CLASS-XI ENGLISH CORE (301) - SAMPLE PAPER-2025-26 - General Instructions and Reading Comprehension (Unseen Passage)

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by moss~

Class XI English Core (301) sample paper for 2025-26 outlines a 3-hour exam with 80 marks and 16 compulsory questions across three sections: Reading Comprehension, Writing Skills & Grammar, and Literature. It specifies answering all questions as per part-wise instructions, writing correct question and part numbers, adhering to word limits, and avoiding writing on the paper. Section A includes unseen passage comprehension based on an adapted text from “The Shroud” with objective and short-answer sub-questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages197

Reading Time8 h 16 min

AccessFree to download

General Instructions

Section –A (Reading Skills) (26 Marks)

Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passages

Questions 1.A and 1.B

CLASS-XI ENGLISH CORE (301) SAMPLE PAPER-2025-26 TIME ALLOWED: 3 HOURS MAXIMUM MARKS: 80 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: 1. This question paper has 16 questions. All questions are compulsory. 2. This question paper comprises 3 sections- • Reading Comprehension (26 marks) • Writing Skills & Grammar (23 marks) • Literature (31 marks) 3. Attempt all questions based on the specific instructions for each part. 4. Write the correct question number and part number in your answer sheet. 5. Separate instructions are given with each question/part, wherever necessary. 6. Ensure that questions of each section are answered together. 7. Adhere to the word limit wherever prescribed. 8. Do not write anything on the question paper. Section –A (Reading Skills) (26 Marks) | Typology | Reading Skills | Conceptual understanding, decoding, analysing, inferring, interpreting, appreciating literary conventions and vocabulary, summarising and using appropriate format/s | | --- | --- | --- | I. Reading Comprehension through Unseen Passages 1. Read the following passage very carefully: (10) 1. They were from an impoverished family that had a bad reputation throughout the entire village. For every day that he would work, Gheesu would take it easy for three. And Madho was so lazy that for every hour he worked, he would smoke his pipe for another. It was because of this that no one would hire them. If at home they had two handfuls of grain, then they said ‘to hell with work’. When they were out of food entirely, Gheesu would climb into a tree and tear off some wood that Madho would then sell in the market, and as long as the money from that lasted, the two of them would wander about without a care in the world. 2. There was no dearth of work in the village. It was a farming village and, for those willing to work hard, there was an unlimited number of ways to earn some money. But people called on them only when the straits were so dire that they were resigned to hiring two men who did the equivalent of one man’s work. If only they were sadhus! They seemed like they had the natural disposition—they had already mastered renunciation and ascetic indifference! Theirs was an odd life. At home, except for two or three earthenware kitchen items, they owned nothing else. For clothes, torn rags hung from their naked bodies. They lived free from the world’s snares and yet were insolvent beneath numerous debts. Everyoneslighted them, but they didn’t care. Madho and Gheesu’s destitution was so great that people lent them money, knowing they would never be repaid. 3. At harvest time they would surreptitiously pick peas or dig potatoes to fry them up to eat. Gheesu had passed sixty years devoted to such roguery, and like a good son, Madho followed in his father’s footsteps, believing himself content. Gheesu’s wife had died some time before, and Madho had gotten married the previous year. From the time that Madho’s wife had come, she had tried to civilize them in some way. From her daily work routine, she was able to secure for them two seers of flour and fill the stomachs of these two shameless men. From the time that she had come, both of them had become even lazier and they began to strut about, flouting their new status. (Source-Adapted from ‘The Shroud’ by Munshi Premchand) 1.A) On the basis of your reading the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the best of the given options: (1x5=5) i. Choose an option which describes the roguery of Gheesu. a) He outshone his father in his renunciatory ways. b) For every day that he would work, Gheesu would take it easy for three. c) He would climb into a tree and tear off some wood. d) For every hour he worked, he would smoke his pipe for another. ii. The option that best describes the central idea of the passage is a) Madho and Gheesu’s affluent lifestyle b) lackadaisical attitude of Madho and Gheesu towards life c) Madho’s marriage and its impact on their la

FAQs

How long is the exam and what is the total marks?

The paper allows 3 hours and carries maximum 80 marks.

What are the three sections of the question paper?

The paper comprises Reading Comprehension (26 marks), Writing Skills & Grammar (23 marks), and Literature (31 marks).

What instructions apply while attempting Section –A (Reading Skills)?

Answer questions based on the specific instructions for each part, choose the correct options in 1.A, and follow the word limit and format requirements stated in the paper.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by moss~