Bihar Board Class 9 English Unseen Passage for Comprehension Factual

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Bihar Board Class 9 English Unseen Passage for Comprehension Factual

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. [12 Marks]

Passage 1

Maria became the first Italian, woman to receive a medical degree, she joined the university’s psychiatric clinic. As a part of her duty, she had to visit the city’s mental asylum, where disabled children were housed with the insane. She watched the children’s shrieks, stretching their hands out, with an urge to reach out or to touch something. Maria felt they needed a normal and out, with an urge to reach out or to touch something. Maria felt they needed a normal and friendlier environment and contact with the world. She worked out ways by which she could help the disabled children. Dr Bacelli opened an experimental state school for disabled children with Dr Maria^lontessori as its head, maria spent long hours, almost 12 hours’ of the day with children, observing them and, finding out what could really help them. After two years of hard work, her students took the normal state school examination. And, her children proved that they were not hopeless cases. In fact, many did almost as well as other normal children. Later, Maria was appointed professor of anthropology at the university. After seven years, she took up another important mission of her life. She started Kindergarten for the poor, normal children. She first taught them to become tidy, learn self-discipline and then taught them to read and write. In her colourful, stimulating kindergarten, she proved them with like cut out letters of sandpaper, coloured blocks and musical bells with different notes. Many more such innovations made her system of education stimulating and even inspired the educationists. [JAC Sample Paper 2010]

Questions:

1. Where were the disabled children housed? (2)
2. What did the disabled children need? (2)
3. What did the disabled children’s success in normal state school examination prove? (2)
4. State any two things that maria’s innovative Kindergarten provided the children with. (2)
5. Which were Maria’s two main areas of interest? (2)
6. Find a word in the passage which means the same as the following words/phrases (2)
   (a) mad (Para-4)
   (b) a strongly felt aim (Para-5)

Answers:

1. The disabled children were housed in the mental asylum of Rome with the insane children.
2. The disabled children needed a friendlier environment and contact with the world.
3. It proved that the disabled children were as capable as the normal children.
4. (i) It provided them with innovative learning objects.
   (ii) It taught them 3R’s and the sense of cleanliness and discipline.
5. (i) Helping the disabled children.
   (ii) Helping the poor and normal children.
6. (a) insane
   (b) mission

Passage 2

1. You know that the earth goes around the sun the moon goes around the earth. You know also perhaps that there are several other bodies which, like the earth, go round the sun. They are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter. Satum, Uranus and Neptune. All these, including our earth, are called planets of the sun. The moon is called a satellite of the earth because it keeps going around the earth. The other planets have also got their satellites.

2. The sun and the planets with their satellites from a happy family, called the solar system. Solar means belonging to the sun. The sun is the father of all the planets, so the whole group is called the solar system.

3. At night, you see thousands of stars in the sky. Only a few of them are planets. We can easily distinguish between a planet and a star. Compared to the stars, the planets are really very tiny, like our earth. But they look bigger than stars because they are much nearer to us. Compared to a star, the moon is really quite like a baby. It looks so big because it is very near to us. The real way to distinguish a star from a planet is to see whether it twinkles or not. Stars twinkle, planets don’t. Planets shine only because they get the light of the sun. It is merely the sunshine on the planets or the moon that we see.

4. Stars are like the sun. They shine of themselves because they are very hot and burning. In fact, the sun itself is a star. It looks bigger than stars because it is much nearer. We see it as a great ball of fire in the sky. (294 words)

Questions:

1. (a) How can we distinguish a star from a planet?
   (b) Why does the moon look bigger than the sun?
   (c) What makes the sunshine?
   (d) How big is the earth as compared to the sun?
   (e) What is a satellite?
2. Give the noun form of ‘compare’ and ‘distinguish’.
3. What is meant by the words ‘solar’ and ‘twinkle’?

Answers:

1. (a) We can easily distinguish between a planet and a star, because planets do not twinkle whereas stars twinkle.
   (b) The moon looks bigger than the sun because the sun is far away from the earth.
   (c) The sun shines because it is very hot and burning.
   (d) The earth is only a speck of dust as compared to the sun.
   (e) A satellite is a natural body in space that moves around a larger body, especially a planet.
2. (i) Comparison
   (ii) Distinction
3. ‘Solar’ means ‘of the sun’ or ‘related to the sun’.

Passage 3

1. What is trade and how it begin? Today you see large shops and it is so easy to go inside them and buy what you want. But do you ever think where the things you buy come from? You may buy a woollen shawl in a shop in your city. It may have come. All the way from Kashmir and the wool may have grown on the backs of sheep in the mountains of Kashmir or Ladakh. A watch that you buy may have come from Japan. But it was not always so.

2. In the early days, there was very little trade. Everything that a man wanted he had to grow himself or make himself. Sometimes it must have happened that one tribe had a great deal of one thing and another a great deal of something else. It was natural fof them to exchange goods. For instance, one tribe may give a cow for a bag of grain. There was no money in those days. Things could only be exchanged. So exchange began. It must have been rather inconvenient.

3. When gold and silver were found, people started using them for trade . It was easier to carry them. And gradually the custom arose of paying for things in gold and silver. The first person who thought of this must have been a very clever person. The use of gold and silver made trade very much easier. Even then there were no coins as we have them now. Gold used to be weighed in a balance and then given to another person. Much later came coins and these made trade and exchange still simpler. No weighing was required then as everybody knew the value of a coin. Now money (in many different forms) is used all over the world. (300 words)

Questions:

1. (a) What had man to do in the early days to have the things he couldn’t make for himself?
   (b) Why was there little trade in early days?
   (c) How was gold and silver used for trade?
   (d) How did the use of coins make trade easier?
   (e) There was no money in those days.’ What does the word ‘those’ here refer to?
2. Find in the passage words that mean:
   (i) buying and selling
   (ii) example
3. What do you mean by the words:
   (i) balance
   (ii) tribe?

Answers:

1. (a) The man had to change those things with some of things that he had with him.
   (b) In early age, people themselves made all the things they needed, so they didn’t have to do any trading.
   (c) Gold and Silver were used for the payment of things by the people. Or People paid for things in Gold and Silver.
   (d) Coins madle trade easier, because no weighing was required then as everybody knew the value of the coin.
   (e) The word those here refers to the early days when people them-selves made all things they needed.
2. (i) trade
   (ii) instance
3. (i) an instrument for weighing
   (ii) a group or a class of people.

Passage 4

Often students who are very fond of reading books are labelled by their comrades as bookworms. Those labelling generally come from the mouth of who consider themselves as being “gamesters”. Boys who shine in athletics or in playing of some game particularly cricket-consider that the game field is a better or noble arena for their activities and the expenditure of their energies than the classroom of the reading desk. The idea is bom out of an inferiority complex inherent in the game-minded students who actually envy their fellows who shine academically. Academic honours have a grace which is unique. It is not to be denied that the playing of games is a worthy activity, it is worthy in the sense that the team spirit can be created in the individual only if he has learnt to participate in the playing of games. It is also true that the players do much for society and for his country on the playing field. It is true that the feeling of cooperation can be created in person only through group activities. But studies should not be sacrificed in order that students devote their time only to the playing of games. It is my feeling that those boys become serious with the playing, particularly of cricket, begin to ignore their studies and then their academic ability suffers, as it- must: Let each type of activity haye its own place in our daily round and then only, and then alone, will the balanced division of interests produce the individual will have a proper view of things. Then will we have the student who is both academically good and who can hold his own on the game field? That is the personality that we want our education system to produce.

Questions:

1. What is the main goal of Education?
2. What are the writer’s advice on involving oneself in-game and sports?
3. What is the handicap that arises out of over-involvement in games?
4. Why do Gamestars tend to call academically sound students bookworms?
5. What is the one quality that we can acquire through playing games as quoted by the writer?
6. Find a word from the passage which have the following meanings as given in the paragraphs
   (i) branded (Para 1)
   (ii) good (Para 2)

Answers:

1. It is to make the student academically good and good at sports too.
2. It is a worthy’ activity if our interest in it is balanced with academics.
3. It is that students begin to ignore their studies and thus their academic ability suffers.
4. It is because they envy their fellow-beings who shine academically.
5. It is that sports develop a sense of team spirit in the individual.
6. (i) Labelled
   (ii) Worthy

Passage 5

Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity. No house-hold can get on without it, for it is used in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oil of certain flowers. Soaps are made from vegetable and animal oils. To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the politician or the engineer refers to an oil, he almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives tanks, aeroplanes and workshops, motor-cars and diesel locomotives; the oil that is used to lubricate all kinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it is refined into petrol it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. To it, we owe the existence of the motor-car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To it, we owe the possibility of flying. It has changed the method of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oil comes out of the earth. Because it bums well, it is used as fuel and in some ways, it is superior to coal in this respect. Many big ships now bum oil instead of coal. Because it bums brightly, it is used for illumination; count¬less homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. Because it is very very slippery, it is used for lubrication. Two metal surfaces rubbing together cause friction and heat. But if they are separated by a thin film of oil, the friction and heat are reduced. No machine would work for long if, it were not properly lubricated. The oil used for this purpose must be of the correct thickness; if it is too thin it will not give sufficient lubrication, and if it is too thick it will not reach all parts that must be lubricated.

Questions:

1. How is vegetable oil of utmost importance for every household?
2. What is mineral oil used?
3. What is the origin of mineral oil?
4. Give two uses of mineral oil other than driving various vehicles?
5. Find words from the passage which means the following:
   (i) long past (para 1)
   (ii) lighting up (para 2)
6. Use the following words in your sentences to make their meaning clear.
   (i) perfumes
   (ii) owe.

Answers:

1. It is because cooking is done with it. If it is not there, there will be no cooking.
2. It is used to drive tanks, aeroplanes, warships, motorcars, etc.”
3. It is the earth.
4. One, it is used to illuminate the house. Second, It is used for lubrication.
5. (i) antiquity
   (ii) illumination.
6. (i) Perfumes are used in the making of aggarbatties.
   (ii) Anita owes money to me.

Passage 6

Cable TV has come to stay. It has got a ‘comer’ in most urban homes today. For some, it is a symbol of social status, for others, a necessity for keeping in tune with the times. Parents have realised that the cable has become a power in itself. For although it is slowly wearing off, the charm still remains. So it is no longer a craze, it is a phenomenon. The effect of cable TV on children is too strong to be ignored. The consequences of the cable phenomenon are slowly beginning to be felt now. Nita is five and very bright. But she has lately failed to progress much with her alphabets. However, her TV vocabulary has been improving with every passing day. She can be heard discussing an extra Chanel’ with her school friends, who like her have a cable connection at home. Films, Star Plus serials. Wimbledon on Prima Sports and the latest hot numbers of Music TV (MTV) are the current topics of discussion among children who are getting more arid more ‘star’ struck. Though cable TV brings a new world of sheer entertainment and awareness of a new culture to our homes, yet it has exposed the young to a foreign culture. It is, therefore, not for the kids with impressionable minds and negative powers. Overloading of information, constant exposure to an unknown culture, consumerism and a continual, often unchecked, access to adult shows are some of the powerful problems. Along with, a disturbance of academic routine, absence of sports, reading and other creative hobbies. The price is thus heavy to be paid for viewing cable TV.

Questions:

1. give two reasons, Why cable TV has become a crate?
2. What do ‘children’ mostly discuss?
3. What is the effect of cable TV besides providing entertainment, etc?
4. The price is this heavy…. ‘What is the price heavy for?
5. Find a word from the passage which means the following:
   (i) of the cities (para 1)
   (ii) continuous (para 3)
6. Make verbs of the following nouns:
   (i) connection (ii) discussion

Answers:

1. (i) It is now a social status symbol.
   (ii) It is necessary for. being in tune with the present times.
2. Films, Star Plus serials, the latest hot numbers on Music TV etc.
3. It has exposed the children to an alien culture.
4. It is heavy for viewing cable TV.
5. (i) Urban
   (ii) Constant
6. (i) Connect
   (ii) discuss

Passage 7

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: In India working woman leads a life of dual responsibilities, If they are married and have a family. In the West, many women are career-conscious and are committed to their jobs. Here in India woman still have traditional roles to fulfil and prefer a career to avoid domestic boring work. There are four categories of a working woman in India. Some work while they are waiting for matrimony. A majority work because they are qualified, want a second income and a different kind of life for the part of the day. A small section consists of a career woman. A sizeable section of woman are bread-winners. It is quite clear that with a majority of working women the family comes over the job. They prefer to stay in joint families where their children can be taken care of while they are at work. When they come back in the evening from the relative modem surroundings of their work spots, their personalities have to undergo a change to accommodate the demand of their time and attention by different family members whose main feelings are of having been neglected. These women often do their shopping on the way from the office. They reserve their weekends for heavy housework which will help them to cope with the rest of the week with relatively less tension. Weekends are also reserved for spending their time with spouses and children, for entertainment, family duties, visits and other such endless chores. Actually speaking, they hardly have time for personal needs. Despite the freedom and confidence of their jobs and pay packets, working women still prefer to leave the financial decision-making and budgeting to their husbands. They are unwilling to compromise on their dual burdens and prefer jobs with flexible timings. They are not unduly fashion-conscious but take pride in graceful clothing. Indian working women are managing their double roles admirably.

Questions:

1. What roles do Indian women play in life?
2. Give any two reasons behind working by a majority of women?
3. Why a majority of women prefer to stay in joint families?
4. When do the working women do shopping?
5. To whom do these women leave the financial decision making and budgeting?
6. Use the following in sentences to make their meaning clear:
   (i) traditional
   (ii) graceful

Answers:

1. They play traditional roles.
2. One, they work because they are qualified, Second, they want a second income.
3. They do so because their children can be taken care of
4. They do it on the way home from the office.
5. They leave these to their husbands.
6. (i) People in the villages wear traditional dresses.
   (ii) She walked with a graceful manner to receive the award.

Passage 8

1. For its size, the goat provides man with more useful things than almost any other animal, yet it often does not receive the food and care given to other animals. The goat will try to eat anything and will put up with the most uncomfortable surroundings. But if it is well-fed and carefully housed, the goat will produce much better milk, flesh and wool.

2. The goat is very closely related to the sheep. In fact, it looks very much like a sheep except for three things. It has a shorter tail which turns up instead of hanging down Goats (both males and females) have beards and backward slanting horns, whereas male sheep (rams) have curly horns. Goats have hairy coat whereas sheep a woollen one.

3. Goats can be divided into three groups – the Swiss goats, the eastern goats, and the wool goats. The Swiss goats, which are found all over Europe and have upright pointed ears, produce a fine quality of milk. Goat’s milk is considered to be especially good for babies and invalids because it is easier to digest than cow’s milk. It is also made into cheese and use in the manufacture of the famous Swiss chocolate. The eastern goats which have long, drooping ears, are raised both for milk and flesh. They are also valued for their short wool, which may be black, tan or white. However, the best wool comes from two goats in the third group – the Angora and the Cashment breeds. The Angora, which came originally from near Ankara, the capital of Turkey is now bred in eastern Europe, Southern Africa, Australia, and the United States. The smaller Cashmere goat is difficult to raise outside its native home of Kashmir. It’s so under-hair has long been used to make the famous Cashmere shawls. (295 words)
Word-meanings: 1. slanting—not straight, >qds gq, 2. upright—vertically straight up lh/k [kM+k gqvk, 3. dropping—to hand downwards, uhps yVdk gq, A

Questions:

1. (a)How can you say that the goat is not fairly treated?
   (b) How can the goad be made more useful?
   (c) List the three differences between a goat and a sheep.
   (d) Name the three different groups of goats.
   (e) What are the Swiss goats famous for?
2. Find in the passage words that mean:
   (i) hanging downwards
   (ii) in the beginning.
3. What is meant by the words:
   (i) invalid
   (ii) upright?

Answers:

1. (a) A goat provides us with more things than almost any other animal, yet it does hot receive the food and care given to other animals.
   (b) We can make the goat more useful by feeding and housing it more carefully.
   (c) The goat has a shorter tail which turns up instead of hanging down. Goats have slanting horns; sheep have curly horns. Goats have a hairy coat, sheep have a woolly coat.
   (d) The three groups of goats are Swiss goats, eastern goats, and wool goats.
   (e) The Swiss goats are famous for producing fine quality of milk.
2. (i) drooping
   (ii) originally
3. (i) a person who has been made weak by illness or injury.
   (ii) vertically straight upwards.

Passage 9

1. Few animals are more disliked by human beings than rats. They are dents of gnawing animals and are found in nearly every part of the world. Wild rats are harmless but the rats in towns and villages probably do more harm than all other animals put together. They live wherever there are houses, bams and stores of grains.

2. The word ‘rat’ usually refers to two quite different kinds of the rat. They are the house rat or black rat and the brown rat. The brown rat is distinctly larger, with a body length” of up to 25 centimetres; its tail is always shorter than its body. The black rat is more lightly built and has a body length of 20 centimetres; it has a tail longer than its body.

3. Rats do terrible damage by eating and spoiling stores foodstuffs. They may also cause fires by gnawing through gas pipes, or flooding by making holes in water pipes. In history, black rats are chiefly known as spreaders of bubonic plague, one of the world’s worst diseases. This was the disease that killed so many people during the Black Death in the 14th century and the Plague of London in 1664-65. The germs of bubonic plague are passed to human beings by fleas which leave a sick or dead rate to find another creature on which to live.

4. Rats are able to live in all kinds of climates. They are even known to live in the refrigerated sections of meat shops, where they grow long coats to keep themselves warm.

5. One of the main reasons why rates are so widespread is that they breed very quickly. A female rate may have eight litters in years with anythings up to 20 young ones in each litter. In about three months, each of these young rats can start breeding.

Questions:

1. (a) Why are rats disliked?
   (b) How does a black rate differ from a brown rat?
   (c) What harm can rats do in homes and cities?
   (d) How are the germs of bubonic plague passed on to human beings?
   (e) Why are rats so widespread?
2. What do these words mean?
   (i) rodents
   (ii) bubonic.
3. Give the synonyms of:
   (i) widespread
   (ii) terrible.

Answers:

1. (a) Rats are disliked because they can do terrible harm to our crops and things at home.
   (b) The brown rat is larger than the black rat. The black rat has a tail longer than its body.
   (c) Rats can eat and spoil stored foodstuffs. They can cause fires by gnawing through gas pipes. They can cause flooding by making holes in water pipes.
   (d) The germs of bubonic plague passed on to human beings, spread by fleas which leave a sick or dead rate to find another creature on which to live.
   (e) The main reason why rats are so wide-spread is that they breed very quickly.
2. (i) Small animals with sharp strong front teeth.
   (ii) Causing inflamed swelling in the armpits.
3. (i) general, common
   (ii) dreadful, horrible.

Passage 10

1. The Buddha’s real name was Siddhartha. He was the son of a Sakya king in north India. He and his family were all Hindus and belonged to the Gautama clan.

2. Gautama Siddhartha was brought up in luxury. He lived in his father’s palace and saw nothing of the outside world until he was a young man. Then one day, accompanied by his charioteer Channa, Prince Siddhartha went round the city. On his way, he saw some sights that he had never seen before. First, he saw a man who was very old and was bent with age. Then he saw a man who was suffering from a terrible disease possibly leprosy. And then he saw a dead man who was being taken to the cremation ground. These sights made the Prince wy sad.

3. Now a complete change came in Gautama Siddhartha’s life. He was filled with longing to find the cause and cure of human sufferings. Although he was married and had a baby son. he left his home in search of X truth. He was then only 28.

4. First of all, Gautama went to two Hindu priests. He wanted to know from them the cause of human sufferings. But the priests could not give him any satisfactory answers. Now Gautama tried to live the life of an ascetic. For six years, he tortured himself so that he could become indifferent to any kind of pain. He was reduced to a mere skeleton. But eventually, he realized that all this was foolish and useless. Now he sat in deep meditation under a bo tree near Gaya (in Bihar). Here, at last, he attained Enlightenment and found the answers to his questions. He was then 35 years old. (291 words)

Questions:

1. (a) Who was Gautama Siddhartha?
   (b) How did Gautama spend his childhood?
   (c) When and why did he leave his home?
   (d) Where did he go and why?
   (e) How did he attain enlightenment?
2. Find from the passage words that mean:
   (i) an infectious disease
   (ii) a strong desire.
3. Give the meanings of:
   (i) Clan
   (ii) indifferent

Answers:

1. (a) Gautam Siddartha was the son of a ‘Sakya King’ in northern India.
   (b) Gautam spent his childhood in Luxury.
   (c) Gautam left his home in search of truth when he was only 28 years old.
   (d) Gautam went to two Hindu priests. He wanted to know from them the cause of human sufferings.
   (e) Gautam sat under a tree near Gaya (in Bihar) in deep meditation. He attained Enlightenment here.
2. (i) Leprosy
   (ii) Longing.
3. (i) A social group stronger than a tribe.
   (ii) impartial, unconcerned.

Passage 11

1. In today’s world, everybody talks much about his rights. There is a great hue and cry if our rights are infringed. But nobody seems to bother much about his duties. That is why there is great unrest in our present-day life. Actually duties come first, and rights afterwards. Many a time one man’s right is another man’s duty and vice versa. For example, every man has the right to have an undisturbed sleep. So it becomes the duty of his neighbour not to tune his radio at too high a pitch. If we want to enjoy our rights, we should act in such a way that the rights of others do not trespass. It can happen only if we take due account of our duties also. In short, rights and duties are complementary things and not contradictory.

2. It is difficult to agree on which rights should be guaranteed to a citizen. For example, does a child have the right to be educated in his / her mother tongue? Some enthusiasts may say, ‘Certainly’: But others may say that while everyone must have a right to education, the government should not be forced to spend money to employ special teachers for the language of every group and community. Take another example. Does every adult have a right to a job? Some will say, ‘Yes’. Others will disagree and say that this is a privilege, not a right. They say that in these days of population explosion it is not possible for any government to ensure full employment.

3. There can be disagreement on such controversial issues, but there can be no disagreement on such things as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Every nation worth the name must ensure these rights for her citizens. (302 words)

Questions:

1. (a) Why is there great unrest in present-day life?
   (b) What should we do to enjoy our rights?
   (c) What argument can be given against the right to be educated in one’s own mother tongue?
   (d) What argument can be given against the right of every adult to have a job?
   (e) Give one example from the passage to show that one man’s right is another man’s duty.
2. Find from the passage the synonyms of:
   (i) restrict
   (ii) encroach.
3. The world ‘undisturbed’ is the opposite of ‘disturbed’ formed by adding the prefix un-. Give two other examples of opposite formed by adding the prefix un-.

Answers:

1. (a) There is great unrest as our rights are restricted.
   (b) We should act in such a way that the rights of others are not trespassed to enjoy our rights. Then only we may enjoy our rights.
   (c) Job to an adult is a privilege, not a right.
   (d) Every man has the right to have an undisturbed sleep. So it becomes the duty of his neighbour not to tune his radio at too high a pitch.
   (e) Everybody must have a right to education, the government should not be forced to spend money to employ special teachers for the language of every group and community. It is the issue to be argued.
2. (i) infringe
   (ii) trespass
3. (i) uninterrupted
   (ii) undecided

Passage 12

1. The present, system of education was founded by the British for their own convenience. Lord Macaulay was the father and founder of this system. He wanted it to produce clerks to help the British in running their administration. Today the English have gone but the same old system of education still continues. This system of education has many defects. It must be changed and overhauled.

2. The greatest defect m our present system of education is that it is too theoretical. An educated man has only bookish knowledge. He knows nothing about practical things, lie finds that his education has not made him fit to do any useful work for his society.

3. The present system of education does not teach as us the dignity of labour. A student is not taught or trained to do things with his hands. Manual or physical labour finds no place in education. Educated young men are fit only to be clerks in offices. They look down on manual labour. They consider it below their dignity to do such work.

4. Vocational education is the need of the hour. We need more and’ more technicians, engineers and debtors. But, the number of vocational institutions – Engineering and Medical Colleges, Polytechnics and I.T.I.’s – is limited. A large number of young men and women, who can do well as technicians, are deprived Of technical or vocational training.

5. The present system of education gives too much importance to English. At many places, it is the medium of instruction. English may be an international language. It may have rich treasures of science and literature. But it can never be our national language. Education must be imparted in the mother tongue. This will save much talent of the country from going waste. (300 words)

Questions:

1. (a) What kind of educational system did Macaulay devise and why?
   (b) What is the greatest defect in our present-day system of education?
   (c) Why do our educated youth hate physical labour?
   (d) What changes should be made in our system of education?
   (e) What, according to you, should be the medium of instruction? Give your reasons.
2. Find from the passage words that mean:
   (i) professional
   (ii) drawbacks.
3. Use these phrases in sentences of your own:
   (i) look down on
   (ii) go waste.

Answers:

1. (a) Lord Macaulay devised the educational system to produce clerks. He did so to help the British in running their administration.
   (b) The greatest defect in our present-day system of education is that it is too theoretical and provides bookish knowledge only.
   (c) The educational youth hate physical labour as they consider it below their dignity to do such work.
   (d) Vocational education is the need of the hour. It should be included in the educational system.
   (e) The medium of instruction should be our mother tongue and the education must be provided in it. This will save much talent of the country from going waste.
2. (i) vocational
   (ii) defects
3. (i) despise, discard
   (ii) useless

Passage 13

1. Today we know about each and every part of the world. There is no land or sea that is not known to us. Man has explored every comer of the world, and he knows all the ways and routes from anywhere to everywhere in the world. He can reach from one place to the other as safely, easily and quickly as he likes. He has maps to guide him and the fastest means of transport to carry him.

2. But for ages, most of the world was unknown to man. To begin with, he lived in caves. Then he came out of caves and started making homes in little comers of forests or behind the hills. He was afraid of wild animals and also of the clouds and the winds. He offered prayers and sacrifices to gods who, he thought, controlled the clouds and the winds. But slowly, through long centuries, men began to explore what lay beyond their caves, hills and forests where they had their homes. They went in their boats, first on the rivers and then across the seas. At first, they remained close to the shore, and each new voyager went a little further than the previous one.

3. To those early travellers, the earth seemed to be a vast, fiat world. They feared what would happen if they reached the edge. They believed that if they sailed Southway the sea would become so hot and boiling that life would be impossible. Towards the north, they thought, it must be too cold for anything to live. Till only five hundred years ago, nearly all men believed this. When some Portuguese explorers began to sail southward, their seamen revolted and refused to go further. They believed that the steaming waters of the southern seas would boil them like potatoes. (304 words)

Questions:

1. (a) How is it that we know every part of the world now?
   (b) Where did the early man make homes for himself and why?
   (c) Why were sacrifices offered to gods?
   (d) What did the early man do to explore the world beyond his home?
   (e) What did the early explorers think about the world?
2. Find from the passage the synonyms of:
   (i) search, find
   (ii) declined
3. The word ‘impossible’ is the opposite of ‘possible ‘formed by adding the prefix im-. Give two other opposites formed by adding the prefix im-.

Answers:

1. (a) Man has explored every corner of the world. He knows all the ways and routes from anywhere and everywhere in the world.
   (b) The early man lived in caves. Afterwards, he came out of. Caves and started making homes in little comers of forests or behind the hills.
   (c) Sacrifices were offered to god’s because early man (man at the time) thought that the clouds and the wind had been controlled by god.
   (d) The early man went in their boards on the rivers and across the sea to explore what lay beyond their caves, hills and forests.
   (e) To the early explorers, the earth seemed to be a vast, flat world. They feared what would happen if they reached the edge.
2. (i) explore
   (ii) refused
3. (i) improper
   (ii) immovable

Passage 14

1. Our earth has a fine layer of soil at the surface. All plants grow in this soil only. Uner the soil, there are rocks of various kinds. Nature takes millions of years to form an inch of soil in thickness. But sometimes a single heavy shower can wash it off. Such things don’t happen in places where we have forests or lots of trees. The roots of trees hold the soil together and protect it from being washed off.

2. We value trees not only for their usefulness but also for their beauty. They refresh the eyes and bring peace to the mind. That is why our ancient rishis were attracted to the forests. They lived in their forest homes or ashramas in the company of nature. It was in these ashramas that they taught their pupils. When Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore started a school, he also chose a place full of trees, he called it Shantiniketan or the Home of Peace.

3. There was a time when our hills, mountains and even plains were covered with huge forests. As the population grew, trees were cut down to meet the demand for fuel and timber. Thus our wonderful forests came to be destroyed. Now we don’t have enough trees to give us firewood even. So people are forced to bum cattle-dung which ought to be saved for use as manure. Cattle-dung is very necessary to maintain the fertility of the soil. Chemical fertilizers alone can’t help. In many areas, where only chemical fertilizers are used, the crop yields have started falling.

4. There is another grave danger. Now we don’t have enough trees to treat all the carbon dioxide that is being produced in our homes, factories and by our autos. The air remains polluted and it can give us a number of serious diseases. (300 words)

Questions:

1. (a) What lies beneath the surface of the earth?
   (b) How do trees help to save the soil from being washed off?
   (c) Why did our ancient rishis love to live in forests?
   (d) How have our trees and forests come to be destroyed?
   (e) How do trees help to save the air from pollution?
2. Find from the passage words that mean :
   (i) save
   (ii) increased.
3. Give the verb forms of
   (i) peace
   (ii) population

Answers:

1. (a) There are rocks beneath the surface of the earth.
   (b) The roots of trees hold the soil together and protect it from being washed off.
   (c) Our ancient ‘rishis’ loved to live in the forest because trees in the forest refresh the eyes and bring peace to the mind.
   (d) Trees were cut down to meet the demand for fuel and timber, with the extraordinary growth in population.
   (d) Trees help to save the air from pollution by treating carbon dioxide which is being produced in our homes.
2. (i) protect
   (ii) decay, diminish
3. (i) peace
   (ii) populate

Passage 15

1. Helen Keller was born in 1880 at Tuscumbia. When she was only nineteen months old, she had a strange kind of fever. The fever left her blind and deaf.

2. Helen used simple signs to tell what she wanted. For example, a shake of the head meant ‘no’, and a nod meant ‘yes’. A pull meant ‘come’, and a push meant ‘go’. But often she found it difficult to communicate with others. This made her angry. In her anger, she would dash things to the floor. Sometimes she would even lock her mother in the kitchen.

3. Helen’s parents were sad but they didn’t lose heart. They got the services of a very capable teacher for their daughter. She was Annie Sullivan, an expert in teaching the blind. Annie had herself been blind for a time, but now she had recovered her eyesight, though’ partly. Her experience of blindness had given her much sympathy for the blind.

4. Annie’s job was not an easy one because Helen was wild and self-willed by nature. She was almost impossible to control. But Annie was a patient teacher. She proved herself equal to the task. Annie began with the teaching of words. She would take Helen’s lingers lightly in her hand. Then she would make different signs with them. Different positions of the fingers stood for different letters, called the finger alphabet.

5. At first, Helen did not know that she was spelling a word. She didn’t even know that there was any such thing as words. She simply made the signs with Miss Sullivan’s help. But when she began to understand, there was no stopping her. In three months, she learnt three hundred words. She learnt so quickly that she became famous worldwide for her accomplishments. (298 words)

Questions:

1. (a) What happened to Helen Keller when she was a little baby?
   (b) What was it that made her angry as a child? What would she do then?
   (c) What did Helen’s parents do for her?
   (d) How was Annie’s job not an easy one? What was her job?
   (e) How did Helen learn to spell words on her fingers?
2. Find from the passage words that mean :
   (i) regained
   (ii) out of control
3. Use these phrases in sentences of your own:
   (i) lose heart
   (ii) prove herself equal to the task.

Answers:

1. (a) Helen Keller had a strange kind of fever when she was a little child. The fever left her blind and deaf.
   (b) Helen used simple signs to tell others what she wanted. But often she found it difficult to communicate with others, which made her angry. She would dash things to the floor and sometimes even look her mother in the kitchen.
   (c) Helen’s parents got the services of Annie Sullivan’, an expert in teaching the blind.
   (d) Annie’s job was not an easy one because Helen was wild and self- willed by nature. It was almost impossible to control her even.
   (e) Annie began with the teaching of words taking Helen’s fingers lightly in her hand. Then she would make different signs with them. It made Helen spell words on her fingers
2. (i) recovered
   (ii) wild
3. (i) We should not lose our heart in our troublesome days.
   (ii) Pooja has always proved herself equal to the task even in the adverse circumstances.

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