Dhaka Board – 2017
English First Paper
[According to the Syllabus of 2017]
Subject Code: 107
Time––3 hours; Full marks––100
[N. B. ––The figures in the right margin indicate full marks. Answer all the questions.]
Part I
1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B :––
One of the sources of water in our country are the rivers. Rivers are everywhere in our life, literature, economy, and culture. But are the rivers in good shape? Unfortunately, they are not. A few are already dead and several are going through the pangs of death. The river Buriganga is an example of a dying river. A report published in the Daily Sun describes what has happened to the river Buriganga and why. Its water is polluted and a perpetual stench fills the air around it. But that is not what it was like before.
The report says that the river has a glorious past. Once it was a tributary of the mighty Ganges and flowed into the Bay of Bengal through the river Dhaleswari. Gradually, it lost its link with the Ganges and got the name Buriganga. The Mughals marveled at the tide level of the Buriganga and founded their capital Jahangirnagar on its banks in 1610. The river supplied drinking water and supported trade and commerce. Jahangirnagar was renamed Dhaka which grew into a heavily populated city with a chronic shortage of space.
The city paid back the bounty of the river by sucking life out of it! According to newspaper report, the Buriganga is dying because of pollution. Huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river everyday. The city of Dhaka discharges about 4500 tons of solid waste everyday and most of it is directly released into the Buriganga. According to the department of the Environment (DoE) 20,000 tons of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials are released into the river everyday. Experts identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city as the primary sources of river pollution: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives:– 1x5=5
(a) The word ‘tributary’ refers to –––––
(i) fountain (ii) territory (iii) stream (iv) kingdom
(b) The Buriganga water fills the air with ––––––
(i) aroma (ii) fragrance (iii) stink (iv) scent
(c) ––––––– founded their capital on the bank of the Buriganga.
(i) The British (ii) The Mughals (iii) The Indians (iv) The Bangladeshi
(d) Which of the following statement is false?
(i) Buriganga is a river (ii) Our rivers are not in good shape
(iii) Jahangirnagar was once called Dhaka (iv) Water is being contaminated
(e) The best synonym of ‘toxic’ is––––––––
(i) Poisonous (ii) Hygienic (iii) Healthy (iv) Useful
B. Answer the following questions :––– 2x5=5
(a) What do you think is the condition of the rivers of our country?
(b) What is the commercial value of the river Buriganga?
(c) Why is the Buriganga described as an example of a dying river? Give reasons for your answer.
(d) How is the Buriganga polluted?
(e) What did the Mughals marvel at? What was the outcome of it?
2. Read the following text and make a flow-chart showing the specialties of Gazi Pir (One is done for you) :– 10
According to some myths and legends, Gazi Pir was a Muslim saint who is said to have spread Islam in the parts of Bengal close to the Sundarbans. He was credited with many miracles. For example, he could supposedly calm dangerous animals and make them docile. He is usually depicted in paats or scroll paintings riding a fierce-looking Bengal tiger, a snake in his hand, but in no apparent danger. According to some stories, he also fought crocodiles who threatened the people of a region full of canals and creeks, indeed, a kind of watery jungle bordering the Bay of Bengal. Because of his alert and vigilant presence, all predatory animals were said to have been kept within bounds. It was also believed that he enabled villagers to live close to forests and jungles and cultivate their lands. Consequently, people of these regions would pray to him for protection. The story of Gazi Pir has been preserved in folk literature as well as art and has been performed in indigenous theatre. In fact, some Gazi paat scrolls are part of the collection of the British Museum.
Being credited
with miracles
2
3
4
5
6
3. Summarize the following text:– 10
Anne Frank is perhaps the most well-known victim of the Nazi Holocast of World War II. Anne, born on 12 June, was given a diary at the age of 13, in which she chronicled her life from 1942 to 1944. During this time, Anne spent two years in hiding with her family in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in a secret annex with four other Jews. Betrayed and discovered in 1944, Anne was sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she died of typhus in 1945. Anne’s father, Otto frank, was the only occupant of the secret annex to survive the war. In 1947, he published Anne’s diary as The Diary of a Young Girl. Anne’s account of her internment, as well as her deep belief in humanity has become one of the world’s most widely read books.
4. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with suitable word from the box. There are more words than needed. Make any grammatical change if necessary :– 0.5x10=5
recur | safe | opine | aware | develop | precaution |
minimize | lie | compulsory | straight | loss | possibility |
It’s a matter of great concern that Bangladesh (a) ––––– in the active earthquake zone. Most of the Bangladeshis are fully (b) –––– of its severity. Experts are alarmed by the (c) –––– of quakes during recent years. But they give no (d) –––– answer to the question of (e) –––– about the buildings of Dhaka city. Since there is every (f) –––– of earthquakes in Bangladesh, experts call for taking adequate (g) –––– measures to (h) –––– losses. Rajuk (i) –––– that an earthquake resistant building code should be (j) ––––.
5. Fill in the gaps using suitable words :– 1x10=10
Rabindronath Tagore was a man of (a) –––– genius. He was (b) –––– a poet and a novelist (c) –––– a playwright, a painter and a philosopher. He was awarded the Noble Prize for (d) –––– ‘Gitanjali’ into English. Those translations earned him a great (e) –––– in the west. As a humanist, Tagore accused the British (f) –––– and pleaded for the (g) –––– of India from Britain. Tagore was highly influential in (h) –––– the best of Indian culture to the West and Vice-versa. He (i) –––– himself to literature at a very early age. After coming back from England, he began to write (j) –––– in all branches of literature.
6. Rearrange the following sentences to make a coherent order :– 10
(a) Then he invited applicants.
(b) The applicants were asked to meet the Sultan one day.
(c) Long ago, there lived a Sultan in a country.
(d) Then he found the desired man.
(e) He wanted to appoint an honest man as his tax collector.
(f) A number of people applied for the job.
(g) All the applicants blushed and refused except one.
(h) So, he asked for the wise counselor’s advice.
(i) When they all arrived, the Sultan asked them to dance.
(j) They came through a passage where gold coins were kept.
Part II
7. Write a paragraph on “Food Adulteration” on the basis of the answers to the following questions in about 200 words :– 10
(a) What is food adulteration?
(b) How is food adulterated?
(c) Who are responsible for food adulteration?
(d) What is the impact of adulterated food on our body?
(e) What can be done to stop it?
8. The following is the beginning of a story. Complete it in your own words:– 7
Once an ant was very thirsty. He went to a river to drink water. When he began to drink water, a wave –––––
9. Suppose you are Alif/Adrita. You have just received a letter from your pen-friend Clara who lives at 17 Dawning Street, U.K. She wants to know about Bangladesh. Now write a reply to the letter. 5
10. Look at the chart. It shows the sources of U.S.A. electricity in 1980. Now analyze, the chart focusing the main aspects (At least 80 words). 10
11. Write down the theme of the following poem (Not more than 50 words): 8
O father and mother if buds are nipped,
And blossoms blown away;
And if the tender plants are stripped
Of their joy in the springing day,
By sorrow and care’s dismay,
How shall the summer arise in joy?
Or the summer fruits appear?
Or how shall we gather what griefs destroy,
Or bless the mellowing year,
When the blasts of winter appear?
Answer of Part I;
1. A. (a) (iii) stream (b) (iii) sink (c) (ii) The Mughals (d) (iii) Jahangirnagar was once called Dhaka.
(e) (i) Poisonous
B. (a) The condition of the rivers of our country is not good at all. They are not in good shape. A few of the rivers are already dead and several are going to be dead.
(b) The commercial value of the river is that once it supplied drinking water and it supported trade and commerce.
(c) The river Buriganga is described as an ‘an example of dying river’ because its water is heavily polluted and a perpetual stench fills the air around it.
(d) The Buriganga is polluted by the dumping of huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments.
(e) The Mughals marveled at the tide level of the Buriganga. The outcome of it is the foundation of their capital Jahangirnagar on its banks in 1610.
2.
| Being credited with miracles |
1.
| Could supposedly calm dangerous animal |
2.
| Make the dangerous animal docile |
3.
| Usually depicted in paats or scroll paintings |
4.
| Seen as riding a fierce – looking Bengal tiger and a snake in his hand |
5.
| Fought crocodiles |
6.
3. Anne Frank is the teen who is perhaps the most well-known victim of the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. She was given a diary at the age of 13 and she chronicled her life in it from 1942 to 1944. Anne’s father, published Anne’s diary as The Diary of A Young Girl. Anne’s account of her confinement as well as her deep belief in humanity has become one of the world’s most widely read books.
4. (a) lies (b) unaware (c) recurrence (d) straight (e) safety (f) possibility (g) precautionary (h) minimize (i) opines (j)compulsory
5. (a) versatile (b) not only (c) but also (d) translating (e) popularity (f) rulers (g) freedom (h) transporting (i) turned (j) profusely
6. iii + v + viii + i + vi + ii + x + ix + vii + iv
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