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Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
With ships and sun and love tempting them to steal...
For lives that slyly turn in their cramped holes
From fog to endless night?
(i) Who are 'them' referred to in the first line?
(ii) What tempts them?
(iii) What does the poet say about 'their' lives?
Concept: Unseen Poem Comprehension
Answer any two of the following questions in about 30‒40 words:
(a) How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
(b) Which is the exotic moment that the poet refers to in 'Keeping Quiet'?
(c) What are the difficulties that aunt Jennifer faced in her life?
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer any six of the following questions in 30‒40 words:
(a) Why did Gandhiji feel that taking the Champaran case to the court was useless?
(b) Why did the peddler derive pleasure from his idea of the world as a rattrap?
(c) How is Mukesh different from the other bangle makers of Firozabad?
(d) What tempted Franz to stay away from school?
(e) Why did the maharaja ban tiger hunting in the state?
(f) How was the skunk's story different from the other stories narrated by Jack?
(g) Which words of her brother made a deep impression on Bama?
Concept: Reading Skills
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
1. Air pollution is an issue which concerns us all alike. One can willingly choose or reject a food, a drink or a life comfort, but unfortunately there is little choice for the air we breathe. All, what is there in the air is inhaled by one and all living in those surroundings.
2. Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present while normally it is not there or present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations. It could either be gaseous or a particulate matter. The important and harmful polluting gases are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The common particulate pollutants are the dusts of various inorganic or organic origins. Although we often talk of the outdoor air pollutions caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.
3. Recognition of air pollution is relatively recent. It is not uncommon to experience a feeling of 'suffocation' in a closed environment. It is often ascribed to the lack of oxygen. Fortunately, however, the composition of air is remarkably constant all over the world. There is about 79 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen in the air − the other gases forming a very small fraction. It is true that carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs may accumulate in a closed and over-crowded place. But such an increase is usually small and temporary unless the room is really air-tight. Exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide may occur in a closed room, heated by burning coal inside. This may also prove to be fatal.
4. What is more common in a poorly ventilated home is a vague constellation of symptoms described as the sick-building syndrome. It is characterized by a general feeling of malaise, head-ache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes. It may also be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression. Sick building syndrome is getting commoner in big cities with the small houses, which are generally over-furnished. Some of the important pollutants whose indoor concentrations exceed those of the outdoors include gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and organic substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and allergens. The sources are attributed to a variety of construction materials, insulations, furnishings, adhesives, cosmetics, house dusts, fungi and other indoor products.
5. By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the brining of dried dung and fuelwood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.
6. Smoking of tobacco in the closed environment is an important source of indoor pollution. It may not be high quantitatively, but significantly hazardous for health. It is because of the fact that there are over 3000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which have been identified. These are harmful for human health.
7. Micro-organisms and allergens are of special significance in the causation and spread of diseases. Most of the infective illnesses may involve more persons of a family living in common indoor environment. These include viral and bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.
8. Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonias are not uncommon, but more persistent and serious. These are attributed to exposures to allergens from various fungi, molds, hay and other organic materials. Indoor air ventilation systems, coolers, air-conditioners, dampness, decay, pet animals, production or handling of the causative items are responsible for these hypersensitivity − diseases.
9. Obviously, the spectrum of pollution is very wide and our options are limited. Indoor pollution may be handled relatively easily by an individual. Moreover, the good work must start from one’s own house
(Extracted from the Tribune)
(a) (i) What is an air pollutant? (1)
(ii) In what forms are the air pollutants present? (2)
(iii) Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment? (1)
(iv) What is sick building syndrome? How is it increasing? (2)
(v) How is indoor smoking very hazardous? (1)
(vi) How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution? (2)
(b) Find the words from the above passage which mean the same as the following: (3)
(i) giddiness (para 4)
(ii) constant (para 8)
(iii) humidity (para 8)
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer any three of the following questions in 30-40 words each:
(a) What did M. Hamel tell them about the French language? What did he ask them to do and why?
(b) Why does Asokamitran call Subbu, ‘a charitable and improvident man’?
(c) How did the instructor turn Douglas into a swimmer?
(d) Why did Sophie like her brother, Geoff more than any other person?
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer the following in 30-40 words each:
(a) Why do you think the booking clerk refused to accept the money? Why did the narrator get out so fast?
(b) Why could the Russian research vessel, ‘The Akademik Shokaskiy’ not move any further? What did the captain decide then?
(c) What sort of hunts did the Maharaja offer to organize for the high-ranking British officer? What trait of the officer does it reveal?
(d) What did Jo want the wizard to do when Mommy Skunk approached him?
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each:
(a) What did Franz wonder about when he entered the class that day?
(b) What shocking experience did Douglas have at YMCA pool?
(c) Why does Kamala Das compare her mother to 'a pale winter's moon'?
(d) What rich bountry has the heaven given us? (A Thing of Beauty)
(e) Why did the Maharaja have to pay a bill of three lakh rupees to the British jewellers?
(f) What problem did Roger Skunk face when he went to play with his friends. How did he solve it?
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer the following question in 120-150 words :
Nancy Lammeter is a typical country girl. Comment.
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer any four of the following in 30–40 words each :
(a) Describe the irony in Saheb's name.
(b) Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran?
(c) Aunt Jennifer's efforts to get rid of her fear proved to be futile. Comment.
(d) What does Stephen Spender want to be done for the children of the school in a slum?
(e) When he was only ten days old, a prediction was made about the future of the Tiger King. What was ironic about it?
(f) What was his father's chief concern about Dr. Sadao?
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each :
(a) After initial reluctance why did the lawyers tell Gandhiji that they were ready to follow him into jail?
(b) What is Mukesh's attitude towards the family business of making bangles?
(c) How does the poet show the futility of Aunt Jennifer's efforts?
(d) Stephen Spender in his poem, 'An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum' paints a dismal picture of poverty. Comment.
(e) Jackson went through the contents of Rev. McLeery's suitcase. Which object therein puzzled him sorely? What was his comment on that?
(f) How did the servants react when they realized that Dr. Sadao was going to save the life of an enemy?
Concept: Reading Skills
Read the passage given below :
(ii) he added a lot of grandeur to Mewar.
(iii) of his valour, sacrifice and patriotism.
(iv) both (ii) and (iii)
(b) Difficulties in the way of Mewar were :
(ii) ancient traditions of the kingdom.
(iii) its small area and small population.
(iv) the poverty of the subjects.
(ii) the flag of Mewar was hoisted high.
(iii) the people of Mewar showed gallantry.
(iv) most of the rulers heaved a sigh of relief.
(d) Mewar was lucky because :
(ii) most of its people were competent.
(iii) most of its rulers were competent.
(iv) only a few of its people were incompetent.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(h) How could art and literature flourish in Mewar?
(i) How did the rulers show that they cared for their subjects?
(j) What does the erection of Vijaya Stambha and Kirti Stambha in the same fort signify?
(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following:
(ii) evidence (para 4)
Concept: Reading Skills
Answer the following question in 120 − 150 words :
Everybody during the last lesson is filled with regret. Comment. (The Last Lesson)
Concept: The Last Lesson
Answer the following question in 120 − 150 words :
How different from usual was the atmosphere at school on the day of the last lesson? (The Last Lesson)
Concept: The Last Lesson
Answer the following question in 120-150 words :
How did the order from Berlin change the situation in the school ? (The Last Lesson)
Concept: The Last Lesson
The Last Lesson shows that people suddenly realised how precious their language was to them.
Comment.
Concept: The Last Lesson
“You realise the true value of a thing only on losing it.” Comment on this statement in the light of the story, The Last Lesson.
Concept: The Last Lesson
Read the given extract and answer the questions.
| Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better, and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was. |
- List any two sensory details present in this extract. (1)
- Why does the protagonist feel anxious about entering the classroom on this particular day? (1)
- The classmates have started the lesson
- The teacher is in a bad mood
- The classroom is too quiet
- The protagonist is running late
- Complete the sentence appropriately. (1)
The phrase "as quiet as Sunday morning" suggests that ______. - Pick evidence from the extract that helps one infer that this was not the protagonist’s first time being late to school. (1)
- What does the term 'terrible iron ruler' indicate about M. Hamel? (1)
- Which of the following headlines best suggests the central idea of the extract? (1)
- The Fears of a Latecomer
- The Importance of Punctuality
- The Rigidity of the School System
- The Anxiety of a Young Student
Concept: The Last Lesson
Answer the following question in 120−150 words: "For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival." What kind of life do the rag-pickers of Seemapuri lead?
Concept: Lost Spring
Answer the following question in 120-150 words :
Describe the circumstances which keep the workers in the bangle industry in poverty.
Concept: Lost Spring
What change did Saheb feel working at the tea shop ?
Concept: Lost Spring
