Vistas Supplementary Reader for Class XII PDF (2024)

Supplementary Reader in English for Class XII (Core Course) Reprint 2024-25  12075 – VISTAS ISBN 81-7450-723-X Supplementary Reader for Class XII First Edition...

Supplementary Reader in English for Class XII (Core Course) Reprint 2024-25  12075 – VISTAS ISBN 81-7450-723-X Supplementary Reader for Class XII First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED April 2007 Chaitra 1929 q No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, Reprinted mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior November 2007, February 2009, permission of the publisher. December 2009, February 2010, q This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of without the January 2012, November 2012, publisher’s consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in October 2013, December 2014, which it is published. December 2015, December 2016, q The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this page, November 2017, November 2018, any revised price indicated by a rubber stamp or by a sticker or by any other means is incorrect and should be unacceptable. December 2018, August 2019, July 2021 and November 2021 OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION DIVISION, NCERT Revised Edition NCERT Campus November 2022 Agrahayana 1944 Sri Aurobindo Marg New Delhi 110 016 Phone : 011-26562708 Reprinted 108, 100 Feet Road March 2024 Chaitra 1946 Hosdakere Halli Extension Banashankari III Stage Bengaluru 560 085 Phone : 080-26725740 PD 150T SU Navjivan Trust Building © National Council of P.O. Navjivan Educational Research Ahmedabad 380 014 Phone : 079-27541446 and Training, 2007, 2022 CWC Campus Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop Panihati Kolkata 700 114 Phone : 033-25530454 CWC Complex Maligaon Guwahati 781 021 Phone : 0361-2674869 ` 50.00 Publication Team Head, Publication : Anup Kumar Rajput Division Printed on 80 GSM paper with Chief Editor : Shveta Uppal NCERT watermark Chief Production : Arun Chitkara Officer Published at the Publication Division by the Secretary, Chief Business : Amitabh Kumar National Council of Educational Manager (In charge) Research and Training, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi Assistant Production : Sunil Kumar 110016 and printed at Goyal Officer Stationers, B-36/9, G.T. Karnal Road Industrial Area, Cover, Layout and Illustrations Delhi 110 033 Joel Gill ii Reprint 2024-25  FOREWORD The National Curriculum Framework, 2005, recommends that children's life at school must be linked to their life outside the school. This principle marks a departure from the legacy of bookish learning which continues to shape our system and causes a gap between the school, home and community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on the basis of NCF signify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They also attempt to discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp boundaries between different subject areas. We hope these measures will take us significantly further in the direction of a child-centred system of education outlined in the National Policy on Education (1986). The success of this effort depends on the steps that school principals and teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on their own learning and to pursue imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise that, given space, time and freedom, children generate new knowledge by engaging with the information passed on to them by adults. Treating the prescribed textbook as the sole basis of examination is one of the key reasons why other resources and sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativity and initiative is possible if we perceive and treat children as participants in learning, not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge. These aims imply considerable change in school routines and mode of functioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table is as necessary as rigour in implementing the annual calendar so that the required number of teaching days are actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching and evaluation will also determine how effective this textbook proves for making children's life at school a happy experience, rather than a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus designers have tried to address the problem of curricular burden by iii Reprint 2024-25 restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different stages with greater consideration for child psychology and the time available for teaching. The Supplementary Reader attempts to enhance this endeavour by giving higher priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and wondering, discussion in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) appreciates the hard work done by the Textbook Development Committee responsible for this book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee in Languages, Professor Namwar Singh and the Chief Advisor for this book, Professor Amritavalli for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers contributed to the development of this Supplementary Reader; we are grateful to their principals for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions and organisations which have generously permitted us to draw upon their resources, material and personnel. We are especially grateful to the members of the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development under the Chairmanship of Professor Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande, for their valuable time and contribution. As an organisation committed to systemic reform and continuous improvement in the quality of its products, NCERT welcomes comments and suggestions which will enable us to undertake further revision and refinement. Director National Council of New Delhi Educational Research 20 November 2006 and Training iv Reprint 2024-25 RATIONALISATION OF CONTENT IN THE TEXTBOOKS In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to reduce content load on students. The National Education Policy 2020, also emphasises reducing the content load and providing opportunities for experiential learning with creative mindset. In this background, the NCER T has undertaken the exercise to rationalise the textbooks across all classes. Learning Outcomes already developed by the NCERT across classes have been taken into consideration in this exercise. Contents of the textbooks have been rationalised in view of the following: Content based on genres of literature in the textbooks and supplementary readers at different stages of school education Content that is meant for achieving Learning Outcomes for developing language proficiency and is accessible at different stages For reducing the curriculum load and examination stress in view of the prevailing condition of Pandemic Content, which is easily accessible to students without much interventions from teachers and can be learned by children through self-learning or peer-learning Content, which is irrelevant in the present context This present edition, is a reformatted version after carrying out the changes given above. v Reprint 2024-25 vi Reprint 2024-25  ABOUT THE BOOK Vistas is a supplementary reader in English (Core course) for Class XII, based on the guidelines of the National Curriculum Framework 2005. The main objective of this book is to make extensive reading an enjoyable experience, lead students to appreciate some of the best examples of writing and understand the social milieu they live in. An attempt has been made to attain these objectives by presenting varied themes and genres of writing. The themes range from scientific fantasy, political satire, and adventure, to ethical and moral issues and personal conflicts. Jack Finney’s ‘The Third Level’ is a scientific fantasy, while ‘The Tiger King’ by Kalki is a political satire. ‘Antartica’ is a travel piece, with a suggestion that the young reader could take part in the expedition by logging on to www.studentsonice.com. The two stories that follow are by Pearl S. Buck. Buck’s story sets human fellow-feeling against national loyalty. The play by Susan Hill is on the themes of disabilities while excerpts from Bama’s ‘Karukku’ and an excerpt from ‘The Land of the Red Apple’, a story in Zitkala-Sa’s, book ‘The School Days of an Indian Girl’. Each unit has questions. The question on the texts in the supplementary reader take the learner beyond factual comprehension to contemplating on the issues that the texts raise. Activities suggested take off from the texts. What will now happen to the astrologer? Do you think the prophecy was indisputably disproved? vii Reprint 2024-25  Gandhiji’s Talisman I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test: Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away. viii Reprint 2024-25  TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TEXTBOOKS INLANGUAGES AT THE HIGHER SECONDARY LEVEL Namwar Singh, Professor and formerly Chairman, School of Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi CHIEF ADVISOR R. Amritavalli, Professor, English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad CHIEF COORDINATOR Ram Janma Sharma, Professor and Former Head, Department of Education in Languages, NCERT, New Delhi MEMBERS Chaya Nautiyal, Deputy Director, Secondary Education, Directorate of Education, Allahabad Gayatri Khanna, ELT Consultant, New Delhi Indu Khetarpal, Principal, Salwan Public School, Gurgaon Kirti Kapur, Assistant Professor, NCERT, New Delhi Malathy Krishnan, Professor, EFLU, Hyderabad Nasiruddin Khan, Reader (Retd.), NCERT, New Delhi Pranjit Dev Savema, PGT, J.N.V, Roing, Arunachal Pradesh Rajendrasinh Jadeja, Director, H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Gujarat Saryug Yadav, Associate Professor, RIE, Ajmer S.K. Shyamla, PGT , Demonstration Multi Purpose School, RIE, Mysore MEMBER-COORDINATOR Meenakshi Khar, Assistant Professor, Department of Education in Languages, NCERT, New Delhi ix Reprint 2024-25  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The National Council of Educational Research and Training is grateful to Professor Harish Trivedi and Professor Alok Rai from the Department of English Delhi University and Vandana R Singh, Consultant Editor for going through the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. For permission to reproduce copyright material in this book, NCERT would like to thank The Hindu for ‘Journey to the end of the Earth’ by Tishani Doshi and for Macmillan India Limited for Bama, ‘Karukku’, Dalit writing and Translation by Bama; Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd for ‘The Tiger King’ by Kalki; and Blackwell Publishers for ‘The Cutting of my Long Hair’ by Zitkala-Sa. The Council is grateful to the members of the Review Committee for Rationalisation of Curriculum constituted by Department of Curriculum Studies NCERT, from CBSE and Department of Education in Languages NCERT New Delhi for reviewing the textbooks and Supplementary Readers. The Council acknowledges the services of Sunanda Khanna and G C Chandrakar, Copy Editors; Surender K Vats, Proof Reader; Mohd. Harun, DTP Operator; and Parash Ram Kaushik, Incharge, Computer Station. The efforts of the publication Department, NCERT are also highly appreciated. It has not been possible to trace the copyright in all cases. The publishers apologise for any omissions and would be glad to hear from any such unacknowledged copyright holders. x Reprint 2024-25  CONTENTS Foreword iii Rationalisation of Content in the Textbooks v About the Book vii 1. The Third Level Jack Finney 1 2. The Tiger King Kalki 8 3. Journey to the end of the Earth Tishani Doshi 18 4. The Enemy Pearl S. Buck 24 5. On the face of It Susan Hill 48 6. Memories of Childhood 63 The Cutting of My Long Hair Zitkala-Sa We Too are Human Beings Bama xi Reprint 2024-25 xii Reprint 2024-25