Reading Section English Core - Reading Section

(1) The monsoon is such a welcome respite from the scorching summer thanks to the overcast sky, gentle rain and lush greenery all around. Almost all of us love to savour spicy and crunchy food items, such as fritters (pakoras) and chaats like panipuri, sevpuri teamed with cutting chai as the rainwater lashes against the windowpane. However, the season also brings along a lot of diseases, such as dengue, malaria, conjunctivitis, typhoid, viral fever, pneumonia, gastrointestinal disturbances, diarrhea, food poisoning, cholera, cough and cold and jaundice due to the presence of bacteria in the environment. The challenge lies in going about your daily routine without falling ill. If you suffer from low immunity, you are at a higher risk of contracting these diseases.
However, the right dietary tips can strengthen your immunity and help you stay hale and hearty.
(2) Due to the humid climate, you may not feel too thirsty and consume just one litre of water every day. But you need to be well hydrated as sweat doesn't evaporate quickly in monsoon. Consequently, this prevents the body from releasing heat. So consume a lot of water as it helps to flush out toxins from the body. Ensure that the water is clean, pure and safe to drink. Avoid aerated drinks; instead consume warm beverages, such as green tea with holy basil leaves, ginger, pepper and honey as they have anti-bacterial properties. A bowl of hot vegetable soup is also a good option. The hot beverages increase your body temperature (which will in turn give you warmth) while the ingredients will boost your immunity.
(3) Consume fruits, such as cherries, bananas, apples, pomegranates, plums, litchis and pears as they are packed with anti-oxidants and are rich in vitamin A, E, C and minerals. Vegetables, such as cauliflower, potatoes, cluster beans, ladyfingers, kidney beans, pigeon pea and sprouted grains get spoilt easily due to the humidity. So, they should be avoided. Opt for cooked or steamed veggies. Avoid salads as they comprise raw vegetables that contain active bacteria which lead to various infections and affect the body's immunity. Avoid strong
smelling or extra sweet fruits, such as mangoes and jackfruit that attract flies as their excess intake can cause skin irritation and stomach ache. It's also important to store vegetables the right way during the rains. Do not wash the veggies thoroughly before storing, as the moisture will attract pathogenic fungus. These bacteria can spread to other susceptible food items as well, making them unhygienic. Instead, pat dry and store separate food items in different containers. Buy them in limited portions and use them as soon as possible.
(4) Dehydration makes your hair brittle and scanty. So hydrate yourself. Zinc and iron help to keep your tresses healthy and beautiful. Consume nuts, eggs and walnuts to maintain hair strength. Walnuts are rich in biotin and vitamin E, which are excellent antioxidants. Proteins are important for hair strength too. So add curd to your diet, as it is a great source of protein. Amla juice, oranges and other citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C keeps your hair strong as it helps in production of collagen that among other things strengthens the hair capillaries (ensuring proper nutrient supply to our hair). Also, ensure that you wash your locks on alternate days and cover them well during the monsoon. Dried apricots,
roasted sunflower seeds and lentils are better foods to consume during monsoon than other iron-rich foods which are susceptible to microbial attack. Do not forget to eat yummy corn on cob as corn is also rich in iron and zinc.
5) So, the secret to enjoy the rains, without the fear of affecting your health is to go light on eating. Have a safe and healthy monsoon.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. Drinking water helps in and ________. (1)

ii. Raw vegetables should be avoided because________.(1)

iii. The correct way to store veggies is to: (1)
A. wash them properly before storing
B. buy them in bulks
C. pat them dry, store separate items in different food containers
D. soak them in water

iv. Choose an appropriate heading for the given passage. (1)
A. How to Store Your Food During the Rainy Season
B. Beat the Monsoon Woes by Eating Right
C. Monsoon Sickness
D. Hair Fall Remedy

v. Which of these statements is false? (1)
A. Warm beverages like soup is healthier option than aerated drinks.
B. Vegetables such as cauliflower, bean sprouts, ladyfingers are more likely to get spoilt.
C Amla juice, oranges and other citrus fruits are rich in vitamin D.
D. Iron and Zinc helps in keeping our hair healthy

vi. Give two merits and two demerits of monsoon. (2)

vii. How can different beverages help in monsoon? (2)

viii. Discuss about the hair care during monsoons.(2)

ix. Read the headlines given below and identify the option that corresponds with message of the passage.(1)

(i) Rains mean crispy pakoras and cutting chai
(ii) The Rains do not bring diseases
(iii) Maintain your physical well-being during rains
(iv) The best hair days are rainy days

A. (i) and (ii)
B. only (iv)
C. (i), (ii) and (iv)
D. only (iii)

(1) From the moment a baby first opens its eyes, it is learning Sight and sensation spark off a learning process which will determine in large measure, the sort of person it will become. Language stands head and shoulders over all other tools as an instrument of learning. It is the language that gives man his lead in intelligence over all the other creatures. No other creature can assemble a list of ideas, consider them, draw conclusions and then explain his reasoning, Man can do all this because be possesses language. And if thought depends on language. the quality of an individual's thought will depend on that person's language-rudimentary on sophisticated, precise or approximate, stereotyped or original.
(2) Very young babies are soothed by human voice uttering comforting words close to them. This essentially- emotional response provides early evidence that feeling is an important component of language learning Children learn to use language in interaction with other human beings and this learning proceeds best against a background of affectionate feedback from the person who is closest to them. This is seen to perfection in the interaction between patent and a baby: eyes locked together, the adult almost physically drawing 'verbal response from the baby, both engulfed by that unique experience of intimate and joyful 'connecting, which sets the pattern of the relationship between two people.
(3) Thus, long before they can speak, children are involved in a two-way process of communication, which is steadily building a foundation on which their later use of language will be based. Constantly surrounded by language, they are unconsciously building structures in their minds into which their speech and reading will later fit grammatical constractions, tense sequences and so on. The forms of these structures will depend on the amount and complexity of speech they hear. Fortunate are those children who listen to articulate adults, expressing ideas and defending opinions. They will know, long before they can contribute themselves and understand, that relationships are forged through this process of speaking and listening: that warmth and humour have a place in the process, as have all other human emotions.
(4) Using books is the most important means of ensuring a child's adequate language development. None of us can endlessly initiate and maintain speech with very small children; we run out of ideas or just get plain sick of it. Their lives are confined to a limited circle and they do not have enough experience to provide raw material for constant verbal interaction.
(5) Parents and children who share books share the same frame of reference. Incidents in everyday life constantly remind one or the other of a situation, a character, an action, from a jointly enjoyed book, with all the generation of warmth and well-being that is attendant upon such sharing. All too often, there is a breakdown of communication between parents and children when the problems of adolescence arise. In most cases, this is most acute when the give-and-take of shared opinions and ideas have not been constantly practised throughout childhood Books can play a major role in the establishment of this verbal give-and- take because they are rooted in language.
(6) Young children's understanding greatly outruns their capacity for expression as their speech strains to encompass their awareness, to represent reality as they see it. Shades of meaning which may be quite unavailable to the child of limited verbal experience are startlingly talked to toddler. All the wonderful modifying words-later, nearly, tomorrow, almost, wait, half, lend, etc. begin to steer the child away from the simple extremes of "Yes" and "No" towards the adult world of compromise from the child's black and white world to the subtle shades and tints of the real world. The range of imaginative experience opened up by books expands the inevitably limited horizons of children's surroundings and allows them to make Joyful, intrigued, awestruck acquaintance with countless people, animals, objects and ideas in their first years of life. (7) Books also open children to new points of view, besides their own as they unconsciously put themselves into other people's places-if that could happen to him, it could happen to me. This imaginative self- awareness brings apprehensions and fears as well as heightened hopes and joys.
(8) In books, children can experience language which is subtle, resourceful, exhilarating and harmonious languages that provide the human ear (and understanding) with a pointed and precise pleasure, the searing illuminating impact of good and true words.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.

i. What makes a man superior over all the other creatures? (1)
A. Their way of observing things
B. Their language
C. Their body-language
D. Their skills

ii. What is an important component of language learning? (1)
A. Environment
B.Education
C. Feeling
D. Books of literature

iii. What are the most important means of ensuring a child's adequate language development? (1)
A. Maintaining speech
B. Providing raw material for constant verbal interaction
C. Two-way process of communication
D. Using books

iv. The parents can't rely only on constant verbal interactions because_________. (1)

v. What are the advantages of books mentioned in the above passage? (1)
A. It creates self awareness in children.
B. It enables children to see things from other's point of view.
C. Expose children to a wide range of vocabulary.
D. All of these

vi. How can language distinguish between human beings and others? (2)

vii. How do children develop language? (2)

viii. What role do books play? (2)

ix. Read the given headlines and identify the option that does not correspond with the message of the passage. (1)

(a) Develop new viewpoints through book.
(b) Sight and sensation - The spark of learning
(c) No role played by adults in children's language acquisition.
(d) Communication - A two way process.

A. (a) and (b)
B. (b), (c) and (d)
C. Only (c)
D. (a), (b), (c) and (d)

(1) We often make all things around us the way we want them. Even during our pilgrimages we have begun to look for whatever makes our heart happy, gives comfort to our body and peace to the mind. It is as if external solutions will fulfil our needs, and we do not want to make any special efforts even in our spiritual search. Our mind is resourceful-it works to find shortcuts in simple and easy ways.
(2) Even pilgrimages have been converted into tourism opportunities. Instead, we must awaken our conscience and souls and understand the truth. Let us not tamper with either our own nature or that of the Supreme.
(3) All our cleverness is rendered ineffective when nature does a dance of destruction. Its fury can and will wash away all imperfections. Indian culture, based on Vedic treatises, assists in human evolution, but we are now using our entire energy in distorting these traditions according to our convenience instead of making efforts to make ourselves worthy of them.
(4) The irony is that humans are not even aware of the complacent attitude they have allowed themselves to sink to. Nature is everyone's Amma and her fierce blows will sooner or later corner us and force us to understand this truth. Earlier, pilgrimages to places of spiritual significance were rituals that were undertaken when people became free from their worldly duties. Even now some seekers take up this pious religious journey as a path to peace and knowledge. Anyone travelling with this attitude feels and travels with only a few essential items that his body can carry. Pilgrims traditionally travelled light, on foot, eating light, dried chickpeas and fruits, or whatever was available. Pilgrims of olden days did not feel the need to stay in special AC bedrooms, or travel by luxury cars or indulge themselves with delicious food and savouries.
(5) Pilgrims traditionally moved ahead, creating a feeling of belonging towards all, conveying a message of brotherhood among all they came across whether in small caves, ashrams or local settlements. They received the blessings and congregations of yogis and mahatmas in return while conducting the dharma of their pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is like penance or sadhana to stay near nature and to experience a feeling of oneness with it, to keep the body healthy and fulfilled with the amount of food, while seeking freedom from attachments and yet remaining happy while staying away from relatives and associates.
(6) This is how a pilgrimage should be rather than making it like a picnic by taking a large group along and living in comfort, packing in entertainment, and tampering with environment. What is worse is giving a boost to the ego of having had a special darshan. Now alms are distributed, charity done while they brag about their spiritual experiences!
(7) We must embark on our spiritual journey by first understanding the grace and significance of a pilgrimage and following it up with the prescribed rules and rituals - this is what translates into the ultimate and beautiful medium of spiritual evolution. There is no justification for tampering with nature.
(8) A pilgrimage is symbolic of contemplation and meditation and acceptance, and is a metaphor for the constant growth or movement and love for nature that we should hold in our hearts.
(9) This is the truth! Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above."

i. Pick out the option that is not true according to the passage. (1)
A pilgrim can keep his body healthy

a. by travelling a lot of places
b. by travelling light
c.by keeping free from attachment
d. by eating small amount of food
e.by eating snacks and rich food

A. Both a and b
B. only b
C. a, c, d, and e
D. only d

ii. As given in the passage, it states that most of the time, people prefer to do (1)

iii. Pick out the option that is TRUE about the pilgrimages, as discussed in the above passage. (1)
A. Pilgrimages have been converted into tourism nowadays.
B. Pilgrimages should be performed at the young age only.
C. One should avoid eating food while on a pilgrimage.
D. Pilgrimages should be done for the purpose of fun only.

iv. As per your understanding of the passage, choose the words that best describe the response of nature against cleverness shown by us.(1)

1. Catastrophic
2. Gratifying
3. Buoyant
4. Detrimental

A. 2 and 3
B. 1 and 4
C. 1 and 2
D. 3 and 4

v.The word 'Amma' used by the writer signifies_______________________. (1)

vi. How does the human of today act?(2)

vii. How does nature show its anger?(2)

viii. Describe the traditional pilgrim.(2)

ix. Select the option that is similar to narrator's expression, "Nature is everyone's Amma"?(1)

(1) Suspense was over when my high school results finally came out. But I was upset. I had not done as well as I had expected. My father tried to console me. "Why are you worried? You have done very well my dear." "No, I have not Baba," I protested, controlling my tears, and wondering if I had disappointed him. "It does not really matter," he assured me. "Do you know what I got when I finished high school?" I looked into Baba's face and waited for the answer to his own question. "You know," he told me "I have never told you this. I got just a third division. But, look at me, I have done quite well." Baba got a third division! I was almost in shock, but the thought of my having done a lot better than that made me realize that I had no reason to complain. I certainly felt better! "Everything is under control!" said Baba, smiling. That was his favourite phrase. Posted in Kolkata, my father was then a senior official in the Indian Railway Service, and an expert in goods traffic operations. He was soon to become a director with the Railway Board. By the time he retired in 1981, he was general manager of the Central Railways. By the time Baba passed away in November 2000, his name had found place in several hearts as well. He was open, easy to know, and full of life. We were extremely close. but I had so much more to learn about him from many things I came to know after his death.
(2) In September 2000, he was in hospital for treatment of cancer and given just two months to live. When he found out, his reaction was an extremely rational one. He asked me to fetch files from his cupboard, so that he could explain the details of my mother's pension. He also dictated his will from his hospital bed. "Everything is under control!" After Baba's death, Satish, our old family retainer, was inconsolable. We tried to cheer him up. "Your Baba had scolded me only once in all these years!" he cried. Satish pointed to the watch on his left hand. "I had been coming late for work and everyone in the family was complaining about it," said Satish. "Then, one day, your Baba gave me this watch and told me, 'Now that you have a watch, you can't be late." That was the scolding Satish received. On the fourth day after Baba's death, my sister and I had to perform a ceremony. Since several relatives were expected, we decided to order lunch from a caterer in our locality, reputed for his home cooked food. But, when we went to pay to owner, we got a surprise. He refused to accept any money! "When I wanted to start my catering business, it was your father who lent me money," he told us. It seems Baba never asked for it back. Now, after four or five years, the caterer wanted to repay that debt. Of course, we made him accept the full payment for the fine food and service. "It was Baba's gift and it ought to remain so," I told him.
(3) Some days later, there was yet another piece of information as we were preparing for the main ceremony. Vikram, my brother drove me to the local market. On recognizing our car, the parking assistant, in his twenties, came running towards us and asked why he had not seen its owner for long. We had to break the news to him and to our utter surprise, he started crying. We were really surprised by this reaction from a stranger- until the man told us that Baba used to pay his daughter's school fees and buy her books. It seems, it was on my father's advice that he had even started sending the child to school. More than three years after Baba's death, as we were looking into Baba's personal things, we came across an old file with Baba's certificates and I found among them, his high school diploma from 1937, the one he told me about 30 years earlier, about the third division that had made no difference in his life or career. It had made me see beyond mere marks and first classes as the main road to success. But there was one more fact. Baba had actually
got a first division, a rare achievement in his day. Today, years after his passing, when I think of Baba, I see a man who was able to sympathise with others so easily and touch their lives in such a special way.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above."

i. "I was almost in shock ..." Pick the option in which the meaning of shock[ed] is not the same as it is in the passage.
A. Julie was deeply in shock by her grandmother's death.
B. He completely shocked everyone with his news.
C. When she went to China, she experienced culture shock.
D. When the doctor noticed that the health of the patient was not improving, he suggested the shock therapy.

ii. Based on your reading of the passage, choose the option that lists the correct sequence of the events. (1)

1. The narrator's result was declared.
2. The narrator's father told him about his high-school result.
3. The narrator went to the market with his brother, Vikram.
4. Baba passed away.
5. The narrator realised that his father had actually got a first division.

A. 5, 2, 1, 3, 4
B. 1,2,4,3,5
C. 3, 2, 1, 5, 4
D. 4, 1, 3, 5, 2

iii. After the reading of the passage, it can be concluded that the narrator's father had a towards the people and society. approach (1)

iv. According to the passage, the narrator's high school result was(2)

v. How did the father console the narrator? (1)

vi. Describe the incident that happened with Satish and father. (2)

vii. Pick out the option that correctly lists the final feelings of the narrator after finding his father's old file. (1)

1. frustrated
2. satisfied
3. hopeful
4. arrogant
5. pessimistic
6. disappointed

A. 2 and 3
B. 4 and 6
C. 1 and 5
D. 5 and 6

viii. Choose the correct synonym of rational' as given in para 2, from the options given below.(1)

1. logical
2. reasonable
3. agitated
4. thoughtless

A. 1 and 4
B. 1 and 3
C. 2 and 4
D. 1 and 2

ix. What connection did the narrator's father have with the parking assistant?

(1) That large animals require luxuriant vegetation has been a general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but I do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in everyone's mind. If, however, we refer to any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. The same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which have been published of various parts of the interior.
(2) Dr. Andrew Smith, who has lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me that, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of Africa, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. On the southern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these exceptions, the traveler may pass for days together through open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. Now, if we look at the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense.
(3) It may be supposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am enabled to show that the case is very different. He informs me, that in lat. 24, in one day's march with the bullock-wagons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses the same day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred.
(4) At the distance of a little more than one hour's march from their place of encampment on the previous night, his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many more. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles. Of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed through that day, as being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees.
(5) Besides these large animals, anyone the least acquainted with the natural history of the Cape has read of the herds of antelopes, which can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The numbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowling round Dr. Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist remarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed be terrific! I confess it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find support in a country producing so little food.
(6) The larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it; and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much exaggerated. The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must necessarily be luxuriant, is more remarkable, because the converse is far from true.
(7) Mr. Burchell observed to me that when entering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of the South American vegetation contrasted with that of South Africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In his travels, he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would beextremely curious. If we take on the one side, the elephants, hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, five species of rhinoceros; and on the American side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the number), and then place these two groups alongside each other it is not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size.
(8) After the above facts, we are compelled to conclude, against anterior probability that among the mammalia there exists no close relation between the bulk of the species, and the quantity of the vegetation, in the countries which they inhabit.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i.The author is primarily concerned within their habitats (1)
A. discussing the relationship between the size of mammals and the nature of vegetation
B. contrasting ecological conditions in India and Africa
C. proving that large animals do not require much food
D. describing the size of animals in various parts of the world

ii. According to the author, the 'prejudice (Para 1) has led to (1)
A. errors in the reasoning of biologists
B. false ideas about animals in Africa
C. incorrect assumptions on the part of geologists
D. doubt in the mind of the author

iii. The flocks of migratory birds (Para 5) are mentioned to (1)
A. describe an aspect of the fauna of South Africa
B. illustrate a possible source of food for large carnivores
C. contrast with the habits of the antelope
D. suggest the size of antelope herds

iv. Darwin quotes Burchell's observations in order to (1)
A. counter a popular misconception C. prove a hypothesis
B. describe a region of great splendor
C. prove a hypothesis
D. illustrate a well-known phenomenon

v. Among the mammalia, there is no close relation between
A. bulk of the species C. countries they inhabit
B. quantity of the vegetation
C. prove a hypothesis
D. all of these

vi. What prejudice has vitiated the reasoning of geologists?(2)

vii. Why does Dr. Smith refer to Africa as a sterile country? (2)

viii. Select that option that is similar in meaning to Darwin's expression "if there were sufficient data. (1)
A. Enough is enough.
C. There is not data.
B. I wish there was enough data.
D. Let's gather more data.

ix. To account for the 'surprising' number of animals in a 'country producing so little food, what partial explanation does Darwin suggest? (2)

(1) Referred to as 'nature's theatre, auroras have long fascinated the human race. During medieval times, the occurrences of auroral displays were seen as harbingers of war or famine. The Menominee Indians of North America believed that the lights indicated the location of giants who were the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. The Inuit community of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted: the seals, salmon, deer, and beluga whales. Other aboriginal people believed that the lights were the spirits of their ancestors.
(2) The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as "aurora borealis' in the North Pole and 'aurora australis' in the South Pole. Scientists have learned that, in most instances, northern and southern auroras are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, with similar shapes and colours.
(3) Auroral displays can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway, and over the coastal waters north of Siberia. Southern auroras are not often seen as they are
concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean.
(4) Auroral displays appear in many colours, although pale green and pink are the most common. Common sightings of the same in shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles in the Earth's atmosphere that is colliding with charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. The most common auroral colour, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 96 kilometres above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 320 kilometres from the Earth's surface. Nitrogen produces blue
or purplish-red aurora.
(5) The lights appear in many forms from patches of scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.
(6) Auroras are classified as diffuse or discrete. Most aurorae occur in a band known as the auroral zone. Diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky which may not be visible to the naked eye even on a dark night. Discrete aurorae are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora which vary in brightness from being just barely visible to the naked eye to being bright enough to read a newspaper at night. Discrete
aurorae are usually observed only in the night because they are not as bright as the sunlit sky.
(7) Whereas some people still connect various legends with aurorae, the fact remains that it will continue to fascinate people who experience it.

Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below."

i. Pick out the option that is correct according to the above passage. (1)
A. Inuit community of Alaska believed the lights were the spirits of animals they hunted.
B. Aboriginal believed that the lights indicated the location of giants.
C. Menominee Indians believed the lights were the spirits of their ancestors.
D. North Americans believed that the lights were the spirits of fishermen and hunters.

ii. According to the passage the lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the _________hemispheres.

iii. Pick out the correct option with reference to the above passage. (1)
A. Red auroras-high-altitudeoxygen
B. North pole aurora australis
C. South pole - aurora borealis
D. Hemispheres-Mirror like image

iv. Pick out the words from the given options that are synonyms of 'eerie.(1)

1. Earthly
2. Ordinary
3. Bizarre
4. Funny
5. Uncanny

A. 1 and 2
B. 4 and 5
C. 2 and 4
D. 3 and 5

v. Pick out the option that is not true about auroras as given in the above passage.(1)
A. Since very long, auroras have fascinated the human race.
B. Diffuse aurora can be seen with the naked eyes in the night.
C.The pale yellowish-green colour of aurora is produced by oxygen molecules.
D. Auroral displays can also be seen in shades of red, yellow, green, blue and violet.

vi. What are auroras?(2)

vii. Describe about the various colours of auroral displays.(2)

viii. State True or False.(1)
Discrete aurorae are mostly observed in early morning.

(1) Thick black smoke curling out of smokestacks, horrible-tasting chemicals in your drinking water, pesticides in your food -- these are examples of pollution. Pollution is any contamination of the environment which causes harm to the environment or the inhabitants of the environment. There are many kinds of pollution, and there are many pollutants. Some obvious kinds of pollution are pollution of the air, soil, and water. Some less obvious, or less salient, kinds of pollution are radioactivity, noise and light pollution, and pollution by green-house gasses.
(2) Air pollution can be caused by particles, liquids, or gases that make the air harmful to breathe. There are two main types of air pollution: primary and secondary. Primary pollutants enter the air directly, like smoke from factories and car exhaust. Secondary pollutants are chemicals that mix together to pollute the air, like mixtures of emissions, or waste output, from vehicles and factory smoke that change to form more dangerous pollutants in the air and sunlight.
(3) Soil pollution can be caused by pesticides, leakage from chemical tanks, oil spills, and other chemicals which get into the soil by dumping or accidental contamination. Soil pollution can also cause water pollution when underground water becomes contaminated by coming in contact with the polluted soil. Water pollution can be caused by waste products, sewage, oil spills, and litter in streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some scientists believe that water pollution is the largest cause of death and disease in the world.
causing about 14,000 deaths in the world each day.
(4) Radioactive pollution can be caused by leaks or spills of radioactive materials. These materials can come from medical sources, nuclear power plants, or laboratories which handle radioactive materials. Air, soil. and water can be polluted by radioactivity. It can cause damage to animals, both internally and externally, by eating, drinking, or touching it. It can cause birth defects and genetic problems. It can cause certain cancers and other deadly diseases.
(5) Noise pollution can be caused by vehicle, aircraft, and industrial noise. It can also be caused by military or experimental sonar. Noise has health effects on people and animals. In people, it can cause high blood pressure, heart problems, sleep disturbances, and hearing problems. In animals, it can cause communication, reproductive, and navigation problems - they have difficulty finding their direction. Sonar has even caused whales to beach themselves because they respond to the sonar as if it were another whale.
(6) Light pollution can be caused by advertising signs, stadium and city lighting, and other artificial lighting (like the light caused by night traffic). Artificial lighting has health effects on humans and animals. In people, it can cause high blood pressure and affect sleeping and waking rhythms and immunity. It might be a factor in some cancers, such as breast cancer. In animals, it can affect sleeping and waking rhythms, navigation, and reproduction.
(7) In addition, greenhouse gases have caused a warming effect on the earth's climate. The greenhouse gases are
water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone. They are naturally-occurring gases in the atmosphere,
but human activity has increased their concentration in the atmosphere. For example, the levels of carbon
dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere have risen due to the burning of fossil fuels. The effect is a rise in global temperatures. The higher temperatures cause the melting of glaciers, a rise in the water level of oceans, and the disruption of both land and marine life, including that of humans. Although carbon dioxide is necessary for plants to survive, it is also considered to be a kind of pollution because high levels of carbon dioxide have caused the oceans to become more acidic.
(8) It is not possible for anyone to predict the exact timing and effects of global pollution and global climate change brought about by pollution. There is general agreement by scientists that the global climate will continue to change, that the intensity of weather effects will continue to increase, and that some species of animals will become extinct. There is also general agreement, or consensus, that humans need to take steps to reduce emissions of waste products and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, make adaptations to the changes that are occurring, and figure out ways of reversing the trends of pollution and global warming.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. Air pollution makes________.(1)
A. air harmful to breathe
B. people fall ill
C. factories to work
D. children obese

ii. Burning of fossil fuels gave rise to_______.(1)
A. high levels of CO₂
B. radioactive materials
C. sonar
D. polluted soil

iii. Pick out the options that are the primary pollutants of air pollution. (1)

1. Factory smoke
2. Pesticides
3. Car exhaust
4. City lights

A. Both 1 and 3
B. Only 2
C. Both 3 and 4
D. Only 4

iv. How are whales effected by noise pollution?(1)

v. What should human beings do in order to protect environment?(1)

vi. What is pollution and its types?(2)

vii. Elaborate green-house gases.(2)

viii. State True or False.(1)
Radioactive pollutants can cause certain cancers and deadly diseases.

(1) Millions of people in the United States are affected by eating disorders. More than 90% of those afflicted are adolescents or young adult women. Although all eating disorders share some common manifestations, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating, each have distinctive symptoms and risks. People who intentionally starve themselves (even while experiencing severe hunger pangs) suffer from anorexia nervosa.

(2) The disorder, which usually begins around the time of puberty, involves extreme weight loss to at least 15% below the individual's normal body weight. Many people with the disorder look emaciated but are convinced they are overweight. In patients with anorexia nervosa, starvation can damage vital organs such as the heart and brain. To protect itself, the body shifts into slow gear: Menstrual periods stop, blood pressure rates drop, and thyroid function slows. Excessive thirst and frequent urination may occur. Dehydration contributes to constipation, and reduced body fat leads to lowered body temperature and the inability to withstand cold. Mild anemia, swollen joints, reduced muscle mass, and light-headedness also commonly occur in anorexia nervosa.

(3) Anorexia nervosa sufferers can exhibit sudden angry outbursts or become socially withdrawn. One in ten cases of anorexia nervosa leads to death from starvation, cardiac arrest, other medical complications, or suicide. Clinical depression and anxiety place many individuals with eating disorders at risk for suicidal behavior.

(4) People with bulimia nervosa consume large amounts of food and then rid their bodies of the excess calories by vomiting, abusing laxatives or diuretics, taking enemas, or exercising obsessively. Some use a combination of all these forms of purging. Individuals with bulimia who use drugs to stimulate vomiting, bowel movements, or urination may be in considerable danger, as this practice increases the risk of heart failure. Dieting heavily between episodes of binging and purging is common.

(5) Because many individuals with bulimia binge and purge in secret and maintain normal or above normal body weight, they can often successfully hide their problem for years. But bulimia nervosa patients-even those of normal weight can severely damage their bodies by frequent binge eating and purging. In rare instances, binge eating causes the stomach to rupture; purging may result in heart failure due to loss of vital minerals such as potassium. Vomiting can cause the esophagus to become inflamed and glands near the cheeks to become swollen. As in anorexia nervosa, bulimia may lead to irregular menstrual periods. Psychological effects include compulsive stealing as well as possible indications of obsessive-compulsive disorder, an illness characterized by repetitive thoughts and behaviors. Obsessive compulsive disorder can also accompany anorexia nervosa. As with anorexia nervosa, bulimia typically begins during adolescence. Eventually, half of those with anorexia nervosa will develop bulimia. The condition occurs most often in women but is also found in men.

(6) Binge-eating disorder is found in about 2% of the general population. As many as one-third of this group is men. It also affects older women, though with less frequency. Recent research shows that binge-eating disorder occurs in about 30% of people participating in medically supervised weight-control programs

(7) This disorder differs from bulimia because its sufferers do not purge. Individuals with binge eating disorder feel that they lose control of themselves when eating. They eat large quantities of food and do not stop until they are uncomfortably full. Most sufferers are overweight or obese and have a history of weight fluctuations. As a result, they are prone to the serious medical problems associated with obesity, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

(8) Obese individuals also have a higher risk for gallbladder disease, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Usually they have more difficulty losing weight and keeping it off than do people with other serious weight problems. Like anorexic and bulimic sufferers who exhibit psychological problems, individuals with binge- eating disorder have high rates of simultaneously occurring psychiatric illnesses, especially depression. Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. Obese individuals also have a risk of________.(1)
A. heart disease
C. gallbladder disease
B. some types of cancer
D. all of these

ii. How many cases of anorexia nervosa can have fatal consequences? (1)
A. 90 per cent
B. Ten out of twenty
C. 50 per cent
D. 1 in 10

iii. "Many people with the disorder look emaciated but are convinced they are overweight". The word 'emaciated' here means________. (1)
A. fat
B. skeletal
C. nervous
D. depressed

iv. According to the passage, which of the following is correct? (1)
A. Among the suffers of anorexia nervosa, half of them will eventually develop bulimia.
B. Binge eating disorder is found mainly in children.
C. People with bulimia nervosa keep themselves in starvation.
D. More than 90% of those afflicted with eating disorders are men and old-age people.

v. What makes people socially withdrawn?(1)

vi. What are the side effects of anorexia nervosa? (2)

vii. Discuss about binge-eating disorder. (2)

viii. State True or False. (1)
Binge eating disorder is found in about 30% of the general population.

(1)Nuclear capability gives a status to the country in the community of nations. No nation can afford to make destructive use of the nuclear energy without risking a World War. That is why America did not make use of nuclear weapon in the Vietnam War though it had become a matter of prestige for her. Similarly Russia preferred to pull out her missile bases from Cuba instead of coming in direct conflict with a nuclear power, America. But India, since she started adopting nuclear technology, had decided to make only peaceful use of nuclear energy. The fear expressed by Pakistan and the comments made in the Chinese press are more for the sake of propaganda than for the projection of truth.
(2)India needs nuclear energy in order to meet her power shortage. She has been depending upon hydroelectric power which is undependable because of the uncertainty of rainfall. Good quality of coal which is another source of energy cannot be extracted commercially because it lies very deep and the cost of extraction is very high. India is not producing much of oil, rather she has to import nearly 74 per cent of her total consumption. So the only alternative with India is to have a cheaper and more dependable source of energy. The known reserves of thorium in India are sufficient to last many hundred years. That is why India has already commissioned two nuclear power stations, one at Tarapur and the other at Rana Pratap Sagar. Each one has the installed capacity of producing 420 M.W. of electricity. Two other at Kalpakkam, are operational. This energy will be able to meet the power shortage throughout the country. If industries work at their full capacity, production will be higher and so per capita income will increase and inflation will be neutralized.
(3)With the help of controlled nuclear explosions, artificial dams can be made. In fact, for building a dam there should be two huge mountain walls enclosing a deep valley just near the course of a river. These conditions are not available at all the places. So with the help of controlled nuclear explosions mountains can be blown up. This can also help in laying roads in the mountainous areas. In fact, some of the borders of India have mountainous terrain and the movement of the army is quite difficult. So even for the sake of national security it is necessary to have roads in those areas.
(4)With the help of radiation the shelf life of vegetables and fruits can be increased. In the tropical countries like India, it is necessary that the perishable fruit stuffs are preserved for a long time. Radiation can check the sprouting of onions and potatoes which are much in demand in foreign countries. Similarly fruits like bananas and mangoes which have much export potential can be preserved for a very long time. The texture and taste of the fruit do not undergo any change.
(5)Nuclear technology can also be harnessed for medical purposes. It is said that radioactive iodine is used for detecting the disease of the thyroid glands. Similarly, 'India of U.N. experts, radiated vaccine which can immunize sheep from lungworm disease, which used to take a heavy toll on sheep every year.
(6) Properly processed nuclear fuel is also used for artificial satellite in space. Weather satellites can predict
cyclones and the rainfall with extreme accuracy. Communication satellites can help in conveying the messages to very long distances. In a huge country like India, communication satellites are necessary.
(7) Radiation is also used for preparing the mutant seeds. Many varieties of rice and some cereals have been prepared at Tarapur laboratory. This will increase our agricultural production and help India to become economically better off. So for India it is necessary to make peaceful uses of nuclear energy

Answer the following questions, based on the passage above.

i. India needs nuclear energy in order to______. (1)
A. gain status in the community of nations
B. meet her power shortage
C. increase her might
D. frighten the hostile countries

ii. Coal, another source of energy, cannot be extracted commercially because______(1)
A. it lies very deep
B. the cost of extraction is very high
C. it lies very deep and the cost of extraction is very high
D. it is risky for the miners to extract it

iii. In India_______ are sufficient to last many years. (1)
A. nuclear power stations
B. reserves of thorium
C. vegetables and fruits
D. radioactive iodine

iv._______is also used for preparing mutant seeds. (1)
A. Nuclear energy
B. Artificial satellites
C. Radiation
D. None of these

v. Hydroelectric power is not dependable because ________. (2)

vi. How can radiation be helpful? (2)

vii. How does nuclear technology help in the field of medicine? (1)

viii. State True or False. (1)
Nuclear energy can boost our communication by conveying the messages to very long distances.