CBSE Class 12 English Comprehension Passages – Practice Test-3
Passage 1:
Read the given passage carefully.
- In the hospital, I was thinking about the most exceptional people I’ve known. They were the ones who kept going when others quit; the ones who found ways to do what everyone else thought couldn’t be done. They didn’t just hold down a job or work hard. They were reaching deeper inside and finding something more. They made a greater difference. I don’t believe they would have understood these words— “he held the frame so we both could see the inscription”—’the way I did’.
- I remember my parents and other adults in my hometown saying, “study hard and work hard, but don’t let your dreams get too big. If you do that, you’ll only be disappointed.”
- “Learn to fit in and go along”, they said, “that’s what successful people do”. ”1 got very good at fitting in and going along”. His voice trailed off.
- “Robert, you’re going to hear the same kinds of things from people around you. They’re well intentioned, but they’re wrong. What if I hadn’t accepted it? What if everyday I had questioned yesterday’s definition of my best? What if I’d listened to my own heart instead of their words? Then I might have kept looking deeper and giving the world more of the best that was hidden inside me.”
- “And if I’d done that”, he said, “more of the best would have come back to me and to this family and to you, Robert. But it won’t”, he said, “because I didn’t do it.”
- “So this is my challenge to you-to live these words.” He handed me the frame. There was no glass in it;
I ran my fingertips over the words and felt the brittle paper. “But grandfather”, I said, not wanting to disappoint him, but unsure of how to accomplish what he was asking me, “maybe when I’m older…” - “Age has nothing to do with it. Every day you can learn something more about who you are and all the potential that’s hidden inside you. Every day you can choose to become more than you have been. I’m asking you straight right now.”
- “But how?”
- “By looking inside yourself. By testing new possibilities. By searching for what matters most to you, Robert. Few of us ever do that for ourselves. Instead, we hold our breath. We look away. We get by or go along. We defend what we have been. We say, “It’s good enough.” I pray you don’t wake up one day and say, “I’ve been living my life wrong and now it’s too late to make it right.”
- Young as I was, I could still see the pain his regret was causing him and even then I recognised that the gift he was giving me was as much in honesty as in the specific words he was so determined for me to hear.
- “Robert, all of us are mostly unused potential. It’s up to you to become the most curious person you know and to keep asking yourself, What is my best? Keep finding more of it every day to give to the world. If you do that, I promise that more of the best than you can ever imagine-and in many ways beyond money-will come back to you.”
- And it has. Despite my struggles and mistakes along the way, I have learned that there are opportunities for each of us that exist beneath and beyond conventional thinking and self-imposed limits. What my grandfather realised too late that he had not done, he challenged me to do. In this book, I pass the challenge to you.
Questions:
1. On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option. (1×4 = 4)
- What does the writer mean by saying Age has nothing to do with it.
(a) Robert is too young
(b) Robert is mature enough to accomplish the task
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these - What does the grandfather regret?
(a) That Robert is too young.
(b) He realised that he was living his life wrong and now it was too late to make it right
(c) Teaching a lesson to Robert.
(d) He had unused potential. - Which of the following statements is true in the context of the fourth paragraph?
(a) Grandfather didn’t listen to his heart.
(b) Grandfather listened to the words of others.
(c) People around are well intentioned but not totally right.
(d) All of the above. - While giving lessons to Robert, grandfather was
(a) happy.
(b) an exceptional person himself.
(c) determined for him to hear.
(d) aggressive.
2. Answer the following questions as briefly as possible. (1 x 6 = 6)
- Who, according to the writer, are exceptional people?
- What according to his parents, did successful people do?
- What does one need to do to become more than you have been?
- Explain the phrase “looking inside yourself.”
- What is the challenge to the readers?
- What is it that the grandfather asks Robert to keep finding?
3. Which word in the passage means the same as (1 x 2 = 2)
- Hard but easily broken (para 6)
- Following accepted customs and traditions (para 12)
Answers:
1.
- (d) None of these
- (b) He realised that he was living his life wrong and now it was too late to make it right.
- (d) All of the above.
- (c) determined for him to hear.
2.
- According to the writer, exceptional people are those who keep going when others quit and those who find ways to do what everyone else thinks cannot be done. They reach deep inside every situation and find something more.
- According to his parents, successful people studied hard and worked hard, but did not let their dreams get too big; in fact, they learnt to fit in and went along.
- To “become more than you have been”, one must learn more about oneself, who one is and all the potential that is hidden inside one.
- The phrase “looking inside yourself” means testing new possibilities and searching for what matters most.
- The challenge is to learn that for each of us there are opportunities that exist beyond the bounds of conventional thinking and self-imposed limits.
- Grandfather asks Robert to be most curious person and keep finding the best of himself every day to give to the world.
3.
- Brittle
- Conventional
Passage 2:
Read the given passage carefully.
- When M K Gandhi was thrown out of a train in South Africa he had a choice to make – either to ignore the event and live in peace or enter into a conflict and face harassment, hardship and the possibility of getting physically hurt.
- He chose the latter. Why? Did he not have a guru who had taught him that living in peace and tranquillity was the ultimate objective of life and the best way to achieve this objective was to avoid situations of conflict? Why did he not walk away?
- The Dalai Lama chose to live in exile rather than live in peace in Tibet. He is a spiritual master himself. He preaches peace around the world. Does he not know that living in peace requires avoiding situations of conflict?
- Aung San Suu Kyi did not have to stay in jail. Winston Churchill did not have to join the World War. Nelson Mandela did not have to suffer in solitary confinement. Julius Nyerere did not have to fight a war with Idi Amin. There is a long list of people who have embraced conflict, despite standing for peace, otherwise. They had the courage to stand up against repression rather than submit to it.
- Both the Ramayana and Mahabharata, revered Indian epics, are stories of war, not peace. Krishna did not tell the Pandavas to ignore the incident of Draupadi’s humiliation in court’ (the Draupadi vastraharan). He encouraged them to go to war. The Gita says engaging in war to uphold truth is not a matter of choice for a warrior; it is his duty. Islam says participation in jihad is the duty of a Muslim when the fight is to uphold justice when challenged by oppression, as a way of self-defence.
- Most of us are confused between conflict and the method of resolving a conflict. We assume, incorrectly, that Gandhi, as a peace loving person, must have avoided situations of conflict. On the other hand, he faced conflict head-on.
- Bhagat Singh and Gandhi were both gearing themselves to deal with conflict, except that Gandhi tried to employ peaceful means while Bhagat Singh chose aggression.
The duty of a scientist, artist or professor is also to engage in conflict against repressive regimes of knowledge. Any kind of limited knowledge is a form of bondage. Albert Einstein advanced the boundaries of scientific knowledge. - James Joyce did the same in the world of literature. He flouted rules of writing as he saw them as restrictions on creativity. Picasso and M F Husain, for example, explored realms beyond accepted rules in visual art. Mother Teresa redefined the concept of caring. Every one of them faced criticism and controversy, yet they remained convinced of the nature of their work and the methods they used to fulfil their vision. They remained engaged.
- One can only conclude from this that the people we admire and even those we worship have all rejected the existing as being inadequate and have chosen to engage in conflict to expand the existing. They have redefined the purpose of our life.
- The purpose of our life is not to live in passive acceptance, but to engage with conflict in order to be creative. Creativity is the purpose of life. The purpose is to advance an individual soul and the collective consciousness. The only word of caution here is that we must first settle ourselves spiritually so that we know whether a conflict is justified or not.
Questions:
1. On the basis of your understanding of the given passage, answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option. (1 x 2 = 2)
- Mahatma Gandhi faced the conflict head on, but he employed…………means.
(a) aggressive
(b) peaceful
(c) exile
(d) harassing - Which of the following statements is true in the context of the seventh paragraph?
(a) Bhagat Singh was wrong.
(b) Mahatma Gandhi was right.
(c) Both engaged their own methods to deal with the conflict.
(d) Mahatma Gandhi was wrong.
2. Answer the following questions as briefly as possible. (1 x 6 = 6)
- The Bhagwat Gita says that waging war to uphold truth is
- What does the author want the scientists, artists and teachers to do?
- What caution must we exercise when we engage in a conflict?
- What is the purpose of life, according to the writer?
- What kind of people are admired or worshipped?
- People like Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi are famous for what?
3. Pick out the words from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following. (1 x 2 = 2)
- Accepted willingly and enthusiastically (para 4)
- Directly confront (para 6)
Answers:
1.
- (b) peaceful
- (c) Both engaged their own methods to deal with the conflict.
2.
- the duty of a warrior.
- The author wants the scientists, artists and teachers to challenge repressive regimes of knowledge.
- The caution we must exercise is that
we must first settle ourselves spiritually so that we know whether a conflict is justified or not. - The purpose of our life is not to live in passive acceptance, but to engage with conflict in order to be creative.
Or
The purpose of life is to advance an individual soul and the collective consciousness. - People we admire are those who have rejected the existing as being inadequate and have chosen to engage in conflict to expand the existing. They have redefined the purpose of our life.
- Those people are famous for their courage to stand up against repression rather than submit to it.
3.
- Embraced
- Head-on
Passage 3:
Read the given passage carefully.
The energy contained in rock within the Earth’s crust represents a nearly unlimited energy source, but until recently commercial retrieval has been limited to underground hot water and/or steam recovery systems. These systems have been developed in areas of recent volcanic activity, where high rates of heat flow cause visible eruption of water in the form of geysers and hot springs. In other areas, however, hot rock also exists near the surface, but there is insufficient water present to produce eruptive phenomena. Thus a potential Hot Dry Rock (HDR) reservoir exists whenever the amount of spontaneously produced geothermal fluid has been judged inadequate for existing commercial systems.
As a result of recent energy crises, new concepts for creating Hot Dry Rock (HDR) recovery systems—which involve drilling holes and connecting them to artificial reservoirs placed deep within the crust—are being developed. In all attempts to retrieve energy from HDR’s, artificial stimulation will be required to create either sufficient permeability or bounded flow paths to facilitate the removal of heat by circulation of a fluid over the surface of the rock.
The HDR resource base is generally defined to include crustal rock that is hotter than 150°C at depths less than 10 kms and can be drilled with presently available equipment. Although wells deeper than 10 kms are technically feasible, prevailing economic factors will obviously determine the commercial feasibility of wells at such depths. Rock temperatures as low as 100 °C may be useful for space heating; however for producing electricity, temperatures greater than 200°C are desirable.
The geothermal gradient, which specifically determines the depth of drilling required to reach a desired temperature, is a major factor in the recoverability of geothermal resources. Temperature gradient maps generated from oil and gas well temperature depth records kept by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) suggest that tappable high temperature gradients are distributed all across the United States. (There are many areas, however, for which no temperature gradient records exist.)
Indications are that the HDR resource base is very large. If an average geothermal temperature gradient of 200°C per km of depth is used, a staggering 13000000 quadrillion BTU’s of total energy are calculated to be contained in crustal rock to a 10 kms depth in the United States. If we conservatively estimate that only about 0.2% is recoverable, we find a total of all the coal remaining in the United States. The remaining problem is to balance the economics of deeper, hotter, more costly wells and shallower, cooler, less,expensive wells against the value of the final product, electricity and/or heat.
Questions:
1. On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it in points only, using recognisable abbreviations wherever necessary. Also suggest a suitable title. (5)
2. Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words. (3)
Answers:
1. Title: America’s Hot Dry Rocks
Notes
- Large energy contained in HDR in Earth’s crust in USA
- 13 min qdrln BTU’s up to 10 km depth
- replace entire coal reserves in USA
- HDR energy needs to be tapped economically
- current status
(a) underground hot water & steam recovery systems - rqr drilling down to TO km
(a) techny & ecnmcly feasible - new systems being developed
2. Summary
Energy contained in Hot Dry Rocks (HDR) under the Earth’s crust in USA can replace the entire energy available from existing coal deposits in the country, if it can be tapped economically. Currently this energy is taken out through underground hot water and steam recovery systems. New systems of HDR recovery are being developed for drilling up to a depth of 10 kms in which 13 million quadrillion BTU’s of energy are estimated to be available, as this is technically and economically feasible.
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