Bihar Board Class 9 English Unseen Passage for Comprehension Literary

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Bihar Board Class 9 English Unseen Passage for Comprehension Literary

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

Passage 1

The elephant is the only animal with a trunk. It uses its trunk in many ways. It pulls leaves of trees with its trunk and then puts them into its mouth. It can even use its trunk to get water. The trunk can hold a lot of water as an elephant needs to drink more than three pints of water every day. When an elephant is angry its trunk can be dangerous. The tusks of an elephant are really its front teeth. People pay a lot of money for the ivory of an elephant’s tusks. In Africa, men have hunted elephants for their tusks. The ivory from tusks is made into many beautiful things. It has been easy for men to train an elephant in Asia. They use an elephant to carry heavy things for long-distance.

Questions:

Why do some people kill elephants? (2)
How does the elephant use its trunk? (2)
What is the commercial use of the elephant’s tusks? (2)
Find out the word in the passage which is opposite of ‘safe’? (2)

Answers:

Some people kill the elephants for their tusks.
The elephant pulls leaves of trees with its trunk. Then it puts the leaves in its mouth. It also uses its trunk for drinking water.
The elephant’s ivory is used for making many beautiful things.
‘dangerous’.

Passage 2

I was seven years old. I had lived at the same place for all of my life, but we were moving. We were moving from the farm with all of its animals, with its memories of searching for chickens eggs, and with the black and white cows that had to be milked each day. We were going from the place of scrub pines, of pastures, of irrigations ditches to an unknown, unknowable place, far away. We had worked hard to get ready. Finally, dad piled all of us into the car. As we began to drive away, I looked out of the rear window of the car. As I looked back, I saw my dog and my cats. I could not see my horse. I asked my father what would happen to these pets. All that dad could tell me was that they had to remain there, that they could not come with us. There was no explanation—merely the declaration that we must go, I was bitterly disappointed, so disappointed that this memory is still seared into me, forty-three years later. Why could my father not change this? I could not understand then, but I do now. But I still do not understand why he has no explanation.

Questions:

What chores did the young child have to perform at the farm? (1)
What was his regret about moving away from the farm? (1)
What explanation did he seek from his dad? (2)
Why did the child find his father’s reply unsatisfactory? (2)
What were the child’s feeling as he left the farm? Why? (2)

Answers:

The young child had to gather eggs, and milk the cows at the farm.
His regret was that he would miss his pets, his cats, dog, and horse.
He sought an explanation from his dad as what would happen to his pets.
He did not offer any explanation. His father declared that the pets had to remain at the farm.
The child was disappointed. His father could not change the situation.

Passage 3

Noise is a sound that is unpleasant to the ears. However, a noise unpleasant to one person may be pleasant to another. In scientific terms, noise is made by an irregular pattern of sound waves. There are a number of things which make our world unpleasantly or even dangerously noisy, such as jet aircraft taking off, road drills, heavy traffic or loudspeakers. The sound waves bang into structures and cause them to vibrate giving rise to noise. In the process, they get damaged. In younger people, deafness can be caused by too loud a noise or from prolonged exposure to loud noise as produced by too much amplification in a discotheque or by machines in a factory. The noise depends on the energy the sound waves carry. Decibel Scale is used to measure the loudness of the sound. [JAC Sample Paper 2010]

Questions:

How would you define noise scientifically? (2)
Name the things which cause noise pollution. (2)
How is the noise produced? (2)
How is noise harmful to the younger people? (1)
How can we measure the loudness of the sound? (1)

Answers:

The scientific definition of noise is that it is made by an irregular pattern of sound waves.
The following things cause noise pollution.
- Jet aircraft
- Road drills
- Heavy traffic
- Loudspeakers.
Noise is produced whenever the sound waves bang in structures and cause them to vibrate.
The noise is harmful to younger people because they become deaf.
We can measure the loudness of the sound by using the decibel scale.

Passage 4

I want to speak my mind on cats and dogs, both these species have been with the human for ages as pets. I don’t know, how people tolerate cats. It is so haughty and superior that it makes you feel inferior and its only intention is to have a nice time at your expense without even doing you a good turn. And if you think all the mice it makes its food were part of its desire to repay the favour to you, forget it. A cat never does anything at your bidding. It catches mice because it wants to, not because you wanted it to do that. A cat is also an expert thief and takes delight in spoiling everything in your home. No matter how much you feed it, the kitchen gets regularly spoiled and no matter how much you love it, precious china and glass would continue to be upset. And if catch it during its secret thus necessitating its retreat, you won’t find it repent. In fact, it removes itself to a safe distance and hard show of disapproval is its eyes it looks at you as if you are the worst nuisance that it has come across. It might also scratch you, tear your beautiful curtains or worse still, empty bowels in your kitchen and dining hall and you thought it should be grateful for all the delicacies you had put before it? Well, my friend gratitude is one thing that a cat is not known for.

Questions:

How for ages have cats and dogs been kept? (2)
Why do cats not give us any benefit? (1)
How do cats look if one finds them causing loss? (1)
How are cats a great source of loss? (2)
How are cats thankless animals? (2)

Answers:

They have been kept as pets.
They do not give us any benefit, as they never do any good turn to us.
One finds them non-repentant.
They are a great source of loss because they delight in spoiling everything in one’s home.
They are thankless because they do not know what gratitude is.

Passage 5

There is one slight difference between education as understood by the Greeks and the popular idea of education in our own day. To the “Greeks education was primarily training of faculties that should fit man for the exercise of thought and duties of citizenship. The modern world looks rather to the acquisition of some skill or knowledge that is needed for a career: it thinks more of the product than of the process, acquaintance with facts counts more with the modems while mental completeness and grasp were valued by the Greeks above everything else. But mental completeness did not mean to the Greek intellectual discipline; it meant also a discipline and moulding of character, training in a public spirit, a suppression of the individual. It is on the one hand mental illumination. But it also means refinement and delicacy of feeling. Our nearest expression of this generous and many-sided training is the word ‘culture’. Culture, however, jo many minds suggests a kind of polish, a superficial refinement: it is thought of as the privilege of the’ favoured few. The man of learning of modem times is too apt to remain in seclusion: he seems to be shut up within a charmed circle, and the impression not infrequently left on outsiders by the life of learned isolation is conveyed in the remark of a French writer, that’ every man of learning more or less is a corpse.’

Questions:

What did the Greeks understand by education?
What is the idea of education in modern times?
What does the French writer mean by the remark ‘every man of learning is more or less a corpse’?
Which one word sums up the Greeks’ idea of education?
Use ‘acquisition’and ‘illumination’ in your sentences.

Answers:

The Greeks thought that the primary aim of education was to train a person’s faculties so that he could think and perform his duties as a citizen.
The idea of education, in modem times, is that it consists of acquiring some skill or knowledge for a career.
It means that a man of learning remains in complete isolation. He is of no use to society.
The word ‘culture’ sums up the Greeks’ idea of education.
(i) The roads have contracted due to the illegal acquisition of footpaths.
(ii) The city was brightening with illumination by firecrackers.

Passage 6

The joint family system has undergone a drastic change in India. There is a number of factors which are leading to its disintegration. Opportunities for employment outside agriculture and especially in the urban areas are increasing; as a result of which the young men of rural areas ‘ have been shifting to those places. Many young persons in the urban areas are also moving out of the parent’s places to seek opening in other parts of the country or even outside of India. The property disputes and sour relation between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have forced many persons to opt for independent living. As a result of the disintegration of joint families, the aged have lost the traditional source of economic and social support which was easily available to them in joint families.

Questions:

What change do we see in the joint family system in India?
Why are the young men from the villages shifting to towns or cities?
What type of disputes are common in joint families?
What loss have they (the aged) suffered?
Pick out from the passage the word similar in meaning to “extreme”?

Answers:

The joint family system in India has changed. It has disintegrated now.
They are shifting to towns or cities because outside the villages employment opportunities are available.
These disputes are of property, of sour relation between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
The aged have lost the traditional source of economic and social support.
“drastic”.

Passage 7

One evening after work searching in the mailbox for messages, letters from nowhere, my fingers touched dry leaves, twigs and eggs. A bird had found it a suitable place for nesting. It had nested right inside my mailbox. Angry, I cleared it all except for the eggs. Later in the evening storm started soon and it had me out hastily gathering clothes left drying. In the ground, I saw many birds. But I found hopping in a foolish hurry, was a main. She was balancing in its yellow beak twigs and thin sticks. She was heading for my mailbox, trying hard to rebuild a cosy nest which I had destroyed. My vision became dim in the heavy showers. The message I had missed I read quite clearly in the strange nest. It was hidden in the wooden box. It left no room to nest except in wooden post boxes which were fixed to concrete walls. I was convinced that birds nest at places which they find safe from weather, from men and from other enemies of their natural instinct.

Questions:

When did the author’s fingers touch the dry leaves?
What made the author angry?
What did he do?
Where did the bird build nests?
Find out the suitable word of twigs’.

Answers:

His fingers touched them when he searched in the mailbox for the letter.
A minah’s making her nest inside the mailbox made him angry.
He destroyed the nest.
They build nests where they are safe from weather, men and other enemies like animal and others.’
‘little branches’.

Passage 8

Mass copying in the examination has reduced education to a joke. The lengthy courses of study and the system of annual examinations are the root causes of it. How is it possible for any human being to express honestly within three hours all that he has learnt in full one year? Naturally, students are forced to cram certain things and copy others from some source in the examination hall. Examinations, more or less in the form of class tests at the end of a quarter should be held. The result of a student should be determined by his performance round the year. The class teacher should be entrusted with a difficult task. He will have to rise above petty worldly considerations and must be brave and impartial, His role in these connections is very significant.

Questions:

Why has education become a joke?
Why are students forced to cram and copy?
How should a student’s performance be determined?
What qualities are required of an examiner?
Is it possible to express honestly within three hours?

Answers:

Education has become a joke due to mass copying by the examinees.
Students are forced to cram and copy because the Syllabi are lengthy. They can’t express honestly within three hours what they have learnt in a year.
A student’s performance should be determined around the year.
He should rise above petty worldly considerations. Also, he must be brave and impartial.
It is not at all possible to express within three hours what a student has learnt throughout a year.

Passage 9

Several times in the history of the world particular countries and cities, or even small groups of people, have attained a high degree of civilization. Yet none of these civilizations, important as they were, have lasted; and one of the reasons why they did not last was that they were confined to a very few people. They were like little oases of civilization in a desert of barbarism. Now it is no good being civilized if everybody round about you is barbarous, or rather, it is some good, but it is very risky. For the barbarians are always liable to break in on you, and with their greater numbers and rude vigour scatter your civilization to the winds. Over and over again in history comparatively civilized peoples living in cities have bgqmwon in this way by barbarians coming down from the hills and burning and killing and destroying whatever they found in the plains. In the thirteenth century, most of Europe was overrun in this way by the Mongols from Central Asia, and such civilization as then existed was nearly destroyed, thus any people which has advanced in civilization too far beyond its neighbours have always been liable to be set upon and pulled back by the others, just as if you build a high tower with proper supports, it is always liable to fall down to the level of the lower building round about it.

Questions:

Why could advanced civilizations not last for long?
Why is being civilized very risky?
Who destroyed civilization in most of Europe in the thirteenth century?
Who are liable to be set upon and pulled back by the others?
Which example does the author give about the people who advance in civilization more than their neighbours?

Answers:

Advanced civilizations could not last for long because they were limited to very few people.
Being civilized is very risky. It is because civilized societies are likely to be attacked and destroyed by the no civilized near them.
The Mongols from Central Asia destroyed civilization in most of Europe.
Those who have advanced in civilization beyond their neighbour are liable to be set upon and-pulled back by others.
He gives the example of the tower without supports.

Passage 10

1. Gandhiji was of ripe age, but he was still full of vitality and his capacity for work was great. The end came suddenly by the hand of an assassin India was shocked and the world grieved, and to those of us who were more closely connected with him, the shock and sorrow were hard to bear. And yet. perhaps, it was a fitting close to a magnificent career and in his death, as in his life, he served the cause to which he had devoted himself. None of us would have liked to see him gradually fade in body and mind with increasing years. And so he died, as he had lived, a bright star of hope and achievement, the Father of the Nation which had been shaped and trained him for half a century.

2. To those who had a chance of being associated with him in some of his many activities, he will ever remain the symbol of youthful energy. We shall not think of him as an old man, but rather as one who represented with the vitality of spring the birth of a new India. To a younger genera¬tion who did not come in personal contact with him, he is a tradition, and numerous stories are woven round his name and activities. He was great in his life, he is greater since he passed away.

Questions:

Based on your reading of the above passage, complete the following statements with appropriate words and phrases. Write the an¬swers in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. (2 marks)
(a) Gandhiji in his life and death was…
(b) Gandhiji represented…
Answer these questions with appropriate words and phrases. Writes the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank number. (6 marks)
(a) To whom were the shock and sorrow hard to bear?
(b) Why was Gandhiji never considered an old man?
(c) How did Gandhiji serve his cause even in his death?

Answers:

(a) a bright star of hope and achievement.
(b) the birth of a new India like a spring.
(a) The shock and sorrow were hard to bear for those people who were closely associated with him.
(b) Gandhiji was never considered an old man because he was always full of energy. His capacity for work was great.
(c) He served his cause even in his death because he died as a bright star of hope and achievement.

Passage 11

Mankind has undoubtedly progressed since medieval times.’ The earliest men lived like brutes. Individuals fought among themselves and the strong destroyed the weak, for that is the law of the jungle, the law of irrational life. But the man was not an animal. He possessed rational faculties. These faculties gradually developed and appeared in his actions, and the man gave up the law of the jungle and made his own rational laws. Men saw that the law of physical strength was not applicable to their lives. They realized that they had souls and the strength of being with a soul can consist in a variety pf capabilities other than the power to cut and kill, tear and bite. For instance, a man can be strong in fashioning tools, or in controlling the actions of other rational beings by the power of song or speech. Thus men realized that they should not be fighting among themselves. But they should be working together and giving one another opportunities to develop their respective strengths. This was the first step in man’s progress. By these means, men gained such control over the forces of nature. They made each other so much wiser and more comfortable than they were convinced that they were the best creation of God. (211 words)

Questions:

What do you mean by the law of the jungle?
How was man different from animals?
How could man gain control over the forces of nature?
What did the man realize when his rational faculties were fully developed?
What was the first step in man’s progress?

Answers:

The law of the jungle is the use of physical strength for fighting. It is also the use of this strength for destroying the weak.
The man was different from animals because he had rational faculties. He was also blessed with a soul.
The man could get control over the forces of nature by co-operating, with others.
The man realised the value of working in cooperation with other fellow-beings.
Working together and giving one another opportunities to developing their respective strengths was the first step.

Passage 12

1. The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home. In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open. She was thinking that she must rebuke her daily maid the next morning for such great negligence when she remembered that she had gone shopping after her maid had left and she had turned both the keys in their locks. She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following the regular practice she had shut them before going out. Looking into the drawing-room, she saw a scene of confusion over by here writing desk.

2. It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced entry in her absence. Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from the basement. By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while she telephoned to the police. Then her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter’s assistance to search for any intruders who might be still lurking in her flat.

Questions:

The problem that shopping caused to the old lady was…
When she reached home she found that…..
she thought to rebuke the maid the next morning for…..
When she found that her flat had been burgled, she thought…
When her legs started trembling, she…

Answers:

The problems that shopping caused to the old lady was that it had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home.
When she reached home she found that her front door was open.
she thought to rebuke the maid the next morning for such great negligence.
When she found that her flat had been burgled, she thought that burglars had forced entry in her absence.
When her legs started trembling, she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea.

Passage 13

1. My grandmother and I were good friends. My parents left me with her when they went to live in the city and we were constantly together. She used to wake me up in the morning and get me ready for school. She said her morning prayers in a monotonous singsong while she bathed and dressed me in the hope that I would listen and get to know it by heart. Then she would fetch my wooden slate which she had already, washed and plastered with the yellow chalk, a tiny earthen inkpot and a reed pen, tie them all in a bundle and hand it to me. After a breakfast of a thick, stale chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on it, we went to school. She carried several stale chapattis with her for.the village dogs.

2. My grandmother always went to school with me because the school was attached to the temple. The priest taught us the alphabet and morning prayer. While the children sat in rows on either side of the verandah singing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus, my grandmother sat inside reading the scriptures. When we had both finished, we would u alk back together. (203 words) – Khushwant Singh

Questions:

Why did the grandmother say her morning prayers loudly?
What was Khushwant Singh given for breakfast?
Why did the grandmother always accompany Khushwant Singh to school?
Who taught the boys? What were they taught?
How did the grandmother feed the dogs?
Explain the meanings of:
(i) monotonous singsong.
(ii) prayer in a chorus.

Answers:

She used to say her morning prayers loudly because the speaker would listen and get to know it by heart.
Khuswant Singh was given a thick tasteless chapatti with a little butter and sugar spread on ii for breakfast.
The grandmother always accompanied Khushwant Singh to school because the school was attached to the temple.
The priest taught the boys. They were taught the alphabet and morning prayer.
The grandmother carried several chapattis with her while going to the school to feed the dogs in the way.
(i) rhythm uttered in one unvarying tone.
(ii) to entreat collectively with the band of singers, worship to God, singing collectively.

Passage 14

1. Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives managers and foremen, politicians, artists and others; all these in one way or another, are teachers. Their methods will vary as widely as their jobs and characters. For this reason, we can point out only a few general principles to make their teaching more effective.

2. The first is clarity. Whatever we are teaching, we must make it clear. Make it as firm as a stone and as bright as sunlight. Not to ourselves- that is easy. Make it clear to the people we are teaching-that is difficult. The second is patience. Anything worth-learning takes time to learn and time to teach. It is a mistake often made by many of us to think that our audiences have thought deeply about their problems and are only a few steps behind us in any discussion. Real teaching is not simply handing out information. It is an actual change of the pupil’s mind. The third principle is responsibility. People are easily influenced for good or evil when their teacher speaks with authority. As teachers, we must see that our ideas are not misunderstood by those whom we are trying to teach.

Questions:

What does this passage say about the methods of teaching?
what is really teaching?
What is meant by the principle of responsibility in teaching?
Which two other general principles are considered necessary for effective teaching?
Which sentence in the passage shows a teacher’s stronghold on his students?
Find from the passage the antonyms of the following words:
(i) particular
(ii) false, unreal.

Answers:

The method of teaching differs in one way or another according to the jobs and characters.
Real teaching is to maintain patience in teaching and to make it clear to the people we are teaching.
The principle of responsibility in teaching means that as teachers we must see that our ideas are not misunderstood by those whom we are trying to teach.
The two other principles to be considered are
- the teaching must be clear to the people to whom we are teaching and
- ‘patience—anything worth learning takes time to teach and time to learn.
sentence showing teacher’s stronghold is; “people are easily influenced for good or evil when their teacher speaks with authority.”
(i) general
(ii) actual, real

Passage 15

Freedom is a sweet-sounding word. Nearly all of us love to use it or hear it used. Even if we do not quite understand what it means, we feel it stands for something fine and courageous. And so it does.lt stands for something precious too; something for which men and women in every part of the world have struggled and suffered and gone bravely even to their death. If we enjoy any freedom now, it is partly due to them. So it is really worth our while to know clearly what freedom is, and why it has been valued so highly. We shall ourselves thereby come to value it and not lose it by our carelessness. At one time it used to be said. ‘All men are born free,’ but we can now see that it is not true at all; for Nature binds us in all sorts of ways. The newborn baby is not free, not even as free as the newborn calf, much less than the newborn mosquito. The young mosquito is soon able to fly away, the calf begins to walk in a few days, but the human baby takes at least a year even to crawl. He slowly wins his freedom by an increase of strength and skill. It does not come to him in any other way. (218 words)

Questions:

How is freedom a sweet-sounding word?
How has freedom come to us?
All men are born free. Does the writer agree with this?
How does the writer compare a human child with young ones of the other species?
How does a child win its freedom?
Find from the passage words which mean the same as the following:
(i) valuable and important
(ii) move on one’s knees and hands, keeping the body close to the ground.

Answers:

Freedom is a sweet-sounding word because all of us love to use it or hear it used. Even if we do not understand its meaning, we feel it stands for something fine and courageous.
Freedom has come through the struggles and sufferings of men and women in every part of the world.
The writer does not agree with the saying ‘All men are born free.’ According to him, Nature binds us in all sorts of ways.
According to the writer, a newborn baby is not even as free as the newborn calf or even the newborn mosquito.
A child slowly wins his freedoms by an increase of strength and skill.
(i) precious and value
(ii) crawl.

Passage 16

1. Of all the trees of the south from Asia, the banyan is unique, not only for the manner of its growth but for the area of shade, it provides from the burning sun. Its close relationship with man has evolved over the years to make the banyan a popular meeting place, a focal point of worship and a source of practical materials for commerce.

2. Known as the ‘strangler fig’ because of its unusual manner of growth, the banyan is an epiphyte or air plant, that has its birth in the branches of a host tree and lives on airborne moisture and nutrients. Banyan seeds are deposited by birds, bats or monkeys in the rich soil collected in the crevices of host tree branches.

3. As the banyan grows, it sends aerial roots down the trunk of the supporting tree. In time, the roots that reach the ground choke the host tree by preventing its trunk from enlarging. The two best-known species of banyans are the Indian (Ficus benghalensis), one of the world’s largest tropical trees; and the Chinese (Ficusretusa), a smaller species with Sewer aerial roots. (186 words)

Questions:

Why is the banyan called the ‘strangler fig’?
In what ways is the banyan tree unique?
How does the banyan tree take birth and grow?
Why is the banyan a popular meeting place?
What kind of a tree is the Indian banyan? How is the Chinese one different from the Indian one?
Find from the passage noun form of the following words:
(i) grow
(ii) bear.

Answers:

The banyan is called the ‘strangler fig’ because it chokes the host tree.
It is unique in the manner of its growth. It is also unique in terms of the area of shade it provides.
It takes birth in the branches of a host tree. It grows with the help of airborne moisture and nutrients.
It has become a popular meeting place due to its close relationship with a man and a focal point of the workshop as well.
The Indian banyan is one of the world’s largest tropical trees. The Chinese one is a smaller species.
(i) growth
(ii) birth.

Passage 17

Gandhiji’s mother was a very sweet, kind and religious woman. She visited the temple daily, often taking her little son with her. She fasted frequently, too. Once she made a vow to eat only one meal a day for four months, and not to take even that one meal unless she had first seen sunshine. As she had made this vow in the rainy season, it was often difficult to see sunshine at all. Her children, who could not bear to think of their dear mother going without food all the twenty-four hours, would stand staring up at the sky waiting to catch the first gleams of the sun. As soon as a ray appeared, they would dash into the house and call their mother to come and see for herself. By the time she came out, the sun had often gone behind the clouds again. “It does not matter,” she would say cheerfully. “God does not want me to eat today,” and back she would go to her household tasks. In this way, Gandhiji learnt from his good mother how to do penance cheerfully for love of God.

Questions:

What vow did Gandhiji’s mother make?
What could the children not bear?
What did the children do if they saw some sunlight in the sky?
What did Gandhi learn from his mother?
What did she do daily?
Find from the passage words that mean the same as the following:
(i) often
(ii) happily

Answers:

Gandhiji’s mother made a vow to eat only one meal a day for four months, and not to take even that one meal unless she had first seen sunshine.
They (the children) could not bear their mother going without food all the twenty-four hours.
They would immediately go to their mother and call her to see the sunlight herself.
Gandhiji learnt from his mother how to do penance cheerfully for love of God.
She visited the temple daily.
(i) frequently
(ii) cheerfully

Passage 18

1. Now that smoking is considered to be very dangerous to health, it is especially difficult for children to buy cigarettes or tobacco. Our tobacconist, Mr James, has always been very careful about this. If his customers are very young, he always asks them for whom the cigarettes are being purchased.

2. One day, a little girl walked boldly into his shop and demanded twenty cigarettes. Mr James was so surprised by her confident maimer that he forgot to ask his usual question. Instead, he asked her what kind of cigarettes she wanted. The girl replied promptly and handed him the money. While he was giving her the cigarettes, Mr James said laughing that as she was so young, she should hide the packet in her pocket in case a policeman saw it. However, the little girl did not seem to find this very funny. Without even smiling, she took the packet and walked towards the door. Suddenly she stopped, turned around, and looked steadily at Mr James. There was a moment’s deathly silence and the tobacconist wondered what she was going to say. All at once, in a clear, solemn voice, the girl declared, ‘My dad is a policeman,’ and with that, she walked quickly out of the shop.’

Questions:

Did the tobacconist ever sell cigarettes to children? What did he first ask them?
What did he forget to do when the young girl demanded a packet of cigarettes?
Where did he advise her to hide the packet? Why?
What did the girl tell him just as she was leaving the shop?
Explain the meaning of the following:
(i) tobacconist
(ii) promptly.

Answers:

Yes, the tobacconist sold cigarettes to children. But he first asked them for whom they were purchasing the cigarettes.
He forgot to ask the young girl his usual question.
He advised her to hide the packet in her pocket so that no policeman could see it.
She told him that her father was a policeman.
(i) shopkeeper who sells cigarettes, tobacco, etc.
(ii) at once, without delay.

Passage 19

The water of the river Yamuna in Delhi has become useless. The water of this river is most polluted and has received E grade in terms of quality. This is the lowest grade which indicates the severity of pollution m the water. Some fifty years ago the water of the Yamuna was clear and clean. Many water plants such as weeds, algae and shrubs grew in its water along the bank of the river. These plants were the main source of food for aquatic creatures. A number of water birds could be seen along the river. With the onset of winter, thousands of migratory birds would come here to feed in the Yamuna water. Sadly these water species and birds have vanished or died. What one finds, now are red worms, called chironomids which live in the most unhygienic and polluted water.

Questions:

Why did the birds migrate to the Yamuna during winter? (2)
What indicates the rich quality of the Yamuna water in the past? (2)
What has been the result of severe pollution of the Yamuna water? (1)
What are chironomids? (2)
Which word in the passage means ‘disappear”? (1)

Answers:

During the winter season, birds migrated to the Yamuna to feed their young ones. The river Yamuna was quite safe and well for their livelihood.
In the past, the Yamuna water was clear and clean. Many water plants such as weeds, algae and shrubs grew in the water.
The water of this river has been too polluted. So, all the useful weeds, algae and shrubs have vanished and it is hundred per cent harmful to man and other creatures.
We see red worms in the polluted water of Yamuna more and more. These red worms are called chironomids.
“Disappear’ word means ‘vanished.’

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