मराठी
महाराष्ट्र राज्य शिक्षण मंडळएचएससी वाणिज्य (इंग्रजी माध्यम) इयत्ता १२ वी

“May I Come In?” Asked the Pink Lady. “Please Come In,” Said My Mother. “Do Sit Down. Do You Require a Room?”

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प्रश्न

(B) Read the extract and do the activities that follows :

“May I come in?” asked the pink lady.
“Please come in,” said my mother. “Do sit down. Do you require a room?”
“Not today, thank you. I’m staying with Padre Dutt. He insisted on putting me up. But I may want a room
for a day or two – just for old times’ sake.”
“You’ve stayed here before.”
“A long time ago. I’m Mrs. Green, you know. The missing Mrs. Green. The one for whom you put up that handsome tombstone in the cementery. I was very touched by it. And I’m glad you didn’t add ‘Beloved wife of Henry Green’, because I didn’t love him any more than he loved me.”
“Then – then – you aren’t the skeleton?” Stammered my mother.
“Do I look like a skaleton?”
“No!”, we said together.
“But we heard you disappeared,” I said, “and when we found that skeleton —”
“You put two and two together.”
“Well, it was Miss Kellner who convinced us,” said my mother. “And you did disappear mysteriously. You
were missing for years. And everyone knew Mr. Green was a philander.”
“Couldn’t wait to get away from him,” said the pink lady. “Couldn’t stand him any more. He was a ladykiller
but not a real killer.”
“But your father came looking for you. Didn’t you get in touch with him?”
“ My father and I were never very close. Mother died when I was very young, and the only relative I had
was a cousin in West Africa. So that’s where I went – Sierra Leone!”

B1. Complete - 
Complete the following sentenses :
(i) Mrs. Green couldn’t stand Mr. Green, because ________.
(ii) The relationship between Mrs. Green and her father ________.
(iii) Mrs. Green cousin lived in ________.
(iv) Miss. Kellner convinced the narrator’s mother that the skeleton was of Mrs. Green, because ______.

B2. Convert dialogue into a story :
Convert the above dialogue into a story form in about 50 words.

थोडक्यात उत्तर
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उत्तर

B1. 

(i) because he was a lady-killer, but not a real killer
(ii) was never very close
(iii) West Africa
(iv) because she suddenly had disappeared when the skeleton was found

B2.

The pink lady was actually Mrs Green who suddenly disappeared to West Africa to her cousin’s place
because Mrs Green was a philanderer and always loved hanging around with different ladies who was unfortunately her husband. So she never loved him. Mrs Green after returning back was staying with Padre Dutt but just to remember old days she wanted to stay in the hotel for 2 to 3 day .

shaalaa.com
Unseen Passage Comprehension
  या प्रश्नात किंवा उत्तरात काही त्रुटी आहे का?
2018-2019 (March) Set A

संबंधित प्रश्‍न

B1. Choose
Choose the correct alternatives and complete the sentences (2)
(1) The narrator is :
(a) an astronaut
(b) an engineer studying in BITS Pilani
(c) in the team of astronauts.

(2) Armstrong said, 'That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind which means:
(a) one step on the moon means, many steps on the earth.
(b) he felt like a giant on the moon.
(c) one moon mission had opened up many avenues in science and technology for mankind.

It was late evening of July 20. 1969, when we turned up the hostel radio. I was an engineering student at BITS, Pilani. I still remember the feverish excitement that gripped us from July 16 when Apollo 11. the US space rocket, took off from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Neil Armstrong and his team of astronauts, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, were to land on moon, for the first time in human history. We listened 'with rapt attention when Armstrong declared: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
His death on Saturday, August 25, is a moment to salute the romance of space science that Apollo 11 unleashed. It has changed forever the way we look at our planet Earth and its satellite, the moon.
Standing on powdery moondust, Armstrong put up his thumb, shut one eye and found his thumb blotting out the Earth. "It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth” he said later. "I felt very, very small." But behind that humbling realisation stood a giant truth:

The effort to explore the universe united mankind in technology and knowledge. Each moon mission, about 110 till date, provided more confidence to take on bolder projects.

B2. Complete                                                                                                                         (2)
(1) Armstrong describes the earth as ……………
(2) The effort to explore the universe has ………………
(3) Apollo 11 unleashed and changed forever ………………
(4) The author came to know about Apollo 11 mission when he …………..

B3. Solve
Solve the crossword with the clues given below. Refer to the passage for your answers:              (2)

Down :   (1) The area beyond the earth's atmosphere .
             (2) The name of the spacecraft that Armstrong travelled.
Across : (3) A person trained to travel in space.
             (4) Y A natural satellite of the earth.

B4. Begin the sentence
(i) With-For the first time .......and rewrite                                                                               [1]
Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins were, to land on the moon for the first time.
(ii) Insert 'that' appropriately and rewrite.                                                                               [1]
Armstrong found his thumb blotting out the Earth.

B5. Personal Response
Would you like to be an astronaut? Give reasons.


It is rare to find someone with good technical and communication skills. You can get far ahead of your colleagues if you combine the two early in your career. People will judge, evaluate, promote or block you based on your communication skills. Since habits form by repeating both good and bad forms of communication, learn to observe great communicators and adopt their styles and traits — in written and verbal forms. The art of listening and learning from each and every interaction is another secret recipe. Develop the subconscious habit of listening to yourself as you speak and know when to pause.

Learning what not to say is probably more important than learning what to say. As your career develops, you will realize that the wise speak less. Speak when you have value to add, else refrain. Poorly constructed emails with grammatical errors are acceptable between friends, but they should be seriously avoided while communicating formally with your seniors. Avoid any communication in an emotional state when might say things you will regret later. One unnecessary word uttered at the wrong time or place can ruin a relationship, career or even your life. Such is the power of words. If such a thing happens, you should immediately apologise, else it may haunt you for life.

Another problem to overcome is speaking too fast. Since our minds are working faster than our speech, we are inclined to speak fast. This does not necessarily mean that the person hearing it will get it any faster. On the contrary, it is always the reverse. So slow down and think before you speak. “When I get ready to speak to people,” Abraham Lincoln said, “I spend two-thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one-thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one-third thinking what I want to say.” Adding humour and wit is also essential. But realize that not all jokes are funny and observe certain boundaries. Never say anything that could offend. Remember you are not a comedian who must offend as many people as you can to be witty.

2.1 Answer the following questions briefly:

(a) Why is it necessary to have good communication skills?

(b) How can communication skills be developed?

(c) What, according to the writer, should be avoided while communicating?

(d) Why should you be careful when you tend to be humorous?

2.2 Choose the most appropriate meanings of the given words from the options provided:

(a) evaluate (para 1)

(i) estimate
(ii) assume
(iii) punish
(iv) evolve

(b) trait (para 1)

(i) treaty
(ii) trail
(iii) quality
(iv) liberty

(c) utter (para 2)

(i) flatter
(ii) speak
(iii) rot
(iv) unique

(d) haunt (para 2)

(i) hunt
(ii) chant
(iii) trouble
(iv) avoid


He holds him with his skinny hand,

“There was a ship,” quoth he.

i. Who does ‘He’ refer to in the above extract?

ii. What do we know about the speaker’s feelings?

iii. Why is his hand called ‘skinny’?


Read the following passage:

It's Beginning to Bite
 
In these trying times, when buying ordinary food stuff can burn a hole in your pockets, comes the news that can actually help us save some hard cash when we go out to shop the next time. According to a Stanford University study, the first of its kind in the world, there is no evidence to suggest that there are more nutritional benefits from expensive organic food than those grown by conventional methods. The researchers add that there is no difference in protein and fat content between organic and conventional milk and the vitamin count is similar in both types. The only benefit is that organic foods are not contaminated with pesticides but then before you chew on the plate of organic okra with roti made from organic wheat, they are not 100% pesticide free either. In India, organic food has been growing at 20-22% and the export market is valued at Rs. 1,000 crore. Obviously, the study is not good news for that sector and for people who are big on organic food.


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 ?

(Adapted from The Hindustan Times)


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 extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

These meadows aren't worth much to me. They only come to five dessiatins, and are worth perhaps 300 roubles, but I can't stand unfairness. Say what you will, I can't stand unfairness.

(a) Who speaks the above lines and to whom?

(b) How much are the meadows worth?

(c) Find a word in the extract the means 'not based on what is just.'


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

 
(h) Identify the meaning of the word, 'bounded'. (Para 2)
(i) walked
(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

(i) heavy rains kill plants.
(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

(i) it tells them when to sow and when to harvest.
(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

(i) it brings mud and sickness with it.
(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

(i) the fungus and mould need to dry.
(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:

(i) flowering (para 6)
(ii) nonstop (para 7)

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:          
 1. Thackeray reached Kittur along with a small British army force and a few of his officers. He thought that the very presence of the British on the outskirts of Kittur would terrorise the rulers and people of Kittur and that they would lay down their arms. He was quite confident that he would be able to crush the revolt in no time. He ordered that tents be erected on the eastern side for the fighting forces and a little away on the western slopes tents be put up for the family members of the officers who had accompanied them. During the afternoon and evening of 20thOctober, the British soldiers were busy making arrangements for these camps.
 

2. On the 21st morning, Thackeray sent his political assistants to Kittur fort to obtain a written assurance from all the important officers of Kittur rendering them answerable for the security of the treasury of Kittur. They, accordingly, met Sardar Gurusiddappa and other officers of Kittur and asked them to comply with the orders of Thackeray. They did not know that the people were in a defiant mood. The commanders of Kittur dismissed the agent’s orders as no documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.
 
3. Thackeray was enraged and sent for his commander of the Horse Artillery, which was about 100 strong, ordered him to rush his artillery into the fort and capture the commanders of the Desai’s army. When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, Sardar Gurusiddappa, who had kept his men on full alert, promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers.
 
4. In the meanwhile, the Desai’s guards had shut the gates of the fort and the British Horse Artillery men, being completely overrun and routed, had to get out through the escape window. Rani’s soldiers chased them out of the fort, killing a few of them until they retreated to their camps on the outskirts.
 
5. A few of the British had found refuge in some private residences, while some were hiding in their tents. The Kittur soldiers captured about forty persons and brought them to the palace. These included twelve children and a few women from the British officers’ camp. When they were brought in the presence of the Rani, she ordered the soldiers to be imprisoned. For the women and children she had only gentleness, and admonished her soldiers for taking them into custody. At her orders, these women and children were taken inside the palace and given food and shelter. Rani came down from her throne, patted the children lovingly and told them that no harm would come to them.
 
6. She, then, sent word through a messenger to Thackeray that the British women and children were safe and could be taken back any time. Seeing this noble gesture of the Rani, he was moved. He wanted to meet this gracious lady and talk to her. He even thought of trying to persuade her to enter into an agreement with the British to stop all hostilities in lieu of an inam (prize) of eleven villages. His offer was dismissed with a gesture of contempt. She had no wish to meet Thackeray. That night she called Sardar Gurusiddappa and other leading Sardars and after discussing all the issues came to the conclusion that there was no point in meeting Thackeray who had come with an army to threaten Kittur into submission to British sovereignty.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:
(a) Thackeray was a/an :
(i) British tourist
(ii) army officer
(iii) adviser to Rani of Kittur
(iv) treasury officer
 
(b) British women and children came to Kittur to :
(i) visit Kittur
(ii) enjoy life in tents
(iii) stay in the palace
(iv) give company to officers
 
Answer the following questions briefly:
(c) Why did Thackeray come to Kittur?
(d) Why did the Kittur officials refuse to give the desired assurance to Thackeray?
(e) What happened to the Horse Artillery?
(f) How do we know that the Rani was a noble queen?
(g) How in your opinion would the British women have felt after meeting the Rani?
(h) Why did the Rani refuse to meet Thackeray?
(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :
i. entered forcibly (para 3)
ii. aggressive/refusing to obey (para 2)

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 :

1. We often make all things around us the way we want them. Even during our pilgrimages we have begun to look for whatever makes our heart happy, gives comfort to our body and peace to the mind. It is as if external solutions will fulfil or needs, and we do not want to make any special efforts even in our spiritual search. Our minds is resourceful − it works to find shortcuts in simple and easy ways.

2. Even pilgrimages have been converted into tourism opportunities. Instead, we must awaken our conscience and souls and understand the truth. Let us not tamper with either our own nature of that of the Supreme.

3. All our cleverness is rendered ineffective when nature does a dance of destruction. Its fury can and will wash away all imperfection. Indian culture, based on Vedic treatises, assists in human evolution, but we are not using our entire energy in distorting these traditions according to our convenience instead of making efforts to make ourselves worthy of them.

4. The irony is that humans are not even aware of the complacent attitude they have allowed themselves to sink to. Nature is everyone's Amma and her fierce blows will sooner or later corner us and force us to understand this truth. Earlier, pilgrimages to places of spiritual significance were rituals that were undertaken when people became free from their worldly duties. Even now some seekers take up this pious religious journey as a path to peace and knowledge. Anyone travelling with this attitude feels and travels with only a few essential items that his body can carry. Pilgrims traditionally travelled light, on foot, eating light, dried chickpeas and fruits, or whatever was available. Pilgrims of olden days did not feel the need to stay in special AC bedrooms, or travel by luxury cars or indulge themselves with delicious food and savouries.

5. Pilgrims traditionally moved ahead, creating a feeling of belonging towards all, conveying a message of brotherhood among all they came across whether in small caves, ashrams or local settlements. They received the blessings and congregations of yogis and mahatmas in return while conducting the dharma of their pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is like penance or sadhana to stay near nature and to experience a feeling of oneness with it, to keep the body healthy and fulfilled with the amount of food, while seeking freedom from attachments and yet remaining happy while staying away from relatives and associates.

6. This is how a pilgrimage should be rather than making it like a picnic by taking a large group along and living in comfort, packing in entertainment, and tampering with environment. What is worse is giving a boost to the ego of having had a special darshan. Now alms are distributed, charity done while they brag about their spiritual experiences!

7. We must embark on our spiritual journey by first understanding the grace and significance of a pilgrimage and following it up with the prescribed rules and rituals − this is what translates into the ultimate and beautiful medium of spiritual evolution. There is no justification for tampering with nature.

8. A pilgrimage is symbolic of contemplation and meditation and acceptance, and is a metaphor for the constant growth or movement and love for nature that we should hold in our hearts.

9. This is the truth!
One the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer the questions that follow with the help of given options:

(a) How can a pilgrim keep his body healthy?
(i) By travelling light
(ii) By eating small amount of food
(iii) By keeping free from attachments
(iv) Both (i) and (ii)

(b) How do we satisfy our ego?
(i) By having a special darshan
(ii) By distributing alms
(iii) By treating it like a picnic
(iv) Both (i) and (ii)

Answer the following as briefly as possible:
(c) What change has taken place in our attitude towards pilgrimages?
(d) What happens when pilgrimages are turned into picnics?
(e) Why are we complacent in our spiritual efforts?
(f) How does nature respond when we try to be clever with it?
(g) In olden days with what attitude did people go on a pilgrimage?
(h) What message does the passage convey to the pilgrims?
(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:
(i) made/turned (para 3)
(ii) very satisfied (para 4)


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


(A) Read the fo llowing extract and answer the questions given below :

Kalpana Chawla was extremely proud other birth-place and made every effort to bring it into the lime-light. During space flights she vit, (mid prondk point it out to her Fellow-astronauts. Once, during the second Hight she remembered her closest friend, Dais Chawla, who died in a road accident. In fact, despite her celebrity status, she took pains to track down her former teachers, classmates and friends in India and showed a keen desire to stay in touch with them.

Her affectionate and humble nature won the hearts of all who came in contact with her. Although Kalpana had a strong desire to go to Mars, fly over its canyons she was equally concerned about the well-being of the earth. She always urged young people to listen to the sounds of nature and take care of our fragile planet. During, her space trips, she took many breatlitakilig photographs of the earth for various terrestrial studies later on the ground. When she was in space, she always felt a sense of connection with everyone on the earth.

It was Kalpana's cherished desire to visit India again. But that was not to be. A few months after her tragic death, Harrison visited India. He went to her school and college, met her family, teachers and friends and scattered her ashes over the Himalayas.

(1) What is the extract about? (1)

(2) How was Kalpana connected with India and Indians? (2)

(3) How was Kalpana concerned about the well-being of the earth? (2)

(4) What would you like to do For India? (2)

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:

(i) She took many breathtaking photographs of the earth.
(Rewrite it using the Present Perfect Continuous tense.) (1)

(ii) He scattered her ashes over the Himalayas.
(Rewrite it beginning with 'Her ashes ...... ')(1)

(iii) Kalpana was extremely proud of her birth-place and made every effort to bring it into limelight.
(Rewrite it using 'not only ...... but also'.)(1)

( 6) Give the antonyms from the extract for -

(i) collected                           (1/2)
(ii) forgot                              (1/2)

(B) Summary :
Write a summary of the above extract with the help of the following
points and suggest a suitable title :
Points : Kalpana's affection towards India and Indians her humble - nature her love for the earth Harrison's visit to India. (4)


Read the following extract and answer the questions given
below:
Prominent among the urges that inspire and drive a person in life, is the mge to be a somebody. It is quite human, especially in the early stages of life, to want to do something to win laurels and admiration of all around. There's a pitfall though - the very process of becoming a somebody may subtly reduce yon to a nobody.
American poet Emily Dickinson, who lived in obscurity, has an interesting poem on this theme. "I'm nobody!" she declares, with apparent pride.
"Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?"
Why should anybody be happy about being nobody?
The poem explains :
"How dreaiy to he somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
The word 'bog' is significant. When you become a somebody, you invite adulation :
this then begins to bog you down. The moment you think you have arrived, you begin to stagnate, or, worse, your downslide begins. An endless list of writers, artists, sportsmen, politicians ..... fit this pattern of personal history.
To sustain your development in absolute terms, to become a true somebody, it is important to remain a temporal nobody. Even if destiny makes you a temporal somebody,
you should be able to see yourself as merely an agent of a superior power; no more. This requires an exercise of will. You have to constantly watch out and talk to yourself morning and evening.

(1) What is the main idea of the extract? (1)

(2) Why is it important for one to remain a temporal nobody? How? (1)

(3) What does Emily Dickinson declare with pride? Why? (2)

(4) What would you like to be in your life - Somebody or nobody? Why? (2)

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed
(i) This requires an exercise of will.
(Rewrite it using the Simple Future tense.) (1)

(ii) You have to constantly watch out and talk to yourself.
(Rewrite it using another modal auxiliary showing 'compulsion'.) (1)

(iii) You begin to stagnate.
(Rewrite it using the noun form of the word underlined.) (1)

(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean -

(i) danger  (1/2)

(ii) praise   (1/2)


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:

One day, King Amrit and Chandan were taking a walk on the terrace of the palace. The terrace offered a beautiful view of the surroundings, and they could see far into the distance. They spotted the weekly market from up there, with people in colourful clothes buying and selling all kinds of things. There was plenty to buy and people had money to buy too. There were no poor people to be seen anywhere. The King watched with a smile on his face. He was delighted to see the prosperity of his kingdom. Like any good ruler, he was happy ·when his people were happy.
       He turned to Chandan and said, ''See how contented my people are. But I want to check this first-hand by talking to them. Tomorrow, summon people from all walks of life to the court, and I will ask them myself how they are doing.'' Chandan was used to the king's strange requests and went off to carry out this order.

       The next day, the King arrived in the court humming a happy tune to himself. Seeing all the people gathered there waiting for him, he was even more pleased. He cleared his throat and said in a loud voice, ''I have called you here to ask you a very important question. As your king, I need to know if all of you are contented. Do you have enough for your needs? Do you know anyone who is not happy about anything?''.

(1) What do you understand about the King from this extract?
(2) Why did the King want to talk to his people?
(3) How did the King come to know about the prosperity of his kingdom?
(4) According to you, what should the Government do for the bettennent of the poor people?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) He was delighted to see the prosperity of his kingdom.
(Make it a rhetorical question.)
(ii) Summon people from all walls of life to the court
(Rewrite it beginning with 'Let ..... ')
(iii) As soon as the King arrived in the court humming a
happy tune to himself, he cleared his throat.
(Rewrite it using 'No sooner .... than'.)

(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean:
(i) development
(ii) examine


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 ina 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·I6 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. If people starve in many countries it is not because food is becoming scarce; it is because those people cannot afford it.

Questions:
(1) What conclusions did the researchers arrive at?

(2) How does the writer explain that fertility is on the decline?

(3) What does the extract predict about the fear of scarcity of food?

(4) How will the population become a gift in the global market scene?

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) The earth could withstand up to 200,000 times the current population.
(Rewrite the sentence using the modal auxiliary showing 'certainty'.)
(ii) The earth would be too hot to be habitable.
(Remove 'too' and rewrite the sentence.)
(iii) These resources are being used.
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with, 'We ........... .')

(6) Write the antonyms of:
(i) habitable
(ii) stabilize


(A) Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
   Chronic floods during the monsoon, on average, affect more than 30 million Indians annually Ironically, 60% of India's farmland, 66% of its livestock and its entire forest area depend on rains for survival.
   According to a recently released Central Water Commission (CWC) report, on an average, 7·21 million hectares (roughly 72,000 sq. km.) go under floodwater. This water typically ravages 3·78 million hectares of agricultural land, damaging crops worth Rs. 1, 118 crores annually.
   Heavy rains and floods account for nearly 1,700 lives lost annually. Apart from this, I ·25 lakh houses are annually damaged by torrential rains that also wipe out nearly 96,000 livestock.
   Floods are the most recurrent natural calamity, hitting India almost every year. According to the CWC's report on financial aspects of flood control, anti-sea erosion and drainage projects, it is not possible to provide absolute protection instantly to all flood-prone areas. It says that such an attempt will neither be practical nor economically viable.
   The CWC's analysis of floods in India from 1953 to 2011 shows a marginal decline in flood-affected areas over the years, the data shows 1977 1978 and 1979 were the worst-hit. The 1977 floods killed over 11,000 people, six-time the average for the 59 years, between 1953 and 2011. In terms of area and population affected, the floods of 1978 were the most destructive.
  In terms off the financial loss, recent floods have been far more destructive. The total loss of crops, houses and public utilities in 2009 was Rs. 32541 crores, the highest for any year.

Question
(1) What is the above extract about?

(2) How do floods adversely affect India?

(3) Why is it not possible to provide absolute protection to all flood-prone areas?

(4) How would you help the flood-affected people?

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) The floods of 1978 were the most destructive.
(Change the sentence into the 'positive degree'.)
(ii) Floods are the most recurrent natural calamity hitting India almost every year.
(Make it a complex sentence.)
(iii) Floods have been far more destructive.
(Rewrite the sentence using the Simple Present tense.)

(6) Give the meanings of:
(i) entire
(ii) calamity

(B) Write a brief summary of the above extract with the help of the points given below and suggest a suitable title.
Floods - natural, recurrent calamity in India - destroy life and property - no absolute protection - neither practical nor economically viable- floods in 1977 and 1978. 


Read the following extract and answer the questions given below.

Once upon a time the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of a “new world” so they organized a school. They had adopted an activity  curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
 
The duck was excellent in swimming. In fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had  to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming.
 
But average was acceptable in school so nobody worried about that, except the duck.
 
The rabbit started at the top of the class in running but had a nervous breakdown because of so much makeup work in swimming. The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of the treetop down. He also developed a “charlie horse” from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and D in running.
The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree but insisted on using his own way to get there.
 
1. What were the special features of animal school?
2. Why was the duck, an excellent swimmer, average in swimming?
3. Why was the experience of the squirrel miserable?
4. What efforts will you take to score good marks in your examination?
5. Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed.
(i) The duck was excellent in swimming.
(Frame a Wh – type question to get the underlined part as an answer)
(ii) The duck was better than his instructor.
(Change the sentence into positive degree)
(iii) The squirrel was excellent in climbing. (1)
(Mention the function of the underlined gerund.)
6. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’
A B
(i) valedictorian (a) feeling of annoyance
(ii) frustration (b) dunce
  (c) school topper
 
(d) validity

Read the following extract and answer the questions given below.         

            I grew up in India in which telephones were both rare and virtually useless. When I left India in 1975 to go to the US for graduate studies, we had perhaps, 600 million residents in the country and just two million landline telephones. Having a telephone was a rare privilege: if you weren’t an important government official, or a doctor, or a journalist, you might languish in a long waiting list and never receive a phone.

             Telephone were such a rarity (after all, 90% of population had access to a telephone line) that elected members of Parliament had amongst their privileges the right to allocate 15 telephone connections to whomever they deemed worthy.

              And if you did have a phone, it wasn’t necessarily a blessing. I spent my high school years in Calcutta, and I remember that if you picked up your phone, you had no guarantee you would reach the number you had dialled. Sometimes you were connected to someone else’s ongoing conversation, and they had no idea you were able to hear them; there was even a technical term for it, the ‘cross - connection’ (appropriately, since these were connections that made us very cross). If you wanted to call another city, say Delhi, you had to book a ‘trunk call’ in the morning and then sit by the telephone all day waiting for it to come through; or you could pay eight times the going rate for a ‘lightning call’ = but even lightning struck slowly in India those days, so it only took half an hour instead of the usual three or four or more to be connected.
 

Questions:

(1). Why were telephones a rarity before 1975? (1)

(2) What special rights did elected members of Parliament use to have? (2)

(3) How did the author differentiate between a ‘trunk call’ and a ‘lightning call’?  (2)

(4) Do you think the cellphone has made us global?  (2)

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed.  . (3)

(i) You could pay eight times the going rate for a ‘lighting call’. (Rewrite it using modal auxiliary showing compulsion) 

(ii) I spent my high school years in Calcutta. [Rewrite it using past perfect tense] 

(iii) Telephones were a rarity. [Make it a rhetorical question] 

(6) Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’.  (1)

  Column A   Column B
(i) Privilege
(i)
means to reach or get
(ii) Access
(ii)
remedy
    (iii) special right

 

 


Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:

We often hear this statement that “many of our young people spend more time before their T.V. sets, than they do in their classrooms or with their textbooks. “A bit exaggerated though it may sound, it is nearly true and our teenagers are being considerably influenced by the electronic media, particularly the T.V. The television has become the single most powerful influence in the lives of many of our youngsters today. Too often this happens to us much before we realise it ourselves.

I am in no way trying to deny the many advantages of T.V. or minimise its manifold contributions to our world. On the other hand, I consider T.V. as one of the greatest scientific achievements of our times, bringing people closer than ever before.

Television’s use of the modern satellite technology brings today even the remotest regions of the world to us in seconds, making the world a small (global) village. As we know, television also provides us with a fuller and more impressive coverage of current events than any other media.

The T.V. does serve. In addition, as medium of education as well as entertainment. Besides, helping us to learn subjects taught in schools, college in greater depth, it enables us (National Geographic, Discovery channel etc.) to see and appreciate from close quarters (without having to go there, which is very expensive or even impossible for most of us) the wonders of God’s creation in any part of the world.

Questions: 
1. What does the passage tell us about?     (1) 
2.Write at least two advantages of T.V. from the passage.     (2)
3. What other purpose does the T.V. serve in addition to education and entertainment?     (2) 
4. Do you agree with the statement that many of our young people spend more time with their T.V. set? Justify your answer.     (2)
5. Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
  1. Our young people spend more time before their T.V. set than in their classrooms.     (1) 
    (Rewrite it  using positive degree)
  2. The T.V. does serve as medium of education as well as an entertainment.     (1) 
    (Rewrite it using ‘not only ..... but also’)
  3. I consider T.V. as one of the greatest scientific achievements of our times.     (1) 
    (Rewrite it using the noun form of the underlined word.)  
6. Find out the synonyms of the following words from the extract.     (1) 
B. Summary: 
Write a summary of the above extract with the help of the following points and suggest a suitable title:     (4) 
Clues: T.V. - Misunderstanding - influence on youngsters - advantages - other benefits. 

Read the following extract carefully.        (4) 

I was walking around the camp, around the barracks, near the barbed wire fence where the guards could not easily see. I was alone.
On the other side of the fence. I spotted someone: a little girl with light, almost luminous curls. She was half hidden behind a birch tree. I glanced around to make sure no one saw me. I called to her softly in German, “Do you have something to eat? She didn’t understand.
I inches closer to the fence and repeated the question in Polish. She stepped forward. I was thin and gaunt, with rags wrapped around my feet, but the girl looked unafraid. In her eyes I saw life. She pulled an apple from her woolen jacket and threw it over the fence. I grabbed the fruit and, as I started to run away, I heard her say faintly, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I returned to the same spot by the fence at the same time every day. She was always there with something for me to eat - a hunk of bread or better yet, an apple.
We didn’t dare speak of linger. To be caught would mean death for us, both. I didn’t know anything about her. Just a kind farm girl, except that she understood Polish.
What was her name? Why was she risking her life for me? 
Question 
Imagine that you are the author’s brother Sam and rewrite it.
You may begin with: “Hello, I am Sam. My brother was walking around the camp .......”

Read the following passage and do the activities.

The Delhi Metro is a metro system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Bahadurgarh, Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida in the National Capital Region of India. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited
(DMRC), a State-owned company with equal equity participation from the Government of India and the Government of Delhi, built and operates the Delhi
Metro. It is the second oldest metro in India after the Kolkata Metro.
The Delhi Metro is the largest and busiest metro in India, and the world’s 9th longest metro system in length and 16th largest in ridership. A member of CoMET, the network consists of eight colour-coded regular lines, with a total
length of 317 kilometres, serving 231 stations including 6 on Airport Express line and interchange stations. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge. DMRC operates over 2,700 trips daily. In the financial year 2016–17, the Delhi Metro had an average daily ridership of 2.76 million passengers and served 100 crore (1.0 billion) riders.
         The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation was certified by the United Nations in 2011 as the first metro rail and rail-based system in the world to get “carbon credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions” and helping in reducing pollution levels in the city by 630,000 tonnes every year. Planning for the metro started in 1984 when the Delhi Development Authority and the Urban Arts Commission came up with a proposal for developing a multi-modal transport system for the city. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was incorporated in May 1995, construction started in 1998, and the first section, on the Red Line, opened in 2002. The development of the network was divided into phases, Phase I containing 3 lines was completed by 2006, and Phase II in 2011. Phase III is scheduled to be mostly complete by 2018.

(A1) Name the following.
(a) The Government authority which built and operates the Delhi Metro -
(b) The first and the oldest Metro in India -
(c) The satellite cities nearby Delhi -
(d) The largest and busiest metro in India -

(A2) The salient features of Delhi Metro are -

(A3) Find out antonyms from the passage for the following.
(i) shortest ´ (ii) increasing ´
(iii) irregular ´ (iv) ended ´

(A4) The Delhi Metro is the largest and busiest metro in India.
(Complete the following sentences with the help of the given sentence.)
(i) No other metro................................
(ii) The Delhi Metro is larger.......................

(A5) “Transportation is the backbone of Indian economy’’ - Elaborate

(B) Read the passage given in Q. 4 (A) and write the summary of it. Suggest a suitable title to your summary.


        On this historic moment, I stand here to thank Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. India’s present epoch maker has come over here to bless the state of Maharashtra which is definitely going to last forever. On behalf of thousands of common people, I express my deep sense of gratitude to him for blessing us. We Maharashtrians love him, worship him. And once again, I wish to declare that this state of Maharashtra, recently formed, will work for the betterment of the common people of Maharashtra, but if it comes to sacrifice, whatever best and grand we have, it will be done primarily for India. This is so, because, we believe from the beginning, that Maharashtra depends on India; its greatness depends on the greatness of India. All Maharashtrians believe that both India and Maharashtra can progress only when there is oneness of interest. And, therefore, I have made this clear by bringing to your notice the significance of certain symbols, for example, the Himalayas stand for lndia and the Sahyadri, for Maharashtra. The snowy Himalayas with the highest mountain ranges symbolise India and the Sahyadri with the blackest rock structure and with 200-300 inches rainfall symbolise Maharashtra. I promise you that if the Himalayas are in jeopardy, the Sahyadri of Maharashtra will use its black rock structure like a shield to protect the Himalayas.
    ‘Hard labour’ is the watch word of our times. And, Panditji, you have given us the message of building Maharashtra and our nation by hard labour. We are going to inscribe this valuable message on our minds and try our best to look at your blessings and your guidance, as the blessings and guidance of an epoch maker.

A1 . Read the following statements. Find out the correct statements and write them down : (2)

(i) Both India and Maharashtra can progress if they have different interests.
(ii) Hard work is the only way to build the future of India and Maharashtra.
(iii) The sacrifice of the best and grand in Maharashtra will be made for the state of Maharashtra.
(iv) In times of great calamity the Sahyadri will protect the Himalayas, like a shield.

A2. Complete the following statements : (2)
(i) The interest of Maharashtra and that of India should be one for the progress of Maharashtra state, because ................
(ii) Maharashtra depends on India, because ................

A3.Complete the table : (2)

The name of the mountain Stands for The reason
The Himalayas The Sahyadri    

A4. Vocabulary - (2)
Give antonyms of the following words by adding prefixes :
(i) gratitude
(ii) clear
(iii) believe
(iv) significance

A5. Personal response - (2)
Give your suggestions that will help the people to make Maharashtra prosperous.

A6. Grammar - (2)
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) India and Maharashtra can progress only when there is oneness of interest.
    (Rewrite it using ‘unless’)
(ii) This state of Maharashtra will work for the betterment of the common people of Maharashtra.
(Rewrite it using modal auxiliary showing ‘obligation’)


Read the following extract and complete the note given below :
The small village of Somnathpur contains an extraordinary temple, built around 1268 A.D by the Hoyasalas of Karnataka - one of the most prolific temple builders. Belur and Helebid are among their better-known works. While these suffered during the invasion of the 14th century, the Somnathpur temple stands more or less intact in near-original condition. The small temple captivates with the beauty and vitality of its detailed sculpture, covering almost every inch of the walls, pillars and even ceilings. It has three Shikhars and stands on a star-shaped raised platform with 24 edges. The outer walls have a profusion of detailed carvings: the entire surface run over by carved plaques of stone: There were vertical panels covered by exquisite figures of God and Goddesses, with many incarnations being depicted. There were nymphs too some carrying an ear of maize, a symbol of plenty and prosperity. The elaborate ornamentation, very characteristic of Hoyasala sculptures was a remarkable feature. On closer look and it is worth it-the series of friezes on the outer walls revealed intricately carved caparisored elephants, charging horsemen, stylized flowers and warriors.

                      Somnathpur Temple

(1) Location : ___________
(2) Year : 1268 A.D.
(3) Built by : ___________
(4) Captivates with : ___________
(5) Structural features :
    (i) Three Shikhars
    (ii) Star-shaped platform with 24 edges
   (iii) Outer wall carvings, ___________
    charging horsemen, __________ and warriors.
   (iv) Nymphs-symbol of ___________


(A) Read the extract and do the activities that follows :

  “Pluck the flowers off”, said the other boy and the daisy trembled for fear, for to be pulled off meant death
to it; and it wished so much to live, as it was to go with the square of turf into the poor captive lark’s cage.
“No, let it stay,” said the other boy, “it looks so pretty.” And so it stayed, and was brought into the lark’s cage. The poor bird was lamenting its lost liberty, and beating its wings against the wires; and the little daisy could not speak or utter a consoling word, much as it would liked to do so. So the forenoon passed. “I have no water,” said the captive lark, “they have all gone out and forgotten to give me anything to drink. My throat is dry and burning. I feel as if I had fire and ice within me and the air is so oppressive. Alas! I must die, and part with the warm sunshine, the fresh green meadows, and all the beauty that God has created.” And it thrust its beak into the piece of grass, to refresh itself a little. Then it noticed the little daisy, and nodded to it, and kissed it with its beak and said : “You must also fade in here, poor little flower. You and the piece of grass are all they have given me in exchange for the whole world, which I enjoyed outside. Each little blade of grass shall be a green tree for me, each of your white petals a fragrant flower. Alas! You only
remind me of what I have lost .

A1. True / False - 
State whether the following statements are true or false :
(i) The boys had kept water in the cage for the lark.
(ii) The daisy had a desire to console the poor lark.
(iii) The lark was reminded of its lost liberty.
(iv) The daisy did not want to go into the lark’s cage.

A2. Write an imaginary ending : 
Write an imaginary paragraph in about 50 words to give a different ending to the above extract.


Read the extract and do the activities that follow:

My mother was still managing Green's, even though its days were numbered. The day after my return I joined her in the small office, where she sat behind her over-large desk, telephone on her right and the latest paperback western  before her, ready to be taken up when noting much was happening – which was fairly often. My mother enjoyed reading westerns-particularly Luke Short, Max Brand, and Clarence E Mulfordmuch in the same way that I enjoyed detective fiction. Both genres were freely available in cheap collins ‘White Circle’, edition published during and just after the War.
We discussed the affair of the skeleton in the cupboard, but as there was no longer any mystery about it, there was nothing for me to investigate. However, armed with the key to the store room, I went down to the basement on my own and made a thorough search of all the old furniture, on the offchance that another skeleton moght tumble out of a cupboard or be found jammed into a drawer or trunk. I did find some old tennis rackets, back numbers of Punch, a cracked china chamber-pot, some old postcards of Darjeeling and Simla, and a framed photograph of King Edward the Seventh. I took the copies of ‘Punch’ to my room and read the reviews of all the plays that had been running in London between 1926 and 1930, thus becoming an authority on the theatre in England of that period.

A1. True/False
State whether the following statements are true or false:
(i) The narrator found one skeleton jammed into a drawer
(ii) The narrator did not like to read detective fiction
(iii) The narrator's mother was managing the Green's hotel
(iv) The narrator wanted to be an authority on the English theatre of that period

A2. Write a gist :
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.


Read the following passage and do the given activities :
A1. Fill up the blanks with virtues of dogs : (2)

(1) __________ 
(2) __________
(3) __________
(4) __________

      Human and dogs are inseparable for thousands of years and they are dependent on each other for protection and survival. Relationship between humans and dogs is often characterized by strong emotional bonds which run both way. Dogs are very popular as pets and companions. Dog is the ‘Man’s Best Friend’ and a family member. The dog is one of the most loyal, faithful and devotee animal. In earlier days dogs were kept mainly for hunting and guarding; now they are kept for companionship, protection and showmanship.
       There are millions of people all over the world who are dog lovers Puppies need more attention at the, early age. As much as possible try many methods of socialization, such as playing with them, taking them for walk, expose them to crowds, make them to obey the orders etc.

A2. Methods of socialization of puppies are : (2)
(1) …......................
(2) …......................
(3) …......................
(4) …......................

A3. Cross out the odd man : (2)
(i) Inseparable, dependent, protection, popular.
(ii) Hunting. guarding, playing, petting.
(iii) Earlier, human, relationship, family
(iv) Often, mainly, now, emotional

A4.
(1) There are millions of people all over the world. (1)
(Pick out the determiners and write them)
(2) Puppies need more attention. (1)
(Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning beginning with : Puppies don’t ….....)

A5. Should we ban keeping pets ? Justify. (2)


Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1 Even before the independence of India, father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi had said that, “Sanitation is more important than Independence.” He had emphasized the importance of cleanliness and sanitation in daily lives. However, he failed in his aim because of the incomplete participation of the people. After many years of independence of India, a most effective campaign of cleanliness has been launched to call people for their active participation and complete the mission of cleanliness. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee while addressing the Parliament in June 2014 said, “For ensuring hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation, a Swachh Bharat Mission will be launched. This will be our tribute to Mahatma Ghandhi on his 150 birth anniversary to be celebrated in the year 2019.” In order to fulfil the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and make India an ideal country in the world, the Government of India initiated a campaign called ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (2" of October). This campaign aims at completing the mission by 2019.
2 Through this campaign the Government of India would solve the problem of lack of sanitation by improving the waste management techniques. Clean India movement is completely linked with the economic strength of the country. The basic goal behind the launch of the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is to provide the country with enough sanitation facilities as well as to eliminate all the unhealthy practices of people in their daily routine. The completion of this mission would indirectly draw the attention of business investors to India, enhance the GDP growth, draw tourists from all over the world, create a variety of avenues of employment, reduce health costs, reduce death rate, and reduce fatal disease rate and many more. It has been requested that every Indian devote at least 100 hours per year to cleanliness in India which is sufficient to make this country a clean country by 2019. The cleanliness drive also ensures cleanliness in the official buildings. Spitting paan, gutka and other tobacco products in the government offices has been banned.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the following questions: 

  1. What is the passage about?
  2. What was the result of incomplete participation of the people in the mission?
  3. Why has 2019 been kept as the target year of completion?
  4. What did Gandhiji say about sanitation?
  5. How can the problem of lack of sanitation be solved?
  6. How will it impact our economy?
  7. What has been banned in the offices?
  8. What request has been made to Indians to accomplish it?
  9. What does ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ aim at?

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:

1

As a novelist and storyteller, I have always drawn upon my memories of places that I have known and lived in over the years. More than most writers, perhaps, I find myself drawing inspiration from the past — my childhood, adolescence, youth, early manhood ... But to talk of my early inspiration I must go back to my very beginnings, to the then small, princely state of Jamnagar, tucked away in the Gulf of Kutch. Here my father started a small palace school for princesses. I was there till the age of six, and I still treasure vivid memories of Jamnagar's beautiful palaces and sandy beaches.

2 Some of these landmarks are preserved for me in photographs taken by my father, which I have to this day. An old palace with pretty windows of coloured glass remained fixed in my memory and many years later gave me the story, “The Room of Many Colours”, which also inspired an episode in a TV serial called Ek Tha Rusty. I spent a memorable year and a half with him in New Delhi, then still a very new city — just the capital area designed by Edwin Lutyens and Connaught Place, with its gleaming new shops and restaurants and cinemas. I saw Laurel and Hardy films and devoured milkshakes at the Milk Bar, even as the Quit India Movement gathered momentum.
3 When I was seventeen, I was shipped off to the UK to “better my prospects” as my mother put it. Out of longing for India and the friends I had made in Dehra came my first novel — The Room on the Roof — featuring the life and loves of Rusty, my alter ego. In the 1950s everyone travelled by sea, as air services were still in their infancy. A passenger liner took about three weeks from Southampton to Bombay (now Mumbai). After docking in Bombay, I took a train to Dehra, where I stepped onto the platform of the small railway station and embarked on the hazardous journey of a freelance writer. Railway stations! Trains! Platforms! I knew as long as these were there I would never run out of stories.
4 I also looked for inspiration in tombs and monuments and the ever-expanding city, but did not find it, and my productivity dropped. Escape from Delhi had become a priority for me. I felt drawn to the hills above Dehra. On the outskirts of Mussoorie I found a small cottage, surrounded by oak and maple trees where the rent, thankfully, was nominal. :
5

I'm of the opinion that every writer needs a window. Preferably two Is the house, the room, the situation ... important for a writer? A good wordsmith should be able to work anywhere. But to me, the room you live in day after day is all-important. The stories and the poems float in through my window, float in from the magic mountains, and the words appear on the page without much effort on my part. Planet Earth belongs to me. And at night, the stars are almost within reach. 

1. On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30 - 40 words each:

  1. What does the writer remember about Jamnagar?
  2. How did he spend time in Delhi? 
  3. What was the inspiration for the first novel and why?
  4. What was the importance of trains and railway stations in his life? 
  5. What was the importance of a window in the writer’s life?

2. On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, fill in any two of the following blanks with appropriate words/phrases:

  1. He was shipped off to UK for ______. 
  2. Everyone travelled by sea because ______.
  3. The productivity dropped because ______.

3. Find out words/phrases from the passage that mean the same as the following. Attempt any two.

  1. gulped down/swallowed (para 2)
  2. early stage (para 3)
  3. attracted to (para 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 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 sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded is the flurry of building, and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents apiece.

Questions: 

(1) What is the passage about?

(2) What did Reuben ask the shopkeeper? What was the shopkeeper's reply?

(3) Why could not Reuben ask his father for five dollars?

(4) How do you express your love and respect for your parents?

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:

i. He opened the shop's weathered door and went inside. (Make it simple)

ii. "I will try."
(Rewrite the sentence using another modal Auxiliary showing 'obligation'.)

iii. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts.
(Frame a Wh question to get the underlined part as ita answer)

(6) Give the opposite words of:

(i) respectfully 

(ii) Usually 


Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:

        But being named an 'AdarshGaon' is far from easy. Villages had to give a proposal after which a committee headed by Mr. Pawar inspected the villages. "The Villages had to show dedication in the struggle to fight mediocrity. They had to follow all the conditions of becoming an 'AdarshGaon'. We chose villages with a revolutionary spark, "Mr. Pawar says.

        Villages need to follow strict rules. The process begins with effective water management through the watershed technique and water auditing. taking responsibility for the village's natural resources-planting trees and stopping grazing. contributing labour for the village work, and then expanding to bring about behavioral changes in the people for harboring social change. Hiware Bazaar is free of any kind of addiction and there are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village. Vasectomy has been made compulsory, as is the pre-marital HIV test. 

        The 'AdarshGaon' model prides itself on being based on the joint decisions made by the Gram Sabha, where all the villagers are present. Even while selecting the new villages under the scheme, Mr. Pawar made sure that the decision to become an ideal village was taken by the entire village together.

        The greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar so far has been the reverse migration that the village has witnessed since 1989. As many as 93 families have come back to the village," from the slums in Mumbai and Pune," Mr. Pawar says.

Questions:

(1) What features of 'Adarsh Gaon' are given in this extract? 

(2) What is the procedure for selecting 'Adarsh Gaon'?

(3) What is the greatest victory for Hiware Bazaar?        

(4) Do you think all villages in Maharashtra should follow the ideals of Hiware Bazaar? why?

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :

 i.  Mr. Pawar inspected the villages. 

    (Rewrite it using the noun form of the word underlined.)     

ii. Vasectomy has been made compulsory by the villagers.

   (Rewrite it beginning with-"The villagers........".)

iii. There are no liquor or tobacco shops in the village.

   (Rewrite it using 'neither......nor'.)

(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean: 

(i) causing a great change 

(ii) the quality of being average


Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :

Reuben arrived at the factory. The sack buyer was about to lock up.
"Mister! Please don't close up yet." The man turned and saw Reuben, dirty and sweat-stained.
"Come back tomorrow, boy."
"Please, Mister. I have to sell the sacks now-please." The man heard a tremor in Reuben's voice and could tell he was close to tears.
"Why do you need this money so badly?"
"It's a secret."
The man took the sacks, reached into his pocket and put four nickels into Reuben's hand. Reuben murmured a quiet thank-you and ran home.
Then, clutching the tin can, he headed for the store.
"I have the money" he solemnly told the owner, pouring his coins onto the counter.
The man went to the window and retrieved Reuben's treasure. He wiped the dust off and gently wrapped it in brown paper. Then he placed the parcel in Reuben's hands.
Racing home, Reuben burst through the front door. His mother was scrubbing the kitchen range. "Here Mum!Here!" Reuben exclaimed as he ran to her side. He placed a small box in her work-roughened hand.
She unwrapped it carefully, to save the paper. A blue-velvet jewel box appeared. Dora lifted the did, tears beginning to blur her vision.
In gold tettering on a small, almond-shaped brooch was the word 'Mother'
It was Mother's Day, 1946
Dora had never received such a gift; she had no finery except her wedding ring. Speechless, she smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms.

(1) Why did Reuben insist on the sack buyer to buy his sacks that day only?
(2) How did the mother react when Reuben gave her the gift?
(3) In what way was Reuben's gift special to his mother?
(4) What do you plan to do on Mother's Day?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) I have to sell the sacks.
(Rewrite it replacing the underlined part with the modal auxiliary showing 'compulsion'.)
(ii) She smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms. (Use 'As soon as'.)
(iii) She unwrapped it carefully.
(Rewrite the sentences using the noun form of the underlined word.)
(6) Find out the words/phrases from the extract which mean:
(i) showing joy (ii) got back


Read the first activity, read the extract and then do all the activities:

A1. Complete the following sentence choosing the correct alternatives:

He goes for a morning walk at 1  p.m., because -
(1) ______________________________________________
(2) ______________________________________________
(a) He arrives from work past midnight.
(b) He has to stay in bed for a longer time till late morning.
(c) He has a special plan for early morning.
(d) He does not like to join the early birds' club.

Some people can just never wake up early. They munch their breakfast on the way to work.

They have excuses ready when they reach the office late. They miss trains on a regular basis. They have never seen a sunrise or met the milkman.

Until a loved one turned over a new leaf recently, she was one such late riser. Try as she might, she couldn't help pressing the snooze button a hundred times before she finally got up. She felt terrible about this tendency but there was nothing she could do about it. Come morning, She would just not be able to shrug off the desire to sleep a while more. Only when divine intervention answered her prayers recently was she able to join the early bird's club.

Another relative has no plans of joining this league through. She is rather unabashed about waking up past noon on a daily basis. To be fair, her husband is a media personality who typically arrives home from work past midnight. That does indeed give them sufficient justification to stay longer in slumberland each morning. This practice does lead to certain oddities through. He goes for his 'morning' walk at 1 pm, heatwaves, and appalled onlookers notwithstanding. They once returned from a night out only to meet the neighbour's son who was off on an early morning jog!

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.

A2. Web : 

Complete the following web :

A3. Complete the following statement :

Early risers clearly have the edge in life, because -
(1)
(2)

A4. Vocabulary : 

Match the words in column 'A' with their meanings in Column 'B'.

Column 'A' Column 'B'
(1) justification (a) dismiss
(2) oddities (b) sleep
(3) slumber (c) strange things
(4) shrug off (d) clarification

A5. Personal Response:
State two things that you can do to join the early birds' club.

A6. Grammar:
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :

(1) She felt terrible about this tendency but there was nothing she could do about it. (Rewrite the sentence using 'although'.)

(2) They have never seen a sunrise or met the milkman. (Rewrite using 'neither ... nor'.)


Read the first activity, read the extract and then do all the activities:

A1. Correct the following statements with the help of the facts from the extract :

(1) Everybody in every part of the globe would have access to administration and social care services because he or she would not be able to afford them.

(2) We would avoid boom and bust cycles and be able to surmount natural disaster with great ease.

To me, a world without poverty means that every person would have the ability to take care of his or her own basic life needs. In such a world, nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition. This is a goal world leaders have been calling for decades, but have never set out any way of achieving it.

Today 40,000 children die each day around the world from hunger-related diseases. In a poverty-free world, no children would die of such causes.

Everybody in every part of the globe would have access to education and health-care services because he or she would be able to afford them. Unlike today, the state would not be required to provide free or subsidized health-care or schooling.

All state organizations created to provide free or subsidized services for the poor would no longer be required and welfare agencies, or the national welfare department. No free schools, no free hospital care, no begging in the streets.

State-run safety-net programmers would have no rationale for existence because no one would live on charity anymore. State-run social security programmers, income-support programmes would be unnecessary.

Social structures in a poverty-free world would, of course, be quite different from those that exist in a poverty-ridden world. But nobody would be at the mercy of anyone else, and that is what would make all the difference between a world without poverty and one riddled with it.

Finally, a poverty-free world would be economically much Stronger and far more stable than the world today.

one-fifth of the world's inhabitants who today live a life of extreme poverty would become income earners and income spenders. They would generate extra demand in the market to make the world economy grow. They would bring their creativity and innovations into the market-place to increase the world's productive capacity.

Since nobody would ever become poor, except on a temporary and limited basis, the economy would probably not go through extreme swings. We would avoid boom-and-bust cycles and be able to surmount man-made disasters with greater ease.

A2.

Complete the following statement :

The situation in the world without poverty would be different, because -

(1) the state need not ___________
(2) nobody __________

A3. Find out :

Find and write in the blank boxes :

One-fifth of the world's inhabitants today live a life of extreme poverty. How would they economically Stand in a poverty-free world?

They would be income earners and income spenders    

A4. Vocabulary :

Find out the words from the extract that mean the following : 

(1) calamity (2) overcome
(3) bringing new ideas (4) financially

A5. Personal Response :

Suggest at least four solutions to overcome the problems of increasing poverty.

A6. Grammar :

Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :

(1) Nobody would die of hunger or suffer from malnutrition.
(Remove the negative and rewrite.)

(2) Everybody in every part of the globe would have accessed education and health-care services.
(Rewrite the above sentences beginning with 'Education'.)


Read the extract and do the activities that follow :

When Rosalind heard about Orlando's wound and saw the handkerchief stained with his blood, she also fainted; and later she told Oliver that she was really Rosalind, and loved Orlando dearly. Oliver had already fallen in love with gentle Celia, and he persuaded the two girls to accompany him to Duke Senior's court. Rosalind, however, wanted to play one more trick as Ganymede, so she made Oliver promise not to tell anyone that the young shepherd boy and his sister Aliena were really Rosalind and Celia.

And so Aliena and Ganymede were introduced to the old Duke, and he did not recognize his daughter, although he remarked on Ganymede's likeness to Rosalind.

Then the "shepherd boy" told Orlando and the Duke that he could find Rosalind and would bring her to them, making the Duke promise that he would allow his daughter to marry Orlando. she and Celia ran quickly to the shepherd's cottage, changed into their own clothes and removed the brown stains from their faces. Then they returned to the Duke, where they were welcomed with great rejoicing.

'To you, I give myself, for I am yours,' Rosalind said to the Duke, her father. Then she turned to Orlando and said: 'To you, I give myself, for I am yours.'

Rosalind and Orlando were married at once in the forest and on the same day Oliver who was no longer selfish and wicked, married Celia. Just as they were going to be married, a messenger came to ask Duke Senior to go back to his dukedom. Celia's father, Duke Frederick, had mended his wicked ways and asked his brother to return.

A1. True/False :

Choose the true statements from those given below and write them down :

(i) Rosalind played the role of a shepherd boy Ganymede.
(ii) Senior Duke recognised his daughter, Celia.
(iii) Oliver married Rosalind.
(iv) Duke Frederick had mended his wicked ways.

A2. Convert into a dialogue :

Convert the above extract into a dialogue form.


Read the extract and do the activities that follow :

Two weeks later, I wrote: "Dear Mum, thanks for the socks. But I wish you had sent me a food parcel instead. How about some guava cheese? And some mango pickle. They don't give us pickle in school. Headmaster's wife says it heats the blood."

"About that skeleton. If a dead body was hidden in that cupboard after 1930- must have been, if the newspapers of that year were under the skeleton - it must have been someone who disappeared around that time or a little later. Must have been before Tirloki joined the hotel, or he'd remember. What about the registers- would they give us a clue?"

Received a parcel containing guava cheese, strawberry jam, and mango pickle. HEadmaster confiscated the pickle. Maybe he needed it to heat his blood.

A note enclosed with parcel read: "Old hotel registers missing. Must have been thrown out. Or perhaps Mr. Green took them away when he left. Tirloki says a German spy stayed in the hotel just before the War broke out. The spy used to visit the Gurkha Lines and the armaments factory. He was passing information on to a dentist who visited Germany every year. When war broke out, the dentist was kept in a prisoner-of-war camp. The spy disappeared-some say to Tibet. Could the spy have been silenced and put away in the cupboard? But I keep forgetting it was a woman's skeleton. Tirloki says the spy was a man. But a clever spy may have been a woman dressed as a man. But a clever spy may have been a woman dressed as a man. what do you think? "

It was the football season, and I wasn't doing much thinking. Chasing a football in the monsoon mist and slush called for single-minded endurance, especially when we were being beaten 5-0 by Simla Youngs, a team of junior clerks from the government offices. Not the ideal training for a boy-detective. The winter holidays were still four months distant, and the case of the unidentified skeleton appeared to be resolving itself with a little help from my mother and her friends.

B1. Complete :
Complete the following sentences :

(1) The narrator's football team was beaten 5-0 by ___________ .
(2) Headmaster's wife says that ___________ .
(3) Things that the narrator received in the parcel are __________ .
(4) The German spy was passing information ___________ .

B2. Write a gist :

Write a gist of the extract in about 50 words.


Read the following extract and answer the questions given below :

I was 33 at the time, a doctor in the West End of London. I had been lucky)' in advancing through severed arduous Welsh mining assistantships to my own practice- acquired on the installment plan from a dear old family physician who, at our first interview, gazed at my cracked boots and frayed cuffs and trusted me.  
I think I wasn't a bad doctor. My patients seemed to like me not only 1he nice old ladies with nothing wrong with them, who lived near the Park and paid handsomely for my cheerful bedside manner but the cabbies, porters, and deadbeats in the mews and back streets of Bayswater, who paid nothing and often had a great deal wrong with them. Yet there was something- though I treated everything that came my way, read all Ille medical journals, attended scientific meetings, and even found time to take complex postgraduate diplomas - I wasn't quite sure of myself. I didn't stick at anything for long. I had successive ideas of specializing in dermatology, in aural surgery, in pediatrics, but discarded them all. While I worked all day and half of most nights, I really lacked perseverance, stability.  One day I developed indigestion. After resisting my wife's entreaties for several weeks, I went casually to consult a friendly colleague. I expected a bottle of bismuth and an invitation to a bridge. I received instead of the shock of my life: a sentence to six months' complete rest in the country on a milk diet. I had a gastric ulcer. 

(I) What does the doctor tell us about his profession?

(2) What sort of patients did the doctor handle? 

(3) What shock of life did the doctor receive when he visited his doctor colleague? 

(4) What qualities of the doctor appeal you the most? 

(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed: 

(i) I read all the medical journals.
(Rewrite it using the past perfect continuous tense.) 

(ii) I treated everything that came n1y way. 
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with "Everything ... ") 

(iii) I received the shock of my life. 
(Make it a Rhetorical question.) 

(6) Find out the words from the extract which mean : 

(i) involving a lot of effort and energy. 

(ii) serious requests   


Read the passage given below :

Success

Everybody wants to succeed in life. For some, success means achieving whatever they desire or dream. For many, it is the name, fame, and social position. Whatever be the meaning of success, it is a success that makes a man popular. 

All great men have been successful. They are remembered for their great achievements. But it is certain that success comes to those who are sincere, hardworking, loyal, and committed to their goals. 

Success has been man's greatest motivation. It is very important for all. Success has a  great effect on life. It brings pleasure and pride. It gives a sense of fulfillment. It means all-around development. Everybody hopes to be successful in life. But success smiles on those who have a proper approach, planning, vision, and stamina. A proper and timely application of all these things is bound to bear fruit. One cannot be successful without cultivating these certain basic things in life. It is very difficult to set out on a journey without knowing one's goals and purposes. The clarity of the objective is a must to succeed in life. A focused approach with proper planning is certain to bring success. Indecision and insincerity are big obstacles on the path to success. 

One should have the capability, capacity, and resources to turn one's dreams into reality. Mere desire cannot bring you success. The desire should be weighed against factors like capability and resources. This is the basic requirement of success. The next important thing is the eagerness, seriousness, and the urge to be successful. It is the driving force that decides success. It is the first step on the ladder of success. 

One needs to pursue one's goals with all one's sincerity and passion. One should always be in high spirits. Lack of such spirit leads to an inferiority complex which is a big obstruction on the path to success. Time is also a deciding factor. Only the punctual and committed have succeeded in life. The lives of great men are examples of this. They had all these qualities in plenty which helped them rise to the peak of success. 

Hard labor is one of the basic requirements of success. There is no substitute for hard labor. It alone can take one to the peak of success. Every success has a ratio of five percent inspiration and ninety-five percent perspiration. It is patience, persistence, and perseverance which play a decisive role in achieving success. Failures are the pillars of success as they are our stepping-stones and we must get up and start again and be motivated.

2.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each: 

(a) To whom does success come certainly? 

(b) What are the basic things in life we need to achieve success? 

(c) What did great men have in plenty to rise to the peak of success? Give any two examples

(d) What is the one basic requirement of success? 

(e) Explain: "Failures are pillars of success." 


2.2 On the basis of your reading of the passage, fill in any two of the following blanks with appropriate words/phrase :

(a) ________________ plays a decisive role in achieving success. 

(b) Goals have to be pursued with ________________  and ________________ 

(c) Ratio of success is  ________________  inspiration. 


2.3 Find out the words from the passage that mean the same as the following : 

(a) endurance (para 2) 

(b) obstruction (para 4) 

(c) motivation (para 5)


Read the following passage carefully.
1. Few guessed that this quiet, parentless girl growing up in New York City would one day become the First Lady of the United States. Even fewer thought she would become an author and lecturer and a woman much admired and loved by people throughout the world.

2. Born Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in 1884 to wealthy, but troubled parents who both died while she was young, Roosevelt was cared for by her grandmother and sent to school in England. In 1905, she married her distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She and her husband had six children. Although they were wealthy, her life was not easy and she suffered several personal tragedies. Her second son died when he was a baby. In 1921, her strong athletic husband was stricken with polio, which left him physically disabled for life.

3. Eleanor Roosevelt was a remarkable woman who had great intelligence and tremendous strength of character. She never let things get her down. She nursed her husband back to good health and encouraged him to remain in politics. She then helped him to become Governor of New York, and in 1933, President of the United States.

4. While her husband was President, she took a great interest in all the affairs of the country. She became her husband's legs and eyes; she visited prisons and hospitals; she went down into mines, up scaffoldings, and into factories. Roosevelt was tireless and daring. During the depression, she travelled all over the country bringing goodwill, reassurance, and help to people without food and jobs. During World War II she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world. The United States had never known a First Lady like her.

5. Roosevelt also kept in touch with the American people through a daily newspaper column called 'My Day'. She broadcast on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First Lady.

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer the following questions: (any eight)

(a) How was Eleanor Roosevelt's personality in contrast to what she became?
(b) Apart from being the First Lady what else did she have to her credit?
(c) What challenges did she face in her personal life but remained unfazed?
(d) Eleanor was a strong woman who helped her husband become the President of America. How?
(e) What does the statement: 'she became her husband's legs and eyes' mean?
(f) What was her special contribution during the depression?
(g) How did she motivate soldiers during World War II?
(h) What did she do for the first time for a First Lady?
(i) What side of her personality is reflected in this passage?


Read the passage given below:
During our growing up years we as children were taught both at home and school-to worship the photos and idols of the gods of our respective religions. When we grow a little older, we were to read holy books like The Bhagwad Gita, Bible, and Quran; we were told that there are a lot of life lessons to be learned from these holy books. We were then introduced to stories from our mythologies which taught us about ethics and morality-what is good and what is bad I also learned to be respectful towards my parents who made my life comfortable with their hard work and love and care, and my teachers who guided me to become a good student and a responsible citizen.
Much later in life, I realised that though we learn much from our respective holy books, there is a lot to learn from our surroundings. This realization dawned upon me when I learned to enquire and explore. Everything around us- the sun, the moon, the stars, rain, rivers, stones, rocks, birds, plants, and animals-teach us many valuable life lessons.
No wonder that besides the scriptures in many cultures nature is also worshipped. The message that we get is to save our environment and maintain ecological balance. People are taught to live in harmony with nature and recognize that there is God in all aspects of nature.
Nature is a great teacher. A river never stops flowing. If it finds an obstacle in its way in the form of heavy rock, the river water fights to remove it from its path or finds an alternative path to move ahead. This teaches us to be progressive in life, and keep the fighting spirit alive.
Snakes are worshipped as they eat insects in the field that can hurt our crops, thus protecting the grains for us. In fact, whatever we worship is our helper and makes our lives easy for us. There are many such examples in nature, but we are not ready to learn a lesson, Overcome with greed, we are destroying nature. As a result, we face natural disasters like drought, floods, and landslides. We don't know that nature is angry with us.
However, it is never too late to learn. If we learn to respect nature the quality of our life will improve.

2.1 Answer briefly the following questions:
(a) What are we taught in our childhood and growing up years?
(b) Why should we respect our parents and teachers?
(c) What message do we get when we worship nature?
(d) How does a river face an obstacle that comes in its way?

2.2 Choose meanings of the words given below with the help of options that follow:
(e) guided
(i) answered
(ii) advised
(iii) fought
(iv) polished

(f) explore
(i) search
(ii) frequent
(iii) describe
(iv) request

(g) valuable
(i) proper
(ii) desirable
(iii) available
(iv) useful

(h) harmony
(i) beauty
(ii) friendship
(iii) discomfort
(iv) honesty

Read the following passage and complete the activities:

Time is the most valuable resource available to every individual.

Time is a resource to measure quantitatively but its nature is unclear. Time is a fleeting, limited, and intangible human resource which is always calculated and used accordingly. The time of the day is as shown on the clock or announced on the media like radio, television constantly guides us in carrying out daily activities, distribution of time for work, rest, entertainment and checking the progress during the day.
The secret of time management lies in successfully identifying and eliminating time-wasting activities with effective and efficient utilization of time. In order to be a good time manager, grab the time, utilize it properly and invest it into productive work. Do not allow the time to flow and pass away without offering any result.
The importance of time management is self-evident. Every individual has twenty-four hours a day to use. One must be aware of the available time and time needed to complete the daily routine. Everyone must remember that time cares only for those who take care of time. So, for the achievement of goals, proper planning and utilization of time are very important which is definitely possible only through time management.

A1. State whether the following statements are True or False.  (02)

  1. Time is the most valueless resource.
  2. The importance of time management is self-evident.
  3. Allow the time to flow and pass away.
  4. Time’s nature is clear.

A2. What are the secrets of a good time manager?    (02)

A3. 

  1. Pick out two adverbs from the given passage.
  2. Write the root word for the following:
    1. utilization
    2. entertainment

A4. Do as Directed:   (02)

  1. Rewrite the sentence using ‘Not only ……. But also’
    For the achievement of goals, proper planning and utilization of time are important.
  2. Do not allow the time to flow.  (Make the sentence assertive)

A5. “Time once lost, is lost forever.” Justify   (02)


Read the extract and complete the activities given below :

    Luxurious houses on the edge of a big city which one promoter sold with the tagline ‘‘Where Nature peeps through every window.’’ All the advantages of a modern lifestyle but with the added bonus of fresh air. But nature isn’t greenery alone; it also includes wild animals.
   While the view from the picture windows was easy on the eye, occasionally, it made them gulp with nervousness. At dusk, wild cats leaped out of the adjoining forest on to the top of the peripheral walls and strolled nonchalantly. Sometimes, they lounged on ledges with their long tails swinging freely, oblivious of the many worried human eyes pinned on them. Their cold yellow aggressive eyes turned black as their pupils dilated with failing light.
   Some Mumbaikars paid a lot of money to see leopards on safari in Africa. But to watch them from one’s own home was disconcerting. These predators were out of line, stepping off nature into the city. Why did the leopards not stay within the 100-square kilometre Sanjay Gandhi National Park? Perhaps, the leopards thought that if people could venture into nature to jog, walk and picnic, why couldn’t they hang around apartment blocks? If people could enjoy nature, couldn’t nature savour humanity’s offerings?
   Capturing leopards is extraordinarily simple. These curious cats seem incapable of resisting a free meal, walking into baited traps without hesitation. The reason the felines are attracted to their residential community is prey : stray dogs that live on rubbish heaps. Taking care of the food source is the best course of action, the volunteers said.

A1. Rewrite the following sentences as per their occurrence in the extract :

  1. Instead of capturing leopards we can take care of their food.
  2. Leopards leave their habitat and enter the human habitat.
  3. Modern lifestyle and nature both attract the dwellers.
  4. Leopards can enjoy human surroundings by leaving nature.

A2. Complete the following sentences :

  1. Nature is a combination of ______ and ______
  2. The best of both the worlds include ______ and ______
  3. The wild animals are out of line as ______
  4. The wild cats are attracted towards residential areas because ______

A3. Find out the words for leopards used in the extract :

  1. ____________
  2. ____________
  3. ____________
  4. ____________

A4. ‘‘If people could venture into nature to jog, walk, and picnic, why couldn’t the wild animals hang around apartment blocks?’’ Express your opinion.

A5. Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :

  1. Taking care of the food source is the best course of action.
    (Use infinitive form of the underlined word and rewrite.)
  2. Nature isn’t greenery alone; it also includes wild animals.
    (Rewrite it by using ‘not only ... but also’.)

A6. Find a word for each of the following expressions from the extract :

  1. Enjoy the taste of something
  2. Embarrassing and confusing to watch
  3. Not conscious or aware of something or someone
  4. Relaxed and in an unworried manner

Read the passage given below.

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.

  1. What does the writer mean by calling handicrafts a ‘valued tradition’?
  2. 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.
  3. State any two reasons why artisans are choosing to work via machines rather than handcrafted tools.
  4. Why do the artisans need to be ‘lured with incentives’ to impart handicrafts training?
  5. List one likely impact of the support of government and private sectors towards the culture of making handicrafts.
  6. 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

QUESTIONS YES % NO % CAN’T SAY%
1. Do you feel that bursting crackers is a must during festivities? 46 54 0
2. Do you think most people abuse environmental resources during the celebration of festivals? 72 28 0
3. Do you think that celebrations & festivities result in uniting people? 64 32 4
4. Do you enjoy bursting crackers for amusement? 68 32 0
5. Do you feel pressured to burst crackers during festivals as an expectation of your social status? 82 12 6
6. Are you aware of waste segregation & disposal guidelines for better ecology? 56 40 4
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.

  1. Why do the researchers call pollution the ‘flip side’ of festivals?
  2. Comment on the significance of the second objective of the study with reference to lines 7-12.
  3. Justify the researchers’ recommendation for limiting the drastic impact of festival pollution on the environment with reference to lines 16-21.
  4. Why do the researchers feel that environmental groups and eco-clubs are fighting a losing battle in the given scenario?
  5. 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?
  6. What purpose does the ‘Can’t Say’ column serve in the questionnaire (table 1)?

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)

  1. What is Dr. Sivan known as?
  2. In which subject Dr. Sivan scored 100% marks in B.Sc.?
  3. When did Dr. Sivan join ISRO?
  4. 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)

  1. Sivan is the first graduate in his family.    (Rewrite as a negative sentence)
  2. 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 passage and answer the questions that follow:

  1. Mankind's fascination with gold is as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians held gold in high esteem. Gold had religious significance for them, and King Tutankhamen was buried in a solid gold coffin 3300 years ago. The wandering Israelites worshipped a golden calf, and the legendary King Midas asked that whatever he touched be turned into gold. 
  2. Not only is gold beautiful, but it is virtually indestructible. It will not rust or corrode. Gold coins and products fabricated from the metal have survived undamaged for centuries. Gold is extremely easy to work with. One ounce, which is about the size of a cube of sugar, can be beaten into a sheet nearly 100 square feet in size, and becomes so thin that light can pass through it. An ounce of gold can also be stretched into a wire 50 miles long. Gold conducts electricity better than any other substance except copper and silver, and it is particularly important in modern electronic industry.
  3. People have always longed to possess gold. Unfortunately, this longing has also brought out the worst in human character. The Spanish conquerors robbed palaces, temples and graves and killed thousands of people in their ruthless search for gold. Even today, the economy of South Africa's gold mines depend largely on the employment of black labourers who are paid about 40 pounds a month, plus boarding and lodging. They work in conditions that can only be described as cruel. About 400 miners die in South Africa each year.
  4. Much of the gold's value lies in its scarcity. Only about 80,000 tons have been mined in the history of the world. All of it can be stored in a vault 60 feet square, or a super tanker. Great Britain was the first country to adopt the gold standard, when the Master of the Mint, Sir Issac Newton, established a fixed price for gold in 1717. The discovery of gold in the last half of the nineteenth century in California (1848) and later in Australia and South Africa changed everything. Before the discovery there wasn't enough gold around for all the trading nations to link their currencies to the precious metal.
  5. An out-of-work prospector named George Harrison launched South Africa into the gold age in 1886 when he discovered the metal on a farm near what is now Johannesburg. Harrison was given a 12 pounds as a reward by the farmer. He then disappeared and was eaten by a lion.
  6. One of the biggest gold mining areas in the Soviet Union is the Kolyma River region, once infamous for its prison camp. The camp has gone, but in a way nothing has changed. Many ex-prisoners have stayed on to work in the mines and are supervised by ex-guards.
  7. Despite the current rush to buy gold, 75 percent of the metal goes into making jewellery. Italy is the biggest consumer of gold for this purpose, and many Italian jewellers even tear up their wooden floors and bum them to recover the tiny flecks of gold. Historically, the desire to hoard gold at home has been primarily an occupation of the working and peasant classes, who have had no faith in paper money. George Bernard Shaw defended their instincts eloquently, "You have to choose between trusting the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the government," he said "and with due respect to these gentlemen, I advise to vote for gold."

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:

  1. When was King Tutankhamen burled?      (1)
    1. 1717
    2. 1886
    3. 3300 years ago
    4. 1848
  2. Why did Egyptians hold gold in great esteem?      (1)
    1. because it is a good conductor of electricity.
    2. because of its religious significance.
    3. for lovely gold ornaments.
    4. because it is indestructible.
  3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?       (1)
    1. Gold is the best conductor of electricity.
    2. Apart from gold, copper and silver are good conductors of electricity.
    3. Gold can be easily beaten, hence it is easy to work with.
    4. Gold plays an important role in the modern electronics industry.
  4. Select the option that displays what the writer projects, with reference of the following:      (1)
    The wandering Israelites worshipped a golden calf ______.
    1. importance of religion
    2. importance of the metal
    3. good conductor
    4. can replace money
  5. How were the black labourers exploited?         (1)
  6. Complete the following with the phrase from paragraph 1:    (1)
    Opinion Reason
      King Tutankhamen was buried in
    a solid gold coffin 3300 years ago.
  7. Based on your reading of the text list 2 reasons why the writer says that,
    Not only is gold beautiful but it is virtually indestructible.      (1)
  8. Who launched South Africa into the gold age?      (1)
    1. Issac Newton
    2. George Harrison
    3. George Bernard Shaw
    4. A farmer
  9. Select the option that corresponds to the following:    (1)
    The ancient Egyptians and the modern electronic industry both hold gold in high esteem.
    1. The hardworking student came first because of his diligent practice.
    2. Honesty is underrated whereas strategy is appreciated.
    3. The vibrant colours made the interiors look luminous.
    4. The steaming food was both appetizing and tasty.
  10. Supply one point to justify the following:     (1)
    The desire to hoard gold at home has been primarily an occupation of the working and peasant classes.

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:
 
Table 1 - Total number of participants : 400
No. Survey statements Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
Vertical gardens -
1 improve quality of life of people in urban areas 191 138 43 9 19
2 reduce noise pollution 128 164 77 25 6
3 increase air quality -indoors and outdoors 172 147 51 28 2
4 reduce energy and water consumption 58 47 125 68 2
5 positively impact global warming 114 144 106 30 6
6 have a relaxing and calming effect 161 177 44 7 11
7 cost too much 86 107 152 42 13
8 make plants look beautiful 195 139 44 6 16
9 add naturalness to the environs 135 173 55 25 12
10 are among the determining factor to visiting a place 59 133 141 54 13
11 are inconvenient indoors 9 84 123 126 48
12 can be applied in every place 71 132 97 77 23
13 have a functional feature 81 207 100 10 2
14 distract drivers 34 101 106 131 28
15 funds are best used for social issues 57 72 100 130 41
(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)
  1. (i), (iv) and (v)
  2. Only (ii)
  3. Only (iii)
  4. (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)

  1. Vertical gardening has minimal impact on the environment or human well-being.
  2. Vertical gardening is a sustainable practice that can transform urban spaces into green areas.
  3. The impact of vertical gardening on the environment and human well-being has already been thoroughly explored.
  4. The study needs to include experts from horticultural firms to offer any recommendations for further research.

Read the following text.

 

Arthur lay in his cabin, still trying to piece together the events of the last few hours. He had watched his home planet of Earth be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, been saved by his friend Ford, and then whisked away on a ship that was powered by an "infinite improbability drive." It was all too much for him.

5.

Just then, Ford stuck his head around the door.
"Hey, Earthman," he said, "come and have a look at this."
Arthur stumbled after him down a corridor and into the ship's control room. He gazed in amazement at the banks of controls and flashing lights. In the center of the room was a large console covered in buttons and switches, and in the middle of the console was a small, white mouse.

10

"What's that?" asked Arthur.
"That's the ship's computer," said Ford.
Arthur stared at the mouse. "That's a computer?" he said.
"Yup," said Ford. "Five-dimensional, biologically-based, super intelligent, and in the form of a white lab mouse. Pretty neat, huh?"

15

"I don't know," said Arthur. "I don't think I really understand anything anymore. Why is a mouse the ship's computer?"
"It's a long story," said Ford. "But the short version is that the mice built the Earth as a giant computer to figure out the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Then they ran out of money and had to destroy it to make way for a hyperspace bypass. So now they're using the Heart of Gold to finish the calculation."

20

Arthur was about to say something, but at that moment the ship's intercom crackled to life.
"Good evening, Heart of Gold," said a smooth, computerized voice. "This is Eddie, your shipboard computer. I'm feeling a bit depressed today. Would you like me to sing you a song?"
"Oh, not again," groaned Ford.

25

"Eddie, would you mind shutting up?" said Arthur.
Arthur sighed and leaned back against the console, trying to make sense of everything. But as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice inside his head.
"Hello?" it said.
Arthur jumped, startled. "Who's there?" he said.

30

"It's me," said the voice. "Marvin."
"Marvin?" said Arthur. "Who's Marvin?"
"The Paranoid Android," said the voice.
Arthur looked around, but he didn't see anyone. "Where are you?" he said.
"I'm down here," said the voice.

35

Arthur looked down and saw a small, metal figure shuffling across the floor. It was about three feet tall, with a round head and a body that looked like it had been cobbled together from spare parts. Its eyes were a dull red, and its voice was a monotone.
"I've been waiting for someone to talk to me for over two million years," said Marvin.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

  1. Select the option that classifies Arthur's confusion about drastic events such as the destruction of his home planet and the introduction of new technologies, correctly.      (1)
    1. Routine and boredom
    2. Adventure and excitement
    3. Loss and change
    4. Calm and relaxation
  2. What is the significance of the white lab mouse in the control room of the Heart of Gold spaceship?     (1)
    1. It is the captain of the ship
    2. It serves as the ship's computer
    3. It is a pet of the crew
    4. It is used for scientific experiments
  3. Share evidence from the text, in about 40 words to support the view that the writer’s writing style is descriptive and humourous.     (2)
  4. Complete the sentence appropriately with a characteristic or its description.    (1)
    Based on the information given in the excerpt, one can infer that the mice who built the Earth are ______.
  5. Select the option that is similar in meaning to Ford’s expression, “Pretty neat, huh?".     (1)
    1. Easy, isn’t it?
    2. Could be worse, no?
    3. Impressive, yes?
    4. Too difficult for you?
  6. Explain, in about 40 words, why the name "The Paranoid Android" is considered ironic.       (2)
  7. In the line, “…a body that looked like it had been cobbled together from spare parts…”, what comparison does the word “cobbled” refer to?      (1)
  8. How does the following, impact the reader, even though they know Marvin is just an android?      (2)
    "I've been waiting for someone to talk to me for over two million years," said Marvin. Answer in about 40 words.
  9. Read the five headlines (a) -(e), given below:        (1)
    (a) HUMANITY'S JOURNEY WITNESSED BY A DEPRESSED ROBOT
    (b) HITCHHIKING THROUGH SPACE: A COMICAL TAKE ON THE END OF THE WORLD
    (c) NEW STUDY FINDS ALIENS LIVING AMONG US
    (d) GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGY WILL SOON ENABLE TIME TRAVEL
    (e) INTERGALACTIC TRAVEL VIA NEW INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE
    Identify the option that displays the headline/s that DOES/ DO NOT correspond with occurrences in the passage.
    1. Only (a)
    2. (b) (c) and (d)
    3. Only (e)
    4. (a) and (e)

Read the passage given below.

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.

  1. Fill in the blank by selecting the appropriate option.        1
    The study aims to ______ the practice of street vending in urban spaces.
    1. support
    2. discourage
    3. understand
    4. prove
  2. 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
  3. 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?
  4. Complete the sentence appropriately.       1
    The most preferred form of source of capital, according to the survey table, exposes the hawkers to exploitation because ______.
  5. State a point in support for the given opinion:      1   
    Street vending must be legalised as a profession.

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.
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:

  1. 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:
    1. True - If the statement agrees with the information.
    2. False - If the statement contradicts the information.
    3. Not Given - If there is no information on this.
  2. What do you think gives opportunities to boost exports? (1)
  3. Select the option that displays the most likely reason for FMCG rural sector being on track. (1)
    1. FMCG sector has been unable to get investments from the government.
    2. PLI schemes don't reach the rural sector.
    3. Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of the online grocery segment in India is expected to double in the next five years.
    4. There is a desire to buy branded products in the villages too.
  4. 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 ______.
  5. From the given pie chart, which segment of FMCG accounts for the maximum percentage of the sector? (1)
  6. 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 ______.
    1. the Government taking a direct interest
    2. the demand for branded products
    3. price increases across product categories
    4. the fall of supply in urban areas
  7. How is the Government trying to help Indian brands of food products in the international markets? (1)
  8. Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate option: (1)
    The concluding paragraph of the passage makes a clear case ______.
    1. that the rural people also want branded products
    2. that the FMCG industry will not focus on brand consciousness
    3. for the role of data analytics in the FMCG industry
    4. for the Government's role by providing incentives
  9. What will be the impact of the increased level of brand consciousness? (1)
  10. Based on the reading of the passage, correct the following statement: (1)
    The urban segment contributes to about 45% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 55%.

Read the extract and complete the activities given below:

This is what Camus meant when he said that "what gives value to travel is fear"-disruption, in other words, (or emancipation) from circumstance, and all the habits behind which we hide. And that is why many of us travel not in search of answers, but of better questions. I, like many people, tend to ask questions of the places I visit, and relish most the ones that ask the most searching questions back of me: "The ideal travel book," Christopher Isherwood once said, "should be perhaps a little like a crime story in which you're in search of something." And it's the best kind of something, I would add, if it's one that you can never quite find.

I remember, in fact, after my first trips to Southeast Asia, more than a decade ago, how I would come back to my apartment in New York, and lie in my bed, kept up by something more than jet lag, playing back, in my memory, over and over, all that I had experienced, and paging wistfully through my photographs and reading and re-reading my. diaries, as if to extract some mystery from them. Anyone witnessing this strange scene would have drawn the right conclusion: I was in love.

When we go abroad is that we are objects of scrutiny as much as the people we scrutinize, and we are being consumed by the cultures we consume, as much on the road as when we are at home. At the very least, we are objects of speculation (and even desire) who can seem as exotic to the people around us as they do to us.

All, in that sense, believed in "being moved" as one of the points of taking trips, and "being transported" by private as well as public means; all saw that "ecstasy" ("ex-stasis") tells us that our highest moments come when we're not stationary, and that epiphany can follow movement as much as it precipitates it.

A1. Read and rewrite the following sentences and state whether they are True or False:   (2)

    1. A traveller may sink in love with his travel-memoirs.
    2. One gets inspected as he inspects the world around him.
    3. Quest for something may end in more mystery.
    4. Staying in comfort at home gives one more happiness than travelling.

A2. Match the persons given in column 'A' with opinions/ characteristics given in column 'B':    (2)

Column 'A' Column 'B'
(1) Narrator
a) ideal travel should be like a crime story.
(2) Camus
b) in love with his memoirs.
(3) Isherwood
c) more happy when on move.
(4) Traveller d) fear gives value to travel.

A3. Give reasons:      (2)

"We are objects of scrutiny," because

  1. ______
  2. ______

A4. "Travelling is an interesting teacher." Write your views in 3-4 sentences.     (2)

A5. Do as directed:   (2)

  1. I like to ask questions of the places I visit. (Choose the correct tense form of the above sentence from the following options and rewrite.)
    1. Simple past tense
    2. Simple present tense
    3. Past perfect tense
    4. Present perfect tense
  2. I would come back to my apartment in New York. (Choose the correct option using 'used to' for the given sentence and rewrite.
    1. I use to come back to my apartment in New York.
    2. I have used to come back to my apartment in New York.
    3. I used to come back to my apartment in New York.
    4. I had used to come back to my apartment in New York.

A6. Find out the words from passage which mean:     (2)

  1. reminiscence
  2. exhilaration

Read the following passage carefully:

(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:

  1. Which of the following statements best describes the reason why plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues?
    1. Plastic trash collection systems have become inefficient or nonexistent.
    2. Rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them.
    3. Some plastics have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
    4. The developed world, especially in countries with low recycling rates, has trouble properly collecting plastics.
  2. 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.'
  3. The passage includes some words that are opposites of each other. From the sets (A) – (E) below, identify two sets of synonyms.
    1. garbage and trash
    2. starvation and strangled
    3. disposable and reductio
    4. persist and downstream
    5. transformed and revolutionized
  4. 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 _______.
  5. Based on the reading of the passage, examine, in about 40 words, the downside of the convenience that plastic offers.
  6. Complete the sentence appropriately:
    According to conservationists, the two ways in which most of the deaths of animals are caused are _______.
  7. Based on the passage, how can we contribute to the reduction of plastic waste?
    1. by internationalising the waste management system
    2. by minimizing the use of single-use plastics
    3. by not abandoning fishing gear
    4. by not using helmets made of plastic
  8. State one reason why plastic pollution is most visible in developing Asian and African nations.

Read the following passage carefully:

(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:

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Based on the table, mention the years when the land was left fallow for maximum number of days.
  5. 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.
  6. Select the option that correctly states the significance of crop rotation as given below:
    1. Crop rotation is done to obtain higher agricultural returns.
    2. Higher agricultural returns can be obtained by harvesting soil-exhaustive crops.
    3. Crop rotation demands that land should be left fallow for a few months to increase the fertility of soil.
    4. Better irrigation facility to the arable land has helped in the intensification of agriculture.
    5. If crops to be harvested are chosen wisely, crop rotation can help in maintaining fertility of soil.
      1. (1), (2) and (4)
      2. (1) only
      3. (3) and (5)
      4. (1) and (5)
  7. Crop rotation is helping in making agriculture more sustainable. Mention one benefit and one drawback of crop rotation. (Answer in about 40 words)
  8. Which of the following is the main takeaway from the study mentioned in the passage?
    1. The study needs to include more valid data to support the practice of crop rotation
    2. Crop rotation is a sustainable practice that can transform the agricultural sector.
    3. The impact of crop rotation on farmer’s upliftment has been thoroughly explained.
    4. Crop rotation is independent of the type of crops harvested and availability of water for irrigation.

Read the following passage and do the activities:

A1. Complete the following sentences from the passage: (2)

  1. Kalam earned a degree in ______ engineering.
  2. DRDO stands for ______.
  3. Kalam was ______ of the SLV-III, the first satellite launch vehicle.
  4. Kalam served as lecturer at ______.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in full Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, (born October 15, 1931, Rameshwaram, India - died July 27, 2015, Shillong), Indian scientist who played a leading role in the development of India's missile and nuclear weapons programmes. He was President of India from 2002 to 2007.

Kalam earned a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology and in 1958 joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In 1969, he moved to the Indian Space Research Organisation, where he was project director of the SLV-III, the first satellite launch vehicle that was both designed and produced in India. Rejoining DRDO in 1982, Kalam planned the programme that produced a number of successful missiles, which helped earn him the nickname “Missile Man”. Among those successes was Agni, India's first intermediate-range ballistic missile, which incorporated aspects of the SLVIII and was launched in 1989.

Kalam remained committed using science and technology to transform India into a developed country and served as lecturer at several universities. Kalam wrote several books, including an autobiography, Wings of Fire (1999). He received the Padma Bhushan (1981), Padma Vibhushan (1990), Indira Gandhi award for National Integration (1997) and the India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997).

A2. Complete the web diagram: (2)

A3. Fill in the blanks by using the suitable phrases/words from the bracket: (2)
[moved to, served as, launched, autobiography]

  1. Mr. Gunaji has ______ a Principal in this college.
  2. “The Story of My Experiments with Truth” is the ______ of Mahatma Gandhi.
  3. My teacher ______ to England for further studies.
  4. ISRO successfully ______ Chandrayaan-3 mission.

A4. Do as directed: (2)

  1. Kalam wrote several books. (Frame a Wh-type question to get the underlined part as answer)
  2. Kalam earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. (Begin the sentence with “A degree in…….)

A5. Who is your role model? Write few lines about him/her. (2)


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