मराठी

Read the following excerpt from a case study. Impacts of Festivities on Ecology Festivals are synonymous with celebration, ceremony and joy. However, festivals bring to the fore the flip side of - English - Language and Literature

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प्रश्न

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)?
थोडक्यात उत्तर
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उत्तर

  1. Because the accepted norm is that festivals are synonymous with celebration/joy and people fail to see the other side, which is pollution.
    OR
    Festivals and pollution are two sides of the same coin currently/ polar opposites/completely in contrast, yet together with each other - where we associate festivals with joy and celebration, we can’t deny that pollution is an ignored reality.
  2. Second objective - Exploring solutions

    Significance - important for knowing steps that need to be taken to address the problem investigated in the research/knowing what are the immediate actions that need to be implemented to address the issue studied/ helps focus on what needs to be corrected & what needs to be avoided to solve the problem focusing on in the research.

  3. Researcher’s recommendation: Strict rules
    Justification: Strict rules are better than a total ban because banning does not serve the purpose of awareness/ people do not generally conform to banning and tend to revolt/ strict rules pose some restrictions but still give the needed freedom.
  4. the festivals cause pollution along with other issues (traffic, rampant use of plastic and unscientific methods of garbage disposal) that add to it.
    awareness is the only solution but the lack of it only adds to the problem.
  5. a large percentage of people (72%) abuse environmental resources to celebrate festivals.
    a high percentage of people (82%) use crackers to celebrate festivals in order to live up to the expectation of their social status.
  6. Gives a provision to/allows the respondents to choose not to express/not to answer/allows an option to those who lack clarity/are unwilling to respond.
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Notes

Guidance:

i. The learner is required to explain how pollution is the darker side of festivals and unfortunately goes hand-in-hand, often, with festivities.

  • Award maximum 1 mark for the complete correct answer.
  • There is no partial credit.
  • Accept any other similar complete interpretation, with reference to the given passage that conveys the reason why pollution is the flip side of festivals.

Guidance:

ii.

  • Award a maximum of 1 mark for the mention of any one of the valid signatures.
  • There is no partial credit.

Guidance:

iii. The learner is required to state the recommendation and then defend it against the other stated alternative.

  • Award a maximum of 1 mark for the complete correct answer.
  • Award partial credit of ½ mark if just the recommendation is listed or ‘strict rules’ is the response, without substantiation.

Guidance:

iv. The learner is required to rationalise why environmental groups and eco-clubs aren’t succeeding in their purpose.

  • Award a maximum of 1 mark for the complete correct answer including both situation and the reason
  • Award partial credit of ½ mark if just either aspect is listed.

Guidance:

v. The learner is required to study table 1 and

  • choose data that indicates what number percentage of people partake in activities that add to pollution.
  • Then, check to see if the number is higher than the number about ‘no to bursting crackers.
  • Finally rationalise the data to prove the Q statement, by using the evidence data.
  • Award maximum 1 mark for the mention of anyone point - identification + listing of percentage.
  • Award partial credit of ½ mark if the questionnaire point is listed without the percentage/percentage listed at the mention of the questionnaire point. 

Guidance:

vi. The learner is required to explain the role of the 'can’t say’ section, with reference to the study table 1.

  • Award a maximum of 1 mark for the complete correct answer - any one point.
  • No partial credit.
Unseen Passage Comprehension
  या प्रश्नात किंवा उत्तरात काही त्रुटी आहे का?
2021-2022 (March) Term 2 Sample

संबंधित प्रश्‍न

The hopping kangaroo is a familiar sight in every snapshot relating to Australia. Members of the kangaroo family can be as small as a rat or as big as a man. Kangaroos are found mainly in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Kangaroos, which are big-footed marsupials that evolved in Australia, use their short front legs like arms. The man-sized kangaroos of Australia are capable of speeding up to 88 km/hr for short distances, their means of locomotion being their powerful hind legs, which carry them over the ground in jumps of 9 m or more at a time.
Weighing around 70 kg, they have an average lifespan of around six to eight years and a maximum lifetime of 20 years. When bothered by predators, kangaroos often head for the water, standing submerged to the chest and attempting to drown the attacker by holding him under water. Another defensive technique is to get their back to a tree and kick at their adversary with their clawed hind feet, sometimes with sufficient force to kill a man. Normally shy animals, they alert other kangaroos to danger by beating on the ground with their hind feet. This loud alarm signal carries over a long distance.
The tail is important for kangaroos. It holds them in balance and supports them when they sit or fight against other kangaroos. The kangaroo uses its short legs as arms. With them it scratches itself, cleans its fur and holds branches when it eats leaves. Kangaroos are marsupials and the females carry newborns in a pouch in front of their abdomens. The babies are born small and climb up into safety of the pouch. There, for the next 225 days or so, they eat, sleep and grow. Once they reach full development, they leave the pouch. A young kangaroo that leaves the pouch is called a ‘joey’. To keep from getting too hot, the kangaroos take naps in the afternoon and do most of their grazing at night. But the best stay-cool secret of these creatures is the spit bath! Kangaroos drool and lick saliva all over their faces and bodies to cool down.

On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following sentences with appropriate words/phrases:
(a) When followed by predators, kangaroos submerge ____________ and _________________.

(b) The powerful hind legs help kangaroos to __________________.

(c) Kangaroos are mainly found in Australia and are ____________________.

(d) They use their front legs to ___________________.

(e) Kangaroos warn others of danger by _______________________.

(f) The secret of kangaroos to stay cool is ______________________.

(g) They use their tails to _________________________.

(h) Before becoming ‘joeys’, the young ones stay in the ______________ and ________________.


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’?


One of the greatest advances in modern technology has been the invention of computers. They are widely used in industries and in universities. Now there is hardly any sphere of human life where computers have not been pressed into service of man. We are heading fast towards the day when a computer will be as much part of man's daily life as a telephone or a calculator.

Computers are capable of doing extremely complicated work in all branches of learning. They can solve the most complex mathematical problems or put thousands of unrelated facts in order. These machines can be put to varied uses. For instance, they can provide information on the best way to prevent traffic jams. This whole process by which machines can be used to work for us has been called 'automation'. In the future 'automation' may enable human beings to enjoy more leisure than they do today. The coming of automation is bound to have important social consequences.

Some years ago an expert on automation, Sir Leon Bagrit, pointed out that it was a mistake to believe that these machines could 'think'. There is no possibility that human beings will be "controlled by machines". Though computers are capable of learning from their mistakes and improving on their performance, they need detailed instructions from human beings to operate. They can never, as it were, lead independent lives or "rule the world" by making decisions of their own.

Sir Leon said that in future, computers would be developed which would be small enough to carry in the pocket. Ordinary people would then be able to use them to obtain valuable information. Computers could be plugged into a national network and be used like radios. For instance, people going on holiday could be informed about weather conditions. Car drivers can be given alternative routes when there are traffic jams. It will also be possible to make tiny translating machines. This will enable people who do not share a common language to talk to each other without any difficulty or to read foreign publications.

a) What is the greatest advancement in modern technology?

b) What complicated works are computers capable of doing?

c) Write one use of computers.

d) Explain automation.

e) Why can't computers lead independent lives or rule the world?

f) How would computers as translating machines help people? 

g) What was the prediction of Sir Leon about computers in the future?

h) How can computers help people going on holiday?


Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:            
 1. We sit in the last row, bumped about but free of stares. The bus rolls out of the dull crossroads of the city, and we are soon in open countryside, with fields of sunflowers as far as the eye can see, their heads all facing us. Where there is no water, the land reverts to desert. While still on level ground we see in the distance the tall range of the Mount Bogda, abrupt like a shining prism laid horizontally on the desert surface. It is over 5,000 metres high, and the peaks are under permanent snow, in powerful contrast to the flat desert all around. Heaven Lake lies part of the way up this range, about 2,000 metres above sea-level, at the foot of one of the higher snow-peaks.
 2. As the bus climbs, the sky, brilliant before, grows overcast. I have brought nothing warm to wear: it is all down at the hotel in Urumqi. Rain begins to fall. The man behind me is eating overpoweringly smelly goat's cheese. The bus window leaks inhospitably but reveals a beautiful view. We have passed quickly from desert through arable land to pasture, and the ground is now green with grass, the slopes dark with pine. A few cattle drink at a clear stream flowing past moss-covered stones; it is a Constable landscape . The stream changes into a white torrent, and as we climb higher I wish more and more that I had brought with me something warmer than the pair of shorts that have served me so well in the desert .The stream (which, we are told rises in Heaven Lake) disappears, and we continue our slow ascent. About noon, we arrive at Heaven Lake, and look for a place to stay at the foot, which is the resort area. We get a room in a small cottage, and I am happy to note that there are thick quilts on the beds.

3. Standing outside the cottage we survey our surroundings. Heaven Lake is long, sardine-shaped and fed by snowmelt from a stream at its head. The lake is an intense blue, surrounded on all sides by green mountain walls, dotted with distant sheep. At the head of the lake, beyond the delta of the inflowing stream, is a massive snow-capped peak which dominates the vista; it is part of a series of peaks that culminate, a little out of view, in Mount Bogda itself.

 4. For those who live in the resort there is a small mess-hall by the shore. We eat here sometimes, and sometimes buy food from the vendors outside, who sell kabab and naan until the last buses leave. The kababs, cooked on skewers over charcoal braziers, are particularly good; highly spiced and well-done. Horse's milk is available too from the local Kazakh herdsmen, but I decline this. I am so affected by the cold that Mr. Cao, the relaxed young man who runs the mess, lends me a  spare pair of trousers, several sizes too large but more than comfortable. Once I am warm again, I feel a pre-dinner spurt of energy – dinner will be long in coming – and I ask him whether the lake is good for swimming in.
 5. "Swimming?" Mr. Cao says. "You aren't thinking of swimming, are you?"
 6. "I thought I might," I confess. "What's the water like?"
 7. He doesn't answer me immediately, turning instead to examine some receipts with exaggerated interest. Mr. Cao, with great off-handedness, addresses the air. "People are often drowned here," he says. After a pause, he continues. "When was the last one?" This question is directed at the cook, who is preparing a tray of mantou (squat white steamed bread rolls), and who now appears, wiping his doughy hand across his forehead. "Was it the Beijing athlete?" asks Mr. Cao.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:

(a) One benefit of sitting in the last row of the bus was that:
(i) the narrator enjoyed the bumps.
(ii) no one stared at him.
(iii) he could see the sunflowers.
(iv) he avoided the dullness of the city.

(b) The narrator was travelling to:
(i) Mount Bogda
(ii) Heaven Lake
(iii) a 2000 metre high snow peak
(iv) Urumqi

(c) On reaching the destination the narrator felt relieved because:
(i) he had got away from the desert.
(ii) a difficult journey had come to an end.
(iii) he could watch the snow peak.
(iv) there were thick quilts on the bed.

(d) Mount Bogda is compared to:
(i) a horizontal desert surface
(ii) a shining prism
(iii) a Constable landscape
(iv) the overcast sky

Answer the following questions briefly:
(e) Which two things in the bus made the narrator feel uncomfortable?
(f) What made the scene look like a Constable landscape?
(g) What did he regret as the bus climbed higher?
(h) Why did the narrator like to buy food from outside?
(i) What is ironic about the pair of trousers lent by Mr. Cao?
(j) Why did Mr. Cao not like the narrator to swim in the lake?
(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:
(i) sellers (para 4)
(ii) increased (para 7)

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 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 following extract and answer the questions given below:
 
The special school did Chaitanya a lot of good. He was now a much more confident person, adored by his teachers, his friends and his school staff. His speech improved and expression became clearer. His social manners became laudable.
 
Academically, he was still lagging behind the expected standard of learning but it was okey. He started developing an all- around interest in craft, art, music, dancing and sports.
 
Early in 1997-98, when he returned from state level inter- school sports, he had two prizes to his credit and a silver medal. He had won his laurels in athletic events and the silver medal in a running race.
 
When I saw the prizes and read the citation Chaitanya had received, I was stupefied, in total disbelief, then- hugged him, kissed him and cried unabashedly to my heart’s content. That day, I cried for the first time out of joy and a sense of being vindicated. Without practice he had competed with approximately 1,800 children drawn from various schools all over the state. He was subsequently selected for the marathon race, but he could not participate due to a healthy problem.” May be next year, he would”, I assured myself. And I, as his proud mother, would proudly chronicle his future achievements and success to inspire other mothers of the world.
 
Looking back at my own life, I feel that it is the spirit with which we can accept our life gracefully is what matters ultimately; and it is love which nourishes us.
1. What does the extract focus on? (1)
2. How  Chaitanya’s mother react when she saw the prizes? (2)
3. What were Chaitanya’s achievements in sports? (2)
4. How can you help a special child like Chaitanya? (2)
5. Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) When I saw the prizes, I was stupefied. (1)
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘No sooner…… than’)
(ii) He was still lagging behind the expected standard of learning, but it was okay. (1)
(Rewrite the sentence using ‘Although’)
(iii) He started developing an all – round interest in craft and sports. (1)
(Rewrite the sentence using infinitive form of the word underlined) 
6. Find out the words / phrases from the extract which mean: (1)
(i) to take part in = 
(ii) surprised =

Read the following extract and answer the question given below:    (11)
Researchers· recently announced the earth could actually
withstand up to 200,000 times the current population. They arrived at this figure by calculating the amount of heat a human body emits. and only at l ·3 million billion would the earth be too hot to be habitable. And though it would feel like being in a can of sardines if that figure were ever reached, the earth is capable of comfortably sustaining a population several times the current 6·5 billion.
In fact, fertility is actually on the decline worldwideThough
population has grown, the rate of growth has fallen sharply. Twenty years ago, the UN projected that population would reach l l · 16  billion in 2050, today they say it will reach only 9·37 billion. Moreover, human population will stabilize at about 11 ·5 billion.While this figure is almost twice the current one, it is hardly claustrophobic.
         True, the demands on resources are heavy even now, but this is more due to the manner in which these resources are being used. In fact, figures show that a bigger population does not amount to greater consumption. Over 20% of the world 's people in the highest income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditure - the poorest 20% a tiny 1 ·3%. With just 5% of the world's population, the US consumes about 40% of the world's resources. Would you say the US is overpopulated? 
     Concerns on scarcity of food are equally baseless. In fact, global food production has actually kept up with population growth . If people starve in many countries it is not because food is becoming scarce; it is because those people cannot afford it.

Questions: 
(1)  What conclusions did the researchers arrive at? (1)
( 2) How does the writer explain that the fertility is  on the
decline?   (2) 

(3) What does the extract predict about the fear-, of scarcity of food? (2)
( 4) How will population become a gift in the global market
scene? (2) 
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:
(i) The earth could withstand upto 200,000 times the
current population.
(Rewrite the sentence using the modal auxiliary showing 'certainty'.)  (I)
(ii) The earth would be too hot to be habitable.
(Remove ' too' and rewrite the sentence.) (1) 
(iii) These resources are being used. 
(Rewrite the sentence beginning with, 'We ............ ') (I)
( 6) Write the antonyms of:
(i) habitable      (1/2)
.
(ii) stabilize       ( 1/2 )


(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.


Read the following extract and answer the questions given
below:
Another relative has no plans of joining this league though.
She is rather μnabashed 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 slumber-land each morning. This practice does lead to certain oddities though. 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.
The upshot of these varying tendencies is that such extreme
contrasts often exist in the same household. Weeks pass before
the younger lot (typically late risers) and the older lot (normally early birds) come face to face. It's almost as if they live in different time zones and different countries.

Questions:
(1) What information does the extract give about the typical
routine of a media person?
(2) According to the writer, who are the early risers and the late risers?
(3) Why does the writer say that early risers clearly have the edge in life?
(4) Do you rise early or late? Why?
(5) Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed:

  1. They live in different time zones and different countries.
    (Rewrite the sentence using 'not only- but also'.)
  2. That gives them sufficient justification.
    (Rewrite the sentence using the Present Perfect tense.)
  3. She is rather unabashed about waking up past noon on a daily basis.
    (Rewrite the sentence using 'infinitive' form of
    the underlined word.)

(6) Find out from the extract the words which mean:
(i) frightened
(ii) sleep


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 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 carefully:

  1. As the family finally sets off from home after many arguments, there is a moment of lull as the car takes off. “Alright, so where are we going for dinner now?” asks the one at the driving wheel. What follows is chaos as multiple voices make as many suggestions.
  2. By the time order is restored and a decision is arrived at, tempers have risen, feelings injured, and there is at least one person grumbling.
  3. Twenty years ago, you would step out of home, the decision of meal and venue already made with no arguments or opposition, and everybody looked forward to the meal with equal enthusiasm. The decision was made by the head of the family, and the others fell in line. Today, every member of the family has a say in every decision, which also promotes a sense of togetherness and bonding.
  4. We empower our kids to take their own decisions from a very early age. We ask them the cuisine they prefer, the movie they want to see, the holiday they wish to go on, and the subjects they wish to study.
  5. It’s a closely connected world out there where children consult and guide each other. A parent’s well-meaning advice can sound like nothing more than unnecessary preaching. How then do we reach our children through all the conflicting views and make the voice of reason be heard? Children today question choices and prefer to go with the flow.
  6. What then is the best path to take? I would say the most important thing one can do is to listen. Listen to your children and their silences. Ensure that you keep some time aside for them, insist that they share their stories with you. Step into their world. It is not as complicated as it sounds; just a daily half an hour of the quality time would do the trick

2.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following questions in 30-40 words each:

  1. Write one advantage and one disadvantage of allowing every family member to be part of the decision-making process.
  2. In today’s world, what are parents asking their kids?
  3. Which two pieces of advice does the writer give to the parents?
  4. The passage supports the parents. How far do you agree with the author’s views? Support your view with a reason.

2.2 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, answer the following:

  1. The synonym of ‘hurt’ as given in paragraph 2 is ______.
  2. The word, which means the same as a style or method of cooking in paragraph 4, is:
    1. cuisine
    2. gourmet
    3. gastric
    4. science
  3. The antonym of ‘agreeable’ as given in paragraph 5 is ______.
  4. The antonym of ‘simple’ as given in paragraph 6 is:
    1. difficult
    2. complicated
    3. easy
    4. tricky

Read of the following passage and answer the questions:

When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes, and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the Consulate-General we found that my friend's mail had arrived but that mine had not.

Questions :

(a) What was 'they'?

(b) Where could the author get 'one'?

(c) Find the exact word from the extract which means 'domesticated.'

(d) What did the author find at the Consulate-General?


Read the passage given below.

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 passage and answer the questions that follow:

1.

Too many parents these days can't say no, As a result, they find themselves raising 'children' who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn't satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators, and parents think it's time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what's really important: values like hard work, contentment, honesty, and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were overindulged as children paints a discouraging picture of their future: when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life's disappointments. They also have a distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the workplace and in relationships.

2.

Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today's parents themselves raised on values of thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where no was a household word. Today's kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this generation were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assaults on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat-screen TV as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.

3.

What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving, and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secure structure.

4.

 Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one's own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer any eight questions from the nine given below:

  1. What is challenging for today's parents?
  2. What will be the consequence of over indulging children?
  3. Why do parents get caught in the buying blitz?
  4. How do children learn critical life lessons?
  5. What is the impact of advertisements on children?
  6. Why do children need limits on their behaviour?
  7. How do older children learn self-control?
  8. Find a word in the passage which means 'research'. (Paragraph 2)
  9. Find a word in the passage which means 'wealthy'. (Paragraph 3)

Read the following passage.

A Dirshti was young woman who had always been fascinated by the supernatural. She had read countless books and watched numerous documentaries about ghosts and otherworldly beings. So, when she heard about an abandoned hotel on the outskirts of town that was said to be haunted, she knew she had to investigate.
B One night, Dirshti decided to sneak into the dilapidated hotel with a few of her friends. As they made their way through the dark, eerie corridors, they heard strange noises and felt cold spots. They were convinced that they were not alone.
C Suddenly, they came across a room that was different from the rest. It was filled with old cooking equipment and strange symbols etched into the walls. Drishti felt a chill run down her spine as she entered the room. She knew that this was where the most paranormal activity occurred. As they were examining the room, they heard a loud bang coming from the hallway. They froze in fear, not knowing what was coming their way. They could hear footsteps approaching, and they knew they had to hide.
D They quickly ducked behind some old shelves as the footsteps grew louder. The sound of breathing was getting closer and closer until finally, they saw a figure appear in the doorway. It was a man wearing a chef’s hat, with a face that was twisted in a sinister smile. Drishti and her friends felt their blood run cold as the man approached them. They could feel his cold breath on their faces as he leaned in, whispering in a deep voice, "You shouldn't be here."
E Dirshti and her friends were frozen with fear as they stared into the chef's eyes. But suddenly, the lights flickered on and the figure disappeared. They looked around the room, and everything seemed normal. They had been so scared that they hadn't realized they were in a room with faulty wiring
F Disappointed, they realized that their ghost hunt had been a bust. They left the hotel feeling deflated and let down. They had hoped for an exciting, spine-tingling adventure, but all they got was a scary moment caused by faulty wiring. As they drove home, they couldn't help but feel foolish for getting so worked up over nothing. They had been so convinced that they would find evidence of the paranormal that they had overlooked the simple explanation for the noises they had heard.
G Dirshti learned an important lesson that night. Sometimes, the scariest things are the ones that we create in our own minds. She realized that she didn't need to chase after the supernatural to experience thrills and excitement. The world around her was full of mystery and wonder, and she was content to experience it without the need for ghosts and ghouls.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

(i) How does the setting contribute to the overall mood and atmosphere of the story?    (1)

    1. It creates a sense of nostalgia.
    2. It provides a sense of false security.
    3. It adds to the suspense in the story.
    4. It presents a contrast with the real world.

(ii) List two ways, how the disappointment that Drishti and her friends felt after their ghost hunt is analogous to the feeling of waking up from a dream. Answer in 30 -40 words.    (2)

(iii) What is the main flaw in Drishti's approach to investigating the haunted hotel?   (1)

  1. She was too focused on finding evidence of the paranormal.
  2. She was too skeptical and refused to believe in the possibility of ghosts.
  3. She relied too heavily on other people's accounts of the supernatural.
  4. She didn't take enough precautions to ensure her safety.

(iv) After which paragraph of the story, would the following paragraph most likely be placed?   (1)
They commenced walking through the hotel, Drishti’s torchlight barely illuminating the darkness around her. Suddenly, they heard a loud creaking noise behind them. Drishti whipped around, pointing her flashlight in the direction of the noise. Nothing. Shaken, they all quickened their pace.

(v) Briefly explain (in 30-40 words) any two elements that classify the story as scary  (2)

(vi) Substitute the underlined word in the following sentence with a word/ phrase from paragraphs 4- 6, that means the same.     (1)

The sound of the footsteps outside the door left her petrified and the rasping breathing added to her horror.

(vii) What is the most significant lesson that Drishti learns from her experience in the haunted hotel?   (1)

  1. The importance of avoiding risk-taking.
  2. The need to be more sceptical of the supernatural.
  3. The value of evaluating your weaknesses
  4. The power of imagination to create suspense.

(viii) Complete the following appropriately.   (1)

Based on the use of the word "dilapidated" to describe the hotel in Paragraph 2, we can infer that its condition was ______.

(ix) Complete the sentence appropriately.   (1)

If the title, The Hotel Haunting is given to this passage, it would be an inappropriate title, as compared to The Unsettling Encounter at the Abandoned Hotel because ______.

(x) State whether the given assertion is TRUE or FALSE.   (1)

The reason Drishti and her friends visited the abandoned hotel was to prove the existence of ghosts.


Read the extract given below:

(1) Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. When areas in and around Leh began to experience water shortages, life didn't grind to a halt. Why? Because a retired civil engineer in the Jammu and Kashmir Government came up with the idea of artificial glaciers.
(2) Ladakh, a cold desert at an altitude of 3,000 - 3,500 meters above sea level, has a low average annual rainfall rate of 50 mm. Glaciers have always been the only source of water. Agriculture is completely dependent on glacier melt, unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India. But over the years, with increasing effects of climate change, rainfall and snowfall patterns have been changing, resulting in severe shortage and drought situations. Given the extreme winter conditions, the window for farming is usually limited to one harvest season.
(3) It is located between the natural glacier above and the village below. The one closer to the village and lowest in altitude melts first, providing water during April-May, the crucial sowing season. Further, layers of ice above melt with the increasing temperature, thus ensuring continuous supply to the fields. 

Therefore, farmers have been able to manage two crops instead of one. It costs about 1,50,000 and above to create a glacier.

(4)

Fondly called the glacier man, he has designed over 15 artificial glaciers in and around Leh since 1987. In recognition of his pioneering effort, he was conferred the Padma Shri by The President of India.

(5)

There are a few basic steps followed while creating an artificial glacier. River or stream water at high altitude is diverted to a shaded area of the hill, facing north, where the winter sun is blocked by a ridge or a mountain range. At the start of winter ie., in November, the diverted water is made to flow on sloping hills facing distribution channels. Stone embankments are built at regular intervals which impede the flow of water, making shallow pools which freeze, forming a cascade of ice along the slope. Ice formation continues for 3-4 months resulting in a large accumulation of ice which is referred to as an ‘artificial glacier’.

Based on your understanding of the extract, answer the questions below:

  1. Infer one reason for, the following, based on information in paragraph 1.       (1)
    Areas in and around Leh began to experience water shortage but life didn't grind to a halt.
  2. Select from the passage the appropriate option to fill in the blanks:     (1)
    Agriculture is completely dependent on ______ unlike the rest of river/monsoon-fed India.
    1. rainfall pattern
    2. climate change
    3. glaciers melt
    4. extreme winter conditions
  3. Complete the following analogy correctly with a word/phrase from paragraph 3:       (1)
    Icing : cake :: layers : ______.
  4. Select the correct option to complete the following sentence:       (1)
    At the start of winter the diverted water is made to flow ______.
    1. on sloping hills facing distribution channels.
    2. on high altitude.
    3. on ice-cold water level.
    4. on mountain range.
  5. From the chart select the months of water surplus.    (1)
    1. January, February.
    2. November, December.
    3. July, August, September.
    4. March, April
  6. Fill in the blank by selecting from the passage the correct option:     (1)
    The ______ have been the only source of water in areas in and around Ladakh.
    1. glaciers
    2. rivers
    3. streams
    4. water springs
  7. The word 'located' in paragraph 3 means:       (1)
    1. found
    2. locally found
    3. situated
    4. adapted
  8. Write any two steps followed while creating the glaciers.      (1)
  9. List one reason why artificial glaciers seem the best option.      (1)
  10. Select the most suitable title from the following for the passage:    (1)
    1. Water Shortage.
    2. New Ways Pool Water.
    3. Artificial Glacier.
    4. River Beds.

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

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