a snake to 25
the ground.” Before long, we were all equipped. Suddenly Zaro spotted a snake emerging from a hole
in the sand. In a flash, he had his forked stick over its head. But it was a powerful creature and began
wriggling backwards, pulling the stick towards the hole. Kolemenos acted swiftly. With a mighty blow
of his stick he severed the snake’s head from its body. He hauled its squirming length into the sunlight.
“There’s your dinner,” he exclaimed proudly. I looked at him in disbelief and apprehension, unwilling 30
to eat a snake. However, our hunger was stronger than our disgust. With something in our bellies, and
revitalized by the muddy water, we were ready to confront the desert once more.

5 The ensuing days merged into the same pattern: the wearying trudge across the sand, the pursuit of
snakes, and inevitably, the abortive search for water. Then, one morning, we saw in the distance a
towering mountain range. A gentle breeze fanned our faces, and here and there were clumps of grass 35
sprouting gleefully from cracks in the arid soil. With renewed spirits, we pressed on until we reached
the crown of a long slope. We looked down into a sprawling valley, as if in a dream. Far below
appeared the lush green of grass speckled with mobile, white flecks.

6 “Are those sheep, Kolemenos?” I asked

“Yes, Ramiz, they’re sheep alright.” He replied with hope colouring his words and gracing his face with 40
a radiant smile. A new life, a new vigour filled our limbs and we practically floated towards the valley
and the sheep; already visualizing warm beds and the comforts of a house. As we inched closer, we
reassured ourselves that this was an end to our death march and we had finally escaped that infernal,
God forsaken, land.

Beaconhouse School System XI-C Practice Exam 2020