Reading Skill (Textual)

A1. Order
Arrange the following sentences in the chronological order as they appear in the passage:
(i) On celebrations, parents can invest Rs. 200 and plant a sapling of a tree representing the child’s birth star.
(ii) He wants to create Brihat Panchvati.
(iii) He has been able to increase the areas of the Pavitra VanaVana.
(iv) Plans are afoot to create a Saptaswara forest.

Today, Reddy is one of the most well - known environment specialists in India. With his influence, he has been able to increase the areas of the Pavitra Vana and has plans to bring about awareness of Puranic trees and flowers for the knowledge of the Indian citizen.
He wants to create near the Pavitra Vana, a Brihat Panchavati so that parents can show their children the forest where Shakuntala lived or Sita spent her final days. There will also be a hillock where people can meditate. Plans are also afoot create a Saptaswara forest, pertaining to different ragas in music. Scientists have found that certain plants react in a particular way to different ragas. So in such a forest, when a musician performs certain ragas, the plants will reach in such a manner that it will benefit the audience, the musician and the whole environment. The other idea is an ecopark for children. On celebrations, like birthdays, parents can invest Rs. 200 and plant a sapling of a tree representing the child's birth star. The plant will also carry the child's name. The Pavitra Vana also houses a garden of Prophet Mohammed, which has some plants mentioned in the Holy Quran. There is the date plant - sacred to Islam - and the Mimosops elengi, the latter a highly fragrant variety. There is also the garden of Eden for housing plants sacred to Christianity, but the Pavitra Vana authorities have to procure most of them in the new sections.

A2. Find specialities
Write down the specialities of the following:
(i) Brihat Panchavati: ........................ ..... . .
(ii) Saptaswara Forest: ..................... ..... .............. . .
(iii) Eco-park: ..................................... . .
(iv) A garden of Prophet Mohammed:

A3. Antonyms Find antonyms for the following words from the passage:
(i) same
(ii) decrease
(iii) destroy
(iv) lost

A4. Language study
(i) He wants to create near the Pavitra Vana, a Brihat Panchavati. [Pick out an infinitive from the given line and use it in your own sentence]
(ii) Reddy is one of the most well-known environment specialists in India. [Begin with: Very few ………]

A5. Personal Response
Do you think one person alone can create an awareness towards environment conservation ? Support, your answer with appropriate reasons.

A1. True or False
State whether the following statements are true or false: 
(1) The author's new house was situated at Bangalore.
(2) The writer was delighted because their new house, was the biggest they ever lived.

One of the advantages of growing up in an Army household was the frequency with which we moved. 'Postings' came with predictable regularity every three years. What was unpredictable and therefore exciting was the suspense. Where would we go this time? Ambala, Pune, Dehradun, Allahabad, Tejpur, Bangalore, Yo! ............ In my short span of thirteen years we had moved lock. stock and barrel eleven times!
Every move meant change. New journeys, new places, new schools, my new books, new uniforms, new friends and new houses. We lived in tents, bashas, Nissen huts, flats and bungalows. No matter what the shape and size of the dwelling, mother soon put her own special stamp on it and transformed it into a familiar place - our home - complete with bright yellow-curtains, coffee-brown carpet, assorted pictures, hanging ferns and potted palms - providing a comforting sense of continuity in our essentially nomadic life.
I was thirteen, the year we moved to the Cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city's commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the Cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called MacPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted Mother.

A2. Complete 
a. The broad tree-lined roads were named after.............................
b. Katra and Chowk are .............................
c. Mother was daunted with the task of................................. .
d. The suspense was exciting because the posting was.........................

A3. Personal response
What do you think are the problems faced by those who change households frequently.

A1. (i) Two activities that mother was free to do:
(a)...........................................
(b)............................................
(ii)Two activities that children avoided doing because of television:
(a) .....................................
(b) ...................................

Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash thedishes in the sink
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
It rots the sense in the head!
It kills imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
It makes a child so dull and blind
He can no longer understand
A fantasy, a fairyland!
His brain becomes as soft as cheese!
His power of thinking rust and freeze!
He cannot think - He only sees!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall-we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?'
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?

A2. According to the poem, why is excessive watching of TV harmful?

A3. His brain became as soft as cheese. The figure of speech is ..........because............

B1. Find reasons
(i) The effect of receding forest …………………………………. .
(ii) The number of animals is reduced because ………………………. .
(iii) Elephants entered the city because…………………… .
(iv) Elephants lived a wary life …………………….. .

On the left bank of the Ganga, where it emerges from the Himalayan foothills, there is a long stretch of heavy forest. There are villages on the fringe of the forest, inhabited by bamboo cutters and farmers, but there are few signs of commerce or pilgrimage. Hunters, however, have found the area an ideal hunting ground during the last seventy years, and as a result, the animals are not as numerous as they used to be. The trees, too, have been disappearing slowly; and, as the forest recedes, the animals lose their food and shelter and move further on into the foothills. Slowly, they are being denied the right to live
Only the elephants can cross the river. And two years ago, when a large area of the forest was cleared to make way for a refugee resettlement camp, a herd of elephants - finding their favourite food, the green shoots of the bamboo, in short supply - waded across the river. They crashed through the suburbs of Haridwar, knocked down a factory wall, pulled down several tin roofs, held up a train, and left a trail of devastation in their wake until they found a new home in a new forest which was still untouched. Here, they settled down to a new life but an unsettled, wary life. They did not know when men would appear again, with tractors,bulldozers and dynamite.

B2. Find out
Mention four things the elephants did when they found shortage of food:
(i)………………
(ii)………
(iii) …………
(iv) ………….

B3.Phrases
Make meaningful sentences by selecting any two of the following phrases:
(i) to make way for
(ii) in short
(iii) on the fringe of.

B4. Language study
Select the proper alternative to make the correct voice:
(i) Hunters have found an ideal hunting ground.
-An ideal hunting ground ........found by hunters. (had been, has been, was)
(ii) They are being denied the right to live.
- The people ........them the right to live. (are denying, were denying, denying)

B5.Personal response
What would be your contribution to protect the natural habitat of animals?

B1. Select
Fill in the blanks choosing the correct alternatives from those given in the bracket:
(i) The author was inspired and motivated to read ............................................ by the time she was eleven.
[Shakespeare, Chaucer, G.B. Shaw]

(ii) Every lesson .......................... ......... took was spiced with half a dozen or more anecdotes.
[Mrs. Rowlands, Sister Monica, Mr. A.N. Patil]

(iii) The teachers helped the narrator to become ..................................... . .
[confident, happy, independent]

(iv) Mrs. Cynthia Nesamani and Sister Monica gave .......................................... to the narrator.
[freedom to do what he wanted, advice to do something, instructions to produce better results]

In a way, one of the greatest gifts any teacher can give a student, I think, is to inculcate a curiosity to learn.
I've been incredibly lucky to have at least one such teacher at every stage in my life. The first was Mrs. Rowlands who taught me in primary school. She taught me to read without ever pushing me. She made me want to read more by giving 'me some of the most interesting children's books available. And although I still love to go back to those books from time to time, it was only because of her that I was able to read Shakespeare by the time I was ten, and Chaucer a year later.
In later years, it was Mr. A.N. Patil, my Marathi and Hindi Teacher who made a huge impression on me. Every lesson he took, was spiced with half a dozen or more anecdotes from a wide variety of subjects: among them history, politics, religion and sociology. I was, and still am in awe of his knowledge, which despite rather desperate attempts, I doubt I'll ever be able to match.
There have also been other teachers who helped me to try to become independent: to think and act for myself using my own judgement, which to my mind has been just as, if not more important, than actually learning anything.
After all, it's much too easy to become a completely useless repository of facts and little else.
Two teachers whom I remember in particular are Mrs. Cynthia Nesamani and Sister Monica, both taught me in school. The former, by and large, gave me a free rein to do what I wanted to do. I, being one of those people who dislike instructions, she helped me to produce much better results than I'd have otherwise done.

B2.Complete
Read the extract and complete the following:
The teacher can
(i) .............
(ii) ..............
(iii )..............
(iv).................

B3. Similar word
Look at the following sentences arid pick the word having similar meaning to the given word and rewrite:
(i) Spiced His conversation is always with a lot of humour. (made interesting, garnished, flavoured)
(ii) Repository
The library should not merely be a ................ of books. (store-house, reservoir, tank)
(iii) Inculcate
It is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to .......values in the child's formative years. (imbibe, give, show)
(iv) Incredibly
I have been .. lucky to have at least one such teacher at every stage in my life. (importantly, unbelievably, beautifully)

B4. Language study
(i) There have also been other teachers. They have helped me to try to become
independent. (Combine using 'who')
(ii) It was only because of her that I was able-to read Shakespeare.
(Rewrite beginning with: If it was not for her, ). 

B.5 Out motivators
Look at the following table and complete it by presenting your own views

Life is a gift to be used every day,
Not to be smothered and hidden away,
It isn’t a thing to be stored in the chest
Where you gather your keepsakes and treasure your best;
It isn’t a joy to be sipped now and then
And promptly put back in a dark place again

Life is a gift that the humblest may boast of
And one that the humblest may well make the most of
Get out and live it each hour of the day,
Wear it and use it as much as you may,
Don’t keep it in niches and corners and grooves,
You’ll find that in service its beauty improves.

(1) What do we treasure in a chest?
(2) How does the poet went us to use the gift of life?
(3) Do you agree that life should be measured un deeds and not in years? Why?
(4) Which words in the poem mean the following :
     (a) Kept from developing
     (b) Hollow places in a wall
(5) Life is a gift to be used every day. [Name and explain the figure of speech]

A1. True or False
State whether the following statements are true or false:
(i) A new research suggests that eating healthy food and getting proper sleep helps children to succeed in school.
(ii) Kids in the age group of 6-12 years should get an average sleep of little less than 7 hours.
(iii) Kids should start their day with yogurt, fruits and veggies.
(iv) Children should have consistent sleeping habit.

A new research suggests that eating healthy food and getting proper sleep can help children succeed in school. According to research, when kids go to school without eating breakfast, their cognitive function can be affected.
According to study, kids should start the day with fruits, proteins and whole grains and they should avoid sugary cereals because they cause a sugar high. If the kids do need to eat something prior to dinner, parents should offer healthy choices like yogurt, fruits and veggies or baked chips. Children have also been advised to drink water instead of soda as-it lacks nutritional value. Moreover, research suggests that children need a good night's sleep for theiroverall school performance. It is said that. lack of sleep can lead to problems with attention and memory in the classroom, affect impulse control and mood regulation lead to.
anxiety and even depression.
While kids aged 6-12 years should get nine hours sleep nightly, adolescents from the age of 13 to 18 years should get an average sleep of little more than seven hours per night. However, the research suggests that catching up on lost sleep on the weekend can make matters worse and recommended a consistent bedtime seven days a week.

A2. Find
Fill in the blocks with the following given in the passage:

(i) Two things to be avoided by children:

(ii) Lack of sleep due to mood regulation leads to:

A3. Select
Select the correct word from the brackets and complete the statements given below:
(anxiety, consistent, impulse, attention)
(i) Last minutes study causes......... to the students.
(ii) Stress affects the.............. for a quick action.
(iii) Saina has shown ........... improvement in her performance.
(iv) Students should pay ..............in class.

A4. Language study
(i) Pick out anyone sentence from the passage where a modal auxiliary indicating advice is used.
(ii) Pick out the correct conjunctions from the given sentences: 
(a) Kids should avoid sugary cereals because they cause a sugar high.
(b) It is said that lack of sleep can lead to problems.

A5. Personal response
We should eat healthy food. Explain..

India, my India, where the first human eyes awoke to heavenly light! All Asia’s holy place of pilgrimage, great Motherland of might! World – mother, first giver to humankind of philosophy and sacred lore, knowledge thou gav’st to an, God – love, works, art, religion’s opened door.
O even with all that grandeur dwarfed or turned and can vaunt thy mighty name?
Before us still there floats the idea of those splendid days of gold; a new world in our vision wakes, Love’s India we shall rise to mould. India, my India, who dare call thee a thing for pity’s grace today? Mother of wisdom, worship, works nurse of the spirit inward ray!

(1) The poem is a ……………………
    (a) Praise
    (b) Prayer
    (c) Story in the form of poem
    (d) Song of condolence [Choose the correct alternative]
(2) What has India given to the world?
(3) How does the poet visualize New India?
(4) Give the rhyme scheme of the first four lines.
(5) Name and explain the figure of speech that dominates the poem.