UP Board Class 12 English Question Paper 2026 (Set 316 BV) with Solutions

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Gandhi's great aim in life was to improve the condition of poor and suffering people, and to aid people in any way he could, but always without using force. He was against every sort of evil, no matter of what kind. When he tried to find out about the condition among poor farm workers, the people crowded around him by the hundreds. A friend had come among them, someone who wanted to help them and to them this was something new. When the police ordered Gandhi to leave the place, he refused and in the court he explained why he could not obey. Then he asked the court to punish him for breaking the law. The court did not know what verdict to give in such a case, and so let him go free. This was the first step in what came to be an important and common event in many parts of India to refuse to obey a law considered to be unjust and at the same time calmly to accept any punishment that might be given and never to retaliate.

a) What was Gandhi's great aim in life? (2)
b) How did Gandhi help the poor and suffering people? (2)
c) Why did the farm workers crowd around him? (2)
d) Why did the police order Gandhi to leave the place? (2)
e) i) Which word in the passage means 'quietly'? (2)
   ii) Write the opposite for 'punishment'. (2)
   iii) Rewrite the underlined segment after replacing 'verdict' with another similar meaning word. (3)

Write an article on the topic 'The Problem of Unemployment' in about 100–150 words.

Write an article on the topic 'New Education Policy' in about 100–150 words.

Write an article on the topic 'Digital India' in about 100–150 words.

Write a letter to the Principal of your college to complain against the shortage of books in the college library.

Write a letter to the Editor of a daily newspaper describing the flood scene in your locality.

Which of the following underlined words is a synonym of 'suggestive'?

• (A) We have sufficient information about the thief.
• (B) My friend has plentiful sum of money.
• (C) The judge found significant changes in his behaviour.
• (D) He looks vibrant.

Which of the following is a pair of antonyms?

• (A) Pass — Succeed
• (B) Honest — Truthful
• (C) Intelligent — Brilliant
• (D) Failure — Success

'To die in harness' means

• (A) Premeditated murder
• (B) Dying young in an accident
• (C) To die while in service
• (D) To be taken by surprise

'A foreigner who settles in another country' is

• (A) Immigrant
• (B) Emigrant
• (C) Alien
• (D) Visitor

Which of the following sentences is incorrect?

• (A) A number of questions has been set
• (B) Heaps of sand are lying on the bank
• (C) Mathematics is a difficult subject
• (D) There are still lot to decide

Change into indirect narration: My friend said to me, "Please help me."

Change into indirect narration: The guard said to the visitor, "Who are you and why have you come here?"

Combine into a Simple sentence: You are very weak. You cannot work hard.

Combine into a Complex sentence: He is poor. He is not dishonest.

Change into Passive voice: Why have you not completed your work?

Change into Positive degree: Iron is the most useful metal.

Correct the sentence: My friend is senior than I.

Correct the sentence: No sooner the train stopped than I got down.

Use the pair 'Affect — Effect' in your own sentences to make the difference in their meanings clear.

Use the pair 'Pain — Pane' in your own sentences to make the difference in their meanings clear.

Translate the following passage into English: सही शिक्षा का वास्तविक ध्येय हमारे बौद्धिक स्तर को उठाना है। बौद्धिक स्तर को उठाने का अर्थ विद्यार्थी के मस्तिष्क में दुनिया भर के तथ्य और आँकड़े भरना नहीं है, बल्कि उसे इस योग्य बनाना है कि वह दूसरे के दृष्टिकोण को ठीक प्रकार से समझ सके। साथ ही शिक्षा का ध्येय मौलिक चिन्तन की क्षमता विकसित करना है। सच्ची शिक्षा हमें यह सिखाती है कि हम किस प्रकार दूसरे के दृष्टिकोण से समझौता करें और किस प्रकार अपने विचारों को दूसरों के समक्ष प्रस्तुत करें।

What was the condition of Franz when his name was called in the class? (from 'The Last Lesson')

Why did Saheb's family migrate to India? (from 'Lost Spring')

What did the author think when he was drowning in deep water? (from 'Deep Water')

Why do you think that the peddler was a great philosopher? (from 'The Rattrap')

Why do you think Gandhiji considered the Champaran episode to be a turning-point in his life? (from 'Indigo')

Do you think that the title of the story 'Going Places' by A. R. Barton is appropriate? Explain.

Read the following extract carefully and answer the questions that follow (from 'Keeping Quiet' by Pablo Neruda):
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

a) What do we lose in our single-minded desire? (2)
b) What is the 'sadness' that the poet talks about? (2)
c) How are we threatening ourselves? (2)

Write the central idea of the poem 'Keeping Quiet'.

Write the central idea of the poem 'A Thing of Beauty'.

Write the central idea of the poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'.

How is the Grand Central Station a symbol of escape? (from 'The Third Level')

Why did the Maharaja start hunting tigers? (from 'The Tiger King')

What surprised the author most about Antarctica? (from 'Journey to the End of the Earth')

Who was Hana? How was Sadao married with her? (from 'The Enemy')

Describe Sadao as a true doctor. (from 'The Enemy')

Give a character-sketch of Mr. Lamb on the basis of the play 'On the Face of It'.