Discursive Writing Definition
Discursive Writing: expresses opinions. It can be argumentative, i.e. may give reasons, explanations, or explore cause and effect relationship. Passages of this kind are analytical. Sometimes the author presents his views with great depth of reasoning or force of argument with the intention of convincing the reader to his point of view. Such texts have great persuasive power.
Unseen Passage for Class 10 Discursive CBSE With Answers Pdf
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Discursive Passage for Class 10 With Answers Pdf
1. Read the passage carefully.
1. Every time a child takes a soft drink, he’s laying the ground work for a dangerous bone disease. No, fizzy and sugary drinks don’t cause osteoporosis. But, because they are often a substitute for a glass of milk, kids are not getting the calcium and vitamin D they need to build a strong skeleton. Many of them also lead a sedentary lifestyle, so they aren’t getting the bone building benefits for vigorous exercise either. These children tend to suffer from brittle bones and tend to suffer from fractures later on in life. They could be at a risk of being diagnosed with osteoporosis at an early age.
2. The Indian Society for Bone and Mineral Research, a body of osteoporosis experts is trying to spread awareness about this bone crippling disease. Osteoporosis starts in childhood but has consequences later in life. The condition causes bones to become riddled with holes, like the framework of a house that’s been attacked by termites. That can lead to broken bones, which in turn can cause deformity, chronic pain or disability.
Osteoporosis can be fatal: up to 25 per cent of older people who suffer a broken hip die within a year. Osteoporosis isn’t just your grandmother’s health threat. Although it strikes over 50 million women in India, it also menaces over 12 million men. Osteoporosis causes loss of height, pain in joints and back, fractures and a fear of fractures, and can be very depressing. So it is important that we adopt preventive measures, to save millions of people.
3. There is a new medical understanding of the best ways to protect ourselves and our children. “Simple lifestyle changes and nutrition will help save your bones,” says Dr. Mittal. To get us moving in the right direction, he says, “It’s never too late to adopt bone-friendly habits—exercise, get enough sunlight, and have adequate calcium.
Answer the following questions carefully.
(i) Why are fizzy and sugary drinks blamed for osteoporosis?
(ii) How do bones get weak?
(iii) Then does osteoporosis become apparent? Why is it called fatal?
(iv) How does osteoporosis affect us?
(y) Which society is spreading awareness about this bone crippling disease?
(vi) What are the bone-friendly habits?
(vii) Find the word in the passage which means ‘deadly’.
(viii) Pickup the word from the passage which could be a synonym for ‘continuing’.
Answer:
(i) These drinks are often a substitute for a glass of milk which leads to osteoporosis.
(ii) Insufficient intake of milk leads to calcium and vitamin D deficiency. Lack of exercise and sedentary life style also contribute and make our bones weak.
(iii) It becomes apparent in old age. It is called fatal because up to 25% of older people who suffer a broken hip die within a year.
(iv) It causes loss of height, pain in joints and back, fractures and fear of fractures, and can be very depressing.
(V) The Indian society for Bone and Mineral Research is spreading awareness about this bone crippling disease.
(vi) Bone friendly habits are-exercise, get enough sunlight and have adequate calcium. (vii) Fatal-means ‘deadly’.
(viii) Chronic.
2. Read the passage carefully.
Child marriages are rampant in North India. The curse continues to blight the lives of people even as the country stands at the threshold of the 21st century. Children bound by marriage are victims of blind customs and superstitions prevalent in rural areas and in certain urban concentrations as well among the weaker socio-economic groups. Nothing seems to stop this anti-social practice despite the Child Marriage Act passed as early as in 1929, which makes child marriage, a grave offence.
Why do marriages take place at all and what could be done to wean the people away from the practice? The evil thrives because of illiteracy and other related causes—the most important of which is the anxiety of parents to marry off their daughters as early as possible. In many states where illiteracy is high, like in Rajasthan, the practice of child marriage is in vogue. ‘Akhha Teej’ is D-day for parents of minor girls, for on that day, they seek their salvation from the anxiety of girls growing up in their midst.
A child marriage is less likely to take place if the parents are literate or at least the father is. He is then aware of the legal minimum age and health hazards his daughter will face by an early marriage. If the mother, otherwise literate, has been exposed to the importance of family planning, she is also less likely to solemnize her daughter’s wedding at an age below the legal minimum.
Among the other factors causing parents to give away young daughters in marriage is the need felt by families having more than one daughter, to keep wedding expenses down. By marrying two daughters at the same time parents save on expenses. Parental anxiety about grown up (14 years and above) daughters going astray, forces the less educated to give away their female children in marriage.
The existing law was amended in 1978 raising the minimum age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years and for boys from 18 to 21 years. The committee on the status of women, in its report in 1974, had recommended that all offences under the child marriage restrained Act should be made cognizable and special officers be appointed to enforce the law. The Government however did not pay heed to it while raising the minimum age of marriage. At the same time, there is no foolproof system of registering births and thus, there is no legally enforceable method for establishing the age of a male or female.
The committee also recommended that a girl should be entided to repudiate a child marriage on attaining maturity even if such marriage was consummated. But this remained only a hope which was never implemented by law or in its true spirit. It has never been appreciated that what is needed is social action, especially by social activists and organisations so that the provisions of the legislation are rigorously practised.
The crux of the problem is that the girl child in traditional rural areas is caught in a situation, which is pre-determined and pre-destined. Her role is circumscribed around
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What are the reasons for child marriages in India?
(ii) How can the provisions of the legislation be rigorously practised?
(iii) 1That are the recommendations of the committee on the status of women?
(iv) Why is it often difficult to establish the age of male or female legally?
(y) Which act makes child marriage a grave offence?
(vi) Which is the 1)-day for parents of minor girls in Rajasthan?
(vii) Find the word in the passage which means most vital part of an issue.
(viii) Find the word in the passage which means ‘worry’.
Answer:
(i) Blind customs and superstitions prevalent in certain communities, along with illiteracy and anxiety of parents to marry off their daughters are the reasons for child marriages in India.
(ii) The provisions of the legislation can be rigorously practised if social activists and organisations stood up and took some actions.
(ii) The committee had recommended that all offences under the child marriage restrained Act should be made cognisable and special officers be appointed to enforce law. A girl should be entitled to repudiate a child marriage on attaining maturity even if such marriage was consummated.
(iv) It is often difficult to establish the age of male or female legally as there is no fool proof system of registering birth and thus, there is no legally enforceable method for establishing it.
(v) The Child Marriage Act of 1929 makes child marriage a grave offence.
(vi) ‘Akhha Teej’ is the D-day for parents of minor girls in Rajasthan.
(vii) Crux.
(vii) Anxiety.
3. Read the passage carefully.
An Allergy Alert at the Start of Summer
Like all bad news and the common cold, allergies can pop up when you least expect them. I suddenly developed an allergy to crocin (paracetamol) some years ago after having it all my life to treat everything from headaches to fever and toothache. A seafood-loving friend found himself unable to breathe after having Thai food for dinner. After undergoing a battery of expensive tests, he was told the chest tightness was not caused by a heart attack but by an allergy to shellfish, something he ate once a week and had never reacted to before.
A stuffed or drippy nose, frequent sneezing, an itchy throat, rash, sinus, ear pain, difficulty in breathing, stomach cramps and itchy, red or watery eyes are some of the common symptoms of an allergic reaction. Pollen, dust, polluted outdoor air and indoor pollutants such as dust mites, animal dander, cigarette smoke and mould are among the common environmental pollutants, while other triggers include medicines, paint and chemicals in cleaners and cosmetics such as hair colour and skin creams. Among foods, eight allergens account for almost 90% of food allergies: milk, soy, wheat, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.
Most of us wrongly believe that people with allergies are either born with the condition or develop identifiable symptoms in early childhood. You couldn’t be more wrong. An allergy can occur at any time in your life and experts say its prevalence among adults is rising. While most people who develop allergies as adults have experienced some allergic reaction—either to the same or an unrelated trigger before—a few have no history of sensitivity.
In an acute immune reaction, the allergy trigger may be one, but the symptom is usually caused by a combination of factors. Stress, a sterile environment that prevents the body from developing robust natural immunity and lifestyle-induced changes in the body’s hormonal balance are thought to be some triggers. This is borne out by clinical evidence that shows that women are more likely to develop allergies at puberty, after pregnancy and at menopause, all of which point to hormonal causes.
Of course, avoiding the allergy trigger and taking an anti-allergy medication as soon as you can, after exposure to an allergen is the best possible protection. Since pollen levels generally peak in the morning, people with airway sensitivity and asthma should postpone outdoor exercises to later in the day or stick to exercising indoors as deeper and more rapid breathing induced by aerobic exercise causes more pollen and dust being inhaled, which can wreck your airways and lungs. Since air pollutants tend to cling to clothes and hair, changing your clothes when you come home or washing your hair before going to bed lowers exposure.
Allergies in adults can be treated using some anti-allergic medicines. For those who do not respond to the standard treatment, there’s always the option of a series of allergy shots to help the immune system to build up a tolerance to the allergy. In most cases, though, identifying and avoiding the allergen is enough to stay free of trouble.
Based on your reading of the passage, answer the following questions in about 30-40 words:
(i) What are the common symptoms of an allergic reaction?
(ii) What are among the common environmental pollutants?
(iii) What is an acute immune reaction?
(iv) How can you prevent/treat yourself from getting allergies?
(v) When can an allergy occur?
(vi) When are women more likely to develop allergies?
(vii) Give the opposite of expensive’, (para 1)
(viii) What does the world ‘prevalence’ in para 3 mean?
Answer:
(i) Some of the common symptoms of an allergic reaction are: a stuffed or dripping nose, frequent sneezing, an itchy throat, rash sinus, ear pain; difficulty in breathing, stomach cramps and itchy, red or water eyes.
(ii) Common environmental pollutants are: pollen, dust, polluted outdoor air and indoor pollutants such as dust mites, animal dander, cigarette smoke and mould.
(iii) An acute immune reaction is caused by a combination of factors, though the allergy trigger may be one. For example: stress, lifestyle-induced changes, hormonal changes, etc. are thought to be some triggers.
(iv) Avoiding the allergy trigger and taking an anti-allergy medicine as soon as there is exposure to an allergen is the best possible protection. (V) An allergy can occur at any time in our life.
(vi) Women are more likely to develop allergies at puberty, after pregnancy and at menopause.
(vii) ‘Cheap’ is the opposite of expensive.
(viii) It means occurrence’.
4. Read the passage carefully.
Discipline for democracy, development and decency in public life needs no reiteration nor does it require any expert to espouse its cause for personal posse and social solidarity. Discipline should be the order in public life. It is the crying need of the hour. Discipline stands for training, especially of the mind and character, to develop obedience and self-control, in the face of temptation or provocation.
Discipline in public life ensures peace and harmony, which in turn offers the required impetus to the forces of progress and prosperity. No country, big or small, can afford to play duck and drakes with the deity called discipline. All talk of equity or social justices becomes a cry in the wilderness or a pompous promise if the ‘powers that be’ fail to comprehend and carry out the dictates of discipline in all situations. With discipline, all plans, policies and programs are bound to bear fruit. Whenever people in public life or in private enterprise dilute the demands of discipline, most aspirations and achievements go astray, leading to failure and frustration at various levels. Discipline for countries like India which are standing at the threshold of economic breakthrough and a stupendous store of opportunities,‘it’s the most immediate and urgent pre-requisite. Discipline for the rulers and the ruled, is an essential ingredient if we mean business in fields and factories.
The recent outbreak of ‘plague’ and the wrong signals that this ‘limited epidemic sent across the world, was not an act of God as some would like us to believe but the regretful result of unpardonable negligence on the part of civic authorities. The woeful way the routine calls of duty and discipline by paid public servants were given a go-bye, is a matter of shame for one and all. The heaps of garbage in towns, cities and metros that were allowed to rot and their removal left to rag-pickers, speak volumes of the callous attitude towards discipline and devotion to duty. It is high time that we sit up and do serious heart-searching.
The ease with which opposition sponsored ‘Bandhs’ are organised in our country is another area of concern. With discipline in public life under a cloud, the entire socio¬economic momentum is brought to a grinding halt. When such is the sadistic approach towards discipline, there is nothing that can come to our rescue if some bigger calamity overtakes us in future. The remedy of so many ills that afflict us today lies not in tall talk but in the restoration of discipline in public life. Discipline is the only route that can take us to our rightful place among the comity of nations.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What is the advantage of discipline in public life?
(ii) What happens when discipline is diluted in public or private life?
(iii) Why is discipline important for India?
(iv) Why is the entire socio-economic momentum brought to a grinding halt?
(v) How will all plans, policies and programs bear fruit?
(vi) What was the wrong signal about limited epidemic sent across the world?
(vii) Find the word in the passage which means ‘desire to achieve things’.
(viii) Which word in the passage means ‘surprisingly impressive’ or ‘large’?
Answer:
(i) Discipline in public life ensures peace and harmony, which in turn offer impetus to the forces of progress and prosperity.
(ii) When discipline is diluted in public or private life, most aspirations and achievements go astray, leading to failure and frustration at various levels.
(iii) Discipline is an immediate and urgent pre-requisite for India as it is standing at the threshold of economic breakthrough and a stupendous store of opportunities.
(iv) Lack of discipline in public life has brought the entire socio-economic momentum to a griding halt.
(V) All plans, policies and programs will bear fruit only if discipline becomes the way of life.
(vi) The limited epidemic was caused by negligence on the part of civic authorities.
(vii) Aspiration
(viii) Stupendous.
5. Read the passage carefully.
Chirp for the Sparrow, Tweet for the Sparrow
1. They were once everywhere. Chirping and flapping their wings at the window sills, on top of cupboards and on the branches of trees. Where have all the little sparrows gone? This is the most frequently asked question about sparrows these days.
2. The association between humans and the house sparrow dates back to several centuries and no other bird has been associated with humans on a daily basis like the house sparrow. It is a bird that evokes fond memories of childhood and adds freshness to households through its presence. Many bird watchers and ornithologists recall with fondness how the house sparrows gave flight to their passion for observing birds. The nests of sparrow dotted almost every house in the neighbourhood as well as public places like bus stands and railway stations, where they live in colonies and survived on food grains and tiny worms.
3. Unfortunately, the house sparrow has now become a disappearing species. Like all other plants and animals which were once abundant and are now facing an uncertain future, their numbers are also declining across their natural range. A study conducted by the Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam highlighted that the population of sparrows fell by over 60 percent even in the rural areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh. A survey conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology showed that the house sparrow population in Britain has declined by about 58 percent since 1970.
4. Certainly, there is no single reason for the decline of the house sparrow. Scientists and experts say that severe changes in the urban ecosystem in recent times have had tremendous impact on the population of house sparrows whose numbers are declining constantly. Mobile tower radiation and excessive use of chemical fertilizers are aggravating the problem and have been identified as potent sparrow killers.
5. There have been many theories put forward for the almost worldwide decline of the house sparrow. It is said that sparrow chicks, which require insect food for their survival in their early days, have not been getting adequate supply from their parents. This has triggered large scale deaths of chicks leading to gradual decline of their population.
6. Urban landscape too, has been dramatically altered over the years. Old houses, with courtyards in front and backyards, have made way for concrete multistories, with little greenery. No longer are sparrows able to find the tiny nooks, crannies and holes where they used to build their nests.
7. Typically, sparrows were never an issue of concern for us with their diminutive presence in our household. Perhaps, it is this diminutive presence because of which even their gradual disappearance has gone unnoticed. Mohammed Dilavar is rightly called the “sparrow man of India” as he has been successful in drawing the attention of the world towards the declining number of house sparrows.
8. House sparrows are important bio-indicators that their decline is a grim reminder of the degradation of urban environment and the danger from it to the humans in the long run.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) “The association between humans and the house sparrow dates back to several
(v) What did the study conducted by the Andhra University, Vishakapatnam highlight?
(vi) Who conducted a survey in Britain?
(vii) What do you understand by ‘aggravating’ in para 4? (viii) Give the opposite of‘gradual’ in para 7.
Answer:
(i) The house sparrow evokes fond memories of childhood and adds freshness to households through its presence.
(ii) Severe changes in the urban ecosystem in recent times have had tremendous impact on the population of house sparrows. Mobile tower radiation and excessive use of chemical fertilizers are increasing the problem. Inadequate ‘insect food’ for the sparrow chicks is further causing a decline in the number of house sparrows.
(iii) Modern houses lack greenery, there are no courtyards as well. This proves as a major hindrance since the sparrows are unable to find the tiny nooks and crannies where they could build their nests.
(iv) Mohammed Dilavar has been successful in drawing the attention of the world towards the declining number of house sparrows. Therefore, he is called ‘the sparrow man of India’. House sparrows are important bio-indicators. Their decline is a grim reminder of the degradation of urban environment and the danger from it to the humans in the long run.
(v) It highlighted that population of sparrow fell by over 60 per cent in rural areas of coastal Andhra Pradesh.
(vi) The British Trust for Ornithology conducted a survey in Britain.
(vii) It means exasperating.
(viii) Sudden.
6. Read the passage carefully.
Many of the serious health concerns in modern America can be linked to poor diet. People who regularly consume foods high in sodium, sugar, and saturated fats not only increase their chances of obesity, but also increase their risks of developing heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and several types of cancer. Although some people who regularly consume unhealthy foods do so knowingly, there is also a significant portion of the population that remains under educated about proper nutrition. What is more, individuals who live in food deserts-areas in low-income neighbourhoods that lack easy access to healthy, affordable food-may not even have the opportunity to obtain nutritious food.
Food deserts are located in high-poverty areas, such as sparsely populated rural areas or densely populated, low-income urban centers. Food deserts most often develop when major supermarket chains either relocate out of these areas or simply refrain from building stores there in the first place. Major food retailer chains tend to limit their store locations to wealthier urban or suburban neighbourhoods. This means that those who live in high- poverty areas often also; live miles away from the fresh meats, dairy products, and produce available at supermarkets. Residents of these areas who do not have cars are thus forced to travel long distances on public transportation to do their grocery shopping, or else they are limited to the food available at local convenience stores and gas stations. These types of food retailers often only sell packaged, processed foods that offer little nutritional value.
Furthermore, less food restaurants are disproportionately concentrated in low-income areas; recent estimates suggest that those living in the poorest areas of a city experience 2.5 times more exposure to fast food restaurants than the wealthiest inhabitants of the city. Because individuals who live in food deserts tend to get their meals from fast food restaurants or convenience stores, they often suffer from a variety of health issues. Research has found that individuals who live in low-income neighbourhoods are much more likely to develop problems with obesity, diabetes, and hypertension than those who live in more affluent neighbourhoods.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) Why is ‘poor diet’ a serious health concern in modern America?
(ii) How are food deserts and major food retailer chains related?
(iii) What difficulties do people who live in high-poverty areas face?
(iv) Why do people living in low income areas suffer greatly from a variety of health issues?
(v) Where are food deserts located?
(vi) What are ‘low-income neighbourhoood’ more likely to develop?
(vii) Find a word in the passage which means the same as ‘utility’
(viii) Write the antonym for ‘disproportionately’. (Para 3)
Answer:
(i) It is a serious health concern because it leads to obesity, increases risks of developing heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and several types of cancer.
(ii) Food deserts often develop when major supermarket chains either relocate out of these areas or simply refrain from building stores.
(iii)Residents of high-poverty areas who do not have cars are forced to travel long distances on public transportations to do their grocery shopping or else limit themselves to the food available at local convenience stores and gas stations.
(iv) The people living in low income areas suffer greatly from a variety of health issues because they tend to get their meals from fast food restaurants or convenience stores.
(V) Food deserts are located in high-poverty areas.
(vi) They are more likely to develop obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
(vii) Convenience.
(vii) Equally.
7. Read the passage carefully.
Not too long ago, a group of teachers made a study of the students and learning problems. A curious fact came out of this study. The teachers discovered that the students who did poorly in subjects such as Maths or Art could still do very well in other subjects. But the students who did poorly in reading, almost did poorly in all their other courses.
For a while the teachers who made the study were puzzled by this, but they soon had an answer to this puzzle. The teachers looked at the subjects that the students were failing in and discovered that even subjects like Maths and Science were based on reading.
Of course, there were also other skills involved such as learning to add and subtract in Maths class. Most of the-explanations of how to do things had to be read by the students. Much of the home-work assignments required students to read long sets of directions and tests and, problems in class often involved story problems, problems that were explained in words and had to be read and understood before they could be solved. Your success or failure in these classes will depend on your ability to read the required material.
Finally, if you go to college, almost all your study time will be spent in reading. You need more and more information and most of these information come from the printed material you have to read. Even if you could get tapes or movies containing all the information, you need to know that they would not be of much help until and unless you know how to read. Magazines and books may all be on microfilm in the next few years, but they will still have to be read. The same is true of most of what you have to learn in school. Your school is probably not going to throw all printed material out of the window very soon.
Success in school courses still depends on an ability to read and those students, who cannot read or at least read well enough to master material, are in trouble. You are moving into a world where everyday more and more technical reading is required. Instructions for using applications are becoming more complex. There are written instructions to follow, for food preparations, traffic signs, travel directions and safety information, all requiring the ability to read. People in modern society read hundreds and even thousands of words everyday.
Also your ability to get and keep a job is directly related to your ability to read. Even the simplest jobs require some reading ability, and many people advance to more important and better paying jobs by getting additional knowledge and skills through reading. The more specialised the job, the greater the need to read confidently, quickly and efficiently. Doctors read professional journals so that they can use the latest medical knowledge in treating patients while pharmacists have to read the prescriptions the doctors write. Lawyers spend their days reading briefs.
The number of semiskilled and professional occupations that require high reading ability is increasing rapidly. Today a person who cannot read is almost unemployable.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What did the study of a group of teachers reveal?
(ii) How are instructions for using applications becoming more complex?
(iii) How is reading ability helping various professionals in their fields?
(iv) What is the most essential pre-requisite to keep a job? What is a man considered without the skill of reading?
(v) What does your success or failure in classes depend on?
(vi) What changes can be seen in the instructions for using applications’?
(vii) Find the word from the passage which means ‘strange’.
(viii) Write the antonyms of ‘simple’.
Answer:
(i) The students who did poorly in reading almost always did poorly in all other subjects.
(ii) There are written instructions to follow, for food preparations, traffic signs, travel directions and safety information, all requiring the ability to read.
(iii) Doctors read professional journals to be abreast with latest medical knowledge in treating patients, pharmacists read doctor’s prescriptions and lawyers read briefs.
(iv) Most essential pre-requisite to keep a job is one’s ability to read. A person who cannot read is almost unemployable.
(V) It depends on our ability to read the required materials.
(vi) They are becoming complex.
(vii) Peculiar.
(viii) Complex
8. Read the passage carefully.
Our opportunities are great but let me warn you when power outstrips ability, we will fall on evil days. We should develop competency and ability which would help us utilize the opportunities which are now open to us. From tomorrow morning-from midnight today-we cannot throw the blame on the Britishers. We have to assume the responsibility ourselves for what we do.
A free India will be judged by the way in which it will serve the interests of the common man in the matters of food, clothing, shelter and social activities. Unless we root out corruption in high places and root out every trace of nepotism, love of power, profiteering and black marketing which have spoiled the good name of this country in recent times, we will not be able to raise the standards of efficiency in administration as well as in the production and distribution of the necessary goods of life.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru referred to the great contribution which this country will make to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind. The chakra, the Ashoka wheel, which is there in the flag embodies for us a great idea, Ashoka, the greatest of our emperors. Look at the words of H.G. Wells about him ‘Highnesses, Magnificences, Excellences, Serenities, Majesties. Among them all, he shines alone a star, Ashoka the greatest of all monarchs.’ He cut into rock his message for the healing of discords. If there are differences, the way in which you can solve them is by promoting concord. Concord is the only way by which we can get rid of differences. There is no other method which is open to us.
We are lucky in having for our leader, one who is a world citizen, who is essentially a -humanist, who possesses a buoyant optimism and robust good sense in spite of the perversity of things and the hostility of human affairs. We see the way in which his Department interfered actively and in a timely manner in the Indonesian dispute. It shows that if India gains freedom, that freedom will be used not merely for the well-being of India but for Vishva Kalyana, world peace, the welfare of mankind.
Extract from a speech by
-Dr. Radhakrishnan
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What has Dr. Radhakrishnan warned us against?
(ii) How will a free India be judged?
(iii) What did Pandit Nehru visualise about India?
(iv) How can we raise the standards of efficiency at various levels?
(v) What does the chakra embody for us?
(vi) How can we get rid of our differences?
(vii) Which word in the passage means ‘favourism’ shown on the basis of family relationship? (para 1)
(viii) Find the word opposite in meaning to collection (para 1).
Answer:
(i) Dr. Radhakrishnan has warned that though our opportunities are great, but when power outstrips ability, we will fall on evil days.
(ii) A free India will be judged by the way in which it will serve the interests of the common man in the matters of food, clothing shelter and social activities.
(iii) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had visualised that this country will make great contribution in promoting world peace and the welfare of mankind.
(iv) Unless we root out corruption in high places and traces of nepotism, love of power, profiteering and black marketing We will not be able to raise the standards of efficiency at various levels.
(v) It embodies great ideas as Ashoka, the greatest of our emperors.
(vi) We can get rid of our differences by promoting concord.
(vii) Nepotism
(viii) Distribution.
9. Read the following passage carefully.
Are We Happier Than Our Forefathers?
1. The conquest of happiness has meant different facts to different generations. Our forefathers took pride in scholarship,, a spirit of sacrifice and solicitude for the welfare of others. Gone are those days. Today we live only for ourselves. We are jealous of the advancement of our neighbours. We end up tense and unhappy.
2. The term ‘happy’ has a variety of meanings. It stands for the lucky, fortunate, content, glad or apt. Happiness lies within the mind of the individual. No amount of external wealth may be helpful in making him happy.
3. Our forefathers had life styles, very much different from those we have today. Their life was based mainly on the concept of “Simple living and high thinking.” People were satisfied with whatever they obtained after working hard. Excessive material wealth did not mean much for them. They derived mental satisfaction and enrichment which they aimed at.
4. The structural framework of our forefathers’ families was different from those of ours. They lived in a cohesive joint family structure where they were happier than we. They cared for each other. The siblings grew up with their cousins. The bond of love which they share cannot be easily found in the nuclear family of the day. The family provided an emotional cushioning effect against tension and stress.
5. However, in the nuclear family, we are detached from the feelings towards our kith and kin. At times even the cousins do not recognise one another, when they happen to be self-centred. Disputes in the family may lead to divisions. This may finally destroy the family psyche.
6. The joint family system provided a proper environment for the child to grow up. The value of respect, tolerance, responsibility, integrity, etc. were internalised in the child. In the long run, they became better human beings, compared to those in the present generation. Our forefathers felt happiest if their children became ‘honest’ human beings.
7. But today we are happy only if we attain our coveted material ends. We are ready to resort to any means to attain that end. Our philosophy of life has turned out totally Machiavellian.
8. Our forefathers had a vision to make India the best. To attain their ambitions, they were ready to make all sorts of personal sacrifices. Their happiness lay in that of the millions of Indian brothers and sisters.
9. On the other hand, today people are ready to migrate to the west, to enjoy a comfortable life. They run away from the evils of the Indian society without trying to remedy them. Often they become successful in foreign lands. But in the process, they become alienated from their motherland. The nostalgic feeling of their childhood and the relationship they left lingered on, which cannot make them happy. Distance from their ailing parents is a worrying factor and keeps them perturbed. It is not easy for them to return, as their children will not be able to adjust to the Indian environment and the way of life.
10. Thus, his is a crisis and a frame of mind worse than his forefathers.
11. In our generation, tradition and modernity have intermingled to form our special system. We are happier than our forefathers in being able to lessen the evils of rigid caste system, untouchability, child marriage, etc. But we have failed to totally eradicate them. The electoral politics had made use of caste system, through the issuance of party tickets on the basis of caste, community, religion, etc.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What is the big difference between our forefathers and us?
(ii) What do you mean by ‘happiness’?
(iii) Why are people ready to migrate to the west?
(iv) How does the joint family system make a child a good human being?
(v) What is the meaning of happy?
(vi) What concept was our forefather’s life based upon?
(vii) Find the word in the passage which means ‘Ancestor’.
(viii) Which word in the passage means ‘Thinking happily about the past’?
Answer:
(i) Our forefathers took pride in scholarship, a spirit of sacrifice and solicitude for the welfare of others, whereas we are self-centred and live only for ourselves.
(ii) Happiness cannot be got from any amount of external wealth. It lies within the mind of the individual.
(iii) People are ready to migrate to the west to enjoy a comfortable life. They run away from the evils of the Indian society without trying to remedy them.
(iv) Joint family nourishes a child to become a good human being by providing values of respect, tolerance, responsibility, integrity, etc.
(V) It means lucky, fortunate, content, glad.
(vi) It was based on the concept of ‘simple living and high thinking’.
(vii) Forefather
(vii) Nostalgic.
10. Read the following passage carefully.
Caged And Safe Or Wild And Free?
The funding crisis at many zoos has reopened the debate over the value of zoos and whether they should be allowed to exist at all.
People who are in favour of zoos argue that they perform an essential role in conserving rare animal species. Conservationists estimate that today at least 1,000 species of animals are threatened. Over the past 20 years zoos have developed programmes designed to help preserve endangered species. This involves breeding animals in captivity in “captive breeding programmes”—and then reintroducing them into their natural habitats to replenish the number living in the wild.
Woburn Abbey, for example, saved a species called Pere David’s deer. The species went largely unrecorded in China from 1920, but a few of the animals were brought to Europe by a French missionary (Father David). Recently Woburn Abbey and other zoos began returning breeding couples of Pere David’s deer to the wild in China.
Zoos cooperate with each other in order to ensure the success of their breeding programmes. Animals are passed from one zoo to another in order to prevent inbreeding—breeding from closely related animals. If animals that are closely related to one another mate, there ‘ is a danger that they will produce deformed offspring.
Supporters of zoos argtie that they have an important role in educating children, millions of whom visit zoos every year. Television-viewing is no substitute for encountering real animals, they argue. Zoos also carry out important research, for example on the best conditions for rare species to reproduce.
If zoos were forced to close, it would be disastrous for world conservation, zoo supporters say. And most animals in captivity would have to be killed. “It does not take much imagination to realise that the closure of all zoos would mean the deliberate destruction of wildlife on a scale never before witnessed,” the National Federation of Zoos says.
Opponents of zoos accept that some species have been saved from extinction by “captive breeding programmes”, but they argue that this offers no solution to the worldwide conservation crisis.
The number of animals protected by Zoos is tiny compared with the overall problem. It cost millions to save the Arabian oryx from dying out; but could that amount be found for every species that is endangered? The value of zoo-breeding programmes is also questioned as some species, such as the African elephant, do not reproduce well in captivity.
Captive animals are often kept in poor and inhumane conditions, opponents say. In the worst zoos, animals are still displayed for the entertainment of the public. Where animals are placed in impoverished and unsuitable surroundings, they often behave in abnormal and neurotic ways. It is common for polar bears constantly to pace up and down or twist their heads and circle over and over again. This behaviour is now recognised by scientists as a sign of stress and frustration. .
When children visit zoos where animals are acting in neurotic and abnormal ways, they are not being educated. Instead, opponents say, they are being given information inaccurate.
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) What are the advantages of zoos?
(ii) What are the disadvantages of zoos?
(iii) How would closing of zoos be disastrous?
(iv) What is ‘captive breeding programme’? What is the advantage of this programme?
(vi) Which programme involves breeding animals in captivity.?
(vii) What do you mean by the word ‘threatened’?
(viii) Find a word in the passage which means ‘to fill up again’.
Answer:
(i) Breeding of endangered species is done, children are educated about wildlife in Zoos.
(ii) Running conservation programme is very costly, captive animals are kept in very poor-condition.
(iii) It would be disastrous for world conservation. It would cause deliberate destruction of wildlife on a large scale.
(iv) Captive breeding programme involves breeding animals in captivity and then reintroducing them into their natural in the wild. It helps to preserve endangered species.
(V) According to conservationists, at least 1,000 species of animals are threatened.
(vi) The programme is captive breeding programmes’.
(vii) It means endangered.
(viii) Replenish.
11. Read the following passage carefully:
1. It is rare to find someone with a good technical and communication skills. You can get far ahead of your colleagues if you combine the two early in your career. People will judge, evaluate, promote or block you based on your communication skills. Since habits form by repeating both good and bad forms of communication, learn to observe great communicators and adopt their styles and traits — in written and verbal forms. The art of listening and learning from each and every interaction, is another secret recipe. Develop the subconscious habit of listening to yourself as you speak and know when to pause.
2. Learning what not to say is probably more important than learning what to say. As your career develops, you will realise that the wise speak less. Speak when you have value to add, else refrain. Poorly constructed e-mails with grammatical errors are acceptable between friends, but they should be seriously avoided while communicating formally with your seniors. Avoid any communication in an emotional state when you might say things you will regret later. One unnecessary word uttered at the wrong time or place can ruin a relationship, career or even your life. Such is the power of words. If such a thing happens, you should immediately apologies, else it may haunt you for life.
3. Another problem to overcome is speaking too fast. Since our minds are working faster than our speech, we are inclined to speak fast. This does not necessarily mean that the person hearing it will get it any faster. On the contrary, it is always the reverse. So slow down, think before you speak. “When I get ready to speak to people,” Abraham Lincoln said, “I spend two-thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one- third thinking what I want to say.” Adding humour and wit is also essential. But realise that not all jokes are funny and observe certain boundaries. Never say anything that could offend. Remember you are not a comedian who must offend as many people as
Answer the following questions briefly:
(i) Why is it necessary to have good communication skills?
(ii) How can communication skills be developed?
(iii) What according to the writer should be avoided while communicating?
(iv) Why should you be careful when you tend to be humorous?
(v) How can we get far ahead of our colleagues?
(vi) What subconscious habit should you develop?
(vii) Find a word which means ‘evaluate’. (para I)
(viii) Which word means ‘trait’? (para 1).
Answer:
(i) Based on your communication skills, people will judge, evaluate, promote or block you. You can get far ahead of your colleagues if you have good communication skills.
(ii) Good communication skills can be developed by the following means:
(a) by observing good communicators.
(b) by adopting good communicator’s styles and traits.
(c) by developing the habit of listening to ourselves.
(d) by learning from every interaction.
(iii) We should avoid grammatical errors while communicating, avoid communicating while in an emotional state and avoid speaking too fast.
(iv) We should be careful when we tend to be humorous because all jokes are not funny. Jokes should not be offensive and we should avoid offending people.
(V) We can get far ahead of our colleagues by combining good technical and communication skills.
(vi) The subconscious habit of listening to yourself as you speak and know when to pause should be developed.
(vii) Estimate
(viii) Quality.
12. Read the following passage carefully.
1. Education is no longer restricted to bookish knowledge and the four walls of colleges and universities. Apart from the activities in the classrooms, laboratories and libraries, a student has an opportunity to find out and express his hidden potential in the form of various extra-curricular activities. Youth festivals are the best platform for such activities.
2. It is essential for the all-round development of a student that he should participate in one or the other activity. There are many extra-curricular activities. Some of them are declamation, debate, histrionics, mimicry, painting, music, dance, singing, poetical recitation, etc.
3. Mere classroom studies make it boring and monotonous and students need some outlet for their energies. They need opportunities for entertainment also. Youth festivals are the spice of academic life. When students prepare for various items, they have a sense of achievement, a sense of doing something useful. Preparing the stage for the show, receiving the guest artists from other institutions and looking after them, inculcate in them a sense of responsibility, co-operation and tolerance.
4. As the competitions of these youth festivals are organised among students of almost the same age, they get rid of stage phobia. They no longer feel shy of the audience and the stage. They learn to face the audience. Thus, they cultivate self-confidence.
5. Youth festivals are the best means to search the talent among the youth. These budding artists will become the singers, actors and orators of tomorrow. Youth festivals prove to be the stepping stones for the future real life. Absence of youth festivals makes a student’s life insipid and boring. As such, students take to subversive activities. If they remain busy in preparing for competition in youth festivals, their time is used in a productive and fruitful way.
Read the following questions and write the answer in your answer sheet.
(i) How does a student find the expression of his potential? Which is the best platform for such activities?
(ii) What do extra-curricular activities include?
(iii) How does the participation in youth festivals help a student?
(iv) How does absence of youth festivals affect students?
(v) What are youth festivals?
(vi) How does youth festivals help students of same age group?
(vii) Find a word in the passage which means ‘dull’ on ‘boring’.
(viii) Which word in the passage means ‘A person who is skilled in making formal speeches?
Answer:
(i) A student finds the expression of his potential through extra-curricular activities.
(ii) Youth festivals are the best platform for such activities. It includes debates, declamation, histrionics, mimicry, painting, music, dance, singing, poetical recitation, etc.
(iii) It enables the students to do something useful and inculcate a sense of achievement, sense of responsibility, co operation and tolerance. (iv) The budding artists become the singers, actors and orators of tomorrow, youth festivals prove to be the stepping stones for the future real life.
(V) Youth festivals are the spice of academic life.
(vi) Students get rid of stage phobia, learn to face audience and cultivate self-confidence. (vii) Monotonous.
(vii) Orator.
13. Read the following passage carefully.
Ask any parent anywhere on the planet and they will tell you that there is nothing sinister, nothing as singularly depressing as Arpita’s copy.
Now this is not just a copy where a tidy conscientious child writes in copious details about everything, taking care to label things in boxes and uses eighteen different coloured pencils while describing ‘My favourite holiday’. This is actually a sinister plot hatched to make your parenting skills look bad by rival parents with way too much time, patience and colouring ability on their side. The child is merely an instrument; it is the parents who are graded.
The whole school evaluation process grades parents with a bewilderingly complex classification that involves stars, smileys, good, very good, keep it up. Are two smileys better than a ‘good’ and a ‘keep it up’? And what about Arpita? What has she got?
Today the child is seen as an entity that is moldable and the role of the parent is to build a person out of a child. This puts tremendous responsibility on parents who believe that their actions determine their child’s future and hence every small step becomes a BIG PROJECT where a minor mistake would make your child a dribbling sociopath tomorrow.
Hence the persistent belief that enough is not being done for the child inspite of the unfortunate truth that more than enough is being done to him. Children need to perform in order to make parents feel good about themselves. In that sense, not much has changed; children still become instruments for the realisation of some parental goals. If earlier getting Into Science was enough to make parents proud, now almost nothing is good enough. Ninety per cent is too little and one extra-curricular activity too basic. And yes, there is always an Arpita lurking somewhere with her wretched copy.
Answer the following questions:
(i) What is the limitation of the whole school evaluation process?
(ii) What is the aspect of parenting that has not changed over the years?
(iii) Why is Arpita’s copy depressing?
(iv) What is the plight of children like Arpita?
(y) What do rival parents have?
(vi) What does every small step become?
(vii) What does the word ‘sinister’ in para 1 mean?
(viii) What is the noun form of ‘realise’?
Answer:
(i) The whole school evaluation process grades parents with a bewildering by complex classification that involves starts, smileys, good, very good, keep it up. Among these grades one stands better than the other.
(ii) Inspite of all her efforts Arpita’s parents are not satisfied.
(iii) They are pressurized to do well.
(iv) Parents are dissatisfied with what is done for their children. They want their children to perform, in this sense children are still instruments for the realisation of some parental goals.
(V) They have time, patience and colouring ability on their side.
(vi) Every small step becomes a BIG PROJECT.
(vii) Evil.
(viii) Realization.
14. Read the following passage carefully:
1. Maybe you’re bored of bananas, apples and grapes and need a fresh produce pick? A nutrient-rich serving of kiwifruit may be just what you need. A serving of kiwifruit (2 kiwis) has twice the vitamin C of an orange, as much potassium as a banana and the fiber of a bowl of whole grain cereal-all for less than 100 calories!
2. The fuzzy fruit is sky-high in both soluble and insoluble fiber, both of which are essential for promoting heart health, regulating digestion, and lowering cholesterol levels—that’s a winning trifecta. Kiwi fruit has also been considered a “nutritional all-star,” as Rutgers University researchers found that kiwifruit has the best nutrient density of 21 commonly consumed fruits.
3. Along with vitamin C, kiwi fruit are rich in many bioactive compounds that have antioxidant capacity to help to protect against free radicals, harmful by-products produced in the body. If you want clean energy, think of kiwifruit because they’re rich in magnesium, a nutrient essential to convert food into energy.
4. A kiwi fruit also doubles as a peeper-keeper by supplying your eyes with protective lutein, a carotenoid that’s concentrated in eye tissues and helps protect against harmful free radicals. Kiwifruit is also packed with blood pressure-lowering potassium. In fact, a 100-gram serving of kiwifruit—that’s about one large kiwi—provides 15% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of potassium.
5. Kiwi fruit has been growing in New Zealand for over 100 years. Once the fruit gained in popularity, other countries started to grow them including Italy, France, Chile, Japan, South Korea and Spain. At first, kiwis were referred to as ‘Yang Tao’ or ‘Chinese Gooseberry,’ but the name was ultimately changed to kiwifruit so that everyone would know where the fruit came from.
6. A ripe kiwi fruit will be plump and smooth-skinned, and free of wrinkles, bruise, and punctures. If you find that your kiwi is a little too firm after buying it, simply let it ripen at room temperature for three to five days. The firmer the fruit, the more tart it will taste. To speed up the ripening process, you can also place kiwis in a paper bag with an apple or banana. If you want to store the fruit longer, you should keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Answer the following questions:
(a) What does a serving of kiwi offer?
(b) Why has kiwi been considered a “nutritional all-star”?
(c) How is kiwi fruit helpful for the eyes?
(d) How can you make a kiwi fruit ripen?
(e) What is the fuzzy fruit sky-high in?
(f) What is a winning trifecta?
(g) What does the word ‘compound’ mean?
(h) Find the word in the passage which means ‘discoloured’.
Answer:
(a) A serving of kiwi offers twice the vitamin C of an orange, as much potassium as a banana and the fiber of a bowl of whole grain cereal-all for less than 100 calories!
(b) Rutgers University researchers found that kiwi fruit has the best nutrient density of 21 commonly consumed fruits. Therefore, it was called ‘nutritional all-star.’
(c) Kiwi fruit supplies our eyes with protective lutein, a carotenoid that’s concentrated in eye tissues and helps protect against harmful free radicals.
(d) Kiwi fruit can be ripened by keeping it at room temperature for three to five days.
(e) The fuzzy fruit is sky-high in both soluble and insoluble fibre.
(f) Kiwi promotes heart health, regulates digestion and lowers cholesterol levels.
(g) The word ‘compound’ means mixture.
(h) ‘Bruises’.
15. Read the following passage carefully:
Why does a person become overconfident? The reason lies in over assessment of his capabilities. Sometimes people over assess their competence and jump into situations that are beyond their control.
Napoleon Bonaparte who became Emperor of France would say that the word ‘impossible’ was common only amongst fools. The overconfident Napoleon invaded Russia in the winter of 1812. This proved to be a big disaster.
Overconfidence generally leads people into misadventures, endangering their chances in life. It is wisely said that any achievement is a result of two factors-one’s personal planning and support from the external world. People, take into account only their planning, generally ignoring external factors. They become unable to foresee future developments Hence, the great risk of failure.
Then there is the question: How can one manage overconfidence? The formula is very simple. Before taking a decision discuss the matter with other informed people with an objective mind and when it is proved that you are about to go off the path, accept reality and say without delay, “I was wrong.”
Overconfidence is a flaw characterizing people who lack the virtue of modesty. Modesty makes you a realist; you become a person who is cut down to size. People of this kind become very cautious; before taking an action they assess the whole situation. They adopt a realistic approach.
Overconfident people live within their own thoughts. They know themselves but they are unaware of others. Living inside their own cell they are unable to make use of the experiences of others. This kind of habit is highly damaging to all concerned.
There is a saying that the young man sees the rule and the old man sees the exception, with a slight change, I would like to say that the overconfident person sees the rule and the confident person sees the exception. Overconfident people are always at risk. It is said that taking risk is good but it must be well calculated otherwise it becomes very dangerous.
Answer the following questions:
(a) Why does a person become overconfident?
(b) What does overconfidence generally lead people into?
(c) How can one manage overconfidence?
(d) What kind of person does ‘modesty’ make you?
(e) What would Napoleon Bonaparte say?
(f) What proved to be a big disaster for Napolean?
(g) Find the word in the passage which means ‘impartial’.
(h) What does the word ‘Endangering’ mean?
Answer:
(a) A person becomes overconfident because of over assessment of his capabilities and competence; jumps into situations that are beyond his control.
(b) Overconfidence generally leads people into misadventures. It endangers their chances in life and puts them at great risk of failure.
(c) One can manage overconfidence by discussing the matter with other informed people with an objective mind and accepting reality, when proved wrong.
(d) Modesty makes a person a realist. A person is cut down to size. Such people become very cautious before taking any action.
(e) Napoleon Bonaparte would say that the word ‘impossible’ was common only amongst fool
(f) Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in winter of 1812 proved to be a big disaster.
(g) Objective
(h) It means threatening.
16. Read the following passage carefully:
One would imagine that at the very sight of the panther, deer, antelopes, and its other preys would just run for their lives. Nothing of the sort. They all stand their ground and make such a loud noise that the panther is left with no other choice except to leave quietly. I have seen a tiny chital baby standing in the middle of an opening in the forest, stamping its feet on the ground and shooing away a tiger. With the white of its erect tail showing, it kept up its shrill call until the tiger made itself scarce. No tiger in its senses would attempt to catch such an impertinent brat, just as you would not dream of catching an offending crow cawing away in your verandah.
While the panther sticks to cover and hugs the edge of the forest, the game animals, on the other hand, like to assemble right out in open vast grazing grounds. Open spaces which the panther carefully avoids, are what the game animals deliberately seek.
It is difficult to describe the pandemonium kicked up by various animals when they spot or suspect a panther around. The chital strikes a shrill note, the kakar emits a deafening bark and the sambar rings a bell. The peacock on its perch, the jungle fowl on the ground, and the monkey on treetops, all join in the chorus of condemnation of the panther. They curse the panther in their own inimitable language. The resulting confusion of sounds is so irritating to the sharp ears of the panther that it is left with no other option except to go away.
The panther has thus to deal with its ever alert and watchful associates who show no mercy and expect none. It is h fight between finesse and flight, between clever attack and skilful defence.
Contrary to the common belief, the panther never springs upon its prey. It stalks as close to its victim as it can manage, and then makes the final dash by rushing at it at a lightning speed.
Answer the following questions:
(a) What strategy do animals like deer, antelopes, etc adopt to drive away the panther?
(b) How do the panther and the game animals (deer, antelopes, etc) react to open
(c) What effect does the loud noise made by birds and animals have on the panther?
(d) How does the panther kill its prey?
(e) Find the meaning – shrill (Para 1)
(f) Find the meaning – deliberately (Para 2)
(g) Find the meaning – condemnation (Para 3)
(h) Find the meaning – associates (Para 4)
Answer:
(a) All of them stand their ground and together they make a loud noise to force the panther to go away.
(b) The panther sticks to cover and hugs the edge of the forest avoiding open spaces. Contrarily, the game animals deliberately seek open grazing grounds to assemble.
(c) The sharp shrill sounds made by birds and animals cause irritation in the sharp ears of the panther. Therefore, the only option before it is to go away from there.
(d) The panther stalks as close to its victim as possible and then makes a final dash by rushing at it with a lightning speed.
(e) High
(f) Intentionally
(g) Disapproval
(h) Rivals
