CBSE Class 11 English Reading Comprehension Concepts and Assignments

SECTION - A

Reading Comprehension - 15 Marks

READING

Reading Unseen Passages for Comprehension and Note Making

This section will have two unseen passages followed by a variety of questions. The total length of the two passages shall be around 1100 (600 + 500).

Question 1: Long Reading Passage of 600 Words 08 Marks

Question 1 shall have two sets of questions

a) 6 Questions carrying 1 mark each, out of which two shall be MCQs - 6x1= 6 Marks

b) Vocabulary Testing - 2 Questions carrying one mark each. 2x1= 2 Marks

Question 2: Reading Passage of 500 Words for Summary and Note Making 07 Marks

a) Note making - 5 Marks

b) Summary - 2 Marks

Reading skill is one of the cardinal skills of language. As listening paves the way for speaking skills, reading skill enhances the confidence of the learner in his written presentation.

Comprehension means understanding or perception.

Points to remember while attempting this section.

- Develop ability to comprehend the passage as a whole

- Concentrate on the main ideas and important vocabulary

- To save time, read the questions first and then the passage.

- Answer the questions in simple language

 Make a habit of regular reading of a newspaper, magazine

(Speaking tree from The Times Of India, Down to Earth Magazine, Editorial (The Hindu) etc.)

1. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

University of Cambridge, is an institution of higher education, the second-oldest university in the United Kingdom after the University of Oxford. It is located in the city of Cambridge, Cambridge shire. (para-1)

The University of Cambridge is a loose confederation of academic faculties and departments, and 31 colleges. There are over 15,500 full-time students taught at the university: 11,000 undergraduates and 4,500 graduates. Although the colleges and the university per se are separate bodies, all are parts of an integrated educational entity. The university examines candidates for degrees during their residency and at the conclusion of their studies; confers degrees; regulates the curricula of the colleges and the system of education; deals with disciplinary problems; and administers facilities, such as libraries, lecture rooms, and laboratories, that are beyond the scope of the colleges. The colleges provide their students with lodgings and meals, assign tutors, and offer social, cultural, and athletic activities. Every student at the University of Cambridge is a member of a college. (para-2)

The academic year is divided into three terms of approximately eight weeks each: Michaelmas (autumn), Lent (late winter), and Easter (spring). Students are required to be in residence for the duration of each term. Much of the year's work is done, however, out of term time, during the holidays. Students usually study under the supervision of members of the college's faculties, who maintain close relationships with the small groups of students in their charge and assist them in preparing for university exams. (para-3)

Bachelor of Arts degrees may be conferred, upon the satisfactory completion of exams, after nine terms, or three years of residency. The majority of students are candidates for honours degrees and take a special examination called a tripos (named after the three-legged stools on which examiners formerly sat). Successful candidates for triposes are classified as first, second, or third class according to their standing. Other degrees conferred by the university include the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees, as well as higher doctorates in law, medicine, music, science, and theology. (para-4)

The University of Cambridge figured prominently in the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus was a professor of Greek and divinity at Cambridge from 1511 to 1514 and translated the New Testament from Greek into Latin there; the religious reformers William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, and Thomas Cranmer were educated at Cambridge. As a result of the decrees of Henry VIII establishing the Church of England, the humanistic method of study replaced the scholastic. Canon law studies were ended, public lectures in Latin and Greek were held, and the Bible was studied in the light of contemporary learning. (para-5)

A reaction took place, however, during the reign of Elizabeth I, when Cambridge became a stronghold of Puritanism. Restrictive legislation enacted in 1570 transferred teaching authority to the heads of the colleges. In 1604, early in the reign of James I, the university was granted the right to elect two members to the English Parliament; this right was ended in 1949. During the 17th century the group of scholars known as the Cambridge Platonists emerged, and, through the influence of such faculty members as the scientists Isaac Barrow and Sir Isaac Newton, an emphasis on the study of mathematics and natural sciences developed for which Cambridge has subsequently become renowned. (para-6)

(a) Answer the following questions in a sentence or two: 1x4= 4

i. What is the duration of the three terms in every academic year?

Answer: Approximately three weeks.

ii. What are basic functions that the colleges perform in respect with the students?

Answer: . The colleges provide their students with lodgings and meals, assign tutors, and offer social, cultural, and athletic activities.

iii. Does the University provide only bachelor degrees?

Answer: No, apart from bachelor degrees, the University also provides other degrees such as Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy, as well as higher doctorates in law, medicine, music, science, and theology.

iv. In which period of history there was a massive shift in the fields of study for the University and what were they?

Answer: In the 16th century, due to the decrees passed by Henry VIII, there was a shift from scholastic studies to humanistic and thus public lectures in Latin and Greek and study of Bible were given importance.

In the following two questions, find out the right answer from the choices given: 1x2=2

v. What is not true about the students’ lifestyle?

(a) The students prepare their works especially during the three terms of eight weeks in every academic session.

(b) The faculty members help the students in preparing for the exams.

(c) During the holidays the students have to work hard.

(d) The students spend more time in the colleges than at home

Answer: (a) The students prepare their works especially during the three terms of eight weeks in every academic session.

vii. What is not true about the changes that overtook the Cambridge University during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and during the 17th century?

(a) Study of Mathematics became a stronghold for the University.

(b) More freedom was awarded to the University in different aspects through legislation.

(c) The University’s right to elect two members to the Parliament was ended.

(d) There were some other changes during the 17th century.

(e) Answer: More freedom was awarded to the University in different aspects through legislation.

(b). Find out words from the passage which mean the following: 1x2=2

(i) alliance (Para-2)

(ii) educational (Para-5)

Answer: (i) Alliance – Confederation

(ii) educational - Scholastic

1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the question that follow:

FOOD AND STRESS
We are what we eat. The type of food we eat has both immediate and long-term effect on us, at all the three levels - the body, the mind and the spirit. Food which is tamasik (i.e. stale or leftover) in nature is bound to generate stress as it tends to upset the normal functioning of the human body. Fresh ents should be avoided. Taking piping hot teal milk or steaming hot foofood, whenever available, must be preferred. Excessive use of condimd also disturbs one's usually calm attitude. Further, it is a mistaken belief that smokirig or drinking, even in moderation, relieves stress/ Simple meals with one or two food items, rather than too many lavish dishes, are advisable. Thus, vegetarian diet is preferable. Although it is customary to serve fruits with food, it is not the fight thing to do. This is because different kind of digestive secretions are produced by the stomach for variant foods. Mixing up top many varieties of food items at one meal creates unavoidable problems for the digestive system. In fact, anyone type of fruit, preferably taken in the morning, is better.

On an average, we eat almost three to four times the quantity of food than we actually need. A lot of body's energy is used up for digesting the excess food. It is said that after a particular level of food intake, the 'food actually eats one up'.

importamce of vegetables

 

'Vegetables' are important protective food and highly beneficial for the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. They contain valuable food ingredients which can be
successfully utilized to build- up and repair the body.

Vegetables are valuable in maintaining alkaline reserve in the body. They are valued mainly for their high vitamin and mineral contents. Vitamins A, Band C are contained in vegetables infair amounts. Faulty cooking and prolonged careless storage can, however, destroy these valuable elements.

There are different kinds of vegetables. They may be edible roots, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. Each group contributes to diet in its own way. Fleshy roots are high in energy value and

good sources of vitamin B group. Seeds are relatively high in carbohydrates and proteins. Leaves, stems and fruits are excellent sources of minerals, vitamins, water and roughage.

It is not the green vegetables only that are useful. Farinaceous vegetables consisting of starchy roots such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, the tubers arid legumes are also valuable. Theyare excellent sources of carbohydrates and provide energy to the body.

To derive maximum benefits of their nutrients, vegetables should be consumed fresh as far as possible. Most vegetables are best consumed in their natural raw state in the form of salads. Animportant consideration in making salads is that the vegetables should be fresh, crisp and

completely dry. If vegetables have to be cooked, it should be ensured that their nutritive value is preserved to the maximum extent possible. The following hints will be useful in achieving this:

(i) The vegetables, after thorough wash, should be cut into as large pieces as possible.

(ii) The cut pieces should be added to water which has been brought to boiling point and to which salt has been added. This is necessary to avoid loss of B-complex
vitamins and vitamin C.

(iii) Only bare minimum water necessary to cover vegetables should be used. Spinach and other tender greens need no water.

(iv) Vegetables should not be exposed to atmospheric air. They should be covered tightly while cooking

(v) They should be cooked for as short a time as possible. They should be cooked till they-are just soft to the touch for easy mastication. .

(vi) They should be served hot.

To prevent loss of nutrients in vegetables, it would be advisable to steam or boil vegetables in their own juices on a slow fire and the water or cooking liquid should not be drained off. If the vegetables are boiled hard and for a long time in a large quantity of water, they would lose their nutritive and medicinal values.

No vegetable should be peeled unless it is so old that the peeling is tough and unpalatable. In most root vegetables the largest amount of minerals is directly under the skin and these are lost if vegetables are peeled. Soaking of vegetables should also be avoided if taste and nutritive value are to be preserved. Finally, vegetables should not be cooked in aluminium utensils. Aluminium is a soft metal and is acted upon by both food acids and alkalis. There IS scientific evidence to show that tiny particles of aluminium from foods cooked in such utensils enter the stomach and that the powerful astringent properties of aluminium injure the sensitive lining of the stomach, leading to gastric irritation, digestive and intestinal ailments.
An intake of about 280 grams of vegetables per person is considered essential for maintenance of good health. Of this, leafy vegetables should constitute 40 per cent, roots and tubers 30 per cent and the other vegetables like brinjals, ladies fingers the remaining 30 per cent.

Question. How are vegetables important for us?
a. They build up and repair the body
b. Give us energy
c. They are tasty
d. Highly beneficial when we fall ill
Answer: A

Question. What do farinaceous vegetables consist of ------
a. Proteins
b. Starchy roots
c. Vitamins
d. Energy
Answer: B

Question. How do cooking aluminium utensils affect the body of consumers?
a. Cause day blindness
b. Cause heart attack
c. Cause kidney failure
d. Injure the sensitive lining of the stomach.
Answer: D

Question. How does salt work to sustain the value of vegetables while boiling?
a. By retaining B complex vitamin & Vitamin C
b. By adding the energy level
c. By enhancing the nutrient value
d. By adding taste
Answer: A

Question. Find the word which mean : ‘to remove the skin from vegetable or fruit.
a. to soak
b. to peel
c. scratch
d. to expose
Answer: B

Question. How much vegetables does a person need for good health?
a. 280 grams
b. 40% leafy & 30% tubers & roots
c. As much as they can eat
d. Maximum brinjals & ladies fingers
Answer: A

AT HOME IN INDIA

There are many among us who, given the opportunity to leave India, are only too happy to go. But whenever I have had the chance to go away, I have held back. Or something has held me back.
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What is it that has such a hold on me, but leaves others free to where they will, sometimes never to come back?
A few years ago I was offered a well-paid job on a magazine in Hong Kong. I thought about it for weeks, worried myself to distraction, and finally, with a great sigh of relief, turned
it down.
My friends thought I was-crazy. They still do. Most of them would have jumped at a comparable offer, even if it had meant spending the rest of their lives far from the palmfringed
coasts or pine-clad mountains of this land. Many friends have indeed gone away, never to return, except perhaps to get married, very quickly, before they are off again! Don't
they feel homesick, I wonder.
I am almost paranoid at the thought of going away and then being unable (0 come back.
This almost happened to me when, as a boy, I went to England, longed to return to India, and did not have the money for the passage. For two years I worked and slaved like a miser (something I have never done since) until I had enough to bring me home.
And 'home' wasn't parents and brothers and sisters. They were no longer here. Home, for me, was India.
. So what is it that keeps me here? My birth? I take too closely after a Nordic grandparent to pass for a typical son of the soil. Hotel receptionists often ask me for my passport.
'Must I carry a passport to travel in my own country?' I ask.
'But you don't look like an Indian,' they protest.
‘I’m a Red Indian,' I say.
India is where I was born and went to school and grew to manhood. India was where my father was born and went to school and worked and died. India is where my grandfather lived and died. Surely that entitles me to a place in the Indian sun. If it doesn't, I can revert to my mother's family and go back to the time of Timur the Lame. How far back does one have to go in order to establish one's Indianness?
It must be the land itself that holds me. But so many of my fellow Indians have been born (and reborn) here, and yet they think nothing of leaving the land. They will leave the mountains for the plains; the villages for the cities; their country for another country, and if other countries were a little more willing to open their doors, we would have no population problem-mass emigration would have solved it.
But it's more than the land that holds me. For India is more than a land. India is an atmosphere. Over thousands of years, the races and religions of the world have mingled here and produced that unique, indefinable phenomenon, the Indian: so terrifying in a crowd, so beautiful in himself.And oddly enough, I'm one too. I know that I'm as Indian as the postman or the paanwala or your favorite MP.
Race did not make me an Indian. Religion did not make me an Indian. But history did. And in the long run, its history that counts.

INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCES

What is a classical dance? A dance which is created or choreographed and performed according to the tenets of the Natya Shastra is called a classical dance.
The two broad aspects of classical dancing are the tandava and the lasya. Power and force are typical of the tandava; grace and delicacy, of the lasya. Tandava is associated with Shiva, and lasya with Parvati. Dance which is pure movement is called nritta, and dance which is interpretative in nature is called nritya.
A dancer in the classical tradition has to have years of training before he or she can begin to perform on the stage.
What are the main schools of classical dancing?
The four main schools of classical dancing in India are:
Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Kathak Bharata Natyam is the oldest and most popular dance-form of India. Earlier, it was known by various names. Some called it Bharatam, some Natyam some Desi Attam and some Sadir.
The districts of Tanjore and Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu were the focal points in the development of Bharata Natyam. It was danced as a solo performance by devadasis (temple dancers) on all auspicious occasions. Later, kings and rich people lent their patronage to it and it started shedding its purely sacred character.
The dancer is directed by the natuvanar, who is a musician and, invariably, a teacher.
Another musician plays the cymbals. The music for Bharata Natyam is the Carnatic School of music. The mridangam (a drum), played on both sides with the hands, provides the rhythm.
The home of Kathakali is Kerala. Kathakali literally means 'story-play'. It combines music, dance, poetry, drama and mime. Its present form has evolved out of older forms such as Ramanattam and Krishnanattam.
Kathakali dance-dramas last from dusk to dawn. The artistes use elaborate costumes; masklike make-up and towering head-dresses. The dancers are all males - female roles are usually played by boys. There is no stage - a few mats are spread on the ground for the audience to sit on. The only 'stage-lighting' is a brass lamp fed with coconut oil. .
Two singers provide the vocal music. The chenda, a large drum, which is beaten on one side with two slender curved sticks, is an integral part of the Kathakali performance. A metal gong, a pair of cymbals and another drum complete the orchestra. Besides providing the beat, they are also the means by which all the sound-effects are created.
Manipur, in the north-east is the home of Manipuri. It has evolved out of the folk dances of the land, which are religious in nature. Lai Haroba is the oldest dance-drama of Manipur and is based on folk-lore and mythology. But Ras Leela is the most popular one. It tells of the legendary love of Radha and Krishna. In the Manipuri style of dancing, the accent is on grace and softness. The women's costumes are extremely picturesque.
Besides the singers, the khol, the manjira and the flute also accompany the dancers.
Kathak has its home in north India. 'Kathak' means 'story-teller'. In ancient times, the storyteller used gestures and movements while narrating the great epics. In course of time it became an elaborate art, rich in beautiful movements and facial expressions.
Later, under the Persian influence, the original dance form underwent many changes, gradually losing its religious and moral character. It became a court dance. Both men and women danced.
With the passing of years, the Kathak performance was reduced to being an evening's entertainment, and the girls, who danced, were no more than pretty entertainers.
Kathak, however, was revived under the patronage of the rulers of Lucknow and Jaipur, and this gave rise to two styles known as the Lucknow gharana and the Jaipur gharana. Gharana means 'house' or 'school'.
In Kathak, the accent is on footwork. A dancer wears anklets with several rows of bells and skillfully regulates their sound, sometimes sounding just one bell out of the many on his feet.
The singer who accompanies the Kathak dancer not only sings, but reproduces the drum syllables also. The sarangi, a string instrument, provides the music at a Kathak performance.

INDIA'S PLACE IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER

We have entered a new world. The fall of the Berlin wall put an end to the bipolar world and gave birth to hope for freedom and prosperity; there were States that gained their independence.
Most adopted the democratic model, which corresponds to our shared political values.
Globalization further enhances these changes. It offers extra-ordinary opportunities to individuals who are in a position to seize them; easier access to information, speedier communications and unimpeded travels. But it also develops new forms of vulnerabilities; a
financial crisis can run from Thailand to Russia via Latin America. Epidemics spread faster and further, be it mad cow's disease or bird flu.
Therefore, our destiny is no longer shaped within safe frontiers but on an international scale.
Given the extent of these changes, we must define our world's new principles of organization.
In this endeavor for a new order, India-has a major role to play. First because it is an example of dynamism and energy. Your country is one of youth; 33 per cent of the population is under the age of 15. You are aware of the tremendous asset and the immense responsibility that this represents. A young population is a guarantee of imagination, renewal, awakening and hope. But it is also a challenge in terms of education, health and training.
India has been able to make the most of globalization and has gained a pivotal role. It provides the example of an economy which has allied dynamism and equilibrium. The past year offers the two-fold satisfaction of a spectacular 7.5 per cent growth rate and inflation under control. Thanks to the size and dynamism of its domestic market, it can project itself into the future with confidence.
India is now the biggest international service provider in information technologies, and this at a time when the Western countries are experiencing a real shortage of manpower in this very field.
A scientific power, India, today, is also a key player in space research. Thanks to the excellence of the Indian Space Research Organization, it is the forefront of technologies for launchers and the construction of satellites.
This economic vitality has developed on the basis of a strong concern for social justice. In the face of inequalities that still remain and could be increasing, India has given priority, to poverty reduction, job creation and support of the agricultural sector. Your country has shown that economic growth and concern for the greater good are not incompatible.
India, however, does not only offer an economic model. It stands as an example for nations that show due respect for cultural identities.
This represents a major challenge as globalization has inherent in it two-fold risk. First of all, there is the risk of domination of certain forms of thinking, of certain ways of life and expression. The diversity of cultures, religions, traditions and memories is an essential component of the richness of our world. If we are not careful, it could die one day.
Then there is the risk of confrontation of-identities. Lack of respect for what people stand for can nurture claims of nationalists and fundamentalists. The more an identity feels threatened, the more it tends to be inward looking, rejects diversity and finally gives in to confrontation.
These are the patterns that we saw in action in the worst post cold war confrontations, from the explosion of the Balkans to the genocide in the Rwanda.
With 18 official languages and over 1652 dialects, India is at the forefront of cultural diversity. It is a proof that openness to the outside world and preservation of its own roots can go hand ill hand.
The movement of exchange between cultures must not lead to silencing the polyphony of voices arid view.
In the heart of its democracy, India has been able to define an identity respectful of each and everyone's specificity. It is home to one of the largest Muslim communities of the world, with over 120 million believers. The religious patchwork of India offers to each minority, whether it be the two million Christians, the 16 million Sikhs or the Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, the possibility of keeping alive their own religious beliefs in harmony with the India identity.
This original and exemplary synthesis is difficult to achieve. Your will to promote democracy is undoubtedly the strongest political message of the Indian nation. At the heart of the new world geography lies the democratic challenge.
Thanks to you we know that the size of the population, that the force of history and traditions is not an obstacle. India is a proof that the universality of Human Rights is a realistic emotion.
It shows .us that State secularism can be reconciled with the vigour of identities and beliefs.

Importance
1. It is useful to save time, energy and the space at the working place, while attending lecture at school, in college, in a meeting, as a reporter..
2. It enhances the confidence to revise the thing whenever we want .
3. Notes help us to remember the information we have gathered.
4. Notes help in understanding the text better

How to make notes

Step – 1. Read the passage carefully underline the important sentences
Step – 2. Read the passage again and note down the main point.
Two or three related ideas can be combined into one point.
Use of colons
Use of the long dash
Step – 3. Now go over the facts and number them.
Step – 4. Use the universally recognized abbreviations and symbols.

Characteristics of good notes
1. Notes should be short. They should identify the main point.
2. Notes should be in points and in an appropriate format.
3. Information is logically divided and sub-divided by the use of figure and letters.
4. Abbreviations and symbols are freely used. Extra examples, articles, prepositions, and conjunctions are omitted.
5. Notes must make sense when they are read again.

Q.2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 
Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about 500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words a minute. The difference between the two at 350 is quite large.
So a speaker must every effort to retain the attention of the audience and the listener should also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication calls for good listening skills. A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener.
Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. Hearing, in other words is necessary, but is not a sufficient condition for listening, Listening involves hearing with attention. Listening is a process that calls for concentration. While listening, one should also be observant. In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well as with the eyes and the mind. Listening is to be understood as the total process that involves hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations. Good communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation and involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary to be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested in knowing what the other person has to say.
Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be developed. A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade but not to cut off or interrupt what the other person has to say.
At times the speaker may or may not be coherent, articulate and well-organised in his thoughts and expressions. He may have it in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the right words while communication his thought. Nevertheless a good listener puts him at ease, helps him articulate and facilitates him to get across the message that he wants to convey. For listening to be effective, it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be bolt physical and psychological. Physical barriers generally relate to hindrance to proper hearing whereas psychological barriers are more fundamental and relate to the interpretation and evaluation of the speaker and the message.

Q.1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes in points only, using abbreviations wherever necessary. Supply a suitable title.

Q.2. write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.
Ans. NOTE MAKING
Distribution of Marks
Abbreviations / Symbols (with/without key)- any four - 1 mark
Title -1 Mark
Content (minimum 3 heading and sub-headings, with proper indentation
and notes) -3 marks
Suggested Notes
Title : Good communication skills/ Good Listening/ Listening Skills/ Art of Listening /
Good Communication and Listening/ any other relevant title.
1. Research
1.1 human mind processes 500wpm
1.2 speaker speaks 150 wpm
1.3 difference between the 2
2. A good speaker/ Good commun./ listng.
2.1 must retain attention of audience
2.2 stop not to let mind wander
2.3 must be a good listener
3. Listening / Requirement Of Listening/ listening Skills
3.1 hearing with attention
3.2 being observant
3.3 making interpts.
3.4 concentration
3.5 participation
4. A Good Listener / Good Listening – An Art/ Traits of Good Listening
4.1 gets much more from speaker
4.2 knows how to prompt and persuade
4.3 puts speaker at ease
4.4 helps him articulate
4.5 facilitates speaker to convey thoughts
5. Effective listening/ Barriers To Good Listening
5.1 barriers – phy./psychological
5.2 physical-hindrance to hearing
5.3 psy.-interpretations & evaluation

Key to abbreviations
1. wpm – word per minute
2. commun.- communication
3. listng. – Listening
4. interpts. – interpretations
5. phy. - Physical
6. psy. - psychological

Summary
The summary should include all the important points given in the notes
Content 
Expression 
Human mind processes 500 word per minutes but a speaker speaks 150 words. It reveals the co-relation between listening and speaking skills. As you listen shall you speak. Listening and speaking are the two sides of same coin. Speaker should draw the attention of listener. listening skills requires hearing with attention, being observant, making interpretations and being concentrate. Good listening is and art when we restore faith in speaker and remove physical and psychological barriers.

2 . Read the passage carefully and complete the notes:
Anything printed and bound in book size can be called a book, but the quality or mind distinguishes the value of it.
What is a book? This is how Anatole France describes it: "A series of little printed signsessentially only that. It is for the reader to supply himself the forms and colors and sentiments to which these signs correspond. It will depend on him whether the book be dull or brilliant, hot with passion or cold as ice. Or if you prefer to put it otherwise, each word in a book is a magic finger that sets a fibre of our brain vibrating like a harp string and so evokes a note from the sounding board of our soul. No matter how skilful, how inspired' the artist's hand, the sound it makes depends on the quality of the strings within ourselves."
Until recently books were the preserve of a small section-the urban upper classes. Some, even today, make it a point to call themselves intellectuals. It would be a pity if books were meant only for intellectuals and not for housewives, farmers, factory workers, artisans and, so on.
In India there are first-generation learners, whose parents might have been illiterate. This poses special challenges to our authors and to those who are entrusted with the task of disseminating knowledge. We need much more research in the use of language and the development of techniques by which knowledge can be transferred to these people without transmission loss.
Publishers should initiate campaigns to persuade people that a good book makes a beautiful present and that reading a good book can be the most relaxing as well as absorbing of pastimes. We should aim at books of quality no less than at quantitative expansion in production and sale. Unless one is constantly exposed to the best, one cannot develop a taste for the good.

A. Value of Bks. acc. to Anatole France
1) Not merely printed signs
2) Reader gives
i) Colours
ii) ______________
iii) Sentiments
a. _____________
b. ___________
c. Touches solution

B. Bks. Means for diff. sections
1) intellect.
2) housewives
3) ___________
4) ___________

C. Books for 1st gen. learners
1) Challenge for authors
2) _________________
3) _________________

D. Publisher’s role
1) _________________
2) _________________
3) _________________
4) _________________

E. Abbreviations used
Acc. according 1st first
Bks. books gen. generation
diff. different lang. language
intellect. intellectuals

3. Read the passage below carefully and complete the notes:
India has stood for freedom: Even before Independence we viewed our own struggle and difficulties on the larger canvas of global problems. If democracy is basically tolerance for others' opinions, the concept of co-existence is democracy on the international plane, for it embodies tolerance of other nations and systems. Similarly non-alignment gives depth to our independence and self-reliance for it enables us to retain our freedom of judgment and action on international issues in the light of our national interests. We avoid involvement in the conflicts and disputes of others and this helps to blunt conflict between power blocs. I should like to think that it has also helped world stability.
A country is an extended family. When income and resources are limited, one must budget to ensure that waste is avoided, resources husbanded, priorities established, education and other social needs catered to, special provision made for those who are weaker or smaller. Industry has to be balanced with agriculture; technology with culture; state ventures with private initiative; economic growth with social justice; the large with the small. Every section of society must be stimulated to creative activity.
That is our planning. In no way is it totalitarian or coercive. Industrializing, modernizing arid transforming an ancient society of immense size, population and diversity is a daunting venture and inevitably, a gradual one. Otherwise there will be resentment. Transformation should not cause too much dislocation or suffering for the people nor should it jettison the basic spiritual and cultural values of our civilization.
India's planning experience sums up the successes and problems of our democratic development. The magnitude and significance of democracy's operation in India are not well understood, for it is often treated as an adventitious or borrowed growth. Why has democracy worked in India? Our national leadership was dedicated to it and we wanted it to work, but, also, because in our society there were elements and traditions which supported the growth of democracy.
In our democratic system, there may be differences in many spheres but we rise above them.
To achieve the objective of keeping the country united, we have to transcend political and party- based differences, which create dissensions. If we cannot remain united and the country does not remain strong, with whom shall we have differences? Against whom shall we fight? With whom shall we be friends? Brothers and sisters, if the country falls, nobody survives. When we were fighting for the freedom of our country, it did not mean only political freedom. It also meant social justice, equality and economic justice. Only one phase is over and another one is under way. We have to cover a long and difficult path. Whereas the enemies were visible during those days; now they are in disguise. Some of them are openly our enemies, but many become unintentional pawns of others.

I. What democ.y envisages

1. Tolerance for other's opinions
2.________________________
3. Non alignm.t
a. _______________________
b. _______________________
c. _______________________

II. Country - an extended family
1. Society to stimulate creative activ.y by:
a. _______________________
b. _________________________
c. ________________________
d. __________________________
e. ___________________________

III. Challenges in promoting democ.y:
1. Avoid being ________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ____________________________

IV. Factors contributing to democ.y:
1. __________________________
2. __________________________
V. How to promote democ.y:
1. ___________________________
2. ___________________________

Key to Abbreviations used
democ.y - democracy
non alignm. t – non alignment
activ.y - activity

4. Read the passage carefully and complete the notes below using meaningful short forms.
Swimming pools were once considered a luxury limited only to the rich. Today, thanks to plastics and plenty, they number in the millions. Few, of course are of Olympic size where a swimmer can quickly do his laps and stay in shape. Most are above-ground, round mini-pools, line for a cool-off and a' frolic. But, health experts have come to realize that exercises created specially for such swimming pools can tone the muscles, strengthen the heart and pacify the spirit of people of all ages and conditions. And these exercises aren't restricted to small pools alone. Any type of pool, including a crowded municipal one, will do.
Designer of the principal popular exercises is C. Carson Conrad, executive director of the California Bureau of Health. Physicians approve of Conrad's exercises for three reasons.
First, since water pressure, even on a nonmoving body, stimulates the heart to pump blood throughout the body, exercise in the water promotes thorough circulation still more effectively.
Second, water exercise is rhythmic. And continuous, rhythmic exercises, authorities agree, are one of the best defenses against circulatory ailments which might cause athersclerosis, often the precursor of coronary attacks and strokes.
Third, water exercise can be enjoyed with benefit by both young and old, healthy and infirm, swimmers, and in shallow water, non swimmers. Dr. Ira H. Wilson and Fred W. Kasch, a physician-and-physiologist team, assert that even persons with paraplegia, rheumatic heart, asthma, emphysema, victims of polio or strokes, or amputation can exercise in water and enjoy weightless movement. Arthritics move easily under water. Some physicians use hydrocalisthenics for their cardiac patients.
At the University of Illinois Prof. Richard H. Pohndori studied the effect of water exercise on a "typical" couple. He chose as subjects a man-and-wife team of physicians, 43 and 41 years old respectively, who had been sedentary for years. His program was simple: "Swim from one end of the pool to the other until you can swim 1000 yards a day. Swim every day for ten weeks."
Before they started, the couple took 151 physical tests. At the end of ten weeks, they were tested again: their pulse rate had dropped, their rate of breathing had dropped, their blood pressure had come down to normal, the cholesterol level in their blood had dropped 20 percent. Further, more than half of the broken blood vessels disfiguring the woman's thighs had vanished, her husband had improved in all his physical-fitness tests; he reduced the size of his heart, making it more efficient. Both felt younger, more vigorous.

I. Swimming pools
1. today, within every body's reach - innumerable
2. of diff. types - above ground mini polls to Olympic size
3. ex.s immaterial of size

II. Conrad’s principal popular ex.s – approved by physicians for 3 reasons 
1st reason
water pressure
stimulates heat

2nd reason
prevent.n of circulatory
ailment efficient
circulation of blood &
atherosclerosis

3rd reason
ex beneficial to all
a. young & old
b. healthy & infirm
even for Arthritics &
cardiac patients

III. the effect of water ex.s on a couple
1. the prog.
a. ________________
b. __________________
c. ___________________

2. effect on the couple after 10 wks:
on both on the wife alone on the husband only
a. _______________ a. _______________ a. _______________
b. _______________ b. _______________
c. _______________
d. _______________
e. _______________

Key to abbreviations
diff.:- different
ex.s:- exercises
prevent.n:- prevention
prog.:- programme
& ;- and
Wks.:- Weeks