CBSE Class 12 English Unseen Passage B

 

CBSE Class 12 English Unseen Passage B. Students should do unseen passages for class 12 English which will help them to get better marks in English class tests and exams. Unseen passages are really scoring and practicing them on regular basis will be very useful. Refer to the unseen passage below with answers.

Unseen Passage for Class 12

1. Read the passage given below: 
(1) When you grow up in a place where it rains for five months a year, wise elders help you to get acquainted with the rain early. They teach you that it is ignorance to think that it is the same rain falling every day. Oh no! the rain is always doing different things at different times. There is rain that is gentle, and there is also rain that falls too hard and damages the crops. Hence, pray for the sweet rain that helps the crops to grow.
(2) The monsoon in the Naga Hills goes by the native name, Khuthotei (which means the rice-growing season).
It lasts from May to early or mid-October. The local residents firmly believe that Durga Puja in October announces the end to rain. After that, one might expect a couple of short winter showers, and the spring showers in March and April. Finally, comes the ‘big rain’ in May; proper rainstorms accompanied by heart-stopping lightning and ear-splitting thunder. I have stood out in storms looking at lightning arc across the dark skies, a light-and-sound show that can go on for hours.
(3) This is the season when people use the word ‘sezuo’ and ‘suzu’ to refer to the week-long rains, when clothes don’t dry and smell of mould, when fungus forms on the floor and you can’t see the moon or the stars.
(4) The rains are also called after flowering plants and people believe that the blossoming of those plants draws out rain. Once the monsoon sets in, field work is carried out in earnest and the work of uprooting and transplanting paddy in flooded fields is done. The months of hard labour are June, July and August. In August, as the phrogo plant begins to bloom, a rain will fall. This August rain, also called phrogo, is a sign that the time for cultivation is over. If any new grain seeds are sown, they may not sprout; even if they do sprout, they are not likely to bear grain. The rain acts as a kind of farmer’s almanac.
(5) The urban population of school-goers and office-goers naturally dislikes the monsoon and its accompanying problems of landslides, muddy, streets and periodic infections. For non-farmers, the month of September can be depressing, when the rainfall is incessant and the awareness persists that the monsoons will last out till October. One needs to have the heart of a farmer to remain grateful for the watery days, and be able to observe from what seems to the inexperienced as a continuous downpour-many kinds of rain. Some of the commonly known rain-weeks are named after the plants that alternately bloom in August and September. The native belief is that the flowers draw out the rain.
(6) Each rain period has a job to fulfil: October rain helps garlic bulbs to form, while kumunyo rain helps the rice bear grain. Without it, the ears of rice cannot form properly. End of October is the most beautiful month in the Naga Hills, as the fields turn gold and wild sunflowers bloom over the slopes, all heralding the harvest. Prayers go up for protecting the fields from storms, and the rains to retreat because the grains need to stand in the sun and ripen. The cycle nears completion a few weeks before the harvest, and the rain does retreat so thoroughly from the reaped furrows that the earth quickly turns hard. The months of rain becomes a distant memory until it starts all over again.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. People who live in cities don’t like rain because:
(a) it brings mud and sickness with it.
(b) they are not bothered about the farmers.
(c) they don’t like the plants that grow during the rain.
(d) going shopping becomes difficult.
Answer: A

Question. Pick up the option in which the word ‘furrow’ has not been used in the same way as in the passage.
(a) When he frowns a deep furrow forms in his brow.
(b) A ploughed field is divided into sections of equal width separated by furrows.
(c) Rapidly reaping the furrows, he fled across the field.
(d) The incessant rain filled all the furrows in the field with water.
Answer: A

Question. What do elders want you to understand about rains?
(a) That rains are always welcomed.
(b) That the same rain falls every day.
(c) That the rain always damages the crops.
(d) That rain always does different things at different times.
Answer: D

Question. What kind of rain is called ‘sezuo’ or ‘suzu’?
(a) Winter monsoon.
(b) Summer rains.
(c) Week long rain.
(d) Short winter shower.
Answer: C

Question. People pray asking the rain to retreat because:
(a) the fungus and mould need to dry.
(b) children don’t get a chance to play.
(c) the crops need the sun and heat to ripen.
(d) they like to pray.
Answer: C

Question. What helps the crops to grow?
(a) Gentle rain.
(b) Prayer for rain.
(c) Rain that falls too hard.
(d) Easy rain.
Answer: A

Question. The rains are called after flowering plants because:
(a) heavy rains kill plants.
(b) flowers grow in the rainy season.
(c) it is believed that the plants bring the rain.
(d) flowers grow all the year round.
Answer: C

Question. When can one see sunflowers blooming all over the Naga Hills?
(a) From May to October.
(b) In September-October.
(c) End of October.
(d) During the retreat of rain.
Answer: C

Question. The rain is like a calendar for farmers because:
(a) it tells them when to sow and when to harvest.
(b) it tells them the birthdays of their children.
(c) each month has a time for plantation.
(d) different kinds of rains tell different things.
Answer: C

Question. What does Durga Puja mean to the farmers of the Naga hills?
(a) It is a holy festival for them.
(b) It announces the end of rain.
(c) They expect, thereafter, water showers.
(d) They look for light and sound show during the festival.
Answer: B

2. Read the passage given below : 
(1) Every morning Ravi gives his brain an extra boost. We’re not talking about drinking strong cups of coffee or playing one of those mind-training video games advertised all over Facebook. ‘‘I jump onto my stationary bike and cycle for 45 minutes to work,’’ says Ravi. ‘‘When I go to my desk, my brain is at peak activity for a few hours.’’ After his mental focus comes to a halt later in the day, he starts it with another short spell of cycling to be able to run errands.
(2) Ride, work, ride, repeat. It’s a scientifically proven system that describes some unexpected benefits of cycling.
In a recent study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, scientists found that people scored higher on tests of memory, reasoning, and planning after 30 minutes of spinning on a stationary bike than they did before they rode the bike. They also completed the tests faster after pedalling.
(3) Exercise is like fertilizer for your brain. All those hours, spent on exercising your muscles, create rich capillary beds not only in leg and hip muscles, but also in your brain. More blood vessels in your brain and muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients to help them work. When you pedal, you also force more nerve cells to fire. The result : you double or triple the production of these cells — literally building your brain. You also release neurotransmitters (the messengers between your brain cells) so all those cells, new and old, can communicate with each other for better, faster functioning. That’s a pretty profound benefit to cyclists.
(4) This kind of growth is especially important with each passing birthday, because as we age, our brains shrink and those connections weaken. Exercise restores and protects the brain cells. Neuroscientists say, ‘‘Adults who exercise display sharper memory skills, higher concentration levels, more fluid thinking, and greater problem-solving ability than those who are sedentary.’’
(5) Cycling also elevates your mood, relieves anxiety, increases stress resistance, and even banishes the blues.
‘‘Exercise works in the same way as psychotherapy and antidepressants in the treatment of depression, maybe better,’’ says Dr. Manjari. A recent study analyzing 26 years of research finds that even some exercise — as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day — can prevent depression over the long term.
(6) Remember : although it’s healthy, exercise itself is a stress, especially when you’re just getting started or getting back into riding. When you first begin to exert yourself, your body releases a particular hormone to raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels, says Meher Ahluwalia, PhD, a professor of integrative physiology.
As you get fitter, it takes a longer, harder ride to trigger that same response.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. Why does Ravi do a circuit of ‘ride’, work, ride?
(a) because he wants to stay focused.
(b) because after cycling to work, his brain is at the peak of activity level.
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)
Answer: C

Question. Find word from the passage which means the same as (the following) inactive : (Para 4)
(a) passing
(b) sedentary
(c) shrink
(d) weaken
Answer: B

Question. What is the work of neurotransmitters?
(a) They are like messengers between your brain cells.
(b) With the help of neurotransmitters, cells can communicate with each other.
(c) It makes the functioning better and faster.
(d) All of these.
Answer: D

Question. The more one pedals, more is ______________.
(a) production of nerve cells
(b) the release of neurotransmitters
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) neither (a) nor (b)
Answer: C

Question. ‘Banishing the blues’ is an idiom. Pick up the blue colour idiom which is NOT CORRECT.
(a) Bolt from the blue
(b) Once in a blue moon.
(c) Caught blue-handed.
(d) Out of the blue.
Answer: C

Question. When nerve cells work during exercise then ______________.
(a) the body experiences stress.
(b) the brain is strengthened by multiplying them.
(c) you start to lose your temper.
(d) your stationary cycle starts to beep.
Answer: B

Question. Based on the understanding of the passage, choose the option that lists the correct sequence of ‘How is exercise itself a stress?’
1. The body releases a particular hormone.
2. As one gets fitter, it takes a longer and more rigorous exercising to trigger the same response.
3. As soon as one states exercising, the body reacts immediately.
4. That hormone raises one’s heart rate, blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
(a) 1, 2, 3, 4
(b) 1, 3, 4, 2
(c) 3, 1, 4, 2
(d) 4, 3, 2, 1
Answer: C

Question. Why is exercise so important for adults?
(a) Only 1 and 4
(b) 1, 2 and 3
(c) Only 2 and 3
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4
Answer: D

Question. Find word/phrase from the passage which means the opposite of ‘abstain’ from functioning : (Para 6)
(a) stress
(b) back into riding
(c) exert
(d) trigger
Answer: C

Question. What are the unexpected benefits of cycling?
(a) Sharpens the memory.
(b) improves reasoning.
(c) improves planning skills.
(d) all of these.
Answer: D

3. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
(1) Thackeray reached Kittur along with a small British army force and a few of his officers and their family members. He thought that the very presence of the British on the outskirts of Kittur would terrorise the rulers and people of Kittur, and that they would lay down their arms. He was quite confident that he would be able to crush the revolt in no time. During the afternoon and evening of 20th October, the British soldiers were busy making arrangements for these camps.
(2) On the 21st morning, Thackeray sent his political assistant to Kittur fort to obtain a written assurance from all the important officers of Kittur rendering them answerable for the security of the treasury of Kittur. They, accordingly, met Sardar Gurusiddappa and other officers of Kittur and asked them to comply with the orders of Thackeray. They did not know that the people were in a defiant mood. The commanders of Kittur dismissed the agent’s orders as no documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.
(3) Thackeray was enraged and sent the commander of the Horse Artillery to capture the commanders of the Desai’s army. When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, Sardar Gurusiddappa, who had kept his men on full alert, promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers. Rani’s soldiers chased them out of the fort, killing a few of them until they retreated to their camps on the outskirts.
(4) The Kittur soldiers captured about forty persons and brought them to the palace. These included twelve children and a few women from the British officer’s camp. When they were brought in the presence of the Rani, she ordered the soldiers to be imprisoned. For the women and children, she had only gentleness, and admonished her soldiers for taking them into custody. At her orders, these women and children were taken inside the palace safely and given food and shelter. Rani came down from her throne, patted the children lovingly and told them that no harm would come to them.
(5) Seeing the noble gesture of the Rani, Thackeray was moved. He thought of trying to persuade her to enter into an agreement with the British to stop all hostilities in lieu of an inam (prize) of eleven villages. His offer was dismissed with a gesture of contempt. She had no wish to meet Thackeray. That night she called Sardar Gurusiddappa and other leading Sardars, and after discussing all the issues came to the conclusion that there was no point in meeting Thackeray who had come with an army to threaten Kittur into submission to British sovereignty.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. Based on your understanding of the passage, choose the correct option as to why Kittur officials refused to give the desired assurance to Thackeray?
(1) No documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.
(2) People were in dilemma.
(3) Kittur focus could make a bold front.
(4) People were in a defiant mood.
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 4
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 4
Answer: D

Question. What happened to the Horse Artillery?
(a) It couldn’t storm into Sardar Gurusiddappa.
(b) Kittur forces restrained from bold attack.
(c) When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, men were commanded to chase them away.
(d) All of these.
Answer: D

Question. How would the British women have felt after meeting the Rani?
(a) inspired
(b) full of gratitude
(c) relieved and pleased
(d) All of these
Answer: D

Question. British women and children came to Kittur to ______________.
(a) visit Kittur
(b) enjoy life in tents
(c) stay in the palace
(d) give company to the army officers
Answer: D

Question. Why did Thackeray come to Kittur?
(a) To crush the revolt.
(b) To terrorise the rulers.
(c) To extend helping hand to the people of Kittur.
(d) To make people and rulers lay down their arms.
Answer: A

Question. Which of the following sentences convey the meaning of ‘issues’ in the same manner as it is used in the above passage (para 5)?
(a) She is expecting an issue.
(b) Last night, she issued a statement, denying the allegations.
(c) Staff will be issued new uniforms.
(d) All are free to express their views on political issues.
Answer: D

Question. Choose the option that lists the correct sequence of the process
1. Refusal by Rani to meet Thackeray.
2. Considered pointless to meet him.
3. Thackeray had come with an army.
4. He came with an intention to threaten Kittur into submission.
(a) 3, 4, 2, 1
(b) 1, 3, 4, 2
(c) 3, 1, 4, 2
(d) 4, 3, 1, 2
Answer: A

Question. Which of these words convey the meaning of ‘captured’? (para 3)
(a) to let off
(b) to imprison
(c) to free
(d) to throw
Answer: B

Question. Why did Rani admonish soldiers?
(a) Because they had killed innocent civilians.
(b) Because they had kept children and women in custody.
(c) Because the soldiers had not kept the prisoners starved.
(d) Because the soldiers had badly beaten the children and woman.
Answer: A

Question. Select the reason/reasons to show that Rani was a noble queen.
(a) She provided food and shelter to women and children.
(b) She was very gentle towards them.
(c) She sent them a word of their safety.
(d) All of these.
Answer: D

4. Read the passage given below:
(1) Maharana Pratap ruled Mewar only for 25 years. However, he accomplished so much grandeur during his reign that his glory surpassed the boundaries of countries and time, turning him into an immortal personality. He along with his kingdom became a synonym for valour, sacrifice and patriotism. Mewar, had been a leading Rajput kingdom even before Maharana Pratap occupied the throne. Kings of Mewar, with the cooperation of their nobles and subjects, had established such traditions in the kingdom, which augmented their magnificence despite the hurdles of having a smaller area under their command and less population. There did come a few thorny occasions when the flag of the kingdom seemed sliding down. Their flag, once again heaved high in the sky thanks to the gallantry and brilliance of the people of Mewar.
(2) The destiny of Mewar was good in the sense that barring a few kings, most of the rulers were competent and patriotic. This glorious tradition of the kingdom almost continued for 1500 years since its establishment, right from the reign of Bappa Rawal. In fact, only 60 years before Maharana Pratap, Rana Sanga, drove the kingdom to the pinnacle of fame. His reputation went beyond Rajasthan and reached Delhi. Two generations before him, Rana Kumbha, had given a new stature to the kingdom through victories and developmental work. During his reign, literature and art also progressed extraordinarily. Rana himself was inclined towards writing and his works are read with reverence even today.
(3) The ambience of his kingdom was conducive to the creation of high quality work of art and literature. These accomplishments, were the outcome of a long-standing tradition sustained by several generations. The life of the people of Mewar must have been peaceful and prosperous during a long span of time, otherwise, such extraordinary accomplishment in these fields would not have been possible. This is reflected in their art and literature as well as their loving nature. They compensate for lack of admirable physique by their firm but pleasant nature. The ambience of Mewar remains lovely, thanks to the cheerful and liberal character of its people.
(4) One may observe astonishing pieces of workmanship not only in the forts and palaces of Mewar but also in public utility buildings. Ruins of many structures which are still standing tall in their grandeur are testimony to the fact that, Mewar was not only the land of the brave but also a seat of art and culture. Amidst aggression and bloodshed, literature and art flourished and creative pursuits of literature and artists did not suffer. Imagine, how glorious the period must have been when the Vijaya Stambha which is the sample of our great ancient architecture even today, was constructed. In the same fort, Kirti Stambha is standing high, reflecting how liberal the then administration was, which allowed people from other communities and kingdoms to come and carry out construction work. It is useless to indulge in the debate whether the Vijaya Stambha was constructed first or the Kirti Stambha. The fact is that both the capitals are standing side by side and reveal, the proximity between the king and the subjects of Mewar.
(5) The cycle of time does not remain the same. Whereas, the reign of Rana Sanga was crucial in raising the kingdom to the acme of glory, it also proved to be his nemesis. History took a turn. The fortune of Mewar—the land of the brave, started waning. Rana tried to save the day with his acumen which was running against the stream and the glorious traditions for some time.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. Mewar was lucky because :
(1) all of its rulers were competent.
(2) most of its people were competent.
(3) most of its rulers were competent.
(4) only a few of its people were incompetent.
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 3
(c) 2, 3 & 4
(d) 1, 2 & 4
Answer: C

Question. Find the word from the passage that is opposite in the meaning to ‘surprising’ (para 4)
(a) grandeur
(b) astonishing
(c) flourished
(d) proximity
Answer: B

Question. What do the Vijay Stambha and Kirti Stambha in the same fort signify?
(a) Both Stambhas are symbols of Ancient Persian Architecture.
(b) Both reveal the closeness between the king and the people of Mewar.
(c) Both tell the stories of high stature of the kings.
(d) Both tell the stories of the people who went and settled there to carry out the construction work.
Answer: B

Question. Whose reign was crucial as well as proved to be his nemesis of Mewar?
(a) Maharana Pratap
(b) Rana Sanga
(c) Rana Kumbha
(d) Bappa Rawal
Answer: B

Question. Maharana Pratap became immortal because :
(a) he ruled Mewar for 25 years.
(b) he added a lot of grandeur to Mewar.
(c) of his valour, sacrifice and patriotism.
(d) both (b) and (c).
Answer: D

Question. Who is the earliest King of Mewar mentioned in the passage?
(a) Bappa Rawal
(b) Rana Sanga
(c) Rana Kumbha
(d) Maharana Pratap
Answer: A

Question. During thorny occasions :
(a) the flag of Mewar seemed to be lowered.
(b) the flag of Mewar was hoisted high.
(c) the people of Mewar never showed gallantry.
(d) most of the rulers heaved a sigh of relief.
Answer: A

Question. What was incorrect about Rana Kumbha’s contribution to the glory of Mewar?
(a) He had given a new stature to the kingdom through victories.
(b) He made his kingdom special with developmental work.
(c) During his reign, literature and art progressed extraordinary.
(d) He himself was never seen inclined towards writing.
Answer: D

Question. Find the word from the passage that means the same as ‘bravery’ : (para 1)
(a) valour
(b) magnificence
(c) grandeur
(d) brilliance
Answer: A

Question. Difficulties in the way of Mewar were :
(a) lack of cooperation of the nobility.
(b) ancient traditions of the kingdom.
(c) its small area and small population.
(d) the poverty of the subjects.
Answer: C

5. Read the passage given below: 
(1) For four days, I walked through the narrow lanes of the old city, enjoying the romance of being in a city where history still lives—in its cobblestone streets and in its people riding asses, carrying vine leaves and palm as they once did during the time of Christ.
(2) This is Jerusalem, home to the sacred sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This is the place that houses the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was finally laid to rest. This is also the site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
(3) Built by the Roman Emperor Constantine, at the site of an earlier temple to Aphrodite, it is the most venerated Christian shrine in the world. And justifiably so. Here, within the church, are the last five stations of the cross; the 10th station where Jesus was stripped of his clothes, the 11th, where he was nailed to the cross, the 12th, where he died on
the cross, the 13th, where the body was removed from the cross, and the 14th, his tomb.
(4) For all this weighty tradition, the approach and entrance to the church is nondescript. You have to ask for directions. Even to the devout Christian pilgrims walking along the Via Dolorosa—The Way of Sorrows—first nine stations look clueless. Then a courtyard appears, hemmed in by other buildings and a doorway to one side. This leads to a vast area of huge stone architecture.
(5) Immediately inside the entrance is your first stop. It’s the stone of anointing : this is the place, according to Greek tradition, where Christ was removed from the cross. The Roman Catholics, however, believe it to be the spot where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial by Joseph.
(6) What happened next? Jesus was buried. He was taken to a place outside the city of Jerusalem where other graves existed and there, he was buried in a cave. However, all is long gone, destroyed by continued attacks and rebuilding; what remains is the massive—and impressive—Rotunda (a round building with a dome) that Emperor Constantine built. Under this, and right in the centre of the Rotunda, is the structure that contains the Holy Sepulchre.
(7) ‘How do you know that this is Jesus’ tomb ?’ I asked one of the pilgrims standing next to me. He was clueless, more interested, like the rest of them, in the novelty of it and in photographing it, than in its history or tradition.
(8) At the start of the first century, the place was a disused quarry outside the city walls. According to the gospels, Jesus’ crucifixion occurred ‘at a place outside the city walls with graves nearby ’. Archaeologists have discovered tombs from that era, so the site is compatible with the biblical period.
(9) The structure at the site is a marble tomb built over the original burial chamber. It has two rooms, and you enter four at a time into the first of these, the Chapel of the Angel. Here, the Angel is supposed to have sat on a stone to recount Christ’s resurrection. A low door made of white marble, partly worn away by pilgrims’ hands, leads to a smaller chamber inside. This is the ‘room of the tomb’, the place where Jesus was buried.
(10) We entered in a single file. On my right was a large marble slab that covered the original rock bench on which the body of Jesus was laid. A woman knelt and prayed. Her eyes were wet with tears. She pressed her face against the slab to hide them, but it only made it worse.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option: 

Question. Rotunda was built by ________________.
(a) an architect
(b) an emperor
(c) the Roman Catholics
(d) some pilgrims
Answer: B

Question. Why does one have to constantly ask for directions to the church?
(a) Its lanes are narrow.
(b) Entrance to the church is nondescript.
(c) People are not tourist-friendly.
(d) Everyone is lost in enjoying the romance of the place.
Answer: B

Question. Where was Jesus buried?
(a) In a cave.
(b) At a place outside the city.
(c) In the Holy Sepulchre.
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: D

Question. How many stations were there in the church?
(a) 10
(b) 14
(c) 12
(d) 5
Answer: B

Question. How does Jerusalem still retain the charm of the ancient era?
(a) There are narrow lanes.
(b) Roads are paved with cobblestones.
(c) People can be seen riding assess.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: D

Question. Holy Sepulchre is sacred to:
(a) Christianity
(b) Islam
(c) Judaism
(d) All of the above
Answer: A

Question. Christ was crucified at
(a) Jerusalem
(b) Tomb
(c) Church
(d) Via Dolorosa
Answer: A

Question. Jesus was nailed to the cross at the ________________.
(a) 11th station
(b) 11th station
(c) Aphrodite
(d) His tomb
Answer: A

Question. The courtyard shows ways to ________________.
(a) The way of sorrows
(b) A vast area of huge stone architecture
(c) Neither (a) nor (b)
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer: B

Question. Where was the body of Jesus laid?
(a) Floor
(b) Rock bench
(c) Marble slab
(d) Wooden bench
Answer: A

6. Read the passage given below:
(1) Many of us believe that ‘small’ means ‘insignificant’. We believe that small actions and choices do not have much impact on our lives. We think that it is only the big things, the big actions and the big decisions that really count.
But when you look at the lives of all great people, you will see that they built their character through small decisions, small choices and small actions that they performed every day. They transformed their lives through step-by-step or day-by-day approach. They nurtured and nourished their good habits and chipped away their bad habits, one by one.
It was their small day-to-day decisions that added up to make tremendous difference in the long run. Indeed, in matters of personal growth and character building, there is no such thing as an overnight success.
(2) Growth always occurs through a sequential series of stages. There is an organic process to growth. When we look at children growing up, we can see this process at work: the child first learns to crawl, then to stand and walk and then finally to run. The same is true in the natural world. The soil must first be tilled and then the seed must be sown.
Next, it must be nurtured with enough water and sunlight and only then will it grow into trees laden with ripe fruits.
(3) Gandhi understood this organic process and used this universal law of nature to his benefit. GANDHI GREW IN SMALL WAYS, in his day-to-day affairs. He did not wake up one day and find himself to be the ‘Mahatma’. In fact, there was nothing much in his early life that showed signs of greatness. But from his mid-twenties onwards, he deliberately and consistently attempted to change himself, reformed himself and grew in some small ways every day.
Day by day, hour by hour, he risked failure, experimented and learnt from mistakes. In small as well as large situations, he took up the responsibility rather than avoiding it.
(4) This is a common factor in the lives of all great people: they exercise their freedoms and choices in small ways that make great impact on their lives and their environment. Each of their small decisions and actions, add up to have a profound impact in the long run. By understanding this principle, we can move forward, with confidence, in the direction of our dreams. Often when our ‘ideal goal’ looks too far from us, we become easily discouraged, disheartened and pessimistic. However, when we choose to grow in small ways, by taking small steps one at a time, our achievement becomes easy.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option: 

Question. Which of the following statements is true in the context of the third paragraph ?
(a) Gandhi became great overnight.
(b) Gandhi showed signs of greatness in childhood itself.
(c) Every day Gandhi made efforts to change himself in some small ways.
(d) Gandhi never made mistakes.
Answer: C

Question. Pick out the word/phrase which is similar in meaning to ‘purposely’ (Para 3)
(a) intentionally
(b) deliberately
(c) in small ways
(d) consistently
Answer: B

Question. What is done by great people to transform their lives ?
(a) They approach life on a day-to-day basis.
(b) They build character in small ways.
(c) They believe in performing every day.
(d) All of these.
Answer: B

Question. How did Gandhiji become ‘Mahatma’?
(a) By risking failure.
(b) By learning from mistakes.
(c) By taking up responsibilities.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: D

Question. How do small actions help in our lives?
(a) They help in building characters.
(b) They nourish good habits.
(c) They chipped away bad habits.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: D

Question. The main idea in the first paragraph is that :
(a) big things, big actions and big decisions make a person great.
(b) small actions and decisions are important in one’s life.
(c) overnight success is possible for all of us.
(d) personal changes are not important.
Answer: B

Question. What according to the writer is the universal law of nature?
(a) Everything takes time to grow.
(b) Nothing can change in a day.
(c) Both (a) & (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)
Answer: C

Question. How can we grow in small ways?
(a) By getting disheartened.
(b) By dreaming little.
(c) By taking small steps one at a time.
(d) None of these.
Answer: C

Question. Pick the right option in which the word ‘Principle’ has been used in the same way as in para 4 of the passage.
(a) He was a man of principle and good to his word.
(b) The ambassador refused on principle to agree to the terms of the accord.
(c) By one count, rice is the principle source of calories for about half the planet.
(d) Wilson constructed various forms of electric wave detector depending on this same principle.
Answer: D

Question. What does the writer mean by saying ‘chipped away at their bad habits’?
(a) Steadily gave up bad habits.
(b) Slowly produced bad habits.
(c) Gradually criticized bad habits.
(d) Did not like bad habits.
Answer: A

7. Read the passage given below:
(1) One of the greatest sailing adventures of the past 25 years was the conquest of the Northwest Passage, powered by sail, human muscle, and determination. In 100 days, over three summers (1986-88), Canadians Jeff Maclnnis and Mike Beedell accomplished the first wind-powered crossing of the Northwest Passage.
(2) In Jeff Maclnnis’s words...Our third season. We weave our way through the labyrinth of ice, and in the distance, we hear an unmistakable sound. A mighty bowhead whale is nearby, and its rhythmic breaths fill us with awe. Finally, we see it relaxed on the surface, its blowhole quivering like a volcanic cone, but it senses our presence and quickly sounds. We are very disappointed. We had only good intentions-to revel in its beautiful immensity and to feel its power. Mike thinks how foolish it would be for this mighty beast to put any faith in us. After all, we are members of the species that had almost sent the bowhead into extinction with our greed for whale oil and bone. It is estimated that as many as 38,000 bowheads were killed off eastern Baffin Island in the 1800s; today, there are only about 200 left.
(3) We were on the fine edge. Everything that we had learned in the Arctic over the last 90 days was now being tested. The fascinating and sometimes terrifying wildlife keeps us entertained during our explorations. Bearded harp and ring seals greet us daily. The profusion of bird life is awesome; at times, we see and smell hundreds of thousands of thick-billed murres clinging to their cliffside nests. Our charts show that we are on the edge of a huge shoal where the frigid ocean currents upwelling and mix nutrients that provide a feast for the food chain. At times, these animals scare the living daylights out of us. They have a knack of sneaking up behind us and then shooting out of the water and belly flopping for maximum noise and splash. A horrendous splash coming from behind has a heart-stopping effect in polar bear country.
(4) We have many encounters with the ‘Lords of the Arctic,’ but we are always cautious, observant, and ever so respectful that we are in their domain. In some regions, the land is totally devoid of life, while in others, the pulse of life takes our breath away. Such is the paradox of the Arctic; it’s wastelands flow into oasis’ that are found nowhere else on
the face of the earth. Many times, we find ancient signs of Inuit people who lived here, superbly attuned to the land.
We feel great respect for them; this landscape is a challenge at every moment.
(5) We face a 35-mile open water passage across Prince Regent Inlet on Baffin Island that will take us to our ultimate goal - Pond Inlet on Baffin Bay. The breakers look huge from the water’s edge.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. How can we grow in small ways?
(a) By getting disheartened.
(b) By dreaming little.
(c) By taking small steps one at a time.
(d) None of these.
Answer: C

Question. Which of the following statements is true in the context of the third paragraph ?
(a) Gandhi became great overnight.
(b) Gandhi showed signs of greatness in childhood itself.
(c) Every day Gandhi made efforts to change himself in some small ways.
(d) Gandhi never made mistakes.
Answer: C

Question. How did Gandhiji become ‘Mahatma’?
(a) By risking failure.
(b) By learning from mistakes.
(c) By taking up responsibilities.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: D

Question. The main idea in the first paragraph is that :
(a) big things, big actions and big decisions make a person great.
(b) small actions and decisions are important in one’s life.
(c) overnight success is possible for all of us.
(d) personal changes are not important.
Answer: B

Question. What according to the writer is the universal law of nature?
(a) Everything takes time to grow.
(b) Nothing can change in a day.
(c) Both (a) & (b)
(d) Neither (a) nor (b)
Answer: C

Question. What is done by great people to transform their lives ?
(a) They approach life on a day-to-day basis.
(b) They build character in small ways.
(c) They believe in performing every day.
(d) All of these.
Answer: B

Question. Pick out the word/phrase which is similar in meaning to ‘purposely’ (Para 3)
(a) intentionally
(b) deliberately
(c) in small ways
(d) consistently
Answer: B

Question. Pick the right option in which the word ‘Principle’ has been used in the same way as in para 4 of the passage.
(a) He was a man of principle and good to his word.
(b) The ambassador refused on principle to agree to the terms of the accord.
(c) By one count, rice is the principle source of calories for about half the planet.
(d) Wilson constructed various forms of electric wave detector depending on this same principle.
Answer: D

Question. What does the writer mean by saying ‘chipped away at their bad habits’?
(a) Steadily gave up bad habits.
(b) Slowly produced bad habits.
(c) Gradually criticized bad habits.
(d) Did not like bad habits.
Answer: A

Question. How do small actions help in our lives?
(a) They help in building characters.
(b) They nourish good habits.
(c) They chip away bad habits.
(d) All of the above.
Answer: D

8. Read the passage given below:
(1) The difference in the ways of thinking and perception in the people of two different generations, which results in behavioural differences and sometimes, conflict among them is usually called generation gap.
(2) Generation gap is generally seen in the family between parents and their children. It is not only because of the gap in age but also because of the way parents react to a particular situation. Children, being very young and immature, do not understand the way of thinking of their parents. In many cases, the parents, even if they are matured, do not emphasize with the changing values and thinking pattern of the modern world. This creates a communication gap between the two generations.
(3) Generation gap between parents and children is mostly caused by parents themselves. They do not talk openly to their children and do not take part in solving their problems. This behaviour gives the impression about parents being authoritative person, because they only dictate without understanding the problems faced by their children. As a result, the children become mentally isolated from their parents. Some parents become so busy with their work that they do not spend quality time with their family, which makes them completely unaware about how their children are growing, what kind of mentality is being developed in them, and so on. This ultimately creates a gap between them.
They only realize it when it is too late.
(4) Changes in technology have led to the generation gap in this modern world. Children tend to spend most of their time with their digital devices and are so busy with social media, that they do not discuss their problems with their parents. The internet provides solutions to most of the worldly problems. So, children, instead of contacting their own parents, seek the help of internet in case of any problem, thus again reducing the communication, leading to a generation gap between them.
(5) The generation gap has greatly increased these days because the time is changing fast and people find it difficult to cope up with this change. To overcome this problem, the parents should show some interest in all matters of their children and deal with then positively instead of just scolding them and leaving them alone to deal with their problems. Giving time to the children, having open communication and allowing the child to feel free and not in any kind of pressure, will eventually reduce the generation gap to a tolerable extent.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. How do children generally view their parents?
(a) As dictatorial
(b) As authoritative person
(c) As friend
(d) As a mental support
Answer: B

Question. What step(s) should be taken by parents to bridge the generation gap?
(a) Show interest in their children’s matters.
(b) Have open communication with children.
(c) Allow children to put forth their views.
(d) All of these.
Answer: D

Question. Most of the parents do not spend _____________ time with their family.
(a) free
(b) quality
(c) weekend
(d) leisure
Answer: B

Question. Pick out the word or phrase from the passage which means the same as ‘engrossed’.
(a) Caused
(b) Dictate
(c) Busy
(d) Developed
Answer: C

Question. The generation gap is ______________ with the change of time.
(a) increasing
(b) decreasing
(c) being coped up
(d) being dealt positively
Answer: A

Question. With the advancement of technology, children spend most of their time _____________.
(a) with their friends
(b) in educational surfing
(c) with digital devices
(d) communicating with parents
Answer: C

Question. What causes the gap between the parents and their children?
(a) Difference in their ways of thinking.
(b) Immaturity on the part of children against various situations.
(c) Parents not emphasizing with changing values.
(d) All of these.
Answer: D

Question. Giving time to the children, having open communication and allowing the child to feel free and not in any kind of pressure, will eventually reduce the generation gap to a tolerable extent. Choose the correct option to replace the underlined word.
(a) at length
(b) ultimately
(c) immediately
(d) promptly
Answer: B

Question. Pick the option(s) that correctly are the cause of generation gap.
(a) Parents
(b) Children
(c) Values
(d) Authority
Answer: A

Question. What is meant by the word ‘isolated’?
(a) Bound
(b) Grown
(c) Separated
(d) Unconcerned
Answer: C

9. Read the passage given below : 
(1) The art of living is learnt easily by those who are positive and optimistic. From humble and simple people to great leaders in history, science or literature, we can learn a lot about the art of living, by having a peep into their lives.
The daily routines of these great men not only reveal their different, maybe unique life styles, but also help us learn certain habits and practices they followed. Here are some; read, enjoy and follow in their footsteps as it suits you.
(2) A private workplace always helps. Jane Austen asked that a certain squeaky hinge should never be oiled so that she always had a warning whenever someone was approaching the room where she wrote. William Faulkner, lacking a lock on his study door, detached the doorknob and brought it into the room with him. Mark Twain’s family knew better than to breach his study door—they would blow a horn to draw him out. Graham Greene went even further, renting a secret office; only his wife knew the address and the telephone number. After all, everyone of us needs a workplace where we can work on our creation uninterruptedly. Equally we need our private space too!
(3) A daily walk has always been a source of inspiration. For many artists, a regular stroll was essentially a creative inspiration. Charles Dickens famously took three hour walks every afternoon, and what he observed on them fed directly into his writing. Tchaikovsky could make do with a two-hour jaunt but wouldn’t return a moment early; convinced that doing so would make him ill. Ludwig van Beethoven took lengthy strolls after lunch, carrying a pencil and paper with him in case inspiration struck. Nineteenth century composer Erik Satie did the same on his long hikes from Paris to the working-class suburb where he lived, stopping under street lamps to jot down ideas that came on his journey; it’s rumored that when those lamps were turned off during the war years, his music declined too. Many great people had limited social life too. One of Simone de Beauvoir’s close friends puts it this way. ‘There were no receptions, parties. It was an uncluttered kind of life, a simplicity deliberately constructed so that she could do her work”. To Pablo, the idea of Sunday was an ‘at home day’.
(4) The routines of these thinkers are difficult. Perhaps it is because they are so unattainable. The very idea that you can organize your time as you like is out of reach for most of us, so I’ll close with a toast to all those who worked with difficulties. Like Francine Prose, who began writing when the school bus picked up her children and stopped when it brought them back; or T. S. Eliot, who found it much easier to write once he had a day job in a bank than he had as a starving poet and even F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose early books were written in his strict schedule as a young military officer. Those days were not as interesting as the nights in Paris that came later, but they were much more productive and no doubt easier on his liver.
(5) Being forced to follow someone else’s routine may irritate, but it makes it easier to stay on the path. Whenever we break that trail ourselves or take an easy path of least resistance, perhaps what’s most important is that we keep walking.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. In their daily routines :
(a) they had unique life styles.
(b) they read books and enjoyed them.
(c) they did not get any privacy.
(d) they did not mind visitors.
Answer: A

Question. Beethoven took along with him during his long walk ______________.
(a) pen and paper
(b) In his secret office
(c) water bottle
(d) pencil and paper
Answer: D

Question. Some artists resorted to walking as it was :
(a) an exercise.
(b) a creative inspiration.
(c) essential for improving their health.
(d) helpful in interaction with others.
Answer: B

Question. To Pablo, the idea of Sunday was a/an:
(a) home day
(b) off day
(c) a mall day
(d) friend’s place day
Answer: A

Question. Composer Erik Satie used to ______________.
(a) compose music after his walk
(b) write his ideas under street lamp
(c) sleep immediately after his walk
(d) have lunch in late evening
Answer: B

Question. The passage is about:
(a) how to practice walking.
(b) walking every day
(c) the life of a genius.
(d) what we can learn from the routines of geniuses.
Answer: D

Question. Find word from the passage which mean the same as ‘noisy’ (Para 2)
(a) squeaky
(b) detaching
(c) blowing
(d) breaching
Answer: A

Question. Pessimistic : Pessimism :: Humble : ?
(a) Humility
(b) Humbility
(c) Humbler
(d) Humbling
Answer: A

Question. The writers in the past:
(a) followed a perfect daily routine.
(b) enjoyed the difficulties of life.
(c) can teach us a lot.
(d) wrote a lot in books.
Answer: A

Question. When did F. Scott Fitzgerald write his early books?
(a) During his regular stroll.
(b) In his secret office.
(c) During his strict schedule.
(d) In his study room.
Answer: C

10. Read the passage given below :
(1) A fisherman, enfeebled with age, could no longer go out to sea, so he began fishing in the river. Every morning he would go down to the river and sit there fishing the whole day long. In the evening he would sell whatever he had caught, buy food for himself and go home. It was a hard life for an old man. One hot afternoon while he was trying to keep awake and bemoaning his fate, a large bird with silvery feathers alighted on a rock near him. It was Kaha, the heavenly bird. ‘Have you no one to care for you, grandpa?’ asked the bird. ‘Not a soul’. ‘You should not be doing such work at your age, ‘ said the bird. ‘From now on I will bring you a big fish every evening. You can sell it and live in comfort’. True to her word, the bird began to drop a large fish at his doorstep every evening. All that the fisherman had to do was take it to the market and sell it. As big fish were in great demand, he was soon rolling in money. He bought a cottage near the sea, with a garden around it and engaged a servant to cook for him. His wife had died some years earlier. He had decided to marry again and began to look for a suitable woman.
(2) One day he heard the royal courtier make an announcement. ‘Our king has news of a great bird called Kaha,’ said the courtier. ‘Whoever can give information about this bird and help catch it, will be rewarded with half the gold in the royal treasury and half the kingdom !’ The fisherman was sorely tempted by the reward. Half the kingdom would make him a prince !
(3) ‘Why does the king want the bird ?’ he asked. ‘He has lost his sight,’ explained the courtier. ‘A wise man has advised him to bathe his eyes with the blood of Kaha. Do you know where can she be found ?’ ‘No…I mean …no, no…’ Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply. The courtier, sensing that he knew something about the bird, informed the king. The king had him brought to the palace.
(4) ‘If you have information about the bird, tell me,’ urged the king. ‘I will reward you handsomely and if you help catch her, I will personally crown you king of half my domain’. ‘I will get the bird for you,’ cried the fisherman, suddenly making up his mind. ‘But Kaha is strong. I will need help’. The king sent a dozen soldiers with him. That evening when the bird came with the fish, the fisherman called out to her to wait. ‘You drop the fish and go and I never get a chance to thank you for all that you’ve done for me,’ he said. ‘Today I have laid out a feast for you inside.
Please alight and come in’. Kaha was reluctant to accept the invitation but the fisherman pleaded so earnestly that she finally gave in, and alighted. The moment she was on the ground, the fisherman grabbed one of her legs and shouted to the soldiers hiding in his house to come out. They rushed to his aid, but their combined effort could not keep Kaha down.
(5) She rose into the air with the fisherman still clinging onto her leg. By the time he realised he was being carried away, the fisherman was too high in the air to let go. He hung on grimly, and neither he nor Kaha were ever seen again.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. Which of the following is not true about Kaha?
(a) Kaha was a very considerate bird.
(b) The blood of Kaha was precious.
(c) Kaha was a strong bird.
(d) Kaha saved the fisherman from the King’s wrath.
Answer: D

Question. Whom did the king send with the fisherman to catch Kaha?
(a) His son
(b) His soldiers
(c) His hunters
(d) Other fishermen
Answer: B

Question. Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply. Which option is the substitute for the underlined words?
(a) The fisherman could not give consistent reply.
(b) The fisherman could not give legible reply.
(c) The fisherman could not give lucid and logical reply.
(d) The fisherman could not give comprehensible reply.
Answer: C

Question. What led the courtier to sense that the fisherman might know something about Kaha ?
(a) The courtier had observed Kaha alight at the fisherman’s house every evening.
(b) The courtier had seen the fisherman talk to Kaha.
(c) The fisherman fumbled when asked about Kaha.
(d) Word went around that the fisherman was in contact with Kaha.
Answer: C

Question. Why did the fisherman stammer when asked if he knew about the bird?
(a) The fisherman thought he was going to be punished for leaving the bird.
(b) He was thrilled he would be able to help the king.
(c) He already knew about the reward that was being offered.
(d) He was conflicted between the king’s reward and his gratitude towards the bird.
Answer: D

Question. What does the phrase ‘rolling in money’ in the passage refer to?
(a) To have a large amount of money.
(b) To waste the money.
(c) investing the money.
(d) to have no idea of money, being possessed.
Answer: A

Question. Why was the king desperately looking for Kaha, the bird?
(a) The king wanted a pet bird.
(b) A wise man advised the king to capture the bird for good luck.
(c) Kaha was the only heavenly bird with silvery feathers.
(d) The king was blind and required Kaha’s blood for his eyes.
Answer: D

Question. The bird________ along with the fisherman clinging onto her leg.
(a) chirped
(b) flew away
(c) captured
(d) was caged
Answer: B

Question. Pick out the word/phrase from the passage, which are opposite in meaning to ‘take off’ (Para 1)
(a) go out
(b) go down
(c) alight
(d) rolling
Answer: C

Question. Why did the bird volunteer to bring fish for the old man ?
(a) The old man was inexperienced at fishing.
(b) The bird took pity on the old man and wanted to help him.
(c) The bird had caught more fish than required.
(d) The bird wanted to make the old man rich.
Answer: B

11. Read the passage given below:
(1) Suspense was over when my high school results finally came out. But I was upset. I hadn’t done as well as I had expected. My father tried to console me. ‘Why are you worried? You have done very well my dear’. ‘No, I haven’t, Baba,’ I protested, controlling my tears, and wondering if I had disappointed him. ‘It doesn’t really matter,’ he assured me. ‘Do you know what I got when I finished high school ?’ I looked into Baba’s face and waited for the answer to his own question. ‘You know,’ he told me. ‘I’ve never told you this. I got just a third division. But, look at me, I’ve done quite well’. Baba got a third division! I was almost in shock, but the thought of my having done a lot better than that made me realize that I had no reason to complain. I certainly felt better ! ‘Everything is under control !’ said Baba, smiling. That was his favourite phrase. Posted in Kolkata, my father was then a senior official in the Indian Railway Service, and an expert in goods traffic operations. He was soon to become a director with the Railway Board. By the time he retired in 1981, he was the General Manager of the Central Railways. By the time Baba passed away in November 2000, his name had found place in several hearts as well. He was open, easy to know, and full of life. We were extremely close, but I had so much more to learn about him from many things I came to know after his death.
(2) In September 2000, he was in hospital for treatment of cancer and given just two months to live. When he found out, his reaction was an extremely rational one. He asked me to fetch files from his cupboard, so that he could explain the details of my mother’s pension. He also dictated his will from his hospital bed. ‘Everything is under control !’ After Baba’s
death, Satish, our old family retainer, was inconsolable. We tried to cheer him up. ‘Your Baba had scolded me only once in all these years!’ he cried. Satish pointed to the watch on his left hand. ‘I had been coming late for work and everyone in the family was complaining about it,’ said Satish. ‘Then, one day, your Baba gave me this watch and told me, ‘now that
you have a watch, you can’t be late’. That was the scolding Satish received. On the fourth day after Baba’s death, my sister and I had to perform a ceremony. Since several relatives were expected, we decided to order lunch from a caterer in our locality, who was reputed for his home cooked food. But, when we went to pay the owner, we got a surprise. He refused
to accept any money ! ‘When I wanted to start my catering business, it was your father who lent me money,’ he told us.
It seems Baba never asked for it back. Now, after four or five years, the caterer wanted to repay that debt. Of course, we made him accept the full payment for the fine food and service. ‘It was Baba’s gift and it ought to remain so,’ I told him.
(3) Some days later, (as we were preparing for the main ceremony) there was yet another piece of information.
Vikram, my brother drove me to the local market. On recognizing our car, the parking assistant, in his twenties, came running towards us and asked why he had not seen its owner for long. We had to break the news to him and to our utter surprise, he started crying. We were really surprised by this reaction from a stranger—until the man told us that Baba used to pay his daughter’s school fees and buy her books. It seems, it was on my father’s advice that he’d even started sending the child to school. More than three years after Baba’s death, as we were looking into Baba’s personal things, we came across an old file with Baba’s certificates and I found among them, his high school diploma from 1937, the one he’d told me about 30 years earlier, about the third division that had made no difference in his life or career. It had made me see beyond mere marks and first classes as the main road to success. But there was one more fact. Baba had actually got a first division, a rare achievement in his day. Today, years after his passing, when I think of Baba, I see a man who was able to sympathise with others very easily and who had touched their lives in some very special way.
Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer any eight of the questions given below by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. Why did the narrator say that she had nothing to complain?
(a) She had done better than her father.
(b) She had done as well as her father.
(c) She had topped in her school.
(d) She had not worked hard at all.
Answer: A

Question. Pick the correct option from the given statements.
(a) The result of the narrator’s father in high school was better than that of the narrator.
(b) The caterer charge whooping amount for the food and service extended.
(c) The narrator’s father was kind, open and vivacious.
(d) Satish was scolded umpteen times by father of the narrator due to being late.
Answer: C

Question. Choose the option that is not correct.
(a) Baba was a senior official in the Indian Railway Service.
(b) Baba was to become a director with the Railway Board.
(c) Baba was the General Manager of the Central Railways.
(d) Baba had got a third division in high school.
Answer: D

Question. Whose fees the narrator’s father used to pay?
(a) Satish, the caretaker
(b) The caterer’s daughter
(c) The parking assistant’s daughter
(d) The narrator
Answer: C

Question. Which division did Baba actually get?
(a) First
(b) Second
(c) Third
(d) Failed
Answer: A

Question. Why did he ask to bring files before his death?
(a) To dictate his will.
(b) To inform about mother’s pension.
(c) both (a) & (b)
(d) neither (a) nor (b)
Answer: C

Question. Why was the narrator in tears when her school results came out?
(a) She did better than she expected.
(b) She did not do as expected.
(c) Her Baba had not done well.
(d) Her Baba had done better than her.
Answer: B

Question. On knowing the result, how did the narrator’s father react?
(a) He scolded her.
(b) He beat her.
(c) He consoled her.
(d) He made fun of her.
Answer: C

Question. Pick out the word from the passage that mean the same as ‘anxiety’ (Para 1)
(a) suspense
(b) worried
(c) shock
(d) retired
Answer: B

Question. What were the favourite words of the narrator’s father?
(a) All is well.
(b) Don’t worry.
(c) Everything is under control.
(d) It doesn’t really matter.
Answer: C

 

Read the passage below:-

Money came into existence to answer a need of mankind, but this need did not arise until civilization had grown beyond its earliest stages. Primitive man lived by hunting, each hunt only for himself and his family or tribe. At such a stage when strangers were avoided or driven away, money and even trade were unnecessary. Later, when he had learnt to domesticate wild animals, man lived a nomadic and pastoral life, constantly wandering as he drove his flocks and herds to new pastures. As the road to wealth was then the possession of beasts, money in its modern form was still not necessary, although he beasts themselves were a form of money. It would suit, what few craftsmen there were to be paid for their wares in cattle and farmers and herdsmen to pay in that way.

When human communities began to settle down and cultivate the land, instead of wandering over it with their flocks and herds, the division of labour increased and people specialized in crafts and trades. Most men specialized in growing or producing something of which only a very small portion was necessary for their own wants. So they had to get rid of their surplus. In exchange for it, they wanted something which would give them the power to choose what they wanted from the surpluses of other people. A few transactions might take place in straightforward exchange or barter, but only certain things could be treated in this way. It was unlikely for instance, that a shoe-maker needing supplies of corn for his family from time-to-time would always find that the farmer would take shoes in exchange. It would be more convenient, if there were some other object that would always be useful to both the shoe-maker and the farmer.

Once the people have agreed what this other object is to be and once they are prepared always to accept it or offer it in payment, then we have money in its primitive form. It is the go-between in all business transactions or as the economists say, 'a medium of exchange'. We have seen that in the pastoral stage of human history, cattle themselves were this generally acceptable commodity ; it is therefore not strange that the Latin word for money, ‘petunia' comes from a similar Latin word, 'pecus' meaning cattle. In modern English we still use the adjectives, pecuniary' meaning, concerned with money, and ‘impecunious’ meaning having no money.

The trouble about the cattle is that they may become diseased, are easily driven away while their owners are asleep, require a lot of land on which to graze and cannot easily be subdivided without being killed and so losing their value. The precious metals such as gold and silver do not suffer from any of these disadvantages. It can be buried and hidden away easily, it does not rust or lose weight through storage; it can be weighed out into quite small quantities without loss of value. Even some modern communities have used the precious metals by weight as their standard money, although they have used coins for pocket money and small change. For many years the standard money of China was the 'teal' which was not a coin, but a weight of silver, the dollar and the cash were used for small change and minor transactions.

There are, however, disadvantages in using weighed quantities of these metals. Dishonest persons may mix them with less valuable metals of the same appearance and weight. In time, so many mixtures might then be passing from hand to hand that every businessman would need to be accompanied by an assayer to test and weigh every piece presented to him. The obvious way out of this difficulty is for the state to make coins of a standard shape, weight and fineness which are then called currency.

I.Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below:

1.When human communities began to settle down and cultivate the land, instead of wandering over it with their flocks and herds, the division of labour increased and people specialized in:
(a) agricultural activities
(b) crafts and trades
(c) providing dairy products
(d) stitching garments

2.In the Pastoral stage of human history history, what was considered as medium of exchange:
(a) cattles
(b) castles
(c) jewellery
(d) garments

3)The state of making coins of a standard shape, weight and fineness are called:
(a) precious
(b) continent
(c) capital
(d) currency 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.How do primitive men used to live?

2.In exchange of surplus what does earlier man used to do?

3.When men had learnt to domesticate wild animals, man lived a _________________

4.Pecuniary meaning ________________

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only:

As the road to wealth was then the possession of _______, money in its modern form was still not necessary, although he beasts themselves were a _______. It would suit, what few _______ there were to be paid for their wares in cattle and farmers and _______ to pay in that way.

III. Find words from the passage which mean the following:

(a) Grasslands for grazing (para 1)

(b) Direct (para 2)

Suggested Answers for the above questions:

I.1. (b) crafts and trades

(a) cattles

(d) currency

II.(a) 1. Primitive men used to live by hunting, each hunt is only for himself and his family or tribe.

2.In exchange of surplus, they wanted something which would give them the power to choose what they wanted from the surpluses from other people.

3.nomadic and pastoral life.

4.Concerned with money.

(b) (a) beasts

(b) form of money

(c) craftsmen

(d) herdsmen

III.  (a) Pastures

(b) Straightforward

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Unseen Passage for Class 12 with answers

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
 
Thackeray reached Kittur along with a small British army force and a few of his officers. He thought that the very presence of the British on the outskirts of Kittur would terrorise the rulers and people of Kittur and that they would lay down their arms. He was quite confident that he would be able to crush the revolt in no time. He ordered that tents be erected on the eastern side for the fighting forces and a little away on the western slopes tents be put up for the family members of the officers who had accompanied them. During the afternoon and evening of 20th October, the British soldiers were busy making arrangements for these camps.
 
On the 21st morning, Thackeray sent his political assistants to Kittur fort to obtain a written assurance from all the important officers of Kittur rendering them answerable for the security of the treasury of Kittur. They, accordingly, met Sardar Gurusiddappa and other officers of Kittur and asked them to comply with the orders of Thackeray. They did not know that the people were in a defiant mood. The commanders of Kittur dismissed the agent’s orders as no documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.
 
Thackeray was enraged and sent for his commander of the Horse Artillery, which was about 100 strong, ordered him to rush his artillery into the fort and capture the commanders of the Desai’s army. When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, Sardar Gurusiddappa, who had kept his men on full alert, promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers.
 
In the meanwhile, the Desai’s guards had shut the gates of the fort and the British Horse Artillery men, being completely overrun and routed, had to get out through the escape window, Rani’s soldiers chased them out of the fort, killing a few of them until they retreated Moret the outskirts.
 
A few of the British had found refuge in some private residences, while some were hiding in their tents. The Kittur soldiers captured about forty persons and brought them to the palace. These included twelve children and a few women from the British officers’ camp. When they were brought in the presence of the Rani, she ordered the soldiers to be imprisoned. For the women and children she had only gentleness, and admonished her soldiers for taking them into custody. At her orders, these women and children were taken inside the palace and given food and shelter. Rani came down from her throne, patted the children lovingly and told them that no harm would come to them.
 
She then, sent word through a messenger to Thackeray that the British women and children were safe and could be taken back any time. Seeing this noble gesture of the Rani, he was moved. He wanted to meet this gracious lady and talk to her. He even thought of trying to persuade her to enter into an agreement with the British to stop all hostilities in lieu of an inam (prize) of eleven villages. His offer was dismissed with a gesture of contempt. She had no wish to meet Thackeray. That night she called Sardar Gurusiddappa and other leading Sardars and after discussing all the issues came to the conclusion that there was no point in meeting Thackeray who had come with an army to threaten Kittur into submission to British sovereignty.
 
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow:
 
(a) Thackeray was a/an :
(i) British tourist
(ii) army officer
(iii) adviser to Rani of Kittur
(iv) treasury officer
 
(b) British women and children came to Kittur to :
(i) visit Kittur
(ii) enjoy life in tents
(iii) stay in the palace
(iv) give company to officers
 
Answer the following questions briefly :
 
(c) Why did Thackeray come to Kittur?
(d) Why did the Kittur officials refuse to give the desired assurance to Thackeray?
(e) What happened to the Horse Artillery?
(f) How do we know that the Rani was a noble queen?
(g) How in your opinion would the British women have felt after meeting the Rani?
(h) Why did the Rani refuse to meet Thackeray?
(i) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :
(i) entered forcibly (para 3)
(ii) aggressive/refusing to obey (para 2)
 
Suggested answers for the above passage:
 
(a) (ii) 
 
(b) (iv)

(c) Thackeray came to Kittur because he thought that the presence of British on the outskirts would terrorise the rulers and the people, which would enable him to crush the revolt in no time.
 
(d) Kittur officials refused to give the desired assurance to Thackeray because no documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.
 
(e) As the Horse Artillery approached the fort, Sardar Gurusiddappa promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers.
 
(f) The British women and children captured along with the men were treated with kindness and compassion by the Rani. She ordered them to be fed and given shelter in the palace itself. Later, she sent a word through a messenger to Thackeray that the British women and children were safe and could be taken back any time.
 
(g) After meeting the Rani, the British women would have felt scared at first, but safe and well respected later.
 
(h) The Rani refused to meet Thackeray because she saw no points in meeting the man who had come with an army to threaten Kittur into submission to British sosvereignty.
 
(i) (i) Stormed into (ii) Defiant

 

Short Unseen Passage Class 12 with questions and answers

Read the passage below:

The role friends play in our lives has become significantly greater than at any other time in our history. Today many of us live and work at great distances from where we were grew up and are separated from our original families. The pain we feel when we are away from our families can be significant.

The happiness of the individual relies on friendships which form a necessary human connection. It is perfectly normal to need and want friends and depression is more prevalent among those who lack friends. They lack the intimacy and richness friends can bring into our lives. Frequently friends reflect similar values to us. Yet these values are often different from the ones we grew up with; they are the values we created for ourselves in our adult lives.

Communication skills are fundamental in all friendships. The more friends and acquaintances one has, the greater are one's communication skills. Some call these, people skills.

Like watering a plant, we grow our friendships (and all our relationships) by nurturing them. Friendships need the same attention as other relationships if they are to continue. These relationships can be delightfully non-judgemental supportive, understanding and fun.

Sometimes a friendship can bring out the positive side that you never show in any other relationship. This may be because the pressure of playing a role' (daughter, partner or child) is removed. With a friend you are to be yourself and free to change. Of course you are free to do this in all other relationships as well but in friendships you get to have lots of rehearsals and discussion about changes as you experience them. It is an unconditional experience where you receive as much as you give. You can explain yourself to a friend openly without the fear of hurting a family member. How do friendships grow? The answer is simple. By revealing yourself ; being attentive; remembering what is most important to your friend and asking them about it ; putting yourself in their position ; showing empathy ; seeing the world through the eyes of your friend, you will understand the value of friendship. All this means learning to accept a person from a completely different family to your own or perhaps someone from a completely different cultural background. This is the way we learn tolerance. In turn we gain tolerance and acceptance for our own differences.

Friendships are made by being considerate which means all the communication skills come into play: active listening skills, questioning skills, negotiation skills, reflecting content skills, reflecting emotion skills, and editing yourself.

Friendships offer a great opportunity to learn about yourself because a friend can reflect back to you 'how you come across in the world'. They also allow you to practise skills in dealing with 'personal boundaries' by looking after yourself as well as your friend. They help you develop resilience in relation to the wider social world beyond your family.

1.What we feel when we are away from our families:
(a) happiness
(b) pain
(c) funny
(d) depressed 

2.Happiness of the individual relies upon ______ which form a necessary human connection:
(a) Friendship
(b) Relationship
(c) Worship
(d) Brotherhood 

3.Friendships helps us to learn about yourself became a friend can reflect back to you by:
(a) What world expect from you
(b) How you come across in the family
(c) How you come across in the world
(d) What family expects from you 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.Which skill is fundamental in friendship?

2.How a friendship does grow?

3.Friendships can be delightfully ___________ .

4.A friendship can bring out the __________ . 

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

Friendships are made by being considerate which means all the (a) _____ come into play: active listening skills, (b) _______skills, negotiation skills, (c) _____ content skills, reflecting emotion skills, and (d) _____ yourself.

III. Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

  1. Closeness (para 2)
  2. Enduring without complaining (para 5) 

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

(c) Pain

(c) Friendship

(a)hoe you come across in the world

(a) 1.Communication skills are fundamental in all friendships. The more friends and acquaintances one has, the greater are one's communication skills. 

2.By revealing yourself ; being attentive; remembering what is most important to your friend and asking them about it ; putting yourself in their position ; showing empathy ; seeing the world through the eyes of your friend, you will understand the value of friendship. 

3.non-judgemental supportive, understanding and fun. 

4.positive side that you never show in any other relationship. 

(b) (a) communication skills

(b) questioning

(c) reflecting

(d) editing 

III. (a) Intimacy

(b) Tolerance

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Case based factual Passage for Class 12

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 

While there is no denying that the world loves a winner, it is important that you recognize the signs of stress in your behaviour and be healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life. While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognise your individual limit. For instance, there are some individuals who accept competition in a healthy fashion. There are others who collapse into weeping wrecks before an exam or on comparing markssheets and finding that their friend has scored better.

Stress is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment, such as temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition, when a person makes up his mind to surpass what has been achieved by others, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It is a part and parcel of everyday life.

Stress has a different meaning, depending on the stage of life you are in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.

Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual, as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion and hyperacidity. Ultimately the result is self-destructive behaviour, such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilizers. There are other signs of stress, such as trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing.

The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist. It leads to depression, lethargy and weakness. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of the students, executives and professionals.

In a study sponsored by World Health Organization and carried out by Harvard School of Public Health, the global burden of diseases and injury indicated that stress diseases and accidents are going to be the major killers in 2020.

The heart disease and depression—both stress diseases—are going to rank first and second in 2020. Road traffic accidents are going to be the third largest killers. These accidents are also an indicator of psycho-social stress in a fast moving society. Other stress like ulcers, hypertensions and sleeplessness have assumed epidemic proportions in modern societies.

A person under stress reacts in different ways and the common ones are flight, fight and flee depending upon the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person. The three responses can be elegantly chosen to cope with the stress so that stress does not damage the system and become distress.

When a stress crosses the limit, peculiar to an individual, it lowers his performance capacity. Frequent crossings of the limit may result in chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. This may make the person mentally undecided, confused and accident prone as well. Sudden exposure to unnerving stress may also result in a loss of memory. Diet, massage, food supplements, herbal medicines, hobbies, relaxation techniques and dance movements are excellent stress busters.

(a) (i) What is stress? What factors lead to stress?
(ii) What are the signs by which a person can know that he is under stress?
(iii) What are the different diseases a person gets due to stress ?
(iv) Give any two examples of stress busters.
(v) How does a person react under stress ?

(b) Which words in the above passage mean the same as the following :
(i) fall down (para 1)
(ii) rebuke (para 3)
(iii) inactive (para 9)

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

(a) (i) Stress is a reaction of the body to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Factors, such as imbalance between demands and resources, change in temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions lead to stress.

(ii) The various signs that can be observed :
(a) change in the attitude and behaviour
(b) muscle tension
(c) palpitation, high blood pressure, indigestion and hyperacidity
(d) depression, lethargy, weakness to work

(iii) The different diseases caused by stress are :
(a) heart diseases
(b) neurological depression
(c) ulcers
(d) hypertension
(e) insomnia
(f) injuries due to accidents

(iv) (a) Relaxation techniques
 (b) Hobbies

(v) A person under stress reacts in different ways. The common ones are flight, fight and flee depending on the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person.

(b) (i) Collapse

(ii) Reprimand

(iii) Lethargic

Unseen Passage for Class 12 with answers pdf

Read the passage below:

Vijaya Murthy has done it! This time with a big bang ! She has hit the headlines with an award from the National Council for Educational Research and Training (N.C.E.R.T) for her innovative techniques to improve the personalities of teachers.

It all began in 1981, when Vijaya took over as director of the S.I.E.S Institute of Pre-primary Education. She noticed that in spite of scoring well in theory, most of the trainee teachers were nowhere when it came to classroom teaching.

She remembers how she talked to them in class. "You will be teaching two to eight-year-olds. Their attention span is very short. To keep alive their interest in the topic or the subject, you must let your speech and action speak aloud. Be active in class and dance and play with the children." However, much to her chagrin, many of them did not listen to her. "There was this woman singing. “Twinkle, twinkle little star” and “up above the world so high,” her hands hardly went above her ears!”

Another teacher was so shy that she perspired profusely in class. Rajeshwari was in tears at her own plight. Lakshmi had no patience and Maria was almost dumb. These women were sincere and ambitious, but they needed help in an area that was beyond the scope of the pre-primary teachers' training syllabus, in spite of being an integral part of it.

Vijaya realised that a vast majority of her students were middle-class women. She says, "They are conditioned from early childhood to behave like ladies. Such restrictions inhibit the growth of their personality. They become shy, withdrawn and lose confidence in themselves."

Having pinpointed the root cause of the students' problems, Vijaya soon developed a set of 22 innovative workshops designed to help them. As the students take part in debates, singing, dancing, plays and other activities, they interact and their personalities begin to unfold. The teachers, too, learn more about the students and, after completion of the course, the individuals emerge as superior human beings.

Lakshmi, now a staff member, says, "I used to lose my temper while teaching and used to shout at my own children. After the workshop on sensitivity, I have become sensitive to the needs of the children and have grown more tolerant"

Dharma, who thought shyness was part of her nature, can now speak to strangers without hesitation. Rajeshwari has grown emotionally. She had some mental problems and often used to break down in tears. Now she is confident enough to run her own nursery school.

Much before the N.C.E.R.T. spotted her, Vijaya had received recognition in the educational world. She is a member of the St. Xavier's institute of Education and Comprehensive College of Education. Often, she is invited by schools to design and impart refresher courses for in-service training programmes for teachers. Ambitious schools request her to conduct workshops for introducing new, creative techniques in teaching children.

Close to Vijaya's heart are the problems of women. The age bar for joining the course was 30. As soon as she took over, she did away with this. "Educated middle class women begin to live at 40. By this time, their children are grown up and pressures are lax. To keep the doors of educational institutions closed to them is to deny them the right to educate themselves," she muses.

Though fully wrapped up in her career, she does manage to take time off for social work as president of Stree Chetna', a women's organisation in Chembur. They carry out various activities related to the uplift of women. Vijaya herself takes up counselling sessions for harassed and depressed women. Stree Chetna, as the very name connotes, aims at awakening women. Women of this organisation ensure that they involve their sons also in housework and give their daughters equal opportunities for education andcareer building.

Vijaya's father was Deputy Education Officer in the BMC and her mother a professional social worker. Obviously, her education was taken care of very well. An M.A. in Child Development, with a Diploma in Primary Teachers' Training, she has a string of other qualifications that she has topped with a Ph.D

Nevertheless, she genuinely feels it would have been impossible for her to achieve anything without her husband's support, though she is not free of the usual guilt that working mothers harbour. "A professional woman deeply involved in her career is different. Any other working woman can afford to compartmentalise her work and home”. When asked about her future plans, she says she will continue with her research and at the same time implement her techniques in the field of education.

I.Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below: 

1.Vijaya Murthy hit the headlines with an award from:
(a) RBI
(b) SEBI
(c) CBSE
(d) NCERT 

2.What did the Vijaya realised about the majority of the students:
(a) That they are Middle class women
(b) That they are low class women
(c) That they are high class women
(d)That they are upper class women

3.Vijaya has received recognition in which field:
(a) Emotional world
(b) Educational world
(c) Financial world
(d) Social world 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

  1. What did Vijaya develop to help the students problem of shyness and lose confidence?
  2. What schools used to request Vijaya Murthy?
  3. After completion of the course, the___________ .
  4. Vijaya’s Father was __________ and mother was _______. 

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

Nevertheless, she genuinely feels it would have been (a) _______ for her to achieve anything without her (b) _____ support, though she is not (c) _____ of the usual guilt that (d) _____ mothers harbour. 

III.Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

1.Came to exact point (para 6)

2.Think deeply (para 10) 

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

1.(d) NCERT

(a) That they are middle class women

(b) Educational world 

II.(a) 1. Vijaya developed a set of 22 innovative workshops designed to help her students. As the students take part in debates, singing, dancing, plays and other activities, they interact and their personalities begin to unfold. 

2.Ambitious schools request her to conduct workshops for introducing new, creative techniques in teaching children.

  1. individuals emerge as superior human beings. 

4.Deputy Education Officer in BMC, professional social worker. 

(b) (1) impossible

(2) husband's

(3) free

(4) working 

III. (1) Pinpointed

(2) Muses

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Comprehension Passages for Class 12

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

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.

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 pollution caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.

 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.

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, headache, 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.

By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the burning 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.

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.

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.

Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonia 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.

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.

(a) (i) What is an air pollutant ?
(ii) In what forms are the air pollutants present?
(iii) Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment? 
(iv) What is sick building syndrome? How is it increasing?
(v) How is indoor smoking very hazardous?
(vi) How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution?

(b) Find the words form the above passage which mean the same as the following :
(i) giddiness (para 4)
(ii) constant (para 8)
(iii) humidity (para 8)

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

(a)
(i) An air pollutant is a substance, which is present while normally it is not there or present in the atmosphere in an amount exceeding normal concentration.

(ii) Air pollutants can either be gaseous (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.) or it can be 36 CBSE Champion English Core in the form of particulate matter (dusts of various inorganic or organic origins).

(iii) A feeling of suffocation occurs due to lack of oxygen.

(iv) Sick-Building Syndrome is a group of symptoms, such as general feeling of malaise, headache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes, which come accompanied by nausea,itching aches, pains and depression. Sick-Building Syndrome is increasing because of small, poorly ventilated and over furnished houses.

(v) Indoor smoking is the main source of indoor pollution as there are over 3000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which are harmful for human health.

(vi) We can overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution by ensuring proper ventilation in our house. This way we will be able to get rid of increased concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, carbon monoxide and other indoor pollutants. Care should also be taken to isolate persons suffering from viral and bacterial diseases.

(b) (i) Nausea (ii) Persistent (iii) Dampness

 

Solved Unseen Passages for Class 12

Read the passage below:

For many years now the Governments have been promising the eradication of child labour in hazardous industries in India. But the truth is that despite all the rhetoric no Government so far has succeeded in eradicating this evil, nor has any been able to ensure compulsory primary education for every Indian child. Between 60 and 100 million children are still at work instead of going to school, and around 10 million are working in hazardous industries. India has the biggest child population of 380 million in the world ; plus the largest number of children who are forced to earn a living.

We have many laws that ban child labour in hazardous industries. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, the employment of children below the age of 14 in hazardous occupations has been strictly banned. But each state has different rules regarding the minimum age of employment. This makes implementation of these laws difficult.

Also, there is no ban on child labour in non-hazardous occupations. The act applies to the organised and factory sector and not the unorganised or informal sector where most children find employment as cleaners, servants, porters, waiters among other forms of unskilled work. Thus, child labour continues because the implementation of the existing law is lax.

There are industries, which have a special demand for child labour because of their nimble fingers, high level of concentration and capacity to work hard at abysmally low wages. The carpet industry in U.P. and Kashmir employs children to make hand-knotted carpets. There are 80,000 child workers in Jammu & Kashmir alone. In Kashmir because of the political unrest, children are forced to work while many schools are shut. Industries like gem cutting and polishing, pottery and glass want to remain competitive by employing children.

The truth is that it is poverty which is pushing children into the brutish labour market. We have 260 million people below the poverty line in India, a large number of them are women. Poor and especially woman-headed families, have no option but to push their little ones in this hard life in hostile conditions, with no human or labour rights.

There is a lobby which argues that there is nothing wrong with children working as long as the environment for work is conducive to learning new skills, but studies have shown that the children are made to do boring, repetitive and tedious jobs and are not taught new skills as they grow older. In these hell-holes like the sweet shops of the old, there is no hope.

Children working in hazardous industries are prone to debilitating diseases which can cripple them for life. By sitting in cramped, damp and unhygienic spaces, their limbs become deformed for life. Inside matchstick, fireworks and glass industries they are victims of bronchial diseases and T.B. Their mental and physical development is permanently impaired by long hours of work. Once trapped, they can't get out of this vicious circle of poverty. They remain uneducated and powerless. Finally, in later years, they too are compelled to send their own children to work. Child labour perpetuates its own nightmare.

If at all the Government was serious about granting children their rights, an intensive effort ought to have been made to implement the Supreme Court's Directive of 1997 which laid down punitive action against employers of child labour. Only compulsory primary education can eliminate child labour.

Surely, if 380 million children are given a better life and elementary education, India's human capital would be greatly enhanced. But that needs, as former President Abdul Kalam says, "a Second Vision".

I.Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below: 

1.India has the biggest child population of around:
(a) 280 million in the world
(b) 380 million in the world
(c) 180 million in the world
(d) 480 million in the world 

2.The employment of children below the age of _____ in hazardous occupations has been strictly banned:
(a) 16
(b) 12
(c) 10
(d) 14

3.Industries have special demand of child labour because of:
(a) High level of concentration
(b) Low level of concentration
(c) No concentration
(d) Incapacity to work hard 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.Which Act has been made by government to eradicate child labour?

2.How do the children get affected by working in hazardous industries?

3.It is poverty which is pushing children into the ___________ .

4.Only compulsory primary education can __________ . 

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

Inside (a) _______, fireworks and glass industries they are victims of (b) ______ diseases and (c) ______Their mental and (d) ______ development is permanently impaired by long hours of work. 

III.Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

1.Make disabled (para 6)

2.Difficult (para 7) 

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

I.(b)380 million in the world

(d) 14

(a) high level of concentration

II.(a) 1. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, the employment of children below the age of 14 in hazardous occupations has been strictly banned. 

2.Children working in hazardous industries are prone to debilitating diseases which can cripple them for life. By sitting in cramped, damp and unhygienic spaces, their limbs become deformed for life.

3.brutish labour market. 

4.eliminate child labour. 

(b) (a) matchstick

(b) bronchial

(c) T.B.

(d) physical 

III.(a) Cripple

(b) Tedious

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Case based Unseen Passage for Class 12

Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follow :

The effects of plastic bags on the environment are really quite devastating. While there are many objections to the banning of plastic bags based solely on their convenience, the damage to the environment needs to be controlled.

There is no way to strictly limit the effects of plastic bags on the environment because there is no disposal method that will really help eliminate the problem. While reusing them is the first step, most people don’t do that. These are bags not durable enough to survive numerous trips to the store. The best that citizens can do is to reuse them.

The biggest problem with this is that once they have been soiled they end up in the trash, which then ends up in the landfill or is burned. Either solution is very poor for the environment. Burning emits toxic gases that harm the atmosphere and increase the level of VOCs in the air while landfills hold them indefinitely as part of the plastic waste problem throughout the globe.

One of the greatest problems is that an estimated 300 million plastic bags end up in the Atlantic Ocean alone. These bags are very dangerous for sea life, especially those of the mammal variety. Any hunting mammal can easily mistake the size, shape and texture of the plastic bags for a meal and find its airway cut off. Needless deaths from plastic bags are increasing every year.

The environmental balance of the waterways is being thrown on by the rate of plastic bags finding their way into the mouths and intestinal tracts of sea mammals. As one species begins to die off at an abnormal rate, every other living organism in the waterways is impacted.

The indefinite period of time that it takes for the average plastic bag to break down can be literally hundreds of years. Every bag that ends up in the woodlands of the country threatens the natural progression of wildlife. Because the breakdown rate is so slow the chances that the bag will harmlessly go away are extremely slim. Throughout the world plastic bags are responsible for suffocation deaths of woodland animals as well as inhibiting soil nutrients. The land litter that is made up of plastic bags has the potential to kill over and over again. It has been estimated that one bag has the potential to unintentionally kill one animal per every three months due to unintentional digestion or inhalation.

While it’s a noble thought to place the plastic bags in the recycling bin every week, studies have proven that there are very few recycling plants that actually recycle them. Most municipalities either burn them or send them off to the landfill after sorting. This is because it can be expensive to recycle this type of plastic. It does not melt down easily and is often not fit to be reused in its original form.

The premise of recycling these bags is nice. Yet funding for the upgrading of the recycling units just has not happened and thus less than 1% of all bags are sent to recycling plants worldwide. Most are left to become a pollution problem in one way or another.

There are always alternatives to plastic bags and the search for more alternatives continues. Paper bags are a possible option but they also take their toll on the environment. The use of trees to increase the production of paper products will also have a negative environmental effect.

Reusable plastic bags are being introduced to regions that want to outlaw the plastic bags altogether. These are stronger and more durable and can be used for three to five trips to the store. Of course, the reusable cloth bag is fast becoming a favourite among environmental supporters. While thus far no bag is without its issues, these are the bags that are currently recommended for use to help protect environmental concerns.

(a) (i) Why do some people object to the banning of plastic bags ?
(ii) Why is reusing plastic bags not considered practical ? [1 mark]
(iii) Why is the disposal of plastic bags considered damaging to the environment?
(iv) How do plastic bags endanger the life of animals in the sea and on land ?
(v) What factors discourage recycling of plastic bags ? [1 mark]
(vi) What, according to the writer, is the best possible alternative to plastic bags ?

(b) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :
(i) remove (para 2)
(ii) choking (para 6)
(iii) costly (para 7)

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

(a) (i) Some people object to the banning of plastic bags because of their own convenience.

(ii) It is not considered practical because plastic bags are not durable enough to survive many trips to the store.

(iii) Disposal of plastic bags is even worse because if we landfill it, it will take hundreds of years to decompose and if we burn it, it will emit toxic gases and harm the environment even more.

(iv) Sea animals easily mistake the size, shape and texture of plastic bags for a meal. These bags choke the intestinal tracts of sea animals which causes needless deaths. In a similar way plastic bags are also responsible for suffocation and death of land animals too.

(v) The recycling process is very costly. Plastic bags don’t melt down easily and are often not fit for reuse in their original form.

(vi) One possible alternative is the use of paper bags but that is also harmful for the environment.
On the other hand reusable plastic bags are being introduced to some regions that want to outlaw the use of plastic bags.

(b) (i) Disposal (ii) Suffocation (iii) Expensive

Class 12 Solved Unseen Passage

Read the passage below:

While there is no denying that the world loves a winner, it is important that you recognize the signs of stress in your behaviour and be healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life. While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognize your individual limit. For instance, there are some individuals who accept competition in a healthy fashion. There are others who collapse into weeping wrecks before an exam or an comparing marks-sheets and finding that their friend has scored better.

Stress is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition when a person makes up his mind to surpass what has been achieved by others. Leading to an imbalance between demand and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It is a part or parcel of everyday life.

Stress has a different meaning, depending on the stage of life you are in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.

Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual, as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion and and high blood pressure, indigestion and hyper-acidity. Ultimately the result is self-destructive behaviour such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilisers. There are other signs of stress such as trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing.

The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist. It leads to depression, lethargy and weakness. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of the students, executives and professionals.

In a study sponsored by World Health Organization and carried out by Harvard School of Public Health, the global burden of diseases and injury indicated that stress diseases and accidents are going to be the major killers in 2020.

The heart disease and depression - both stress diseases - are going to rank first and second in 2020. Road traffic accidents are going to be the third largest killers. These accidents are also an indicator of psycho-social stress in a fast moving society. Other stress diseases like ulcers, hypertensions and sleeplessness have assumed epidemic proportions in modern societies.

A person under stress reacts in different ways and the common ones are flight, fight and flee depending upon the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person. The three responses can be elegantly chosen to cope with the stress so that stress does not damage the system and become distress.

When a stress crosses the limit, peculiar to an individual, it lowers his performance capacity. Frequent crossings of the limit may result in chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. This may make the person mentally undecided, confused and accident prone as well. Sudden exposure to un-nerving stress may also result in a loss of memory. Diet massage, food supplements, herbal medicines, hobbies, relaxation techniques and dance movements are excellent stress busters.

 

Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below: 

1.It is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment:
(a) Hypersensitivity
(b) Chronic fatigue
(c) Stress
(d) Depression 

2.When a person makes up his mind to achieve something what others has achieved, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources:
(a) Emotional stress
(b) Financial stress
(c) Psycho-Social stress
(d) None of these 

3.Road traffic accidents are going to be:
(a) First largest killer
(b) Second largest killer
(c) Third largest killer
(d) Fourth largest killer 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.How does the person in stress reacts?

2.What lowers a persons performance capacity?

3.Sudden exposure to un-nerving stress may also ____________ .

4.Stress has a different meaning, __________ . 

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

Road traffic accidents are going to be the (a) _____ largest killers. These accidents are also an indicator of (b) ______ stress in a fast moving society. Other stress diseases like ulcers, (c) _____ and sleeplessness have assumed (d) _____ proportions in modern societies.

III.Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

1.Drugs (para 4)

2.Never ending tiredness (para 9)

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

(c) Stress

(c) Psycho-Social stress

(c) Third largest killer

(a) 1. A person under stress reacts in different ways and the common ones are flight, fight and flee depending upon the nature of the stress and capabilities of the person. 

2.When a stress crosses the limit, peculiar to an individual, it lowers his performance capacity. Frequent crossings of the limit may result in chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. 

3.result in a loss of memory. 

4.depending on the stage of life you are in. 

(b) (a) third

(b) psycho-social

(c) hypertensions

(d) epidemic 

III.(a) Tranquilisers

(b) Chronic fatigue

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Unseen Passage for Class 12 with questions and answers

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: 

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 distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the work place and in relationships.

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 selfsacrifice, 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 assault 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 for 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.

Today’s parents aren’t equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and 70s, swore they’d act differently from their parents and have closer relationships with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it’s tempting to buy peace with ‘yes’ and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about the future is another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won’t spoil a child. Too few limits will.

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 secured structure. 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.

(a) Answer the following :
(i) What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
(ii) What are the results of giving the children too much too soon? 
(iii) Why do today’s children want more ?
(iv) What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world? 
(v) What is the necessity to set limits for children?

(b) Pick out words from the passage that mean the same as the following :
(i) a feeling of satisfaction (para 1)

(ii) valuable (para 3)
(iii) important (para 4)

Suggested Answers for the above passage:-

(a) (i) Teachers and parents want children to learn values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion.

(ii) When children are given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life’s disappointments. Such children may develop a distorted sense of entitlement that hampers their success in the work place and in relationships.

(iii) Today’s children want more because nowadays there is so much more to want. Moreover, they consider luxurious items as essential utilities.

(iv) In today’s world, parents need to strike 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.

(v) There is a need to set limits for children because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure.

(b) (i) Contentment (ii) Precious

(iii) Essential

Unseen Passage for Class 12 with answers

Read the passage below:

Millions of men and women, thousands of leaders, a succession of social, religious and political movements -it is impossible to draw up a full list of the makers of India even on a limited 1000-year basis. All that can be attempted here is to present a few representative names, some of them inspirational skills. All of them remind us of the, course we have traversed, and how we have come to where we are. Let us make a start with the best ever Indian.

Implied in Toynbee's assessment was the deduction that Gandhi was not just an Indian Phenomenon. No doubt India derived unequally benefit from his leadership. By fitting the freedom struggle into the framework of a philosophy of justice and fairness, he achieved for India a stature that denied to other countries, including China, that won independence around the same time. That the stature was quickly lost by the governments that came to power on the labours of Gandhi is a different matter. The decline of India did not amount to any repudiation of Gandhi. Indeed, it was seen as a consequence of the betrayal of Gandhi by his supposed followers.

The true measure of his impact on history is that it is not dependent on the successful completion of his mission in India. The others who soldiered on with him in the epic war of independence-Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel included-will be remembered for what they did in India and for India ; they were essentially Indian personalities. So, for that matter, was Jinnah whose life's work boiled down to the creation of a state on what rapidly proved to be a dubious premise.

Gandhi soared above them all because he dealt essentially with ideas and theories relevant to all mankind. Like Buddhism, Gandhism lost ground in the land out of which it evolved. But, like Buddhism, it has been embraced by distant peoples who see in its tenets the promise of a meaningful life. It was as though Gandhi's involvement with India was merely incidental to his larger involvement with what he persistently called Truth. Raja Rao put it pithily when he wrote: “For Gandhi India was only the symbol of a universal principle. All countries were, for Gandhi, India." When we look at him in this perspective, we realise that it was his universality, the transcendent quality of his life and thought, that made Gandhi, Gandhi.

He will be greater than not just Stalin and Hitler-two characters who are rather too one-dimensional to be contrasted with the vastness that was Gandhi. Gandhi personifies the greatness of the time-honoured proposition that Love is superior to Hatred, that Good is better than Evil. Great personages of history who based their "greatness” on Hatred and Evil, on conquests and oppression, have all gone under. The Byzantines and Ottomans, the Mongols and the Mughals, the British and the Spanish once strode the earth as if they owned it. Today only Britain and Spain survive, and that as second-class entities confined to Europe. Alexander, the first king in history to be called “The Great", died a lonely death as a disillusioned and defeated man at the incredible age of 33. Nothing of his greatness remains today even in his native Macedonia which is now but an appendage to the horrible tragedy of Yugoslavia.

Greatness built on murder and acquisition passes. Greatness rising out of compassion and service abides. The Buddha abides. Christ abides. The great unknown thinkers of the Upanishads abide. Gandhi carried that tradition through to our times. He might have been let down by the "Gandhians" who, armed with political power, have turned India into a mess. That too is parallel to the way quarrelling Buddhists, exploitative Christians and lately-intolerant Hindus have been letting down their preceptors. But their smallness does not detract them from the true greatness of the sages who opened the path of enlightenment for them and for the world. They abide because they gave without taking. They were not men of arms. They were men of ideas. Paritranaya sadhunam, they appear from age to age. They appear to teach us that the world can be conquered, not with force, but with ideas. It was the lesson of this Millennium too- taught by the Man of the Millennium.

I.Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below: 

1.Which country won independence around the same time as India:
(a) Japan
(b) Spain
(c) China
(d) Sri Lanka

2.Who was known as “The Great” in history:
(a) Ashoka
(b) Alexander
(c) Akbar
(d)Surajmal

3.Contrasted with the vastness that was Gandhi, Stalin and Hitler were rather too:
(a) One dimensional
(b) Small
(c) Unacceptable
(d) Aggressive and violent

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.How does India derived unequally benefit from Gandhiji’s leadership?

2.What does Gandhiji taught?

3.Greatness built on ____________ .

4.The decline of India did not amount to __________ . 

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

Today only (a) _______ and (b) ________ survive, and that as second-class entities confined to Europe. Alexander, the first king in history to be called (c) ________ died a lonely death as a disillusioned and defeated man at the incredible age of (d) _________. 

III.Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

a.Estimation (para 2)

b.Rejection (para 2) 

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

I.(c) China

(b) Alexander

(a) One dimensional 

II.(a) 1. India derived unequally benefit from his leadership. By fitting the freedom struggle into the framework of a philosophy of justice and fairness, he achieved for India. 

2.Gandhi personifies the greatness of the time-honoured proposition that Love is superior to Hatred, that Good is better than Evil. 

3.murder and acquisition passes. 

4.any repudiation of Gandhi. 

(b) (a) Britain

(b) Spain

(c) “The Great”

(d) 33 

III.(a) Assessment

(b) Repudiation

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Unseen Passage with questions and answers for Class 12

(1) As dusk falls the neon lights of the jewellery shops in Bowbazaar come alive but the lights have no effect on the face of Mahadeo Yadav who is seated on the footrest of his rickshaw that is parked by the road, feeling very sad. he is sitting on his feet, hugging his knees to keep himself warm in the biting cold, so weakened and lifeless as if he had been dead for days without anyone noticing.

(2) Who would after all notice a rickshaw puller, to check whether he is breathing or not ? Yet when the same rickshaw puller goes about his work pulling his rickshaw like a horse, he becomes the most noticed man in Calcutta. He makes a great subject for photographers, writers and film-makers. He is the symbol of poor Calcutta. Many a famous actor has pulled the rickshaw in films set in the city.

(3) Calcutta is said to have about 6000 rickshaw pullers running on its roads, running mostly in its old neighbourhoods. They have something in common apart from their poverty. All of them come from the country side. All of them wear the lungi to work, perhaps for better movement. Almost all of them are elderly; I am yet to see a young man hand pulling a rickshaw. It can be a sad sight to watch a man almost as old as your father struggling his way through the roads dressed only in a vest and a lungi and often barefoot.

(4) Mahadeo Yadav, the rickshaw puller is in his seventies and has been pulling the same rickshaw in and around Bowbazaar for fifty years. For him, fifty years, half a century is not an achievement, but merely the time that has passed ever since he came to Calcutta to earn a living.

(5) He lives all alone in Calcutta, in a room in a nearby lane, paying a monthly rent of fifty rupees. He is out with his rickshaw between three in the afternoon and ten at night, sometimes earning sixty or seventy rupees a day and sometimes nothing. Every month without fail he sends ` 300 to his wife back home, and once every year visits her. “I will pull the rickshaw as long as I can”, he says, “this is my only source of livelihood. These days I tire easily. Sometimes my feet hurt and sometimes my back. But do I have a choice?” He answers all my questions without looking at me even once, but continued to stare ahead blankly, his arms folded around his knees. I take a good look at his rickshaw : the two – the rickshaw and the rickshaw puller – make quite a pair.

2.1 Choose the correct alternatives from the options given below 
(a) A rickshaw puller is noticed only when he
(i) acts in a film.
(ii) becomes a subject for photographers.
(iii) sits all alone.
(iv) is old and tired.

(b) Pick out the statement which is not true.
(i) Most rickshaw pullers are old.
(ii) The rickshaw puller earn very little.
(iii) Many renowned actors are rickshaw pullers.
(iv) They are neglected by people.

2.2 Answer the following questions :
(a) Why does Yadav “stare ahead blankly”?
(b) Why are rickshaw pullers known as the icons of poor Calcutta ?
(c) Which instance tells you that Yadav loved his family ?
(d) Where does Yadav stay ?
(e) What comparison does the writer draw between the rickshaw and its puller ?

(f) What do the rickshaw pullers have in common ?
(g) Pick out words from the passage that mean the following : 
(a) Well-known (para 2)
(b) income (para 5)

 

Suggested Answers for the above passage:-

2.1 (a) (ii)   (b) (iii)

2.2 (a) Yadav has no choice except for pulling rickshaw to earn his livelihood. So he stares ahead blankly with folded arms around his knees.

(b) The rickshaw pullers go about their work pulling their rickshaws like horses. They make a great subject for photographers, writers and filmmakers as the symbol of poor Calcutta.

(c) Every month without fail, Yadav used to send ` 300 to his wife back home and once in every year visit her too.

(d) He lives in a room in a nearly lane, paying a rent of fifty rupees.

(e) The rickshaw and the rickshaw puller make quite a pair. The writer concludes that both are interdependent on each other.

(f) Apart from poverty, they all come from the country side. They all wear lungi and almost all of them are elderly.

(g) (a) Famous (b) Earning

 

Unseen Passage for Class 12

Read the passage below:

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.

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 pollution caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.

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.

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.

By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the burning of dried dung and fuel wood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.

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.

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.

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 hyper-sensitivity-diseases.

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.

I.Read the passage carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those which are given below: 

1.A substance which is present while normally it is not there or present in an amount exceeding the normal concentration:
(a) Air components
(b) Air mixture
(c) Air pollutants
(d)Air pressure

2.Recognition of air pollution is:
(a) Lack of hydrogen
(b) Lack of oxygen
(c) Lack of nitrogen
(d) Lack of carbon dioxide 

3.It is an important source of indoor pollution:
(a) Taking of tea
(b) Consumption of coffee
(c) Drinking juices
(d) Smoking of tabacco 

II.(a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

1.What is more common in a poorly ventilated home?

2.What are special significance in causation and spread of diseases?

3.Air pollution is an issue which ___________ .

4.The common particulate pollutants are dusts of various __________ .

(b) Fill in the blanks with one word only: 

The important (a) _____ whose indoor concentrations exceed those of the outdoors include gases such as (b) ______, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and (c) ______ substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and (d) _____ . 

III.Pick out the words from the passage which mean the same as the following: 

a.Restless (para 4)

b.Wide range (para 9) 

Suggested Answers for the above mentioned question:

I.(c) Air pollutants

(c) Lack of oxygen

(a) Smoking of tobacco 

II.(a) 1. 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. 

2.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. 

3.concerns us all alike. 

4.inorganic or organic origins. 

(b)(a) pollutants

(b) carbon monoxide

(c) organic

(d) allergens 

III.(a) Malaise

(b) Spectrum

 

More Unseen Passage for Class 12 English with Answers......

Unseen Passage with multiple choice questions for Class 12

Suspense was over when my high school results finally came out. But I was upset. I had not done as well as I had expected. My Father tried to console me. “Why are you worried? You have done very well my dear.” “No, I have not Baba,” I protested, controlling my tears, and wondering if I had disappointed him. “It does not really matter,” he assured me. “Do you know what I got when I finished high school?” I looked into Baba’s face and waited for the answer to his own question. “You know,” he told me “I have never told you this. I got just a third division. But, look at me, I have done quite well.” Baba got a third division! I was almost in shock, but the thought of my having done a lot better than that made me realize that I had no reason to complain. I certainly felt better ! “Everything is under control!” said Baba, smiling. That was his favourite phrase. Posted in Kolkata, my father was then a senior official in the Indian Railway Service, and an expert in goods traffic operations. He was soon to become a director with the Railway Board. By the time he retired in 1981, he was general manager of the Central Railways. By the time Baba passed away in November 2000, his name had found place in several hearts as well. He was open, easy to know, and full of life. We were extremely close, but I had so much more to learn about him from many things I came to Morek now after his death. 

In September 2000, he was in hospital for treatment of cancer and given just two months to live. When he found out, his reaction was an extremely rational one. He asked me to fetch files from his cupboard, so that he could explain the details of my mother’s pension. He also dictated his will from his hospital bed. “Everything is under control!” After Baba’s death, Satish, our old family retainer, was inconsolable. We tried to cheer him up. “Your Baba had scolded me only once in all these year!” he cried. Satish pointed to the watch on his left hand. “I had been coning late for work and everyone in the family was complaining about it,” said Satish. “Then, one day, your Baba gave me this watch and told me, ‘Now that you have a watch, you can’t be late”’. That was the scolding Satish received. On the fourth day after Baba’s death, my sister and I had to perform a ceremony. Since several relatives were expected, we decided to order lunch from a caterer in our locality, reputed for his home cooked food. But, when we went to pay to owner, we got a surprise. He refused to accept any money! “When I wanted to start my catering business, it was your father who lent me money,” he told us. It seems Baba never asked for it back. Now, after four or five years, the caterer wanted to repay that debt. Of course, we made him accept the full payment for the fine food and service. “It was Baba’s gift and it ought to remain so,” I told him.

Some days later, there was yet another piece of information as we were preparing for the main ceremony. Vikram, my brother drove me to the local market. On recognizing our car, the parking assistant, in his twenties, came running towards us and asked why he had not seen its owner for long. We had to break the news to him and to our utter surprise, he started crying. We were really surprised by this reaction from a stranger – until the man told us that Baba used to pay his daughter’s school fees and buy her books. It seems, it was on my father’s advice that had even started sending the child to school. More than three years after Baba’s death, as we were looking into Baba’s personal things, we came across an old file with Baba’s certificates and I found among them, his high school diploma from 1937, the one he told me about 30 years earlier, about the third division that had made no difference in his life or career. It had made me see beyond mere marks and first classes as the main road to success. But there was one more fact. Baba had actually got a first division, a rare achievement in his day. Today, years after his passing, when I think of Baba, I see a man who was able to sympathise with others so easily and touch their lives in such a special way.

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the passage answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options.

(a) Why was the narrator in tears when her school results came out ?
(i) She did better than she expected.
(ii) She did not do as expected.
(iii) Her Baba had not done well.
(iv) Her Baba had done better than her.

(b) On knowing the result, how did the narrator’s father react ?
(i) He scolded her.
(ii) He beat her.
(iii) He consoled her.
(iv) He made fun of her.

(c) Why did the narrator say that she had nothing to complain ?
(i) She had done better than her father.
(ii) She had done as well as her father.
(iii) She had topped in her school.
(iv) She had not worked hard at all.

(d) Choose the option that is not correct.
(i) Baba was a senior official in the Indian Railway Service.
(ii) Baba was to become a director with the Railway Board.
(iii) Baba was the general manager of the Central Railways.
(iv) Baba had got a third division in high school. 

1.2 Answer the following :

(a) Why did the narrator’s sick father want her to fetch from his cupboard?

(b) Why did Baba buy Satish a watch?

(c) Why did the caterer not want to take money from the narrator?

(d) Why were the narrator and her brother surprised on meeting the parking assistant?

(e) Today years after his passing away what has the narrator realized about her Baba?

(f) What was the story that Baba had invented on the day the narrator’s results were published?

(g) Find words from the passage that mean the same as the following :

        (i) tension/anxiety (para 1)
        (ii) servant (para 2)

Suggested Answers for the above passage:-

(a) (ii) (b) (iii) (c) (I) (d) (ii)

(a) The narrator’s sick father wanted her to fetch files from the cupboard because he wanted to explain the details of her mother’s pension.

(b) Satish used to come late about which everyone in the family was complaining, so Baba bought him a watch.

(c) The caterer did not want to take money from the narrator because narrator’s father had lend him some money to start his business and never asked it back.

(d) The narrator and her brother were surprised on meeting the parking assistant because Baba used to pay his daughter’s school fee and bought her books, also Baba advised him to send his daughter to school.

(e) After years of his passing, today, when the narrator thinks of Baba, she sees a man who was able to sympathise with others and touched their lives in a very special way.

(f) When the narrator was disappointed with her result, her baba fabricated a story telling her that he got a third division and still did well in his life and consoled her.

(g) (i) Worried (ii) Retainer

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