SUBJECT – ENGLISH
CLASS VIII
SECTION A – UNSEEN PASSAGES AND POEMS
1. Read the following passage and answer the following:
The number of fires in Brazil's Amazon basin is still on the rise, even though the government has banned burning, officials said on Saturday.
In the first 48 hours since the ban was issued, satellite data from the National Space Research Institute (INPE) showed 3,859 new outbreaks of fire, of which some 2,000 were concentrated in the Amazon region. From January to the end of August, 51.9 percent of Brazil's recorded 88,816 fires were in the rainforest, according to the INPE, a number experts call a dramatic, direct consequence of farmers' widespread deforestation. Brazil's Amazon region is in its dry season, but experts note that 2019 has been wetter than previous years -- they also stress that there are no natural fires in the Amazon. The no-burn decree may have been too little too late, and more of a political than practical gesture, some analysts say.
Deforestation has surged this year as agencies tasked with monitoring illegal activities were weakened by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.
Often called the Trump of the Tropics, Mr Bolsonaro has questioned climate change, and argues farmers sometimes need the land for their livelihood.
Since the weekend thousands of troops, firefighters, and aircraft have been deployed, and the defense ministry says the fires are under control.
Mr Bolsonaro claimed in a live Facebook broadcast Thursday "this year's fires are below the average of recent years."
Deforestation for farming is one of the most serious threats to the rainforest and is a problem present in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Farmers Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia commonly set fires in the dry season to clear the undergrowth in deforested areas. However, this often leads to uncontrolled burning, which takes a greater toll on the rainforest.
Much to environmentalists' chagrin, Bolivia's government recently authorized farmers to burn 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) instead of the usual five hectares (12 acres) -- which is believed to have contributed to thousands of wildfires that razed 1.2 million hectares of grassland and forest since May. Illegal crops also reduce the rainforest, such as Colombian coca cultivation, which covers roughly 170,000 hectares, according to UN data.
Significant damage is also done by illegal mining operations, which is compounded by the use of chemicals such as mercury -- particularly in gold mining -- which contaminates soil and streams.
a. Why has the government banned burning in Brazil’s Amazon basin?
b. Why do the experts say that there is no natural fires in Amazon region?
c. How did the government control the fire?
d. What leads to uncontrolled burning?
e. How has the illegal mining operations affected the rainforest?
f. Write the synonyms of the following words from the passage above.
i. Destroy
ii. Install
iii. Annoyance
g. Write the antonym of the following words from the passage above.
i. Increase
ii. Purify
iii. Artificial
2. Read the following poem and answer the questions.
“Mirror”
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
-Sylvia Plath
a) How the poet describe the mirror in the poem?
b) Why does the poet compare the mirror with lake?
c) What reward does the woman give to the mirror?
d) Explain the last two lines of the poem in your own words.
e) Name a poetic device used in the poem.
3. Read the following poem and answer the questions.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed–and gazed–but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought
-William Wordsworth
a) How does the poet compare himself with a cloud?
b) What did the poet see when he was wandering?
c) Describe the daffodils by the lake,
d) Why was the poet happy?
e) Which poetic devise is used in the poem?
f) What kind of wealth does the poet talk about in the end?
4.Read the following passage and answer the following :
Microsoft is releasing the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18970 as September starts rolling. This variant of the operating system will consequently become the first major update of the year 2020, reported ExtremeTech.
The company led by Satya Nadella is testing a new way of tablet functionality in its latest Insider build. Now, there is a new touch-optimized desktop with no automatic shift to the usual tablet mode. Microsoft had announced the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18970 on AUGUST 29, 2019 in its blog post.
The report further said that this version of Windows could add features like a remodelled start menu, cloud-download recovery options, among others. Although it is still a possibility, the tech giant is putting up a demo of sorts with the new home screen set up in the newest build. However, users will only see the new desktop design if they are using a 2-in-1 device or a tablet. Earlier, removing the keyboard from a Windows 10 computer which had the touch capabilities
would automatically switch on the full tablet User Interface and giving way to application tiles similar to the Windows 8 UI which were quite unpopular as the transition wasn’t quite easy on the eyes. However, this, thankfully will not be happening in the latest version of the build. Now, Microsoft has designed it in a way, says Extreme Tech, that when users disconnect a 2-in-1 system from the keyboard in Build 18970, they will get a modified desktop UI which is better with touch. For instance, the keyboard icon will show up in the system tray for easy tapping. Desktop UI which is better with touch. For instance, the keyboard icon will show up in the system tray for easy tapping.
The company has also made it a point to state that the full touch is here to stay and still works as it did previously. Users will have a choice to enable that at any time they wish, however, Microsoft wanted users to have a choice to detach their devices but still have the familiar desktop UI without hassles.
While it could still be a while before Microsoft releases the said features in this build to the regular Windows 10 users. The company has invited the testers to share feedback and also pledged to hear them out after the recent update.
Answer the following with the help of the poem above.
a. What will the Microsoft be coming up with in 2020?
b. What is the company testing?
c. Why were the Windows 8 UI unpopular?
d. What claim does the company make?
e. Write the synonyms of the following from the passage above.
i. Change
ii. Chance
iii. Disconnect
f. Write the antonyms of the following from the passage above.
i. Worse
ii. Afterwards
iii. Demolish
Please click on below link to download CBSE Class 8 English Worksheet Set D
