Home
Top 25 Reading Unseen Comprehension Passages exercise examples with Questions and Answers for class 9, 10 and 12 Students.

Top 25 Reading Unseen Comprehension Passages exercise examples with Questions and Answers for class 9, 10 and 12 Students.

September 8, 2022 English Grammar No Comments

Comprehension

The word ‘Comprehension is a noun. It is derived from the verb “comprehend”, which means ‘to understand’. For understanding a passage, one should know the meaning of words, which means a good ‘vocabulary’ or wordlist.

Questions on ‘Comprehension’, which is also known as an ‘Unseen’ Exercise, can only be answered by someone, who grasps the meaning of the passage, as well as the purpose of the questions in the Exercises. It can be attempted by the students who receive the training and anyone who can pick up by regular practice.

SUGGESTIONS

  1. Read the passage thoroughly. Do not hesitate to consult a dictionary.
  2. Read the questions and try to follow what is asked.
  3. Read a second, third, or even fourth time and try to mark the parts from the passage which can be used to answer the questions.
  4. Reading will help in writing the answers at the end. When sure of the answers, write them down one by one. Use your own words in your sentences.
  5. Do not try to copy down parts of sentences from the passage. Your answers should be short, clear and to the point.
  6. Give a suitable title to the passage, if asked for.

TITLE

  1. When you are asked to give a title to the passage, try to find it out. It would be around the important incident, or the main character which has been discussed in the passage. If there is no incident, theme, or character, try to give a ‘proverb’ or ‘saying’, explaining the central idea.
  2. Sometimes, it is possible to find out a sentence which seems to be the main, or the first sentence of the passage. This is known as the ‘Topic Sentence.’ One can reduce this sentence to a few words or suitable phrase to supply the title.
  3. If the question is asked, “What is the passage about?” and you get an answer, the same can be cut to size to form the title. This is the surest and the easiest way to find the title.
  4. A good heading is brief, clear and to the point. It is beautiful and impressive. It should cover all the points of the passage. There should be no verb in the title, to make it short. All words in the title, except the articles, prepositions and conjunctions should start with capital letters.

Comprehension Solved Exercises

PASSAGE 1

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow:

Socrates was frank and fearless. His outspoken remarks annoyed a number of people. He pricked the pride of many and hurt the vanity of many more. He told those who claimed to be wise and learned that they were cruel and ignorant. His free and frank talk gave him many enemies. Some considered him a crazy person who could stand for a day and night lost in his own thoughts. When he said that he had heard voices and visions, they mistook him for a mad man. Aristophanes, the great dramatist, has presented Socrates in his drama ‘The Clouds’ as a half crazy old man who corrupts young men of the town. But there were many who admired him and followed him as his disciples in search of truth and wisdom. Among them was Plato, the great philosopher who has revealed the living Socrates in his dialogues.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Why was Socrates unpopular during his life time?
  2. What did his enemies think about him?
  3. What is the picture of Socrates presented by Aristophanes in his drama, ‘The Clouds’?
  4. How did Socrates’s disciples regard him?
  5. Who was Plato? What did he do for Socrates?

Exercise 2

Put a Tick Mark (✓) against the true statement and Cross Mark (x) against the false statement:

  1. Many people liked Socrates because he was frank and outspoken in his utterances.
  2. Because of his frank speech, Socrates hurt the ego of many persons.
  3. Many persons were of the view that Socrates was insane.
  4. Aristophanes, in his drama “The Clouds’ has admired Socrates.
  5. The great philosopher, Plato, in his dialogues has also criticised Socrates.
  6. Socrates wrote the drama ‘The Clouds’.
  7. Those who admired Socrates became his disciples. 8. Socrates won more enemies than friends because of his frank and fearless talk.

Exercise 3

Write the part of speech of the ltalicised words in the following sentences:

  1. His outspoken remarks annoyed a number of people.
  2. When he said that he had heard voices and visions, they mistook him for a mad man.
  3. But there were many who admired him and followed him as his disciples in search of truth and wisdom.

Exercise 4

Write the Synonyms of the following words:

  1. cruel
  2. admired
  3. enemies
  4. frank
  5. truth
  6. wise
  7. fearless
  8. great

Exercise 5

Use the following words in sentences of your own:

  1. visions
  2. dramatist
  3. corrupts
  4. annoyed
  5. wisdom
  6. hurt
  7. vanity
  8. revealed

Exercise 6

  1. A number of people were annoyed by his outspoken remarks.
  2. The pride of many was pricked and the vanity of many more was hurt by him.

PASSAGE 2

In every country people imagine that they are the best and the cleverest and the others are not as good as they are. The Englishman thinks that he and his country are the best. The Frenchman is very proud of France and everything French. The Germans and Italians think no end of their countries and many Indians imagine that India is in many ways the greatest country in the world. This all is conceit. Everybody wants to think well of himself and his country. But in reality, there is no person who has not got some good in him and some bad. In the same way there is no country which is not partly good and partly bad. We must take the good whenever we find it and try to remove the bad wherever it may be. We are, of course, most concerned with our country – India. Unfortunately, it is not in a very good condition today and most of our people are very poor and miserable. They have no pleasure in their lives. We must find out how we can make them happy. We have to see what is good in our own ways and customs and try to keep it, and whatever is bad should be thrown away. If we find anything good in other countries, we should certainly take it.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. What constitutes conceit?
  2. What should be our attitude towards other countries?
  3. What is the present condition of India?
  4. Are all countries good and perfect?
  5. Write three sentences expressing your agreement or disagreement with the views expressed in the passage.

Exercise 2

Change the following words to Abstract Nouns:

  1. imagine
  2. proud
  3. remove
  4. try
  5. happy
  6. poor

Exercise 3

Use the following words in sentences of your own:

  1. proud
  2. conceit
  3. pleasure
  4. certainly
  5. reality

Exercise 4

Write the Synonyms of the following words:

  1. conceit
  2. miserable
  3. customs

 

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. Most people think that they are the best and the cleverest. They think that their country is the greatest country in the world.”
  2. We should approach other countries with understanding. We should take the good wherever we find it. We should try to remove the bad wherever it may be.
  3. The present condition of India is bad. Most of its people are poor and miserable. They have no joys in their lives.
  4. No, all countries are not good and perfect. Every country has some good as well as some bad.
  5. We should not think that we are the best people in the world. We should take the good wherever we find it. We should approach the other people with understanding.

Exercise 2

  1. imagination
  2. pride
  3. removal
  4. trial
  5. happiness
  6. poverty

Exercise 3

  1. We should be proud of our country.
  2. She is disliked for her conceit.
  3. It is a pleasure to meet you after a long time.
  4. He will certainly report in office on time.
  5. Reality of life is understood by all of us with the passage of time.

Exercise 4

  1. vanity
  2. pitiable
  3. rituals/usual practices

PASSAGE 3

Unemployment in India is neither a bogey nor a red-herring. It is something real and living, which is not going to vanish from our midst soon. Unemployment and underemployment in rural areas, among the educated as well as uneducated, have become endemic. What the much heralded. Jawahar Rozgar Yojna sets out to do is merely attempting a ‘first aid job on a gaping wound. Fifty to hundred days’ work in a year to at least one member from each rural family living below the poverty line at less than the prevailing wage rate is all the JRY’s target. The problem is, however, much too pervasive and ugly.

Rural living is still like flying on a mono plane. If the single engine shuts off due to malfunctioning or bird hit, the high flier hurtles down to crash into a deep heap. Droughts and floods do the same to the rural dweller who has little income other than what he gets from the land, either as a self-employee or wage earner. Plop, he falls into an ocean of hunger and debt from which rescue is most difficult, if not well-nigh impossible. Even without a natural calamity, the life of large numbers of village people is very grueling. A solution may be: create more jobs. Better farming, culminating in green revolution of a sort in selected areas, has generated some additional employment. But a complete and enduring solution can come only from the large and widespread use of essential goods and services in rural homes which will give work to millions and millions of idle hands.

Whether we mourn the lack of political will or financial constraints, the journey does not look a will-o’ the wisp. What we need to tread on a charted or uncharted course is the nation’s will to stop the drain from villages to towns and cities to save itself the shame of letting urban slums mushroom.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. What is the author’s opinion about unemployment in India?
  2. What is the target of Jawahar Rozgar Yojna?
  3. What does the author mean when he says that rural living is still like flying on a monoplane?
  4. Suggest two measures which can help the rural people solve the problem of unemployment to some extent.
  5. Why are the urban slums mushrooming everyday?

Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences:

  1. Unemployment in India is neither…………………nor
  2. What the much heralded JRY sets out to do is……………wound.
  3. Rural living is still like……..
  4. The life of a large number of village people is very grueling even……….
  5. The solution to the problem of village people may be:

(a) To create more jobs

(b)………………………

  1. There are two reasons for the sufferings of the rural people:

(a)………..

(b) Financial constraints

  1. We can prevent the urban slums from mushrooming if………………….

Exercise 3

Put a Tick mark (✓) against the true statement and a Cross mark (x) against the false statement:

  1. There is hope that unemployment will vanish from our midst soon.
  2. The targets of Jawahar Rozgar Yojna are sufficient to solve the problem of unemployment.
  3. The problem of unemployment is too serious for the JRY to solve.
  4. Natural calamities such as floods and droughts aggravate the problems of people living in rural areas.
  5. Prevention of natural calamities will solve all the problems of people living in rural areas.
  6. A complete and enduring solution to the rural unemployment can come only from the large and widespread use of essential goods and services.
  7. Lack of political will and financial constraints are also responsible for the problems of rural people.
  8. The mushrooming of urban slums can be checked if there is a stop in the drain from villages to towns and cities.

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. The author is of the view that unemployment in India is something real and living which is not going to disappear from our midst soon.
  2. The target of Jawahar Rozgar Yojna is to provide fifty to hundred days’ work in a year to at least one member from each rural family living below the poverty line at less than the prevailing wage rate.
  3. The author means that people living in rural areas who are poor are fully dependent on the income from land either as self-employees-or wage earners. If for some reason this source of income fails, they have nothing else to depend on.
  4. Creation of more jobs and better farming can help the rural people solve the problem of unemployment to some extent.
  5. The urban slums are mushrooming everyday because more and more people from rural areas come to towns and cities in search of employment.

Exercise 2

  1. (i) a bogey (ii) a red herring
  2. Merely attempting a ‘first aid job on a gaping.
  3. Flying on a monoplane.
  4. Without a natural calamity.
  5. (b) Large and widespread use of essential goods and services in rural homes.
  6. (a) The lack of political will.
  7. we stop the drain from villages to towns and cities.

Exercise 3

  1. (x)
  2. (x)
  3. (√)
  4. (√)
  5. (x)
  6. (√)
  7. (√)
  8. (√)

PASSAGE 4

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills

When all at once I saw a crowd

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle in the Milky Way,

They stretched in the never ending line

Along the margin of the bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance

QUESTION

Exercise 1

Read the following summary of the beginning of the poem and fill in each of the spaces with one word only:

Exercise 1

Find one word in the lines indicated which has the same meaning as each word or phrase given below: Write your answers in the space provided.

(a) a great number (lines 1 to 5)

(b) near (lines 2 to 6)

(c) under (lines 1 to 7)

(d) lively lines (lines 8 to 12)

Exercise 2

Use the following words in sentences of your own:

  1. beside
  2. wandered
  3. breeze
  4. tossing
  5. fluttering

Exercise 3

Change the following words to Adjectives :

  1. cloud
  2. breeze
  3. shine

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

(a) host

(b) beside

(c) beneath

(d) sprightly

Exercise 2

  1. Beside : She was sitting beside me.
  2. Wandered : He wandered from place to place.
  3. Breeze: A cool breeze was blowing.
  4. Tossing : The saint was tossing his head.
  5. Fluttering : The butterflies are fluttering their wings.

Exercise 3

(a) cloudy

(b) breezy

(c) shiny

PASSAGE 5

Life in a big city is full of activity. Big cities have much population. People come to the cities for different aims. Big cities are centres of education, trade, business, medical facilities and industries.

People come to big cities every day for one or the other reason. The activities start early in the morning. Everyone is busy. People come out of their homes. They go to the milk booths to fetch milk.

After sometime, long queues can be seen at bus stops. People go to their offices, shops, hospitals, factories etc. Long lines of buses, cars, scooters and cycles can be seen on all the roads.

A bit city is a centre of education. Facilities of higher education and entertainment are in plenty. There are beautiful parks, hotels, clubs and roads. But people are always in hurry and worry. It is very difficult to find a house on rent. There is a lot of pollution.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Why do big cities have much population?
  2. What do people living in the big cities do in the morning?
  3. Why do the people come to big cities every day?
  4. Describe some of the facilities which are available in big cities.
  5. Describe the disadvantages of living in a big city. (…..)

Exercise 3

Use the following words in sentences of your own:

  1. activity
  2. facilities
  3. purpose
  4. queues
  5. pollution
  6. Worry

Exercise 5

  1. Change the following Nouns to Plural Number:
  2. city
  3. activity
  4. reason
  5. queue
  6. centre
  7. worry
  8. Change the following words to Adjectives:
  9. population
  10. education
  11. reason
  12. centre
  13. worry
  14. Change the following words to Nouns:
  15. big
  16. different
  17. long
  18. beautiful
  19. difficult

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. Big cities have much population because many people come to big cities everyday for one or the other purpose.
  2. In the morning, the people living in big cities go to the milk booths to fetch milk. Then they go to their offices, shops and factories.
  3. People come to big cities everyday for one or the other purpose. Some come to get a job. Others come to take some medical treatment and others come for some business activity etc.
  4. Some of the facilities available in the big cities are higher education, entertainment, beautiful parks, hotels, clubs and roads.
  5. People living in a big city lead a life of hurry and worry. There is a lot of pollution in a big city.

Exercise 3

  1. There is a lot of activity in all big cities.
  2. There are many facilities in this hotel.
  3. What is the purpose of your visit?
  4. There were long queues at the bus stops.
  5. Big cities are full of pollution.
  6. He has no worry.

Exercise 5

  1. 1. cities
  2. activities
  3. reasons
  4. queues
  5. centres
  6. worries
  7. 1. populous
  8. educational
  9. reasonable
  10. central
  11. worried
  12. 1. bigness
  13. Difference
  14. length
  15. beauty
  16. difficulty

PASSAGE 6

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

The great advantage of early-rising is the good start as it gives us in our day’s work. The early-riser has done a large amount of hard

work before the other persons have got out of bed. In the early morning, the mind is fresh and there are few sounds or other distractions, so the work done at this time is generally well done.

In many cases, the early-riser also finds time to take some exercise in the fresh morning air, and this exercise supplies him with a fund of energy that will last till the evening. By beginning so early, he knows that he has plenty of time to do all the work thoroughly, which he can be expected to do. Thus, an early riser is not tempted to hurry over any part of the work. All his work being finished in good time, he can enjoy a long interval of rest in the evening before the timely hour when he goes to bed. He gets to sleep several hours before mid-night, at the time when sleep is the most refreshing, and after a sound night’s rest, rises early next morning in good health and spirits for the labours of a new day.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Why is the work done in the early morning well done?
  2. Why is the early-riser not tempted to hurry over his day’s work?
  3. What enables the early riser to go to bed at the proper time?
  4. What is the advantage of going to sleep well before midnight?
  5. Supply a suitable title to the passage.

Exercise 2

(A) Change the following sentences to Past Tense:

  1. The early-riser has done a large amount of work before the other men have got out of bed.
  2. In the early morning, the mind is fresh, and there are few sounds or other distractions.

3 In many cases, the early-riser also finds time to take some

  1. He gets to sleep several hours before midnight, at the time when sleep is the most refreshing.

(B) Form Nouns from the following words:

  1. Great
  2. Fresh
  3. Tempted
  4. Long
  5. Expected

(C) Form Adjectives from the following words:

  1. Advantage
  2. Distraction
  3. Health
  4. Thoroughly
  5. Generally

(D) After the quotation, there are four statements. Write statement which is closest in meaning to the quotation.

“In the early morning, the mind is fresh, and there are few sounds or other distractions”.

(a) In the early morning the mind is fresh but sounds and other distractions are many.

(b) In the early morning the mind is lazy because of the sleep and sounds and other distractions are few.

(c) In the early morning the mind is fresh and there are hardly any sounds or distractions.

(d) Although the mind is fresh in the early morning, one cannot concentrate in anything because of few sounds and other distractions.

 

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. The work done in the early morning is well done because the mind is fresh and there are no sounds to divert one’s attention.
  2. The early-riser is not tempted to hurry over his day’s work because by beginning so early, he has plenty of time to do thoroughly all the work that he is expected to do.
  3. An early riser finishes all his work in good time and this enables him to go to bed at the proper time.
  4. Sleep taken well before midnight is very refreshing. 5. Advantages of Early-Rising.

Exercise 2

(A) 1. The early-riser had done a large amount of work before the other men had got out of bed.

  1. In the early morning, the mind was fresh, and there were few sounds or other distractions.
  2. In many cases, the early riser also found time to take some exercise.
  3. He got to sleep several hours before midnight, at the time when sleep was the most refreshing.

(B) 1. Greatness

  1. Freshness
  2. Temptation
  3. Length
  4. Expectation

(C) 1. Advantageous

  1. Distractive
  2. Healthy
  3. Thorough
  4. General

(D) (c) In the early morning, the mind is fresh and there are hardy and sounds or distractions.

 

PASSAGE 7

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

Success in life depends largely on good health. Keep your body fit by cleanliness, fresh air, regular habits and suitable recreations. Make yourself strong to play games. Avoid anything that will sap your energy and strength. Smoking in youth stunts the body and clouds the brain. Be temperate in all things and beware of drinks. It is the deadly enemy of health and efficiency.

Above all, remember that your character is a priceless possession. Therefore, keep it untarnished. Be truthful in all things, courteous and considerate to everybody, fair to your rivals. Be kind and helpful to all who are weak and suffering. Do not be afraid to have the courage to stand for what is good, pure and noble.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. How can we maintain good health?
  2. What are the things we should avoid in particular?
  3. What traits of character should we cultivate?
  4. Explain—“Be temperate in all things”.

Exercise 2

(A) Make Adjectives from the following words:

  1. Success
  2. Health
  3. Cleanliness
  4. Strength
  5. Corrage
  6. Avoid

(B) Make Nouns from the following words:

  1. Fit
  2. Strong
  3. Remember
  4. Weak
  5. Helpful
  6. Pure
  7. Good
  8. Noble

(C) Write the Antonyms (opposites) of:

  1. Success
  2. Strength
  3. Regular
  4. Suitable
  5. Courteous
  6. Weak

(D) Use the following words in your own sentences:

  1. Sap
  2. Avoid
  3. Recreation
  4. Character
  5. Rivals
  6. Courage

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. We can maintain good health by keeping our body fit by cleanliness, fresh air, regular habits and suitable recreations.
  2. We should avoid in particular, smoking and drinking.
  3. We should cultivate in ourselves truthfulness, courtesy and consideration for everybody. We should be kind and helpful to the weak and those who are suffering. We should have courage to defend all that is good, pure and noble.
  4. It means that one, should be moderate in everything and should not go beyond the reasonable limit.

Exercise 2

(A) 1. Successful

  1. Healthy
  2. Clean
  3. Strong
  4. Courageous
  5. Avoidable

(B) 1. Fitness

  1. Strength
  2. Remembrance
  3. Weakness
  4. Help
  5. Purity
  6. Goodness
  7. Nobility

(C) 1. Failure

  1. Weakness
  2. Irregular
  3. Unsuitable
  4. Discourteous
  5. Strong

(D) 1. Consumption of alcohol will sap your energy.

  1. You should avoid the company of bad boys.
  2. Recreation is important for life.
  3. We must maintain our character at all cost.
  4. We should be fair even to our rivals.
  5. You should face all the problems with courage.

PASSAGE 8

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

India is a land of pilgrims and pilgrimages. These holy places whether in the hills or in the plains, are generally situated on river banks or by the sea. It is not only religious people who visit these places of pilgrimage. Also, travellers and sightseers from all over India and even from abroad visit these holy places.

Wherever two or more rivers meet, pilgrims come to bathe and worship, because that place is supposed to be holy. In the northwestern region of India, travellers often cross the tributaries of Indus and see strange and beautiful sights. Here, we have one of the rarest places of pilgrimage. This is Manimahesh, situated beside the beautiful lake of the same name. To reach it, pilgrims trek along the river Ravi. Just beyond are the beautiful Kullu and Kangra Valleys, known for their delicious fruits and works of art.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Where do we generally find the holy places in India?
  2. Who are the people who visit these places?
  3. How do travellers reach Manimahesh ?
  4. What are the Valleys of Kullu and Kangra known for?

Exercise 2

(A) Find words in the passage which have the following meanings:

  1. Visits to holy places
  2. Part (of a country)
  3. Most Uncommon
  4. Tasty

(B) Write Adjectives from the following words:

  1. India
  2. Generally
  3. Region

(C) Write Nouns from the following words:

  1. Holy
  2. Religious
  3. Beautiful

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. We find the holy places in India, generally on river banks or by the sea.
  2. Religious people, travellers and sightseers visit these places.
  3. Travellers reach Monimahesh by trekking along the river Ravi.
  4. The Valleys of Kullu and Kangra are known for tasty fruits and works of art.

Exercise 2

(A)

  1. Pilgrimages
  2. Region
  3. Rarest
  4. Delicious

(B) 1. Indian

  1. General
  2. Regional
  3. Holiness
  4. Religion
  5. Beauty

PASSAGE 9

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

While he was headmaster of Rugby School, Dr. Arnold bought a holiday home in the beautiful Lake District, and one of his nearest neighbours there was a family named Forster. Young William Forster, though not a Rugby boy, had a great admiration for Dr. Arnold. He became very friendly with the Arnolds, and often talked about education with them. Eventually, he married Dr. Arnold’s eldest daughter.

Years later he became an important Member of Parliament. His interest in education had remained strong, and was naturally encouraged by his wife. In 1870 William Forster was responsible for a famous Act of Parliament which made it possible for every child in the United Kingdom, however poor, to be given a school education. Until this time, at least half the children in England did not go to school at all. Many of them, while quite young, were sent into factories to work. The new Act did not alter all this at one, but it began the change. Within ten years, it had become compulsory for every child upto the age of ten to attend school.

There were now four times as many children going to school as there had been before 1870. Many new schools were opened for this Elementary education, as it was called. A great deal of this education was free, though some fees were paid by parents who could afford. At first, these schools were only for younger children. Those of eleven and over were still expected to go to work in factories and other places. But presently the school-leaving age was raised to twelve. Later still, it was raised to fourteen, and all Elementary education became free.

All kinds of changes have gone on in schools during the last hundred years. Classes have become smaller, though they are still often too large. Teachers have become better qualified and school work has been made more interesting. There are far more text-books and they are usually much better than the old ones. Many more reading books are used. Medical and dental inspections are held to make sure that the children are healthy parents are encouraged to take a greater interest in what happens in schools.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Why is Dr. Arnold an important name in education?
  2. He became very friendly with the Arnold’s. What does the author mean by the Arnolds’?
  3. Why does the author say that Forster’s interest in education was ‘naturally’ encouraged by his wife?
  4. By what date was it compulsory for English children to go to school?
  5. What changes have happened in English schools in the last hundred years?
  6. What things apart from education, ae given to the children in English elementary schools?
  7. Why are medical and dental inspections held in the schools?

Exercise 2

(A) Punctuate the following:

young william forster though not a rugby boy had a great admiration for dr. Arnold he became very friendly with the arnolds and often talked about education with them eventually he married dr. arnold’s eldest daughter.

(B) Insert Prepositions in the following blanks

  1. It was possible……….very child to have an education.
  2. He became very friendly…….. The Arnolds.
  3. He had a great admiration………. Dr. Arnold
  4. His interest …… … education had remained strong.
  5. Parents are encouraged to take interest……….what happens ……….the school.
  6. All kinds ………………….students came University.
  7. The school-leaving age was raised…………twelve.
  8. It is compulsory every student to join the NCC.

(C) Change the following sentences into the Past Tense:

  1. All kinds of changes have gone on in schools.
  2. Classes are still often too large.
  3. School work has been made more interesting.
  4. There are far more text-books, and they are usually much better.

(D) Change the following sentences into the Present Tense:

  1. William Forster had a great admiration for Dr. Arnold.
  2. He often talked about education.
  3. An Act of Parliament made it possible for every child to be given a school education.
  4. The new Act began the change.
  5. A great deal of this education was free, though some fees were paid by parents who could afford it.

(E) Make Nouns from the following words:

  1. Beautiful
  2. Great
  3. Important
  4. Strong
  5. Responsible
  6. Possible
  7. Poor
  8. Except

(F) Make Adjectives from the following Nouns:

  1. Neighbour
  2. Boy
  3. Friend
  4. Parliament
  5. Nature
  6. Child
  7. Education
  8. Parents

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. Dr. Arnold is an important name in education because he was headmaster of Rugby School and often talked about education.
  2. “By the ‘Arnold’s” the author means the whole family of Dr. Arnold.
  3. The author says that Forster’s interest in education was ‘naturally’ encouraged by his wife because Forster’s wife was the daughter of Dr. Arnold who was a great educationist. His wife had been brought up in an educated family.
  4. By 1880, it was compulsory for English children to go to school.
  5. In the last hundred years, classes have become smaller, teachers have become better qualified, school work has been made more interesting and there are far more text-books. Many more reading books are used. Meals and free milk are provided. Medical and dental inspections are held and parents are encouraged to take a greater interest in what happens in the schools.
  6. Apart from education, meals and free milk are provided to the children in English elementary schools.
  7. Medical and dental inspections are held in the schools to ensure that the children are healthy.

Exercise 2

(A) Young William Forster, though not a Rugby boy, had a great admiration for Dr. Arnold. He became friendly with the Arnolds and often talked about education with them. Eventually he married Dr. Arnold’s eldest daughter.

(B) 1. for

  1. with
  2. for
  3. in
  4. in, in
  5. of, to
  6. to
  7. for

(C)

  1. All kinds of changes had gone on in schools.
  2. Classes were still often too large.
  3. School work had been made more interesting.
  4. There were far more text-books, and they were usually much better.
  5. D) 1. William Forster has a great admiration for Dr. Arnold.
  6. He often talks about education.
  7. An Act of Parliament makes it possible for every child to be given a school education.
  8. The new Act begins the change.
  9. A great deal of this education is free, though some fees are paid by parents who can afford it.

(E) 1. Beauty

  1. Greatness
  2. Importance
  3. Strength
  4. Responsibility
  5. Possibility
  6. Poverty,
  7. Exception

(F). 1. Neighbourly

  1. Boyish
  2. Friendly,
  3. Parliamentary
  4. Natural
  5. Childish
  6. Educational
  7. Parental

PASSAGE 10

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

How often one hears children wishing they were grown-up, and old people wishing they were young again? Each age has its pleasures and its pains. The happiest person is the one who enjoys what e age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to ma life difficult. If a child has good parents, he is fed, looked after and loved, whatever he may do. It is improbable that he will ever again in his life be given so much without having to do anything in return. In addition, life is always presenting new things to the child – things that have lost their interest for older people because they are too well-known. A child finds pleasure in playing in the rain, or in the snow. His first visit to the seaside is a marvellous adventure. But a child has his pains. He is not so free to do as he wishes as he thinks older people are. He is continually being told not to do things or is being punished for what he has done wrong. His life is therefore not perfectly happy.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

  1. Who according to the author is the happiest person?
  2. What are the good things in life for a child?
  3. What things does a child feel to be bad in his life?
  4. Give examples of things that a child finds interesting but have lost their interest for older people.

Exercise 2

(A) Change the following sentences into Past Tense:

  1. Each age has its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person is the one who, enjoys what each age gives him without wasting his time in useless regrets. 2. Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult.

(B) Use the following words in sentences of your own.

  1. Pleasures
  2. Improbable
  3. Without
  4. Adventure
  5. Punished
  6. Perfectly

(C) Write the Synonyms (having similar meaning) of the following words:

  1. Pleasure
  2. Improbable
  3. Marvellous
  4. Always

(D) Change the following words to Nouns:

  1. Happy
  2. Improbable
  3. Perfectly
  4. Free

(E) Change the following words to Adjectives:

  1. Responsibility
  2. Perfectly
  3. Continually
  4. Pleasure

(F) (i) Change the following sentence into Passive Voice :

He is fed, looked after and loved.

(ii) After the quotation, there are four statements. Write out the statement which is closest in meaning to the quotation: “Childhood is a time when there are few responsibilities to make life difficult”.

(a) Childhood has many responsibilities which make life difficult.

(b) Childhood can be enjoyed because it gives the life challenging responsibilities.

(c) Childhood is a time when there are hardly any responsibilities and thus life is without difficulties.

(d) Because of few responsibilities in childhood a child is not without worries.

 

ANSWERS

Exercise 1

  1. According to the author, ‘the happiest person is one who enjoys what each age gives him and who does not waste his time in unless regrets.
  2. A child has no responsibilities. He is fed, looked after and loved. He gets everything without having to do anything in return. He finds pleasure in everything around.
  3. A child is not free to do as he wishes. He is continually told what to do and what not to do. He is punished if he does something wrong.
  4. Playing in the rain or in the snow and visit to the seaside.

Exercise 2

(A) 1. Each age had its pleasures and its pains, and the happiest person was the one who enjoyed what each age gave him without wasting his time in useless regrets.

  1. Childhood was a time when there were few responsibilities to ‘make life difficult.

(B) 1. There are both pleasures and sorrows in one’s life.

  1. It is improbable that he will come.
  2. He has come without an umbrella.
  3. You have done a deed of adventure.
  4. The late-comers were punished.
  5. They performed their duty perfectly well.

(C) 1. happiness

  1. not likely to happen
  2. wonderful
  3. ever

(D) 1. Happiness

  1. Improbability
  2. Perfection
  3. Freedom

(E) 1. Responsible

  1. Perfect
  2. Continual
  3. Pleasurable

(F) 1. Responsible

  1. Perfect 3. Continual
  2. Pleasurable

(G) (i) The parents feed him, look after and love him.

(ii) (c) Childhood is a time when there are hardly any responsibilities and thus life is without difficulties.

PASSAGE 11

There was a cruel man. He had an ass. He was in the habit overloading the poor ass. He used to put heavy loads upon his back. Beneath these loads the ass could hardly move. Where upon the ass was beaten. One day, the man loaded the ass with heavy bags. The bags contained salt. The weight of these bags was unbearable. The ass’s back and legs bent beneath the burden. The ass tried to carry this heavy load. His pace was slow. The master grew angry. The ass was then crossing a bridge. The master rained blows upon him. The ass attempted to run. He rolled over the edge into the water. In a short time the load of salt was spoiled. It dissolved in the water.

Read the above paragraph and answer the following questions:

  1. Why could the ass not move?
  2. What did the bags contain?
  3. What happened after the ass had rolled over the bridge?
  4. Write a few sentences on “The cruelty of the man.”
  5. Explain the parts in italics. 6. Give the paragraph a suitable heading.

ANSWERS

  1. The ass could not move because it was made to carry a heavy load.
  2. The bags contained salt.
  3. The ass fell into the river. The load of salt got dissolved in water.
  4. The man was cruel, no doubt. He knew his ass was weak and still he loaded it heavily. One day, he loaded the ass with salt and the animal could not walk. He beat it furiously. It was beyond doubt, very cruel on his part.
  5. He was in the habit of overloading the poor ass. He used to put heavy loads on the ass’s back. The poor ass was not strong enough for those loads. His pace was slow- He could not go fast. The master rained blows upon him- The master beat him hard.
  6. The suitable heading is ‘The Cruel Master.’

PASSAGE 12

In order to be healthy, there are some precautions that we should take. Malaria fever is brought into our bodies by the bites of mosquitoes. And mosquitoes breed in foul and stagnant water. We should, therefore, try and get rid of pools of dirty water that are near our houses. Even very small pools, old tins or broken pots can hold enough water for mosquitoes to breed in. We should, therefore, get rid of all these. In case of large pools, it is good to pour a small quantity of kerosene oil into them from time to time; the oil will spread all over the pool, and form a thin layer over the surface of the water, and prevent the mosquitoes from breeding. At night, we should, if possible, use nets to prevent the mosquitoes from biting.

Read the above passage carefully and answer the questions given below:

  1. How is malaria caused?
  2. Why it is bad to have pools of water near our houses?
  3. What should we do if we have large pools of water near our house?
  4. How can we protect our bodies from mosquitoes at night?

ANSWERS

  1. Malaria is caused by mosquito bites.
  2. Mosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water. They bite us and thus fever is caused. If the pools of water do not exist, there will be no mosquito-breeding and hence, no danger of malaria.
  3. We should pour kerosene oil over the surface of water from time to time. Kerosene oil stops breeding of mosquitoes.
  4. We can protect our bodies from the mosquito bites at night by using mosquito-nets.

 

 

UNSOLVED EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE

PASSAGE 1

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow each passage.

Games, though essential, should not become the be-all and end-all of students’ life. Generally the sportsmen waste too much time on them and fail in the examinations. One must not devote more than one hour to sports and after that should not even think of them. Again, if a player plays a game rashly, there is a danger of his breaking his bones. If it is played without the spirit of sportsmanship, it can lead to blood and quarrels. In some of the colleges, there is a tradition that if the visiting team is winning a match, the home team plays foul, picks a quarrel and breaks the bones of the visitors. But inspite of all these minor problems, sports are very useful in keeping the students busy and in developing their personalities. India expects its citizens to have the qualities.

There should be no narrow-mindedness, no corruption and no injustice and there should be independence in the real sense of the word.

QUESTIONS

Exercise

  1. What do the games do to some students?
  2. Why do the players break their bones sometimes?
  3. How do sports develop the personality of students?
  4. How are sports useful for students?

 

PASSAGE 2

Since the evolution of human life on the earth, the interaction between man and environment is one of the essential aspects of human development. However, the tremendous change brought about by man at massive scale and the accelerating pace, as a result of scientific progress and technological revolution has put much pressure on the fragile environment. Exploding population, industrial and agricultural revolutions along with the intensifying impact of universal urbanisation process, have also accounted for undesirable effects on man’s physical environment.

Environmental scientists have profound concern for global misuse and abuse of nature in the name of development and progress relates not only to the present rate of air, water and soil pollutions but the overall dangers to biological rhythm everywhere. The process of widespread universal degradation of the environment and the imminent threat hang on the entire humanity. The council of environmental quality sounds a warning for developing countries stating that if the present trend continues, the world will be more crowded and more polluted. It will be less stable ecologically and disruptive than the world we live in now.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions as briefly as possible. Write your answers in the space provided:

1 Much change in the environment has been brought about mainly by two factors. One example given is of scientific progress, Give the second example.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. There are a few factors which have put much effect on the

physical environment of man on the earth. These are

(a)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

(b)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

  1. “… hangs on the entire humanity”. What is it?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

  1. The effects of much progress in science, technology and increase in population on

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  1. The warning for the developing countries is that

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

  1. In fact, the global misuse and abuse of nature will be very harmful for the overall

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

PASSAGE 3

Illiteracy of the masses in India is the topic of the day. Some are of the opinion that unless there is compulsory education, illiteracy in India will not be removed even in the distant future. It is true that every effort should be made to spread education among the masses. But we must make a distinction between the education that educates and the education that does not educate. Education that does more harm than good is no education at all. But unfortunately, the present system of theoretical education has brought forth innumerable disadvantages.

The educated people suffer from more financial difficulties because their wants have greatly multiplied. Unemployment, too, is greater among them. Similar drawbacks can be seen even in those who have received only primary education. Very often it has been seen that those who have passed even a few years in a primary school, do not like to go back to their ancestral occupation and try to seek some job. Thus, they add to the list of idlers. It is evident, therefore, that there must be a change in the present method of education.

The right type of education can cure many ills of life. For the removal of many of the troubles of our society, the spread of education is necessary. If the temple owners had a liberal education, they would not be as narrow-minded as they are today. They have not got that culture which would prevent them from treating their fellow beings inhumanly. And if the Harijans had sufficient knowledge and education, they would have surely been honoured by those who now keep them at a distance. In fact, the spread of education would automatically eliminate many of the inequities that exist in our society.

QUESTIONS

Exercise 1

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following questions as briefly as possible. Write your answers in the space provided.

  1. Why is compulsory education necessary?

……………………………………………………………………………

  1. What are the two types of educations mentioned in me passage?

……………………………………………………………………………

  1. What are the disadvantages of the present system theoretical education?

……………………………………………………………………………

  1. What are the advantages of the right type of education?

……………………………………………………………………………

  1. How, according to the author, is liberal education likely to help the society?

……………………………………………………………………………

  1. Give a suitable title to the passage.

……………………………………………………………………………

PASSAGE 4

There was once a cruel king in Greece, who had a baby son. He gave the baby to a shepherd, with orders to kill him.

The man took the child away into a forest full of wild beasts and left him lying in the open. But another shepherd found the child, and took it to a queen who brought him up as her own. The boy was lame, and could never walk without a staff in his hand.

When he grew up, the young prince set out on a journey travelling slowly and painfully, from town to town. At last he came to the place where he was born, and found the people in great trouble.

A hideous monster had come to the city and had killed many of the people. It had the head and shoulders of a woman and the body of a lion, and was known as the Sphinx.

Read the above given passage carefully and answer the following questions:

  1. Write the order which you think the cruel king gave to the shepherd.
  2. How was the young prince saved?
  3. Why did the prince travel ‘slowly and painfully’?
  4. What did the monster look like and what was its name?

Glossary:

  1. Stick, 2. Started, 3. Ugly, 4. Giant.

PASSAGE 5

St. Martin was born in Hungary. His father was a Roman soldier and both his parents were heathen’. When he was about ten years old, his parents went to live in Italy, and it was there that little Martin first heard about Christ. He begged his parents to let him get baptized, but they did not listen to him. So he remained what is called a catechumen, that is, one who wants to become a Christian and is being made ready for baptism. When he was fifteen, he became a soldier at his father’s wish; and he was brave and skillful in his work, and lived a straight and good life as though he had become a Christian —as indeed he was in everything but name.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. Where did St. Martin spend his early life?
  2. What did his parents say to his request for being baptised?
  3. What do you mean by the word ‘Catechumen’? 4. What kind of a life did Martin lead as a soldier?

Glossary:

  1. Atheist-Those who do not accept God
  2. Christian-made a Christian
  3. Clever.

PASSAGE 6

John was decidedly not cheerful. This was not his first interview with a prospective employer. Ever since taking his B.A. degree he had knocked on many doors, unsuccessfully. Either there was no vacancy, or he was not the man for the job. What hope had he of success this time? And he was poor and growing poorer. His father had died long ago. He had only a dim recollection of a big bearded man, with k and affectionate eyes, bending over him as he lay sick. But for an uncle (he had died a little before his’ nephew graduated) he would never have been able to study for his degree. Now the two of them mother and son-were alone in the world. The mother’s eyes were failing. Needle-work placed too great a strain on them, even if she were able to turn out as good and as much work as she used to do before, (as she was the best needle woman in the district) it did not mean much wages, which had fallen. He must secure a job at any rate.

Read the above given passage and answer the following questions:

  1. Why was John not cheerful?
  2. Describe the family to which John belonged.
  3. Why was John poor and growing poorer still?
  4. What recollection had John of his father?

Glossary:

  1. Clearly-Undoubtedly
  2. Vacant post,
  3. Memory
  4. Bad effect
  5. Payment for work.

PASSAGE 7

It is said that in modern age, newspapers have great power. It is not only for daily news that we should read newspapers, but also to increase our information and general knowledge. A person who does not know what is going on around him, or in other parts of the world, is like the frog confined to a well. There are good newspapers as well as bad newspapers. We should avoid reading such newspapers which indulge’ in giving sensational – and often untrue reports. We should not support newspapers which try to incite communal friction 3 Therefore, instead of picking up cheap newspapers here and there, we should read the newspapers supplied in our school library.

Read the above passage carefully and answer the questions:

  1. What type of newspapers should we avoid and why?
  2. Why do we read newspapers?
  3. Give the passage a suitable title.

Glossary:

  1. Describe,
  2. News that creates great public excitement,
  3. Cause disputes among various communities.

PASSAGE 8

So far Lincoln grew up in a small world, where life was slow and quiet. In 1882, he got a glimpse of the outside world when he was engaged to take a boat, full of farm produce, to the city of New Orleans. It was a journey of about a thousand miles which was covered in three months. The trip brought him both pleasure -and pain. It was a joy for him to see the new world beyond his own, but it also gave him great pain when he saw poor slaves working like beasts of burden for their masters.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. How was the life of the people of the place where Lincoln was born?
  2. Which place did he visit?
  3. Why did he go there?
  4. What impression did the visit provide?
  5. What did he see that gave him joy?
  6. What made him sad?
  7. Suggest an appropriate title for the passage.

PASSAGE 9

As with the other sciences, astronomy was originally studied for mainly utilitarian reasons. It provided measures of time, and enabled mankind to keep a tally on the flight of the seasons, it taught him to find his way across the trackless desert, and later across the vast oceans. In the guise of astrology it held out hopes, of telling him his future. There was nothing intrinsically absurd in this, for even today, the astronomer is largely occupied with foretelling the future movements of the heavenly bodies, although not of human affairs. Where the astrologers went wrong was in supposing the terrestrial empires, kings and individuals formed such important items in the scheme of the universe, that the motions of the heavenly bodies could be intimately bound up with their fates. As soon as man began to realise, even faintly, the measure of his own insignificance in the universe, astrology died a natural and inevitable death.

Read the above given passage and answer the following questions:

  1. What is the difference between astronomy and astrology?
  2. What is the mistake committed by the astrologers?
  3. Why has astrology died a natural death?
  4. Explain the parts in italics.
  5. Give the above passage a suitable heading.

PASSAGE 10

Some three-and-a-half centuries ago, there were living in England two incomparably great men. They were Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare. Bacon, urging the mind of his age towards the investigation of the outer world by the experimental method, towards the positive science which gives us control over Nature’s forces; Shakespeare, an explorer of the inner world no less wonderful than the outer, the world of human life and character, where the forces that rule our destinies have their birth place and their home-Bacon pointing to knowledge, Shakespeare to wisdom. The two men represented two tendencies, both active in that age; one, a tendency towards mechanism, the other, towards humanism. Of those two great men, I judge Shakespeare to have been the greater. But the Baconion tendency won the day. The major currents of western civilisation, of its thought, energy and ambition, turned in the mechanical direction and have followed it ever since, in ever increasing volume. The result is over-mechanised civilisation with its wealth, power, its feats of engineering, its enormous reproductive capacity, its great cities and crowded population, its social and international problems, its mechanical habit of thought and, above it all, the shadow of that incredible folly which so impresses Mr. Chamberlain?, knowledge came but wisdom lingered

Glossary:

  1. Enquiry,
  2. Spiritual world,
  3. That which makes a machine work,
  4. Human spirits working,
  5. Capacity to produce more and more,
  6. That mistake of storing arms,
  7. Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of England 1937-40,
  8. Scientific knowledge increased, but human growth of character lagged behind.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. Give a suitable heading to the passage.
  2. Who were the two great men in England?
  3. What were their fields of enquiry?
  4. What happened to Bacon’s work?
  5. Who was greater of the two?
  6. Who is the person referred to in the last part of the passage?
  7. Explain the last sentence in the passage.

PASSAGE 11

Homer, in his great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, frequently refers to the Festival of Lamps. But lamps in Homer’s time were most probably torches, which were lit in temples on festive occasions and also for guiding marching troops. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the word ‘lampus’,-from which the English ‘lamp’ is derived, originally means a ‘torch.

Long before the fourth century B.C., lamps of terracotta or metal, which replaced the torches of Homeric time, came into general use in temples and other places where permanent lights were required. Herodotus speaks of ‘Luehnokaie’, literally the Festival of Lamps, held at Sais, in Egypt, an occasion on which a vast number of lamps were filled with oil and kept burning the whole night.

The discovery of very ancient specimens of well-wrought Terracotta lamps’ from amongst the ruins of huge, buried cities in Mesopotamia, and of the earliest types of metal lamps used by the prehistoric lake dwellers in the Swiss lakes, points to the large-scale use of such lamps on festive occasions from times immemorial. In the British Museum are preserved wonderful lamps of various ages, shapes and sizes, one of the most striking specimens being a lamp that shows the interior of a Roman circus, with spectators looking on a chariot race. All these prove beyond doubt that in Europe as well as the Middle East, from very early times, man has sought to express exuberance of his heart’s delight by lighting lamps on a huge scale in celebration of the triumphs of victorious chiefs and generals, propitiation of the names of his ancestors and performance of the rites in honour of his gods.

Glossary:

  1. Lamps of hard pottery,
  2. Man has desired to show the overflow,
  3. Appeasement.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. How was the Festival of Lights celebrated in the past?
  2. What were the various reasons for its celebration?
  3. Give a suitable title to the above passage.

PASSAGE 12

Some of the most important features of character and personality are developed through leisure activities. Help your child to learn while he plays. There are many kinds of leisure-time activities for youngsters.

Gradually, the idea is gaining ground that athletics and sports for school children should be those which can be practised easily for a long time, and be a valuable asset for the individual after he has left school. Therefore, rather than laying emphasis on games such as hockey and football, it is suggested that such sports as swimming, riding, golf, tennis and badminton should receive a greater emphasis in the school-age period, depending, of course, on the child’s particular fancy and aptitude.

Many a home is made happier by a variety of indoor games, such a checkers, cards, carom, in which the entire family can take part. Besides the pure enjoyment of such activities and the skills developed, there are opportunities for learning to win and lose gracefully, which is rather important.

Collecting stamps, coins, match folds, etc., are pleasant pastimes although the first two are difficult and expensive if taken seriously.

Sketching, painting, modelling, carving, and photography can be far-reaching activities. From modest beginnings these activities may last for years and become lifetime professions or creative hobbies.

Music can be either a leisure time activity or an imposed drudgery! To many children, music lessons are just another of those things that adults force on them, that just must be done. But music can be, to some children an absorbing leisure activity which they greatly enjoy. Gramophone records, family orchestras, occasional concerts, a judicious use of the radio are all aids to musical appreciation. Dancing, if not spoiled for the child by too much formalisation, can be a happy form of expression as well as aid to co-ordination and poise? Reading opens up a great new world to the child and can be one of the most satisfactory hobbies. The greatest danger is that reading may become too prominent and push aside more active forms of enjoyment. Although the child needs some guidance in what he reads, he should not feel that the adult is selecting his reading material or imposing his standard of what is worth reading for him. He should develop his own standard of criticism. He may read a lot of what adults may call ‘trash’ but some of this trash is a help in some ways. The important thing is for the child to learn to accept what others say is ‘good literature’.

Glossary:

  1. Hard work done without liking for it,
  2. Rigid system,
  3. Balance.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. Give a suitable heading to the above passage.
  2. How are hobbies important for a child?
  3. Which sports and games are best for children?
  4. Which hobbies are popular among children?
  5. How can music or reading become a drudgery?
  6. Which absorbing leisure time activity would you introduce to children in your school?

PASSAGE 13

To my mind, the only sensible reason for reading anything is because we enjoy it or hope to enjoy it. Of course, pleasure covers a whole variety of feelings and shades of feeling. But it is my strongest belief about reading that one should read only what one likes, and because one likes it. I am talking, of course, of our private reading. When we are studying a special subject, or working for examinations, we obviously have to read a good deal that we would not choose to read in other circumstances.

It may seem odd to insist that one should only read because one likes it, but people read for such a queer variety of reasons. There are people who read a book, not because they enjoy the book, but because they want to be able to say that they have read it. They want to be in the swim! Ten to one, when they read a book for those reasons, they only skim through it?, because all they really want to do is to be able to talk as if they had read it. There are people who set themselves down to read a book because they think it will do them good. They make a duty of it, a kind of penance. Sometimes they go so far as to set themselves so many pages at a time. If it is some kind of technical book, which they are reading in order to improve their knowledge, well and good. But if it is a novel, or a poem, or any part of what we call ‘English Literature’, then the person who is reading it in this way is wasting his or her time.

You cannot take a good book as if it were medicine. It is injustice to the book, and very silly from our own point of view. By approaching it in that way, you make sure of losing anything it might have to give you. You only begin to get good from a book when your spirit and the book’s spirit come together. A book is like a living person. You must meet it as a friend, and actively like it, if any good is to pass between you.

Glossary:

  1. To know the latest,
  2. Read hurriedly,
  3. Self-mortification.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. What is the author’s belief about reading?
  2. Enumerate the reasons for reading a book.
  3. When do we get any benefit from reading a book?
  4. Give a suitable heading to the passage.

PASSAGE 14

Whatever be its shape or size, cars will continue to dominate the U.S. social scene. This is a country with a car for every 2-1/2 persons. The effect of such abundance on the landscape is striking, especially for those who look down from the air. Every highway looks like a moving town, as if the house of Dunsinane were heading towards Birnamwood. Filled with hundreds of multicoloured cars, the parking places around the supermarkets are mosaic! Patios2 for the villas of giants. And everywhere are huge dumps of discards like the place where elephants go to die.

Nowhere does the obligation to consume bear down more demandingly upon the U.S. public. Before the splendours of this year are all sold, people must start buying those of next year, or great areas of the economy, some having no immediately obvious link with the motor car, will subside. One of the experts has listed some of the products the motor industry itself eats up. It takes one-fifth of the nation’s steel, which might be expected. It also takes the hide from 50,000 cattle, the wool from 17 million sheep and enough cotton to provide every woman in the country with 20 dresses.

The effects of this great fleet on U.S. society in its human aspects are becoming apparent. Significantly, friends of the motor industry are now on the defensive, as the friends of advertising and television have been for some time. People are beginning to wonder if Americans will forget how to walk. They point to the sinister 3 fact that suburbs are now being built with streets but no pavements. The mounting hazards of a pedestrian existence are producing cries of angry protest from survivors, but without drawing sympathy from the majority who have motors.

Perhaps more concern is felt for the well-being of children in this era of mechanised mobility. Driving everywhere, they get too little exercise and one is bound to remark on how many American children are rather portly. Never at a loss, have the advertisers swung in to battle on this. As the season of necessary sales gets under way, they offer to the anxious parents a family station-wagon, with space inside for play-pen?, big enough to hold every one under school age.

The belief that all things must be transient if the U.S. economy is to prosper is by no means confined to the motor trade. In my favourite bookshop, a notice has just appeared. It reads ‘Sales of Summer-Fiction’.

Glossary:

  1. Multi-Coloured or patterned,
  2. Open court in an American-Spanish home,
  3. Wicked.
  4. Growing dangers.
  5. Mechanised transport,
  6. Fat, bulky,
  7. Small place to play.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. How does the motor-car affect the Americans?
  2. What products are consumed by the car-industry in the U.S.?
  3. If car production is lowered in the U.S., what would happen?
  4. How are the people affected by the over dependence on cars in the U.S.?
  5. Suggest an appropriate title for the above passage.

PASSAGE 15

As a young man I was a Marxist, and believed that if the environment was changed, the individual would change, because an individual was a product of his environment. Therefore, I thought that once Capitalism and Feudalism were abolished and the private profit motive eliminated from life, everything would be all right.

In Russia, there was this tremendous revolution. Capitalism and Feudalism were destroyed from the roots, and the private profit motive was destroyed. But what happened? Did the good society emerge? Did the good man emerge? Not at all. All the ideals of Communism or at least what I consider to be the ideals of Communism, seem to me to have been buried deep under the Russian soil. The very people who made the revolution became thirsty for one another’s blood; and blood flowed on the streets of Moscow and other cities.

And I saw what was happening in the democratic countries that were trying to create a socialist society. I found the ideals of Socialism were becoming fainter and fainter, dimmer and dimmer Nationalisation at one time used to be such an exciting promising slogan. But today, we find that it leads to a bureaucrats order. We find that the relationships between the producers and the consumers, the management and other sectors of society have become frozen. There is no Socialism left in the life of the people.

Glossary:

  1. Taking over by,
  2. Supreme-officialdom and lengthy procedure state following state.

Read the above passage and answer the following questions:

  1. Give a suitable title to the above passage.
  2. How is a change in man a condition for a social revolution?
  3. What happened in the U.S.S.R. after the Communist Revolution?
  4. Were the aims of a revolution actually realised there?
  5. How far was nationalisation a success in the democratic countries?
  6. What do you know about Marx?
  7. Where was Marxism tried first?
  8. What are Capitalism and Feudalism?
Tags:

Related Posts

About The Author

Avatar photo
Absolute-Study

Hindi Essay, English Essay, Punjabi Essay, Biography, General Knowledge, Ielts Essay, Social Issues Essay, Letter Writing in Hindi, English and Punjabi, Moral Stories in Hindi, English and Punjabi.

Leave a Reply