On Science Fiction Class 12 English Solutions 2026-27

Concept used. Asimov compares myths, legends and science fiction through the human longing for wonder. Both imagine life beyond ordinary experience, but they use different ideas about how the universe works.

1. Myths and legends show strange beings, magical powers and worlds unlike daily life.
2. Science fiction also shows life as we do not know it.
3. Both forms satisfy the human desire for wonder.
4. Both let people imagine powers greater than their own.
5. The difference lies in the background.
6. Myths work in a prescientific universe controlled by gods, demons and magic.
7. Science fiction works in a universe controlled by laws of nature.
8. In myths, formulas, prayers and enchantments move events.
9. In science fiction, knowledge of science and technology changes human power.

The parallel is that myths, legends and science fiction all satisfy the longing for wonder by showing life beyond ordinary experience. Myths use magic and divine forces, while science fiction uses science and natural law.

Concept used. Science fiction becomes valid when it is rooted in scientific change and a universe governed by consistent natural laws.

1. Asimov says true science fiction belongs to the last two centuries.
2. It becomes possible when people notice rapid scientific and technological change.
3. Science shows that nature follows laws.
4. Human beings can understand those laws and use them.
5. That knowledge can change the future in ways different from the present.
6. Science fiction is valid when it imagines those changes consistently.
7. It should not depend on gods, demons or arbitrary magic.
8. Its imagined world must follow rules that the reader can understand.

Science fiction gets its validity from science, technology and the laws of nature. It imagines a changed future, but that future must follow a consistent scientific logic.

Concept used. The question asks students to identify the old wonder stories behind Asimov's examples.

1. Open Sesame refers to the cave-opening password in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.
2. That tale is associated with The Arabian Nights.
3. Flying carpets also belong to the wonder-tale world of The Arabian Nights and related oriental romances.
4. Winged horses suggest Pegasus from Greek mythology.
5. Such examples show old literature imagining travel, vision and power beyond ordinary human limits.
6. Asimov uses them because they do the emotional work that science fiction later does.
7. They are not scientific examples.
8. They are prescientific forms of imaginative wonder.

The references point mainly to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from The Arabian Nights, to flying-carpet tales from the same wonder tradition, and to Pegasus from Greek mythology.

Concept used. Asimov distinguishes most genres by content, while science fiction is mainly distinguished by background.

1. A sports story is defined by competitive activity.
2. A Western story is defined by the cowboy world of the American West.
3. A jungle story is defined by danger in a tropical forest.
4. These genres depend mainly on content.
5. Science fiction is different because it depends on background.
6. A sports plot, Western plot or jungle plot can become science fiction when placed in a scientifically changed society.
7. A baseball game in a space station can still be a sports story.
8. It is also science fiction because the setting changes the rules of life.

Sports, Western and jungle stories are distinguished by content. Science fiction is distinguished by background: a society or world changed by science, technology or imagined future conditions.

Concept used. A mystery is fair when the reader knows the rules, sees the clues and can reason with the investigator.

1. Campbell feared that science fiction gave writers too much freedom.
2. A writer could invent a new device suddenly and solve the mystery unfairly.
3. Asimov accepts that this temptation exists.
4. But he says the problem is not conceptual impossibility.
5. The writer must explain the boundary conditions of the imagined society.
6. The reader must know what can and cannot be done.
7. The reader must see and hear every clue the investigator sees and hears.
8. Red herrings are allowed, but hidden rule changes are not.
9. Asimov points to his own science fiction mysteries as proof that this can be done.

Asimov proves Campbell wrong by saying that a science fiction mystery can be fair if its imagined rules are explained clearly and the reader gets the same clues as the investigator.

Concept used. Science fiction mystery can fail when the writer uses bad science, sudden inventions or unexplained rules to force the plot.

1. The first pitfall is changing the rules without warning.
2. Asimov jokes about a detective suddenly using Q-rays that nobody knew existed.
3. Such a device would cheat the reader.
4. The second pitfall is ignorance of real science.
5. Asimov gives examples of mystery writers who made scientific mistakes.
6. The third pitfall is poor extrapolation.
7. A science fiction writer must know science and know how to extend it rationally.
8. The mystery must still give all clues fairly.
9. The solution should arise from established rules, not from last-minute magic.

The writer must avoid sudden rule changes, invented devices introduced at the last moment, bad science, careless extrapolation and unfair hiding of clues from the reader.

Concept used. Imagination helps human beings turn fear and curiosity about the universe into stories, explanations and models.

1. Human beings face a universe that often feels complex and unpredictable.
2. Before science explained many processes, people imagined gods, demons and magical powers behind events.
3. Such fantasy gave shape to thunder, storms, flight, distant sight and strange creatures.
4. It helped people make emotional sense of what they could not control.
5. Science later offered impersonal laws of nature.
6. Science fiction uses imagination again, but now it speculates through science.
7. It asks how technology might alter society, travel, knowledge and power.
8. So imagination does not oppose explanation.
9. It often prepares the mind to ask what may be possible.

Imagination and fantasy help people picture forces beyond ordinary life. Myths explained wonder through magic; science fiction explains wonder through science and possible future change.

Concept used. Science fiction often imagines future devices and social changes before they become normal parts of everyday life.

1. Science fiction often takes present science and stretches it forward.
2. Writers imagined space travel, instant communication, robots, intelligent machines and new cities before many such ideas entered daily life.
3. Today, video calls, satellites, computers and automated systems make some old science fiction feel familiar.
4. This does not mean every story predicts the future exactly.
5. It means science fiction trains people to imagine change.
6. It asks how tools may alter work, war, homes, travel and relationships.
7. Asimov's point is that science and technology make the future different from the past.
8. Science fiction sees that difference early and turns it into story.

Many everyday technologies were first imagined in science fiction as possible futures. Science fiction does not always predict exactly, but it helps people visualise how science may change life.

Concept used. Asimov is amused by prescientific imagination, but he is also respectful of its literary power.

1. Asimov's attitude is affectionate and mildly comic.
2. He calls some gods whimsical and childish, and he jokes about magical formulas.
3. Yet he does not reject old myths and legends.
4. He says they satisfied the same longing for wonder that science fiction satisfies.
5. He even says we should not throw out literature that has delighted people for thousands of years.
6. His tone is conversational, witty and tolerant.
7. He is strict about definitions, but generous about enjoyment.
8. He respects good storytelling even when it belongs to a prescientific universe.

Asimov's attitude is playful but respectful. He jokes about prescientific beliefs, yet values myths and legends as exciting stories that satisfy the human longing for wonder.

Concept used. Short paragraphs create emphasis, pace and a spoken argumentative rhythm.

1. Asimov uses paragraphs as units of thought and rhythm.
2. Longer paragraphs explain an idea with examples.
3. Single-sentence paragraphs create a pause.
4. They make a point stand out sharply.
5. For example, Never! works like a spoken response in a debate.
6. Short paragraphs also help him shift from one idea to the next.
7. They keep the essay conversational and energetic.
8. This style suits an argumentative essay because the reader can follow each step easily.

The one-sentence paragraphs add emphasis, pause, humour and quick transitions. They make the prose sound conversational and help the argument move clearly.

Concept used. Discourse markers guide the reader through examples, contrasts, explanations and shifts in argument.

1. Asimov uses linkers to make his argument sound like a guided conversation.
2. Let me explain the difference that makes signals explanation.
3. Take the content of any of these signals an example.
4. In place of signals substitution from one genre to another.
5. For that matter widens the point beyond category fiction.
6. And I agree with him signals agreement with Campbell's larger view.
7. In only one respect signals a contrast or exception.
8. Then, too adds another point.
9. After all gives a reason for the claim that follows.

The author uses signals such as Let me explain, Take, In place of, For that matter, And I agree, In only one respect, Then too and After all to guide the argument.

Concept used. Mythical creatures often combine human, animal and supernatural traits. The Indian parallels are approximate because traditions rarely match one-to-one.

1. A Centaur is half-human and half-horse; an Indian parallel may be Kinnara or other human-animal beings in epic and temple art.
2. A Satyr is a man-goat woodland figure; Indian mythology has goat-headed or animal-headed beings, though not an exact Satyr.
3. A Sphinx combines a human head and lion body; Indian parallels include Narasimha-like man-lion imagery and Yali figures.
4. A Harpy is a woman-bird figure; Garuda, Jatayu and Suparna beings give bird-linked parallels.
5. A Gryphon combines eagle and lion traits; Yali and Sharabha are close Indian composite-creature parallels.
6. A Gorgon has snake-like features; Nagini and Manasa traditions provide snake-woman parallels.
7. Pegasus is a winged horse; Uchchaihshravas and flying horse motifs offer broad Indian parallels.
8. The safest answer notes likeness, not exact identity.

The parallels are approximate: Centaur - Kinnara; Satyr - goat-headed beings; Sphinx - Narasimha or Yali; Harpy - Garuda or Jatayu; Gryphon - Yali or Sharabha; Gorgon - Nagini or Manasa; Pegasus - Uchchaihshravas or flying horse motifs.

Concept used. Achilles and Hector belong to Homer's Iliad, where personal grief, honour and war meet in a famous duel.

1. Achilles is the greatest Greek warrior in Homer's Iliad.
2. Hector is the leading Trojan warrior and prince of Troy.
3. During the Trojan War, Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles' close companion.
4. Achilles returns to battle in anger.
5. He fights Hector outside the walls of Troy.
6. Achilles kills Hector and dishonours the body by dragging it behind his chariot.
7. Later, Hector's father Priam comes to Achilles and asks for the body.
8. Achilles is moved and returns it for funeral rites.
9. The story joins heroic combat with grief, rage and pity.

In the Iliad, Hector kills Patroclus, so Achilles returns to battle, fights Hector outside Troy and kills him. Priam later pleads for Hector's body, and Achilles returns it.

Concept used. Pauses divide spoken English into tone groups. Each group should fit one breath and one small unit of meaning.

1. A: Good morning / this is Ten-2-Ten supermarket / Can I help you?
2. B: Good morning / I'd like to speak to the person in charge of your After Sales Service / please.
3. A: That's Mr Patel.
4. B: Could you put me through to him / please?
5. A: Who's speaking / please?
6. B: My name's Karandikar.
7. A: Just a moment / Mr Karandikar / I am sorry / Mr Patel's line seems to be busy.
8. B: Well / is there someone else who could help me?
9. A: There's Mrs Paul / She's the assistant manager / but she's out at the moment.
10. B: Look / this is quite important!
11. A: I'll try Mr Patel's line again for you / trying to connect you.
12. B: Ah / finally / is that Mr Patel? / Good morning / this is... Hello? / oh no! / I'm cut off.

Use the complete pause-marked dialogue given in the Solution steps above as the final answer. It begins Good morning / this is Ten-2-Ten supermarket / Can I help you? and continues line by line through Ah / finally / is that Mr Patel? / Good morning / this is... Hello? / oh no! / I'm cut off.

Concept used. A transitive verb takes an object noun phrase or pronoun. Some objects are long because they carry modifiers.

1. After have in A sports story must have: some competitive activity.
2. After have in A Western story must have: the nomadic life of the cowboy of the American West in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
3. After have in The jungle story must have: the dangers implicit in a forested tropical wilderness.
4. After take: the content of any of these.
5. After place: it, meaning that content.
6. After involve: a society significantly different from our own.
7. After change: the nature of the story.
8. After add: it in the phrase added to it, where it refers back to the story's nature.

The key noun phrases are some competitive activity; the nomadic life of the cowboy of the American West in the latter half of the nineteenth century; the dangers implicit in a forested tropical wilderness; the content of any of these; it; a society significantly different from our own; the nature of the story; and it.

Concept used. In a passive sentence, the object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive form.

1. Object in sentence 1: a sudden change of rules. Passive: A sudden change of rules was expected by him.
2. Object in sentence 2: writers. Passive: Writers are prevented from using actual science by nothing.
3. Object in sentence 3: that he didn't know the difference between the element and the compound. Passive: It was revealed by him that he didn't know the difference between the element and the compound.
4. Objects in sentence 4: the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide; the plot. Passive: It was demonstrated by him that he couldn't tell the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and the plot was reduced to a shambles.
5. Object in sentence 5: all the boundary conditions of the imaginary society. Passive: All the boundary conditions of the imaginary society must be carefully explained to the reader by the writer.
6. The passive may sound awkward in some examples.
7. The grammar exercise is mainly about object recognition.
8. A natural sentence is still better than a forced passive in real writing.

Objects: a sudden change of rules; writers; that he didn't know the difference between the element and the compound; the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide; the plot; all the boundary conditions of the imaginary society. Passives: A sudden change of rules was expected by him. Writers are prevented from using actual science by nothing. It was revealed by him that he didn't know the difference between the element and the compound. It was demonstrated by him that he couldn't tell the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and the plot was reduced to a shambles by him. All the boundary conditions of the imaginary society must be carefully explained to the reader by the writer.

Concept used. A that-clause can work as the object or complement after verbs of saying, thinking, believing and requesting.

1. In the last paragraph of Section I, Asimov writes that he does not ask that old tales be wrenched out of context.
2. He also asks that they be self-consistent in their prescientific universe.
3. The verb ask is followed by a that-clause in both cases.
4. Other examples in the chapter include suppose that people would invent formulas.
5. There is also maintained that it was impossible to write a science fiction mystery.
6. Asimov writes I imagine that what he expected was a sudden change of rules.
7. The later examples include revealed that he didn't know the difference and demonstrated that he couldn't tell the difference.
8. These verbs introduce reported thought, claim or discovery.

Ask is followed by that in I don't even ask that... and I ask only that.... Other verbs followed by that-clauses include suppose, maintained, imagine, revealed and demonstrated.