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प्रश्न
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
But being named an 'AdarshGaon' is far from easy. Villages had to give a proposal after which a committee headed by Mr. Pawar inspected the villages. "The Villages had to show dedication in the struggle to fight mediocrity. They had to follow all the conditions of becoming an 'AdarshGaon'. We chose villages with a revolutionary spark, "Mr. Pawar says.
Villages need to follow strict rules. The process begins with effective water management through the watershed technique and water auditing. taking responsibility for the village's natural resources-planting trees and stopping grazing. contributing labour for the village work, and then expanding to bring about behavioral changes in the people for harboring social change. Hiware Bazaar is free of any kind of addiction and there are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village. Vasectomy has been made compulsory, as is the pre-marital HIV test.
The 'AdarshGaon' model prides itself on being based on the joint decisions made by the Gram Sabha, where all the villagers are present. Even while selecting the new villages under the scheme, Mr. Pawar made sure that the decision to become an ideal village was taken by the entire village together.
The greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar so far has been the reverse migration that the village has witnessed since 1989. As many as 93 families have come back to the village," from the slums in Mumbai and Pune," Mr. Pawar says.
Questions:
(1) What features of 'Adarsh Gaon' are given in this extract?
(2) What is the procedure for selecting 'Adarsh Gaon'?
(3) What is the greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar?
(4) Do you think all villages in Maharashtra should follow the ideals of Hiware Bazaar? why?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
i. Mr. Pawar inspected the villages.
(Rewrite it using the noun form of the word underlined.)
ii. Vasectomy has been made compulsory by the villagers.
(Rewrite it beginning with-"The villagers........".)
iii. There are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village.
(Rewrite it using 'neither......nor'.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) causing a great change
(ii) the quality of being average
उत्तर
(1) The measures made to preserving natural resources, preventing people from addiction and looking after public hearth are the main features of 'Adarsh Gaon ' which are mentioned in this extract.
(2) Villages are expected to give a proposal, after which a committee headed by Mr. Pawar would inspect the villages.
(3) The greatest victory for Hiware Bazar is the reverse migration. Villagers who had migrated to Pune and Mumbai as early as 1989 returned to their villages.
(4) Conserving natural resources is our duty. So, I think not only me but also every one of us supports the villages which are changing towards the goodness of nature. All villages in Maharashtra should follow the ideals of Hiware Bazaar. The progress made in terms of water management, preservation of natural resources and other social reforms regarding, alcohol, tobacco and birth control are remarkable and an appreciated one.
(5)
i. Inspection of the villages was done by Mr.Pawar. OR
Mr.Pawar did the inspection of the villages.
ii. The villagers have made vasectomy compulsory.
iii. There are neither liquor or tobacco shops in the village.
(6)
i. causing a great change - revolutionary
ii. the quality of being average - mediocrity
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
A1. Guess
Select the correct alternatives from the boxes : (2)
(1) The Olympic Games were originally held in honour of:
(a) The Priests (b) The Greeks
(c) The Spartans (d) Zeus
(2) The Olympics were held after every …………..
(a) Year (b) Four years
(c) Three years (d) Two years
(3) All came to know of Olympia from the:
(a) Olympics (b) Spartans
(c) Syracusans (d) Athenians
(4) Altis was the name of a :
(a) God (b) Race
(c) Festival (d) Enclosure
Olympia, the original site of Olympic Games in ancient Greece is situated in a quiet, beautiful valley. The old ruins are shaded by evergreen oaks, pines and poplars, as well as olive trees. Olympia was never a city but a sacred ground occupied by temples and dwellings for the priests. At the centre was the enclosure known as Altis, dedicated to Zeus, the god of gods. It was in honour of Zeus that the quadrennial festival and the games were held.
The fame of Olympia rests largely upon Olympic Games. They were a great national festival of the entire Greek race. During the week of the festival the Athenians, the Spartans, the Syracusans and other groups, all forgot their narrow identities. They regarded an Olympic victory as the highest honour. The simple reward of a twig of wild olive immortalized the victor and his family.
The Olympic Games were held regularly in peace and in war at an interval of four years for over a thousand years from 776 B.C. till 393 A.D. Originally, men who spoke Greek as their mother tongue were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. No married women were allowed to be present. The athletic programme was varied by the presence of historians, orators and writers. After each event a herald announced the victor's name and handed him a palm. On the last day the successful competitors were each given a garland of wild olive.
A2. Select
Select the word each from the circle which mean the following: (2)
(1) Occurring at the interval of four years
(2) Wreckage
(3) Take part in a game
(4) One who wins.
A3. Complete :
Complete the table and frame your sentence with anyone word : (2)
| Noun | Adjective | Verb |
| beautiful |
A4. (i) The old ruins are, shaded by evergreen oaks, pines and .poplars as well as olive trees.
(Insert not only ……. but also and rewrite). (1)
(ii) No married women were allowed to be present. (Remove 'No' and rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning) (1)
A5. Personal response
How are the winners in Olympics rewarded today? (2)
The hopping kangaroo is a familiar sight in every snapshot relating to Australia. Members of the kangaroo family can be as small as a rat or as big as a man. Kangaroos are found mainly in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Kangaroos, which are big-footed marsupials that evolved in Australia, use their short front legs like arms. The man-sized kangaroos of Australia are capable of speeding up to 88 km/hr for short distances, their means of locomotion being their powerful hind legs, which carry them over the ground in jumps of 9 m or more at a time.
Weighing around 70 kg, they have an average lifespan of around six to eight years and a maximum lifetime of 20 years. When bothered by predators, kangaroos often head for the water, standing submerged to the chest and attempting to drown the attacker by holding him under water. Another defensive technique is to get their back to a tree and kick at their adversary with their clawed hind feet, sometimes with sufficient force to kill a man. Normally shy animals, they alert other kangaroos to danger by beating on the ground with their hind feet. This loud alarm signal carries over a long distance.
The tail is important for kangaroos. It holds them in balance and supports them when they sit or fight against other kangaroos. The kangaroo uses its short legs as arms. With them it scratches itself, cleans its fur and holds branches when it eats leaves. Kangaroos are marsupials and the females carry newborns in a pouch in front of their abdomens. The babies are born small and climb up into safety of the pouch. There, for the next 225 days or so, they eat, sleep and grow. Once they reach full development, they leave the pouch. A young kangaroo that leaves the pouch is called a ‘joey’. To keep from getting too hot, the kangaroos take naps in the afternoon and do most of their grazing at night. But the best stay-cool secret of these creatures is the spit bath! Kangaroos drool and lick saliva all over their faces and bodies to cool down.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following sentences with appropriate words/phrases:
(a) When followed by predators, kangaroos submerge ____________ and _________________.
(b) The powerful hind legs help kangaroos to __________________.
(c) Kangaroos are mainly found in Australia and are ____________________.
(d) They use their front legs to ___________________.
(e) Kangaroos warn others of danger by _______________________.
(f) The secret of kangaroos to stay cool is ______________________.
(g) They use their tails to _________________________.
(h) Before becoming ‘joeys’, the young ones stay in the ______________ and ________________.
The Perfect Dog
In the summer of 1967, when I was ten years old, my father caved into my persistent pleas and took me to get my own dog. Together we drove in the family station wagon far into the Michigan countryside to a farm run by a rough-hewn woman and her ancient mother. The farm produced just one commodity—dogs. Dogs of every imaginable size and shape and age and temperament. They had only two things in common: each was a mongrel of unknown and distinct ancestry, and each was free to a good home.
I quickly decided the older dogs were somebody else’s charity case. I immediately raced to the puppy cage. “You want to pick one that’s not timid,” my father coached. “Try rattling the cage and see which ones aren’t afraid.”
I grabbed the chain-link gate and yanked on it with a loud clang. The dozen or so puppies reeled backward, collapsing on top of one another in a squiggling heap of fur. Just one remained. He was gold with a white blaze on his chest, and he charged at the gate, yapping fearlessly. He jumped up and excitedly licked my fingers through the fencing. It was love at first sight.
I brought him home in a cardboard box and named him Shaun. He was one of those dogs that give dogs a good name. He effortlessly mastered every command I taught him and was naturally well-behaved. I could drop a crust on the floor and he would not touch it until I gave the okay.
Relatives would visit for the weekend and returned home determined to buy a dog of their own, so impressed were they with Shaun – or “Saint Shaun”, as I came to call him. Born with the curse of an uncertain lineage, he was one of the tens of thousands of unwanted dogs in America. Yet by some stroke of almost providential good fortune, he became wanted. He came into my life and I into his – and in the process, he gave me the childhood every kid deserves.
The love affair lasted fourteen years, and by the time he died I was no longer the little boy who had brought him home on that summer day. I was a man, out of college and working across the state in my first real job. Saint Shaun had stayed behind when I moved on. It was where he belonged. My parents, by then retired, called to break the news to me. My mother would later tell me, “In fifty years of marriage, I’ve only seen your father cry twice. The first time was when we lost Mary Ann” – my sister, who was still-born. “The second time was the day Shaun died.”
Saint Shaun of my childhood. He was a perfect dog. At least that’s how I will always remember him. It was Shaun who set the standard by which I would judge all other dogs to come.
(Marley and Me by John Grogan)
1.1 Based on your reading of the passage, complete the following statements.
(a) The dog farm was run by ________________________________.
(b) The author did not want an old dog because ______________________________.
(c) He fell in love with the dog the moment the latter _______________________.
(d) Shaun became so obedient that he ______________________ until the author allowed him.
(e) After visiting them, their relatives wanted ________________________.
(f) When Shaun died even _______________________.
1.2 Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
(a) urgent requests (para 1)
(b) falling (para 3)
Q1 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
1. Too many parents these days can't say no, As a result, they find themselves raising 'children' who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn't satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators, and parents think it's time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what's really important: values like hard work, contentment, honesty, and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher ‒ and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were overindulged as children paints a discouraging picture of their future: when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life's disappointments. They also have a distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the workplace and in relationships.
2. Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today's parents themselves raised on values of thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where no was a household word. Today's kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this generation were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assault on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat-screen TV as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.
3. Today's parents aren't equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and '70s, swore they'd act differently from their parents and have closer relationships with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it's tempting to buy peace with 'yes' and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about the future is another factor. How do well-intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won't spoil a child. Too few limits will.
4. What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving, and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secure structure. Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one's own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.
(a) Answer the following:
- What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
- What are the results of giving the children too much too soon?
- Why do today's children want more?
- What is the balance which the parents need to have in today's world?
- What is the necessity to set limits for children?
(b) Pick out words from the passage that mean the same as the following:
- a feeling of satisfaction (para 1)
- valuable (para 3)
- important (para 4)
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
I even considered fleeing to my hometown, where I could have been a real lawyer right away, without going through this unpleasant training period
(a) Who is 'I'?
(b) How did 'I' suffer during the training period?
(c) What does the word, 'fleeing' mean?
Read the passage given below:
1. I rested for a moment at the door of Anand Bhawan, on Market Road, where coffee-drinkers and tiffin-eaters sat still at their tables, uttering low moans on seeing me. I wanted to assure them, "Don't mind me, you hugging the cash box − you are a coward, afraid even to breathe. Go on, count the cash, if that is your pleasure. I just want to watch, that's all. If my tail trails down to the street, if I am blocking your threshold, it is because, I'm told, I'm eleven feet tip to tail. I can't help it. I'm not out to kill − I'm too full. I found a green pasture full of food on my way. I won't attack until I feel hungry again. Tigers attack only when they feel hungry, unlike human beings who slaughter one another without purpose or hunger."
2. To the great delight of children, schools were being hurriedly closed. Children of all ages and sizes were running helter-skelter, screaming joyously. "No school, no school. Tiger, tiger!" They were shouting and laughing and even enjoying being scared. They seemed to welcome me. I felt like joining them. So I bounded away from the restaurant door. I walked along with them, at which they cried, 'The tiger is coming to eat us; let us get back to school!"
3. I followed them through their school gate while they ran up and shut themselves in the school hall securely. I climbed up the steps of the school, saw an open door at the far end of a veranda, and walked in. It happened to be the headmaster's room. I noticed a very dignified man jumping on the table and heaving himself up into an attic. I walked in and flung myself on the cool floor, having a special liking for cool stone floors.
4. As I drowsed, I was aware of cautious steps and hushed voices all around. I was in no mood to bother about anything. All I wanted was a little moment of sleep; the daylight was very bright.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following questions:
(a) How did the diners at Anand Bhawan react on seeing the tiger?
(b) When do tigers attack? In this context, how are human beings different from tigers?
(c) Why were children happy and even enjoying being scared?
(d) What did the headmaster do on seeing the tiger? What did the tiger like to do in the headmaster's office?
(e) Identify the word which means the same as 'hugging'. (Para 1)
(i) counting
(ii) hiding
(iii) rubbing
(iv) holding tightly in the arms
(f) Identify the word which means the same as 'delight'. (Para 2)
(i) pleasure
(ii) fear
(iii) sorrow
(iv) nervousness
(g) Identify the word which means the same as 'dignified'. (Para 3)
(i) tall
(ii) honourable
(iii) terrified
(iv) tired
(ii) jumped forward
(iii) walked with heavy steps
(iv) ran lazily
Read the passage given below :
1. When you grow up in a place where it rains five months a year, wise elders help you to get acquainted with the rain early. They teach you that it is ignorant to think that it is the same rain falling every day. Oh no, the rain is always doing different things at different times. There is rain that is gentle, and there is also rain that falls too hard and damages the crops. Hence, the prayer for the sweet rain that helps the crops to grow.
2. The monsoon in the Naga hills goes by the native name, khuthotei (which means the rice-growing season). It lasts from May to early or mid-October. The local residents firmly believe that Durga Puja in October announces the end of rain. After that, one might expect a couple of short winter showers, and the spring showers in March and April. Finally, comes the "big rain" in May; proper rainstorms accompanied by heart-stopping lightning and ear-splitting thunder. I have stood out in storms looking at lightning are across dark skies, a light-and-sound show that can go on for hours.
3. This is the season when people use the word sezuo or süzu to refer to the week-long rains, when clothes don't dry and smell of mould, when fungus forms on the floor and when you can't see the moon or the stars because of the rainclouds. But you learn not to complain. Rain, after all, is the farmer's friend and brings food to the table. Rituals and festivals centre around the agricultural rhythm of life, which is the occupation of about 70 percent of the population.
4. The wise learn to understand its ways. I grew up hearing my grandfather say. "It's very windy this year. We'll get good rain." If the windy season was short and weak, he worried there might not be enough rain for the crops. I learned the interconnectedness of the seasons from childhood, and marvelled at how the wind could bring rain. Another evening, many rainy seasons ago, my paternal aunt observed the new moon and worried, "Its legs are in the air, we're in for some heavy rain." She was right. That week, a storm cut off power lines and brought down trees and bamboos.
5. Eskimos boast of having a hundred names for snow. Norwegians in the north can describe all kinds of snow by an equal amount of names : pudder, powder snow, wet snow, slaps, extra wet snow, tight snowfall, dry snow, and at least 95 more categories of snow. Likewise, in India we have names and names for rain. Some are common, some are passing into history.
6. The rains are also called after flowering plants and people believe that the blossoming of those plants draws out rain. Once the monsoons set in, field work is carried out in earnest and the work of uprooting and transplanting paddy in flooded terrace fields is done. The months of hard labour are June, July and August. In August, as the phrogü plant begins to bloom, a rain will fall. this August rain, also called phrogü, is a sign that the time for cultivation is over. If any new grain seeds are sown, they may not sprout; even if they do sprout, they are not likely to bear grain. The rain acts as a kind of farmer's almanac.
7. The urban population of school-goers and office-goers naturally dislikes the monsoon and its accompanying problems of landslides, muddy streets and periodic infections. For non-farmers, the month of September can be depressing, when the rainfall is incessant and the awareness persists that the monsoons will last out till October. One needs to have the heart of a farmer to remain grateful for the watery days, and be able to observe – from what seems to the inexperienced as a continuous downpour – the many kinds of rain. Some of the commonly known rain-weeks are named after the plants that alternately bloom in August and September. The native belief is that the flowers draw out the rain.
8. Each rain period has a job to fulfil : October rain helps garlic bulbs to form, while kümünyo rain helps the rice bear grain. Without it, the ears of rice cannot form properly. End October is the most beautiful month in the Naga hills, as the fields turn gold and wild sunflowers bloom over the slopes, all heralding the harvest. Prayers go up for protecting the fields from storms, and the rains to retreat because the grain needs to stand in the sun and ripen. The cycle nears completion a few weeks before the harvest, and the rain does retreat so thoroughly from the reaped furrows that the earth quickly turns hard. The months of rain become a distant memory until it starts all over again.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:
a) The rains are called after flowering plants because
(ii) flowers grow in the rainy season.
(iii) it is believed that the plants bring the rain.
(iv) flowers grow all the year round.
b) The rain is like a calendar for farmers because
(ii) it tells them the birthdays of their children.
(iii) each month has a time for plantation.
(iv) different kinds of rain tell different things.
c) People who live in cities don't like rain because
(ii) they are not bothered about the farmers.
(iii) they don't like the plants that grow during the rain.
(iv) going shopping becomes difficult.
d) People pray asking the rain the retreat because
(ii) children don't get a chance to play.
(iii) the crops need the sun and heat to ripen.
(iv) they like to pray.
Answer the following questions briefly:
e) Why do the elders want you to understand the rains in the Naga hills?
f) What does Durga Puja mean to the farmers of the Naga hills?
g) What kind of rain is called sezuo?
h) What is the occupation of more than half the population of the Naga hills?
i) How is the heart of the farmer different from that of the city person?
j) When does rain becomes a memory in the minds of the of the Naga hills?
k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:
(ii) nonstop (para 7)
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. We sit in the last row, bumped about but free of stares. The bus rolls out of the dull crossroads of the city, and we are soon in open countryside, with fields of sunflowers as far as the eye can see, their heads all facing us. Where there is no water, the land reverts to desert. While still on level ground we see in the distance the tall range of the Mount Bogda, abrupt like a shining prism laid horizontally on the desert surface. It is over 5,000 metres high, and the peaks are under permanent snow, in powerful contrast to the flat desert all around. Heaven Lake lies part of the way up this range, about 2,000 metres above sea-level, at the foot of one of the higher snow-peaks.
2. As the bus climbs, the sky, brilliant before, grows overcast. I have brought nothing warm to wear: it is all down at the hotel in Urumqi. Rain begins to fall. The man behind me is eating overpoweringly smelly goat's cheese. The bus window leaks inhospitably but reveals a beautiful view. We have passed quickly from desert through arable land to pasture, and the ground is now green with grass, the slopes dark with pine. A few cattle drink at a clear stream flowing past moss-covered stones; it is a Constable landscape . The stream changes into a white torrent, and as we climb higher I wish more and more that I had brought with me something warmer than the pair of shorts that have served me so well in the desert .The stream (which, we are told rises in Heaven Lake) disappears, and we continue our slow ascent. About noon, we arrive at Heaven Lake, and look for a place to stay at the foot, which is the resort area. We get a room in a small cottage, and I am happy to note that there are thick quilts on the beds.
3. Standing outside the cottage we survey our surroundings. Heaven Lake is long, sardine-shaped and fed by snowmelt from a stream at its head. The lake is an intense blue, surrounded on all sides by green mountain walls, dotted with distant sheep. At the head of the lake, beyond the delta of the inflowing stream, is a massive snow-capped peak which dominates the vista; it is part of a series of peaks that culminate, a little out of view, in Mount Bogda itself.
5. "Swimming?" Mr. Cao says. "You aren't thinking of swimming, are you?"
6. "I thought I might," I confess. "What's the water like?"
7. He doesn't answer me immediately, turning instead to examine some receipts with exaggerated interest. Mr. Cao, with great off-handedness, addresses the air. "People are often drowned here," he says. After a pause, he continues. "When was the last one?" This question is directed at the cook, who is preparing a tray of mantou (squat white steamed bread rolls), and who now appears, wiping his doughy hand across his forehead. "Was it the Beijing athlete?" asks Mr. Cao.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:
(a) One benefit of sitting in the last row of the bus was that:
(b) The narrator was travelling to:
(c) On reaching the destination the narrator felt relieved because:
(d) Mount Bogda is compared to:
Answer the following questions briefly:
(e) Which two things in the bus made the narrator feel uncomfortable?
(f) What made the scene look like a Constable landscape?
(g) What did he regret as the bus climbed higher?
(h) Why did the narrator like to buy food from outside?
(i) What is ironic about the pair of trousers lent by Mr. Cao?
(j) Why did Mr. Cao not like the narrator to swim in the lake?
(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The most alarming of man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrevocable; the chain of evil it initiates is for the most part irreversible. In this contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world; radiation released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to the earth in rain, lodges into the soil, enters the grass or corn, or wheat grown there and reaches the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death. Similarly, chemicals sprayed on crops lie long in soil, entering living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of poisoning and death. Or they pass by underground streams until they emerge and combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and harm those who drink from once pure wells.
It took hundreds of millions of years to produce the life that now inhabits the earth and reached a stage of adjustment and balance with its surroundings. The environment contained elements that were hostile as well as supporting. Even within the light of the sun, there were short wave radiations with power to injure. Given time, life has adjusted and a balance reached. For time is the essential ingredient, but in the modern world is no time.
The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature. Radiation is no longer the bombardment of cosmic rays; it is now the unnatural creation of man’s tampering with the atom. The chemicals to which life is asked to make adjustments are no longer merely calcium and silica and copper and all the rest of the minerals washed out of the rocks and carried in the rivers to the sea; they are the synthetic creations of man’s inventive mind, brewed in his laboratories, and having no counterparts in nature.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply a title to it.
(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.
Read the passage given below:
People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware of doing so. They can have a delightful surprise when they find something useful which they did not know they owned. Those who never have to change house become indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter. They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards, and attics for years in the belief that they may one day need them. Old people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons, lack of physical and mental energy, and sentiment. Things owned for a long time are full of associations with the past, perhaps with the relatives who are dead, and so they gradually acquire a sentimental value.
Some things are collected deliberately in an attempt to avoid wastage. Among these are string and brown paper, kept by thrifty people when a parcel has been opened. Collecting small items can be mania. A lady cuts out from newspaper sketches of model clothes that she would like to buy if she had money. As she is not rich, the chances are that she will never be able to afford such purchases. It is a harmless habit, but it litters up her desk.
Collecting as a serious hobby is quite different and has many advantages. It provides relaxation for leisure hours, as just looking at one’s treasure is always a joy. One doesn’t have to go out for amusement as the collection is housed at home. Whatever it consists of - stamps, records, first editions of books, china – there is always something to do in connection with it, from finding the right place for the latest addition to verifying facts in reference books. This hobby educates one not only in the chosen subject but also in general matters which have some bearing on it.
There are other benefits also. One gets to meet like-minded collectors to get advice, compare notes, exchange articles, to show off one’s latest find. So one’s circle of friends grows. Soon the hobby leads to traveling, perhaps a meeting in another town, possibly a trip abroad in search of a rare specimen, for collectors are not confined to one country. Over the years one may well become an authority on one’s hobby and will probably be asked to give informal talks to little gatherings and then, if successful, to larger audiences.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also, supply an appropriate title to it.
(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The most alarming of man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrevocable; the chain of evil it initiates is for the most part irreversible. In this contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world; radiation released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to the earth in rain, lodges into the soil, enters the grass or corn, or wheat grown there and reaches the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death. Similarly, chemicals sprayed on crops lie long in soil, entering living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of poisoning and death. Or they pass by underground streams until they emerge and combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle, and harm those who drink from once pure wells.
It took hundreds of millions of years to produce the life that now inhabits the earth and reached a stage of adjustment and balance with its surroundings. The environment contained elements that were hostile as well as supporting. Even within the light of the sun, there were short wave radiations with power to injure. Given time, life has adjusted and a balance reached. For time is the essential ingredient, but in the modern world is no time.
The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature. Radiation is no longer the bombardment of cosmic rays; it is now the unnatural creation of man’s tampering with the atom. The chemicals to which life is asked to make adjustments are no longer merely calcium and silica and copper and all the rest of the minerals washed out of the rocks and carried in the rivers to the sea; they are the synthetic creations of man’s inventive mind, brewed in his laboratories, and having no counterparts in nature.
(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply a title to it.
(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words
Read the passage given below carefully :
1. For four days, I walked through the narrow lanes of the old city, enjoying the romance of being in a city where history still lives - in its cobblestone streets and in its people riding asses, carrying vine leaves and palm as they once did during the time of Christ.
2. This is Jerusalem, home to the sacred sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This is the place that houses the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was finally laid to rest. This is also the site of Christ's crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
3. Built by the Roman Emperor Constantine at the site of an earlier temple to Aphrodite, it is the most venerated Christian shrine in the world. And justifiably so. Here, within the church, are the last five stations of the cross, the 10th station where Jesus was stripped of his clothes, the 11th where he was nailed to the cross, the 12th where he died on the cross, the 13th where the body was removed from the cross, and the 14th, his tomb.
4. For all this weighty tradition the approach and entrance to the church is non-descript. You have to ask for directions. Even to the devout Christian pilgrims walking along the Via Dolorosa - the Way of Sorrows - first nine stations look clueless. Then a courtyard appears, hemmed in by other buildings and a doorway to one side. This leads to a vast area of huge stone architecture.
5. Immediately inside the entrance is your first stop. It's the stone of anointing: this is the place, according to Greek tradition, where Christ was removed from the cross. The Roman Catholics, however, believe it to be the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial by Joseph.
6. What happened next ? Jesus was buried. He was taken to a place outside the city of Jerusalem where other graves existed and there, he was buried in a cave. However, all that is along gone, destroyed by continued attacks and rebuilding; what remains is the massive - and impressive - Rotunda (a round building with a dome) that Emperor Constantine built. Under this, and right in the centre of the Rotunda. is the structure that contains the Holy Sepulchre.
7. "How do you know that this is Jesus' tomb ?" I asked one of the pilgrims standing next to me. He was clueless, more interested, like the rest of them, in the novelty of it all and in photographing it, then in its history or tradition.
8. At the start of the first century, the place was a disused quarry outside the city walls. According to the gospels, Jesus' crucifixion occurred 'at a place outside the city walls with graves nearby.....'. Archaeologists have discovered tombs from that era, so the site is compatible with the biblical period.
9. The structure at the site is a marble tomb built over the original burial chamber. It has two rooms, and you enter four at a time into the first of these, the Chapel of the Angel. Here the angel is supposed to have sat on a stone to recount Christ's resurrection. A low door made of white marble, party worn away be pilgrims' hands, leads to a smaller chamber inside. This is the 'room of the tomb', the place where Jesus was buried.
10. We entered in single file. On my right was a large marble slab that covered the original rock bench on which the body of Jesus was laid. A woman knelt and prayed. Her eyes were wet with tears. She pressed her face against the slab to hide them, but it only made it worse.
On the basis of your understanding of this passage answer the following questions with the help of given options:
(a) How does Jerusalem still retain the charm of ancient era?
(i) There are narrow lanes.
(ii) Roads are paved with cobblestones.
(iii) People can be seen riding asses
(iv) All of the above
(b) Holy Sepulchre is sacred to _________.
(i) Christianity
(ii) Islam
(iii) Judaism
(iv) Both (i) and (iii)
(c) Why does one have to constantly ask for directions to the church?
(i) Its lanes are narrow.
(ii) Entrance to the church is non-descript.
(iii) People are not tourist-friendly.
(iv) Everyone is lost in enjoying the romance of the place.
(d) Where was Jesus buried?
(i) In a cave
(ii) At a place outside the city
(iii) In the Holy Sepulchre
(iv) Both (i) and (ii)
Answer the following questions briefly:
(e) What is the Greek belief about the 'stone of anointing'?
(f) Why did Emperor Constantine build the Rotunda?
(g) What is the general attitude of the pilgrims?
(h) How is the site compatible with the biblical period?
(i) Why did the pilgrims enter the room of the tomb in a single file?
(j) Why did 'a woman' try to hide her tears?
(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as:
(i) A large grave (para 3)
(ii) Having no interesting features/dull (para 4)
Read the passage given below :
It is surprising that sometimes we don't listen to what people say to us. We hear them, but we don't listen to them. I was curious to know how hearing is different from listening. I had thought both were synonyms, but gradually, I realised there is a big difference between the two words.
Hearing is a physical phenomenon. Whenever somebody speaks, the sound waves generated reach you, and you definitely hear whatever is said to you. However, even if you hear something, it doesn't always mean that you actually understand whatever is being said. Paying attention to whatever you hear means you are really listening. Consciously using your mind to understand whatever is being said is listening.
Diving deeper, I found that listening is not only hearing with attention, but is much more than that. Listening is hearing with full attention, and applying our mind. Most of the time, we listen to someone, but our minds are full of needles chatter and there doesn't seem to be enough space to accommodate what is being spoken.
We come with a lot of prejudices and preconceived notions about the speaker or the the subject on which he is talking. We pretend to listen to the speaker, but deep inside, we sit in judgement and are dying to pronounce right or wrong, true or false, yes or no. Sometimes, we even come prepared with a negative mindset of proving the speaker wrong. Even if the speaker says nothing harmful, we are ready pounce on him with our own version of things.
What we should ideally do is listen first with full awareness. Once, we have done that, we can decide whether we want to make a judgement or not. Once we do that, communication will be perfect and our interpersonal relationship will become so much better. Listening well doesn't mean one has to say the right thing at the right moment. In fact, sometimes if words are left unspoken, there is a feeling of tension and negativity. Therefore, it is better to speak out your mind, but do so with awareness after listening to the speaker with full concentration.
Let's look at this in another way. When you really listen, you imbibe not only what is being spoken, but you also understand what is not spoken as well. Most of the time we don't really listen even to people who really matter to us. That's how misunderstandings grow among families, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters.
(A) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using heading and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary − minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply an appropriate title to it.
(B) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Now, as I stood on the shore of that desolate Highland loch
I raised my voice in a surge of self-justification : ''By Heavens!
This is my opportunity. Gastric ulcer or no gastric ulcer, I will
write a novel.'' Before I could change 1ny mind I walked straight to the village and bot1ght myself two dozen penny exercise books.
Upstairs in my cold, clean bedroom was a scrubbed deal table and a very hard chair. Next morning, I found myself in this chair, facing a new exercise book open upon the table, slowly' becoming aware that, short of dog-Lati11 prescriptions, I had never composed a significant phrase in all my life. It was a discot1raging thought as I picked 11p my pen and gazed out of the window. Never mind, I would begin. Three hours later Mrs. Angus, the farmer's wife, called me to dinner. The page was still blank.
As I went dow-n to m:y milk and junket-they call this "curds'' in Tarbert - I felt a dreadful fool. I felt like the wretched poet in Daudet's Jack whose im1nortal masterpiece never progressed beyond its stillborn opening phrase : ''In a remote valley of Pyrenees ..... ". I recollected, rather gri111ly, the sharp advice with which my old schoolmaster had goaded me to action. ''Get it down!'' he had said. ''If it ~tops in your head it will always be nothing.
Get it down.'' And so, after lunch, I went upstairs and began to get it down.
(1) What is the main idea of the extract? (1)
(2) Why did the narrator buy two dozen penny exercise books? (2)
(3) How was the narrator unprepared for writing his novel? (2)
(4) Write in brief about what you will do in your forthcoming vacation. (2)
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) I stood on the shore of that desolate Highland loch.
(Rewrite it using 'used to'.) (1)
(ii) I went down to my milk and junket.
(Rewrite it in the Past Perfect Tense.) (1)
(iii) I walked straight to the village and bought myself
two dozen penny exercise books. (Make it simple). (1)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) chance (1/2)
(ii) lake (1/2)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
There are some glimmers of hope. I met up young Navdeep. Ahuja who along with another colleague began the innocuously named Graduates Welfare Association, Fazilka. They are bringing about change with the mandate of citizens' participation in governance and are facilitating the creation of physical and social infrastructure across 22 cities in Punjab. They have put in place a network of cycle rickshaws called Eco-cabs which can be booked through a mobile phone. They are also developing car tree zones, food and culture streets in these cities. All this is being done very efficiently and at a low cost. We need many such organizations. However, my idea of a city in 2020 is not a utopian dream. It is achievable. It has streets where people walk on wide footpaths shaded by leafy trees. Streets are usually one-third of a city's area and its most democratic segment. Public space dedicated to pedestrians reduces inequality and should be accorded priority when developing cities. Adjoining the streets should be cycle lanes where bicycles and, rickshaws can sail past smoothly. It'll have a great public transport system with buses, metro and taxis. Parking will be difficult and expensive so people will use public transport rather than cars. There will be parks and gardens and the air will be clean, as pollution levels will have dropped dramatically. And then cities will become areas of graceful living and a charmed way of life.
(1) What is the extract about?
(2) What will happen when parking becomes difficult and expensive?
(3) How has Graduates Welfare Association brought about changes in some cities?
(4) What efforts will you take to make your city a livable place?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) We need many such organizations.
(Frame a ' Wh-question' to get the underlined part as an answer.)
(ii) It reduces inequality.
(Rewrite it using the Present Perfect Tense.)
(iii) The air will be clean, as pollution levels will. have dropped dramatically.
(Rewrite it using 'unless')
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) co-worker
(ii) small signs
Read the following extract and answer the question given below: (11)
Researchers· recently announced the earth could actually
withstand up to 200,000 times the current population. They arrived at this figure by calculating the amount of heat a human body emits. and only at l ·3 million billion would the earth be too hot to be habitable. And though it would feel like being in a can of sardines if that figure were ever reached, the earth is capable of comfortably sustaining a population several times the current 6·5 billion.
In fact, fertility is actually on the decline worldwideThough
population has grown, the rate of growth has fallen sharply. Twenty years ago, the UN projected that population would reach l l · 16 billion in 2050, today they say it will reach only 9·37 billion. Moreover, human population will stabilize at about 11 ·5 billion.While this figure is almost twice the current one, it is hardly claustrophobic.
True, the demands on resources are heavy even now, but this is more due to the manner in which these resources are being used. In fact, figures show that a bigger population does not amount to greater consumption. Over 20% of the world 's people in the highest income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditure - the poorest 20% a tiny 1 ·3%. With just 5% of the world's population, the US consumes about 40% of the world's resources. Would you say the US is overpopulated?
Concerns on scarcity of food are equally baseless. In fact, global food production has actually kept up with population growth . If people starve in many countries it is not because food is becoming scarce; it is because those people cannot afford it.
Questions:
(1) What conclusions did the researchers arrive at? (1)
( 2) How does the writer explain that the fertility is on the
decline? (2)
(3) What does the extract predict about the fear-, of scarcity of food? (2)
( 4) How will population become a gift in the global market
scene? (2)
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) The earth could withstand upto 200,000 times the
current population.
(Rewrite the sentence using the modal auxiliary showing 'certainty'.) (I)
(ii) The earth would be too hot to be habitable.
(Remove ' too' and rewrite the sentence.) (1)
(iii) These resources are being used.
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with, 'We ............ ') (I)
( 6) Write the antonyms of:
(i) habitable (1/2)
.
(ii) stabilize ( 1/2 )
Read the following extract and answer the questions given
below:
Today, at 29, \.1.ichael has discovered the power of another good idea that has helped him rise in just a few years from teen to tycoon.He has become the fourth largest manufacturerof personal computers in America and the youngest man ever to head Fortune 500 Corporation.
Growing up in Houston, Texas. Michael and his two brothers were imbued by their parents. Alexander and Lorraine - he anorthodontist, she a stockbroker- with the desire to learn and the drive to work hard. Even so, stories about the middle boy began to be told early.
Like the time a saleswoman came asking to speak to "Mr. Michael Dell" about his getting a high school equivalency diploma. Moments later. eight-year-old Michael was explaining that he thought it might be a good idea to get high school out of the way.
A few years later Michael had another good idea, to trade stamps by advertising in stamp magazines. With the $2000 he made, he bought his first personal computer. Then he took it apart to figure out how it worked.
In high school Michael had a job selling newspaper subscriptions. Newlyweds, he figured, were the best prospects, so he hired friends to copy rhe names and addresses of recent recipients of marriage licences. These he entered into his computer, then sent a personalized letter offering each couple a free two-week subscription.
This time Dell made $ 18,000 and bought an expensive BMW car. The car salesman was flabbergasted when the 17-ycar-oJd paid cash.
(I) What details does the writer give about Dell's family in the
extract? (1)
(2) How did Dell succeed in earning S2QOQ? (2)
(3) Why was the car salesman flabbergasted? (2)
(41 What do you think you can learn from Dell's story? (2)
{5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instmcted:
{i) "He has discovered the power of another good idea."
(Rewrite it beginning with 'The power of another good
idea ...... ... .'.) (1)
.(if) "If you think you have a good idea, try it. "
(Use 'Unless' .) (1)
(iii) '"This time Dell made $18,000 and bought an expensive
BMW car." (1)
(Make it a simple sentence.)
CM Find out the words from the extract which mean :
(i) filled with a quality. (1/2)
(ii) understand. (1/2)
Read the following extract carefully. (4)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given
below :
In 1945 in Bay Roberts, Canada, a 12-year-old boy saw something in a shop window that set his heart racing. But the price -five dollars-was far beyond Reuben Earle's means. Five dollars would buy almost a week's groceries for his family.
Reuben couldn't ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made by fishing, Reuben's mother, Dora, stretched like elastic to feed and clothe their five children.
Nevertheless, he opened the shop's weathered door and went inside. Standing proud and straight in his flour-sack shirt and washed out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, "but I don't have the money now. Can you please hold it for me?" ·
"I will try," the shopkeeper smiled. ''Folks around here don't usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.,.
Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the May sunlight. The bay rippled in a freshening wind that ruffled his short hair. There was purpose in his loping stride. He
would raise the five dollars and not tell anybody.
Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea.
He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails purchased in burlap sack from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of buildings, and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece.
(1) What did Reuben decide to do to raise the required amount?
(2) How much money did Reuben need? Why?
(3) Why couldn't Reuben ask his father for the money?
(4) What is special about the gifts which are given on special occasions?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences as directed :
(i) Reuben couldn't ask his father for the money.
(Rewrite the sentence using ' be able to'.)
(ii) Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea.
(Rewrite the sentence using 'and'.)
(iii) He could sell them back to the factory.
·(Rewrite the sentence beginning with: 'They ..... ')
(6) Match the words in column 'A' with their meanings in
column 'B':
| column 'A' | column 'B' |
| folk | natural harbour |
| bay | sticks |
| people |
Read the following passage and do the activities.
In the early days of farming, people did not understand how plants obtained essential nutrients. It so happened that wood ash, fish remains and slaughterhouse waste were thrown on vacant land just to get rid of them. Then, people started to notice that the grass, bushes and shrubs on this vacant land began to grow very well. They reasoned that if their farmland were similarly treated, the growth of their crops would also improve. People gradually began to realize that the nutrients required by plants came from the soil and that the amount of nutrients could be increased by the application of such organic remains to the soil. Thus started the manuring process in farming.
The practice of manuring has been practised as early since the seventeenth century. However, the importance of manuring was not properly understood until scientists began to study the nutritional needs of plants and gave birth to fertilizers. Thus, gradually, the use of fertilizers became accepted by farmers.
There are many types of manure and fertilizer currently being used. Manure is a substance derived from animals and plants. The most important advantage of using manure is the fact that they not only supply a wide range of plant
nutrients, but also improve the structure of the soil. It cements together the soil particles to form soil crumbs. The crumb structure is a desirable condition of cultivated soil. The addition of manure to soil will increase the inorganic and humus content which helps to prevent soil erosion and loss of plant nutrients when it rains. The common manure used in farming consists of farmyard manure, compost, blood meal, bone meal and fish meal.
Unlike manure, fertilizers are inorganic substances which do not improve the structure of the soil. They only supply extra amounts of nutrients to the growing plants when applied to the soil. The commercial fertilizers commonly used today
can be classified into three major categories; namely, nitrogen (N), phosphate and potash fertilizers.
Besides knowing the type of fertilizer to use, a farmer also needs to know when to apply the fertilizer and how to apply it. The fertilizer should be applied at the time when the plants need a particular nutrient most. The time and method
of application will determine how profitably the fertilizers have been used in farming. Fertilizers which have not been properly applied cannot be absorbed in large quantities by plant roots. These fertilizers may be washed away by rain
or they may kill the plants. This would mean a definite financial loss for the farmer.
(A1) Choose the correct option and rewrite the sentences.
(a) What did the people not understand in the early days of farming ? (1/2)
(i) how farming is done
(ii) how plants obtained essential nutrients
(iii) how grass, shrubs and bushes grow.
(b) What is manure ? (1/2)
(i) a substance derived from animals and plants.
(ii) the soil particles to form soil crumbs.
(iii) a combination of nitrogen, phosphate and potash.
(c) When should fertilizers be applied ? (1/2)
(i) When the plants get dried.
(ii) When the plants need a particular nutrient most.
(iii) In the early days of farming.
(d) What determines the profitability of the fertilizers ? (1/2)
(i) grass, bushes and shrubs
(ii) nitrogen, phosphate and potash.
(iii) The time and method of application.
(A2) How did the process of adding manure to the soil begin? (2)
(A3) Find out similar words from the passage. (2)
(i) necessary (ii) comprise
(iii) step by step (iv) ascertain
(A4)
(i) They supply extra amount of nutrients to the growing plants (Begin the sentence with ‘Extra amount of.......... ’.)(1)
(ii) It cements together the soil particles to form soil crumbs.
(Choose the correct option to name the tense.)(1)
(i) Simple present tense
(ii) Simple past tense
(iii) Simple future tense
(A5) ‘Agriculture plays important role in Indian economy’. Explain. (2)
(B) Read the passage given in Q. 4 (A) and write the summary of it. Suggest a suitable title to your summary. (5)
Read the extract and do the activities that follow :
‘Your father was my enemy,’ said Frederick. ‘I would have been better pleased by your brave deed if you had told me of another father?’
‘I am proud to be Sir Rowland's son,’ answered Orlando angrily,’ and I would not change my place to be the heir of this dukedom.’
The Duke and his lords went away, leaving Orlando alone with Rosalind and Celia. Celia was angry with her father for speaking so unkindly to Orlando. ‘Would I have done this in my father’s place?’ she said to Rosalind.
‘My father loved Sir Rowland as much as his own soul,’ Rosalind said to Celia, ‘and all the world agreed with him. If I had known that his young man was Sir Rowland’s son I should have begged him with tears not to take so great a risk.’
‘Let us go and speak to Orlando,’ said gentle Celia. ‘I am ashamed of my father’s rude and angry words.’
The two girls went up to Orilando and praised him for his bravery. Rosalind took a gold chain from her neck and gave it to him. ‘I would like to give you more’, she said, ‘but I am not rich.’ Then she and Celia went away.
Orlando, however, could not forget them. He had already fallen in love with the fair Rosalind, but he could not stay at the Duke’s palace. His friends warned him that Frederick was angry and jealous of him. They told Orlando to leave the dukedom, because the Duke meant to do him harm.
A1. Match -
Match the characters and their attributes:
| A | B | ||
| i. | Celia | a. | fair |
| ii. | Orlando | b. | rude and unkind |
| iii. | Frederick | c. | gentle |
| iv. | Rosalind | d. | brave |
A2. Write an imaginary paragraph:
Write an imaginary paragraph in about 50 words in continuation with the given extract.
(A) Read the extract and do the activities that follows :
“Pluck the flowers off”, said the other boy and the daisy trembled for fear, for to be pulled off meant death
to it; and it wished so much to live, as it was to go with the square of turf into the poor captive lark’s cage.
“No, let it stay,” said the other boy, “it looks so pretty.” And so it stayed, and was brought into the lark’s cage. The poor bird was lamenting its lost liberty, and beating its wings against the wires; and the little daisy could not speak or utter a consoling word, much as it would liked to do so. So the forenoon passed. “I have no water,” said the captive lark, “they have all gone out and forgotten to give me anything to drink. My throat is dry and burning. I feel as if I had fire and ice within me and the air is so oppressive. Alas! I must die, and part with the warm sunshine, the fresh green meadows, and all the beauty that God has created.” And it thrust its beak into the piece of grass, to refresh itself a little. Then it noticed the little daisy, and nodded to it, and kissed it with its beak and said : “You must also fade in here, poor little flower. You and the piece of grass are all they have given me in exchange for the whole world, which I enjoyed outside. Each little blade of grass shall be a green tree for me, each of your white petals a fragrant flower. Alas! You only
remind me of what I have lost .
A1. True / False -
State whether the following statements are true or false :
(i) The boys had kept water in the cage for the lark.
(ii) The daisy had a desire to console the poor lark.
(iii) The lark was reminded of its lost liberty.
(iv) The daisy did not want to go into the lark’s cage.
A2. Write an imaginary ending :
Write an imaginary paragraph in about 50 words to give a different ending to the above extract.
Read the extract and do the activities that follow:
My mother was still managing Green's, even though its days were numbered. The day after my return I joined her in the small office, where she sat behind her over-large desk, telephone on her right and the latest paperback western before her, ready to be taken up when noting much was happening – which was fairly often. My mother enjoyed reading westerns-particularly Luke Short, Max Brand, and Clarence E Mulfordmuch in the same way that I enjoyed detective fiction. Both genres were freely available in cheap collins ‘White Circle’, edition published during and just after the War.
We discussed the affair of the skeleton in the cupboard, but as there was no longer any mystery about it, there was nothing for me to investigate. However, armed with the key to the store room, I went down to the basement on my own and made a thorough search of all the old furniture, on the offchance that another skeleton moght tumble out of a cupboard or be found jammed into a drawer or trunk. I did find some old tennis rackets, back numbers of Punch, a cracked china chamber-pot, some old postcards of Darjeeling and Simla, and a framed photograph of King Edward the Seventh. I took the copies of ‘Punch’ to my room and read the reviews of all the plays that had been running in London between 1926 and 1930, thus becoming an authority on the theatre in England of that period.
A1. True/False
State whether the following statements are true or false:
(i) The narrator found one skeleton jammed into a drawer
(ii) The narrator did not like to read detective fiction
(iii) The narrator's mother was managing the Green's hotel
(iv) The narrator wanted to be an authority on the English theatre of that period
A2. Write a gist :
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
Reuben arrived at the factory. The sack buyer was about to lock up.
"Mister! Please don't close up yet." The man turned and saw Reuben, dirty and sweat-stained.
"Come back tomorrow, boy."
"Please, Mister. I have to sell the sacks now-please." The man heard a tremor in Reuben's voice and could tell he was close to tears.
"Why do you need this money so badly?"
"It's a secret."
The man took the sacks, reached into his pocket and put four nickels into Reuben's hand. Reuben murmured a quiet thank-you and ran home.
Then, clutching the tin can, he headed for the store.
"I have the money" he solemnly told the owner, pouring his coins onto the counter.
The man went to the window and retrieved Reuben's treasure. He wiped the dust off and gently wrapped it in brown paper. Then he placed the parcel in Reuben's hands.
Racing home, Reuben burst through the front door. His mother was scrubbing the kitchen range. "Here Mum!Here!" Reuben exclaimed as he ran to her side. He placed a small box in her work-roughened hand.
She unwrapped it carefully, to save the paper. A blue-velvet jewel box appeared. Dora lifted the did, tears beginning to blur her vision.
In gold tettering on a small, almond-shaped brooch was the word 'Mother'
It was Mother's Day, 1946
Dora had never received such a gift; she had no finery except her wedding ring. Speechless, she smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms.
(1) Why did Reuben insist on the sack buyer to buy his sacks that day only?
(2) How did the mother react when Reuben gave her the gift?
(3) In what way was Reuben's gift special to his mother?
(4) What do you plan to do on Mother's Day?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) I have to sell the sacks.
(Rewrite it replacing the underlined part with the modal auxiliary showing 'compulsion'.)
(ii) She smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms. (Use 'As soon as'.)
(iii) She unwrapped it carefully.
(Rewrite the sentences using the noun form of the underlined word.)
(6) Find out the words/phrases from the extract which mean:
(i) showing joy (ii) got back
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Researchers recently announced the earth could actually withstand up to 200,000 times the current population. They arrived at this figure by calculating the amount of heat a human body emits, and only at 1.3 million billion would the earth be too hot to be habitable. And though it would feel like being in a can of sardines if that figure were ever reached, the earth is capable of comfortably sustaining a population several times the current 6.5 billion.
In fact, fertility is actually on the decline worldwide. Though the population has grown, the rate of growth has fallen sharply. Twenty years ago, the UN projected that the population would reach 11.16 billion in 2050, today they say it will reach only 9.3 billion. Moreover, the human population will stabilize at about 11.5 billion. While this figure is almost twice the current one, it is hardly claustrophobic.
True, the demands on resources are heavy even now, but this is more due to the manner in which these resources are being used. In fact, figures show that a bigger population does not amount to greater consumption. Over 20% of the world's people in the highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditure - the poorest 20% a tiny 1.3%. With just 5% of the world's population, the US consumes about 40% of the world's resources. Would you say the US is overpopulated?
Concerns on the scarcity of food are equally baseless. In fact, global food production has actually kept up with population growth.
(1) What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
(2) What is the relationship between the population and the available resources?
(3) Why do the researchers claim that the earth is capable of sustaining a bigger population?
(4) What, according to you, are the problems caused by the increasing population?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) The earth would be too hot to be habitable. (Remove 'too'.)
(ii) Though the population has grown, the rate of growth has fallen sharply. (Rewrite it using 'but')
(iii) Moreover, the human population will stabilize at about 11.5 billion. (Make it 'less definite'.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean :
(i) natural capacity to produce (ii) shortage
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions. Organic farmers ensure soil fertility with the help of crop rotation, compost, and other biologically-induced soil amendments. A healthy soil structure increases and insects and there is no need to depend on synthetic fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives and genetically modified organisms, all of which are extremely harmful to the plants as well as human beings who consume them.
According to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements: "Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation, and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and good quality of life for all involved.... ." In India,
the Green Revolution, which was water-intensive and involved a heavy dose of chemical fertilizers, has not been a boon. Many farmers have seen the effects of chemical farming - soil erosion and loss of soil nutrients, loss of nutrition in food, and human diseases resulting from the chemicals that seep into the water table.
But organic farming is often hard for the farmers who have to invest considerable time, energy and resources to regenerate the soil and reestablish the delicate balance between soil, water, air, animals and plants. further, the lack of support on maintaining such a balance makes the products more expensive, putting the burden on consumers who choose to eat healthy.
(1) What does the first paragraph focus on?
(2) Why was the Green Revolution not a boon for Indian farmers?
(3) How is organic farming advantageous to farmers?
(4) What agricultural problems, according to you, do farmers face?
(5)
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) Organic farmers ensure soil fertility with the help of crop rotation.
(Rewrite the beginning of the sentences with 'Soil fertility'.)
(ii) A healthy soil structure increases its ability to hold water. (Frame a 'Wh-question' to get the underlined part as its answer.)
(iii) Chemical fertilizers are extremely harmful to the plants as well as human beings.
(Rewrite the sentence using 'not only..... but also'.)
(6)
Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) leak slowly (ii) substance added to improve something.
Read the first activity, read the extract and then do all the activities:
A1. Correct the following statements with the help of the facts from the extract :
(1) Everybody in every part of the globe would have access to administration and social care services because he or she would not be able to afford them.
(2) We would avoid boom and bust cycles and be able to surmount natural disaster with great ease.
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To me, a world without poverty means that every person would have the ability to take care of his or her own basic life needs. In such a world, nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition. This is a goal world leaders have been calling for decades, but have never set out any way of achieving it. Today 40,000 children die each day around the world from hunger-related diseases. In a poverty-free world, no children would die of such causes. Everybody in every part of the globe would have access to education and health-care services because he or she would be able to afford them. Unlike today, the state would not be required to provide free or subsidized health-care or schooling. All state organizations created to provide free or subsidized services for the poor would no longer be required and welfare agencies, or the national welfare department. No free schools, no free hospital care, no begging in the streets. State-run safety-net programmers would have no rationale for existence because no one would live on charity anymore. State-run social security programmers, income-support programmes would be unnecessary. Social structures in a poverty-free world would, of course, be quite different from those that exist in a poverty-ridden world. But nobody would be at the mercy of anyone else, and that is what would make all the difference between a world without poverty and one riddled with it. Finally, a poverty-free world would be economically much Stronger and far more stable than the world today. one-fifth of the world's inhabitants who today live a life of extreme poverty would become income earners and income spenders. They would generate extra demand in the market to make the world economy grow. They would bring their creativity and innovations into the market-place to increase the world's productive capacity. Since nobody would ever become poor, except on a temporary and limited basis, the economy would probably not go through extreme swings. We would avoid boom-and-bust cycles and be able to surmount man-made disasters with greater ease. |
A2.
Complete the following statement :
The situation in the world without poverty would be different, because -
(1) the state need not ___________
(2) nobody __________
A3. Find out :
Find and write in the blank boxes :
One-fifth of the world's inhabitants today live a life of extreme poverty. How would they economically Stand in a poverty-free world?
| They would be income earners and income spenders |
A4. Vocabulary :
Find out the words from the extract that mean the following :
(1) calamity (2) overcome
(3) bringing new ideas (4) financially
A5. Personal Response :
Suggest at least four solutions to overcome the problems of increasing poverty.
A6. Grammar :
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(1) Nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition.
(Remove the negative and rewrite.)
(2) Everybody in every part of the globe would have accessed education and health-care services.
(Rewrite the above sentences beginning with 'Education'.)
Read the extract and do the activities that follow :
When Rosalind heard about Orlando's wound and saw the handkerchief stained with his blood, she also fainted; and later she told Oliver that she was really Rosalind, and loved Orlando dearly. Oliver had already fallen in love with gentle Celia, and he persuaded the two girls to accompany him to Duke Senior's court. Rosalind, however, wanted to play one more trick as Ganymede, so she made Oliver promise not to tell anyone that the young shepherd boy and his sister Aliena were really Rosalind and Celia.
And so Aliena and Ganymede were introduced to the old Duke, and he did not recognize his daughter, although he remarked on Ganymede's likeness to Rosalind.
Then the "shepherd boy" told Orlando and the Duke that he could find Rosalind and would bring her to them, making the Duke promise that he would allow his daughter to marry Orlando. she and Celia ran quickly to the shepherd's cottage, changed into their own clothes and removed the brown stains from their faces. Then they returned to the Duke, where they were welcomed with great rejoicing.
'To you, I give myself, for I am yours,' Rosalind said to the Duke, her father. Then she turned to Orlando and said: 'To you, I give myself, for I am yours.'
Rosalind and Orlando were married at once in the forest and on the same day Oliver who was no longer selfish and wicked, married Celia. Just as they were going to be married, a messenger came to ask Duke Senior to go back to his dukedom. Celia's father, Duke Frederick, had mended his wicked ways and asked his brother to return.
A1. True/False :
Choose the true statements from those given below and write them down :
(i) Rosalind played the role of a shepherd boy Ganymede.
(ii) Senior Duke recognised his daughter, Celia.
(iii) Oliver married Rosalind.
(iv) Duke Frederick had mended his wicked ways.
A2. Convert into a dialogue :
Convert the above extract into a dialogue form.
Read the extract and do the activities that follow :
Two weeks later, I wrote: "Dear Mum, thanks for the socks. But I wish you had sent me a food parcel instead. How about some guava cheese? And some mango pickle. They don't give us pickle in school. Headmaster's wife says it heats the blood."
"About that skeleton. If a dead body was hidden in that cupboard after 1930- must have been, if the newspapers of that year were under the skeleton - it must have been someone who disappeared around that time or a little later. Must have been before Tirloki joined the hotel, or he'd remember. What about the registers- would they give us a clue?"
Received a parcel containing guava cheese, strawberry jam, and mango pickle. HEadmaster confiscated the pickle. Maybe he needed it to heat his blood.
A note enclosed with parcel read: "Old hotel registers missing. Must have been thrown out. Or perhaps Mr. Green took them away when he left. Tirloki says a German spy stayed in the hotel just before the War broke out. The spy used to visit the Gurkha Lines and the armaments factory. He was passing information on to a dentist who visited Germany every year. When war broke out, the dentist was kept in a prisoner-of-war camp. The spy disappeared-some say to Tibet. Could the spy have been silenced and put away in the cupboard? But I keep forgetting it was a woman's skeleton. Tirloki says the spy was a man. But a clever spy may have been a woman dressed as a man. But a clever spy may have been a woman dressed as a man. what do you think? "
It was the football season, and I wasn't doing much thinking. Chasing a football in the monsoon mist and slush called for single-minded endurance, especially when we were being beaten 5-0 by Simla Youngs, a team of junior clerks from the government offices. Not the ideal training for a boy-detective. The winter holidays were still four months distant, and the case of the unidentified skeleton appeared to be resolving itself with a little help from my mother and her friends.
B1. Complete :
Complete the following sentences :
(1) The narrator's football team was beaten 5-0 by ___________ .
(2) Headmaster's wife says that ___________ .
(3) Things that the narrator received in the parcel are __________ .
(4) The German spy was passing information ___________ .
B2. Write a gist :
Write a gist of the extract in about 50 words.
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
I was 33 at the time, a doctor in the West End of London. I had been lucky)' in advancing through severed arduous Welsh mining assistantships to my own practice- acquired on the installment plan from a dear old family physician who, at our first interview, gazed at my cracked boots and frayed cuffs and trusted me.
I think I wasn't a bad doctor. My patients seemed to like me not only 1he nice old ladies with nothing wrong with them, who lived near the Park and paid handsomely for my cheerful bedside manner but the cabbies, porters, and deadbeats in the mews and back streets of Bayswater, who paid nothing and often had a great deal wrong with them. Yet there was something- though I treated everything that came my way, read all Ille medical journals, attended scientific meetings, and even found time to take complex postgraduate diplomas - I wasn't quite sure of myself. I didn't stick at anything for long. I had successive ideas of specializing in dermatology, in aural surgery, in pediatrics, but discarded them all. While I worked all day and half of most nights, I really lacked perseverance, stability. One day I developed indigestion. After resisting my wife's entreaties for several weeks, I went casually to consult a friendly colleague. I expected a bottle of bismuth and an invitation to a bridge. I received instead of the shock of my life: a sentence to six months' complete rest in the country on a milk diet. I had a gastric ulcer.
(I) What does the doctor tell us about his profession?
(2) What sort of patients did the doctor handle?
(3) What shock of life did the doctor receive when he visited his doctor colleague?
(4) What qualities of the doctor appeal you the most?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) I read all the medical journals.
(Rewrite it using the past perfect continuous tense.)
(ii) I treated everything that came n1y way.
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with "Everything ... ")
(iii) I received the shock of my life.
(Make it a Rhetorical question.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean :
(i) involving a lot of effort and energy.
(ii) serious requests
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
But being named an 'AdarshGaon · is far from easy. Villages had to give a proposal after Which a committee headed by Mr. Pawar inspected the villages. "The villages had to show dedication in the struggle to fight mediocrity. They had to follow all the conditions of becoming an 'AdarshGaon '. We chose villages with a revolutionary spark." Mr. Pawar says.
Villages need to follow strict rules. The process begins with effective water managc1nent through the watershed technique and Water auditing. taking responsibility for the village's natural resources -phmting trees and stopping grazing, contributing labour for the village Work, and then expanding to bring about behavioral changes in the people for harbouring social change. Hiware Bazaar is free of any kind of addiction and there are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village. Vasectomy has been made co1npulsory. as is the pre-marital HIV test.
The 'AdarshGaon · n1odcl prides itself of being based on the joint decisions made by the (Gram Sabha, Where all the villagers are present. Even while selecting the new villages under the scheme, Mr. Pawar made sure that the decision to become an ideal village was taken by the entire village together.
The greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar so far has been the reverse migration that the village has witnessed since 1989. As many as 93 families have come back to the village, "from the slums in Mumbai and Pune." Mr. Pawar says.
(1) What features of 'AdarshGaon' are given in this extract?
(2) What is the procedure for selecting 'AdarshGaon'?
(3) What is the greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar?
(4) Do you think all villages in Maharashtra should follow the ideals of Hiware Bazaar? Why?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the Ways instructed :
(i) Mr. Pawar inspected the villages.
(Rewrite it using the noun form of the word underlined.)
(ii) Vasectomy has been made compulsory by the villagers.
(Rewrite it beginning with -"The villagers ........ ".)
(iii) There are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village.
(Rewrite it using 'neither ........ nor'.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean :
(i) causing a great change
(ii) the quality of being average
Read the following passage carefully.
As the family finally sets off from home after many arguments there is a moment of a lull as the car takes off. “Alright, so where are we going for dinner now?" asks the one at the driving wheel. What follows is chaos as multiple voices make as many suggestions.
By the time order is restored and a decision is arrived at, tempers have risen, feelings injured and there is at least one person grumbling.
Twenty years ago, you would step out of home, the decision of meal and venue already made with no arguments or opposition and everybody looked forward to the meal with equal enthusiasm. The decision was made by the head of the family and the others fell in line. Today every member of the family has a say in every decision which also promotes a sense of togetherness and bonding.
We empower our kids to take their own decisions from a very early age. We ask them the cuisine they prefer, the movie they want to see, the holiday they wish to go on and the subjects they wish to study.
It's a closely connected world out there where children consult and guide each other. A parent's well-meaning advice can sound like nothing more than unnecessary preaching) How then do we reach our children through all the conflicting views and make the voice of reason be heard? Children today question choices and prefer to go with the flow.
What then is the best path to take? I would say the most important thing one can do is to listen. Listen to your children and their silences. Ensure that you keep some time aside for them, insist that they share their stories with you. Step into their world. It is not as complicated as it sounds; just a daily half an hour of the 'quality time' would do the trick
2.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.
(a) Write one advantage and one disadvantage of allowing every family member to be part of the decision making process.
(b) In today's world, what are parents asking their kids?
(c) Which two pieces of advice does the writer give to the parents?
(d) The passage supports the parents. How far do you agree with the author's views? Support your view with a reason.
2.2 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following:
(a) The synonym of 'hurt' as given in paragraph 2 is ...............
(b) The word which means the same as 'a style or method of cooking in paragraph 4 is:
i. cuisine
ii. gourmet
iii. gastric
iv. science
(c) The antonym of 'agreeable' as given in paragraph 5 is ...............
(d) The antonym of 'simple' as given in paragraph 6 is:
i. difficult
ii. complicated
iii. easy
iv. tricky
Read the following passage and complete the activities:
A1. State whether the following statements are True or False. (02)
- Time is the most valueless resource.
- The importance of time management is self-evident.
- Allow the time to flow and pass away.
- Time’s nature is clear.
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Time is the most valuable resource available to every individual. Time is a resource to measure quantitatively but its nature is unclear. Time is a fleeting, limited, and intangible human resource which is always calculated and used accordingly. The time of the day is as shown on the clock or announced on the media like radio, television constantly guides us in carrying out daily activities, distribution of time for work, rest, entertainment and checking the progress during the day. |
A2. What are the secrets of a good time manager? (02)
A3.
- Pick out two adverbs from the given passage.
- Write the root word for the following:
- utilization
- entertainment
A4. Do as Directed: (02)
- Rewrite the sentence using ‘Not only ……. But also’
For the achievement of goals, proper planning and utilization of time are important. - Do not allow the time to flow. (Make the sentence assertive)
A5. “Time once lost, is lost forever.” Justify (02)
Read the given case-based passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
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Case study of museums |
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| 1. |
We don’t go to museums. We prefer malls, cinema halls, and restaurants. Visiting a museum is best left to schools which makes it mandatory. After all, it is an academic exercise. And what entertainment can these places possibly offer? India doesn’t boast the greatest of museums, but one can’t doubt the collection of artefacts in these repositories of heritage, even for a second. Our eventful history has handed down us numerous masterpieces, but unfortunately, we don’t find them compelling enough. A cultural historian and museologist Jyotindra Jain says that the habit of going to museums has just not been inculcated in us. One of the best museums in the country, the National Museum in Delhi charges a mere Rs. 20. According to Joyoti Roy, outreach consultant, National Museum, it receives between 6,00,000 to 7,00,000 visitors each year and anything between 2,500 and 3,000 per day. The mix includes Indians, foreigners, and school students. For an Indian museum, it is an astounding figure, but still nowhere close to the footfalls museums, we consider the finest, get. |
| 2. | It has not been many days since the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore, hosted A. Ramachandran’s expansive retrospective covering five decades of his artistic journey. As we sat outside the first-floor gallery after Ramachandran walked me through his sketches, sculptures, and paintings, the senior artist, a bit disappointed said, “Had an exhibition of this scale taken place abroad, people would have come in thousands.” There were about three-five visitors inside the gallery at that time. Jain, who has also helmed institutions like the Crafts Museum and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi, puts the onus on museums. “We developed the museums but didn’t evolve the infrastructure around it. And it is the museum’s responsibility to do it. When you know, people are not going to come to you, you must go to them. Crafts Museum shares its wall with India Trade Promotion Organisation. It receives lakhs of people during the trade fair. I fought tooth and nail to get that door opened during my tenure (1984-89) so that the visitors spill over to the Crafts Museum as well. Museums need to rethink their strategies and outreach should be a major point of concern for them.” |
| 3. | In 2010, UNESCO brought out a report on the terrible conditions at India’s top eight museums, citing substandard maintenance, lighting, and signage, among other issues. The Ministry of Culture put together a 14 - point museum reforms agenda and things have moved forward since then. Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, the oldest museum in Mumbai has received 3,00,000 visitors over the past year. On average, the museum witnesses 500 visitors every day, with an average of 2,000 visitors over weekends. Not big numbers again, but impressive enough in the Indian context. And this is when the museum re-emerged after a revamp in 2008 with an extensive exhibition programme. Collaborations, screenings of movies of different genres, and workshops for adults and children contributed to the increase in the number of footfalls. The public-private partnership model of the museum is unique and can be replicated in other cases as well. |
| 4. | Robust publicity of exhibitions and creating links between different art spaces can also fetch the audience. Different art institutions located in proximity can host a series of events to be held in each one of them simultaneously. Museums also need to transform their cafes, upgrade their museum shops, and most importantly, invest in their human resource. So, what do we do until then? Let’s go and explore these storehouses of history, culture, and knowledge because unless and until we claim them, they will remain indifferent to our needs. |
After studying the case study of museums, answer the following questions.
- What according to the author is the reason for fewer footfalls in the museums in India?
- What measures are suggested in the passage to multiply the visitors to the museums?
- What was the proposition given by A. Ramachandran during his tenure at Crafts Museum?
- Between the National Museum of Delhi and Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, which museum has more footfall on daily basis? Justify using statistics provided in the study.
Read the passage given below.
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5 |
Technology is making advancements at a rapid rate but at the cost of a valued tradition - the crafts industry. The traditional crafts industry is losing a lot of its trained and skilled craftsmen. With that, the art of embellishing brass and copper utensils with fine engravings is also disappearing. The government has identified around 35 crafts as a languishing craft. |
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10 |
The speciality of handcrafted items is their design, an association with long traditions belonging to a specific region. The word ‘handcrafted’ does not imply the involvement of dexterous human fingers or an agile mind with a moving spirit anymore. Lessening drudgery, increasing production and promoting efficiency have taken precedence. The labour-saving devices are taking the place of handcrafted tools and this has jeopardized the skills of these artisans. |
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15 |
Mechanisation has made its way into everything - cutting, polishing, edging, designing etc. Ideally, the use of machinery should be negligible and the handicrafts should be made purely by hand with a distinguishable artistic appeal. However, with the exception of small-scale industries, the export units are mostly operated by machines. The heavily computerised designs contribute to faster production at lower costs. |
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20 |
Although mechanization of crafts poses a challenge to safeguarding traditional crafts, the artisans are lured with incentives in order to impart handicrafts training. Some makers do see machines as a time-saving blessing since they are now able to accomplish difficult and demanding tasks with relative ease. These machines might give a better 25finesse to these products but they don’t stand out as handcrafted. The quantity has overtaken quality in this industry. |
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30 |
A need to highlight the importance of the handmade aspect is required by both the government and private sectors, in order to amplify awareness and also support the culture of making handicrafts. A few artisans are still trying their best to rejuvenate and revive their culture and heritage but it’s an uphill task competing with the machine-made goods. A multitude of artisans have changed their professions and are encouraging their progeny to follow suit. There are others who have stayed their ground but are clearly inclined towards buying machines. |
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35 |
Nearly two decades ago, there were around 65 lakh artisans in the country. Three years ago, when the government started the process of granting a unique number to the artisans based on the Aadhaar card, 25 lakhs were identified. Loss of traditional crafts is clearly a worrying issue, but it stands to reason that forcing any artisan to follow old ways when concerns of livelihood overrule other considerations, is unfair. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
- What does the writer mean by calling handicrafts a ‘valued tradition’?
- Rewrite the following sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with a word that means the same from lines 5-15.
If it continues, the workcation (work + vacation) trend will be a powerful boost to domestic tourism operators failing to make progress in the economic slump caused due to the pandemic. - State any two reasons why artisans are choosing to work via machines rather than handcrafted tools.
- Why do the artisans need to be ‘lured with incentives’ to impart handicrafts training?
- List one likely impact of the support of government and private sectors towards the culture of making handicrafts.
- How does the writer justify an artist’s act of abandoning her/his traditional craft for a more lucrative option?
Read the passage and write a summary of it in a paragraph. Suggest a suitable title.
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Vegetarianism promotes a natural way of life. But despite its implicit message of universal love and nonviolence, it has not spread as it should have. This may be because it usually is an inward looking habit and is best cultivated in the mind. Leading a vegetarian way of life helps the animal kingdom to coexist with man. The animals supply milk, manure and energy. This has been central to Indian culture for thousands of years. A vegetarian lifestyle is natural, multifaceted and helps preservation in a healthy way. Food and health are closely related. Vegetarians are of various types. There are lacto-vegetarians who consume dairy products; Lacto-ovo-vegetarians include eggs in addition to dairy products. Vegans are pure vegetarians who do not consume any food derived from animals. The Western science of food considers food as something to sustain only the human body, whereas Indian science considers food as something which sustains not only the body but also maintains the purity of heart, mind and the soul. Thus, an item of food that is injurious to the mind is not considered to be fit for consumption, even if it is otherwise beneficial to the body or satisfies the taste. Indian food science does not give so much importance to protein or even to a balanced diet but it gives importance to food that increases the strength of the body and its vitality. Vegetarian foods provide an infinite variety of flavours whereas non-vegetarian foods have hardly any taste of their own. In fact, non-vegetarian foods have to be seasoned with ingredients from the vegetable kingdom to make them palatable. |
Read the following passage and do the activities.
A1. Choose the correct option. (2)
- Thousands of birds were killed due to oil spills because ______.
- It suffocated them
- It was poisonous
- Birds couldn't enter the sea
- There was no fish to feed on
- The primary components of crude oil are ______.
- Methane and ethane
- Carbon and hydrogen
- Sulphur compounds
- Naphthalene
| During the Gulf War, a few years back, tens of thousands of sea birds were killed due to oil spills. Do you know what makes crude oil on ocean water so deadly? Crude oil is not used in the state it is produced at the off-shore wells. It is converted in refineries into a wide range of products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oils, and petrochemical feed-stocks. Before it is refined, the oil also contains potentially fatal components. Crude oil is made up of compounds of carbon and hydrogen called hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons may be paraffin, the oil that is used as fuel in heaters and lamps or cycloparaffins (naphthenes) or aromatic compounds in varying proportions. While crudes found in the US are mostly paraffinic, these found along the Gulf Coast are naphthenic which contain sulphur compounds in varying amounts, a small amount of nitrogen and very little oxygen. Every variety of crude oil has nickel and vanadium in high concentration. Iron may be found in organic form due to the corrosion of pipes. Paraffins like methane and ethane are asphyxiants, substances that cause suffocation. The effects of cycloparaffins are more or less similar to those of paraffins but unsaturated paraffins are more noxious, than saturated ones. The sulphur present in crude oil may be toxic. The mechanism of toxic action seems to involve its breakdown to hydrogen sulphide. They will act principally on the .nervous system with death resulting mainly from respiratory paralysis. Sulphur in the form of aromatic thiophenes, benzothiophenes can damage the livers and kidneys of sea animals. Sulphur compounds like mercaptens can be very dangerous too. |
A2. Crude oil may be toxic and fatal. Justify. (2)
A3. Rewrite the sentences using one word from the passage for the underlined phrase/word. (2)
- Over consumption of alcohol may lead to death.
- The flowers displayed at the exhibition differ in properties.
A4. Identify and change the voice of the following sentence. (1)
Tens of thousands of sea birds were killed due to oil spills.
A5. With reference from the passage what can you do to control air pollution? (3)
Read the following passage and do the activities.
A1. Fill in the blanks.
- ______ is the effect of excessive humour.
- ______ and ______ are the qualities of a humorous person.
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You are endowed with certain naughtiness as a child. Keep it alive. Humour will lighten all tough situations. One who has humour can sail through any conflict. Humour is buffer that saves you from humiliation. Humour brings everyone together, while humiliation tears them apart. In a society tom with humiliation and inSult, humour is like a breath of fresh air. Humour should be coupled with care and concern. Humour can keep the spirit high, yet if overdone, it leaves a bad taste. Humour without wisdom is shallow. Humour without sensitivity is satire-it comes back to you with more problems. The wise use humour to bring wisdom and to lighten situations. The intelligent use humour as a sword to insult others. The irresponsible use humour to escape from responsibility. And fools take humour too seriously! How does one cultivate a sense of humour? Humour is not just words, it is the lightness of your being. You do not have to read and repeat jokes. Humour can be cultivated by taking life not too seriously (because you will never come out of it alive), having a sense of belonging with everybody, including those who are not friendly, practising Yoga and meditation, having unshakable faith in the Divine and in the laws of Karma, being in the company of those who live in knowledge and have a sense of humour. |
A2. How does humour help in building harmony in society?
A3. State the meaning of the following:
- Satire
- To be shallow
A4. Add a question tag to the following sentences.
- You are endowed with certain naughtiness as a child.
- Humour can be cultivated by taking life not too seriously.
A5. How do you think can humour help you to develop a better personality?
Read the passage given below.
| 1 | Mountains have always been held in great awe by mankind. They have been a challenge to humans. Those brave among us have always wanted to conquer them. You see, the more incredible the mountains, the greater the thrill – a challenge to the bravery of the human race. Climbing mountains is an experience that is hard to put into words. You are in a beautiful environment and, when you reach the top, you feel incredible. But you also have to climb down, which is when most accidents happen – people are tired, it gets dark, it’s harder. So, mountain climbing is undoubtedly one of the most popular adventure sports along with being challenging and risky for the climber. |
| 2 | Without any perceived risk, there can’t be a feeling that any significant challenge has been surmounted. Fair, but we have to bear in mind that mountaineering is not a sport that can be embraced without preparation. The enthusiasts must develop in themselves the spirit of adventure, willingness to undertake hardships and risks, extraordinary powers of perseverance, endurance, and keenness of purpose before climbing a mountain. They should also know how to handle mountaineering equipment. Then comes the penance of the rigorous training. This could very well be the lifeline up there. It helps inculcate and hone survival instincts that allow the climber to negotiate perilous situations. There are numerous institutes in India and abroad that offer such training. |
| 3 | Mountain climbers are unanimous in agreeing that unpredictable weather is what they fear the most. There may be sunshine one moment and a snowstorm the other. At higher altitudes, snow is a regular feature and being decisive about setting up camps or proceeding further is crucial. The icy sheets after ice storms make walking treacherous, while the powdery snow makes a mountaineer sink deep into the snow. Up there, where the intention is to embrace Nature’s wonder, one realizes that it cannot be done without facing its formidable glory. A true mountaineer may challenge the mountain, yet is always respectful of the powerful forces of nature. |
| 4 | Summiting mountains carries its own health risks such as oxygen and altitude sickness problems, frost bites, swelling of hands and feet, fluid collection in brain or lungs and exhaustion. Yet, the gratification mountaineers feel from mastering something that is so frightening, urges them to undertake these endeavors. We may think that the mountaineers are fearless, experts say, “Not at all. It’s fear that keeps them so intrigued with such arduous journeys.” Impulse and brazenness can be deadly foes. In the words of the Indian mountaineer, Bachendri Pal, “The biggest risk ... is to not to take the risk at all. Remember that.” |
i. Why does the writer say that mountains inspire ‘awe’ in humans? (Paragraph 1) (1)
- They present us with opportunities for exciting sports.
- They evoke the wish in us, to master them.
- They inspire in us, deeds of valour.
- They represent peace and calm, to us.
ii. Select the option that corresponds to the following relation below: (1)
The more incredible the mountains - the greater the thrill (Paragraph 1)
- The higher the stamina - the lower the food intake
- The more you laugh - the lesser your illness
- The smaller the car - the bigger the advantage
- The heavier the luggage - the higher the penalty
iii. Select the option that displays what the writer projects, with reference to the following: (1)
So, mountain climbing is undoubtedly one of the most popular adventure sports (Paragraph 1)
- doubt
- caution
- conviction
- denial
iv. Complete the following with a phrase from paragraph 1. (1)
| Opinion | Reason |
| ______ | Best experienced rather than described |
v. The writer compares training to penance in the line - Then comes the penance of the rigorous training. (Paragraph 2) (1)
State 1 point of similarity between training and penance.
vi. Based on your reading of the text, list 2 reasons why the writer says that
“mountaineering is not a sport that can be embraced without preparation”. (Paragraph 2) (1)
- ____________
- ____________
vii. What connect does the writer draw out between unpredictable weather and setting up of camps? (Paragraph 3) (1)
viii. The writer says, “A true mountaineer may challenge the mountain, yet is always respectful to the powerful forces of nature.” (Paragraph 3) (1)
Select the reason the mountaineer is respectful to the forces of nature, up in the mountains.
- survival
- experience
- tradition
- directive
ix. justify the following: (1)
While mountain climbing, an impulsive mountaineer is either disaster-prone or as good as dead.
x. Evaluate the Inappropriate reason for the feeling of exhilaration on reaching a summit, that the mountain-climbers experience. (1)
- Achievement of a seemingly impossible feat
- Spectacular panoramic view
- Application of the inculcated survival instincts
- Opportunity to use sophisticated mountaineering equipment
Read the passage given below-
| (1) | Milkha Singh, also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold in 400 metres at the Asian Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. He also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements. |
| (2) | The race for which Singh is best remembered is his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Olympic Games. He led the race till the 200 m mark before easing off, allowing others to pass him. Singh's fourth-place time of 45.73 seconds was the Indian national record for almost 40 years. |
| (3) | From beginning that saw him orphaned and displaced during the partition of India, Singh became a sporting icon in the country. In 2008, journalist Rohit Brijnath described Singh as "the finest athlete India has ever produced". |
| (4) | He was disappointed with his debut performance at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. "I returned to India, chastened by my poor performance in Melbourne. I had been so excited by the prospects of being part of the Indian Olympics team, but, hadn't realized how strong and professional the competition would be. My success in India had filled me with a false sense of pride and it was only when I was on the track that I saw how inconsequential my talents were when pitted against superbly fit and seasoned athletes. It was then that I understood what competition actually meant, and that if I wanted to succeed on the international arena, I must be prepared to test my mettle against the best athletes in the world." |
| (5) | Then he decided to make sprinting the sole focus of his life. "Running had thus become my God, my religion and my beloved". "My life during those two years was governed by strict rules and regulations and a self-imposed penance. Every morning I would rise at the crack of dawn, get into my sports kit and dash off to the track, where I would run two or three miles cross-country in the company of my coach." |
| (6) | On how he pushed himself through the tough days of vigorous training. "I practiced so strenuously that often I was drained of all energy, and there were times when I would increase my speed to such an extent that after my rounds, I would vomit blood or drop down unconscious through sheer exercise. My doctors and coaches warned me, asked me to slow down to maintain my health and equilibrium but my determination was too strong to give up. My only focus was to become the best athlete in the world. But then images of a packed stadium filled with cheering spectators, wildly applauding me as I crossed the finishing line, would flash across my mind and I would start again, encouraged by visions of victory." |
Based on your reading answer any five questions from the six given below: (5)
- What is Milkha Singh known as? What realization did Milkha Singh have when he was on the track during the Melbourne Olympics?
- List any two of Milkha Singh's achievements.
- What strict rules and regulations did Milkha Singh follow?
- State two consequences of his hard and strenuous practice.
- What motivated Milkha Singh to become the best athlete in the world?
- Explain the phrase 'I would start again' in the last sentence.
Read the following extract and complete the activities given below:
|
The government of India is encouraging medical tourism in the country by offering tax benefits and export incentives to the participating hospitals. Medical visas are being cleared quickly without any hassles. With a view to facilitating the growth of medical tourism industry, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare along with the Ministry of Tourism has set up a task force to evaluate the opportunities in the industry. Efforts are being made to standardise procedures and to guide foreign patients to select the hospitals most suited to their needs. Meanwhile, several private hospitals are seeking to take advantage of the booming medical tourism industry and are investing hugely in acquiring equipments and skills. However, medical tourism carries some risks that locally provided medical care does not. Some countries like India, Malaysia and Thailand have very different infectious diseases rarely found in Europe and North America. Exposure to disease without having built-up natural immunity can be a hazard for weak individuals specially with respect to gastrointestinal diseases like Hepatitis A, amoebic dysentery etc., which could slow down the recovery process. Also, medical tourists may be at risk from mosquito-transmitted diseases, influenza and tuberculosis. The quality of post-operative care can also vary dramatically depending on the hospital and the country. Finally, after returning home, a patient has limited contact with their surgeon. This may make it difficult to deal with any complications that may arise later, such as a delayed infection. The concept of medical tourism raises some important questions regarding accessibility, affordability and ethics in medical care. It is unfortunate that a large section of the Indian population has little or no access to private health care. Public health care system is inadequate and lacks proper infrastructure and facilities. One wonders if it is sensible to make provisions for medical tourism in a democratic country like India, which has failed to provide nourishment, sanitation and health care to its masses. |
A1. Complete the web: (2)
A2. Complete the following statements with the help of information provided in the extract: (2)
- Building up natural immunity is must for all because ______.
- The concept of medical tourism can not be much successful in India because _______.
A3. Complete the following table with reference to the statement ‘Medical Tourism is a mixed blessing’: (2)
| Positive aspects of Medical Tourism | Hazard/Nagative aspects of Medical Tourism |
||
| 1. | 1. | ||
| 2. | 2. | ||
A4. ‘We need to promote the concept of Wildlife Tourism in India’. State whether you agree or disagree with the statement. Mention any two arguments. (2)
A5. Language study: (2)
(i) ‘Govt. of India is encouraging medical tourism in the country’. ...(Choose the correct present perfect form of the given statement.)
- Govt. of India is encouraged medical tourism in the country.
- Govt. of India had encouraged medical tourism in the country.
- Govt. of India has been encouraged medical tourism in the country.
- Govt. of India has encouraged medical tourism in the country.
(ii) ‘This may make it difficult to deal with any complication’. ...(Identify the replaced version of the statement using the auxiliary of certainty or definiteness.)
- This can make it difficult to deal with any complication.
- This might make it difficult to deal with any complication.
- This will make it difficult to deal with any complication.
- This have made it difficult to deal with any complication.
A6. Identify the words from the passage with the following meaning: (2)
- growing immensely
- threat
- obtaining
- able to approach/possible to approach
Read the passage given below:
|
- Infer one reason for the following based on information in paragraph 1. (1)
The 'blackout' phase is significant ______. - Choose the appropriate option to fill in the blank. (1)
From paragraph 1 & 2, we can infer that there will be ______.
1. no communication with the people.
2. blackout phase.
3. satellite will get no communication.
4. the moon will block the earth.
5. the communication break will be for 15 days.- 1, 2 & 3
- 1, 3 & 4
- 2, 3 & 5
- 3, 4 & 5
- The communication with the satellite will break for approximately ______ days. (1)
- 10
- 15
- 20
- 25
- Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 2: (1)
aroma : cooking : : ______ : space research
(Clue - just like aroma is integral to cooking, similarly __ is/are integral to space research.) - According to ISRO official till 8th July, when Sun will block Mars, ______ signal/signals per day will be sent to the spacecraft. (1)
- no
- considerable
- indefinite
- only for few
- Select the correct option to complete the following sentence: (1)
The ISRO officials are ______ about their control over the spacecraft after the blackout phase.
- doubtful
- apprehensive
- confident
- jittery
- The spacecraft's life was extended by six months because of ______. (1)
- extra fuel
- incomplete work
- lack of communication amongst ISRO officials
- technical problems in its landing
- Read the following sentences: (1)
(A) The blackout was a sudden development.
(B) Because of this, the officials are very nervous about the success of the spacecraft.
- Both (A) & (B) are true.
- Both (A) & (B) are false.
- (A) is true and (B) is false.
- (A) is false and (B) is true.
- Substitute the word 'nonpareil' with one word similar in meaning in the following sentence from paragraph 5. (1)
India managed to get into the nonpareil club of Mars spacecraft in orbit. - The word 'fascination' in the opening sentence means the same as: (1)
- enchantment
- boredom
- disinterest
- ugliness
Read the following text.
| (1) | As a high school student, studying poetry can be a rollercoaster ride. This journey is punctuated by moments of profound appreciation for simpler pieces and intermittent frustration with more complex works. Let's be real here -some poems are just plain confusing and no amount of re-reading seems to help decipher the intended meaning. The puzzlement that results from such instances can be both vexing and demotivating. If solving a riddle is what was intended, then playing Sudoku is a better option. One is led to ponder if obscurity was the goal. |
| (2) | Conversely, some pieces resonate with the reader's soul. Stirring feelings of warmth, happiness, and connection to the world. Often, these compositions centre on themes that are universally understood, such as love, nature, or faith. Being able to actually understand what the poet is trying to say can feel like a little victory and is a welcome relief after grappling with more perplexing poetry. |
| (3) | Then there are poems that are emotionally charged; the ones that make the reader curl up in a ball and cry or jump up and down with joy. One is left in awe of the poet's ability to convey emotion through words. Let’s not forget the downright weird poems. These are the ones that defy categorization and leave the reader to their own devices in attempting to interpret meaning. The author's use of figurative language and unconventional imagery can create a sense of bewilderment that is either intriguing or off-putting. Regardless, the reader can appreciate the uniqueness of the work. |
| (4) | Despite the wide range of emotions and reactions that come with studying poetry, it can be a rewarding pursuit. Not only does reading poetry allow one to appreciate the artistic beauty of the written word but also enables one to develop crucial critical thinking and analytical skills. The process of unlocking a poem's meaning can feel like cracking a code or solving a puzzle but the sense of accomplishment derived from mastering a challenging piece can be deeply gratifying. Finally, impressing an English teacher with a well-analysed poem can be a source of pride and validation. |
| (5) | Overall, studying poetry is like a box of mixed chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. But whether it's complex, emotional, simple, or just downright weird, there's always something to be gained from the experience. So, let's applaud all the poets out there, for making us laugh, cry, scratch our heads, and occasionally feel like a genius. |
Answer the following questions based on the passage above.
i. Which of the following statements best describes the author's attitude towards studying poetry? (1)
-
- Finds poetry to be a frustrating and meaningless endeavor.
- Believes that the emotional rollercoaster of studying poetry is not worth the effort.
- Recognizes the challenges of studying poetry but also acknowledges the rewards it offers.
- Feels that poetry is too obscure and abstract for the average person to appreciate.
ii. What is the tone of the writer in the given lines from paragraph (1)? Rationalise your response in about 40 words. (2)
If solving a riddle is what was intended, then playing Sudoku is a better option. One is led to ponder if obscurity was the goal.
iii. Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
The author's use of vivid imagery in the paragraph (3), such as "curl up in a ball and cry" and "jump up and down with joy", greatly affects the reader because ______.
iv. The passage includes some words that are opposites of each other. From the sets (a) - (e) below, identify two sets of antonyms: (1)
| (a) intriguing and off-putting | (b) deciphering and interpreting |
| (c) appreciate and applaud | (d) simple and challenging |
| (e) emotions and feelings | |
v. Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
We can say that the author's tone becomes more neutral and objective when discussing weird poems, compared to other types of poetry because ______.
vi. Based on the reading of the passage, examine, in about 40 words, how studying poetry can be like exploring a new city. (2)
vii. What is the message conveyed by Hina's experience, in the following case? (1)
Hina spends hours trying to analyze a poem for her assignment and finally feels a sense of accomplishment and pride, once she understands.
- Only those with natural talent for poetry should engage with it.
- Persistence makes studying poetry a rewarding pursuit.
- Study of poetry is guaranteed to impress others.
- The efforts of studying poetry is inversely proportional to the rewards gained.
viii. State whether the following lines display an example of a simple/complex/ emotionally charged/downright weird, poem. (1)
| The sun rises in the east, A new day begins, a fresh start. Birds chirp, nature wakes up, A peaceful feeling in my heart. |
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
| (1) | Hiking is a great source of pleasure to us besides being beneficial for health. Once we leave the crowded streets of a city and go out for a walking tour away from the mad world, we really feel free. The open air has a bracing effect on the mind. The congestion of the city, the uproar and tumult, the intolerable noise of traffic, the hectic daily routine, all these are forgotten and the mind is at ease. We then feel like running, leaping, singing and laughing. We travel merrily mile after mile in the company of friends and associates. |
| (2) | Hiking takes us in the midst of nature. The sight of waterfalls, flowers, streams, trees and bushes is pleasing. A connect is established between us and nature. Various sounds of nature, like the murmur of a brook or the song of a bird, acquire a new meaning and significance of us. |
| (3) | You enjoy the beauty of nature. Minute observations like a snake casting its slough, a mouse peeping out of its hole, a squirrel leaping about on the branches of a tree, a bird flying past as, all these are noticed and they arouse our interest. We have no business worries, no fear of the examination, no anxiety about the home. We have leisure to stand, to walk and talk. It is more thrilling and pleasurable to hike. in a mountainous region than in the plains. The excitement of climbing up to the top of a hill, the adventure of corning down a slope, the grandeur of sunset behind a mountain - All these sights. lend a rare charm and interest to our journey. |
| (4) | We walk along a zigzag motor road or cut across a mountain path in search of adventure. We may have bright sunny weather or might get caught in a shower of rain. We may look below us into the yawning chasm or up at the mountain peak. The feeling of unlimited freedom makes our hearts leap with joy. |
| (5) | Hiking is one of the healthiest sports. It ensure a complete escape from the urgent and busy activities of life and therefore gives solace to our brain. It regains its lost energy and is able to do twice as much work as before. |
| (6) | The fresh air, beautiful mountains, majestic trees, chirping sound of birds make one's mind and soul at peace with nature. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions below:
- To go out for a walking tour is ______. (1)
- to stroll.
- to ramble.
- to hike.
- to saunter.
- Why does the writer say that the mind is at ease when you hike? (1)
- because hiking is an inexpensive activity.
- because it brings families together
- because of intolerable noise of traffic.
- because the depressing daily routine is forgotten.
- Complete the following with a phrase: (1)
The various sounds of nature acquire ______. - Infer one reason for the following based on information in paragraph 2. (1)
A contact is established between us and nature. - Complete the following analogy correctly with a word from paragraph 2. (1)
Aroma : cooking : fragrance : ______. - Given one reason why it is a pleasure to hike in the mountains than in the plains. (1)
- because observation is sharpened.
- because of the excitement of climbing up and adventure of coming down.
- because it is leisure to stand, to walk.
- because there are no worries.
- Hiking gives the brain, the rest it needs because ______. (1)
- it is a short time activity.
- it is one of the heathiest sports.
- it makes up sleep peacefully.
- it is an escape from our busy schedule.
- List any two example of minute observations you make while on a hike. (1)
- Supply one point to justify the following: (1)
Hiking gives us a feeling of unlimited joy. - Substitute the word 'leap with joy' with one word similar in meaning in the following sentence from the passage. (1)
The feeling of unlimited freedom makes our hearts leap with joy.
Read the passage given below:
|
- Infer one reason for the following based on information in paragraph 1. (1)
The 'blackout' phase is significant ______. - Choose the appropriate option to fill in the blank. (1)
From paragraph 1 & 2, we can infer that there will be ______.
1. no communication with the people.
2. blackout phase.
3. satellite will get no communication.
4. the moon will block the earth.
5. the communication break will be for 15 days.- 1, 2 & 3
- 1, 3 & 4
- 2, 3 & 5
- 3, 4 & 5
- The communication with the satellite will break for approximately ______ days. (1)
- 10
- 15
- 20
- 25
- Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 2: (1)
aroma : cooking : : ______ : space research
(Clue - just like aroma is integral to cooking, similarly __ is/are integral to space research.) - According to ISRO official till 8th July, when Sun will block Mars, ______ signal/signals per day will be sent to the spacecraft. (1)
- no
- considerable
- indefinite
- only for few
- Select the correct option to complete the following sentence: (1)
The ISRO officials are ______ about their control over the spacecraft after the blackout phase.
- doubtful
- apprehensive
- confident
- jittery
- The spacecraft's life was extended by six months because of ______. (1)
- extra fuel
- incomplete work
- lack of communication amongst ISRO officials
- technical problems in its landing
- Read the following sentences: (1)
(A) The blackout was a sudden development.
(B) Because of this, the officials are very nervous about the success of the spacecraft.
- Both (A) & (B) are true.
- Both (A) & (B) are false.
- (A) is true and (B) is false.
- (A) is false and (B) is true.
- Substitute the word 'nonpareil' with one word similar in meaning in the following sentence from paragraph 5. (1)
India managed to get into the nonpareil club of Mars spacecraft in orbit. - The word scarcity in the passage means the opposite of: (1)
- excess
- plenty
- inadequacy
- surplus
Read the passage given below:
|
- Infer one reason for the following based on information in paragraph 1. (1)
The 'blackout' phase is significant ______. - Choose the appropriate option to fill in the blank. (1)
From paragraph 1 & 2, we can infer that there will be ______.
1. no communication with the people.
2. blackout phase.
3. satellite will get no communication.
4. the moon will block the earth.
5. the communication break will be for 15 days.- 1, 2 & 3
- 1, 3 & 4
- 2, 3 & 5
- 3, 4 & 5
- The communication with the satellite will break for approximately ______ days. (1)
- 10
- 15
- 20
- 25
- Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 2: (1)
aroma : cooking : : ______ : space research
(Clue - just like aroma is integral to cooking, similarly __ is/are integral to space research.) - According to ISRO official till 8th July, when Sun will block Mars, ______ signal/signals per day will be sent to the spacecraft. (1)
- no
- considerable
- indefinite
- only for few
- Select the correct option to complete the following sentence: (1)
The ISRO officials are ______ about their control over the spacecraft after the blackout phase.
- doubtful
- apprehensive
- confident
- jittery
- The spacecraft's life was extended by six months because of ______. (1)
- extra fuel
- incomplete work
- lack of communication amongst ISRO officials
- technical problems in its landing
- Read the following sentences: (1)
(A) The blackout was a sudden development.
(B) Because of this, the officials are very nervous about the success of the spacecraft.
- Both (A) & (B) are true.
- Both (A) & (B) are false.
- (A) is true and (B) is false.
- (A) is false and (B) is true.
- Substitute the word 'nonpareil' with one word similar in meaning in the following sentence from paragraph 5. (1)
India managed to get into the nonpareil club of Mars spacecraft in orbit. - The word 'instinct' in the passage means the same as: (1)
- lack
- impulse
- inability
- incapacity
Read the passage given below:
| (1) | When we think of the game of cricket, we come to the conclusion that it is primarily a game that depends on outstanding physical activities, good hand-eye coordination, speed, skill and strength. It provides entertainment and generates strong feelings of excitement. A good match of cricket or of any other game neither adds to the existing stock of human knowledge nor reveals any secret of existence. It does not carry any deep meaning but most people, particularly the lover of sports attach deep emotions and numerous meanings to it. Games are thought of as a metaphor for life. They are supposed to teach many lessons. In fact, more is said and written about a cricket match than about scientific findings or great philosophy. |
| (2) | This is because games, like a morality play, in which settings and rules are made by us, can easily make people test their fair and foul conduct, principles of reward and punishment, and emotions of joy and disappointment. They can make us experience the thrill of war without exposing us to its dangers. A man watching a cricket match on T.V. and munching popcorn is like a surrogate warrior. In fact, games provide us with a safe outlet for our aggressiveness. If games become aggressive, they lose the very purpose of providing entertainment and purging us of our aggressiveness. They can calm our impatience without creating any conflict. |
| (3) | Commentators, journalists, politicians and analysts can do a great favour to the competing teams by keeping the excitement within limits. The teams should play without being dominated by feelings of national honour and shame. Excellent performance of the players of both teams should be enjoyed and appreciated. Winning or losing in a game should not be taken seriously. A game is fun if it is played with true spirit of sportsmanship. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:
- Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option: (1)
Most people conclude that cricket is primarily a game because ______.- it is played as a match
- it requires two teams
- it includes physical activity
- it depends only on skill and strength.
- Comment on the writer's reference to 'that cricket does not reveal any secret of existence. (1)
- List two responses to which watching a game of cricket gives rise to. (1)
- Select the option that conveys the opposite of 'destroy' from words used in the passage. (1)
- reveals
- experience
- generate
- purging
- The writer would not agree with the given statements based on paragraph 2, EXCEPT (1)
- Rules of any game are made by people.
- Watching a cricket match makes the viewer believe that he is fighting a battle.
- It is necessary for a game to be aggressive in order to build excitement.
- A game can test people's sense of fair judgement.
- With reference to the passage, a spectator is compared to a 'surrogate warrior'. (1)
Choose the option that best describes this phrase:- a spectator who is paid to watch.
- a spectator who is in pain while watching the match.
- a spectator who enjoys the match as an armchair soldier.
- a spectator who makes judgments about reward and punishment.
- Why does the writer compare games to a morality play? (1)
- Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference with respect to the following: (1)
The writer says that games can calm our impatience without creating any conflict by ______. - The writer advises the players that games should not become aggressive because ______. (1)
- Select the most suitable title for the above passage. (1)
- Excellent Performance by Cricketers
- The Benefits of Playing Cricket
- Cricket - The King of Games
- The True Spirit of Playing Games
Read the following report and answer the questions by choosing the correct/most appropriate option:
 |
|
| (1) |
How bird hits happen, why they are a concern? New Delhi June 20 At least two bird strike incidents happened on Sunday. Both aircrafts returned to their airports of origin and were grounded for maintenance. An ABC aircraft, which took off from Guwahati towards Delhi, suffered damage to its left engine following a bird hit at 1600 feet. The pilots returned to Guwahati. The other strike happened on another flight from Patna to Delhi. The pilots of the aircraft suspected a bird strike during the take-off roll but continued to climb. Following the take-off rotation, they were informed by the cabin crew of sparks emanating from the left engine. Subsequently, the pilots were also informed by air traffic control of smoke coming out of one of the engines. The pilots declared an emergency and returned to Patna. |
| (2) |
Why are bird strikes a concern? Bird strikes are among the most common threats to aircraft safety, and they typically occur during take-off or landing. Dozens of bird-strikes happen each day but some can be more dangerous than others. Typically, when birds collide with an aircraft's airframe, it is unlikely to cause significant problems for the pilots flying. But there are instances when the aircraft engine ingests the birds. This can lead to a loss of thrust for the engine and cause manoeuvrability problems for the crew. In these cases, where a jet engine ingests a bird, procedures would generally call for pilots to land the plane at the closest airport. While most airframe bird strikes are not considered critical to air safety, if a collision cracks a window or a wind screen, pilots will look to land as early as possible. |
| (3) |
How critical are bird strikes to air safety? Smaller planes would generally be more susceptible to the dangers of bird strikes than larger ones. However, given that bird strikes mostly happen during take-off and landing, these incidents could distract the pilots during what are highly critical phases of flights that demand the complete attention of the crew. |
| (4) |
What causes bird-strikes? The presence of birds around an aircraft increases the chances of a bird strike. In the monsoon, as water puddles emerge on open grounds attracting insects to breed, the presence of birds increases. In some cases, bird hits also happen at higher altitudes when a plane is cruising. These are more dangerous than the low-altitude hits, given that they can cause rapid depressurization of cabins. Other reasons for bird activity around the airfield could be presence of landfills or waste disposal sites that can attract a large number of birds. |
- Does the following statement agree with the information given in paragraph 1? (1)
When an airplane is hit by a bird or is suspected to have been hit, the passengers must be asked to get down at once.
Select from the following:
True: If the statement agrees with the information.
False: If the statement contradicts the information.
Not Given: If there is no information on this. - Select the option that displays the most likely reason for bird hits. (1)
- when the aircraft is overloaded
- at the time of landing or taking off
- when the crew become negligent
- when the passengers become panicky
- Complete the sentence appropriately with one word. (1)
Smaller planes are generally more ______ than larger ones. - Complete the sentence by selecting the most appropriate option: (1)
When the window or the windscreen of the airplane is cracked due to a bird hit ______.- the crew must rush to the cockpit
- the pilot must land at the earliest airport
- the pilot must inform the maintenance engineer
- the pilot must get instructions from the aviation wing on what should do in emergency
- Based on the reading of the text, state a point to further the statement. (1)
Dozens of bird hits take place every day ______.
- but only a few are dangerous
- all of them are fatal
- but after every bird hit it is imperative to land the aircraft
- the pilot should ignore them
- Complete the sentence based on the following statement: (1)
Complete attention of the crew is demanded during take-off and landing.
We can say this because ______. - Complete the sentence appropriately with one/two words. (1)
In cases where the aircraft engine infests the bird, it leads to the loss of thrust and causes problems in ______. - Which are the areas more prone to bird hits? (1)
- Based on the reading of the text, state a point to challenge the given statement: (1)
The area around air fields should be clear of any waste disposal sites. - Look at the graph. It shows that between 2016 and 2021, whereas air flights have come down, the bird-hits have gone up. This implies that the incidence of bird hits has: (1)
- decreased
- increased
- remained constant
- been alarming
Read the passage given below:
| (1) | Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are products that sell quickly at relatively low cost. FMCG is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian economy. There are three main segments in the sector – food and beverages, which accounts for 19% of the sector; healthcare, which accounts for 31% of the share; and household and personal care, which accounts for the remaining 50% share. The urban segment contributes to about 55% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 45%. Rise in rural consumption will drive the FMCG market. The Indian processed food market is projected to expand to US\[\$\] 470 billion by 2025, up from US\[\$\] 263 billion in 2019-20. |
| (2) | The Indian FMCG industry grew by 16% in 2021, a 9-year high, despite nationwide lockdowns, supported by consumption-led growth and value expansion from higher product prices, particularly for staples. Real household spending is projected to increase 9.1% after 2021, after a decrease of 9.3% in 2020 due to the economic impact of the pandemic. Price increases across product categories will offset the impact of rising raw material prices, along with volume growth and a resurgence of demand for discretionary items. |
| (3) | The FMCG sector has received good investments and support from the Government in the recent past. The sector witnessed healthy FDI inflows from April 2000-March 2022. Furthermore, as per the Union Budget 2022-23, a substantial amount has been allocated to the Department of Consumer Affairs, and an increased amount has been allocated to the Department of Food and Public Distribution. In 2021-22, the Government approved the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for the Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) with an outlay of a larger amount to help Indian brands of food products in the international markets. |
| (4) | The Government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme gives companies a major opportunity to boost exports. The future outlook of the FMCG rural sector looks on track now. Rural consumption has increased, led by a combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels. There is an increased demand for branded products in rural India. The growth of the organised sector in FMCG is expected to rise with an increased level of brand consciousness, augmented by the growth in modem retail. |
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|
| Table. FMCG Products | |
| 1. Processed foods: | Cheese products, cereals |
| 2. Prepared meals: | Ready-to-eat meals |
| 3. Beverages: | Bottled water, aerated drinks, and juices |
| 4. Baked goods: | Biscuits, bread |
| 5. Fresh foods, frozen foods, and dry goods: | Fruits, vegetables, milk, butter, frozen food, and nuts |
| 6. Medicines: | Aspirin, pain relievers, and over-the-counter medication that can be purchased without a prescription |
| 7. Cleaning products: | Baking soda, washing powder |
| 8. Cosmetics and toiletries: | Beauty products, soaps, toothpaste |
| 9. Office supplies: | Pens, pencils |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:
- Does the following statement agree with the information given in para 1? (1)
Food and beverages segment dominates the Global FMCG market and is expected to retain its dominance.
Select from the following:- True - If the statement agrees with the information.
- False - If the statement contradicts the information.
- Not Given - If there is no information on this.
- What do you think gives opportunities to boost exports? (1)
- Select the option that displays the most likely reason for FMCG rural sector being on track. (1)
- FMCG sector has been unable to get investments from the government.
- PLI schemes don't reach the rural sector.
- Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of the online grocery segment in India is expected to double in the next five years.
- There is a desire to buy branded products in the villages too.
- Complete the sentence based on the following statement: (1)
The Indian FMCG industry grew by 16% in 2021, a 9-year high, despite nationwide lockdowns because ______. - From the given pie chart, which segment of FMCG accounts for the maximum percentage of the sector? (1)
- Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option: (1)
The combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels in the rural areas has led to ______.- the Government taking a direct interest
- the demand for branded products
- price increases across product categories
- the fall of supply in urban areas
- How is the Government trying to help Indian brands of food products in the international markets? (1)
- Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option: (1)
The concluding paragraph of the passage makes a clear case ______.- that the rural people also want branded products
- that the FMCG industry will not focus on brand consciousness
- for the role of data analytics in the FMCG industry
- for the Government's role by providing incentives
- What will be the impact of the increased level of brand consciousness? (1)
- Based on the reading of the passage, correct the following statement: (1)
The urban segment contributes to about 45% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 55%.
Read the extract and complete the activities given below:
|
This is what Camus meant when he said that "what gives value to travel is fear"-disruption, in other words, (or emancipation) from circumstance, and all the habits behind which we hide. And that is why many of us travel not in search of answers, but of better questions. I, like many people, tend to ask questions of the places I visit, and relish most the ones that ask the most searching questions back of me: "The ideal travel book," Christopher Isherwood once said, "should be perhaps a little like a crime story in which you're in search of something." And it's the best kind of something, I would add, if it's one that you can never quite find. I remember, in fact, after my first trips to Southeast Asia, more than a decade ago, how I would come back to my apartment in New York, and lie in my bed, kept up by something more than jet lag, playing back, in my memory, over and over, all that I had experienced, and paging wistfully through my photographs and reading and re-reading my. diaries, as if to extract some mystery from them. Anyone witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion: I was in love. When we go abroad is that we are objects of scrutiny as much as the people we scrutinize, and we are being consumed by the cultures we consume, as much on the road as when we are at home. At the very least, we are objects of speculation (and even desire) who can seem as exotic to the people around us as they do to us. All, in that sense, believed in "being moved" as one of the points of taking trips, and "being transported" by private as well as public means; all saw that "ecstasy" ("ex-stasis") tells us that our highest moments come when we're not stationary, and that epiphany can follow movement as much as it precipitates it. |
A1. Read and rewrite the following sentences and state whether they are True or False: (2)
-
- A traveller may sink in love with his travel-memoirs.
- One gets inspected as he inspects the world around him.
- Quest for something may end in more mystery.
- Staying in comfort at home gives one more happiness than travelling.
A2. Match the persons given in column 'A' with opinions/ characteristics given in column 'B': (2)
| Column 'A' | Column 'B' |
|
(1) Narrator
|
a) ideal travel should be like a crime story. |
|
(2) Camus
|
b) in love with his memoirs. |
|
(3) Isherwood
|
c) more happy when on move. |
| (4) Traveller | d) fear gives value to travel. |
A3. Give reasons: (2)
"We are objects of scrutiny," because
- ______
- ______
A4. "Travelling is an interesting teacher." Write your views in 3-4 sentences. (2)
A5. Do as directed: (2)
- I like to ask questions of the places I visit. (Choose the correct tense form of the above sentence from the following options and rewrite.)
- Simple past tense
- Simple present tense
- Past perfect tense
- Present perfect tense
- I would come back to my apartment in New York. (Choose the correct option using 'used to' for the given sentence and rewrite.
- I use to come back to my apartment in New York.
- I have used to come back to my apartment in New York.
- I used to come back to my apartment in New York.
- I had used to come back to my apartment in New York.
A6. Find out the words from passage which mean: (2)
- reminiscence
- exhilaration
