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प्रश्न
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%.
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उत्तर
- False - If the statement contradicts the information.
- The government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme provides businesses with a significant chance to increase exports.
- There is a desire to buy branded products in the villages too.
- The Indian FMCG industry grew by 16% in 2021, a 9-year high, despite nationwide lockdowns because it was supported by consumption-led growth and value expansion from higher product prices, particularly for staples.
- Household and Personal care segment
- The combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels in the rural areas has led to the demand for branded products.
- In 2021-22, the government approved the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) with a greater budget to assist Indian food companies in worldwide markets.
- The concluding paragraph of the passage makes a clear case for the Government's role by providing incentives.
- The expansion of the organised sector in FMCG is predicted to accelerate with an increase in brand consciousness, aided by the growth of modern retail.
- The urban segment contributes to about 55% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 45%.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
One of the greatest advances in modern technology has been the invention of computers. They are widely used in industries and in universities. Now there is hardly any sphere of human life where computers have not been pressed into service of man. We are heading fast towards the day when a computer will be as much part of man's daily life as a telephone or a calculator.
Computers are capable of doing extremely complicated work in all branches of learning. They can solve the most complex mathematical problems or put thousands of unrelated facts in order. These machines can be put to varied uses. For instance, they can provide information on the best way to prevent traffic jams. This whole process by which machines can be used to work for us has been called 'automation'. In the future 'automation' may enable human beings to enjoy more leisure than they do today. The coming of automation is bound to have important social consequences.
Some years ago an expert on automation, Sir Leon Bagrit, pointed out that it was a mistake to believe that these machines could 'think'. There is no possibility that human beings will be "controlled by machines". Though computers are capable of learning from their mistakes and improving on their performance, they need detailed instructions from human beings to operate. They can never, as it were, lead independent lives or "rule the world" by making decisions of their own.
Sir Leon said that in future, computers would be developed which would be small enough to carry in the pocket. Ordinary people would then be able to use them to obtain valuable information. Computers could be plugged into a national network and be used like radios. For instance, people going on holiday could be informed about weather conditions. Car drivers can be given alternative routes when there are traffic jams. It will also be possible to make tiny translating machines. This will enable people who do not share a common language to talk to each other without any difficulty or to read foreign publications.
a) What is the greatest advancement in modern technology?
b) What complicated works are computers capable of doing?
c) Write one use of computers.
d) Explain automation.
e) Why can't computers lead independent lives or rule the world?
f) How would computers as translating machines help people?
g) What was the prediction of Sir Leon about computers in the future?
h) How can computers help people going on holiday?
1. Why does a person become overconfident? The reason lies in over assessment of his capabilities. Sometimes people over assess their competence and jump into situations that are beyond their control.
2. Napoleon Bonaparte who became Emperor of France would say that the word 'impossible' was common only amongst fools. The overconfident Napoleon invaded Russia in the winter of 1812. This proved to be a big disaster.
3. Overconfidence generally leads people into misadventures, endangering their chances in life. It is wisely said that any achievement is a result of two factorsone's personal planning and support from the external world. People, take into account only their planning, generally ignoring external factors. As a result they are unable to foresee future developments. Hence, a great risk of failure.
4. Then there is the question: how can one manage overconfidence? The formula is very simple. Before taking a decision discuss the matter with other informed people with an objective mind and when it is proved that you are about to go off the path, accept reality and say without delay, "I was wrong'.
5. Overconfidence is a flaw characterizing people who lack the virtue of modesty. Modesty makes you a realist; you become a person who is cut down to size. People of this kind become very cautious; before taking an action they assess the whole situation. They adopt a realistic approach.
6. Overconfident people live within their own thoughts. They know themselves but they are unaware of others. Living inside their own cell they are unable to make use of the experiences of others. This kind of habit is highly damaging to all concerned
7. There is a saying that the young man sees the rule and the old man sees the exception, with a slight change, I would like to say that the overconfident person sees the rule and the confident person sees the exception. Overconfident people are always at risk. It is said that taking risk is good but it must be well calculated otherwise it becomes very dangerous.
1) Answer the following :(8)
a. Why does a person become overconfident?
b. What does overconfidence generally lead people into?
c. How can one manage overconfidence?
d. What kind of person does 'modesty' make you?
2)Find meanings of the words given below with the help of the options that follow :(4)
a. Misadventure (Para 3)
(i) Mishap (ii) Unlucky (iii) Unhappy (iv) Unpleasant
b. Endangering (Para 3)
(i) Reckless (ii) Imperil (iii) Risky (iv) Threatening
c. Assess (Para 5)
(i) Assemble (ii) Acquire (iii) Evaluate (iv) Accept
d. Objective (Para 4)
(i) Obedient (ii) Servile (iii) Honest (iv) Impartial
Read the following passage:
In India, eating organic food is more of a style statement than due to health worries because the stuff is expensive. But people who can, do indulge in not only organic vegetables but even organic eggs laid by 'happy hens', who are allowed to roam around freely whereas 'unhappy hens' are kept in coops. Then there are companies that have installed music channels in their cowsheds and the milk from those sheds are sold at a marked up price since it has more nutritional value because the animals are happy thanks to lilting 24×7 music. We don't know yet any farmer using music to improve his crop quality, but then you never know : plants are known to respond to music.
Why such pickiness about food ? These days, the huge number of TV shows and articles that we see and read on food provide bread and butter for the specialist. But instead of decoding food, its sources and what has gone into growing it, isn't it much better to enjoy what's on the plate ?
Complete the statements given below by choosing the correct options from those that follow:
(a) According to a Stanford University study, organic food in relation to conventional food is________.
(i) less nutritious
(ii) more nutritious
(iii) very conventional
(iv) as nutritious
(b) The study will not be welcomed by _________.
(i) farmers of conventional food
(ii) makers of pesticides
(iii) all sectors
(iv) exporters of organic food
(c) We can save some hard cash by _________.
(i) buying organic food
(ii) not buying organic food
(iii) going to the shop
(iv) not buying food with pesticides
(d) Music channels are installed in the cowshed because the _________.
(i) cows then give more milk
(ii) milk is sold at a higher price
(iii) milk becomes more pure
(iv) workers becomes happy
(e) In the second paragraph, the author's attitude to the people who eat food sourced from 'happy' animals is that he _________.
(i) is happy with them
(ii) is unhappy with them
(iii) is laughing at them
(iv) wants crops to be grown similarly
(f) One benefit of organic food is that __________.
(i) it is fashionable to eat
(ii) only rich people can afford it
(iii) it is less contaminated with pesticides
(iv) even poor people can afford it
(g) The word 'contaminated' means ________.
(i) adulterated
(ii) for adults
(iii) containing
(iv) not healthy
Read the passage given below :
Kausani is situated at a height of 6,075 feet in the Central Himalayas. It is an unusally attractive little town. It covers just about 5.2 sq. kms. It lies to the north of Almora in Uttarakhand's picturesque kumaon region.
Kausani provides the 300-km wide breathtaking view of the Himalayas. It is the most striking aspect of the place. Snow-capped peaks are spread in a stately row. They stare at you in silvery white majesty. The most famous peak on view is Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India. It is situated at a height of 25.645 feet and 36 miles away as the crow files. The other famous peaks on view are choukhamba (23,420 feet) and Trishul (23,360 feet). Then there are also Nilkanth, Nandaghunti, Nandaghat and Nandakot. On a clear day, the blue of the sky makes a splendid background to these peaks. At sunrise and at sunset, when the colour changes to a golden orange, the scene gets etched in your memory.
When Gandhiji visited this place in 1929, its scenic beauty held him spellbound. He named it the 'Switzerland of Indian'. He prolonged his two-day stay to fourteen days, making time to write a book, 'Anashakti Yoga'. The place where he was staying was originally a guest-house of the tea estate. It was renamed 'Anashakti Ashram' after the book.
Kausani is the birthplace of Sumitranandan Pant, India's poet laureate. Its natural surroundings inspired many of his poems. Its tea gardens mingle with dense pine forests and fruit orchards. The area is also host to many fairs and religious caremonies. If Uttaranchal is the abode of gods, Kausani is God's own backyard. There is no traffic, no one is in a hurry. If serenity could be put on a canvas, the picture would resemble Kausani.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following questions :
(a) Where is Kausani situated ?
(b) What is the most striking aspect of Kausani ?
(c) Which is the most famous peak on view from Kausani ?
(d) How did Kausani influence Sumitranandan Pant ?
(e) When does the view of peaks become so memorable ?
(f) How can we say that Gandhiji was greatly charmed by the natural beauty of Kausani ?
(g) What makes Kausani a calm and quiet place ?
(h) Why, do you think, is Kausani known as 'God' s own backyard' ?
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:
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:
The Jahangir Art Gallery, the State Bank of lndia building and the canteen close by which offered affordable fare, the amazing street fare, bhelpuri and vadapav. The joy of reading Bombay Times with its page 3 people one would never meet but who seemed like old friends. The Strand bookstore where one could browse for hours. And just when a book was longingly but firmly put down from nowhere, Mr Shanbagh would materialise magically at one's elbow with a special price. Not to forget the joys of trawling the booklined pavements at Fountain, where one could watch the world go by. And wherever I chose to go, there was always my friend, the sea, oh. I loved her, in all her moods, but especially in the monsoon when violent and enraged she splattered Worli seaface with walls of sea spray. My friends are lost, some passed away, some moved away, there were many whose names I never found out, though we took the train together, or met in the lift, every day.
Like every migrant, I promise myself, someday I will return. I may, perhaps, return sometime, but even so, I know, "that one cannot step into the same river twice." You seduced me steadily, o Mumbai, with your glamour and bright lights. City of dreams, tinsel town. I pay tribute to you. Today, I say good-bye with a heavy heart.
(1) What does this extract focus on?
(2) Which mood of the sea did the writer like the most?
(3) How would the writer spend her free time?
( 4) According to you, how can you make your locality clean and beautiful?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) She splattered Worli seaface with walls of sea spray.
(Rewrite it using the Simple Present tense.)
(ii) I never found out their names though we took the train together
(Make it a Compound Sentence.)
(iii) I promise myself, someday I will return.
(Rewrite it using the modal auxiliary 'must'.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean -
(i) courageously
(ii) attracted
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
But even in a poverty-free world where every man and woman would earn enough to take care of themselves and their family, there would still be situations of temporary poverty due to a sudden catastrophe or misfortune, a bankruptcy or business downturn leading to failure, or some personal disease or disaster.
A poverty-free world might see a whole group of families, locations, or even regions devastated by some shared disasters, such as floods, tire, cyclones, riots, earthquakes or
other disasters. But such temporary problems could be taken care of by the market mechanism through insurance and other self-paying programmes, assisted of course by social-consciousness-driven enterprises.
There would always remain differences in lifestyle between people at the bottom of society and those at the top income levels. Yet that difference would be the difference between the middle-class and luxury class, just as on trains in Europe today you have only first-class and second-class carriages, whereas in the nineteenth century there were third- class and even fourth-class carriages - sometimes with no windows and just hay strewn on the floor.
Can we really create a poverty-free world? A world without third-class or fourth-class citizens, a world without a hungry, illiterate, barefoot under-class?
(1) What is the extract about?
(2) How will the poverty-free world take care of natural disasters?
(3) According to the writer, what would, 'the world without poverty' be like?
(4) What can we do to help the poor in our society?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) Temporary problems could be taken care of by market mechanisms.
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with 'Market mechanism ........ ')
(ii) In the nineteenth century, there were third-class carriages.
(Form a Wh-question to get the underlined part as an answer.)
(iii) There would still be situations of temporary poverty.
(Rewrite it using 'can'.)
( 6) What do the following words in the extract mean -
(i) devastated
(ii) hay
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
One day, I saw the tree was being cut. I rushed to the site and begged the tree cutters to spare the trunk as it wast the home of many a parrot. But I was laughed at and the tree fell with a great thud. I ran to the top end to see two just hatched chicks thrown out of their nest and smashed to death. I looked into all the nests and saw smashed eggs in two of them and one little chick in the other one. Fortunately, the little one survived the fall. I brought it home. The chick can be identified as a parrot only by the shape and colour of its beak. No feathers had come out. 1 carefully fed it with milk and within two weeks it began to eat bananas; and two months later, it started to fly and I let him fly away. But he would not fly long. He used to liner on the coconut trees in our compound and when I reached home from school, he would fly down and land on my head!
I would show him my finger and he would jump on to it from my head and drink the milk I offered him in a little plate. By putting the sharp end of the upper beak stationaty in the plate, he would drink the milk by moving his tongue and lower beak to and fro. Then he would fly on to my shoulder and eat paddy from mypahn.
(1) What is the extract about? (1)
(2) Describe how did the boy save the life of a chick ? (2)
(3) What was the parrot's daily routine at the author's home? (2)
(4) Do you think, we have deprived the birds of their natural habitats? What are its effects? (2)
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) I rushed to the site. (Rewrite the sentence using 'used to'.) (1)
(ii) The tree was being cut. (Rewrite it beginning with 'They .... .' (1)
(iii) I looked into all the nests and saw smashed eggs in two of them. (Rewrite the sentence using the word 'when'. (1)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean -
(i) neatly (1/2)
(ii) stay for longer (1/2)
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
We commemorate so many special days such as Republic Day, Independence Day, Mother's Day and so on. Well, here is one day that deserves not only a commemoration but our total dedication - Earth Day, 22 April. At Sanctuary, we live our lives like every day is Earth Day, but we all believe that it would be, fantastic to remind our relatives, friends, neighbours, teachers, and elders on this day that protecting Mother Earth can end up making us both happy and safe.
Will you do something this Earth Day? Here's a handy list of things you can do-
(1) Cut Consumption: Consume as little as possible on Earth Day. This 'is a day·when you ca!l Refuse (to buy new things), Repair and Reuse (old stuff), Recycle (what you cannot reuse), Reject (stuff that is toxic or dangerous to the environment) and Renew (your purpose and resolve to protect the planet).
(2) Cut Energy: (a) Ditch the old incandescent bulbs and shift to CFLs or LEDs (Google both to find out more). (b) Walk or use public transport, try not to use private cars to save fuel. Carpool. Cut down on trips. Use Skype· instead of traveling for meetings. (c) Switch off unnecessary gadgets. (don't just use the remote .... walk to the mains!).
(3) Cut Waste: Start a waste segregation system in your building, school or neighbourhood. Compost organic waste, sell what you can to the raddi-wallah and give him a small token of.. appreciation also for he is protecting your world. Collect unused papers from old notebooks and make new ones from them.
(4) Cut out plastic: Speak to at least five shopkeepers in your area and tell them you and your friends will only use their shops if they move away from wasteful plastic packaging, particularly thin plastic bags.
(1) What do you understand from this extract?
(2) What steps can we take to keep our environment clean?
(3) Why should we commemorate Earth Day?
(4) What is your opinion regarding shifting to CFLs or LEDs?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) Earth Day deserves a commemoration and our total dedication.
(Use 'not only - but also'.)
(ii) Start a Waste Segregation System in your building.
(Rewrite it beginning with 'Let'.)
(iii) You can sell waste to the raddi-wallah and give him a
small token of appreciation.
(Replace the modal auxiliary by another showing 'obligation'.)
(6) What do the following words in the extract mean?
(i) resolve
(ii) toxic
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :
Early risers clearly have the edge in life. By the time most of us wake up, they've been through their morning rituals, enjoyed their walk, had their tea and read the daily news. They're also likely to have made long-distance calls before dawn to those similarly inclined. Thus, by the time the sun warms up they're likely to have discussed all varieties of 'men, matters, and affairs' with a dozen people.
The upshot of these varying tendencies is that such extreme contrasts often exist in the same household. Weeks pass before the younger lot (typically late risers) and the older lot (normally early birds) come face to face. It's almost as if they live in different time zones and different countries.
All over the country, things are likely to be pretty much the same in this respect, one would think. If the man of the house, any house, decides to take a day off from work, he'd probably find his son emerging from his room at about I0 a.m. and that too in a 'rubbing-eyes' mode. After fooling around for a while the lad would probably dash off to college in a rush whilst simultaneously zipping up his jeans and sending text messages on his phone. His father would undoubtedly be left shaking his head and burying himself deeper into his newspaper.
(1) What is the extract about?
(2) How do the early risers get a headstart in life?
(3) What kind of lifestyle of the young son is reflected in the extract?
(4) According to you, why do the youngsters rise up late?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) He goes for his morning walk at 1 p.m.
(Rewrite it in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.)
(ii) They live in different time zones.
(Make it a complex sentence.)
(iii) The man decides to take a day off from work.
(Rewrite it using the noun form of the underlined word.)
(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) have a slight advantage over
(ii) coming out
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
So what is a city? It's a dense amalgamation of buildings and people. A city must provide equity and also be sustainable. As an architect who has been closely connected with Delhi and its planning, my wish list is more about the direction we need to take so that future generations don 't end up living in chaotic dysfunctional cities.
The first requirement for a city is a pragmatic plan. Many of our cities such.as Delhi and Bhubaneswar and even Port Blair in the Andamans have reasonably good master plans. Many also have City Development Plans which have been made an essential requirement to draw funds. from the government's Urban Renewal Programme (JNNURM). But they should be updated frequently based on the changing needs of its people.
And let's not forget its citizens - they need to be more pro-actively involved when evolving master plans. But often, there's lack of planning and inadequate implementation systems. This applies to all essential components of a city-streets, public transport system, traffic management, affordable housing, cars and parking, drainage. water supply, sewerage, and garbage. Any deficiency in these will lead to poor quality cities that won't be able to handle the pressure of increased population and changing needs.
The second require1nent of a good city is good social infrastructure such as parks and places for leisure such as rivers and seafronts. It needs to preserve and protect its heritage. We are a nation with a rich diversity in culture, arts, and crafts.
Questions:
(1) What issue is raised in the above extract?
(2) What are the requirements for a good city?
(3) Why is it necessary to update our city development plan?
(4) Do you think unplanned cities make the life of its people
miserable? How?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) A city must provide equity and also be sustainable.
(Rewrite the sentence using 'not only ...... but also'.)
(ii) Many of our cities have good master plans.
(Frame a Wh-question to get the underlined part as its answer.)
(iii) It needs to preserve and protect its heritage.
(Identify the tense used in the sentence.)
(6) Find out from the extract the words which mean:
(i) practical
(ii) blend
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.
Galaxies are vast clusters of thousands of millions of stars, planets, gases and dust, which are held together by gravity. There are over one thousand million galaxies, and each is a very long way from its nearest neighbour.
Galaxies were formed during the Big Bang explosion about 15,000 million years ago. When this phenomenon occurred, everything that was in the universe flew out in different directions. Scientists believe that the galaxies were formed from lumps of matter that resulted. However, the process is nowhere near complete. The universe is still expanding, galaxies are still moving away from each other, new stars are still being created.
Galaxies are classified according to their shapes. There are three main types. The most common type of galaxy is The Spiral. This has several spiral arms radiating out from the center. Spiral galaxies have a large cluster of stars in their nucleus. The second type is the Barred spiral. In this type of galaxy, the spiral arms curve away from the opposite ends of a sort of bar going through the middle of the nucleus. These contain large amounts of gas and dust as well stars. The third type of galaxy is electrical. These consist almost entirely of stars and contain very little gas or dust. Some galaxies have irregular, uneven shapes and cannot be classified.
(A1) State whether the following statements are true or false. 02
(1) The most common type of galaxy is the barred spiral.
(2) Galaxies are clusters, held by gravity.
(3) Scientists do not believe in the Big Bang explosion.
(4) Galaxies are moving from each other.
(A2) Complete the web chart. 02
(A3)
(a) Find out similar words from the passage. 01
(i) mass (ii) happenings
(b) Give the verb form of the given words. 01
(i) classified (ii) directions
(A4) Identify and name the clause. 02
Scientists believe that the galaxies were formed from the lumps of matter.
(A5) Can there be life in another galaxy? Give reasons for your answer. 02
(B) Read the passage given in Q. 4 (A) and write the summary of it. Suggest a suitable title to your summary. (05)
We were an argrarian people. And my main hobby in my early teens was to wander through paddy field to see the different kinds of birds and how they nest. On the outskirts of the paddy fields, there had been many coconut trees and black palm trees. Beautifully crafted nests of the weaver-birds thookkanaam kuruvikal-would be seen dangling from the ends of palm leaves. Hundreds of these little birds would land on the paddy to squeeze the milk from the tender rice. They would come to the fields when the young stalks come out of the rise-plants. At this stage of the paddy, my father would send me to our field with a tin drum to scare these birds away. But often I have enjoyed the sight of these little birds balancing on the tender stalks and squeezing the milk out of the green rice. When the paddy is ripe enough to harvest, flocks of parrots would land there and cut the ripe stalks with their sharp beaks and fly away with the stalks dangling in their beaks. I have always liked to see this sight also.
The nest of parrots were neatly crafted holes in the trunks of palm trees. I continued to wonder how they made chose holes on the hard trunks until I saw the patient work of the woodpeckers. They were the carpenters and their long, sharp and strong beaks, chisels. They make the holes (in search of worms inside the weak spots of the trunks) and the parrots occupy them. If I heard the sound tak, tak, tak. I knew it was a woodpeckers chiselling a had trunk. I would go after him. It seems that the woodpecker is the only bird which can walk perpendicularly on the tree trunks! How beautiful the sight was! Its strong legs, red crest, the dark red stripe on the face and black beak and the tak, tak, tak sound used to captivate me
A1. Complete the following table :Choose two sentence that appropriately mention the theme of the passage :
(i) The extract deals with the techniques to scare the birds away.
(ii) The extract depicts how parrots make holes on the tree trunks.
(iii) The extract depicts the writer’s love towards the birds.
(iv) The extract deals with the activities of different birds.
A2. Complete the flow-chart :
A3. Complete the following table :
A4. Vocabulary -
Match the pairs of the words in column ‘A’ with their meaning in column ‘B’ :
| Column ‘A’ | Column ‘B’ |
| (i) dangling | (a) connected with farming |
| (ii) squeezing | (b) attract the attention |
| (iii) agrarian | (c) hanging freely |
| (iv) captivate | (d) pressing firmly |
A5. Personal response -
Suggest two measures to increase the number of birds.
A6. Grammer -
Rewrite the following sentences in the way instructed
(i) The paddy is ripe enough to harvest
(Remove ‘enough’ and rewrite the sentence.)
(ii) How beautiful the sight was!
(Rewritte as an assertive sentence)
(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 following extract and answer the questions given below:
To read a lot is essential. It is stupid not to venture outside the examination 'set books' or the textbooks you have chosen for intensive study. Read as many books in English as you can., not as a duty but for pleasure. Do not close the most difficult books you find, with the idea of listing and learning as many new words as possible. choose what is likely to interest you and be sure in advance, that it is not too hard. You should not have to be constantly looking up new words in the dictionary, for that deadens interest and checks real learning. Lookup a word here and there, but as a general policy try to push ahead. guessing what words mean from the context. It is extensive and not intensive reading that normally helps you to get interested in extra reading and thereby improve your English. You should enjoy the feeling which extensive reading gives. As you read, you will become more and more familiar with words and sentence patterns you already know, understanding them better and better as you meet them in more and more contexts, some of which may differ only slightly from others.
Some people say that we cannot learn to speak a language better with the help of a book. To believe that the spoken language and written language are quite different things. This is not so.
Questions:
(1) What does the author tell us about the importance of reading English?
(2) What different steps are suggested to improve reading?
(3) What do some people say about learning the spoken form of a language?
(4) What will you do to improve your English?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
i. To read a lot is essential.
(Rewrite using gerund form of the words underlined.)
ii. Some people say that we cannot learn to speak a language better with the help of a book.
(Rewrite it using 'be able to'.)
iii. It is extensive.
(Make it a Rhetorical question.)
(6) You should not have to be constantly looking up new words in the dictionary, for that deadens interest and checks real learning.
The underlined word here means:
(i) develops
(ii) deprives of
(iii) creates
(B) Write a summary of the above extract with the help of the outline given below and suggest a suitable title.
Read a lot --- outside the textbooks --- for pleasure --- avoid difficult books ---read interesting ones --- avoid dictionary --- guess meanings --- extensive and not intensive reading --- different opinions.
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 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 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:
So what is a city? It's a dense amalgamation of buildings and people. A city must provide equity and also be sustainable. As an architect who has been closely connected with Delhi and its planning, my wish list is more about the direction we need to take
so that future generations don't end up living in chaotic dysfunctional cities.
The first requirement for a city is a pragmatic plan. Many of our cities such as Delhi and Bhubaneshwar and even Port Blair in the Andamans have reasonably good master plans. Many also have City Development Plans which have been made an essential
requirement to draw funds from the government's Urban Renewal Programme (JNNURM). But they should be updated frequently based on the changing needs of its people.
And let's not forget its citizens-they need to be more proactively involved when evolving master plans. But often, there's a lack of planning and inadequate implementation systems. This applies to all essential components of city-streets, public transport system, traffic management, affordable housing, cars and parking, drainage, water supply, sewerage, and garbage. Any deficiency in these will lead to poor quality cities which won't be able to handle the pressure of increased population and changing needs.
The second requirement of a good city is good social infrastructure such as parks and places for leisure such as river and sea fronts. It needs to preserve and protect its heritage.
(1) What does a city require to emerge as a good city?
(2) What is the second requirement of a good city?
(3) What are the basic requirements to draw funds from the government's-Urban Renewal programme (JNNURM)?
(4) What suggestions will you give to make your city ideal?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) It's a dense amalgamation of buildings and people.
(Rewrite it using 'as well as'.)
(ii) A city must provide equity and also be sustainable.
(Rewrite it using another modal auxiliary showing "advice".)
(iii) The first requirement for a city is a pragmatic plan.
(Frame a 'Wh' ·question to get the underlined part as an answer.)
(6) Match the words in column 'A' with their meaning in 'B':
| Column A | Column B |
| 1 pragmatic | 1 blend |
| 2 amalgamation | 2 fantastic |
| 3 realistic | |
| 4 ancient |
Read the passage carefully:
|
2.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following questions in 30-40 words each:
- Write one advantage and one disadvantage of allowing every family member to be part of the decision-making process.
- In today’s world, what are parents asking their kids?
- Which two pieces of advice does the writer give to the parents?
- 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:
- The synonym of ‘hurt’ as given in paragraph 2 is ______.
- The word, which means the same as a style or method of cooking in paragraph 4, is:
- cuisine
- gourmet
- gastric
- science
- The antonym of ‘agreeable’ as given in paragraph 5 is ______.
- The antonym of ‘simple’ as given in paragraph 6 is:
- difficult
- complicated
- easy
- tricky
Read of the following passage and answer the questions:
When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes, and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the Consulate-General we found that my friend's mail had arrived but that mine had not.
Questions :
(a) What was 'they'?
(b) Where could the author get 'one'?
(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means 'domesticated.'
(d) What did the author find at the Consulate-General?
Read the passage given below.
Then all the windows of the grey wooden house (Miss Hilton used to live here. She expired last week.), were thrown open, a thing I had never seen before.
At the end of the day a sign was nailed on the mango tree: FOR SALE.
Nobody in the street knew Miss Hilton. While she lived, her front gate was always locked and no one ever saw her leave or saw anybody go in. So even if you wanted to, you couldn't feel sorry and say that you missed Miss Hilton.
When I think of her house I see just two colours. Grey and green. The green of the mango tree, the grey of the house, and the grey of the high iron fence that prevented you from getting at the mangoes.
If your cricket ball fell in Miss Hilton's courtyard you never got it back. It wasn't the mango season when Miss Hilton died. But we got back about ten or twelve of our cricket balls.
The house was sold and we were prepared to dislike the new owners ever before they came. I think we were a little worried. Already we had one resident of the street who kept on complaining about us to our parents. He complained that we played cricket on the pavment; and if we were not playing cricket he complained that we were making too much noise anyway.
One afternoon, when I came back from school Pal, said, "Is a man and a woman. She pretty pretty, but he ugly like hell". I didn't see much. The front gate was open, but the windows were shut again. I heard a dog barking in an angry way.
One thing was settled pretty quickly. Whoever these people were they would never be the sort of people to complain that we were making noise and disturbing their sleep.
A lot of noise came from the house that night. The radio was going at full volume until midnight when the radio station closed down. The dog was barking and the man was shouting. I didn't hear the woman.
On the basis of your understanding the above passage complete the following statements :
(a) Nobody went into Miss Hilton's house because her front __________.
(b) Her house had only two colours, (i) __________ and (ii) __________.
(c) High iron fence did not let the boys get __________.
(d) They never got it back if their __________ fell into her courtyard.
(e) The boys were ready to dislike the __________.
(f) One resident of the street always __________.
(g) New owners of Miss Hilton's house were (i) __________ and (ii) __________.
(h) A man was shouting, a dog was barking, only __________.
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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 following excerpt from a case study.
| Impacts of Festivities on Ecology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Festivals are synonymous with celebration, ceremony and joy. However, festivals bring to the fore the flip side of celebrations – pollution – air, water, soil and noise. This led to the need of assessing the awareness level among people about ecological pollution during festivals. So, a study was conducted by scholars of an esteemed university in India. This study was titled Awareness Towards Impact of Festivals on Ecology. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | There were two main objectives of the study. The first one was to assess the awareness level among people about ecological protection during festivities. Exploring solutions to bring awareness about celebrating festivals without harming ecology was the second objective. The method used to collect data was a simple questionnaire containing 6 questions, shared with 50 respondents across four selected districts of a state in the southern region of India. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 |
The research began by understanding the socio-economic conditions of the respondents before sharing the questionnaire. Once the responses were received, the data collected were tabulated (Table 1), for analysis. Table-1: Awareness level among respondents
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| 20 | The study recommended the imposition of strict rules and regulations as opposed to a total ban on all festive activities which have a drastic impact on our environment. The researchers believed that such measures would help in harnessing some ill-effects that add to the growing pollution and suggested further studies be taken up across the country to assess awareness about ecological degradation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25 | The observations made in the study pointed to the environmental groups and eco-clubs fighting a losing battle due to city traffic issues, disposal of plastics, garbage dumping and all sorts of ecological degradation. The researchers stressed that the need of the hour is increasing awareness among people to reduce environmental pollution which can be facilitated by celebrating all festivals in an eco-friendly manner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
- Why do the researchers call pollution the ‘flip side’ of festivals?
- Comment on the significance of the second objective of the study with reference to lines 7-12.
- Justify the researchers’ recommendation for limiting the drastic impact of festival pollution on the environment with reference to lines 16-21.
- Why do the researchers feel that environmental groups and eco-clubs are fighting a losing battle in the given scenario?
- Even though a larger number of people say ‘no’ to bursting crackers than those who say ‘yes’, festival pollution persists. How does evidence from table 1 support this statement?
- What purpose does the ‘Can’t Say’ column serve in the questionnaire (table 1)?
Read the passage given below.
|
5 |
I saw ‘Jaws’, the popular shark movie, the summer it came out, in 1975 and became paranoid about sharks. Though I kept swimming after Jaws, it was always with the vague fear that a shark’s teeth could tug on my leg at any moment. Never mind that there’d been only two shark bites since 1900 on the Connecticut coast, where I lived. |
| 10 | So, when I got this assignment for the National Geographic magazine, I decided to accept and do what I’d never wanted to do: swim with the sharks. I had to go to a place in the Bahamas known as Tiger Beach and dive with tiger sharks, the species responsible for more recorded attacks on humans than any shark except the great white. It was to be my first dive after getting certified-which meant it would be my first dive anywhere other than a swimming pool or a quarry-and without a diver’s cage. Most people who got wind of this plan thought I was either very brave or very stupid. |
|
15
|
But I just wanted to puncture an illusion. The people who know sharks intimately tend to be the least afraid of them, and no one gets closer to sharks than divers. The divers who run operations at Tiger Beach speak lovingly of the tiger sharks and the way people talk about their children or their pets. In their eyes, these sharks aren’t man-eaters any more than dogs are. |
|
20
25 |
The business of puncturing illusions is never just black and white. My fellow divers had hundreds of dives under their belt and on the two-hour boat ride to the site on the morning of our first dive, they kept saying things like, “Seriously, I really can’t believe this is your first dive.” All this was okay with me until I reached the bottom and immediately had to fend off the first tiger shark, I had ever laid eyes on. However, when I watched the other divers feeding them fish and steering them gently, it became easy to see the sharks in a very benign light. |
| 30 | I think it would be unfair not to mention that tiger sharks are apex predators. They act as a crucial balancing force in ocean ecosystems, constraining the numbers of animals like sea turtles and limiting their behaviour by preventing them from overgrazing the seagrass beds. Furthermore, tiger sharks love warm water, they eat almost anything, have a huge litter and are the hardiest shark species. If the planet and its oceans continue to warm, some species will be winners and others will be losers, and tiger sharks are likely to be winners. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
- Cite a point in evidence, from the text, to suggest that the writer's post-Jaws fear was not justified.
- State any one trait of the writer that is evident from lines 5-10 and provide a reason for your choice.
- People thought the writer was ‘either brave or very stupid’. Why did some people think that he was ‘very stupid’?
- Why does the writer say that people who know sharks intimately tend to be least afraid of them?
- Rewrite the given sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with another one, from lines 10-20.
Some academicians think that reward, as a form of discipline, is a simple right or wrong issue. - What does the use of the phrase ‘benign light’ suggest in the context of the writer’s viewpoint about tiger sharks?
- Select a suitable phrase from lines 15-25 to complete the following sentence appropriately.
I agree the team will find this experience tough, but competing will be easier next time after they get this tournament ______ - Apex predators serve to keep prey numbers in check. How can we say that tiger sharks are apex predators?
- Analyse why having a large litter is one of the features that empower tiger sharks to emerge, winners, if global warming persists.
Read the following passage and complete the activities:
A1. Complete the chart on the life stages of fireflies: (2)
|
Fireflies are beetles and go through several life stages, starting out as an egg, then hatching into larvae. At the juvenile stage, they turn into pupae and then, finally adults. Fireflies spend most of their lives in a larval stage, hidden away. There are 2000 different species of fireflies. But they all go through a long juvenile stage and a short adult life, which is mainly about courtship, mating and reproduction. The juveniles living underground or underwater, are very different though-they're hunters, they eat snails and soft-bodied insects and they have very different habitats. Conserving them is essential for human life as fireflies are a key part of the food web. They are predators of agricultural pests. In turn, they are prey for spiders and other insects. They are completely enmeshed in the web of life. In addition, about 70 years ago, scientists unravelled the mystery of fireflies' light-producing talents. Since then, the bio-chemical reactions that fireflies experience have been used in detecting bacterial contamination in foods, testing drugs against cancer, developing drought-resistant crops. They have been used in space exploration. So fireflies give us beauty and inventions. Fireflies carry oxygen, calcium, magnesium and a natural chemical called luciferin. These react together to produce the photons. This is how the fireflies glow. Firefly tourism is growing across the world. In Maharashtra, for example, a particular species monsoon fireflies, emerge before the rains. They're beautiful and a festival is held in Purushwadi, encouraging firefly tourism. Its wonderful that people around the world go to see fireflies in their natural habitat. We need to be cautious. Too many people can disturb adult and larval habitats. Fireflies need darkness to communicate with each other and we need fireflies because they are harbingers of hope. |
A2. Write two reasons for the conservation of fireflies. (2)
A3. Make antonyms of the following words using prefix: (2)
- different × ______
- experience × ______
- bacterial × ______
- natural × ______
A4. Do as directed: (2)
(i) Too many people can disturb adult and larval habitat.
(Rewrite using 'as well as')
(ii) These react together to produce photons.
(Pick out the infinitive from the given sentence)
A5. Can you think of any other insect that teaches us some values of life? Explain with examples. (2)
Read the passage and write a summary of it in a paragraph. Suggest a suitable title.
|
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. Fill in the blanks.
- ______ is the effect of excessive humour.
- ______ and ______ are the qualities of a humorous person.
|
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?
Based on the careful reading of the passage given below, answer any four out of five questions that follow:
|
Climate change and global warming are the biggest threats of the present time and how the world manages to control pollution will define our future. Rising industrialization, urbanization, deforestation etc., are endangering the natural ecosystem. Since 1880, the earth’s temperature has been rising at a rate of 0.14° F (0.08° C) per decade and the rate of increase has doubled since 1981 at 0.32° F (0.18° C) per decade. The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2015, with 2020 recorded as the second-warmest year as per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With growing economies, global carbon measurements have been rapidly rising for the last 15 years. As per recent data, in January 2022, carbon dioxide (CO2) measurement stood at 418 parts per million, up around 11% from 378 parts per million recorded since 2007. |
(a) What is the key to defining our future?
- The means employed to control pollution.
- The means employed to control resources.
- The means employed to control state policies.
- The means employed to educate masses.
(b) Which of the following elements are not responsible for endangering natural ecosystem?
- Deforestation
- Inflation
- Industrialization
- Urbanization
(c) According to the passage, economy, and carbon emissions have been ______ to each other for last 15 years.
- Inversely proportionate
- Directly proportionate
- Not related
- Disproportionate
(d) Name the institution responsible for observing and recording earth’s temperature over the years.
- National Organic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- North Organic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Offshore and Atmospheric Administration
(e) Carbon dioxide measurement stood at ______ parts per million in 2007.
- 387
- 378
- 481
- 418
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 assaults 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. |
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. |
| 4. |
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. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any eight questions from the nine given below:
- What is challenging for today's parents?
- What will be the consequence of over indulging children?
- Why do parents get caught in the buying blitz?
- How do children learn critical life lessons?
- What is the impact of advertisements on children?
- Why do children need limits on their behaviour?
- How do older children learn self-control?
- Find a word in the passage which means 'research'. (Paragraph 2)
- Find a word in the passage which means 'wealthy'. (Paragraph 3)
Read the following passage and do the given activities:
A1. Match the columns A with B correctly: (2)
| A | B |
| (i) Rocket programming | (a) IIT (Bombay) |
| (ii) Graduation | (b) ISRO |
| (iii) Masters in Engineering | (c) S. T. Hindu College |
| (iv) Ph.D | (d) IISC |
|
The humble son of a farmer from Sarakkalvilai village in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, Dr. K. Sivan as Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman was leading the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon. Sivan studied in a Tamil medium government school. After graduating from S.T. Hindu College in Nagercoil, Sivan completed a Master's in Engineering from IISC in 1982. In 2006, he received Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay. Sivan is the first graduate in his family. His brother and two sisters were unable to complete higher education due to their poverty. "When I was in college, I used to help my father in the field. That was the reason he got me admitted to a college near our house." Sivan told TOI, "Only when I had completed my B.Sc. (Mathematics) with 100% marks his mind changed." Sivan said he had spent his childhood days without a shoe or sandal. I continued wearing a vesti (dhoti) till college. I wore pants for the first time when I entered MIT." He joined ISRO in 1982 and worked on almost all rocket programmes. Before taking charge as an ISRO chairman in January 2018, he was the director, of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) which develops rockets. He is known as ISRO's 'Rocket Man'. |
A2. Answer the following questions in a few words. (One or two words) (2)
- What is Dr. Sivan known as?
- In which subject Dr. Sivan scored 100% marks in B.Sc.?
- When did Dr. Sivan join ISRO?
- In which space centre Dr. Sivan was the director?
A3. Match the word connectors from the passage and use one of the connectors in your own sentence: (2)
| A | B |
| (i) Tamil | (a) School |
| (ii) Government | (b) Medium |
| (c) Centre |
A4. Do as directed: (2)
- Sivan is the first graduate in his family. (Rewrite as a negative sentence)
- His brother and two sister were unable to complete higher education due to their poverty.
(Rewrite the above sentence using 'neither ____nor')
A5. Personal Response: (2)
What inspiration can we draw from Dr. Sivan's success?
Read the following extract and complete the activities given below:
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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 following text.
| (1) | Reduction in green areas has caused various environmental problems. People squeezed between concrete structures are looking for various ways to meet their longing for green. One of the ways to do so, is vertical gardens and green walls. Vertical gardening is a unique method of gardening where plants are grown in a vertical position or upward, rather than in the traditional method of planting them on the ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (2) | The purpose of vertical gardens and green walls, which arises from the studies of different disciplines (landscape architects, architects, engineers, etc.), is to close the cold image of concrete and increase the visual value. In these systems, nature and structures are integrated, and thus, urban areas and the desired environment have become intertwined. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (3) | Vertical garden case studies often show that, though functionality should be in the foreground when vertical gardens are planned, they are generally made as aesthetic elements in the city's underpasses and city squares and decorative elements in residences without seeking functionality. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (4) | Experts support that the visual quality and evaluation of landscape architecture are determined based on the satisfaction of the users. Hence, a survey questionnaire was prepared for residents of varied age groups from of a metropolitan city. The given Table 1, displays these responses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| (5) | The study acknowledged that vertical gardening has the potential to transform urban spaces into green, sustainable areas, and further research should explore the impact of vertical gardening on the environment and human well-being. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.
i. Complete the following analogy appropriately, based on your understanding of paragraphs 1 & 2. (1)
We can say that the situation of people living in concrete structures is comparable with a fish living in a fishbowl, and the need for vertical gardens to the need for decorations in the fishbowl because ______.
ii. Fill the blanks with the appropriate option from those given in brackets, based on your understanding of paragraph 2. (1)
The statement that urban spaces have become more closely connected with the desired natural surroundings through the incorporation of nature and structures in vertical gardens and green walls is a _______ (fact/ opinion) because it is a _______ (subjective judgement/ objective detail).
iii. Justify the following, in about 40 words. (2)
While the survey results suggest that vertical gardens may be effective in improving the quality of life in urban areas, further research and evaluation may be necessary to fully understand their effectiveness and potential drawbacks.
iv. Based on the survey results, which two concerns should a city government, looking to install vertical gardens, address? (1)
v. In Table 1, statement 3, "Vertical gardens increase air quality - indoors and outdoors," received the most neutral responses from participants, with 51 respondents indicating a neutral stance. State any one inference that can be drawn from this. (1)
vi. Select the option that correctly displays what ‘intertwined’ signifies. (Reference-Paragraph 2) (1)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) | (v) |
- (i), (iv) and (v)
- Only (ii)
- Only (iii)
- (ii) and (v)
vii. Infer one benefit and one drawback of vertical gardening in comparison to other solutions, such as community gardens or parks. (Answer in about 40 words) (2)
viii. Which of the following is the main takeaway from the study mentioned in the passage? (1)
- Vertical gardening has minimal impact on the environment or human well-being.
- Vertical gardening is a sustainable practice that can transform urban spaces into green areas.
- The impact of vertical gardening on the environment and human well-being has already been thoroughly explored.
- The study needs to include experts from horticultural firms to offer any recommendations for further research.
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 extract given below:
| (1) | Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. When areas in and around Leh began to experience water shortages, life didn't grind to a halt. Why? Because a retired civil engineer in the Jammu and Kashmir Government came up with the idea of artificial glaciers. |
| (2) | Ladakh, a cold desert at an altitude of 3,000 - 3,500 meters above sea level, has a low average annual rainfall rate of 50 mm. Glaciers have always been the only source of water. Agriculture is completely dependent on glacier melt, unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India. But over the years, with increasing effects of climate change, rainfall and snowfall patterns have been changing, resulting in severe shortage and drought situations. Given the extreme winter conditions, the window for farming is usually limited to one harvest season. |
| (3) | It is located between the natural glacier above and the village below. The one closer to the village and lowest in altitude melts first, providing water during April-May, the crucial sowing season. Further, layers of ice above melt with the increasing temperature, thus ensuring continuous supply to the fields.
Therefore, farmers have been able to manage two crops instead of one. It costs about 1,50,000 and above to create a glacier. |
| (4) |
Fondly called the glacier man, he has designed over 15 artificial glaciers in and around Leh since 1987. In recognition of his pioneering effort, he was conferred the Padma Shri by The President of India. |
| (5) |
There are a few basic steps followed while creating an artificial glacier. River or stream water at high altitude is diverted to a shaded area of the hill, facing north, where the winter sun is blocked by a ridge or a mountain range. At the start of winter ie., in November, the diverted water is made to flow on sloping hills facing distribution channels. Stone embankments are built at regular intervals which impede the flow of water, making shallow pools which freeze, forming a cascade of ice along the slope. Ice formation continues for 3-4 months resulting in a large accumulation of ice which is referred to as an ‘artificial glacier’. |
Based on your understanding of the extract, answer the questions below:
- Infer one reason for, the following, based on information in paragraph 1. (1)
Areas in and around Leh began to experience water shortage but life didn't grind to a halt. - Select from the passage the appropriate option to fill in the blanks: (1)
Agriculture is completely dependent on ______ unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India.- rainfall pattern
- climate change
- glaciers melt
- extreme winter conditions
- Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 3: (1)
Icing : cake :: layers : ______. - Select the correct option to complete the following sentence: (1)
At the start of winter the diverted water is made to flow ______.- on sloping hills facing distribution channels.
- on high altitude.
- on ice-cold water level.
- on mountain range.
- From the chart select the months of water surplus. (1)
- January, February.
- November, December.
- July, August, September.
- March, April
- Fill in the blank by selecting from the passage the correct option: (1)
The ______ have been the only source of water in areas in and around Ladakh.
- glaciers
- rivers
- streams
- water springs
- The word 'located' in paragraph 3 means: (1)
- found
- locally found
- situated
- adapted
- Write any two steps followed while creating the glaciers. (1)
- List one reason why artificial glaciers seem the best option. (1)
- Select the most suitable title from the following for the passage: (1)
- Water Shortage.
- New Ways Pool Water.
- Artificial Glacier.
- River Beds.
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 following text.
| (1) | In recent years, there has been a surge in both group and solo travel among young adults in India. A survey conducted among young adults aged 18-25 aimed to explore the reasons behind their travel preferences and recorded the percentage variation for 10 common points that influence travel choices. |
| (2) | Among those who prefer solo travel, the most common reason cited was the desire for independence and freedom (58%), followed closely by the opportunity for introspection and self-discovery (52%). Additionally, solo travellers appreciated the ability to customize their itinerary to their preferences (44%) and the chance to meet new people on their own terms (36%). |
| (3) | On the other hand, those who prefer group travel often cited the desire for socializing and making new friends (61%) as their primary reason. Group travel also provided a sense of security and safety in unfamiliar places (52%) and allowed for shared experiences and memories with others (48%). Additionally, group travellers enjoyed the convenience of having pre-planned itineraries and organized transportation (38%). |
| (4) | Interestingly, both groups had similar levels of interest in exploring new cultures and trying new experiences (40% for solo travellers, 36% for group travellers). Similarly, both groups valued the opportunity to relax and escape from the stresses of everyday life (36% for solo travellers, 32% for group travellers). |
| (5) | However, there were also some notable differences between the two groups. For example, solo travellers placed a higher priority on budget-friendly travel options (38%) compared to group travellers (24%). Conversely, group travellers were more likely to prioritize luxury and comfort during their travels (28%) compared to solo travellers (12%). |
| (6) | Overall, the survey results suggest that both group and solo travel have their own unique advantages and appeal to different individuals, based on their preferences and priorities. |
Answer the following questions, based on given passage.
- Infer two possible ways that the survey, mentioned in paragraph (1) could be beneficial. Answer in about 40 words. (2)
- Which travel choice point of the survey would influence tour operators to incorporate group dinners, social events, and shared accommodations in their itinerary? (1)
- Freedom to customise itinerary
- Luxury and comfort
- Security and safety
- Desire for making new friends
- What do the top choices in the survey, for travelling solo and in a group suggest about young adults? (1)
- Identify the solo traveller from the following three travellers: (1)
- Reshma- I don’t want to keep hunting for rickshaws or taxis. A pre-booked vehicle is perfect.
- Nawaz-I’m happy sharing a room in a hostel. I don’t need hotel accommodation.
- Deepak-I’m not worried about my well-being, even while exploring remote areas.
- Which of the following is an example of an opportunity for self-discovery, as mentioned in paragraph 2? (1)
- Trying new cuisine
- Hiring a tour guide
- Purchasing local artifacts
- Advance booking travel tickets
- How might the differences in budget priorities between solo and group travellers impact the types of accommodations and activities offered by the travel industry in India? (2)
- Complete the sentence appropriately. The similarities in the percentage of both solo and group travellers who are interested in exploring new cultures and trying new experiences may be due to ______. (1)
- State TRUE or FALSE. (1)
The title, "Wanderlust: The Solo Travel Trend Among Young Adults in India", is appropriate for this passage.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
| 1. | The man with the white face entered the carriage at Rugby. He moved slowly in spite of the urgency of his porter, and even while he was still on the platform I noted how ill he seemed. He dropped into the corner over against me with a sigh, made an incomplete attempt to arrange his travelling shawl and became motionless, with his eyes staring vacantly. Presently he was moved by a sense of my observation, looked up at me, and put out a spiritless hand for his newspaper. Then he glanced again in my direction. I feigned to read. I feared I had unwittingly embarrassed him, and in a moment I was surprised to find him speaking. |
| 2. | "I beg your pardon?" said I. "That book," he repeated, pointing a lean finger, "is about dreams." "Obviously," I answered, for it was Fortnum Roscoe's Dream States, and the title was on the cover. He hung silent for a space as if he sought words. "Yes," he said at last, "but they tell you nothing." I did not catch his meaning for a second. "They don't know," he added. I looked a little more attentively at his face. "There are dreams," he said, "and dreams." That sort of proposition I never dispute. "I suppose--" he hesitated. "Do you ever dream? I mean vividly." "I dream very little," I answered. "I doubt if I have three vivid dreams in a year." "Ah!" he said and seemed for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Your dreams don't mix with your memories?" he asked abruptly. "You don't find yourself in doubt; did this happen or did it not?" "Hardly ever. Except just for a momentary hesitation now and then. I suppose few people do." "Does he say--?" He indicated the book. "Says it happens at times and gives the usual explanation about intensity of impression and the like to account for its not happening as a rule. I suppose you know something of these theories--" "Very little--except that they are wrong." |
| 3. | His emaciated hand played with the strap of the window for a time. I prepared to resume reading, and that seemed to precipitate his next remark. He leant forward almost as though he would touch me. "Isn't there something called consecutive dreaming--that goes on night after night?" "I believe there is. There are cases given in most books on mental trouble." "Mental trouble! Yes. I daresay there are. It's the right place for them. But what I mean--" He looked at his bony knuckles. "Is that sort of thing always dreaming? Is it dreaming? Or is it something else? Mightn't it be something else?" |
| 4. | I should have snubbed his persistent conversation but for the drawn anxiety of his face. I remember now the look of his faded eyes and the lids red stained--perhaps you know that look. "I'm not just arguing about a matter of opinion," he said. "The thing's killing me." "Dreams?" "If you call them dreams. Night after night. Vivid!—so vivid . . . this--" (he indicated the landscape that went streaming by the window) "seems unreal in comparison! I can scarcely remember who I am, what business I am on . . . ."He paused. "Even now--" "The dream is always the same--do you mean?" I asked. "It's over." "You mean?" "I died." "Died?" |
| 5. | "Smashed and killed, and now, so much of me as that dream was, is dead. Dead forever. I dreamt I was another man, you know, living in a different part of the world and in a different time. I dreamt that night after night. Night after night I woke into that other life. Fresh scenes and fresh happenings--until I came upon the last--" "When you died?" "When I died." "And since then--" "No," he said. "Thank God! That was the end of the dream.. . " |
| 6. | It was clear I was in for this dream. And after all, I had an hour before me, the light was fading fast, and Fortnum Roscoe has a dreary way with him. "Living in a different time," I said: "do you mean in some different age?" "Yes." "Past?" "No, to come--to come." "The year three thousand, for example?" "I don't know what year it was. I did when I was asleep, when I was dreaming, that is, but not now--not now that I am awake. There's a lot of things I have forgotten since I woke out of these dreams, though I knew them at the time when I was--I suppose it was dreaming. They called the year differently from our way of calling the year . . . What did they call it?" He put his hand to his forehead. "No," said he, "I forget." He sat smiling weakly. For a moment I feared he did not mean to tell me his dream. As a rule, I hate people who tell their dreams, but this struck me differently. I proffered assistance even. "It began--" I suggested. |
| 7. | "It was vivid from the first. I seemed to wake up in it suddenly. And it's curious that in these dreams I am speaking of I never remembered this life I am living now. It seemed as if the dream life was enough while it lasted. Perhaps--But I will tell you how I find myself when I do my best to recall it all. I don't remember anything clearly until I found myself sitting in a sort of loggia looking out over the sea. I had been dozing, and suddenly I woke up--fresh and vivid--not a bit dreamlike—because the girl had stopped fanning me." |
On the basis of your reading of the above excerpt, choose the correct option to answer the following questions:
- How did the man with the white face behave as he entered the carriage? (1)
- Excited and enthusiastic
- Scared
- Excited and nervous
- showed no enthusiasm
- What was the name of the book which the narrator was reading? (1)
- Fortnum Roscoe's Dream States
- Dream States
- Dreams of the States
- State of the Dream
- What was the man’s opinion about the theory of dreams given in the narrator’s book? (1)
- He felt that it was all correct.
- He felt the book painted a wrong picture.
- He felt that the book explained nothing.
- He felt that the book was confusing.
- Statement 1: The narrator couldn’t snub the man’s conversation.
Statement 2: The man with the white face looked anxious. (1)
- Both 1 & 2 are correct and 2 is the reason for 1.
- Both 1 & 2 are correct and 2 is not the reason for 1.
- 1 is correct and 2 is incorrect.
- Both 1 & 2 are incorrect.
- What is NOT the reason for narrator being interested in listening to the man’s description of his last dream? (1)
- The man’s dream was about an alien.
- It was getting dark.
- The narrator had still an hour’s journey left.
- His book was getting boring.
- What did the man NOT say about the last dream which he had? (1)
- It was a dream which wasn’t clear.
- He was sitting in the loggia.
- His last dream was very clear.
- He would wake up in these dreams suddenly.
- Which of the following is NOT true for the Man with the white face? (1)
- He moved around slowly.
- He looked sickly.
- He didn’t want to talk about his dream.
- He didn’t believe in theories of Fortnum Roscoe's Dream States.
- "I dream very little," I answered. "I doubt if I have three vivid dreams in a year. This line highlights that the narrator did not – (1)
- Have normal dreams.
- Good sleep pattern.
- Give much importance to the science behind dreams.
- like talking to the man with the white face.
- How does the use of vivid and descriptive language in the passage enhance the reader's understanding of the man's experience? (1)
- Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
It is fair to say that the man's experience of consecutive dreaming is similar with being lost in a maze because ______. - Choose the right answer which explains the phrase: (1)
He hung silent for a space as if he sought words.
- he was at a loss of words.
- he was indecisive.
- he was left hanging because of his indecisiveness.
- he stayed silent for some time as if he searched for words.
- State whether the following opinion is TRUE or FALSE. (1)
The author implies that memory and consciousness are not objective, but rather are shaped by our subjective experiences and perceptions. - What does the man with the white face, most likely mean by "there are dreams, and dreams"? (Reference - paragraph 2) (1)
- What do the man's "vacant" stare and "spiritless" hand suggest about his condition? (1)
- In paragraph 2, the narrator says, “I did not catch his meaning for a second.”
Which of the following expressions correctly display the usage of “catch”? (1)- catch a glimpse
- catch a hunger
- catch an anger
- catch a skill
Read the passage given below.
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Most cities, may not be prohibit hawking as a profession, but do place restrictions on the use of urban space. Therefore, a comprehensive study was conducted in 1998-99 on street vending, to provide concrete data for furthering the cause of the hawkers. Eight cities were selected - Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Imphal, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Bangalore. Three points were important while selecting respondents –hawkers were from different parts of a city; sold a variety of goods and adequate numbers of women were covered. The questionnaire was included questions on personal details, details regarding the work and the hazards faced. Table: Results of the survey
It is fair to say that hawkers cannot be removed, because apart from their own livelihood, their services benefit the common urban dweller. |
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the given questions.
- Fill in the blank by selecting the appropriate option. 1
The study aims to ______ the practice of street vending in urban spaces.
- support
- discourage
- understand
- prove
- Jagan goes door to door with his basket of goods to sell bananas in the city. What action from his end would lead to a prohibition on hawking? 1
- State TRUE or FALSE. 1
The following question could have been a part of the study survey.
What are the challenges presented by the security guards? - Complete the sentence appropriately. 1
The most preferred form of source of capital, according to the survey table, exposes the hawkers to exploitation because ______. - State a point in support for the given opinion: 1
Street vending must be legalised as a profession.
Read the following report and answer the questions by choosing the correct/most appropriate option:
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| (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 following extract and Complete the activities given below:
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Love is a great force in Private life; it is indeed the greatest of all things, but love in public affairs does not work. It has been tried again and again; by the people of the Middle Ages, and also by the French Revolution, a secular movement which reasserted the Brotherhood of Man, And it has always failed. The idea that nations should love one another, or that business concerns or marketing boards should love one another or that a man in Portugal should love a man in Peru of whom he has never heard — it is absurd, unreal, dangerous. ‘Love is what is needed,” we chant, and then sit back and the world goes on as before. The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something much less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance. Tolerance is a very dull virtue. It is boring. It is negative. It merely means putting up with people, being able to stand things. No one has ever written an ode to tolerance or raised a statute to her. Yet this is the quality which will be most needed after the war. This is the sound state of mind which we are looking for. This is the only force which will enable different races and classes and interests to settle down together to the work of reconstruction. The world is very full of people— appallingly full; it has never been so full before and they are all tumbling over each other. Most of these people one doesn’t know, and some of them doesn't like. Well, what is one to do? If you don't like people, put up with them as well as you can. Don't try to love them; you can't. But try to tolerate them. On the basis of that tolerance, a civilized future may be built. Certainly, I can see no other foundation for the post-war world. |
A1. Choose two correct alternatives which define the theme of the extract: (2)
- Love is a greater force in private as well as in public affairs.
- To rebuild civilization we need tolerance more than love.
- Patience is the solution in any sort of confrontation.
- When you do not like people, nations or civilizations, you need to love them to change them.
A2. Complete the following table with the help of the extract: (2)
Give one merit and one demerit of ‘Love’ and ‘Patience.’
| Love | (i) ______ |
| (ii) ______ | |
| Patience | (i) ______ |
| (ii) ______ |
A3. Write how we can build up a civilized society; with the help of the extract: (2)
A4. ‘Love and tolerance are the true indicators of a civilized person.’ Justify. (2)
A5. Do as directed: (2)
- It has been tried again and again.
(Identify the Active Voice of the above sentence from the given options and rewrite.)
- They had tried it again and again.
- They has tried it again and again.
- They tried it again and again.
- They have tried it again and again.
- It is the sound state of mind which we are looking for.
(Identify the correct simple sentence from the given options and rewrite.)- It is the sound state of mind and we are looking for it.
- We are looking for the sound state of mind.
- We are looking for it but it is the sound state of mind.
- The sound state of mind is looked for.
A6. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’. (2)
| Column ‘A’ | Column ‘B’ |
| (i) Secular | (a) feeling of great friendship and understanding between people. |
| (ii) Absurd | (b) a society which has its own highly developed culture and ways of life. |
| (iii) Civilization | (c) not connected with any religion. |
| (iv) Brotherhood | (d) not at all logical or sensible. |
Read the following passage carefully:
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(1) Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. Plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage collection systems are often inefficient or nonexistent. But the developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, also has trouble properly collecting discarded plastics. Plastic trash has become so ubiquitous that it has prompted efforts to write a global treaty negotiated by the United Nations. (2) Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II. It transformed the modern age so much that life without plastics is unrecognizable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets-saving fuel and pollution- and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water. (3) The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture that reveals the material’s dark side: today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years. (4) Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from land. Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world. (5) Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Nearly every species of seabirds eats plastics. Most of the deaths of animals are caused by entanglement or starvation. Seals, whales, turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. (6) The solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and seas in the first place, many scientists and conservationists – including the National Geographic Society – say. This could be accomplished with improved waste management systems and recycling, better product design that takes into account the short life of disposable packaging, and reduction in manufacturing of unnecessary single-use plastics. |
Answer the following questions, based on the above passage:
- Which of the following statements best describes the reason why plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues?
- Plastic trash collection systems have become inefficient or nonexistent.
- Rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them.
- Some plastics have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
- The developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, has trouble properly collecting plastics.
- What is the tone of the writer in the given lines from paragraph 2? Rationalise your response in about 40 words.
‘It transformed the modern age so much that life without plastics is unrecognizable today.' - The passage includes some words that are opposites of each other. From the sets (A) – (E) below, identify two sets of synonyms.
- garbage and trash
- starvation and strangled
- disposable and reductio
- persist and downstream
- transformed and revolutionized
- Complete the sentence appropriately:
The writer says that most of the plastic trash is found in the Earth’s last sink and the reason it is transported around the world is _______. - Based on the reading of the passage, examine, in about 40 words, the downside of the convenience that plastic offers.
- Complete the sentence appropriately:
According to conservationists, the two ways in which most of the deaths of animals are caused are _______. - Based on the passage, how can we contribute to the reduction of plastic waste?
- by internationalising the waste management system
- by minimizing the use of single-use plastics
- by not abandoning fishing gear
- by not using helmets made of plastic
- State one reason why plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations.
Read the following passage carefully:
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(1) Rotation of crops is a universal phenomenon which is practised by most of the farmers of the tropical and temperate countries. The main objective of rotation of crops is to obtain higher agricultural returns on the one hand, and to maintain the soil fertility on the other. (2) In other words, the rotation of crops helps in making agriculture more sustainable. The importance of crop rotation is more in the areas where farmers grow two, or more than two crops in the same field in a year. Irrigation facilities have also been appreciably developed in the country during the last three decades. The availability of water to the arable land has helped in the intensification of agriculture. (3) In the areas such as Punjab and Haryana, where the Green Revolution is a big success, one soil exhaustive crop (rice) is followed by another soil exhaustive crop (wheat). Subsequently, the field vacated by wheat is devoted to either rice or maize or cotton. Thus, in one year, the farmers are harvesting three soil exhaustive crops from the same field. Such a rotation of crops may fetch more income to the farmers, but depletes the soil fertility at a faster pace. (4) A number of field studies were conducted to assess the traditional crop rotation pattern. One such field study about the changes in the rotation of crops was conducted in the village Banhera (Tanda), Haridwar district. The main rotation of crops of the village is shown in the table below. |
| Traditional Rotation of Crops (1960-65) in Banhera (Tanda) | ||||
| Year | Kharif (mid-June to mid-October) | Rabi (mid-October mid-April) | Zaid (April to June) | No. of days land left fallow |
| 1960 | Millet/fodder/rice | Gram | Fallow | 90 |
| 1961 | Fallow | Wheat | Fallow | 210 |
| 1962 | Millet/fodder/rice | Gram | Fallow | 90 |
| 1963 | Fallow | Wheat | Fallow | 210 |
| 1964 | Millet mixed with urad/fodder/rice | Gram | Fallow | 90 |
| 1965 | Fallow | Wheat | Fallow | 210 |
Answer the following questions, based on the above passage:
- Fill in the blanks with the appropriate option from those given in brackets, based on your understanding of para 2.
One of the reasons that there has been an intensification of agriculture in the country is the development of irrigation facilities is a/an ______ (fact/opinion) because it is a/an ______ (subjective judgement/objective detail). - Based on your understanding of paras 1 and 2, state whether the following statement is true or false.
If proper irrigation facility is provided, higher agricultural returns can be obtained by making crop rotation more sustainable. - Justify the following in about 40 words.
Crop rotation may fetch more income to the farmers, but depletes the soil fertility at a faster pace. - Based on the table, mention the years when the land was left fallow for maximum number of days.
- The study conducted in village Banhera (Tanda) reflects that during the years 1960 to 1965, from April to June, the land was left fallow or uncultivated throughout. State any one inference that can be drawn from this.
- Select the option that correctly states the significance of crop rotation as given below:
- Crop rotation is done to obtain higher agricultural returns.
- Higher agricultural returns can be obtained by harvesting soil-exhaustive crops.
- Crop rotation demands that land should be left fallow for a few months to increase the fertility of soil.
- Better irrigation facility to the arable land has helped in the intensification of agriculture.
- If crops to be harvested are chosen wisely, crop rotation can help in maintaining fertility of soil.
- (1), (2) and (4)
- (1) only
- (3) and (5)
- (1) and (5)
- Crop rotation is helping in making agriculture more sustainable. Mention one benefit and one drawback of crop rotation. (Answer in about 40 words)
- Which of the following is the main takeaway from the study mentioned in the passage?
- The study needs to include more valid data to support the practice of crop rotation
- Crop rotation is a sustainable practice that can transform the agricultural sector.
- The impact of crop rotation on farmer’s upliftment has been thoroughly explained.
- Crop rotation is independent of the type of crops harvested and availability of water for irrigation.
