ALIM Examination English First Paper — Question & Solution (2026, Regular)

Subject Code: 238  |  Time: 3 hours  |  Full marks: 100

[N.B. The figures in the right margin indicate full marks.]

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Part A — Reading Test (Marks — 60)

01. Read the passage below and answer the following questions A and B:

Our Bengali meals consist of five flavours of food—bitter, savoury, hot, sour sides and desserts. The English eat only sweet and savoury preparations. They cannot stomach the hot stuff, and even less the sour. And possibly never even know that bitters could be consumed. Hence English cuisine seems bland and tasteless to us. But the English can bake good cake-pastry-pudding, something they learned from the Italians. In my opinion, our sandesh and rasogolla are such delicacies that there is no reason to go bananas over those desserts.

Egyptian cuisine is a close cousin of Indian food of the Mughlai variety. I might not be able to prove the theory but after tasting food in many countries, it is my firm belief that imitating the Taj Mahal of cooking, that the Mughals perfected after coming to India, the people in Afghanistan, Iran, the Arab land, Egypt, even Spain, have been trying to build their own little Taj of cuisine. The reach of this gastronomy has spread to East Europe’s Greece, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Albania and even Italy.

I discovered all these theories many years later. At present Abul Asfia and Claudette Chenier brought back samples of various dishes on a platter. I saw there was murg musallam, sheesh kebab and five or six kinds of unknown items. The known ones did not really carry the aroma of Kolkata food but it mattered little. After eating Irish stew and Italian macaroni on the ship, our palates had lost all taste; so seeing these dishes made our mouths water. My heart was craving for a little boiled rice, fried bitter gourd, sonamoog daal or yellow lentil, fried potol and fish curry—why was I daydreaming? Just rice and fish curry could do, but these were not available outside Bengal. So what was the point of such mourning?

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives: [0.5×10=5]

(a) What does ‘stomach’ mean in “They cannot stomach the hot stuff”?
(i) Tolerate    (ii) Dislike    (iii) Enjoy    (iv) Accept
(b) What is meant by ‘bland’ in “English cuisine seems bland and tasteless to us”?
(i) Flavorful    (ii) Spicy    (iii) Plain    (iv) Sour
(c) What does ‘spread’ mean in “The reach of this gastronomy has spread to East Europe”?
(i) Limited    (ii) Travelled    (iii) Expanded    (iv) Remained
(d) What does ‘imitating’ mean in “imitating the Taj Mahal of cooking”?
(i) Creating    (ii) Following    (iii) Copying    (iv) Discovering
(e) What does ‘mourning’ mean in “What was the point of such mourning”?
(i) Regretting    (ii) Complaining    (iii) Worrying    (iv) Crying
(f) The word ‘palates’ in the passage most likely refers to—
(i) Dishes    (ii) Plates    (iii) Taste buds    (iv) Preferences
(g) The opposite word of ‘bland’ is—
(i) Yummy    (ii) Dull    (iii) Boring    (iv) Sapless
(h) The text suggests that the English learned baking skills from—
(i) The French    (ii) The Italians    (iii) The Egyptians    (iv) The Spanish
(i) The synonym of ‘aroma’ is—
(i) Odour    (ii) Stink    (iii) Stench    (iv) Fragrance
(j) Which cuisine does the author say is a “close cousin” to Mughlai cuisine?
(i) Italian    (ii) Spanish    (iii) Egyptian    (iv) Turkish

Answer: (a) (i) Tolerate   (b) (iii) Plain   (c) (iii) Expanded   (d) (iii) Copying   (e) (i) Regretting   (f) (iii) Taste buds   (g) (i) Yummy   (h) (ii) The Italians   (i) (iv) Fragrance   (j) (iii) Egyptian

B. Answer the following questions: [2×5=10]

(a) What types of flavours do Bengali meals include?
(b) How did the author feel about eating unfamiliar food abroad?
(c) What was said about Indian spices?
(d) How did the author describe English dessert?
(e) Which cuisine is a cousin of Indian food?

Answer:
(a) Bengali meals include five distinct flavours — bitter, savoury, hot, sour and dessert (sweet) items.
(b) The author felt rather indifferent and unenthusiastic about unfamiliar food abroad; after eating bland dishes like Irish stew and Italian macaroni, their palate had lost all taste, making them long for familiar Bengali food instead.
(c) It was said that Indian spices were unavailable in the Mughals’ own motherland of Turkestan, which is why they could not master authentic Mughlai cooking there and only perfected it after arriving in India.
(d) The author described English desserts, such as cake-pastry-pudding, as genuinely good, admitting the English learned this baking skill from the Italians, though he still felt Bengali sweets like sandesh and rasogolla were equally, if not more, delightful.
(e) Egyptian cuisine is described as a close cousin of Indian food of the Mughlai variety.

02. Read the following text and make a flow chart highlighting the different aspects of socio-cultural life as reflected in folk music. (No. 1 has been done for you) [2×5=10]

In Bangladesh folk music has great variety, with songs composed on culture, festivals, views of life, natural beauty, rivers and rural and riverine life. These songs are also about social inequality and poverty, about the material world and the supernatural. Mystical songs have been composed using the metaphors of rivers and boats. Since the country is basically riverine, the Bhatiyali forms an important genre of folk music. Nature plays a role in providing the content and rhythm of folk music. The folk music of Bangladesh varies from region to region, reflecting changes in the natural environment and the dialects people use. Thus there are the northern Bhawaiya, the eastern Bhatiyali and the southwestern Baul songs.

Answer (Flow chart):
1. Songs reflecting rural and riverine life → 2. Songs on culture, festivals and views of life → 3. Songs about social inequality and poverty → 4. Mystical songs on the material world and supernatural using river/boat metaphors → 5. Regional variation of folk music reflecting environment and dialects → 6. Northern Bhawaiya, eastern Bhatiyali and southwestern Baul songs

03. Write a summary of the following text: [10]

A couple of years after the partition of the country, it occurred to the respective governments of India and Pakistan that inmates of lunatic asylums, like prisoners, should also be exchanged. Muslim lunatics in India should be transferred to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh lunatics in Pakistani asylums should be sent to India. Whether this was a reasonable or an unreasonable idea is difficult to say. One thing, however, is clear. It took many conferences of important officials from the two sides to come to the decision. Final details, like the date of actual exchange, were carefully worked out. Muslim lunatics whose families were still residing in India were to be left undisturbed, the rest moved to the border for the exchange. The situation in Pakistan was slightly different, since almost the entire population of Hindus and Sikhs had already migrated to India. The question of keeping non-Muslim lunatics in Pakistan did not, therefore, arise. While it is not known what the reaction in India was, when the news reached the Lahore lunatic asylum, it immediately became the subject of heated discussion. One Muslim lunatic, a regular reader of the fire-eating daily newspaper Zamindar, when asked what Pakistan was, replied after deep reflection, “The name of a place in India where cut-throat razors are manufactured.”

Answer (Summary): A few years after the partition of the subcontinent, the governments of India and Pakistan decided to exchange lunatic asylum inmates just as they had exchanged prisoners. After lengthy official negotiations, the details of the exchange, including its timing, were carefully finalised. Since Hindus and Sikhs had almost entirely already migrated to India, only Muslim lunatics without family in India were to be sent to Pakistan, while those with family there remained undisturbed. When news of the exchange reached the Lahore asylum, it sparked heated debate, and one inmate humorously yet tellingly described Pakistan merely as “a place in India where cut-throat razors are made,” reflecting the confusion and irony surrounding the very concept of partition.

04. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with suitable words from the box. There are more words than needed. Make any grammatical changes if necessary: [0.5×10=5]

Food adulteration is one of the (a) ___ problems in the recent time in our country. Different food and food products, vegetables, fruits and fishes are being (b) ___ (c) ___ the unscrupulous and profit monger businessmen and green grocers. However, we, the general people (d) ___ the victims (e) ___ all sorts of pangs and serious diseases. The businessmen use (f) ___ chemicals such as DDT, Aldrin, Heptachlor just to make their products (g) ___ attractive or to (h) ___ them for a long time. So it is time the authority concerned took (i) ___ steps to stop such food adulteration. Proper monitoring, supervision, and public awareness should be compulsory from (j) ___ level to consumers.

Answer: (a) greatest   (b) contaminated   (c) by   (d) are   (e) of   (f) poisonous   (g) more   (h) preserve   (i) stern   (j) production

05. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words in each gap: [1×10=10]

Independence is the (a) ___ right of a man. But no nation can achieve it without (b) ___. Our war of independence (c) ___ place in 1971. People of all walks of life (d) ___ the war to (e) ___ the country. They did not run (f) ___ showing their back from the battle field. Rather they (g) ___ bravely. Many were (h) ___ while (i) ___. Today we remember them with (j) ___ respect.

Answer: (a) birth   (b) sacrifice   (c) took   (d) joined   (e) liberate   (f) away   (g) fought   (h) killed   (i) fighting   (j) due

06. Re-arrange the following sentences to make a coherent order: [1×10=10]

(i) He was imprisoned for his movement against the colour difference.
(ii) He was awarded Nobel Prize for leading the racial problem of America in a peaceful way.
(iii) In this time he married an extraordinary learned woman called Corretta Scott.
(iv) As a student Luther King was very brilliant.
(v) He donated all the money for the development of the ‘Negro Nation’.
(vi) He was born on 15th January 1929 in the Atlanta city.
(vii) After marriage Luther King worked as a clergyman in the Baptist Church of Alabama.
(viii) He was shot dead in 1966 when he was only 37 years old.
(ix) He obtained his doctorate degree from Boston.
(x) Martin Luther King was a great leader of the freedom and rise of the Negro Nation.

Answer: vi → iv → ix → iii → vii → i → ii → v → viii → x

Part B — Writing Test (Marks — 40)

07. Write a paragraph on ‘Quality Education’ in about 150 words based on the answers to the following questions: [10]

(a) What is quality education?
(b) Why is quality education important for individuals and society?
(c) What are the problems in achieving quality education?
(d) How does quality education improve a person’s personal and professional life?
(e) What effective steps can be taken to ensure quality education?

Answer (Quality Education): Quality education refers to an education system that not only imparts knowledge but also develops critical thinking, skills, values and creativity among learners, preparing them to face real-life challenges effectively. It is important for both individuals and society because it builds informed, skilled and responsible citizens who can contribute to national development, reduce poverty, and promote social harmony. However, achieving quality education faces several problems, such as a shortage of trained teachers, outdated curricula, inadequate infrastructure, lack of resources in rural areas, and insufficient funding. Quality education greatly improves a person’s personal and professional life by enhancing employability, boosting self-confidence, sharpening decision-making skills, and enabling individuals to adapt to a rapidly changing world. To ensure quality education, effective steps should be taken, including recruiting and training qualified teachers, modernizing the curriculum to match global standards, improving educational infrastructure, ensuring equal access for all students regardless of background, and increasing government investment in education. If these measures are properly implemented, quality education can transform both individual lives and the nation as a whole.

08. The following is the beginning of a story. Complete it in your own words: [7]

Once there lived a happy man who passed his days in working and singing from morning till night. One of his rich neighbours was a banker who one day said to him, “How much a year do you earn?” ……………………………………

Answer (Suggested title: “The Price of Happiness”): ……………………………………The happy man laughed and said he never counted his earnings by the year; he simply worked enough each day to feed his family and sang because his heart was content. The banker, feeling pity for him, gave him a bag of gold coins, telling him to keep it safe for hard times. From that very night, the poor man’s peace vanished. He kept waking up in fear of thieves, hid the money in different places, and stopped singing altogether, consumed by worry over the gold. After a few sleepless nights, he realized that the money had stolen his happiness rather than adding to it. The next morning, he rushed to the banker’s house and returned the bag of gold, saying, “Please take back your gold and give me back my songs and my sleep.” From that day onward, he returned to his simple, joyful life, proving that true happiness lies not in wealth, but in contentment.

09. Write an e-mail to your friend advising him to study seriously confirming the best use of time. [5]

Answer (Email):
To: friend@email.com
Subject: A Little Advice on Making the Best Use of Time

Dear Rafi,

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to write to you today about something that has been on my mind for a while — your studies. I know exams are approaching, but from what you told me last time, it seems you are still spending a lot of time on games and social media rather than your books.

Time, once lost, never comes back. If you make a proper routine and dedicate fixed hours every day to your studies, you will find it much easier to cover the syllabus without last-minute stress. Try to avoid distractions during your study hours, take short breaks to stay fresh, and set small daily goals so that you can track your progress.

I am telling you this only because I care about your future and want to see you succeed. Please take your studies seriously from today, and I am confident you will do really well in your exams.

Take care and stay focused.

Your friend,
(Your Name)

10. The following bar chart shows the month-wise attendance of Nafi in his class. Now, write a paragraph depending on the information given in the chart below: [10]

Answer: The given bar chart illustrates the month-wise attendance record of Nafi in his class from January to August. According to the chart, Nafi’s attendance was fairly consistent at the beginning, with 18 days present in both January and February. His attendance improved slightly in March, reaching 20 days, which was one of his better months. However, in April, his attendance dropped significantly to only 13 days, the lowest figure of the entire period, possibly due to illness or other personal reasons. From May onward, his attendance gradually improved, rising to 16 days in May and 17 days in June. Nafi’s attendance peaked in July with 22 days present, the highest among all the months shown, before falling again to 14 days in August. Overall, the chart reveals a fluctuating pattern in Nafi’s attendance, with April and August being his weakest months, while July stands out as his most regular month of attendance.

11. Write down the theme of the following poem. [8]

All people dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind,
Wake in the morning to find that it was vanity.
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,
For they dream their dreams with open eyes,
And make them come true.

Answer (Theme): The poem draws a striking contrast between two kinds of dreamers: those who dream passively at night, whose dreams remain mere fantasies and vanish upon waking, and those who dream actively during the day with open eyes — people who possess vision, ambition and determination. The central theme is that true achievers are not the ones who simply dream in their sleep, but the visionaries who consciously pursue their goals while fully awake and aware, working relentlessly to turn their dreams into reality. Such “dreamers of the day” are called dangerous because their determination and clarity of purpose make them powerful agents of real change, capable of transforming imagination into concrete achievement, unlike passive night-dreamers whose dreams hold no real-world consequence.

Abswer.com — Alim Examination English First Paper Question & Solution (11th July 2026, Regular)