SEE 2081 (2025) | Compulsory English Question Paper | Gandaki Province

High up in the apple tree climbing I go,

With the sky above me, the earth below.

Each branch is the step of a wonderful stair
Which leads to the down I see shining up there.

Climbing. climbing, higher and higher,

The branches blow and I see a spire,
The gleam of a turret, the glint of a dome,

All sparkling and bright, like white sea foam.

On and on, from bough to bough,
The leaves are thick, but I push my way through;
Before, I have always had to stop,
But to-day I am sure I shall reach the top.

Today to the end of the marvelous stair,
Where those glittering pinnacles flash in the air!
Climbing, climbing, higher I go,
With the sky close above me, the earth far below.
(i) The speaker uses a stair lo climb the apple tree.
(ii) From the tree, the shining city can be seen.
(iii) The gleam of the turret is compared with the sea foam.
(iv) The speaker is not sure that she can reach the lop of the tree.
(v) The poem tells us 10 be determined Lo achieve our goal.

2. Read the text and do the tasks that follow. 10

Pratap Malla was one of the most famous kings of Malla Dynasty. He constructed some magnificent and beautiful architectural structure around Kathmandu. The way he came to the throne is very interesting and controversial al the same Lime. He had the experience of administration even when his father was alive. When his father Laxmi Nara Singh's madness grew worse, he imprisoned his father und he himself ruled as :1 n:gent or his father in Kantipur.

He was an able administrator. Kantipur was highly developed during his reign. Trade with Lhasa (Tibet) was also going on well. By his tact he was making the kings of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur play against each other. Sometimes he sided with Bhaktapur and posed a threat to Lalitpur. On other occasions, he aligned with Lalitpur and fell upon Bhaktapur.

Pratap Malla was a religious- minded person. He built a beautiful temple at Guhyeshwari and fenced it. He renovated the temple or Pashupatinath and raised a pinnacle over it. At Swayambhu he built Pratappur, Kabeendrapur and many other temples and also sci up a copper gill 'Bajra'. He also renovated the temples and Basuki Bhimsen, Taleju and Degutale. With a view lo warding off evils, he erected an image of Hanuman, the monkey god, by the side of his palace gate and called thc palace Hanumandhoka. He erected the golden gale of the palace, set up an image of Nar Simha, Kal Bhairab and Vishwaroop at Layaku Bahi. Inside the palace, he also set up Sundari Chowk and Mohan Chowk. A pond was dug at Bhandarkhal and filled with waler brought from Budhanilkantha. He installed an image of Narayan lying in the pond, an exact replica from Budhanilkantha Temple.

A. Fill in the gaps with the correct information from the text. 5x1=5

(i) Pratap Malla constructed beautiful ........ in lite Kathmandu Valley.
(ii) Pralap Malla declared himself a regent of his father after he ......... his father.
(iii) During Pratap Malla's reign, ......... was a highly developed state.
(iv) On the top of Pashupatinath Temple Pratap Malla raised a/an ............
(v) The image of Hanuman at the side of the........... was erected toward off evils.

B. Answer the following questions. 5x1=5

(i) Why did Pratap Malla imprison his father?
(ii) How can you say that Pratap Malla was a clever ruler?
(iii) Why did Pratap Malla renovate mostly the religious sites?
(iv) What did Pratap Malla build al Bhandarkhal?
(v) Do you think people were happy with Pratap Malla's reign? Give a reason.

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