Secondary Education Certificate Examination Nepal Board
New course Model Question
Maximum Bands: 75
Candidates are required to answer the questions tidily in their words as far as practicable. Copying and jotting down the same sentences and phrases is strictly prohibited. The figures in the margin indicate full marks.
1. Read the following poem and do the activities that follow: (5)
Did I Miss Anything?
Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours
Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent
Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose
-Tom Wayman
A. From the poem, write the words that are similar in meaning to the following. (2)
a. concern b. intent c. quietness
B. Give short answers to the following. (3)
a. Why does the speaker in the second stanza think being in the class is important?
b. What does the speaker say in the third stanza regarding the value of education?
2. Read the following text and do the activities that follow: (10)
I suppose every family has a black sheep. Tom had been a sore trial to him for twenty years. He had begun life decently enough: he went into business, married, and had two children. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people and there was every reason to suppose that Tom Ramsay would have a useful and honorable career.
But one day, without warning, he announced that he didn't like work and that he wasn't suited for marriage. He wanted to enjoy himself. He would listen to no expostulations. He left his wife and his office. He had a little money and he spent two happy years in the various capitals of Europe. Rumors of his doings reached his relations from time to time and they were profoundly shocked. He certainly had a very good time. They shook their heads and asked what would happen when his money was spent. They soon found out: he borrowed. He was charming and unscrupulous.
I have never met anyone to whom it was more difficult to refuse a loan. He made a steady income from his friends and he made friends easily. But he always said that the money you spent on necessities was boring; the money that was amusing to spend was the money you spent on luxuries. For this, he depended on his brother George. He did not waste his charm on him. George was a serious man and insensible to such enticements. George was respectable. Once or twice he fell to Tom's promises of amendment and gave him considerable sums in order that he might make a fresh start. On these Tom bought a motor car and some very nice jewellery.
But when circumstances forced George to realize that his brother would never settle down and he washed his hands of him, Tom, without a qualm, began to blackmail him. It was not very nice for a respectable lawyer to find his brother shaking cocktails behind the bar of his favorite restaurant or to see him waiting on the box seat of a taxi outside his club. Tom said that to serve in a bar or to drive a taxi was a perfectly decent occupation, but if George could oblige him with a couple of hundred pounds he didn't mind for the honor of the family giving it up. George paid.
(Credit source: Sixty-five short stories by William Somerset Maugham)
A. Answer the following questions in short. (6)
a) What was Tom's view on spending money?
b) Why did Tom leave his work and wife?
c) How were the Ramsay brothers different from each other?
B. Write T for True and F for False statements. (4)
i. George was a troublesome boy in the family.
ii. Tom lived a carefree life.
iii. Tom was blackmailed by George.
iv. George was much conscious about his family status.
3. Read the following advertisement and answer the questions given below: (10)
Employment Opportunity
The Health Sector Reform Programme (HSRSP) is currently seeking a qualified individual to fill the position of Administrative Assistant for a six-month contract with the possibility of extension. Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and implemented by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI International), HSRSP manages a Technical Assistance Programme that supports policy development and implementation to achieve the goals of the Nepal Health Sector Programme.
The primary function of the Administrative Assistant is to provide administrative support to the HSRSP, and its Team Leader. He will function as a receptionist, secretary, and finance assistant.
Candidates should have at least a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of five years’ work experience with international development organizations and with Nepal’s health sector. Excellent verbal and written language skills in Nepali and English are required.
To Apply: Interested candidates meeting the above requirements should mail their CV and Cover Letter by January 26, 2014, to Health Reform Support Program, PO Box 789 EPC 56, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
A. Match the words in column A with their meanings in column B: (3)
Column-A Column-B
a. requirements i. CV
b. résumé ii. meeting
c. fulfilling iii. criteria
B. State whether the following statements are True or False: (4)
a. The vacant post is a temporary job position.
b. A Master’s degree is optional for interested candidates.
c. Proficiency in English and Nepali language skills is essential.
d. One can apply via email.
C. Answer the following questions: (3)
a. What is the main duty of the selected candidate?
b. What will be the designation of the incumbent?
c. How can one apply for the vacant post?
4. Read the following text and do the activities that follow: (15)
One day a wild and wanton wind invaded, without invitation, a peaceful nest where a family of innocent seeds lived. This wicked breeze kidnapped one defenseless little kernel and carried it away, until tired and bored with the whole adventure, it flung the helpless thing away.
And so the single seed fell onto a strange and alien shore. Here, alone and lost it rolled across a concrete sidewalk until it was stopped by a dry crack in the barren cement. Now, an innocent, unknowing, unfriendly heel of a leather boot stepped on that seed, wedging it deep in the crevice. It was trapped. An imprisoned refugee. Discarded. Separated from family. Alone. An orphan seed clamped tightly in a deep, dark canyon. Helpless. Hopeless.
Then it happened. Deep within the heart of that seed there stirred a strange, mystic, miraculous life force that challenged death, the sidewalk, and the whole world! The heart of the captured kernel cried out, “I shall live and not die!”
When the first gentle drop of morning mist oozed into that crack in the cement, this small seed welcomed and absorbed the friendly moisture. Little wisps of dust, moved by a gentle breeze, slipped into the crack to blanket the struggling seed which cried out once more, “I shall take root and grow!”
Softly, silently it sent out microscopic hairy roots that discovered hidden tributaries in this unlikely environment. There in miniature hidden caves, the tender tendrils found more moisture, powdery nourishment, until this wayfaring seed swollen with determination, broke wide open and burst forth with new life. And on a bright sunny morning, a little blade of grass popped out of the crack of my sidewalk, smiled at the sun, laughed at the rain, waved at the wind, and proudly declared, “Here I am world! I made it against impossible odds! And you can too!”
A. Write the words from the above text as indicated in the brackets: (3)
a. occurred (synonym) b. loosely (antonym) d. for (antonym)
B. Rearrange the following sentences in the order they appear in the text: (4)
a. The small seed welcomed and absorbed the friendly moisture.
b. The seed burst forth with new life.
c. The seed was wedged in the crevice.
d. A wild wind flung the helpless seed.
C. Answer the following questions in short: (8)
a. What misfortune befell on the little seed?
b. What challenged death?
c. What did the struggling seed cry out once more?
d. What inspiration does the little seed offer?
5. Draft an invitation card on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Joshi on the auspicious occasion of the marriage ceremony of their daughter, Ms. Anupa Joshi with the son of Mr. and Mrs. Tuladhar, Mr. Aman Tuladhar at Radisson Hotel, Lazimpat on 27th July 2017. (5)
6. Prepare a set of ten good interview questions for an earthquake survivor. (6)
7. Some people believe that the best things in life are free. How far do you agree or disagree with this statement? Put forth your convincing arguments with specific reasons and examples. (8)
8. Write a set of rules and regulations for the SECE candidates in the examination hall. (5)
9. Rewrite the following sentences as indicated in the brackets. (6)
i. Manila is writing an essay………Generation Gap. (preposition)
ii. Children, let’s review The Animal Farm, ………………..? (question tag)
iii. A number of students…………… protesting against the rise in paper price last month. (Correct form of ‘be’)
iv. You must have watched The Titanic. (Negative)
v. I saw him go out. (Passive)
vi. “I want order in the courtroom”, said the judge (Reported speech)
10. Rewrite the story choosing the correct alternatives from the brackets. (5)
There lived……..(a/an/the) farmer in a remote village. He……..(has/have/had) three lazy sons. They neither worked nor obeyed their father. The old man feared that they …….(will suffer/are suffering/would suffer) much after his death. ………(However/So Because), one evening,he thought of a plan to make them work hard in the field and thus he summoned them all together to his bed and said: “……….(treasure was buried/treasure has been buried/treasure is buried) in the field.” “Now”, the old man continued, “if you dug up the field, you………… (will get/ would get/ would have got) it all.” At this, all the three lazy sons got tempted into getting the treasure. Soon they began to dig the field but they couldn’t find any treasure even after digging all the nooks and the corners of the field ……..(in/at/while) the meantime the old man sowed the seeds of fine wheat. After a period of four months, the lazy sons had an unexpected harvest………(and/but/when) the old man was no more with them to celebrate the success of his sons’ hard work. However, he was able to………(make/have/get) them to understand the result of working together,…….?(wasn’t it/wasn’t he/isn’t it)
The End
