WBCHSE SEMESTER - IV 2026 - English

West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education

SEMESTER - IV (New System) 2026

ENGLISH - B

Full Marks: 40

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Time: 2 Hours

Section - A

[for 2 marks question]

5 × 2 = 10

1.

Answer any two questions out of four questions: 2 × 2 = 4

A) Why couldn't Alice go through the little door even though she had the key?

B) What did Alice find on the table on the second occasion?

C) What did the Tsar decide to do when he disagreed with the learned men?

D) Why did the wounded man want to kill the king?

2.

Answer any two questions out of four questions: 2 × 2 = 4

A) What is the 'right' of the hawk and why are 'no arguments' needed for it?

B) What does the phrase 'yellow leaves' symbolize in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 (LXXIII)?

C) What is the stanzaic division and the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 73?

D) What, according to Carl Dennis, will happen to the Plain States?

3.

Answer any one question out of two questions: 1 × 2 = 2

A) Sima wrote a letter. It contained the truth. He praised Sima for it.
(Join into complex sentence)

B) Hearing the noise Arjun got startled.
(Split into two simple sentences)

Section - B

[for 3 marks question]

1 × 3 = 3

4.

Answer any one question out of two questions:

A) The teacher said to her, "Why didn't you attend the class yesterday?"
(Change into indirect speech)

B) Yesterday, I went to ........... market near my house. I bought ........... apple and a loaf of bread. On my way back, I saw a cat sitting ........... the wall, looking very curious.
(Fill in the blanks with articles and prepositions)

Section - C

[for 5 marks question]

1 × 5 = 5

5.

Answer any one question out of two questions:

A) Discuss the role of the 'sea' in J. M. Synge's one-act play Riders to the Sea.

B) Analyse J. M. Synge's Riders to the Sea as a one-act play.

Section - D

[for 6 marks question]

2 × 6 = 12

6.

Answer any one question out of two questions:

A) Describe Alice's experiences of falling down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland - Down the Rabbit Hole. What thoughts and feelings does she have during the fall? (3+3)

B) What were the three questions in Leo Tolstoy's short story with the same title? What were their answers? (2+4)

7.

Answer any one question out of three questions:

A) Bring out the elements of violence and brutality in 'Hawk Roosting'.

B) How does the image of autumn reflect the speaker's awareness of his mortality in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 73? How do the images of autumn get compared to those of 'fire' and 'twilight' in portraying the passage of life? (3+3)

C) Discuss the ecological concerns expressed in Carl Dennis' 'The Greenhouse Effect'.

Section - E

[for 10 marks question]

1 × 10 = 10

8.

Answer any one question out of two questions :

A) Write an essay (in about 150 words) on any one of the following topics: 10

i) Impact of Social Media on the Youth

Points: What is social media — how it affects mental health — connectivity and socialization — self-expression and creativity — information and education — social awareness — addiction and distraction.

ii) Importance of Vocational Education

Points: Meaning of Vocational Education — its importance in the context of present educational system — the scope it provides to employment — governmental encouragement.

OR

B) Answer both (i) and (ii): 5 + 5

i) E-mail Writing (Answer any one):

Draft an e-mail, in about 75 words, requesting your school authority to register your new address and new contact details (mobile number and e-mail Id) in the school records.
(Points: Inform why your address has changed and why new contact details are necessary — give the new address and contact details.)

OR

Draft an email, in about 75 words, to a guest speaker, inviting him/her to speak at the Annual Programme of your school.
(Points: Details of the Annual Programme (date, time and tentative programme schedule) — what do you want him to talk about — duration of the talk — honorarium, if any.)

ii) Blog Writing (Answer any one):

Write a blog in about 75 words, on any one of the following topics:

• Increasing Air Pollution in your locality.
OR
• Women Empowerment in Sports and Games in India.

End of Question Paper