Unseen Passage For Class 12 With Answers PDF 2020 – Factual and Descriptive Passages

Read the following passages carefully:

Passage 1:

Too many parents these days can’t say no. As a result, they find themselves raising ‘children’ who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn’t satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators and parents think it’s time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what’s really important : values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher—and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were overindulged as children, paints a discouraging picture of their future : when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life’s disappointments. They also have distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the work place and in relationships.
Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids, set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today’s parents themselves raised on values of thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where ‘no’ was a household word. Today’s kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this generation were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assault’ on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat screen TV as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave for something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.
Today’s parents aren’t equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and 70s, swore they’d act differently from their parents and have closer relationships with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it’s tempting to buy peace with ‘yes’ and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about the future is another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won’t spoil a child. Too few limits will.
What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure.
Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one’s own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.

cbse-class-12-english-comprehension-passages-factual-descriptive-passages-(12-1)
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) What do the psychologists, educators and parents want to teach the children?

To teach them about treachery.
To teach them about indiscipline.
To teach them about the values of life like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion.
None of these

(b) What is essential to become a successful adult?

Learn not to overcome challenges
Learn how to overcome challenges
Nothing is essential.
None of these

They feel more secure and better.
They feel insecure.
They feel bored.
None of these.

(d) What is the drawback of giving children too much too soon?

They fail to cope with life’s disappointments when they grow up.
They do not study seriously.
They become quarrelsome when they grow up.
None of these.

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
(b) What are the results of giving the children too much too soon?
(c) Why do today’s children want more?
(d) What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world?
(e) What is the necessity to set limits for children?
(f) How do older children learn self-control?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) a feeling of satisfaction (para 1)
(b) valuable (para 3)

Answers:

(a) 3. To teach them about the values of life like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion
(b) 2. Learn how to overcome challenges
(c) 1. They feel more secure and better.
(d) 1. They fail to cope with life’s disappointments when they grow up

(a) Parents and teachers want to inculcate the values of life like honesty, hard work and contentment among children.
(b) When children are given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty in coping with the disappointments of life. Such children may develop distorted sense of entitlement that comes in the way of success in the work place and relationships.
(c) Today’s children want much more partly because there is so much more to want. They crave for something new. They consider even luxurious items as essential commodities.
(d) Parents need to find a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical lessons of life that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals in today’s world.
(e) Children need limits on their behaviours because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure.
(f) Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act.

(a) contentment
(b) precious

Passage 2:
SPACE TOURISM

If NSYNC singer Lance Bass can’t afford the $20 million price tag for a ride into space now, he should try again in, say, a decade.
But within a decade or so, even some of Bass’s fans could afford a quick and safe trip to the suborbital edge of space — roughly 50-60 miles above earth, says Frank Seitzen, 5 president of the Space Transport Association.
“I think you’re maybe 10 or 12 years away from having companies that are reliable and that can go through that process for $5,000 or $10,000,” Seitzen said.
There’s a hungry demand from would-be space tourists and a $10 million prize is inspiring designers. The X Prize, created in 1994 to spur the development of new space travel 10 technologies, has attracted at least 21 space vehicle designs from people in five countries. The non-profit X Prize Foundation, founded by a group of donors inspired by the $25,000 Orteig Prize that Charles Lindbergh won in 1927, will give the prize.

Each design team is hoping to develop the first reusable rocket capable of blasting a pilot and two to five passengers to a height of 62 miles. NASA awards astronaut status for 15 flights above 50 miles.
Some design contestants boast that such trips will be available by 2005, although the first few travellers will face $100,000 bills until the market matures.
Despite steep prices and lagging technology, Seitzen and others are convinced that a lucrative travel business awaits. Space Adventures, a travel agency that helped coordinate the first 20 tourist trip to the International Space Station last year by US businessman Dennis Tito, claims it has collected $2 million in deposits from more than 120 would-be suborbital tourists. For client Wally Funk, who has paid her deposit, suborbital travel is a disappointing, yet feasible, alternative to decades of trying to reach space. Funk, a retired aviation safety investigator says, “I would do (a space station trip) in a heartbeat, but I can’t because I’m 25 not a millionaire.”

Compared to Tito’s groundbreaking effort last year, future suborbital flights look easy. Tito was subjected to rigid medical requirements and a gruelling six-month training course in Russia.
But suborbital travellers will need only a few days of training and, pending FAA approval, 30 would have to pass a much lower bar for medical standards.
“We always say that if you can safely ride a rollercoaster, then you are fit for a suborbital flight,” says Space Adventures spokeswoman Tereza Predescu.
Four commercial spaceports, which launch rockets into space like airports launch planes, are already licensed to operate by the FAA in Virginia, California, Alaska and Florida, and 35 they are eager to welcome extra business from space tourists, negating the need to catch a ride to Russia.
For those reasons, suborbital travel may represent a $1 billion a year market, according to Space Adventures President and CEO Eric Anderson. Translated, that’s 10,000 travellers paying $100,000 each during the first few years of adventure space travel.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Space adventure claims that………………….

it is a lucrative business
it is a business of less profit
people don’t want to go to space
none of the above

(b) Some design contestants feel convinced that………………….

space trips will never be made available
space trips are not feasible
space trips are disappointing
space trips will soon be made available

underwent rigid medical checkups
attended a six month training course
both (i) and (ii)
none of the above

(d) Suborbital travellers will need

two years training course
a few days of training
a lot of money
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Name the first tourist to the International Space Station. What difficulties did he face?
(b) Why is Lance Bass unable to have a ride into space now? What is likely to happen in a decade?
(c) Which two factors are inspiring the designers of new space vehicle—the reusable rocket?
(d) How do you think suborbital tourism is a poor alternative to space travel?
(e) What are the prospects of suborbital travel? Give two examples in support of your answer.
(f) What are the prerequisites for space travelling?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) profitable (lines 15 to 25)
(b) severe, exhausting (lines 25 to 30)

Answers:

(a) 1. it is a lucrative business
(b) 4. space trips will soon be made available
(c) 3. both (i) and (ii)
(d) 2. a few days of training

(a) US businessman Dennis Tito was the first tourist to the International Space Station.
Tito had to undergo rigid medical requirements and a severe six month training course in Russia.
(b) Lance Bass can’t afford $20 million for a space ride right now. In a decade, the fare for a space traveller is likely to come down to $10,000 or even $5,000.
(c) (i) a hungry demand from would-be space tourists
(ii) a $10 million prize to the designers
(d) Travellers to space go beyond the orbit of the earth and reach the orbit of the moon. On the other hand, the suborbital tourist will travel in a rocket upto the International Space Station only. Space travel is not possible for everyone, but suborbital tourism is a possible alternative.
(e) Suborbital travel is a lucrative business.
(i) Space Adventures, a travel agency has collected $2 million in deposits from more than 120 would-be suborbital tourists.
(ii) Four commercial space ports are already licensed to operate.
(iii) It is likely to be $1 billion a year market with 10,000 travellers paying $100,000 each dining the first few years of adventure space travel.
(f) The space travellers should be medically fit and they need to get proper training. A man who can ride a roller coaster is fit for space travelling.

(a) lucrative
(b) gruelling

Passage 3:
INDOOR POLLUTANTS

Call it a blessing or a curse of Mother Nature, we have to breathe in over 10,000 litres of air in a day (more than four million litres in a year) to remain alive. By making it essential for life, God has wished that we try to keep the air we breathe clean. Everyone can see the food that is not clean and perhaps refrain from eating it, but one cannot stop breathing even if one can feel the air to be polluted.
Several harmful and noxious substances can contaminate the air we breathe. Generally, much is said and written about outdoor air pollution, most of which is due to vehicular and industrial exhausts.
Given the fact that most of us spend over 90% of our time indoors, it is most important to recognise that the air we breathe in at home or in offices can be polluted. It can be a cause of ill-health. Air pollutants that are generally present in very low concentrations can assume significance in closed ill-ventilated places.
The indoor air pollution can lead to allergic reactions and cause irritation to the skin, the eyes and the nose. But as is logical to assume, the brunt of insult by pollutants is borne by the lungs. It can lead to the development of fresh breathing problems, especially in those who have allergic tendencies, or it can worsen the existing respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.
There can be several sources of indoor air pollution. Tobacco smoke is one of the most important air pollutants in closed places. “Passive smoking” or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) pollution can lead to all the harmful effects of tobacco smoking seen in the smokers in their non-smoking companions. ETS as a health hazard has been unequivocally proven and is also getting social recognition now. One can occasionally see signs displaying the all-important message: “Your smoking is injurious to my health” in offices and homes. The children of smoking parents are among the worst affected persons.
The exposure of young children to ETS leads to increased respiratory problems and hospital admissions as compared to non-exposed children. Several studies, including those done at the PGI, have shown an increased risk of lung cancer among women exposed to passive smoking. ETS also worsens the existing lung diseases like asthma and bronchitis.
It may be responsible for the development of asthma in children.
The next most important source of indoor air pollution is the allergens. House dust mites (HDM) are very small insects not visible to the naked eye and are the commonest source of allergy in the house. They are ubiquitous and thrive in a warm and moist atmosphere. They breed very fast and are very difficult to eradicate. Modem houses present ample breeding spaces for them in the form of carpets, curtains, mattresses, pillows, etc.
Exposure to HDM can be prevented by the frequent washing of linen and by encasing the mattresses and pillows in a non-permeable cover. Pets form an important part of life for some of us. But they can add plenty of allergens to our indoor atmosphere. Cats are notorious for doing this. Fine particles from feline fur can remain stuck to the upholstery and carpets for a long time* even after the removal of the animal and lead to the worsening of asthma and skin allergies. Fortunately, owing to religious and social customs cats are not very popular pets in India. Dogs, however, are quite popular and can be as troublesome. Pets should be kept out of the bedrooms and washed frequently. To remove the fur particles one has to use vacuum cleaners as the ordinary broom and mop are not effective.
Moulds, fungi and several other microorganisms thrive in damp conditions and can lead to allergies as well as infections. Humidifiers in the air-conditioning plants provide an ideal environment for certain types of bacteria and have led to major outbreaks of pneumonia. It is important to clean regularly the coolers, air-conditioners and damp areas of the house such as cupboards, lofts, etc to minimise this risk.
Toxic gases can also pollute the indoor environment. Biomass fuels (wood, cowdung, dried plants) and coal, if burned inside, can lead to severe contamination by carbon monoxide (CO): The poor quality of stoves and other cooking or heating appliances that cause incomplete combustion of LPG can also lead to the emission of CO or nitrogen dioxide.
Formaldehyde (a gas) can be released from adhesives that are used for fixing carpets, upholstery and also in making plywood and particleboard.
The gases are very toxic in high concentrations as may be encountered during industrial accidents, but even in very minimal amounts, as may be prevalent in homes and offices, they can cause irritation to the skin or the eyes, rashes, headache, dizziness and nausea. Improving the ventilation is an important preventive measure, besides trying to eliminate the source that may not be always feasible.
Other indoor pollutants are toxic chemicals like cleansing agents, pesticides, paints, solvents and inferior-quality personal-care products, especially aerosols. Very old crumbling pipes, boilers, insulation or false roofing can also be important sources. Asbestos is a hazardous product that can cause cancer in humans.
It is important to realise that the air we breathe at home may not be clean always andwe must try to eliminate the source of pollution. We should give due consideration to ventilation.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The Almighty wants that human beings…………………

should try to breathe clean air
should not pay attention to pollutants
must ignore ETS
should become passive smokers

(b) The toxic gases cause …………………

rashes
headache
dizziness
all of the above

allergies
pneumonia
heart attack
infection

(d) Asbestos is a hazardous product because it can

cause cancer in humans
cause respiratory problems
prove fatal to the children
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What is essential for our life? How?
(b) Why should we pay attention to the quality of air we breathe indoor?
(c) Name eight important sources of indoor air pollution.
(d) What do you understand by ETS? How is it harmful? Give two instances.
(e) How can the risk of allergies be minimised?
(f) How can the toxic gases pollute the indoor environment?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) make impure (Para 2)
(b) clearly and unmistakably (Para 5)

Answers:

(a) 1. should try to breathe clean air
(b) 4. all of the above
(c) 2. pneumonia
(d) 1. cause cancer in humans

(a) Air is essential for our life. We have to breathe in over 10,000 litres of air in a day to keep alive.
(b) Most of us spend ninety per cent of our time indoors—in homes or offices. The air we breathe indoors may also be polluted and cause ill health. So, we should pay attention to the quality of air we breathe indoors.
(c) The important sources of indoor air pollution are:
(i) Tobacco smoke
(ii) Animal dusts
(iii) Air conditioners
(iv) Moulds, bacteria
(v) House dust mites
(vi) Cooking and heating
(viii) Asbestos
(vii) Toxic chemicals
(d) ETS stands for Environmental Tobacco Smoke or “passive smoking”. It causes all the harms of tobacco smoking to non-smokers, for example, the children of smoking parents suffer from respiratory problems. There is an increased risk of lung cancer among women exposed to passive smoking.
(e) We must first identify the allergen and then prevent exposure to them. Use of vacuum cleaners, exposure to sun, washing linen in warm water and cleaning coolers, air-conditioners etc are some of the important steps to minimise allergies.
(f) The indoor environment becomes polluted when biomass fuels and coal are burnt. They release carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide which are detrimental to us.

(a) contaminate
(b) unequivocally

Passage 4:
ELECTRONIC JUNK MAIL

You would have seen an increasing amount of “junk mail” showing up in your e-mail box. The so-called harmless activities of a small number of people are increasingly becoming a serious problem for the Internet.
Spam is the flooding of the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it.
Spam is basically electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. It is sometimes confused with any unsolicited e-mail. But an old friend may also find your e-mail address on the Net and send you a message but this could hardly be called spam, even though it is unsolicited. Real spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a 10 mailing list or newsgroup.
In addition to wasting people’s time with unwanted e-mail, spam also eats up a lot of network bandwidth. There are many organisations and individuals who have taken it upon themselves to fight spam with a variety of techniques. The problem is that because the Internet is public, there is very little that can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail.

One of the most recent examples of large-scale spamming was the hoax Ericsson e-mail about a free give away, something most people just cannot resist. The letter begins with a claim that since Nokia is giving away telephones, Ericsson will respond by giving away brand new WAP phone. But the recipient must forward the letter to a minimum of 20 20 people to receive the phone. The letter is signed by Anna Swelund, Executive Promotion Manager for Ericsson Marketing. It was later discovered that there was no such person at Ericsson.
There are numerous instances of these e-mails being used maliciously by someone who has a grudge against an ex-spouse, a public official, a former teacher or someone else with an e-mail address. The person mentioned in the e-mail ends up with thousands of requests from people looking for confirmation that the e-mail—which they actually had nothing to do with—is true.
Spamming works on our own greed to receive freebies. You are instructed by a total stranger (or a well meaning but not very bright friend) to forward a message you know 30 nothing about, except for the fact that maybe a friend passed it along to you and about 90 of their other very close friends.
Very often the victim can receive so many e-mails (and sometimes faxes and phone calls in the more malicious cases) that they have to get a new e-mail box or phone number— thereby ruining established personal and professional communication channels, which was the original intent of the sender.

Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. It costs the sender very little to send—most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender.
There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on internet users. 40 Cancellable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. Usenet spam is aimed at “lurkers”, people who read newsgroups but rarely or never post and give their address away. Usenet spam robs users of the utility of the newsgroups by overwhelming them with a barrage of advertising or other irrelevant posts. Furthermore, Usenet spam subverts the ability of system administrators and owners to manage the topics they accept on theft1 systems.
E-mail spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. They typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Most of us read or receive our mail through dial-up accounts while the meter is running, so to speak.
There is not much really that can be done to protect yourself except that you can 50 ensure your relative safety by creating internet e-mail accounts like Hotmail or Yahoo which can be easily and frequently changed. Further, these accounts also generally offer the option of blocking senders from whom you get spam and you can also opt to block e-mail which has been copied to more than 20 people.
One can also keep oneself informed about spammers through the Blacklist of Internet Advertisers, a popular report that describes the offending activities of spammers that routinely distribute large mailings via e-mail or post unwelcome advertising on newsgroups. You can also visit www.spam.abuse.net.
Another organisation devoted to countering the destructive effects of spam is MAPS or the Mail Abuse Prevention System. If an offending spammer cannot be shut down, the 60 spammer’s ISP may contact MAPS with the subnet addresses allocated to the spammer so those specific addresses may be used instead of the IP address of the entire ISP. The MAPS website at http://mail-abuse.org will yield more useful information on how to counter and control spam.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Email spam victimises ……………….

group
individuals
males
females

(b) Usenet spam deprives the users of ……………….

the utility of the newsgroups
net facility
actual information
none of the above

MASP
MAPS
MPAS
MSAP

(d) Who has to pay most of the costs of spam?

senders
receivers
carriers
either (ii) or (iii)

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What is spam? What problems are caused to net surfers by spamming?
(b) Give an example of recent large scale spamming.
(c) How does spamming work? Whom does it hit—sender or receiver?
(d) What are the two main types of spams and their effects on Internet users?
(e) How can one protect oneself against spam? Give two options.
(f) Who uses e-mail spam frequently?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) a mischievous trick played on somebody for a joke (lines 10 to 20)
(b) disreputable or risky (lines 31 to 40)

Answers:

(a) 2. individuals
(b) 1. the utility of the newsgroups
(c) 2. MAPS
(d) 4. either (ii) or (iii)

(a) Spamming is basically electronic junk mail or newsgroup posting. It is e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or group. The internet is flooded with many copies of the same message. The aim is to force the message on people who would not otherwise receive it.
Spamming poses a major inconvenience to net surfers as their accounts get jammed with unwanted junk mail.
(b) The offer of Ericsson to give away WAP phone as Nokia is giving away telephones. It later turned out to be a hoax.
(c) Spamming works on our greed to receive freebies. Sometimes a friend or a total stranger instructs someone to pass a message. It hits the receiver. He receives a large number of e-mails, faxes and phone calls. Most of the costs are paid by the receiver.
(d) The two main types of spams are: Cancellable Usenet spam and e-mail spam. Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. It sends them a barrage of advertisements or other irrelevant posts and subverts their ability to manage the topics they accept on their system. E-mail spam is aimed at individual users.
(e) (i) By creating internet e-mail accounts like Hotmail or Yahoo and changing them frequently—blocking spammers who send copies to more than 20 persons.
(ii) Consulting Blacklist of Internet Advertisers.
(iii) Mail Abuse Prevention System—The MAPS website at http://mail-abuse-org yields useful information on how to counter and control spam.
(f) The people who are dissatisfied make use of e-mail spam. The advertising agencies do get its benefit.

(a) hoax
(b) dubious

Passage 5:
BURNING PLASTICS IS NO SOLUTION

When plastic waste is burnt, a complex weave of toxic chemicals is released. Breaking down polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — used for packaging, toys and coating electrical wires — produces dioxin, an organochlorine which belongs to the family of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). A recent Dioxin Assessment Report brought out by the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) says the risk of getting cancer from dioxin is ten times higher than reported by the agency in 1994.
Yet the Delhi government is giving the green signal to a gasification project which will convert garbage into energy without removing plastic waste. Former transport minister Rajendra Gupta, the promoter of this project, says this is not necessary.
He claims no air pollution will be caused and that the ash produced can be used as manure. An earlier waste-to-energy project set up in Timarpur failed. The new one, built with Australian assistance, will cost ₹ 200 crore. It will generate 25 megawatts of power and gobble 1,000 tonnes of garbage every day.

“Technologies like gasification are a form of incineration,” says Madhumita Dutta, central coordinator with Toxics Link, New Delhi. Incineration merely transfers hazardous waste from a solid form to air, water and ash, she points out.
Toxins produced during incineration include acidic gases, heavy metals as well as dioxins and furans. “The ‘manure’ will be hazardous and a problem to dispose,” says Dutta.
Municipal solid waste contains a mix of plastics. Breaking down this waste emits hydrochloric acid which attacks the respiratory system, skin and eyes, resulting in coughing, vomiting and nausea.
Polyethylene generates volatile compounds like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both suspected carcinogenic. Breathing styrene from polystyrene can cause leukaemia. Polyurethane is associated with asthma. Dioxin released by PVC is a powerful hormone disrupter and causes birth defects and reproductive problems. There is no threshold dose to prevent it and our bodies have no defence against it.
“Even the best run incinerators in the world have to deal with stringent norms, apart from contaminated filters and ash, making them hugely expensive to operate,” says Dutta. In Germany, air pollution devices accounted for two-thirds the cost of incineration. Despite such efforts, the European Dioxin Inventory noted that the input of dioxin into the atmosphere was the highest from incineration.

“India does not have the facility to test dioxin and the cost of setting one up is prohibitively expensive,” says Dutta.
Besides, Indian garbage has a low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg, since it has high moisture and requires additional fuel to burn. Toxics Link calculates that the electricity generated from such technology will cost between ₹ 5-7 per unit, which is six times higher than conventional energy. India has chosen a dioxin preventive route and burning of chlorinated plastics is prohibited under Municipal Solid Waste and Biomedical Rules.
Nearly 80 per cent of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable. Resident associations, the informal sector and the municipal corporation can make Delhi’s garbage disappear in a sustainable manner. “Instead, the government promotes end of pipeline solutions,” says Dutta.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Dioxine causes ………………..

cancer
heart attack
sickness
hypertension

(b) The gasification process transforms ………………..

energy into garbage
garbage into energy
water into energy
none of the above

gasification
gratification
a chemical process
incinators

(d) Indian garbage contains …………………

low moisture
high moisture
no moisture
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Which toxic chemical is released on burning plastic waste? How is it harmful?
(b) What is the aim of waste-to-energy project? What is likely to happen during incineration?
(c) How will burning plastic adversely impact the health of citizens?
(d) What two arguments are advanced against the use of incinerators?
(e) Why would gasification of waste prove a wasteful luxury in India?
(f) What facts are revealed in the passage pertaining to Indian garbage?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) Waste material
(b) Swallow

Answers:

(a) 1. cancer
(b) 2. garbage into energy
(c) 1. gasification
(d) 2. high moisture

(a) Dioxin, an organochlorine, belonging to the family of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) is produced. It causes cancer.
(b) Converting garbage into energy to produce 25 megawatts of power and swallow 1,000 tonnes of garbage everyday. Incineration simply changes risky waste from solid form to air, water and ash.
(c)
(i) Hydrochloric acid attacks respiratory system, skin and eyes and results in coughing, vomiting and nausea.
(ii) Polyethylene produces volatile carinogens like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde which cause cancer.
(iii) Breathing styrene from polystyrene can cause leukaemia.
(iv) Polyurethane is linked with asthma.
(v) Dioxin disrupts hormones, causes birth defects and reproductive problems.
(d)
(i) Exorbitantly expensive to operate.
(ii) Release of dioxin is highest from incinerators.
(e) Nearly 80% of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable.
(f) Indian garbage has a^low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg because it has high moisture. It requires additional fuel to bum.

(a) garbage
(b) gobble

Passage 6:
GRAPHOLOGY—AN INDEX TO PERSONALITY

The analysis of handwriting has a long history—some say it goes back to Roman times. Modern graphology began early in the 19th century when French churchman Jean Hippolyte Michon created the first graphological “catalogue” examining, for example, where letters fall on the line, their shape and the pressure exerted.
5 Allan Conway, a professional graphologist for 12 years says, “Handwriting says more about you than many chosen words, simply because you cannot hide yourself in your handwriting—it’s not really your hand that’s writing, but your brain. It’s your personality frozen in ink.”
Despite public skepticism, graphology plays a covert role in British management. 10 Many companies use it for executive recruitment and analysis. Graphology tells them about the candidates’ temperaments, highlighting both weaknesses and strengths. There are about 300 movements on an unlined A4 page of writing and students must find and interpret them all. He also needs to know three things about the writers: their sex, their age and if they are left or right-handed. Then he looks for 16 dominant 15 elements, including the size of the writing, the pressure, the speed and slant of the words, how connected the characters are as well as the form of the connections, the proportions of the “middle zone” (covered by small letters such as “o” and “n”) and “upper” and “lower” zones (where letters extend up or down, as with “d” or “p”), and the rhythm and regularity of writing. “But there is one golden rule,” Rees says, “No single sign on 20 its own must ever be taken to mean anything.”
The principles, according to Conway, are straightforward. The baseline—whether the writing goes straight across the page or slants up and down—helps to determine the writer’s state of mind.

A very upward baseline shows a creative, ambitious and outgoing person. A slightly 25 downward one can reveal dissatisfaction or unhappiness though it could simply be a sign of fatigue. “A sharp downward baseline usually indicates serious problems or illness, probably emotional”, says Conway, “while a straight one is an excellent sign of emotional stability. An irregular baseline can mean an excitable writer with poor self discipline.” The way letters are formed and connected is important: a writer with angular 30 letters, for example, is often persistent and decisive. Arched letters suggest the writer is reluctant to express emotions freely and may appear cold. Where the bottoms of letters are curved like a cup the writer is likely to be open to the world and at ease. And writing with letters threaded—connected together as if by a length of cotton—can indicate speed or laziness. The more connected the letters, the more co-ordinated the patterns of thought. 35 Character size can also be significant. Larger letters tend to suggest vitality, enterprise and self reliance, while small letters can reveal a lack of self-confidence, but are also found in fields of research where concentration and exactness are necessary.
The slant of a person’s writing indicates their emotional make-up. Where all the letters 40 are vertical the writer is likely to be some one uncomfortable in groups. For right-handers, left-word slant shows introversion while rightward slant reveals someone outgoing, friendly and ambitious. A constantly varying slant betrays an unpredictable personality.
The spacing between words points to the writer’s organizational abilities: wide spacing suggests individuality, extravagance, self-confidence and sociability.
45 Even the colour of ink a person chooses can be telling. Blue may indicate someone with no desire to be exceptional or pretentious, green likes to impress and red to shock. Brown is often used by people who work in high-security jobs, able to keep secrets, while black shows a demanding or forceful character who wants to make an impression.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The upward baseline proves that the person is……………………

creative
ambitious
outgoing
all of the above

(b) The letters small in size reveal that the writer may be……………………

a researcher
confident
arrogant
humble

the writer’s organisational abilities
the writer’s predicament
the writer’s grief
the writer’s delight

(d) The spacing between words indicates the writer’s

forceful character
exceptional talents
organisational abilities
oratorical abilities

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What is graphology? How is it more revealing than words?
(b) How is graphology used in British management?
(c) What helps to determine the writer’s state of mind and how? Give two examples.
(d) How can we learn one’s emotions and patterns of thought through handwriting? Give two examples.
(e) How do slant of words and spacing indicate emotional makeup of a person? Give examples.
(f) How does the colour of ink help us in analysing the personality of the writer?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) prominent, very important (lines 10 to 20)
(b) continuing without interruption (lines 25 to 35)

Answers:

(a) 4. all of the above
(b) 1. a researcher
(c) 1. the writer’s organisational abilities
(d) 3. organisational abilities

(a) The scientific analysis and study of handwriting is called graphology. It is more revealing
than words because one can’t hide oneself in one’s handwriting. The hand writes what the brain dictates and freezes the personality in ink.
(b) Companies use it for executive recruitment and analysis of candidates’ temperaments, weaknesses and strengths.
(c) Baseline: whether writing is straight or slanted.
Examples
(i) upward baseline —> creative, ambitious, sociable person.
(ii) slightly downward baseline —> dissatisfaction, unhappiness or fatigue.
(d) from the way letters are formed and connected; e.g.
(i) angular letters: persistent and decisive nature.
(ii) arched letters: reluctance to express feelings freely, coldness.
(iii) bottom curved life cups: frank, comfortable.
(iv) large letters: vitality, enterprize and self-reliance.
(v) small letters: lack of self-confidence/concentration and exactness in research.
(e) (i) vertical letters: uncomfortable in group.
(ii) leftward slant (right handed person): introvert.
(iii) rightward slant (right handed): friendly and ambitious.
(iv) varying slant: unpredictable personality
(v) wide spacing: extravagance, self-confidence and sociability
(f) A person who opts for blue ink has no desire to be extraordinary. The green colour epitomises status. The red colour is used to shock others. Those who work in high security jobs use the brown ink. Black shows a demanding character.

(a) dominant
(b) persistent

Passage 7:
COFFEE—HEALTHY BODY AND MIND?

The idea that coffee is bad for heart pops up periodically. It was found that regularly drinking very strong coffee could sharply increase cholesterol levels. Researchers even isolated fatlike chemicals, cafestol and kahweol, responsible for the rise.
It turned out that the European brewing method—boiling water sits on the coffee grounds for several minutes before straining – produces high concentrations of cafestol and kahweol. By contrast, the filter and percolation methods remove all but a trace of these chemicals. Moreover, the studies involved large amounts of coffee—five to six cups a day. Moderate coffee drinkers down only two cups.
Research has also shown that regular, moderate coffee drinking does not dangerously raise blood pressure. And studies have failed to substantiate fears that coffee might trigger abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) in healthy people.
“For heart disease, I think the issue is closed,” says Meir Stampfer, an epidemiologist at Harvard who has studied many aspects of coffee and health. “Coffee drinking at reasonable levels is unrelated to heart risk.”
Evidence suggests that coffee may help fend off Parkinson’s disease. A 30-year study of 8000 Japanese-American men found that avid coffee drinkers had one-fifth the risk of those who didn’t drink the brew.
Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, found indirect evidence that Caffeine- the habit forming stimulant in coffee – may actually combat Parkinson’s disease. The caffeine seemed to protect mice brain cells from depletion of the nerve chemical dopamine – the problem underlying Parkinson’s disease in humans. However, these are preliminary findings; human studies have- not consistently supported caffeine’s protective role.
The studies on coffee and cancer have focussed on three organs – and are reassuring. You may remember a brief coffee scare in the early 1980s when a single study linked coffee with pancreatic cancer. A false alarm: Many studies since then have shown that the association is either extremely weak or non-existent.
If there’s a connection between coffee and bladder cancer, it possibly applies just to coffee junkies. A reanalysis of ten European studies found an increased risk only among people who drank ten or more cups a day. And studies show that coffee seems to have no adverse influence on the risk of colon cancer.
Caffeine is such a powerful stimulant that the International Olympic Committee and the National Collegiate Athletic Association set limits on how much can remain in the blood during competition. In addition to boosting physical endurance, caffeine increases alertness and improves mood. The buzz may come at a price, though. People who drink more than they’re used to may become restless and unable to sleep. Moreover, it’s possible to become physically dependent on caffeine in days.
The question now arises: how much to drink? Those with heatburn and anxiety may want to see if cutting back coffee improves their condition. For most people, however, there’s virtually no risk in consuming up to three normal cups a day. Harvard’s Stampfer tries to keep his coffee drinking irregular enough to avoid habituation: “That way, I can get a buzz when I feel like it.”

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Coffee increases……………………….of those people who regularly drink very strong coffee.

cholesterol
tension
the amount of blood
fats

(b) A person should not drink coffee……………………….

less than 10 cups a day
more than ten cups a day
more than three cups a day
none of the above

colon cancer
diabetes
lung cancer
none of the above

(d) Caffeine boosts

physical endurance
mental endurance
positive feelings
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) In what respect does coffee harm human heart? How?
(b) What is the finding of latest researches about coffee and human heart?
(c) What problem causes Parkinson’s disease? What is the role of coffee in this respect?
(d) Name the three types of cancer listed in the passage.
(e) ‘Caffeine is a powerful stimulant’. What are the positive and negative effects of Caffeine?
(f) What do studies reveal about moderate coffee drinkers?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) separated (Para 1)
(b) drug that increases physical or mental activity and alertness (Paras 6, 9)

Answers:

(a) 1. cholesterol
(b) 3. more than three cups a day
(c) 1. colon cancer
(d) 1. physical endurance

(a) Drinking very strong coffee could sharply increase cholesterol levels. Fatlike chemicals—cafestol and kahweol are responsible for the rise.
(b) European brewing method produces high concentrations of cafestol and kahweol. The filter and percolation methods almost remove the chemicals. Regular, moderate drinking of coffee neither raises blood pressure nor causes abnormal heart rhythms.
(c) Depletion of the nerve chemical dopamine in nerve cells causes the disease. Caffeine seemed to protect mice brain cells effectively. Caffeine’s protective role for humans is yet to be established.
(d) (i) pancreatic cancer
(ii) bladder cancer
(iii) colon cancer
(e) (i) Advantages : boosts endurance, increases alertness and improves mood.
(ii) Disadvantages : restlessness and sleeplessness on drinking more than usual-possibility of becoming addicts and physically dependent.
(f) Studies reveal about moderate coffee drinkers that it does not dangerously affect their health. They may enjoy three cups of coffee per day without facing any health problem.

(a) isolated
(b) stimulant

Passage 8:
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Delhi skies were just clear enough last Sunday to let sky-watchers have a ringside view of a close encounter in space: a half-a-mile-wide asteroid buzzing the earth at a distance a little farther than the moon. It was a rare opportunity to watch a close-up of one of these visitors from the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter who often drop in without notice and cause the world’s pulse to quicken.
A two-mile wide tumbling rock from space suddenly became the cynosure of all telescopes last month as astronomers proclaimed it ‘the most earth-threatening object’ ever detected. Preliminary calculations even suggested it might hit the earth in 2019. That it proved to be a false alarm is another matter. What’s important is that such celestial brushes may form part of a countdown to Armageddon.
For every asteroid spotted, several whiz by unnoticed, with some actually passing closer to us than the moon. The number of these Near Earth Objects, or NEOs, far exceeds the known list—a catalogue that needs to be completed before it’s too late.
Space agencies have projects to push potential earth-grazers off course. But there’s yet to be a comprehensive global space watch programme. Most NEOs slip through unnoticed because of limitations to telescope time, technology and funding. So, it’s important for governments not to grudge asteroid hunters the resources they badly need to keep a close watch.
A global asteroid monitoring system of sorts already exists in the form of an assorted group of government and private agencies, along with amateur and professional asteroid researchers. But it has no mechanism to assess the risk factors of NEOs or to determine what, and how much, information should be passed on to the public. As a result, the discoveries of more NEOs do not necessarily lead to a corresponding increase in public awareness of the threat they pose. Newspapers, television and movies aren’t of much help either, and a confused public is often left wondering what’s fact and what’s fiction.
In fact, a kind of ‘cry-wolf syndrome’ sets in after every sighting, lowering the threat perception in the public mind. If or, more likely, when—there’s an asteroid strike, events like Hiroshima and September 11 would pale in comparison. In the cosmic shooting gallery, bruisers larger than a mile across probably have a chance of walloping the earth every 100,000 to 300,000 years, while those 330 feet or larger could score a hit every 1,000 to 2,000 years.
The biggies cause the most concern. If a hunk of stone and metal the size of a 20-storey building hits the earth and sets off a million megaton blast, it’d be like a million city- busting bombs going off simultaneously. Deaths could be counted in millions and most of the flora and fauna would vanish.
Didn’t the dinosaurs once think the planet would forever be one big Jurassic Park? The poor beasts never had a space programme and became a smorgasbord for a nasty asteroid. The moral then is to have a space watch programme which includes professional and amateur atronomers maintaining a nightly vigil around the globe. A powerful telescope could be placed outside the earth’s orbit to monitor the blind spot created by the sun and rule out unexpected impacts.
In the northern hemisphere, scores of professional astronomers constantly scan the dark skies for tiny points of light and their telltale tracks. But the southern hemisphere is yet to have such sky sentinels whose computers could crunch foot-long numbers to find out if the ultimate destination of any of these shadow mountains in space is Planet Earth.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The warning given by the astronomers…………………………..

proved to be a false alarm
was right
did not frighten the people
Proved to be true

(b) Media…………………………..

is useless
often confuses people
enlighten the masses
is insensible

biggies
human beings
scientists
none of the above

(d) The northern hemisphere has successfully received the attention of

geographers
professional astronomers
scientists
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Which spectacular event is referred to? Where do the visitors come from and what do they cause?
(b) What became the centre of attraction for all eyes? Why?
(c) Which projects aim at saving the earth? Why do NEOs slip through unnoticed?
(d) Why is global asteroid monitoring system essential? What shortcomings does the existing system suffer from?
(e) Why, do you think, the author mentions dinosaurs?
(f) What does the southern hemisphere lack?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) centre of attraction (para 2)
(b) any set of opinions, events, actions, etc. that are characteristic of a particular condition (para 6)

Answers:

(a) 1. proved to be a false alarm
(b) 2. often confuses people
(c) 1. biggies
(d) 2. professional astronomers

(a) It refers to a close encounter in space: a half-a-mile-wide asteroid flying the earth at a distance a little farther than the moon. The visitors come from the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They cause excitement and tension.
(b) A two-mile wide tumbling rock from space became the centre of attraction for all eyes. It was called ‘the most earth-threatening object’ ever detected. Though its striking the earth proved a false alarm, such celestial brushes point to the end of the world.
(c) Space agencies have projects to push potential earth-grazers off course. However, some Near Earth Objects (NEOs) slip through unnoticed because technology, telescope, time and funds are limited.
(d) If there is an asteroid strike, Hiroshima and September 11 would pale in comparison. Deaths could be countecf in millions, and most of the flora and fauna would vanish. So global asteroid monitoring system is essential. The present system is an ill- assorted group which has no mechanism to assess the risk factors of NEOs or how much information should be passed on to the public.
(e) The dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid strike.
(f) The southern hemisphere has not received the attention of the astronomers yet. It lacks monitoring.

(a) cynosure
(b) syndrome

Passage 9:
SECOND VISION

From the ramparts of the Red Fort for some years now, our prime ministers have been promising the eradication of child labour in hazardous industries.
The truth is, if the government really wanted, child labour in hazardous industries could have been eliminated long time ago; and yes, every Indian child would have been in school by 2003.
The government has failed to eliminate this dehumanisation of childhood. It has also failed to launch compulsory primary education for all, despite the rhetoric. Between 60 and 100 million children are still at work instead of going to school and around 10 million are working in hazardous industries. India has the biggest child population of 380 million in the world, plus the largest number of children who are forced to earn a living.
We have many laws that ban child labour in hazardous industries. According to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the employment of children (below the age of 14) in hazardous occupations has been strictly banned. But each state has different rules regarding the minimum age of employment; this makes implementation of these laws difficult.
Also, there is no ban on child labour in non-hazardous occupations. The Act applies to the organised or factory sector and not to the unorganised or informal sector where most children find employment as cleaners, servants, porters, waiters, among other forms of unskilled work. Thus, child labour continues because the implementation of the existing laws is lax.
There are industries which have a ‘special’ demand for child labour because of their nimble fingers, high level of concentration and capacity to work hard at abysmally low wages. The carpet industry in UP and Kashmir employs children to make hand-knotted carpets; there are 80,000 child workers in J&K alone. In Kashmir, because of the political unrest, children are forced to work while many schools are shut. Industries like gem¬cutting and polishing, pottery and glass want to remain competitive by employing children.
The truth is that it’s poverty which is pushing children into the brutish labour market. We have 260 million people below the poverty line in India, a large number of them are women. Poor, vulnerable parents, especially women-headed families, have no option but to push their little ones in this hard life in hostile conditions, with no human or labour rights.
There is a lobby which argues that there is nothing wrong with children working as long as the environment for work is conducive for learning new skills. But studies have shown that children are made to do boring, repetitive and tedious jobs and are not taught new skills as they grow older. In these hell-holes, like the sweatshops of old, there is no hope.
Children working in hazardous industries are prone to debilitating diseases which can cripple them for life. By sitting in cramped, damp, unhygienic spaces, their limbs become deformed for life. Inside matchstick, fireworks and glass industries, they are victims of bronchial diseases and TB. Their mental and physical development is permanently impaired by long hours of work. Once trapped, they can’t get out of the vicious circle of poverty. They remain uneducated and powerless. Finally, in later years, they too are compelled to send their own children to work. Child labour perpetuates its own nightmare.
If the government was at all serious about granting children their rights, an intensive effort ought to have been made to implement the Supreme Court’s directive of 1997 which laid down punitive action against employers of child labour (₹ 20,000 per child to be paid by offending employers). Only compulsory primary education can eliminate child
labour.
Surely, if 380 million children are given a better life and elementary education, India’s human capital would be greatly enhanced. But that needs, as President Abdul Kalam says, a “second vision”. Can our political establishment see beyond the haze of shallow realpolitik?

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Child labour can be eliminated if ……………………..

compulsory primary education is given to the poor
industries are abolished
industries are established in large numbers
the poor children are sent behind the bars

(b) Poverty ……………………..

enhances creativity
encourages child labour
kills people
humiliates human beings

if child labour is abolished
if children are given employment
if children are educated
all of the above

(d) The state where a large number of children are forced to work because of potential unrest is

Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Kanpur
Kashmir

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) On what two counts has the government failed in respect of children?
(b) “We have many laws that ban child labour ……………… Even then child labour continues.”
What makes implementation of laws difficult?
(c) What forces the children to work in “hazardous’ industries? Why do these industries prefer child labour?
(d) What are the adverse effects of “hazardous’ industries on children? Give any two.
(e) How can India’s human capital be vastly enhanced?
(f) How is poverty responsible for child labour?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) Complete destruction (Para 1)
(b) Putting into practice (Para 3,4)

Answers:

(a) 1. compulsory primaiy education is given to the poor
(b) 2. encourages child labour
(c) 4. all of the above
(d) 4. Kashmir

(a) (i) Eradication of child labour in hazardous industries.
(ii) Providing schooling to every child in India.
(b) (i) Each state has different rules regarding the minimum age of employment.
(ii) The Act does not apply to unorganised or informal sector.
(c) (i) Poverty is the main cause of child labour. 260 million people exist below poverty line in India.
(ii) Child labour is preferred due to their nimble fingers, high level of concentration and capacity to work hard at extremely low wages.
(d) (i) Children become prone to debilitating diseases (which make a person very weak)
(ii) Their limbs become deformed for life.
(iii) They become victims of bronchial diseases and T.B.
(iv) Their mental and physical development is permanently impaired.
(v) They remain uneducated and powerless. (Any two acceptable)
(e) By giving the 380 million children a better quality of life and elementary education, we can greatly enhance India’s human capital.
(f) Poverty forces parents to get their children employed in order to get basic things for sustaining life such as food and water.

(a) eradication
(b) implementation

Passage 10:

Many of the underdeveloped countries will promote the growth of their economies in one way or the other, no matter whether they receive substantial outside aid in the process or not. The character of that development, however, is likely to be strongly influenced by the types of and amounts of aid available. The outcome is much more likely to be favourable, from the standpoint of the objectives for successful development set up previously, if there is substantial international aid than if there is not.
By substantial aid I mean not only large amounts of technical assistance but also of capital. Initially, the capacity of an underdeveloped country to use capital productively may be surprisingly small, limited by lack of organisation, trained personnel and other social obstacles. At this stage technical assistance is the main need from outside, with comparatively small amounts of capital, much of which may have to be in the form of grants for non-self liquidating projects, in education, health, access to roads in rural areas, and the like, if, at this stage, substantial capital is available from outside to supplement what can be formed internally (and to simulate internal capital formation, for it does that too) the rate of economic growth can be consistently increased, and the strains and frustrations and political risks of the development are likely to be considerably less.
It is possible for underdeveloped economies to modernise themselves with very little capital from outside. Japan imports of capital were small though some of it came at crucial times. The contribution of foreign direct investments to the advancement of technical know-how also was greater than would be indicated merely by the size of the investment. The Soviet Union industrialised its economy with practically no aid from foreign investment capital except for the foreign owned installations confiscated after the revolution, though it imported machinery in the early days on short term or immediate term credits and hired services of foreign experts.
Both Japan and Russia achieved their development in an authoritarian political and social framework. The outcome in both cases from standpoint of the peace in the world and democratic ideals, was highly unfavourable.
In the absence of outside aid, the only way to accumulate capital, is to increase production without taking much of the benefit in more consumption or even while pushing consumption standards down. Where the people are already near the subsistence level this may mean extreme hardship. Somehow the people must be motivated to change their accustomed ways quickly, to work hard and to forgo present consumption so that capital investment can be made.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The passage says that …………………….

without foreign aid no underdeveloped country can grow.
underdeveloped country must refrain from taking foreign aid.
the economies of the underdeveloped countries are more likely to grow faster with substantial foreign aid than without.
underdeveloped countries are economically backward because their governments have not got their priorities right.

(b) Substantial aid in this context means …………………….

technical assistance in the form of trained personnel.
capital in the form of bank loans and overdrafts.
large amounts of technical assistance and capital.
a cheap and plentiful supply of labour.

Japan and Russia achieved their development in a democratic framework.
Japan and Russia achieved their development in an authoritarian political and social framework.
Japan and Russia would have developed faster if they had relied on democratic methods.
Japan and Russia are still among the underdeveloped countries of the world.

(d) Accumulation of capital without getting outside and may mean

extreme hardship
more investment
high living standard
low living standard

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) How does the availability of substantial capital help?
(b) How can a nation accumulate capital if it does not get outside aid?
(c) How did Japan and Russia become developed?
(d) What problems does an underdeveloped country face?
(e) What should an underdeveloped nation do to minimise risk?
(f) What was the contribution of FDI in case of Japan?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) substantial
(b) aid

Answers:

(a) 3. the economies of the underdeveloped countries are more likely to grow faster with substantial foreign aid than without.
(b) 3. large amounts of technical assistance and capital.
(c) 2. Japan and Russia achieved their development in an authoritarian political and social framework.
(d) 1. extreme hardship

(a) The availability of substantial capital gives a nation a great opportunity to develop its infrastructure.
(b) The nation should increase production without taking much of the benefit in more consumption.
(c) Japan and Russia achieved their development in an authoritarian political and social framework.
(d) An underdeveloped country faces the problems of lack of organisation and trained personnel.
(e) The nation should try to increase the economic growth in order to minimise risk.
(f) The contribution of FDI in case of Japan was greater than the technical know-how.

(a) plenty of
(b) assistance

Passage 11:

Among the natural resources which can be called upon in national plans for development, possibly the most important is human labour. Since the English language suffers from a certain weakness in its ability to describe groups composed of both male and female members, this is usually described as “manpower”.
Without a productive labour force, including effective leadership and intelligent middle management, no amount of foreign assistance or of natural wealth can ensure successful development and modernisation.
The manpower for development during the next quarter century will come from the world’s present population of infants, children and adolescents. But we are not sure that they , will be equal to the task. Will they have the health, the education, the skills, the sociocultural attitudes essential for the responsibilities of development?
For far too many of them the answer is no. The reason is basic. A child’s most critical years, with regard to physical, intellectual, social and emotional development, are those before he reaches five years of age. During those critical formative years he is cared for almost exclusively by his mother and in many parts of the world the mother may not have the capacity to raise a superior child. She is incapable of doing so by reason of her own poor health, her ignorance and her lack of status and recognition of social and legal rights, of economic parity of independence. One essential factor has been overlooked or ignored. The forgotten factor is the role of women. Development will be handicapped as long as women remain second-class citizens, uneducated, without any voice in family or community, decisions without legal or economic status, married when they are still practically children, and henceforth producing one baby after another, often to see half of them die before they are of school age.
We can enhance development by improving “women power”, by giving women the ’ opportunity to develop the&selves. Statistics show that the average family size increases in inverse ratio to the mother’s years of education—is lowest among college graduates, highest among those with only primary school training, or no education. Malnutrition is most frequent in large families, and increases in frequency with each additional sibling. The principle seems established that an educated mother has healthier and more intelligent children, and that this is related to the fact that she has fewer children. The tendency of . educated, upper class mothers to have fewer children operates even without access to contraceptive services.
The educational level of women is significant also because it has a direct influence upon their chances of employment, and the number of employed women in a country’s total labour force has a direct bearing on both the Gross National Product and the disposable income of the individual family. Disposable income, especially in the hands of women, influences food purchasing and therefore the nutritional status of the family. The fact [ that the additional income derives from the paid employment of women provides a logical incentive to restrict the size of the family.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Among the natural resources which can be called upon in national plans for development………………….

the most important is certainly human labour.
the most important is possibly human labour.
the least developed is certainly human labour.
the least developed is undoubtedly human labour.

(b) Without a productive labour force, including effective leadership and intelligent middle management………………….

no productive work is possible.
entrepreneurs will incur heavy losses.
economic development will not keep pace with national movements.
no amount of foreign assistance or of natural wealth can ensure successful development and modernisation.

will be adversely affected by the threat of war.
will come from the world’s present population of infants, children and adolescents.
will be taken care of by the current emphasis on free education for women.
will be adversely affected by the country’s economic losses and political instability.

(d) Disposable income in the hands of women strengthen

family bond
nutritional status of the family
spiritual status of the family
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What will be the source of the manpower development during the next quarter century?
(b) During which period is the child growth maximum?
(c) Why can’t the first teacher be effective in some of tire regions of India?
(d) What will happen to development if the womenfolk is neglected?
(e) How can we accelerate the rate of progress?
(f) What is the difference between an educated mother and an illiterate mother?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) increase
(b) important

Answers:

(a) 4. the least developed is undoubtedly human labour.
(b) 4. no amount of foreign assistance or of natural wealth can ensure successful development and modernisation.
(c) 1.will be adversely affected by the threat of war.
(d) 2. nutritional status of the family.

(a) The manpower development during the next quarter century will come from the world’s present population of infants, children and adolescents.
(b) The child grows maximum before he attains the age of five.
(c) The first teacher remains ineffective because of ignorance, poor health, lack of respect and recognition.
(d) There will be no growth and everything will stagnate.
(e) The rate of progress may be accelerated by educating the womenfolk.
(f) An educated mother does not beget children thoughtlessly but an illiterate mother considers children the blessings of God. Education makes one wise and practical. Those who are uneducated fail to analyse the situation critically.

(a) enhance
(b) significant

Passage 12:
THE STRESS FACTOR

While there is no denying that the world loves a winner it is important that you recognise the signs of stress in your behaviour and be healthy enough to enjoy your success. Stress can strike anytime, in a fashion that may leave you unaware of its presence in your life. While a certain amount of pressure is necessary for performance, it is important to be able to recognise your individual threshold. For instance, there are some individuals who accept competition in a healthy fashion. There are others who collapse into weeping wrecks before an exam or on comparing marksheets and finding that their friend has scored better.
It is a body reaction to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Whenever there is a change in the external environment such as temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions, it leads to stress. In these days of competition when a person makes up his mind to surpass what has been achieved by others, leading to an imbalance between demands and resources, it causes psycho-social stress. It is a part and parcel of everyday life.
Stress has a different meaning depending on the stage of life you’re in. The loss of a toy or a reprimand from the parents might create a stress shock in a child. An adolescent who fails an examination may feel as if everything has been lost and life has no further meaning. In an adult, the loss of his or her companion, job or professional failure may appear as if there is nothing more to be achieved.
Such signs appear in the attitude and behaviour of the individual, as muscle tension in various parts of the body, palpitation and high blood pressure, indigestion, hyperacidity and ultimately in self destructive behaviour such as eating and drinking too much, smoking excessively, relying on tranquilisers, trembling, shaking, nervous blinking, dryness of throat and mouth and difficulty in swallowing.
The professional under stress behaves as if he is a perfectionist followed by depression, lethargy and weakness for further work. Periodic mood shifts also indicate the stress status of students, executives and professionals.
In a study sponsored by World Health Organisation and carried out by Harvard School of Public Health, the global burden of diseases and injury indicated that stress diseases and accidents are going to be the major killers in 2020.
The ischaemic heart diseases and neurological depression, both stress diseases, are going to rank first and second in 2020. Road traffic accidents are going to be the third largest killers. These accidents are also an indicator of psycho-social stress in a fast-moving society. Other stress diseases like ulcers, hypertension and neuronal disorders including insomnia have assumed epidemic proportions in modem societies.
A person behaves in different ways in stress but the common ones are flight, fight and flow. Depending upon the nature of stress and capability of the person, the three responses can be elegantly chosen to cope up with the stress so that stress does not damage the system and become distress.
When stress crosses the threshold peculiar to an individual, it deteriorates his/her performance capacity. Frequent jumps over that threshold may result in a syndrome called chronic fatigue in which a person feels lethargic, disinterested and is not easily motivated to achieve anything. This may make the person mentally undecided, confused and accident prone as well. Sudden exposure to un-nerving stress may also result in a loss of memory.
The best technique is self-control. This arises by having faith in oneself, on the usefulness of the job he is doing and on any superpower who would deliver the result of the effort made.
There are many stress modifiers or stress busters. Some of these are diet and massage from naturopathy, food supplements and herbs from herbal medicine hobbies and relaxation techniques, homeopathy and modem medicine. Physical exercise and dance movements are excellent stress modifiers.

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The unhealthy competition prevalent in this dog-eat-dog world causes……………….

psycho-social stress
political stress
neuro problems
blood pressure

(b) Stress impairs……………….

death
hypertension
the performance of an individual
none of the above

physical exercises
dance movements
both (i) and (ii)
none of the above

(d) Stress leads to

road traffic accidents
neurological depression
hypertension
all of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) What is stress? What factors lead to stress?
(b) Does the age of a person have any impact on stress levels? If yes, then how?
(c) What are the symptoms or signs by which a person can recognise he is under stress?
(d) What are the different diseases a person gets due to stress?
(e) How can a person cope with stress?
(f) What are the disadvantages of chronic fatigue?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) person whose physical or mental health has been seriously damaged. (Para 1)
(b) inactivity; apathy (Para 5)

Answers:

(a) 1.psycho-social stress
(b) 3.the performance of an individual
(c) 3. both (i) and (ii)
(d) 4.all of these

(a) Stress is a reaction of the body to any demands or changes in its internal and external environment. Factors such as imbalance between demands and resources, change in temperature, pollutants, humidity and working conditions lead to stress.
(b) No, stress has a different meaning depending on the stage of life. For a child a re-buke or loss of a toy causes stress. An adolescent may feel tense after failing in the examination. For an adult, loss of job or a dear one causes stress.
(c) (i) Change in the attitude and behaviour
(ii) Muscle tension
(iii) Palpitation, high blood pressure, indigestion and hyperacidity.
(iv) Depression, lethargy, weakness for work.
(d) (i) heart diseases
(ii) neurological depression
(iii) ulcers
(iv) hypertension
(v) insomnia
(vi) injuries due to accidents
(e) (i) Self-control—faith in oneself, usefulness of job and in any super power.
(ii) Use of stress modifiers or stress busters
(f) The chronic fatigue makes one lethargic, disinterested and demotivated.

(a) wreck
(b) lethargy

Passage 13:
TELLY BUSTING

The children probably don’t know, or they don’t care, the hugely popular WWF wrestling matches are actually all staged acts. The Hulks, the Undertaker or whatever else they are called—never really punch or kick as hard as they might appear doing on the show. It’s all a show, a thrilling show.
So, you can’t really blame children for getting hooked. But does that necessarily mean the show is entirely responsible for the beating 12-year-old Subin Kumar got from his WWF-inspired friends? Can viewing or watching violence on TV actually promote aggressive behaviour in children?
Media experts and social scientists have been wrestling with this question for decades 10 and thousands of studies have been done on it. And most of them reached the same conclusion—media violence is responsible for aggressive behaviour in children. Research has found that the more violence children watch on television, the more likely they may act in aggressive ways towards others. Also, they become less sensitive to others’ pain and are less likely to help a victim of violence.
A study of violence on Indian television and its impact on children commissioned by UNESCO accused the idiot box of “bombarding young minds with all kinds of violent images, cutting across channels, programmes and viewing times.”
Not only studies, but also incidents go to prove that children who watch violent episodes show increased likelihood of behaving aggressively.

20 There have been reports from all over the country of children hurting themselves while trying to ape the superhuman feats of Shaktimaan, the superhero of Indian TV. Then there was the six-year-old child of Lucknow who leapt off the balcony of his second -floor flat trying to imitate a bungee jumping drop shown in a soft drinks commercial. There’s no doubt that media is a powerful teacher and contributes greatly to the way we act and behave. In some cases like these, the effects are immediate and in others there is a “sleeper effect”, where the results show up much later.
Experts say it’s incorrect to blame the media squarely. How would you explain the aggressive behaviour of a child who has never been exposed to television or any other media? So, while there is mounting evidence to link media violence and actual violence, most 30 of it does not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Because no one so far has been able to prove why and how TV effects some people and not the others. “We also have to take into account individual differences and vulnerabilities as human behaviour is a result of many factors,” points out Dr Vasantha R. Patri, a counsellor, adding, “violence viewing is only one of the myriad influences on a growing child.”

Patri says there exists a population of risk individuals whose anger, aggression and anti-social tendencies are already quite high for whatever reason. Other factors like individual predisposition of the child, parental attitudes and reaction to aggression are probably equally important. In fact, she says that in most cases media is only the fourth most 40 important influence in a child’s life—with parents, teachers and peers being the first three. Patri points out that the growing “here-and-now” culture in which kids are getting used to immediate gratification is leading to an intolerant society on the whole. “Children are not taught how to handle failure and conflict,” she says. “As a result, they resort to aggression.”
But media critics refuse to buy it. They insist the content of media needs to be monitored and care be taken to reduce violence if not remove it. But even if all the gore and violence is completely removed from the media, will it make a significant difference in the aggressive behaviour of children? And then how do you justify the fact that studies have shown that viewing violence on TV also provides an opportunity to discharge the pent-up, 50 aggressive feelings of anger, hostility and frustration.
“The problem is not with the media, but the lack of media education,” points out Patri. “No one teaches the children how to assess the reality status of TV programmes.” Good parenting, she says, is perhaps the greatest defense against the negative effects of violent images on TV.
Experts say it’s time that parents and teachers took a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror. Says Patri, “Most parents treat TV as a baby-sitter when it suits them. And when something goes wrong, they turn around and blame TV for it !”

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Violent behaviour is the outcome of………………………

lack of media awareness
lack of sensitivity
increase in population
imperfection

(b) Children fail to understand that the stunts shown on the screen are………………………

real
fake
manipulated
none of the above

babysitter
problem
boon
none of the above

(d) Aggressive behaviour in children can be best handled by

teachers
parents
both teachers and parents
children themselves

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Does violence on TV promote children’s aggressive behaviour? What is the opinion of media experts and social scientists?
(b) What two points have emerged from research on media violence?
(c) What two incidents are cited to prove the aggressive behaviour of children as an outcome of watching violence on television?
(d) What factors other than violence viewing are important for causing aggressiveness in a child?
(e) How, do you think, can the problem be solved?
(f) How are children becoming impatient?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) exciting (lines 1 to 10)
(b) an extremely large number of something

Answers:

(a) 1. lack of media awareness
(b) 2. fake
(c) 1. babysitter
(d) 3. both teachers and parents

(a) Yes, it does. Most of the media experts and social scientists think that media violence on TV is responsible for actually promoting aggressiveness in children.
(b) (i) The more violence children view on TV, the more aggressively they behave with others.
(ii) They become less sensitive to the pain of others. Hence, they are less likely to help a victim of violence.
(c) (i) Beating that the 12-year-old Subin Kumar got from his WWF inspired friends.
(ii) The six-year-old child of Lucknow who leapt off the balcony of his second-floor flat trying to imitate a bungee jumping drop shown in a soft-drinks commercial.
(d) Other factors are:
(i) individual predisposition of the child
(ii) parental attitudes
(iii) reaction to aggression
(iv) intolerance.
(e) By providing media education and by teaching the children how to assess the reality status of TV programmes. Most parents and teachers have to understand their responsibility in imparting media education to children.
(fl Children of this materialistic age are desirous of getting immediate gratification. It ; makes them impatient.

(a) thrilling
(b) myriad

Passage 14:
MAGIC MACHINE

Mohammed Jamshed Khan replaced the ATM card in his wallet and counted the crisp new notes he’d just withdrawn from the machine. ₹ 6000? “This can’t be right!” thought the young Mumbai civil contractor. He counted again. It was indeed ₹ 6000. “All I’d asked for was ? 1200,” Khan told his friend Faisal Mukhi who was standing nearby.
“You pressed the wrong buttons, silly,” said Mukhi.
“No way!” exclaimed Khan as he pushed his card back in again, keyed in his numeric password and asked for ? 1000. Beep, click…………….whirr, beeeep ! Out popped ₹ 5000 and a little transaction slip that read. WITHDRAWAL ₹ 1000.
“Let’s try again,” said Khan. Card, password, 2-0-0-0……….beeeep ! But he got ₹ 10,000. By now it seemed certain that the ATM was giving away 500-rupee notes instead of hundreds. “May be something’s wrong with your card,” Mukhi told Khan, “let me try mine.” Mukhi’s balance was low—only ? 1300. He pushed his card in and asked for ? 1000. The machine spat out 5000.
“ATMs (short for automated teller machines) are extremely secure and among the hardest of machines. Look up the Encyclopaedia Britannica for “ATMs” and you’ll find it entered under “Locks”—it’s virtually impossible to fool an ATM. And the probability of an ATM overpaying is virtually nil. But here they were, two buddies with ? 26000 between them— ₹ 20,800 of it free money.
There were no other customers in sight on that warm July afternoon. And they could have kept on going. Instead, Khan and Mukhi went outside the ATM’s enclosure and summoned the guard on duty. “The machine’s all mixed up,” they told him. The two men then gave the guard a demo: “Look here,” said Khan as he inserted his card one last time and hit the buttons, “I’m withdrawing ? 500 but here’s 2500!
“Don’t let anybody near this place,” they told the guard as they hopped into an autorickshaw and sped off with all the money.-
It looked like a daylight robbery—in reverse. For they drove two kilometres, to the nearest branch of the bank that owned the ATM, placed the cash-? 28,500 on the bank manager’s desk and complained about their faulty machine.
‘We could have lost a real lot that day,” says the manager. This is the kind of honesty we can only dream about. A human error made while loading cash in the ATM had caused the problem. Although we could have traced the customers, it might have meant a lot of trouble for us, had they kept our money.”
But did either Mohammed Khan or Faisal Mukhi ever think of keeping the money during their moment with the magic machine? “Not once,” says Khan. Adds Mukhi: “Never.”

Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) The theme of the passage is……………………..

dishonesty
loyalty
honesty
sincerity

(b) The passage proves the machines……………………..

do not make mistakes
never make mistakes
do make mistakes
all of the above

most of the people are corrupt
man is greedy by nature
riches attracts people
all of the above

(d) Khan and Mukhi went outside the ATM’s enclosure and summoned the guard on duty to inform him about the

erratic behaviour of ATM
shortage of notes in the ATM machine
suspicious man standing outside the ATM enclosure
none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Why was Mohammed Jamshed Khan surprised? How did he express it and to whom?
(b) What efforts did the two friends make to verify the behaviour of the machine?
(c) What do you know about ATM? What was peculiar about this particular ATM?
(d) “It looked like a daylight robbery—in reverse.” Substantiate this statement.
(e) How did the manager react to the disclosure?
(f) What did they ask the guard to do?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) slightly stiff
(b) almost

Answers:

(a) 3. honesty
(b) 3. do make mistakes
(c) 4. all of the above
(d) 1. erratic behaviour of ATM

(a) He had asked for ₹ 1200, but the ATM machine gave him ₹ 6000. He counted the money twice. He expressed hi! surprise to his friend Faisal Mukhi who was standing nearby.
(b) Faisal thought Jamshed had pressed wrong buttons. So Khan’s ATM card was in-serted again for ₹ 1000. ₹ 5000 popped out. But the transaction slip showed with-drawal as ₹ 1000 only. Two other attempts were made: one with Khan’s card and another with Mukhi’s. They had inserted cards for ₹ 5200, but got five times the money i.e., ₹ 26,000.
(c) ATM is short for Automated Teller Machine. It is a counting device run by automatic machine. It is quite tough and exact. It is almost impossible to commit an error. This ATM was issuing money five times more.
(d) Here the men were returning the easy money to the rightful owner i.e., the bank. They presented the entire money to the manager.
(e) The manager praised the customers for their dream honesty. A human error while loading cash was responsible for the erratic behaviour of ATM.
(f) They asked the guard not to allow anybody to use the ATM.

(a) crisp

(b) virtually

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