Unseen Passage for Class 11 English Solved

Unseen Passage for Class 11 English Solved

1. The problem of the conservation of historical monuments (statues, columns, ancient buildings) requires an accurate study of the many environmental agents which bring about the deterioration process and affect the actual rate of deterioration. Among the most active causes of weathering, we can cite : (i) the weakening of the outer layer of the art work, which is caused by complex microphysical effects and is in particular due to wetting of the outer layer of the artwork (a comparison between the effects of rainwater and condensation is made); (ii) the chemico-physical action of pollutants captured in both the dry and wet phase.

2. The destructive processes depend on many factors : the past history of the monument, the capture and nature of the pollutants, and the frequency of some microclimatic conditions, particularly those supplying the water necessary for chemical reactions. To this end studies of diurnal and seasonal variations on the monument of both the heat wave and the fluxes of moisture and energy are very important.

3. Some of these processes have been shown with microclimatic studies and microphysical investigation associated with mineralogic and chemical analyses of samples of weathered material. Mathematical models in some cases (especially for solar radiation and temperature) permit physical simulation, reconstruction of past data and extrapolation into the future observation of many monuments from different epochs; situated at various sites, gives examples of the fundamental processes that are often associated with, or masked by, other effects.

4. The main weathering processes are due to the combined action of rainwater and atmospheric pollutants (particularly the carbonaceous particles due to combustion) deposited on the surface of the monument. The way in which the surface is wetted is very important : in fact, a short drizzle can activate the dry deposit without washing it away, and in this case the pH of rain droplets is of secondary importance; on the other hand, showers supply abundant water which favours dissolution of the stone and removal of the solute, resulting in a thinning of the original rock. Another important factor is the dynamic regime (i.e. laminar or turbulent) of the water flowing over the surface of the monument.

5. In zones where the surface of marble or calcareous monuments is only wetted, but protected from runoff, black crusts (characterized by crystals of gypsum and calcite with carbonaceous particles embedded in the crusts) are formed. Zones subjected to heavy run-off are also subjected to a thinning of the rock and small authentic calcite crystals form that are white in appearance.

6. In the case of relatively unpolluted towns, where marble and limestone sulphation is not the main cause of the deterioration process, biological deterioration mechanisms are often very important, due to the activity of epilithic and endolithic microflora and microfauna.

7. The case of particularly precious mortars, e.g. murals or frescoes, is discussed in order to clarify the thermodynamic method proposed for the analysis of experimental campaigns. Finally actions are described that act on the causes and not only on the effects.

Question. What favours the dissolution of the stone and removal of the solute, resulting in a thinning of the original rock ?
(i) showers which supply abundant water
(ii) pollutants in the air
(iii) deterioration over a period of long time
(iv) excessive restoration of an artwork
Ans : (i) showers which supply abundant water

Question. The destructive processes of historical monuments depend on many factors, that are :
I. the capture and nature of the pollutants
II. the supply of necessary chemical water reactions
III. the past history of the monument
IV the frequency of some microclimatic conditions
(i) II, III and IV
(ii) I, II and III
(iii) I, III and IV
(iv) I, II, III and IV
Ans : (iii) I, III and IV

Question. The problem of the conservation of historical monuments requires :
(i) an understanding of the deterioration process.
(ii) an accurate study of the many environmental agents.
(iii) an accurate assumption of effects of rainwater.
(iv) an understanding of the effects caused by the chemico-physical action of pollutants.
Ans : (ii) an accurate study of the many environmental agents.

Question. The main weathering processes of the monument are caused due to the deposition of _____ on the surface of the monument.
(i) gypsum and calcite with carbonaceous particles
(ii) the heat wave and the fluxes of moisture and energy
(iii) pollutants which weaken the art work
(iv) the combined action of rainwater and atmospheric pollutants
Ans : (iv) the combined action of rainwater and atmospheric pollutants

Question. To understand the destructive process of amonu ment it is very important to study the :
(i) moisture deposited on the monument yearly.
(ii) understand the variations of heat affecting the monument.
(iii) diurnal and seasonal variations on the monument.
(iv) fluxes of energy experienced by the monument.
Ans : (iii) diurnal and seasonal variations on the monument.

Question. What are formed on the monuments in the zones where the surface of marble or calcareous monuments is only wetted but protected from run-off ?
(i) green patches
(ii) black crusts
(iii) grey mould
(iv) yellow residue
Ans : (ii) black crusts

Question.  Zones that experience _____ are also subjected to a thinning of the rock and small authentic calcite crystals form that are white in appearance on the monument.
(i) extreme air pollution
(ii) acid rainfall
(iii) harsh winds
(iv) heavy run-off
Ans : (iv) heavy run-off

Question. Choose an option that is not similar in meaning to the word `weathering’.
(i) worn-out
(ii) eroded
(iii) disintegrated
(iv) softened
Ans : (iv) softened

Question.  Which of the following will be the most appropriate title of the passage ?
(i) Deterioration Process of Historical Monuments
(ii) Monuments and their Deteriorations
(iii) The Legacy of Monuments
(iv) The Science of Deterioration
Ans : (i) Deterioration Process of Historical Monuments

Question. When considering the deterioration in the case of particularly precious mortars, actions are described that act on :
(i) the maintenance of the artwork.
(ii) keeping the mural in its original condition.
(iii) the causes and not only on the effects.
(iv) the effects of time that can be clearly seen.
Ans : (iii) the causes and not only on the effects.

Question. In the passage the phrase ‘run-off’ refers to :
(i) the flowing of excessive water across a surface.
(ii) the fast deterioration of a surface.
(iii) the thinning of the upper layer of a monument.
(iv) the destructive affect of wind erosion.
Ans : (i) the flowing of excessive water across a surface.

Question.  When talking about weathering processes, the way in which the surface is _____ is very important.
(i) eroded
(ii) wetted
(iii) handled
(iv) built
Ans : (ii) wetted

 

Class 11 English Unseen Passage Solved

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

1. The modern classroom has taken several steps forward in its evolution of the learning environment in the past 25 years. Many of the benefits that we have seen in this setting are due to the introduction of new technology options for students. Instead of having a single computer for a class to use or a laboratory environment for the entire school placed in one room, we can now help students learn at their table or desk with items issued to them directly. Thus, there are quite a lot of advantages of having technology in classrooms.

2. Technology helps children to stay motivated during the learning process. Most students don’t like to go to school if they feel like they are wasting their time. When there is technology allowed in the classroom, then teachers have an opportunity to let children work at a pace which suits them the best without disturbing others. They can look up additional information about a subject they are learning about that day, play educational games that reinforce the lesson, or work on advanced material using a program.

3. Because many of today’s technology options allow students to see how well they are doing compared to the average of all users, it gives them a chance to push harder for themselves and their education. Many of the programs that encourage learning also issue rewards or award certificates, which helps to make the lessons fun as well.

4. Technology encourages more communication between teachers and parents. When there is technology in the classroom, then there are more opportunities for parents and teachers to connect with each other. Using a blog for the classroom can help parents get to see what their children are learning each day. Apps and software options allow teachers to instantly report on a child’s behaviour to let parents know in real-time what is happening throughout the day. There are options for chat boxes, instant messaging, and other forms of communication as well.

5. Let’s not forget about email here either. Since the 1990s when this technology option came into the classroom, it created more reliability in messaging between teachers and parents should there be a need to talk.

6. Technology also creates new ways to learn for today’s student. There are three critical forms of intelligence that we see in children today : emotional, creative, and instructional. The traditional classroom environment, which typically encourages lecturebased lessons, focuses more on the latter option. Standardized tests and similar ranking tools do the same. When children have access to technology today, then those who excel outside of the standard learning setup can still achieve their full potential.

7. Technology allows children to embrace their curiosity in multiple ways. They can try new things without embarrassment because their tech access gives them a level of anonymity. This process allows children to work, through trial-and error if they wish, to see if a different strategy helps them to learn more effectively.

8. It even encourages students to stay engaged with their learning environment. Children get bored very easily when they feel like they already know what is being taught in their classroom. Some children will transform into mentors or leaders in this situation to help their fellow students, but there are many more who disengage because they lack stimulation. By introducing technology to the classroom, there are fewer places where repetitive learning must take place. Teachers can introduce new subjects, try new techniques, or use different projects to encourage ongoing learning, which creates more overall engagement.

Question. Technology allows children to embrace their _____ in multiple ways.
(i) intelligence
(ii) hard work
(iii) curiosity
(iv) passion
Ans : (iii) curiosity

Question. Which of the following is not a method through which technology encourages more communication between teachers and parents ?
(i) Apps and software options that allow teachers to instantly report on a child’s behaviour.
(ii) Usage of a blog for the classroom to help parents get to see what their children are learning each day.
(iii) Communication options such as chat boxes, instant messaging, and other forms ofcomm unication.
(iv) Software programs that allow parents to access the child’s tech and keep a check on their usage.
Ans : (iv) Software programs that allow parents to access the child’s tech and keep a check on their usage

Question. Which of the following is not something that technology helps a student with in education ?
(i) Technology creates new ways to learn for today’s student.
(ii) Technology encourages more communication between parents and students.
(iii) Technology helps children to stay motivated during the learning process.
(iv) Technology encourages students to stay engaged with their learning environment.
Ans : (ii) Technology encourages more communication between parents and students.

Question. Which of the following is not a way through which technology helps children to stay motivated during the learning process ?
(i) play educational games that reinforce a lesson
(ii) work on advanced material using a program
(iii) look up additional information about a subject they are learning about
(iv) allow them to work on a lesson beyond their curriculum
Ans : (iv) allow them to work on a lesson beyond their curriculum

Question. The three critical forms of intelligence that we see in children today are :
I. motivational
II. creative
III. instructional
IV. competitive
V emotional
(i) I, II and III
(ii) II, III and IV
(iii) II, III and V
(iv) I, IV and V
Ans : (iii) II, III and V

Question. Who is a mentor ?
(i) someone who gives someone help and advice related to something
(ii) someone who leads someone to become a better person
(iii) someone who helps someone in their time of need
(iv) someone who provides a better learning standard
Ans : (i) someone who gives someone help and advice related to something

Question. Children can try new things with the help of technology without embarrassment because their tech access gives them a level of :
(i) confidence
(ii) anonymity
(iii) superiority
(iv) satisfaction
Ans : (ii) anonymity

Question. Most children don’t like to go to school if :
(i) they don’t understand what is being taught in class.
(ii) they feel like they are wasting their time.
(iii) they find class too boring.
(iv) they can get away with it.
Ans : (ii) they feel like they are wasting their time.

Question. What is the advantage of having a technology that allows students to see how well they are doing compared to the average of other students ?
(i) it gives an opportunity to learn from other students
(ii) it tells one how much more hard work is needed to achieve a goal
(iii) it motivates them to seek help where needed to reach the level of others
(iv) it gives them a chance to push harder for themselves and their education
Ans : (iv) it gives them a chance to push harder for themselves and their education

Question. Choose an option that makes the correct use of ‘stimulation’ as used in the passage, to fill in the space.
(i) Babies who love with their parents receive much more _____ than babies who sleep in a cot.
(ii) It was known that _____ made the heart to increase its oxygen consumption.
(iii) Near the boundary, the electrical _____ spreading enough to evoke both movements.
(iv) She has a low threshold of boredom and needs the constant _____ of physical activity.
Ans : (iv) She has a low threshold of boredom and needs the constant _____ of physical activity.

Question. Technology helps children to see if a different strategy helps them to learn more effectively through :
(i) hard work and diligence.
(ii) trial and error method.
(iii) advanced software programs.
(iv) strategies and lessons.
Ans : (ii) trial and error method.

Question. Choose an option that is clearly a synonym of the word ‘engaged’.
(i) immerse
(ii) surrender
(iii) release
(iv) disrupt
Ans : (i) immerse

Unseen Passage for Class 11 English with Answers

1. Social media has become almost a necessity for us, in today’s world. It’s become so important and evolved so much, that we carry our social media with us throughout the day, on our phones.

2. One of the major benefits of social media is that you can connect with people all over the world, for free. This comes in handy if you have friends who have travelled abroad. You can send them messages on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, and they can respond quickly from wherever they are. Social media helps to fortify and maintain your personal relationships, even with people who are far away from you. If you have a family member that’s travelling, you won’t have to wait until they return to hear about their adventures. Just hop on Facebook or Instagram and start chatting and exchanging pictures.

3. This ability to communicate quickly and easily with people overseas is also very convenient for those who do business, in foreign lands. Social media platforms provide a cheap, easy way to quickly communicate your point to your customers or clients, who are across the world. You can send a private message, publicly share something or video chat, for free. Using social media for a company is very cost effective and time efficient. Staying connected to these people is important to improve your business relationship, and keep your company running properly.

4. Staying connected to your social networks on the platforms that you use can be vital to your professional success. Through social media sites, you can find jobs, inform your community of business opportunities and career openings, and you can even monetize your accounts. Keeping a well-maintained network will help you achieve success in your career. A good site to look at, if you’re trying to create a professional network, is Linkedln. The site is designed specifically to help you advance in your career. You’ll open up plenty of new opportunities that you didn’t have, before.

5. Being an active participant in social media is a great way to learn new things. News outlets are constantly using social media, to help keep people in the loop. Social media is the way that news is heard, and it’s the way that news is spread. You can make the argument that staying connected to social media is, in fact, staying connected to life. It’s not only good for sharing and spreading news, it’s a great place to find out about people’s opinions on various topics. For example, if you’ve built a sports community, you’ll learn about the sports that you love. You can build communities around politics, business, cars, family, education and pretty much whatever other topic you’d like. Social media will enhance your life. It will provide you the chance to communicate, connect and be involved like never before. You’ll stay connected with news outlets, family, friends and virtually whatever else you’d like to connect with.

Question. Being an active participant in social media is a great way to :
(i) meet new people.
(ii) learn new things.
(iii) increase your social circle.
(iv) stay connected to life.
Ans : (ii) learn new things.

Question. In today’s world, social media has become a _____ for us.
(i) necessity
(ii) luxury
(iii) backbone
(iv) support
Ans : (i) necessity

Question. Which of the following is not a social media platform ?
(i) Facebook
(ii) Instagram
(iii) Google
(iv) Twitter
Ans : (iii) Google

Question. Choose an option that is a synonym of the word ‘fortify’.
(i) barricade
(ii) strengthen
(iii) improve
(iv) boost
Ans : (ii) strengthen

Question. For whom is the ability to communicate quickly and easily with people overseas very convenient ?
(i) those who live away from their families
(ii) those who have connections with people in other countries
(iii) those who travel to foreign lands a lot
(iv) those who do business in foreign lands
Ans : (iv) those who do business in foreign lands

Question. Social media platforms that you use can be vital to your professional success because through them you can :
1. create a business circle and increase your business connections
2. inform your community of business opportunities
3. find jobs
4. monetize your accounts
5. inform your community of career openings
(i) 1, 2 and 4
(ii) 2, 3 and 4
(iii) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(iv) 2, 3, 4 and 5
Ans : (iv) 2, 3, 4 and 5

Question. Which is a good site to look at if you’re trying to create a professional network ?
(i) Twitter
(ii) Gmail
(iii) Linkedln
(iv) Facebook
Ans : (iii) LinkedIn

Question. One of the major benefits of social media is that :
(i) you can see what is happening all over thewo rld.
(ii) you can connect with people all over the world for free.
(iii) you can talk to people far away from you easily.
(iv) you can connect with people you have never met before.
Ans : (ii) you can connect with people all over the world for free.

Question. Which of the following is not a feature of social media ?
(i) Social media will enhance your life.
(ii) Social media comes in handy if you have friends who have travelled abroad.
(iii) Social media is the way that news is spread, even if it is not heard this way.
(iv) Keeping a well-maintained network will help you achieve success in your career.
Ans : (iii) Social media is the way that news is spread, even if it is not heard this way.

Question. Which of the following is an appropriate title for the passage ?
(i) The Beneficial Social Media
(ii) Social Media - A Necessity
(iii) Importance of Staying Connected Through Social Media
(iv) The Revolution of the Whole World Around the Social Media
Ans : (iii) Importance of Staying Connected Through Social Media

Question. Using social media for a company is :
(i) very cost effective.
(ii) time efficient.
(iii) very profitable.
(iv) both (i) and (ii).
Ans : (iv) both (i) and (ii)

Question. Choose an option that clearly states the meaning of the word ‘enhance’.
(i) further improve the quality or value of something
(ii) highlight a quality that was being ignored before
(iii) understand the true value of something
(iv) something that empowers you
Ans : (i) further improve the quality or value of something

 

Unseen Comprehensions for Class 11 English

1. The news that the Indian Railways are going to incur a shortfall of Rs. 1000 crore in their resources generation - and will, therefore, have to seek budgetary support to that extend - will not surprise many. That’s a scenario that has been played out for years now, and the outcome, too, has been predictable - with railways budget doing is duty by doling out public money. But it’s time to look at the problem differently, in view of the current concerns of the government in economizing its charity and the feeling that the railways have to stand on their own legs.

2. The Railways have, over the last few months, continued to experience a shortfall of Rs. 85 crore per month, a feature that could add to their woes if it continue. Fall in expected goods traffic, in the rate per tonne and also a dip in passenger traffic have contributed to the shortfall. All these may not be new concerns for the Railways; the relevant point, however, is how the system and the government hope to tackle it.

3. Clearly, budgetary support should be considered only in the last instance, after various measures to both reduce expenditure and raise resources have been tried out. Consider subsidies on passenger traffic- the expenditure which really digs into the government’s coffers. In fact, passenger traffic subsidy accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the railways’ losses in 1992- 93, with freight traffic subsidies taking up the rest.

4. Freight traffic subsidy cuts should prove more easy if this year’s budget exercise is any indication. Till now, sixteen commodities were subsidized. In 1993-94, budget subsidy on four commodities were removed. Prices did not rise, there was little protest and now the Railways ought to be emboldened to do more Reduction in passenger subsidies is more tricky given the dependence of such a large population, mostly poor, on the system and most governments have been reluctant to do much. In fact, passenger rates have been hiked very few times and that, too, only in recent years.

5. One area where the Railways could do a lot more pruning is in shutting uneconomic branch lines. For instance, in 1992-93 it was found that 114 branch lines contributed a loss of Rs. 121 crore.

6. To its credit, however, the railways have been looking around for sources of funds other than the budget.

Question. Which of the following has the same meaning as the phrase ‘played out’ as it has been used in the passage?
(i) Enacted
(ii) Dramatised
(iii) Repeated
(iv) Predicted
Ans : (iii) Repeated

Question. What seems to be the ultimate consideration for allowing freight subsidy by the railways?
(i) Keeping the freight charges low
(ii) Keeping the railway in losses
(iii) Keeping the prices of commodities low
(iv) Cannot be made out from the passage
Ans : (iii) Keeping the prices of commodities low

Question. Which of the following is false regarding the railway operation?
(i) Reduction in goods traffic is not a new phenomenon
(ii) Passenger traffic has shown an increase in recent years
(iii) Rates per tonne of goods carried has come down
(iv) Railways are aware of the problem of reduction in income
Ans : (ii) Passenger traffic has shown an increase in recent years

Question. How does the cut in freight traffic affect the shortfall?
(i) By increasing the income
(ii) By reducing the expense
(iii) Simultaneously increasing income and reducing expense
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. Which of the following has the same meaning as the word ‘dip’ as it has been used in the passage?
(i) Drift
(ii) Plunge
(iii) Slowness
(iv) Reduction
Ans : (iv) Reduction

Question. Which of the following seems to be the major contributing factor towards the losses of the railways?
(i) Passenger subsidies
(ii) Freight subsidies
(iii) Uneconomical lines
(iv) All of these
Ans : (i) Passenger subsidies

Question. How does the government expect to ‘economise its charity ?
(i) By requiring the railways to be self-sufficient
(ii) By stopping the budget support
(iii) By showing its concern through the Railway ministry
(iv) By not doling out public money
Ans : (i) By requiring the railways to be self-sufficient

Question. What does the author suggest that the railways should do as regards freight subsidy?
(i) It should introduce subsidy for more items
(ii) It should be very courageous
(iii) It should remove or reduce subsidies of more items
(iv) Author’s views are not explicit
Ans : (iii) It should remove or reduce subsidies of more items

Question. Which of the following is correct regarding the shortfall in the Railways’ resource generation ?
(i) it was higher than earlier years
(ii) it is happening for the first time
(iii) it was anticipated by most people
(iv) This is the largest shortfall ever to happen
Ans : (iii) it was anticipated by most people

Question. Which of the following is true regarding the passenger fare charged by the railways?
(i) It is excessively high now
(ii) First class passengers are not given any subsidy
(iii) Only second class passengers get subsidy
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these 

 

Unseen Passage for Class 11 English Solved

1. The task which Gandhiji undertook was not only the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood, and maximum freedom for all. This unfinished part of his experiment was perhaps even more difficult to achieve than the achievement of political freedom. Political struggle involved fight against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his moral support. In establishing the social order of this pattern, there was a lively possibility of a conflict arising between groups and classes of our own people. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival of his descendants even after his body is reduced to ashes. A new order cannot be established without radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards property and, at some stage or the other, the ‘haves’ have to yield place to the ‘have-nots’. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force.

2. In the ultimate analysis, it is difficult, if not impossible, to say that the instinct to possess has been rooted out or that it will not reappear in an even worse from under a different guise. It may even be that, like a gas kept confined within containers under great pressure, or water held by a big dam, once a barrier breaks, the reaction will one day sweep back with a violence equal in extent and intensity to what was used to establish and maintain the outward egalitarian form. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction.

3. The root cause of class conflict is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct. So long as the ideal that is to be achieved is one of securing the maximum material satisfaction, possessiveness can neither be suppressed nor eliminated but will grow on what it feeds. Nor will it cease to be such- it is possessiveness, still, whether it is confined to only a few or is shared by many.

4. If egalitarianism is to endure, it has to be based not on the possession of the maximum material goods by a few or by all but on voluntary, enlightened renunciation of those goods which cannot be shared by others or can be enjoyed only at the expense of others. This calls for substitution of spiritual values for purely material ones. The paradise of material satisfaction, that is sometimes equated with progress these days neither spells peace nor progress. Mahatma Gandhi has shown us how the acquisitive instinct inherent in man could be transmuted by the adoption of the ideal of trusteeship by those who ‘have’ for the benefit of all those who ‘have not’ so that, instead of leading to exploitation and conflict, it would become a means and incentive for the amelioration and progress of society, respectively.

Question. Which of the following is synonym of ‘Possessions’?
(i) Perfection
(ii) Custody
(iii) Parameters
(iv) Arguments
Ans : (ii) Custody

Question. According to the passage, why does man value his possessions more than his life?
(i) He has an inherent desire to share his possessions with others
(ii) He is endowed with the possessive instinct
(iii) Only his possessions help him earn love and respect from his descendants
(iv) Through his possessions he can preserve his name even after his death
Ans : (iv) Through his possessions he can preserve his name even after his death

Question. According to the passage, which was the unfinished part of Gandhiji’s experiment?
(i) Educating people to avoid class conflict
(ii) Achieving total political freedom for the country
(iii) Establishment of an egalitarian society
(iv) Radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards truth and non-violence
Ans : (iv) Radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards truth and non-violence

Question. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
(i) A social order based on truth and nonviolence alone can help the achievement of political freedom
(ii) In establishing the social order of Gandhiji’s pattern, the possibility of a conflict between different classes of society hardly exists
(iii) It is difficult to change the mind and attitude of men towards property
(iv) In an egalitarian society, material satisfaction can be enjoyed only at the expenses of others
Ans : (ii) In establishing the social order of Gandhiji’s pattern, the possibility of a conflict between different classes of society hardly exists

Question. Which of the following statements is ‘not true’ in the context of the passage?
(i) True egalitarianism can be achieved by giving up one’s possessions under compulsion
(ii) Man values his life more than his possessions
(iii) Possessive instinct is a natural part of the human being
(iv) In the political struggle, the fight was against the alien rule
Ans : (ii) Man values his life more than his possessions

Question. Which of the following is Antonym of ‘Radically’?
(i) Presumably
(ii) Possibility
(iii) Elaborate
(iv) Conservative
Ans : (iv) Conservative

Question. According to the passage, true egalitarianism will last if
(i) It is thrust upon people
(ii) It is based on truth and non-violence
(iii) People inculcate spiritual values along with material values
(iv) ‘Haves’ and ‘have-nots’ live together peacefully
Ans : (iii) People inculcate spiritual values along with material values

Question. According to the passage, people ultimately overturn the form of a social order
(i) Which is based on coercion and oppression
(ii) Which does not satisfy their basic needs
(iii) Which is based upon conciliation and rapprochement
(iv) Which is not congenial to the spiritual values of the people
Ans : (i) Which is based on coercion and oppression

Question. According to the passage, the root cause of class conflict is
(i) The paradise of material satisfaction
(ii) Dominant inherent acquisitive instinct in man
(iii) Exploitation of the ‘have-nots’ by the ‘haves’
(iv) A social order where the unprivileged are not a part of the establishment
Ans : (ii) Dominant inherent acquisitive instinct in man

Question. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
(i) A new order can be established by radically changing the outlook of people towards it
(ii) Adoption of the ideal of trusteeship can minimise possessive instinct
(iii) Enforced egalitarianism can be the cause of its own destruction
(iv) Idea of new order is to secure maximum material satisfaction
Ans : (iv) Idea of new order is to secure maximum material satisfaction

Question. According to the passage, egalitarianism will not survive if
(i) It is based on voluntary renunciation
(ii) It is achieved by resorting to physical force
(iii) Underprivileged people are not involved in its establishment
(iv) People’s outlook towards it is not radically changed
Ans : (iv) People’s outlook towards it is not radically changed

Question. According to the passage, what does adoption of the ideal of trusteeship mean?
(i) Equating peace and progress with material satisfaction
(ii) Adoption of the ideal by the ‘haves’ for the benefit of the society
(iii) Voluntary, enlightened renunciation of the possessive instinct by the privileged class
(iv) Substitution of spiritual values by material ones by those who live in the paradise of material satisfaction
Ans : (ii) Adoption of the ideal by the ‘haves’ for the benefit of the society

 

Unseen Passage for Class 11

2. A culprit in a crowded business centre or in a busy shopping mall of a town empties a test tube containing some fluid, which in turn creates an unseen cloud of germ of a dreaded disease like anthrax capable of inflicting a horrible death within 5 days on any one who inhales it. At first 500, or so victims feel that they have mild influenza which may recede after a day or two. Then the symptoms return again and their lungs start filling with fluid. They rush to local hospitals for treatment, but the panic-stricken people may find that the medicare services run quickly out of drugs due to excessive demand. But no one would be able to realize that a terrorist attack has occurred. One cannot deny the possibility that the germ involved would be of contagious variety capable of causing an epidemic. The meeting concluded that such attacks, apart from causing immediate human tragedy, would have dire long-term effects on the political and social fabric of a country by way of ending people’s trust on the competence of the government.

3. The experts also said that the bombs used in Kenya and Tanzania were of the old-fashion variety and involved quantities of high explosives, but new terrorism will prove to be more deadly and probably more elusive than hijacking an aeroplane or a gelignite of previous decades. According to Bruce Hoffman, an American specialist on political violence, old terrorism generally had a specific manifesto-to overthrow a colonial power or the capitalist system and so on. These terrorists were not shy about planting a bomb or hijacking an aircraft and they set some limit to their brutality. Killing so many innocent people might turn their natural supporters off. Political terrorists want a lot of people watching but not a lot of people dead. “Old terrorism sought to change the world while the new sort is often practised by those who believe that the world has gone beyond redemption”, he added.

4. Hoffman says, “New terrorism has no long-term agenda but is ruthless in its short-term intentions. It is often just a cacophonous cry of protest or an outburst of religious intolerance or a protest against the West in general and the US in particular. Its perpetrators may be religious fanatics or die-hard opponent of a government and see no reason to show restraint. They are simply intent on inflicting the maximum amount of pain on the victim.”

Question. In the context of the passage, the culprit’s act of emptying a test tube containing some fluid can be classified as
(i) a terrorist attack
(ii) an epidemic of a dreaded disease
(iii) a natural calamity
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) a terrorist attack

Question. In what way would the new terrorism be different from that of the earlier years?
A. More dangerous and less baffling
B. More hazardous for victims
C. Less complicated for terrorists
(i) A and C only
(ii) B and C only
(iii) A and B only
(iv) All of these
Ans : (ii) B and C only

Question. What could be the probable consequence of bioattacks,as mentioned in the passage?
A. several deaths
B. political turmoil
C. social unrest
(i) A only
(ii) B only
(iii) C only
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. The author’s purpose of writing the above passage seems to explain
(i) the methods of containing terrorism
(ii) the socio-political turmoil in African countries
(iii) the deadly strategies adopted by modern terrorists
(iv) reason for killing innocent people
Ans : (iii) the deadly strategies adopted by modern terrorists

Question. According to the author of the passage, the root cause of terrorism is
A. religious fanaticism
B. socio-political changes in countries
C. the enormous population growth
(i) A only
(ii) B only
(iii) C only
(iv) All of these
Ans : (i) A only

Question. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
PERPETRATORS
(i) opponents
(ii) followers
(iii) sympathizers
(iv) leaders
Ans : (ii) followers

Question. The phrase “such attacks”, as mentioned in the last sentence of the second paragraph, refers to
(i) the onslaught of an epidemic as a natural
(ii) bio-attack on political people in the government
(iii) attack aimed at damaging the reputation of the government
(iv) bio-attack manoeuvred by unscrupulous elements
Ans : (iv) bio-attack manoeuvred by unscrupulous elements

Question. Which of the following statements is true about new terrorism?
(i) Its immediate objectives area quite tragic.
(ii) It has far-sighted goals to achieve.
(iii) It can differentiate between the innocent people and the guilty.
(iv) It is free from any political ideology.
Ans : (i) Its immediate objectives area quite tragic.

Question. choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage
GLOOMY
(i) discouraging
(ii) disgusting
(iii) bright
(iv) tragic
Ans : (iii) bright

Question. What was the immediate provocation for the meeting held in August 1998?
(i) the insistence of America’s leading
(ii) the horrors of possible bio-attacks
(iii) a culprit’s heinous act of spreading germs
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage
CACOPHONOUS
(i) loud
(ii) melodious
(iii) distant
(iv) harsh
Ans : (ii) melodious

Question. choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage
INTOLERANCE
(i) forbearance
(ii) faithfulness
(iii) adaptability
(iv) acceptance
Ans : (i) forbearance

Question. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
ELUSIVE
(i) harmful
(ii) fatal
(iii) destructive
(iv) baffling
Ans : (iv) baffling

Question. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning of the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
INFLICTING
(i) elevating
(ii) imposing
(iii) alleviating
(iv) reflecting
Ans : (ii) imposing

Question. The sole objective of the old terrorism, according to Hoffman, was to
(i) plant bombs to kill innocent people
(ii) remove colonial power or capitalist system
(iii) make people realize the incompetence of the government
(iv) give a setback to socio-political order
Ans : (iv) give a setback to socio-political order

English Unseen Passage for Class 11 pdf with answers

1. Governments have traditionally equated economic progress with steel mills and cement factories. While hundreds of millions of farmers remain mired in poverty. However, fears of food shortage, a rethinking of anti-poverty priorities and the crushing recession in 2008 are causing a dramatic shift in world economic policy in favour of greater support for agriculture.

2. The last time when the world’s framers felt such love was in the 1970s. At the time, as food prices spiked, there was real concern that the world was facing a crisis in which the planet was simply unable to produce enough grain and meet for an expanding population. Governments across the developing world and international aid organizations plowed investment into agriculture in the early 1970s, while technological breakthroughs, like high-yield strains of important food crops, boosted production. The result was the green Revolution and food production exploded.

3. But the Green Revolution become a victim of its own success, Food prices plunged by some 60% by the late 1980s from their peak in the mid-1970s. Policy makers and aid workers turned their attention to the poor’s other pressing needs, such as health care and education. Farming got starved of resources and investment. By 2004, aid directed at agriculture sank to 3.5% and “Agriculture lost its glitter”. Also, as consumers in high-growth giants such as China and India became wealthier, they began eating more meat, so grain once used for human consumption got diverted to beef up livestock. By early 2008, panicked buying by importing countries and restrictions slapped on grain exports by some big producers helped drive prices upto heights not seen for three decades. Making matters worse, land and resources got reallocated to produce cash crops such as bio-fuels and the result was that voluminous reserves of grain evaporated. Protests broke out across the emerging world and fierce food riots toppled governments.

4. This spurred global leaders into action. This made them aware that food security is one of the fundamental issues in the world that has to be dealt with in order to maintain administrative and political stability. This also spurred the US, which traditionally provisioned food aid from American grain surpluses to help needy nations, to move towards investing in farm sectors around the globe to boost productivity. This move helped countries become more productive for themselves and be in a better position to feed their own people.

5. Africa, which missed out on the first Green Revolution due to poor policy and limited resources, also witnessed a “change’ poverty-fighting method favoured by many policy-makers in Africa was to get farmers off their farms into modern jobs in factories and urban centres. But that strategy proved to be highly insufficient. Income levels in the countryside badly trailed those in cities while the FAO estimated that the number of poor going hungry in 2009 reached an all-time high at more than one billion.

6. In India, on other hand, with only 40% of its farmland irrigated, entire economic boom currently underway is held hostage by the unpredictable monsoon. With much of India’s farming areas suffering from drought this year, the government will have tough time meeting its economic growth targets. in a report, Goldman Sachs predicted that if this year too receives weak rains, it could cause agriculture to contract by 2% this fiscal year, making the government’s 7% GDP growth target look “a bit rich”. Another green revolution is the need of the hour and to make it a reality, the global community still has much backbreaking farm work to do.

 

Question. Which of the following in an adverse impact of the Green Revolution?
(i) Unchecked crop yields resulted in large tracts of land becoming barren
(ii) Withdrawal of fiscal impetus from agriculture to other sectors.
(iii) Farmers began soliciting government subsidies for their produce
(iv) None of these
Ans : (ii) Withdrawal of fiscal impetus from agriculture to other sectors.

Question. What is the author trying to convey through the phrase “making the government’s 7% GDP growth target look ‘a bit rich’?
(i) India is unlikely to achieve the targeted growth rate.
(ii) Allocation of funds to agriculture has raised India’s chances of having a high GDP
(iii) Agricultural growth has artificially inflated India’s GDP and such growth is not real
(iv) India is likely to have one of the highest GDP growth rates.
Ans : (i) India is unlikely to achieve the targeted growth rate.

Question. Which of the following factors was/were responsible for the neglect of the farming sector after the Green Revolution?
A. Steel and cement sectors generated more revenue for the government as compared agriculture
B. large-scale protests against favouring agriculture at the cost of other important sectors such as education and health care
C. Attention of policy-makers and aid organizations was diverted from the agriculture to other sectors
(i) None
(ii) Only C
(iii) Only B and C
(iv) Only A and B
Ans : (ii) Only C

Question. What promoted leaders throughout the worldto take action to boost the agriculture sector in 2008?
(i) Coercive tactics by the US which restricted food aid to poor nations
(ii) The realization of the link between food security and political stability
(iii) Awareness that performance in agriculture is necessary in order to achieve the targeted GDP
(iv) Reports that high-growth countries like China and India were boosting their agriculture sectors to capture the international markets
Ans : (ii) The realization of the link between food security and political stability

Question. What motivated the US to focus on investing in agriculture across the globe?
(i) To make developing countries become more reliant on US aid
(ii) To ensure grain surpluses so that the US had to need to import food
(iii) To make those countries more self-sufficient to whom it previously provided food
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iii) To make those countries more self-sufficient to whom it previously provided food

Question. What impact did the economic recession of 2008 have on agriculture?
(i) Governments equated economic stability with industrial development and shifted away from agriculture
(ii) lack of implementation of several innovative agriculture programmes owing to shortage of funds
(iii) It promoted increased investment and interest in agriculture
(iv) None of these 
Ans : (iii) It promoted increased investment and interest in agriculture

Question. What is the author’s main objective in writing the passage?
(i) Criticising developed countries for not bolstering economic growth in poor nations
(ii) Analysing the disadvantages of the Green Revolution
(iii) Persuading experts that a strong economy depends on industrialization and not on agriculture
(iv) Making a case for the international society to engineer a second Green Revolution
Ans : (iv) Making a case for the international society to engineer a second Green Revolution

Question. What encouraged African policy-makers to focus on urban jobs?
(i) Misapprehension that it would alleviate poverty as it did in other countries
(ii) Rural development outstripped urban development in many parts of Africa
(iii) Breaking out of protests in country and the fear that the government would topple
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) Misapprehension that it would alleviate poverty as it did in other countries

Question. Which of the following had contributed to exorbitant food prices in 2008?
A. Hoarding of foods stocks by local wholesalers, which inadvertently created a food shortage
B. Exports of food grains was reduce by large producers
C. Diverting resources from cultivation of food grains to that of more profitable crops.
(i) Only C
(ii) Only B
(iii) Only B and C
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iii) Only B and C

Question. Which of the following is true about the state of agriculture in India at present?
A. Of all the sectors, agriculture needs the highest allocation of funds
B. Contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP this year would depend greatly upon the monsoon rains
C. As India is one of the high-growth countries it has surplus food reserves export to other nations
(i) Only A and C
(ii) Only C
(iii) Only B
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iii) Only B

Question. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
STARVED
(i) Deprived
(ii) Disadvantages
(iii) Hungry
(iv) Fasting
Ans : (i) Deprived

Question. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
SLAPPED
(i) Beaten
(ii) Imposed
(iii) Withdrawn
(iv) Avoided
Ans : (ii) Imposed

Question. Choose the word which is most similar in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
LOWED
(i) cultivated
(ii) Bulldozed
(iii) Recovered
(iv) Instilled
Ans : (iv) Instilled

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
PRESSING
(i) Unpopular
(ii) Undemanding
(iii) Unobtrusive
(iv) Unimportant
Ans : (iv) Unimportant

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
EVAPORATED
(i) Absorbed
(ii) Accelerated
(iii) Grew
(iv) Plunged
Ans : (iii) Grew

Short Unseen Passage Class 11 with questions and answers

When I was at college I used to spend my summer vacations in Dehra, at my grandmother's place. I would leave the plains early in May and return late in July. Deoli was a small station about thirty miles from Dehra; it marked the beginning of the heavy jungles of the Indian Terai.

The train would reach Deoli at about five in the morning, when the station would be dimly lit with electric bulbs and oil lamps, and the jungle across the railway tracks would just be visible in the faint light of dawn. Deoli had only one platform, and office of the station master and a waiting room. The platform boasted of a tea stall, a fruit vendor, and a few stray dogs; not much else, because the train stopped there for only ten minutes before rushing on into the forests.

Why it stopped at Deoli, I don't know. Nothing ever happened there. Nobody got off the train and nobody got in. There were never coolies on the platform. But the train would halt there a full ten minutes, and then a bell would sound, the guard would blow his whistle, and presently Deoli would be left behind and forgotten.

I used to wonder what happened in Deoli, behind the station walls.I always felt sorry for that lonely little platform, and for the place that nobody wanted to visit. I decided that one day I would get off the train at Deoli, and spend the day there, just to please the town.

I was eighteen, visiting my grandmother, and the night train stopped at Deoli. A girl came down the platform, selling baskets. It was a cold morning and the girl had a shawl thrown across her shoulders. Her feet were bare and her clothes were old but she was a young girl walking gracefully and with dignity. 

1.1 On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. Where the author used to spend his summer vacation during his college period?
Answer : The author used to spend his summer vacations in Dehra at his grandmother's place.

Question. Where was Deoli situated? What did it mark?
Answer : Deoli was a small station thirty miles away from Dehra. It marked beginning of deep forests of Indian Terai.

Question. Deseribe the railway station of Deoli.
Answer : Deoli was a small, lonely and deserted station. It had only one platform an office for the station master and a waiting room. At the station small tea-stall, a fruit vendor and a few stray dogs could be seen.

Question. How did Deoli station look at five in the morning?
Answer : At five o' clock in the morning Deoli station was dimly lighted with electric bulbs and oil lamps. It gave a deserted look. The jungles across the tracks were just visible in the faint light of the dawn.

Question. Why was the author surprised about the station of Deoli ? 
Answer : The station of Deoli always looked almost deserted. There nobody got off the train and nobody got in. Yet the train stopped there for full ten minutes. This surprised the author.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. abandonment (para1) 
Answer : vacations

Question. unremembered (para3) 
Answer : forgotten

Question. a room provided for the use of people who are waiting (para 2) 
Answer : waiting room

Question. attractively elegant way (para 5)  
Answer : gracefully

 

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with answers

An incredibly wild stretch of blue mountains Iay in front of us as we stood at an altitude of 3,352.8 metres and looked eastwards. The mountains appeared to have developed white wings as clouds floated around them. As the clouds cleared, on could see rhododendrons of vibrant hues draping the mountain slopes and the valleys below. In the distance, a slim silvery-white cascade assured us that there must be a full stream running by. And, surely there was the Nyamjangchu (river), flowing freely from Tibet into India. The cloud-capped mountains of Tibet rose into the sky in the east and the densely forested mountains of Bhutan stood like a fortress in the west. There was a Chinese outpost in the valley along the right bank of the Nyamjangchu, and not far from it, on the mountain slope to the west, was an Indian Army camp. 

We were in the higher altitudes of western Arunachal Pradesh to evaluate the three community conservation areas (CCAs) established by the World-Wide fund for Nature (WWF)-India. The major ongoing programmes in the CCAs aim at promoting ecotourism protecting the black-necked crane and its habitat, safeguarding the future of the red panda and its habitat, and introducing Biolite's Homestove in order to reduce the amount of firewood used in cooking. 

Arunachal Pradesh, spread over 83,743 square kilometres, has nearly 60 per cent of its area under forest cover, that is, 51,540 km². It is situated within the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, a globally important centre of biodiversity. The population density of the State is just 17 per sq.km. Approximately 60 per cent of its forest cover is classified as "unclassed state forest, or USF", and is largely under the control of the local communities. Pressures on these ecologically fragile forests were negligible some decades ago. Today, several factors have increased pressures on them. These range from development of extensive networks of road to connect every nook and cranny of the State, primarily for security reasons, and change in people's lifestyle, from being one that is largely sustainable to one emulating those in developed States. In additions, there is tremendous extraction of wood for various purposes. It is hardly surprising that the State of Forest Report (2011) has recorded a decline of 74 sq. km in the forest cover in the community-owned forest land in the state. Hunting for pot and the wildlife trade has been a serious issue in the State.

Keeping these facts in mind, WWF-India has been engaging with members of the Monpa community in the western Arunachal landscape (WAL) since 2004-05. The WWF-India WAL covers 7,000 sq. km, including snowbound areas, within Tawang and West Kameng districts which together have an area of 11,000 sq km. Its efforts have resulted in the establishment of the three CCAs- the ThembangBapu CCA (635 sq, km) in West Kameng district, and the pangchen LumpoMuchat CCA in Pangchen Valley (98 sq, km) and the PangchenLakhar CCA (85 sq, km), both in Tawang district. The Bugun, Miji and Sherdukpen tribes inhabit West Kameng district while Tawang is largely inhabited by Monpas, who are Buddhists. 

We started our journey to western Arunachal Pradesh from Tezpur (Assam) in mid-May, the rains had just started.

Rhododendron arboretums was the first variety of the flower we sighted as we drove up the mountains inhaling fresh mountain air, But as we reached human settlements the stench of garbage and the smoke of burning garbage overpowered the atmosphere. A mullah near the Baisakhi Army camp was filled with plastic water bottles, plasticized cardboard cartons and other garbage. One problems associated with the accumulation of garbage was the proliferation of free-ranging dogs, which are a threat to wild ungulates red panda, the State animal such as the barking deer and the sambar. The dogs are wont to kill the arboreal red panda, the State animal of Sikkim, when the mammal moves from one patch of forest to another. Although a carnivore, the red panda is not agile on the ground. Leopards thrive on dogs but as a result of poisoning of livestock kill and elimination of wild ungulate prey by poaching, both the leopard and the tiger are extremely rare in western Arunachal Pradesh. A solitary stalking predator cannot afford to be injured and therefore, it is possible leopards avoid free-ranging dogs when they scavenge in a group at garbage sites. 

1.1 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. What is the Worldwide Fund for nature doing in the area?
Answer : Worldwide fund for nature was established to evaluate the three community conservation areas (CCAs).

Question. Mention the types of problems that arise due to accumulation of garbage.
Answer : The type of problems associated that arise due to the accumulation of the garbage was:

Question. What makes the Tiger and Leopard a rare breed in Western Arunachal Pradesh?
Answer : The smoke of burning garbage overpowered the atmosphere.

Question. What are the pressures on these forests?
Answer : The accumulation of the garbage was the proliferation of free ranging dogs, which are a threat to wild ungulates such as the barking deer and the sambar. The dogs are wont to kill the arboreal red panda, the State animal of Sikkim, when the mammals move from one patch of forest to another.

Question. What did the narrator’s party experience when they entered human settlements?
Answer : Leopards thrive on dogs but as a result of poisoning of livestock kill and elimination of wild ungulate prey by poaching, both the leopard and the tiger are extremely rare in western Arunachal Pradesh.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. without tearing (para 1)
Answer : stretch

Question. done something for a long time (para 2)
Answer : established

Question. relates to the whole world (para 3)
Answer : globally

Question. the acquisition (para 4)
Answer : accumulation

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers pdf

Failure can sometimes become a beautiful experience. This is because it provides us with an opportunity to develop confidence and courage. Remember the proverb, Failures are the step stories for success'. The beauty lies not in falling but in rising after every fall. One needs to continually rise after being knocked down again and again. When we were infants and were learning to walk we would just get up after each fall. 

Our parents encouraged us and brought out the courage that naturally resided in us. Then why do so many of us change? As we grow and experience the jeers instead of cheers of our friends and peers, the courage somehow gets pushed into the corner and we begin to accept failure as an inherent part of our lives. But then do we have to be scared of failing and accepting it for the rest of our lives? How will we get success If we don't try? 

The best way to begin is to realize that failure is an event, not a person. It is quite natural to encounter defeat on the way. But one should not get disheartened because the human spirit never finishes when it is defeated, it finishes when it surrenders. We are not defeated until we admit it. Only those people never fail, who never try. We must motivate ourselves to try again and again. 'By perseverance the snail reached the ark' is another famous proverb. Success requires persistence, determination and never-say-die approach. Our level of persistence needs to be so high that it does not allow our enthusiasm to be dampened by discouragement. The greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to try one more time.

Thomas Edison is a good example of success through repeated failures. After 10,000 unsuccessful attempts to develop his electric light bulb, he said, I have not failed, I've Just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Edison realized that men do not fail; they give up trying. Edison used discouragement as a stepping stone to achievement. 

Failure is also a lesson. When we learn from our mistakes, we can avoid committing them again. It reminds us that we must take corrective action before we can reach our real goal. Each failure brings us more close to success. Failure is a learning tool. Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he invented the light bulb. We must tell ourselves that great work are performed not by men of strength but by men of perseverance. 

1.1 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. What happens when we grow up?
Answer : As we grow and experience the jeers instead of cheers of our friends and peers, the courage somehow gets pushed into the corner and we begin to accept failure as an inherent part of our lives. 

Question. Why should one not get disheartened by the failure?
Answer : One should not get disheartened because the human spirit never finishes when it is defeated. 

Question. When are we actually defeated?
Answer : We actually defeated until we are admit it. 

Question. What does success require? What does our level of persistence need?
Answer : Success requires persistence, determination and never-say-die approach. Our level of persistence needs to be so high that it does not allow our enthusiasm to be dampened by discouragement. 

Question. What do we learn from our mistakes and what do they remind us?
Answer : We learn from our mistakes, we can avoid committing them again. It reminds us that we must take corrective action before we can reach our real goal. Each failure brings us more close to success. 

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. make fun of (para 2)
Answer : cheers

Question. continue in spite of failure (para 3)
Answer : unsuccessful

Question. a loss of confidence (para 4)
Answer : discouragement 

Question. delay in achieving success (para 5) 
Answer : perseverance 

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers

A noble purpose gives meaning to one's own life if it is benefitted to others. I realized this while researching on and writing about the life of Jamshedji Tata. He not only gave India the power of steel and hydroelectric energy, but also an institute of research. 

He sent an educationalist to Europe and the United States to report on what should be the best model of institute for India. The John Hopkins University in Baltimore was recommended as the model. After his death his dream came true with the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. It was to be the fountainhead of science in the decades to come. 

There are others too whose purpose in life has made a difference to the society .Mother Teresa had a comfortable life at Loretto Convent, Kolkata. On a train journey to Darjeeling, she felt her calling' and wanted to give up her comfortable life in the convent and serve the poor and the needy. 

After that, she took a three-month nursing course and returned to Kolkata .She devoted her time to the sick and the homeless .Touched by her sacrifice, some of her students joined her and work began. Not everyone has such a strong calling. 

Some years ago, in Kerala, a young man saw his father join Gandhiji and fought for opening temples to the Harijans. When he grew up, the boy decided to take up agricultural studies, because he had seen the havoc caused by the Bengal Famine. He went to Europe and studied agriculture .On his return to India he spearheaded the Green Revolution. He was none other than Dr. M.S. Swaminathan.

1.1 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question.  Bring out the unique character traits of Jamshedji Tata.
Answer : The unique trait of jamshedji Tata was that he believed in noble works. He devoted his life for the benefit of other. He opened an institute of research.

Question. Why did he send an educationalist to Europe and the USA?
Answer : He sent an educationalist to Europe and the United States to report on what should be the best model of institute for India.

Question. Mention a distinctive feature of the Indian Institute of Science.
Answer : The Indian institute of science in the Bangalore. It was to be the fountainhead of science in the decades to come.

Question.  Why did Mother Teresa start working for the poverty -stricken people?
Answer : Mother Teresa started working for poverty-stricken people because one day on a train journey to Darjeeling she felt ‘calling’ and wanted to give up her comfortable life and serve to poor and needy.

Question. What was the first step that Mother Teresa took?
Answer : Mother Teresa took a 3 month nursing course and returned to Kolkata and devoted her time to sick and homeless.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. receive an advantage (para 1)
Answer : benefitted

Question. advise (para 2)
Answer : recommended

Question. relaxation (para 3)
Answer : comfortable

Question. great confusion (para 5) 
Answer : havoc

Comprehension Passages for Class 11

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

1. Tourists to Jammu and Kashmir have another attraction—a floating post office on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, the first in the country. ‘Floating Post office, Dal Lake’—claimed to be the only one such post office in the world—is built on an intricately carved maroon houseboat, fastened on the western edge of the Dal Lake.

2. This post office lets you avail of all the regular postal services available in the country while being afloat. The seal used on everything posted from Floating Post Office is unique—along with the date and address, it bears the design of a boatman rowing a Shikara on the Dal Lake. The special feature of this post office is that letters posted from here carry a special design which has the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar city. These pictures reach wherever these letters are posted to and hence promote Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world.

3. This is actually a heritage post office that has existed since British times. It was called Nehru Park Post Office before 2011. But then the Chief Postmaster John Samuel renamed it as ‘Floating Post Office.’

4. The post office’s houseboat has two small rooms—one serves as the office and the other a small museum that traces the philatelic history of the state postal department. It has a shop that sells postage stamps and other products.

5. But for the locals, Floating Post Office is more than an object of fascination. R 1-2 crore is deposited per month in Floating Post Office by communities living in and around the Dal Lake. The lake has several islets that are home to more than 50,000 people.

6. The greatest fear is the recurrence of 2014 like floods in which the houseboat had gone for a toss uncontrollably pushed by the flood. Rescue teams had to anchor it using special mechanism in a nearby highland. Then it was brought back on the Dal Lake after the water receded. The biggest boon is that at no time of the year do you need a fan in this post office !

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the questions that follow :

(a) The location of the Floating Post Office in Srinagar is ……….
Answer:  a maroon houseboat, which is intricately carved and fastened on the western edge of the Dal Lake.

(b) The seal used in the post office constitutes ………….
Answer: the date, the address as well as the design of a boatman rowing a Shikara on the Dal Lake.

(c) The letters posted from the post office bears the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar city which helps in promoting tourism of Kashmir as these pictures reach everywhere the letters are posted to.
Answer: True.

(d) …… renamed the post office as ‘Floating Post Office’.
Answer: Chief Postmaster John Samuel.

Question. The lake has several islets that are home to more than ………… people.
(a) 35,000
(b) 3,000
(c) 14,000
(d) 50,000

Answer: D

Question. Before 2011, the floating post office was called as ……….
(a) Nehru Park Post Office
(b) Jawahar Post Office
(c) Gandhi Post Office
(d) None of above

Answer: A

(g) Find a word from the passage which is similar to ‘floating’.
Answer: Afloat

(h) Find a word from the passage which is opposite to ‘ban’.
Answer: Boon

Class 11 Solved Unseen Passage

We have many challenges. Nearly 260 million people who are below the poverty line have to join the mainstream of a good life. Hundred percent literacy, health for all, multiple industrial and agricultural productivity and a lifestyle with a value system have to emerge. Hence, we need the second vision for the nation to become developed.

After Independence, India looked forward to development through Five Year Plans. The Green Revolution and technological growth enabled India to prosper with self-sufficiency in food, and achievements in many technological frontiers, particularly in the past two decades. A major transformation came during the information age when India established its position with its strong core competence in information technology. Today, India is in the knowledge age which provides an opportunity to become a developed nation with a strong economy.

In the twenty-first century, a new society is emerging where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. People’s lives will be enriched by IT- driven knowledge products and systems, biotechnology and space technology.

Even the rich and developed nations, in spite of their wealth and military strength, are afraid of virtual enemies and they live with the fear complex. Economic prosperity and military strength, alone do not bring peace to any nation, as we see from the dynamics of the world. In such a situation it is also very important to transform our religious forces into spiritual forces. Evolution of spiritual forces in addition to economic prosperity and military strength will bring happiness, peace and prosperity. 

1.1 On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:- 

Question. What was created by the 'first vision' according to Dr. Kalam?
Answer : The ‘first vision' created the best of leaders in many fields like politics, philosophy, judiciary, science and technology and industry.

Question. In which aspects of life did the improvements take place?
Answer :  Improvements took place in many aspects of life, in literacy, agricultural products, and strategic areas, certain small and large-scale industries.

Question. Which works are to do for better life of Indians?
Answer :  Hundred percent literacy, health for all, multiple industrial and agricultural productivity and a lifestyle with a value system etc. Have to establish for better life of Indians.

Question. How did India develop itself after independence?
Answer :  After Independence, India looked forward to development through ‘Five Year Plans'. The Green Revolution and technological growth enabled India to prosper with self-sufficiency in food, and achievements in many technological frontiers, particularly in the last two decades.

Question. What is the present condition of India in information technology?
Answer :   India has established its position with its strong core competence in information technology. Today India is independent in this area and moving towards to become a developed nation.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:- 

Question. founded
Answer : established

Question. appear
Answer : emerge

Question. betterments
Answer : improvements

Question. change in way of thinking and behaving 
Answer : revolution

Comprehension Passages for Class 11

The monsoons--and the attendant floods--will not solve this problem. The Delhi Administration is seriously worried about the threat to civic health posed by the polluted waters of the Jamuna. Two new tanks are to be set up to treat sewage. At present only 60 per cent of the 200 million gallons of the city's sewage receives any kind of treatment before it is dumped into the river which supplies water not only to this city but to innumerable towns and villages downstream. The Ganga, the Jamuna, the Cauvery, in fact all our important rivers, serving many urban conglomerations are fast becoming a major source of disease. 

A comprehensive bill, introduced in Parliament recently, envisages the setting up of Central and State boards for the prevention and control of water pollution. But it will obviously take some time before legislation is passed and effectively implemented. Meanwhile the problem continues to swell. 

According to a survey of eight developing countries conducted a couple of years ago, 90 per cent of all child deaths were due to water-borne diseases. It is the same unchanged story today. In a country like India, a burgeoning population continuing to use the open countryside as a lavatory means that, with every dust storm and rain, human excreta laden with germs and parasite spores find their way to ponds, shallow wells and even the streams and rivers. Only 18 per cent of the rural folk have access to potable water. 

Question. What does the bill introduced in Parliament envisage?
Answer : The bill introduced in Parliament envisages setting up of Central and State boards for the prevention and control of water pollution.

Question. How can sewage system be improved?
Answer : Sewage system can be improved by setting up two new tanks.

Question. What has the survey of developing countries revealed?
Answer : The survey of eight developing countries has revealed that 90 per cent of all child deaths are due to water-borne diseases.

Question. How are human excreta a major source of disease in India?
Answer : The human excreta from the open countryside find its way into the sources of water. The germs and parasites carried by it spread diseases.

Question. Which new threat is the writer talking about?
Answer : The writer is talking about the threat of untreated industrial waste being dumped into rivers.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. distributed over a large area or number (para 1)
Answer : widespread

Question. the process or activity of running a business (para 2)
Answer : administration

Question. becoming more mature (para 4)
Answer : developing 

Question. in a way that is easily perceived (para 3) 
Answer : obviously

Unseen Passage with multiple choice questions for Class 11

It is these imperceptible movements which create stresses in the rock, many miles below the surface. Every so often, one of these stresses will break and on the surface the deep underground movement is felt as an earthquake.

There are three large regions in the world where earthquakes are most likely to happen. Scientists call them earthquake zones. The first runs along the east coast of the Asian continent up through Japan, across Alaska, then down the west coast of North America, crossing Mexico and ending somewhere in the Caribbean Sea. The second runs down the west coast of South America. The third runs across the south of Europe and North Africa, through Greece and Turkey and into the middle of Asia.

Earthquake, any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks. Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one another suddenly fracture and “slip.” Earthquakes occur most often along geologic faults, narrow zones where rock masses move in relation to one another. The major fault lines of the world are located at the fringes of the huge tectonic plates that make up Earth’s crust. (See the table of major earthquakes.)

About 50,000 earthquakes large enough to be noticed without the aid of instruments occur annually over the entire Earth. Of these, approximately 100 are of sufficient size to produce substantial damage if their centres are near areas of habitation. Very great earthquakes   occur on average about once per year. Over the centuries they have been responsible for millions of deaths and an incalculable amount of damage to property.

1.1 On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. What do we know about these 'islands' even now?
Answer : Even now, we know about these ‘island’ that they are still drifting very, very slowly.

Question. How is earthquake caused?
Answer : Earthquake is caused when one of the stresses breaks and deep underground movement is felt.

Question. Which is the first earthquake zone?
Answer : The first earthquake zone runs along the east coast of the Asian continent up through Japan, across Alaska, then down the west coast of North America, crossing Mexico and ending somewhere in the Caribbean Sea.

Question. Which is the second earthquake zone?
Answer : The second zone runs down the west coast of South America.

Question. Which is the third earthquake zone?
Answer : The third earthquake zone runs across the south of Europe and North Africa, through Greece and Turkey and into the middle of Asia.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. too great to be calculated (para 5)
Answer : incalculable

Question. undetectable (para 2)
Answer : imperceptible

Question. unexpectedly (para 4)
Answer : suddenly 

Question. manufacture (para 4) 
Answer : produced

Short Unseen Passage Class 11 with questions and answers

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel started his movement in Bardoli in 1928. This movement earned Patel the title of Sardar or Leader.

Gandhiji had planned to make Bardoli the centre of his non-cooperation in its first phase, but after Chauri-Chaura incident he dropped this idea. Bardoli soon became the target of the British Government's displeasure. So, revenue raised by 22%. Cultivators were compelled to protest but the Government remained unmoved. The delegations, therefore, met Vallabhbhai who studied the situation carefully and then spoke to Gandhiji.

He told him that it was necessary to fight against the authorities for the cause of the farmers. Gandhiji gave his nod and Vallabhbhai in his own way, persuading the people to sacrifice everything, organized a farmer's movement. It was a non-cooperation movement, fully non-violent and disciplined. The Government cracked down on the agitators but they fearlessly continued their struggle under the leadership of Vallabhbhai.

All sorts of cruelties were inflicted upon them but the farmers remained united. Their morale remained on a high too. At last, the government had to draw up a compromise and meet all the demands of the farmers of the Bardoli Taluka. The agitation under the leadership of Vallabhbhai Patel was a grand success and had great impact on all future non-cooperation movements throughout the country. It brought great name and fame to Vallabhbhai. His dynamic leadership earned him the title of Sardar or true leader from Gandhiji.

The government began to auction the houses and the lands. But not a single man from Gujarat or anywhere else in India came forward to buy them. Patel had appointed volunteers in every village to keep watch. As soon as he sighted the officials who were coming to auction the property, the volunteer would sound his bugle. The farmers would leave the village and hide in the jungles. The officials would find the entire village empty. They could never find out who owned a particular house. 

1.1 On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. What had Gandhiji planned for Bardoli?
Answer : Gandhiji had planned to make Bardoli the centre of his non-cooperation movement in its first phase.

Question. When did Gandhiji drop the idea of the first phase of his movement?
Answer : After Chauri-Chaura incident, Gandhiji dropped the idea of the first phase of his movement.

Question. How did the government show displeasure?
Answer : The Government showed displeasure by raising revenue by 22% at Bardoli Taluka.

Question. Why did the delegations meet Vallabhbhai?
Answer : The delegations meet Vallabhbhai to help them in the movement against the Government.

Question. What did Patel say to Gandhiji?     
Answer : He told Gandhiji that it was necessary to fight against the authorities for the cause of the farmers.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. agreement (para 4)
Answer : Compromise

Question. forced (para 2)
Answer : Compelled

Question. first part of an action (para 5)
Answer :  began

Question. decided on beforehand (para 5) 
Answer : appointed

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with answers pdf

The advance of the age of machinery has not been all a gain, in fact against all that the machine has given us must be set one serious disadvantage -the decline in craftsmanship. In days gone by a furniture-maker would use with care and pride the tools which, over a period of years, had become almost a part of him, and a chair took shape before his eyes.

It was the work not only of his hands but also of his mind, and expressed something of himself; no other chair, even one made by his own hands, would be just like that one. So it was with all craftsmen; everything they made was their own work, the result of their skill in the use of their tools, and they could look on it with pardonable pride.

What is the position today? In the large factories of the machine age, rows of men are engaged in producing not a whole article, but merely one part of that article. The individual workman does not even have the satisfaction of feeling that this part is the work of his own hands, because it is made by a complicated machine. All he has to do is to feed the raw material into the machine, press a lever, and put the finished part on a moving belt, which will convey it to the assembly lines.

There is the tension between individual and collective existence. Technology connects us to each other as never before, and in doing so makes explicit the degree to which we are defined and anticipated by others: the ways in which our ideas and identities do not simply belong to us, but are part of a larger human ebb and flow.

This has always been true – but rarely has it been more evident or more constantly experienced. For the first time in human history, the majority of the world’s population is not only literate – itself an achievement less than a century old – but also able to actively participate in written and recorded culture, courtesy of the connected devices pervading almost every country on earth. This is an astonishing, disconcerting, delightful thing: the crowd in the cloud becoming a stream of shared consciousness. 

1.1 On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:- 

Question. What did everything made show about the craftsmen?
Answer : Everything made show the craftsman’s skill in the use of their tools.

Question. How could the craftsmen look on the things made by them?
Answer : The craftsman’s could look on the things with pardonable pride

Question. What happens in the large factories?
Answer : In the large factories, workers produce merely one part of an article and not the whole one.

Question. Why doesn't an individual workman have satisfaction?
Answer : An individual workman doesn’t have satisfaction because the product isn’t produced only by his own hands.

Question. What does a workman usually do in the large factory?
Answer : A workman feeds the raw material into the machines, press a lever, and put the finished part on a moving belt.

1.2 Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

Question. manufacture (para 3)
Answer : producing

Question. occupied (para 3)
Answer : engaged

Question. having gained knowledge (para 5)
Answer : experienced

Question. a thought or feeling (para 1)
Answer : expressed

Case based factual Passage for Class 11

2. The weapons which science gives us don’t necessarily create war, these make war increasingly more terrible. Until now it has brought us to the doorstep of doom. Our main problem, therefore, is not to curb science but to stop war. This is a job in which everybody must participate including the scientists.

3. But the bomb of Hiroshima suddenly woke us to the fact that we have very little time. The hour is late and our work has scarcely begun. Now we are face to face with this urgent question: “Can education and tolerance, understanding and creative intelligence run fast enough to keep us abreast with our own mounting capacity to destroy?” This is the question which we will have to answer one way or the other in this generation. Science must help us in finding the answer, but ultimately the main decision lies within ourselves.

Question. According to the author, the main problem we are faced with is to
(i) Stop science from reflecting social forces
(ii) stop scientific activities everywhere
(iii) Abolish war
(iv) Prevent scientists from participating in destructive activities
Ans : (iii) Abolish war

Question. Our mounting capacity to destroy can be kept under control by
(i) encouraging social forces
(ii) education and broad-mindedness
(iii) Insight and constructive thinking
(iv) Both (ii) and (iii)
Ans : (iv) Both (ii) and (iii)

Question. Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage
(i) Science and social forces
(ii) Science and the horrors or war
(iii) Science and world peace
(iv) Science and the new generation
Ans : (iii) Science and world peace

Question. The expression ‘bring to the doorstep of doom’ means
(i) lead us to threshold of a new destiny
(ii) introduce us to an unpredictable future
(iii) carry us close to death and destruction
(iv) take us step by step to ruin
Ans : (iii) carry us close to death and destruction

Question. War can be stopped if
(i) Science is not allowed to lead us to utter destruction
(ii) We replace force and lawlessness by law and international government
(iii) Science is restricted to be utilised only during war time
(iv) Weapons invented by science are not used to launch a war.
Ans : (ii) We replace force and lawlessness by law and international government

Question. Which one of the following statements is not implied in the passage?
(i) People needlessly blame science for war
(ii) Science is misused for destructive purposes
(iii) Neither science nor the weapons it invents add to the horrors of war
(iv) The role of science in ensuring world peace is subsidiary to that of man
Ans : (iii) Neither science nor the weapons it invents add to the horrors of war

Question. Which of the following is opposite in meaning to the word ‘anarchy’ in the passage?
(i) Law and order
(ii) Political dominance
(iii) Economic prosperity
(iv) Communal harmony
Ans : (ii) Political dominance

Question. The phrase, ‘our work has scarcely begun’implies that our work
(i) has only just begun
(ii) has not yet begun
(iii) has begun but not yet finished
(iv) is not likely to begin
Ans : (i) has only just begun

Question. According to the author, the real enemy of mankind is not science but war, because
(i) science during the war is very destructive
(ii) science merely invents the weapons with which war is fought
(iii) the weapons that science invents necessarily lead to war
(iv) the weapons invented by science do not cause war though they make it more destructive
Ans : (iv) the weapons invented by science do not cause war though they make it more destructive

Question. The expression ‘keep us abreast’ in the passage means
(i) Keep at a distance
(ii) Keep side by side
(iii)Hold out a challenge
(iv) Prevent from escaping
Ans : (ii) Keep side by side

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers pdf

2. Uncertainty about payment remains a reason for the hesitation of private investment. They had to sell only to SEBs (State Electricity Boards), SEB balance sheets are cleaner after the “securitisation” of the Rs. 40,000 crore or so owed by SEBs to central government undertakings, now shown as debt instruments. But state governments have not implemented agreed plans to ensure repayment when due. The current annual losses of around Rs. 28,000 crore make repayment highly uncertain. The central undertakings that are their main suppliers have payment security because the government will come to their help. Private enterprises do not have such assurance and are concerned about payment security, that must be resolved.

3. By the late 1990s, improving the SEB finances was recognized as fundamental to power reform. Unbundling SEBs, working under corporate discipline and even privatization and not vertically integrated state enterprises, are necessary for efficient and financially viable electricity enterprises. Since government will not distance itself from managing them, privatizing is an option. The Delhi model has worked. But it receives no public support.

4. The Electricity Act 2003, the APRDP (Accelerated Power Reform and Development Programme) with its incentives and penalties, and the creation of creation of independent regulatory commissions, were the means to bring about reforms to improve financial viability of power sector. Implementation has been half-hearted and results disappointing. The concurrent nature of electricity in the Constitution impedes power sector improvement. States are more responsive to populist pressures than the central government, and less inclined to take drastic action against electricity thieves.

5. Captive power would add significantly to capacity. However, captive generation, three years after the Act enabled it, has added little to capacity because rules for open access were delayed. Redefined captive generation avoids state vetoes on purchase or sale of electricity except to state electricity enterprises. Mandating open access on state-owned wires to power regardless of ownership and customer would encourage electricity trading. The Act recognized electricity trading as a separate activity. A surcharge on transmission charges will pay for cross-subsidies. These were to be eliminated in time. Rules for open access and quantum of surcharge by each state commission (under broad principles defined by the central commission) have yet to be announced by some. The few who have announced by some. The few who have announced the surcharge have kept it so high that no trading can take place.

Question. Which of the following is the reason for apathy of private investors in power sector?
(i) Their hesitation
(ii) Uncertainty of their survival
(iii) Cut-throat competition
(iv) Lack of guarantee of timely returns
Ans : (iv) Lack of guarantee of timely returns

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold
UNBUNDLING
(i) disorganising
(ii) reorienting
(iii) segregating
(iv) integrating
Ans : (iv) integrating

Question. What was the serious omission on the part of the State Government ?
(i) Agreement for late recovery of dues
(ii) Reluctance to repay to private investors as per agreed plan
(iii) Non-implementation of recovery due to unplanned and haphazard policies
(iv) Lack of assurance from private enterprises
Ans : (ii) Reluctance to repay to private investors as per agreed plan

Question. Which of the following is/are considered necessary for improving performance of electricity enterprises?
(i) Corporate work culture
(ii) Privatisation
(iii) Properly integrated State enterprises
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) Corporate work culture

Question. Choose the word or group of words which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word printed in bold
DELUSION
(i) proper understanding
(ii) wrong prediction
(iii) false belief
(iv) unrealistic optimism
Ans : (iii) false belief

Question. The example of ‘Delhi Model’ quoted by the author underlines his feelings of _____.
A. happiness about its success.
B. unhappiness for lack of public support.
C. disgust towards privatisation.
(i) A and B only
(ii) B and C only
(iii) A and c only
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) A and B only

Question. Which of the following was/were not considered as the instrument(s) to accomplish financial well-being of power sector?
(i) The Electricity Act 2003
(ii) The APRDP with its incentives and penalties
(iii) Setting up of independent regulatory commissions
(iv) States’ vulnerability to populist pressures
Ans : (iv) States’ vulnerability to populist pressures

Question. Why were the results of the power sector reforms not as had been anticipated?
(i) The means to bring about reforms were illconceived
(ii) The enforcement of the reform means was inadequate and apathetic.
(iii) The Act and the reform measures were contradicting with each other.
(iv) The incentives on the one hand and penalties on the other created dissatisfaction.
Ans : (iv) The incentives on the one hand and penalties on the other created dissatisfaction.

Question. The author thinks it appropriate to _____.
(i) discuss any policy in details and make it fool proof instead of implementing it hastily.
(ii) follow Indian tradition meticulously as skepticism is essential for major decisions.
(iii) divert our energies from fruitlessly contracting policies to supporting its implementation wholeheartedly.
(iv) intellectual arguments and conceptualization of every policy is definitely better than its enforcement.
Ans : (iii) divert our energies from fruitlessly contracting policies to supporting its implementation wholeheartedly.

Question. What serious drawback of the States is pointed out by the author of the passage?
(i) The incentives and penalties enforced by the States were disproportionately incomparable
(ii) The enforcement of the provisions of the acts was drastic and harsh
(iii) Their vulnerability to fall prey to populist pressures
(iv) Imposition of penalties were not judicious and incentives were not free from partiality
Ans : (iii) Their vulnerability to fall prey to populist pressures

Question. Choose the word or group of words which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word printed in bold
VIABILITY
(i) ability to reform
(ii) ability to meditate
(iii) power to bounce
(iv) capability to survive
Ans : (iv) capability to survive

Question. Why are the Central undertakings not capable of generating power at low cost?
(i) Due to paucity of low-cost funds
(ii) Due to their access to Government funds
(iii) Due to their delusion about government funds
(iv) Because of their extra capacities
Ans : (iii) Due to their delusion about government funds

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word printed in bold
IMPEDES
(i) interferes
(ii) grows
(iii) excels
(iv) promotes
Ans : (iv) promotes

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers

2. In the intervening years, the West’s sanctimonious boycott of many African regimes - after nearly a century of extreme colonial exploitation – left the continent in the grip of oppressive rulers looking for new political sponsors, arms-sellers and trading partners. Not only was it an abdication of the developed world’s responsibility to the world’s least developed region, sanctions actually compounded the sufferings of poorer Africans. The Darfur killings continue and there is no mellowing of Robert Mugabe’s repression in Zimbabwe.

3. Abandoned by the West Africa looked elsewhere. Beijing filled the vacuum by eagerly embracing dangerous and unsavoury regimes in its search for oil and other minerals. China demonstrated its influence by playing host to 48 out of 53 African leaders a year ago in a jamboree that was historic as well as historical. Historic because China has succeeded in becoming the pre-eminent outside power in Africa and its second biggest trading partner. Historical because modern Chinese diplomacy draws on the Middle kingdom’s ancient formula; the tribute system. It was how the son of Heaven brought those nations whom the Celestial Empire called “barbarians’ into his imperial trading and , through it, cultural and political system.

4. Contemporary China’s economic penetration of Africa also heralds a new era of cultural and political ties though the Chinese foreign ministry repeatedly assure the world that “our cooperation is not designed to be against or preclude any third party.” This is untrue in a world of finite resources. Once the Chinese are established in a country, no one else gets a foothold. Myanmar, where India failed to obtain the desired gas concessions, is a prime example. Aware that the hunt for energy is a zerosum game, China’s leadership courts African leaders with regular visits and substantial grants.

5. After decades of neglect – Vajpayee’s Africa visit over a decade ago was to attend a Commonwealth Summit– India will have to move cautiously but quickly if it is to break China’s monopoly. Along with investing in Africa’s human capital, ,China has outlined a strategic investment plan to build three to five trade economic cooperation zones in Africa by 2009 to boost trade, which is expected to tap $40 billion this year. That could double to $30 billion by 2010 on the back of an insatiable demand for natural resources to feed China’s booming economy.

Question. What was Jawaharlal Nehru’s consideration for helping African nations?
(i) The people in the continent were extremely backward
(ii) The Bandung Conference was held in African Continent
(iii) African Continent is emotionally related to Asian Continent
(iv) Nehru had promised the British rulers to help Africa after independence
Ans : (iii) African Continent is emotionally related to Asian Continent

Question. The example of Myanmar given by the author proves
(i) that when China patronizes a country it does not allow other nations to enter
(ii) India’s foresight to feed its growing hunger for energy
(iii) Myanmar’s political acumen to have symbiosis with China
(iv) that a country’s political wisdom does not necessarily establish economic stability
Ans : (i) that when China patronizes a country it does not allow other nations to enter

Question. Which of the following is the author’s suggestion to India to break the Chinese monopoly?
(i) Move away cautiously but quickly from the African nations
(ii) Arrange PM’s regular visits to African countries
(iii) Outline a strategic plan of investment in the African countries
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. From the contents of the passage, it can be inferred that the author’s views are:
(i) appreciate of oppressive and barbaric African rulers
(ii) in favour of not making any investment in African countries
(iii) against India’s entering into a competition with China
(iv) in favour of India gaining an edge over China
Ans : (iv) in favour of India gaining an edge over China

Question. The author considers the claims of the Chinese Foreign Ministry regarding third party as
(i) just and worthy of trust
(ii) true but slightly exaggerated
(iii) too exorbitant to be true
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. Which of the following best explains the term “ Middle kingdom’s ancient formula”?
(i) Rendering free hand for political, cultural & commercial upliftment
(ii) Influencing the underdeveloped countries through apparently patronizing policy
(iii) Referring the underdeveloped folks as barbarians and mistreating them
(iv) Becoming pre-eminent outside power and thus ruling over them
Ans : (ii) Influencing the underdeveloped countries through apparently patronizing policy

Question. Which of the following was/were the reason(s) for the backwardness of African Nations?
1. Mistreatment by the alien rulers
2. Tyrannical leaders governing the gullible masses
3. Exploitation and neglect by Western countries
(i) 1 and 2 only
(ii) 2 and 3 only
(iii) 1 and 3 only
(iv) All of these
Ans : (iv) All of these

Question. China’s substantial grants to African countries are an act of
(i) China’s modern policy of rendering social service on humanitarian considerations
(ii) stepping up its campaign of universal brotherhood among nations
(iii) rendering selfless service to certain underdeveloped countries to beat the western countries.
(iv) calculated selfish motive to fulfil its energy needs
Ans : (iv) calculated selfish motive to fulfil its energy needs

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
CONTEMPORARY
(i) fashionable
(ii) modern
(iii) current
(iv) old
Ans : (iv) old

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
BOOMING
(i) striving
(ii) sounding
(iii) failing
(iv) thriving
Ans : (iii) failing

Question. Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning of the word given in bold as used in the passage.
PRECLUDE
(i) disqualify
(ii) permit
(iii) prevent
(iv) include
Ans : (iv) include

Question. Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning as the word given in bold as used in the passage.
ABDICATION
(i) abandonment
(ii) obligation
(iii) instigation
(iv) addiction
Ans : (i) abandonment

 

Unseen Passage for Class 11

The object that we set before ourselves was to be albe to clothe ourselves entirely in cloth manufactured by our own hands. We therefore forthwith discarded the use of mill-woven cloth, and all the members of the Ashram resolved to wear hand-woven cloth made from Indian yarn only. The adoption of this practice brought us a world of experience. It enabled us to know, from direct contact, the conditions of life among the weavers, the extent of their production, the handicaps in the way of their obtaining their yarn supply, the way in which they were being made victims of fraud, and lastly, their ever growing indebtedness.

We were not in a position immediately to manufacture all the cloth for our needs. The alternative therefore was to get our cloth supply from handloom weavers. But ready-made cloth from Indian mill was not easily obtainable either from the cloth-dealers or from the weavers themselves. All the fine cloth woven by the weavers was from foreign yarn, since Indian mills did not spin fine counts.

Even today the out-trun of higher counts by Indian mills is very limited whilst highest counts they cannot spin at all. It was after the greatest effort that we were at last able be to find some weavers who condescended to weave Swadeshi yarn for us, and only on condition that the Ashram would take up all the cloth that they might produce. By thus adopting cloth woven from mill yarn as our wear, and propagating it among our friends, we made ourselves voluntary agents of the Indian spinning mills. This in its turn brought us in contact with the mills, and enabled us to know something about their management and their handicaps.

It enabled us to know, from direct contact, the conditions of life among the weavers, the extent of their production, the handicaps in the way of their obtaining their yarn supply, the way in which they were being made victims of fraud, and; lastly their ever growing indebtedness. We were not in a position immediately to manufacture all the cloth for our needs. The alternative therefore was to get our cloth supply from handloom weavers. But ready-made cloth from Indian mills was not easily obtainable either from the cloth dealers or from the weavers themselves.

All the fine cloth woven by the weavers was from foreign yarn, since Indian mills did not spin fine counts. Even today the out -turn of higher counts by Indian mills is very limited, whilst highest counts they cannot spin at all. It was after the greatest effort that we were at last able to find some weavers who condescended to weave Swadeshi yarn for us, and only on condition that the Ashram would take up all the cloth that they might produce.

On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. What did the members of the Ashram resolve?
Answer : The members of the Ashram resolved to wear hand-woven cloth from Indian yarn only.

Question. What knowledge and experience did the wearing of Indian hand woven cloth bring them?
Answer : They were able to know about the conditions of life among the weavers the extent of their production, the difficulty in the way of obtaining their yarn and their growing indebtedness.

Question. What object Gandhi and his companion set before themselves?
Answer : The object that they set before themselves was to clothe themselves in the cloth manufactured by their own hands.

Question. What alternative were Gandhi and his companions left with?
Answer : Gandhi and his companions could not produce all the cloth that they needed. Therefore, they were left with the alternative to get their cloth supply from handloom weavers.

Question. Why had Gandhi and the others had to make the greatest effort to get some weavers to weave for them?
Answer : The weavers wove all the fine cloth from foreign yarn. They were, therefore, not ready to weave Swadeshi yarn. Thus Gandhi and the others had to make their greatest effort to get some weavers to weave for them.

Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

(i) feels superior (para 3)
Answer : condescended

(ii) Instantly (para 2)
Answer : immediately

(iii) another possibility (para 4)
Answer : alternative

(iv)  disadvantage imposed (para 1) 
Answer : handicaps

Discursive Passage for Class 11

Doolittle. I do not care for the lecturing. I can lecture at length till they become blue in the face, and I will not show any signs of fatigue. It is his having made a gentleman of me that I object to. I never asked him to make a gentleman of me.

I was happy and I was free. I pressed hard everybody for money when I wanted it, in the same way as I pressed you, Henry Higgins. Now I am worried. Now I am a prisoner and everybody requests me for money. It's very lucky for me, says my lawyer. "Is it"? I ask him. I mean it's a good thing for him. When I was a poor man and had to engage a lawyer once when they found a dead baby in the dust cart, he turned me out and shut his doors on me as quickly as he could. It was the same with the doctors.

They used to push me out of the hospital before I could hardly stand on my legs, and I had nothing to pay. Now they find out that I'm not a healthy man and can't live unless they look after me twice a day. In the house, I'm not allowed to do any work for myself. Somebody else must do it and demand payment from me for it.

A year ago, I did not have a relative in the world except two or three that would not speak me. Now I have fifty relatives so poor that they do not earn even a decent week’s wages among the lot of them. I have to live for others and not for myself that is middle class morality. You talk of losing Eliza. Don’t you be anxious? I bet she's on my doorsteps by this time.

She could support herself easily by selling flowers as I was not considered respectable enough. And the next one to demand money from me will be you, Henry Higgins. I’ll have to learn to speak middle class language from you, instead of speaking proper English which is natural to me. That is where you'll come in and I dare say that is why you wrote the letter about me. 

On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. How was Doolittle living before being a gentleman?
Answer : Before being a gentleman Doolittle was living happily and freely. He would press hard everybody for money when he wanted.

Question. How did the lawyer and the doctors behave when Doolittle was poor? 
Answer : When Doolittle was poor, the lawyer shut his doors on him and the doctors used to push him out of the hospitals.

Question. How many relatives had Doolittle when he was poor and how many are now? 
Answer : When Doolittle was poor, he had two or three relatives and now there are fifty and poor ones.

Question. Why is the writer not allowed to do any work in his house? 
Answer : The writer is not allowed to do any work in his house because somebody will do it for him.

Question. What is middle class morality? 
Answer : Live for others and not for yourself is the middle class morality.

Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

(i) punishment for a crime (para 2)
Answer : prisoner

(ii) scarcely (para 3)
Answer : hardly

(iii) appropriate (para 4)
Answer : decent

(iv) think carefully about something (para 5)
Answer : considered

Unseen Passage with multiple choice questions for Class 11

The Aravali Range is affected from human activities like stone crushing, cutting of trees in forest area of Aravali, construction on large scale, mining, dispense and dumping of waste. Such activities affect the environment, of Aravali and its surrounding areas environment. Some of the famous lakes like Badkhal lake, Dhauj Jheel, Surajkund Lake, Damdama Lake on the Aravali range had gone dry in last five years because of illegal mining and change of pattern in the natural draining system. These lakes are dumped with waste material which affected ground water flow. Drying of these lakes also indicates that in future ground water will be not available in this area if the relevant steps for recovery are not taken.

The mindless mining in one of the oldest hills in the world has devastated the range. In several places, the miners have gone so deep that the water table has been exposed, forming lakes amidst the blasted ranges. The Rajasamand Lake in Udaipur, which always had water dried up recently.

In May 2009, after months of media and public protests, along with several environmental groups, the Supreme Court banned mining in an area of 448 square km, across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana that was once supposed to be set aside for a national park. This comes after SC's earlier judgment in 1994 that allowed limited mining on the basis of the sustainable development principle and under strict guidelines, which were violated by local miners as the court ruled.

The Supreme Court on February 20, 2010 directed cancellation of 157 mining leases operating in Rajasthan's eco-sensitive Aravali Hills and asked the Forest Survey of India to carry out satellite imagery of the entire 50,000 sq km range spread across 15 districts of the State to assess the extent of ecological damage. Giving four months time to the FSI to complcte the task, the Special Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justices S.H. Kapadia and Aftab Alam directed all mines in the area to stop operation till then.

The direction follows an earlier order passed by the Supreme Court in May 2009 freezing all mining activities along the Aravali Range situated in Haryana.

On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. How is the Aravali Range affected?
Answer : The Aravali range is affected from human activities like stone-crushing, cutting of trees, large scale construction, mining and dispense and dumping of waste. 

Question. Which activities are harmful to the Aravali Hills?
Answer : Activities like stone crushing, cutting trees, construction, mining and dispensing and dumping of waste are harmful. 

Question. Why have some of the lakes on the Aravali range gone dry?
Answer : Some of the lakes on the Aravali range have gone dry because of the illegal mining and the change of pattern in the natural drainage system. 

Question. What does the dryness of these lakes indicate?
Answer : The dryness of these lakes indicates that in future ground water won't be available in this area if the relevant steps for recovery are not taken. 

Question. When was mining banned across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana?
Answer : Mining across Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts in Haryana was banned in May 2009.

Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

(i) influenced (para 1)
Answer : (i) affected

(ii) not covered (para 2)
Answer : (ii) exposed

(iii) assumed (para 3)
Answer : (iii) supposed 

(iv) visually descriptive (para 4)
Answer : (iv) imagery

 

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with answers pdf

Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of the greatest mathematical genius of the world. Born in a poor Brahmin Family, he gave no indication of his hidden talent. He was born at Erode in Coimbatore in 1887. His father was an accountant to a cloth merchant who had to maintain a large family on a small income. Srinivasa was granted half exemption of fees when he stood first in the Primary School Examination in the whole of Tanjore District.

From his childhood Ramanujan was of a quiet and dreamy temperament. He has answer to all sums to all sums that puzzled his classmates and seniors. Figures did not worry him, no calculation was too difficult for him. Things which were dark and muddled to his class-mates were as clear as daylight to him. He always helped with generosity which was the most lovable feature of his character all through his career.

When he was in second class his curiosity upon the subject of the "Highest Truth" in Mathematics was roused. Later on when he moved into the Third Standard, he asked for problems of Mathematics of higher nature. While in Fourth Standard, he could solve the most difficult problems of Trigonometry. He obtained Ewler's Theorems and proved them. He followed Carr's Synopsis of Pure Mathematics. He solved all the problems without any other book to aid him. To him each solution was a triumph which encouraged him to a fresh endeavour.

Ramanujan won Subramanyam Scholarship usually awarded for proficiency in English as well as Mathematics. But the passion for Mathematics gained on him, he neglected all other subjects so much that he failed to gain promotion to higher class, thereby losing his scholarship. This was a great calamity of which he had never dreamt. He had no money, no means of earning, no books, no influence. No help came to him from outside. He was now eighteen without any definite plan. He joined Pachaiyapsa's college Madras (Now in Chennai) but had to return home due to illness. 

On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. Why did he fail to get promotion to higher class?
Answer : He failed to get promotion to higher class because the passion for Mathematics gained on him so much that he entirely neglected all other subjects and got failed in them.

Question. "Things which were all dark and muddled to his class-mates were as clear as daylight to him." How?"
Answer : Ramanujan had hidden talent. Figures didn't worry him. No calculation was too difficult for him. Thus, things were clear to him. 

Question. How did Ramanujan show his talent in third standard?
Answer : Ramanujan showed his talent in Third Standard by asking for problems of Mathematics of higher nature. 

Question. What was the unexpected calamity that befell Ramanujan?
Answer : His failure to gain promotion to higher class along with loss of scholarship was the unexpected calamilty. 

Question. How was Ramanujan superior to his seniors?
Answer : He had answer to all sums that puzzled his classmates and seniors. Thus, Ramanujan was superior to his seniors. 

Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

(i) a sign (para 1)
Answer : (i) indication

(ii) hardships (para 2)
Answer : (ii) difficult

(iii) strong desire to know (para 3)
Answer : (iii) curiosity

(iv)  a high degree of skill (para 4)
Answer : (iv) proficiency

Short Unseen Passage Class 11 with questions and answers

There are two problems which cause great worry to our educationists—the problem of religious and moral instruction in a land of many faiths and the problem arising out of a large variety of languages. 

Taking up the education of children we see that they should be trained to love one another, to be kind and helpful to all, to be tender to the lower animals and to observe and think right. The task of teaching them how to read and write and to count and calculate is important, but it should not make us lose sight of the primary aim of moulding personality in the right way. 

For this, it is necessary to call into aid, culture, tradition and religion. But in our country we have, in the same school, to look after boys and girls born in different faiths and belonging to families that live diverse ways of life and follow different forms of worship associated with different denominations of religion. It will not do to tread the easy path of evading the difficulty by attending solely to physical culture and intellectual education. 

We have to evolve a suitable technique and method for serving the spiritual needs of school children professing different faiths. We should thereby promote an atmosphere of mutual respect, a fuller understanding and helpful co-operation among the different communities in our society. Again we must remain one people and we have therefore to give basic training in our schools to speak and understand more languages than one and to appreciate and respect the different religions prevailing in India. 

It is not right for us in India to be dissuaded from this by considerations as to overtaking the young mind. What is necessary must be done. And it is not in the fact too great a burden.

On the basis of reading the above passage answer the following questions:-

Question. Which two problems have our educationists to face?
Answer : Our educationists have to face the problems of-1. religious and moral education and, 2. the problem arising out of a large variety of languages.

Question. What is the primary aim of the education of children?
Answer : The primary aim of the education of children is to mould personality in the right way.

Question. How should the problem of religious and moral instruction be dealt with?
Answer : The problem of religious and moral instruction to the children professing different faiths can be dealt with by evolving suitable technique and method.

Question. Which basic training is the writer talking about?
Answer : He is talking about giving the basic training in our schools to speak and understand more languages and to respect different religions. 

Question. How can we serve the spiritual needs of school children?
Answer : We can serve the spiritual needs of school children by evolving a suitable technique and method. 

Find the meaning of the following words and phrases from the passage:-

(i) needed to be done (para 5)
Answer : (i) necessary

(ii) a direction (para 1)
Answer : (ii) instruction

(iii) a particular skill (para 2)
Answer : (iii) trained

(iv) not the same (para 4)
Answer : (iv) different

 

Case based factual Passage for Class 11

1. The task which Gandhiji undertook was not only the achievement of political freedom but also the establishment of a social order based on truth and non-violence, unity and peace, equality and universal brotherhood, and maximum freedom for all. This unfinished part of his experiment was perhaps even more difficult to achieve than the achievement of political freedom. Political struggle involved fight against a foreign power and all one could do was either join it or wish it success and give it his moral support. In establishing the social order of this pattern, there was a lively possibility of a conflict arising between groups and classes of our own people. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival of his descendants even after his body is reduced to ashes. A new order cannot be established without radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards property and, at some stage or the other, the ‘haves’ have to yield place to the ‘have-nots’. We have seen, in our time, attempts to achieve a kind of egalitarian society and the picture of it after it was achieved. But this was done, by and large, through the use of physical force.

2. In the ultimate analysis, it is difficult, if not impossible, to say that the instinct to possess has been rooted out or that it will not reappear in an even worse from under a different guise. It may even be that, like a gas kept confined within containers under great pressure, or water held by a big dam, once a barrier breaks, the reaction will one day sweep back with a violence equal in extent and intensity to what was used to establish and maintain the outward egalitarian form. This enforced egalitarianism contains, in its bosom, the seed of its own destruction.

3. The root cause of class conflict is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct. So long as the ideal that is to be achieved is one of securing the maximum material satisfaction, possessiveness can neither be suppressed nor eliminated but will grow on what it feeds. Nor will it cease to be such- it is possessiveness, still, whether it is confined to only a few or is shared by many.

4. If egalitarianism is to endure, it has to be based not on the possession of the maximum material goods by a few or by all but on voluntary, enlightened renunciation of those goods which cannot be shared by others or can be enjoyed only at the expense of others. This calls for substitution of spiritual values for purely material ones. The paradise of material satisfaction, that is sometimes equated with progress these days neither spells peace nor progress. Mahatma Gandhi has shown us how the acquisitive instinct inherent in man could be transmuted by the adoption of the ideal of trusteeship by those who ‘have’ for the benefit of all those who ‘have not’ so that, instead of leading to exploitation and conflict, it would become a means and incentive for the amelioration and progress of society, respectively.

Question. Which of the following is synonym of ‘Possessions’?
(i) Perfection
(ii) Custody
(iii) Parameters
(iv) Arguments
Ans : (ii) Custody

Question. According to the passage, why does man value his possessions more than his life?
(i) He has an inherent desire to share his possessions with others
(ii) He is endowed with the possessive instinct
(iii) Only his possessions help him earn love and respect from his descendants
(iv) Through his possessions he can preserve his name even after his death
Ans : (iv) Through his possessions he can preserve his name even after his death

Question. According to the passage, which was the unfinished part of Gandhiji’s experiment?
(i) Educating people to avoid class conflict
(ii) Achieving total political freedom for the country
(iii) Establishment of an egalitarian society
(iv) Radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards truth and non-violence
Ans : (iv) Radically changing the mind and attitude of men towards truth and non-violence

Question. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
(i) A social order based on truth and nonviolence alone can help the achievement of political freedom
(ii) In establishing the social order of Gandhiji’s pattern, the possibility of a conflict between different classes of society hardly exists
(iii) It is difficult to change the mind and attitude of men towards property
(iv) In an egalitarian society, material satisfaction can be enjoyed only at the expenses of others
Ans : (ii) In establishing the social order of Gandhiji’s pattern, the possibility of a conflict between different classes of society hardly exists

Question. Which of the following statements is ‘not true’ in the context of the passage?
(i) True egalitarianism can be achieved by giving up one’s possessions under compulsion
(ii) Man values his life more than his possessions
(iii) Possessive instinct is a natural part of the human being
(iv) In the political struggle, the fight was against the alien rule
Ans : (ii) Man values his life more than his possessions

Question. Which of the following is Antonym of ‘Radically’?
(i) Presumably
(ii) Possibility
(iii) Elaborate
(iv) Conservative
Ans : (iv) Conservative

Question. According to the passage, true egalitarianism will last if
(i) It is thrust upon people
(ii) It is based on truth and non-violence
(iii) People inculcate spiritual values along with material values
(iv) ‘Haves’ and ‘have-nots’ live together peacefully
Ans : (iii) People inculcate spiritual values along with material values

Question. According to the passage, people ultimately overturn the form of a social order
(i) Which is based on coercion and oppression
(ii) Which does not satisfy their basic needs
(iii) Which is based upon conciliation and rapprochement
(iv) Which is not congenial to the spiritual values of the people
Ans : (i) Which is based on coercion and oppression

Question. According to the passage, the root cause of class conflict is
(i) The paradise of material satisfaction
(ii) Dominant inherent acquisitive instinct in man
(iii) Exploitation of the ‘have-nots’ by the ‘haves’
(iv) A social order where the unprivileged are not a part of the establishment
Ans : (ii) Dominant inherent acquisitive instinct in man

Question. Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
(i) A new order can be established by radically changing the outlook of people towards it
(ii) Adoption of the ideal of trusteeship can minimise possessive instinct
(iii) Enforced egalitarianism can be the cause of its own destruction
(iv) Idea of new order is to secure maximum material satisfaction
Ans : (iv) Idea of new order is to secure maximum material satisfaction

Question. According to the passage, egalitarianism will not survive if
(i) It is based on voluntary renunciation
(ii) It is achieved by resorting to physical force
(iii) Underprivileged people are not involved in its establishment
(iv) People’s outlook towards it is not radically changed
Ans : (iv) People’s outlook towards it is not radically changed

Question. According to the passage, what does adoption of the ideal of trusteeship mean?
(i) Equating peace and progress with material satisfaction
(ii) Adoption of the ideal by the ‘haves’ for the benefit of the society
(iii) Voluntary, enlightened renunciation of the possessive instinct by the privileged class
(iv) Substitution of spiritual values by material ones by those who live in the paradise of material satisfaction
Ans : (ii) Adoption of the ideal by the ‘haves’ for the benefit of the society

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with answers

1. Our body is a wondrous mechanism and when subjected to unusual stress over a period of time, it adapts itself to deal more effectively with that stress. Therefore, when you exert your muscles against resistance, they are forced to adapt and deal with this extraordinary work load. This is the principle of weight training. Strands of muscle fibers become thicker and stronger in response to the demands placed on them.

2. One of the great merits of weight training is the strength of your heart. During weight training, your heart is forced to beat faster and stronger in order to pump sufficient blood to the muscles being worked. In time, your heart, like your body, will adapt to this extra-workload by becoming stronger and more efficient. Since your body needs a given amount of blood to perform its daily tasks your heart will now need fewer beats to pump the same quantity of blood. Sounds good? There’s more. Your entire circulatory system is given a thorough workout every time you exercise, which increases its overall efficiency. Even the neural paths from your brain’s command centers to each individual muscle become more effective, enabling easier recruitment of muscle fibers for carrying out physical tasks. In essence, your body becomes a well-oiled and finely-tuned piece of machinery, whirring along without any breakdown. In today’s stress filled world, you need all help you can get.

Question. What affects the nature of muscle fibres?
(i) Intensity of workload
(ii) Alimentary system
(iii) Nutrition
(iv) Stress imposed on them
Ans : (iv) Stress imposed on them

Question. What does the above passage suggest?
(i) We should carry out physical exercise as a routine
(ii) Physical exercise is necessary occasionally
(iii) We should ignore physical exercise
(iv) We should subject our body to as much exercise as it can withstand.
Ans : (i) We should carry out physical exercise as a routine

Question. How much blood does the heart pump at the same number of heartbeats, when exposed to excessive stress?
(i) Same quantity
(ii) Less than before
(iii) More than normal
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. What happens to our body due to physical exercise?
(i) More efficient
(ii) Less efficient
(iii) Efficiency of the body remains the same
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) More efficient

Question. What does the term ‘well-oiled’ in the passage denote?
(i) Healthy
(ii) Efficient
(iii) Massaged
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) Healthy

Question. Which one of the following is the most appropriate title for the passage?
(i) Health is wealth
(ii) Exercise - its benefits
(iii) The mechanics of weight training
(iv) How to retain your health
Ans : (iii) The mechanics of weight training

Question. What is the principal of weight training?
(i) Adapting the body to muscle force
(ii) Adapting muscles to force implied on them
(iii) Disposing extra-workload
(iv) Mechanised response to external conditions
Ans : (ii) Adapting muscles to force implied on them

Question. In the present world, the importance of physical exercise has
(i) Increased
(ii) Decreased
(iii) Remained at the same level
(iv) None of these
Ans : (i) Increased

Question. How does the heart become stronger owing to physical exercise?
(i) Thorough acclimatization
(ii) Naturalization
(iii) Adapting to excessive workload
(iv) By accelerating the circulation of blood
Ans : (iii) Adapting to excessive workload

Question. What, according to the passage, is the function of the heart?
(i) Oxygenation of blood
(ii) Pumping the blood to the muscles
(iii) Pumping the blood to capillaries
(iv) Accelerating the circulation of blood
Ans : (ii) Pumping the blood to the muscles

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers pdf

1. Economist, ethicists and business experts persuade us that honesty is the best policy, but their evidence is weak. We hoped to find data that would support their theories and thus, perhaps, encourage higher standards of business behaviour. To our surprise, their pet theories failed to stand up. Treachery, we found, can pay. There is no compelling economic reason to tell the truth or keep one’s word. Punishment for the treacherous in the real world is neither swift nor sure.

2. Honesty is, in fact, primarily a moral choice. Business people do tell themselves that, in the long run, they will do well by doing good. But there is little factual or logical basis for this conviction. Without values, without a basic preference of right over wrong, trust based on such delusion would crumble in the face of temptation. Most of us choose virtue because we want to believe in ourselves and because others respect and believe us.

3. And due to this, we should be happy. We can be proud of a system in which people are honest because they want to be, not because they have to be. Materially, too, trust based on morality provides great advantages. It allows us to join in great and exciting enterprises that we could never undertake if we relied on economic incentives alone.

4. Economists tell us that trust is enforced in the market place through retaliation and reputation. If you violate a trust, your victim is apt to seek revenge and others are likely to stop doing business with you, at least under favourable terms. A man or woman with a reputation for fair dealing will prosper. Therefore, profit maximisers are honest. This sounds plausible enough until you look for concrete examples. Cases that apparently demonstrate the awful consequences of trust turn out to be few and weak, while evidence that treachery can pay seems compelling.

Question. Why are businessmen, according to the author, honest in their dealings?
(i) Businessmen are God-fearing
(ii) Businessmen choose to be honest
(iii) Businessmen are honest by nature
(iv) All businessmen are caught if they are dishonest
Ans : (ii) Businessmen choose to be honest

Question. What did the author find out about the theory that ‘honesty is the best policy’?
(i) It is correct on many occasions
(ii) It is correct for all businesses
(iii) It is a useless theory
(iv) It is a theory which seems to be correct only occasionally
Ans : (ii) It is correct for all businesses

Question. According to the author, which of the following, is the reason for being honest in business?
(i) It gives no immediate benefits
(ii) It gives no long-term benefits
(iii) It makes a person self-seeking
(iv) None of these
Ans : (iv) None of these

Question. Why does the author say that one can be proud of the present situation?
(i) People are self-respecting
(ii) People are respect seekers
(iii) People are unselfish
(iv) People are honest without compulsion
Ans : (iv) People are honest without compulsion

Question. Which of the following is antonym of ‘conviction’?
(i) Phrase
(ii) Standard
(iii) Doubt
(iv) Place
Ans : (iii) Doubt

Question. What is the material advantage which the author sees is being honest?
(i) It permits one to undertake activities which may not be economically attractive
(ii) It permits one to be honest for the sake of honesty alone
(iii) It permits one to be make a lot of profit in various areas
(iv) It permits one to form various trusts to make profits
Ans : (iii) It permits one to be make a lot of profit in various areas

Question. Why do businessmen, according to economists,remain honest?
(i) Dishonest businessmen can make more money
(ii) Dishonest businessmen make money in the long run
(iii) Dishonest businessmen cannot stay in business for long
(iv) Dishonest businessmen are flogged in the market place
Ans : (iii) Dishonest businessmen cannot stay in business for long

Question. Which of the following phrases is most nearly the same in meaning as the word ‘persuade’ as it has been used in the passage?
(i) Give an assurance
(ii) Give an opinion
(iii) Try to convince
(iv) Cheat
Ans : (iii) Try to convince

Question. Which of the following best describes what the author is trying to point out through the last sentence of the passage, “Cases that…..compelling”?
(i) The consequences of business
(ii) The contradictions in the real world
(iii) Economists predict incorrectly
(iv) The contradictions is unreal
Ans : (ii) The contradictions in the real world

Question. Which of the following is synonym of ‘Treachery’?
(i) Treasure
(ii) Perfidy
(iii) Debit
(iv) Failure
Ans : (ii) Perfidy

Question. According to the passage, what do economists and ethicists, want us to believe?
(i) Businessmen should always be honest
(ii) Businessmen cannot always be honest
(iii) Businessmen turn dishonest at times
(iv) Businessmen are honest only at times
Ans : (i) Businessmen should always be honest

Question. Which of the following is false according to the passage?
(i) Economists believe that all businessmen are dishonest
(ii) Generally people are honest so as to earn self-respect
(iii) Virtuous behaviour earns the respect of others
(iv) All dishonest men are not caught
Ans : (i) Economists believe that all businessmen are dishonest

Unseen Passage for Class 11 with questions and answers

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

The tree is worshipped as earth’s mother in tribal India. It provides food, air, occupation, materials for housing, fodder for animals and fuel. Without the trees there is neither soil nor water. There is nothing to prevent the soil from being washed away; there is nothing to prevent the water from evaporating. In the great tribal regions of India, which are home to the Bhils, the Santhals, the Nagas, the Bishnois, whenever a child is born, a tree is planted in the child’s name. It forges a relationship between the child and the tree which is closer than the one between child and family. Naturally so, because that tree is specially the child’s own. The trees are all slow growing. By the time the child reaches adolescence, his tree has just come to fruit. It starts its life as a provider to the tribal child and the tribal is the guardian of the tree for life.

Nearly three hundred years ago in 1730, men and women of the Bishnoi tribe died in an attempt to stop the felling of trees. In September 1730, a royal party led by Giridhar Bhandari, a minister of the Maharaja of Marwar, arrived at the village with an intention of felling some Khejri trees, that were sacred to the villagers. The trees were to be burnt to produce lime for the construction of a new palace. A local woman, Amrita Devi protested against the tree felling because such acts were prohibited by the Bishnoi religion. She and her three daughters sacrificed their lives in an attempt to save the trees. Following the example, many other villagers hugged the trees that were to be cut and got killed. This event became to be the forebearer of the ‘Chipko Movement’ initiated in the 20th century.

Bishnoi faith prohibits the cutting of green trees. It demands absolute protection of the Khejri, the shade and fodder tree of the area. As a result , their lands are fertile, while all around them the fields have been claimed by the Thar Desert of Rajasthan.

(A) Answer the following questions : 

Question. Name any two things provided by trees?
Answer : (i) Food, air, fuel, fodder for animals. (Any two)

Question. Without the trees there is neither __________ nor __________.
Answer : (ii) Soil, water

Question. In 1730, men and women of the __________ tribe died in an attempt to stop the felling of trees.
Answer : (iii) Bishnoi

Question. Name two tribes of India.
Answer : (iv) Bhils, Nagas, Bishnois, Santhas.

(B) Choose the correct alternatives : 

Question. Bhils, Nagas and Santhals are which regions of India?
(a) Civilized
(b) Urban
(c) Tribal
(d) Rural

Answer : (c) Tribal

Question. When was ‘Chipko Movement’ initiated in?
(a) 18th Century
(b) 20th Century
(c) 21st Century
(d) 19th Century

Answer : (b) 20th Century

Question. Girdhar Bhandari was a minister of the Maharaja of :
(a) Marwar
(b) Jaipur
(c) Jodhpur
(d) Udaipur

Answer : (a) Marwar

Question. A local woman __________ protested against the tree felling :
(a) Anita Devi
(b) Anjali Devi
(c) Amrita Devi
(d) Anjana Devi

Answer : (c) Amrita Devi

Unseen Passage with questions and answers for Class 11

Read the passage given below :

Great people are born to produce an influence on society. One such personality, who was so humble and lived his complete life with determination and purpose to achieve certain aims was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. He was a great social reformer, writer, educator and worked endlessly to transform the society. He strongly protested against polygamy and child marriage. He favoured widow remarriage and women’s education in India. The Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856 making the marriage of widows legal because of his efforts to solve these problems.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar refined the way Bengali language was written and taught. His book ‘Borno Porichoy’ (Introduction to the Alphabet) is still used as the introductory text to teach Bengali alphabet. Thus, he brought about a revolution in the Bengali Education System. Vidyasagar is credited with the role of completely changing the old method of teaching which prevailed in Sanskrit College. As a professor in Sanskrit College, he bought modern outlook into the method of teaching. He included English and Bengali as mediums of learning, besides Sanskrit. He, also, introduced courses in European History, Philosophy and Science alongside Vedic scriptures. He encouraged students to study these subjects and make the best of both the worlds.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a strong advocate of women education. He rightly viewed education as the primary way for women to achieve emancipation from the society’s oppression they had to face at that time. He exercised his power to open schools for girls and even outlined suitable curriculum to educate them. He went from door to door, requesting heads of families to allow their daughters to be enrolled in schools.

Ishwar Chandra was a man who defined his own path of action. He never listened to what others said about his work and made decisions based on his own judgement. He was famous for all these qualities. He was also known for his great courage. Vidayasagar had a very soft heart that sympathized with those in trouble. He was easily moved to tears when he saw someone in pain and was always the first one to offer his help to colleagues and friends in distress. After his death, Rabindranath Tagore said, “One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!”

(A) Answer briefly the following questions : (any four)

Question. What kind of life did Ishwar Chandra lead?
Answer : He lived a humble and purposeful life.

Question. What changes did Vidyasagar bring about in the method of teaching at Sanskrit college?
Answer : He brought modern outlook into the method of teaching

Question. What was Vidyasagar’s contribution as a professor in the Sanskrit college?
Answer : He included English and Bengali as the medium of learning besides Sanskrit /introduced courses of European History, Philosophy, Science, Vedic scriptures etc.

Question. How did Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar promote women education?  
Answer : He opened schools for girls, outlined suitable curriculum to educate them, went from door to door and requested heads of families to send their daughters to schools

Question. How can we say that Vidyasagar was a softhearted man?
Answer : As he always sympathized with those in trouble, we can say that Vidyasagar was a softhearted man.

(B) Choose the meaning of the words given below with the help of the options that follow : (any four) 

Question. influence
(a) income
(b) inside
(c) impression
(d) attraction

Answer : (b) impression

Question. transform
(a) improve
(b) change
(c) impresschange
(d) insist

Answer : (b) change

Question. advocate
(a) caretaker
(b) promoter
(c) neighbor
(d) aggressor

Answer : (b) promoter

Question. emancipation
(a) oppression
(b) control
(c) freedom
(d) contribution

Answer : (c) freedom

Question. distress
(a) unhappiness or pain
(b) safety
(c) calmness
(d) joy

Answer : (a) unhappiness or pain.

English Unseen Passage for Class 11 pdf with answers

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

(1) Have you ever failed at something so miserably that the thought of attempting to do it again was the last thing you wanted to do?

(2) If your answer is yes, then you are “not a robot.” Unlike robots, we human beings have feelings, emotions, and dreams. We are all meant to grow and stretch despite our circumstances and our limitations. Flourishing and trying to make our dreams come true is great when life is going our way. But what happens when it’s not? What happens when you fail despite all of your hard work? Do you stay down and accept the defeat or do you get up again and again until you are satisfied? If you have a tendency to preserve and keep going then you have what experts call, grit.

(3) Falling down or failing is one of the most agonizing, embarrassing and scariest human experiences. But it is also one of the most educational, empowering and essential parts of living a successful and fulfilling life. Did you know that perseverance (grit) is one of the seven qualities that have been described as the keys to personal success and betterment in society? The other six are: curiosity, gratitude, optimism, self-control, social intelligence, and zest. Thomas Edison is a model for grit for trying 1,000 plus times to invent the light bulb. If you are reading this with the lights on in your room, you know well he succeeded. When asked why he kept going despite his hundreds of failures, he merely stated that they were not failures. They were hundreds of ways not to create a light bulb. This statement not only revealed his grit but also his optimism for looking at the bright side.

(4) Grit can be learnt to help you become more successful. One of the techniques that help is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that helps the individual stay in the moment by bringing awareness of his or her experience without judgement. This practice has been used to quiet the noise of their fears and doubts. Through the simple practice of mindfulness, individuals have the ability to stop the self-sabotaging downward spiral of hopelessness, despair and frustration.

(5) What did you do to overcome the negative and self-sabotaging feelings of failure? Reflect on what you did, and try to use those same powerful resources to help you today.

(A) On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in about 30-40 words each. 

Question. According to the passage, what are the attributes of a human?
Answer : Feelings, emotions, dreams, eagerness to grow and flourish to realize dreams are some of the attributes of a human.

Question. What is perceived as grit?
Answer : If you have a tendency to persevere and keep going, then you have what experts call grit.

Question. How is ‘failing’ an educational and empowering part of human life? 
Answer : Failing teaches how to be perseverant and keep going for one’s goals. Each failure makes one understand what to do and what not to do.

Question. In what ways can grit be developed?
Answer : Do not accept defeat; effort to overcome limitations; not to stay down.

Question. How does mindfulness help?
Answer : Mindfulness is a practice that helps the individual stay in the moment by bringing awareness of his or her experience without judgement. This practice is a technique that many have used to quieten the noise of their fears and doubts.

(B) On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following :

Question. While inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison had failed _____________
(a) 1000 times
(b) 10000 times
(c) 10000 times
(d) 10000 times

Answer : (i) 1000

(ii) Failure is a part of ___________ life.
(a) normal
(b) common
(c) human
(d) ordinary

Answer : (ii) human

(iii) In paragraph 2, ___________ means continue.
(a) robots
(b) satisfied
(c) persevere
(d) flourishing

Answer : (iii) Persevere

(iv) In paragraph 3, the synonym of ‘distressing’ is ___________.
(a) embarrassing
(b) scariest
(c) agonizing
(d) failing

Answer : (iv) agonising

(v) ___________ helps in preventing individuals from going down the lines of despair.
(a) Mindfulness
(b) Satisfied
(c) Persevere
(d) Flourishing

Answer : (v) Mindfulness