SSC (English Medium) इयत्ता १० वी - Maharashtra State Board Question Bank Solutions

Fireflies are beetles and go through several life stages, starting out as an egg, then hatching into larvae. At the juvenile stage, they turn into pupae and then, finally adults. Fireflies spend most of their lives in a larval stage, hidden away. There are 2000 different species of fireflies. But they all go through a long juvenile stage and a short adult life, which is mainly about courtship, mating and reproduction. The juveniles living underground or underwater, are very different though-they're hunters, they eat snails and soft-bodied insects and they have very different habitats.

Conserving them is essential for human life as fireflies are a key part of the food web. They are predators of agricultural pests. In turn, they are prey for spiders and other insects. They are completely enmeshed in the web of life. In addition, about 70 years ago, scientists unravelled the mystery of fireflies' light-producing talents. Since then, the bio-chemical reactions that fireflies experience have been used in detecting bacterial contamination in foods, testing drugs against cancer, developing drought-resistant crops. They have been used in space exploration. So fireflies give us beauty and inventions. Fireflies carry oxygen, calcium, magnesium and a natural chemical called luciferin. These react together to produce the photons. This is how the fireflies glow.

Firefly tourism is growing across the world. In Maharashtra, for example, a particular species monsoon fireflies, emerge before the rains. They're beautiful and a festival is held in Purushwadi, encouraging firefly tourism. Its wonderful that people around the world go to see fireflies in their natural habitat. We need to be cautious. Too many people can disturb adult and larval habitats. Fireflies need darkness to communicate with each other and we need fireflies because they are harbingers of hope.

November 4, 1851.

Dear, Brother John Honston,

When I came into Charleston day before yesterday, I learnt that you were anxious to sell the land where you live, and move to Missouri. I have been thinking of this ever since, and cannot but say such an idea is quite foolish. What can you do in Missouri better than here? Is the land any richer? Can you, there, any more than here, raise com and wheat without work? Will anybody there, any more than here, do your work for you? If you intend to go to work, there is no better place than right where you are; if you do not intend to work, you cannot get along anywhere. Crawling about from place to place can do you no good. You have raised no crop this year. What you really want is to sell the land, get the money and spend it. Part with the land you have and my life upon it-never after will you own a spot big enough to bury you. Half of what you will get for the land, you will spend in moving to Missouri, and the other hall you will eat, drink, wear out and no foot of land will be brought. Now I feel it my duty to have no hand in such a piece of foolery.

Now do not misunderstand this letter. I do not write it in any unkindness. I write it in order, if possible, to get you to face the truth which truth is, you are poor and needy because you have idled away your time. Your thousand excuses for not getting along better are all nonsense. They deceive nobody but yourself. To go to work is the only cure for your case.

Affectionately,
Your brother,
Abraham Lincoln.

During the Gulf War, a few years back, tens of thousands of sea birds were killed due to oil spills. Do you know what makes crude oil on ocean water so deadly?

Crude oil is not used in the state it is produced at the off-shore wells. It is converted in refineries into a wide range of products such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oils, and petrochemical feed-stocks. Before it is refined, the oil also contains potentially fatal components.

Crude oil is made up of compounds of carbon and hydrogen called hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons may be paraffin, the oil that is used as fuel in heaters and lamps or cycloparaffins (naphthenes) or aromatic compounds in varying proportions. While crudes found in the US are mostly paraffinic, these found along the Gulf Coast are naphthenic which contain sulphur compounds in varying amounts, a small amount of nitrogen and very little oxygen. Every variety of crude oil has nickel and vanadium in high concentration. Iron may be found in organic form due to the corrosion of pipes. Paraffins like methane and ethane are asphyxiants, substances that cause suffocation. The effects of cycloparaffins are more or less similar to those of paraffins but unsaturated paraffins are more noxious, than saturated ones. The sulphur present in crude oil may be toxic. The mechanism of toxic action seems to involve its breakdown to hydrogen sulphide. They will act principally on the .nervous system with death resulting mainly from respiratory paralysis. Sulphur in the form of aromatic thiophenes, benzothiophenes can damage the livers and kidneys of sea animals. Sulphur compounds like mercaptens can be very dangerous too.

You are endowed with certain naughtiness as a child. Keep it alive. Humour will lighten all tough situations. One who has humour can sail through any conflict. Humour is buffer that saves you from humiliation. Humour brings everyone together, while humiliation tears them apart. In a society tom with humiliation and inSult, humour is like a breath of fresh air.

Humour should be coupled with care and concern. Humour can keep the spirit high, yet if overdone, it leaves a bad taste. Humour without wisdom is shallow.
Humour without sensitivity is satire-it comes back to you with more problems.
The wise use humour to bring wisdom and to lighten situations. The intelligent use humour as a sword to insult others. The irresponsible use humour to escape from responsibility. And fools take humour too seriously!
How does one cultivate a sense of humour? Humour is not just words, it is the lightness of your being. You do not have to read and repeat jokes. Humour can be cultivated by taking life not too seriously (because you will never come out of it alive), having a sense of belonging with everybody, including those who are not friendly, practising Yoga and meditation, having unshakable faith in the Divine and in the laws of Karma, being in the company of those who live in knowledge and have a sense of humour.

Kerala is the land of magic, ayurvedic massages and Kathakali. Most visitors generally begin their sojourn in this lovely state with Kochi. This city reflects the eclectism of Kerala. Here, you can see the oldest European built church in India, a small 16th Century synagogue that serves a proportionate community of Jews, a palace built by the Portuguese, given to the Raja of Cochin and renovated by the Dutch and some world-class performances of the Kathakali dance drama. Make sure you take a boat trip on the Malabar Coast. It will take you out to the Dutch town and fort, an area that also has some surprisingly good book shops.

Alternatively, you could start with Thiruvananthapuram, which also has a laid back charm of its own. Here, you can visit the Padmanabhaswamy temple, the Napier museum, the Puttan Mallika Palace and the neighbouring beaches. These include Kovalam, now a pleasant spot to spend an evening.

The backwaters are also famous as a holiday option. For that, you have to move on to Alleppey or Allappuzha a district made unique by an intricate network of canals. Or you could head to Munnar, sheer beauty in the hills. Rolling oceans of tubby green tea bushes, crisp mountain air, craggy hills, wildlife and a throwback to colonial times makes Munnar a lovely getaway.

Or you could visit Thekkady, which is also a charming town and has an added advantage of being close to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. At Thekkady you can wander through plantations of cardamom, tea and coffee.

Of the three options, you can surely choose a place of your dreams where you can chill out!

You can take a meandering cruise down the backwaters, spend a lazy day by the sea, take a trek up the winding hills or enjoy ayurvedic health holidays. These are some of the advantages no other destination offers.

Welcome to this unique land of spellbinding adventures. It’s the most refreshing holiday you could ever have.