CBSE Class 12 English Core Sample Paper 2023
This sample paper mirrors the real CBSE Class 12 English Core exam structure and will teach you exactly how examiners test reading comprehension, vocabulary, and literary analysis in the final weeks before your board exam. You'll encounter unseen prose passages, poetry interpretation questions, and grammar-based multiple-choice items that demand both textual evidence and interpretive reasoning — the exact skills the evaluators reward on paper day. Designed for Class 12 Core learners aiming for high marks in Term II, this paper covers the three core strands: textual comprehension and inference, grammar and word meaning, and poetic craft. By working through these fifteen questions under timed conditions, you'll develop the muscle memory to spot exam tricks, choose answers with confidence, and write explanations that earn full credit.
Questions in this quiz
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- Question 1
Read the following passage:
'The old lighthouse keeper climbed the spiral stairs for the last time. Forty years of solitude had carved deep lines into his weathered face, yet his eyes still held the keen gaze of one who had watched the horizon for decades. He carried a small brass key—the only object he would take with him. As he reached the lamp chamber, he turned to look back down the stairs. The light that had guided countless vessels to safety would soon be extinguished.'
What is the primary tone of this passage?
- Question 2
In the passage above, the phrase 'carved deep lines into his weathered face' primarily serves to
- Question 3
Consider the line: 'He carried a small brass key—the only object he would take with him.' What does the brass key symbolize in this context?
- Question 4
Read the following poem excerpt:
'The river flows in silence, / No voice to mark its way, / Yet every drop remembers / The mountain's ancient face.'
Which poetic device is predominantly used in these lines?
- Question 5
True or False: In the poem excerpt above, the 'mountain's ancient face' is an example of metaphor.
- Question 6
What is the effect of the repetition of 'no voice' / 'no object' structures in the following sentence: 'No sound broke the silence, no movement stirred the air'?
- Question 7
Which of the following is a synonym for 'solitude' as used in the lighthouse passage?
- Question 8
Identify the grammatical function of the word 'weathered' in the phrase: 'his weathered face.'
- Question 9
Which word is an antonym of 'keen' as used in 'his eyes still held the keen gaze'?
- Question 10
In the sentence 'As he reached the lamp chamber, he turned to look back down the stairs,' the clause 'As he reached the lamp chamber' functions as a
- Question 11
True or False: The phrase 'The light that had guided countless vessels to safety would soon be extinguished' is written in the active voice.
- Question 12
Read the following excerpt:
'Beneath the ancient oak, the ground held secrets—bones of saints, perhaps, or merely the dust of forgotten pilgrims.'
The tone of this passage is best described as
- Question 13
In the sentence 'Beneath the ancient oak, the ground held secrets,' the word 'held' most likely means