RBSE Class 12 English Unseen Passages for Comprehension Literary
RBSE Class 12 English Unseen Passages for Comprehension Literary
Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 Unseen Passages for Comprehension Literary
Literary Passages –
इस प्रकार के Passages उपन्यास, नाटक, निबन्ध या जीवनी पर आधारित होते हैं। ये Passages तथ्य (facts) पर आधारित होते हैं। इनमें निम्न बातों का विवरण मिलता है।
(i) Descriptions (विवरण / वर्णन)
(ii) Instructions (निर्देश)
(iii) Reports (प्रतिवेदन)
Passage 1.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Married life has a significant place in our Indian culture. It is the life of a householder that nurtures and enhances society. The nation gets its future generation owing to this. Hence it is very important that married life is sweet and pleasant. However, it is seen that there are more bitterness and tension in the relationship owing to incessant quarrels and differences of opinion.
Husband and wife get disconnected from each other. The children become orphaned emotionally and the family disintegrates. There are small tips and habits which, when incorporated in daily life, can restore the sweetness of family life and may even lead to a blissful life of togetherness.
Each and every person leading a married life has his own individual life. One’s habits, interests, way of life and perspective towards life can be temporarily changed, but cannot be modified permanently. This is the main reason for married life to be smooth for some time and unrest crawling in after prolonged periods. This is the very reason why each of them should allocate sufficient time to each other so that they not only understand each other but also do a thorough self-introspection and lead a life of their own choice.
Being honest in marriage is very important. This is the foundation for faith in the relationship. Honesty in talking, honesty in discharging one’s responsibilities, honesty in fulfilling promises and honesty in all interactions is the key to strengthening the relationship and enhancing the personality of both husband and wife. For the couple to understand each other well, it is important that they are able to leave their fears and speak out their minds to each other. They should discuss freely; and even when they are upset with one another, it should be sorted out as soon as possible.
There may be differences of opinion, but this should never lead to disruption of harmony in mind. There is one habit that is noticed largely in people. They seem to have many complaints against all things in the world. This is primarily because of a facet in their personality which makes them focus on the negative aspects of others rather than looking at the positive ones. If we are prone to this habit, then we should ensure that this is kept under check so that our personality is not perceived as dissatisfied and irritable.
(Difficult words: significant = महत्वपूर्ण। nurture = पालन-पोषण करना। enhance = बढ़ावा देना। bitterness = कटुता। incessant = अनवरत, लगातार। orphaned = अनाथ। emotionally = भावनात्मक रूप से। disintegrates = टुकड़े – टुकड़े होना। incorporated = सम्मिलित होना। restore = पुनः प्राप्त करना। perspective = दृष्टिकोण। crawling = रेंगना। allocate = देना। introspection = अन्तरदृष्टि। interactions = वार्तालाप। strengthening = मजबूत करना। enhancing = बढ़ावा देते हुए। sorted out = सुलझाया जाना। disruption = बाधित होना। harmony = मधुर संबंध। facet = पक्ष। prone = प्रवृत्ति होना। ensure = सुनिश्चित करना। perceived = कथित। irritable = चिड़चिड़ा।)
Question 1.
Why is married life important?
Answer:
Married life is important for the nation gets its future generation owing to it.
Question 2.
What is called a kind of bad habit?
Answer:
To have a host of complaint against all things in the world is called a kind of bad habit.
Question 3.
What is the key to strengthening the relationship?
Answer:
Honesty in everything is the key to strengthening the relationship.
Question 4.
What can be temporarily changed?
Answer:
One’s habits, interests, way of life and perspective towards life can be temporarily changed.
Question 5.
What is important for society?
Answer:
Happy married life is important for society.
Question 6.
What should never lead to a disruption of harmony in mind?
Answer:
The difference of opinion should never lead to a disruption of harmony in mind.
Find out a word from the passage which means:
Question 7.
Communications
Answer:
Interactions
Question 8.
Give out
Answer:
Allocate
Question 9.
Making better
Answer:
Enhancing
Passage 2.
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
Most people find their lives purposeless, wasted and worthless. That is why with an ordinary illness or some slightly unfavourable situation, the individual prays for an end to his life. In the opinion of one psychologist, every person thinks of committing suicide more than once in his life.
It is a different thing that he does not develop enough courage to end his life. Even then some impulsive individuals commit suicide because of petty reasons like failing in examination, losing a job, quarrels in the family or defeat in a court of law. The number of people committing suicide because of such reasons in the increase.
Why do people commit suicide? Psychologists give various answers to this question. Some people say that a man gets such a disappointing atmosphere everywhere around him that he does not find any solution except this. According to some psychiatrists, people with violent tendencies who are unable to express them, destroy themselves by these tendencies.
Some persons find themselves so much lonely and helpless that they find no benefit in living and they think, ‘Why not to commit suicide? After all, what is there in life?’ Some persons think of committing suicide during emotional excitement and prepare a plan for suicide during such a condition.
The main reason for suicide is said to be depression due to physical illness or failure in examination, love or competition. A tendency of revenge is also said to be behind suicides. According to this opinion, some people commit suicide because of a burden of feeling guilty, since they are unable to find a solution to get rid of guilty feelings. Many others commit suicide because they are fed up of old age, rejection by a spouse, unemployment, court cases, etc.
The reason for suicide is the experience of the worthlessness of this life. It is also true that each person-not just once but many times- thinks of his life as worthless and many times a burden. To free himself from this burden, the person thinks of self-destruction. The question arises, ‘Is life so much worthless that on account of disappointment in small matters, one should think of ending it?’
If a self-analysis is made seriously, it will be found that every person finds many times that his life is worthless and burdensome.
Whatever the reason, but the worthlessness of life is felt with such intensity that by ending it, no difference is felt. Life is like a river, which keeps on flowing from its source to its merger into the sea.
(Difficult words: psychologist = मनोचिकित्सक। impulsive = आवेगपूर्ण। disappointing = निराशाजनक। except = सिवाय। violent = हिंसक। tendencies = प्रवृत्तियाँ। excitement = उत्तेजना। depression = अवसाद। revenge = बदला। burden = बोझ। guilty = अपराधी। to get rid of = छुटकारा पाना। fed up = ऊब जाना। emotional = भावुक spouse = पति या पत्नी। worthlessness = निरुपयोगिता। intensity = तीव्रता। merger = विलय।)
Question 1.
With what is life compared?
Answer:
Life is compared with a river which keeps on flowing from its source to its merger into the sea.
Question 2.
When do people with violent tendency commit suicide?
Answer:
People with violent tendency commit suicide when they are unable to express them.
Question 3.
When do some impulsive individuals commit suicide?
Answer:
Some impulsive individuals commit suicide when they fail in the examination, lose a job, quarrel in the family or are defeated in a court of law.
Question 4.
How do most people find their lives?
Answer:
Most people find their lives purposeless, wasted and worthless.
Question 5.
What is the main reason responsible for depression?
Answer:
The main reason for depression is physical illness or failure in examination, love or competition.
Question 6.
What is the opinion of one psychologist about committing suicide?
Answer:
According to him, every person thinks of committing suicide more than once in his life.
Choose from the passage the words that mean:
Question 7.
Husband or wife
Answer:
Spouse
Question 8.
Act of killing oneself
Answer:
Suicide
Question 9.
Being responsible for doing something wrong.
Answer:
Guilty
Passage 3. (CBSE 2014)
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
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 overindulging in 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 a distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the workplace 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 Excess 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 TVs 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 wills. 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 their parent’s actions. 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.
(Difficult words: greedily = लालच से। psychologist = मनोवैज्ञानिक। contentment = संतुष्टि। compassion = दया, करुणा। stakes = बाजी की वस्तु, इनाम। overindulging = अत्यधिक आसक्त होना। discouraging = हतोत्साहित करने वाला। disappointment = निराशा। distort = विकृत करना। entitlement = हकदारी। vulnerable = नाजुक। depression = अवसाद। thrift = किफायत। assault= प्रहार। strategy = कौशलपूर्ण योजना, चतुराई। crave = इच्छा होना। shell-out = भुगतान करना। blitz = बमबारी, (यहाँ) अत्यधिक। aren’t equipped = योग्य नहीं है। swore = दृढ़तापूर्वक कहा। tempting = ललचाने वाला। mar = बिगाड़ना। thrive = पनपना। affluent = समृद्ध। critical = महत्त्वपूर्ण। chores = गृह का कामकाज। overburdened = अत्यधिक बोंझे से दबा हुआ।)
Question 1.
What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
Answer:
Parents and teachers want children to learn the values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion.
Question 2.
What are the results of giving the children too much too soon?
Answer:
Future anxiety and depression are the results of giving the children too much too soon.
Question 3.
Why do today’s kids want more?
Answer:
Today’s kids want much more because there is so much more to want.
Question 4.
What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world?
Answer:
It is between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals.
Question 5.
What is the necessity to set limits for children?
Answer:
Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure.
Question 6.
How can children become a successful adult?
Answer:
Children can become a successful adult by learning how to overcome challenges.
Pick out words from the passage that mean the same as the following:
Question 7.
A feeling of satisfaction
Answer:
Contentment
Question 8.
Valuable
Answer:
Precious
Question 9.
Important
Answer:
Critical
Passage 4.
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:
Gandhiji was a first-class nurse to the sick. Where he picked up nursing was a mystery. He certainly did not pass through a nursing school. As in many other things, when nursing became necessary to him in life, he learned it by the hard way of experience. In the Ashram at Sabarmati, all sick persons came directly under his eye and care.
Doctors were, of course, consulted; but the care of the sick, Gandhiji arranged in person. It was a joke, especially among the people in the Ashram that if you wanted to see Gandhiji every day and talk to him and hear him crack jokes, you had only to be ill and get into bed! For Gandhiji visited the sick every day, spent a few minutes at every bed-side, himself saw things carefully and never failed to crack a joke or two with the patient.
There was no day, too busy for Gandhiji to attend sick persons. There was once a young lad who went down with dysentery. He had done his best to accustom himself to Ashram food but failed. He had a great liking for coffee. But in the Ashram there was no coffee for him nor was coffee allowed. In good time, he got rid of his dysentery and was now recovering. Gandhiji visited him for a few minutes every day during his usual rounds.
Those few minutes were like a tonic to the poor lad. He pined for a cup of good coffee. One day he was lying on his back dreaming of it when he heard the welcome sound of the wooden sandals of Gandhiji. A minute later Gandhiji entered with his never-failing smile and cheering word. He looked at the lad and said, “Now you are decidedly better. You must have recovered your appetite. What would you like to eat ? Ah! some good upma or dosa?”
Gandhiji evidently knew all about the lad’s partiality for these two good old South Indian dishes. Gandhiji was laughing. The youngster had a sudden brain-wave. “Could I have a cup of coffee, please,” he blurted out. Gandhiji answered with a peal of laughter, “Oh, you old sinner, that is what you want!” And then seeing the look on the lad’s face, he added, “You certainly shall have your cup of coffee. Yes, light coffee will soothe your stomach. And what will you have with the coffee? I don’t think we can make upma or dosai, but warm toast would go well with coffee.
I shall send you a tray.” Gandhiji’s cottage was at the other end of the Ashram. Gandhiji himself prepared the coffee because his wife was taking rest. It was an untimely hour. He did not want to give unnecessary trouble to anyone. Coffee was light but excellent. The young lad was troubled when he thought that he had given trouble to Gandhiji to prepare coffee and toast for him.
(Difficult words: picked up = स्वतः सीखा। mystery = रहस्य। crack jokes = हँसी मजाक करना। got rid of = छुटकारा पाया। dysentery = पेचिश। accustom = अभ्यस्त बनाना। pined for = प्रबल इच्छा थी। never-failing = अचूक। appetite = भूख। evidently = स्पष्ट रूप से। partiality = विशेष चाव। soothe = शान्त करना। untimely = असामायिक। brain wave = उत्तम विचार, युक्ति। blurted out = बिना सोचे – समझे कह उठा। a peal of laughter = उन्मुक्त हँसी, ठहाका।)
Question 1.
What was a mystery?
Answer:
Gandhiji’s expertise as a nurse was a mystery.
Question 2.
What was the joke about Gandhiji?
Answer:
It was that if somebody wanted to see Gandhiji, he should just be ill and get into bed.
Question 3.
What was served with coffee?
Answer:
The toast was served with coffee.
Question 4.
Why was the young lad troubled?
Answer:
The young lad was troubled by the thought that he had given trouble to Gandhiji to prepare coffee and toast for him.
Question 5.
Where was Gandhiji’s cottage in the Ashram?
Answer:
Gandhiji’s cottage was at the end of the Ashram.
Question 6.
Why did Gandhiji himself prepare coffee?
Answer:
Gandhiji himself prepared coffee because it was an untimely hour and he did not want to give unnecessary trouble to his wife.
Choose from the passage the words that mean:
Question 7.
Something that is difficult to understand or to explain
Answer:
Mystery
Question 8.
Being used to
Answer:
Accustomed
Question 9.
Desire for food
Answer:
Appetite
Passage 5.
Read the following poem and answer the questions given below:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. – Rabindranath Tagore
Question 1.
Who is called ‘My Father’ here?
Answer:
God is called ‘My Father’ here.
Question 2.
Which knowledge is preferred by the poet?
Answer:
The knowledge that freely flows keeps us united and leads to perfection.
Question 3.
Where has the clear stream of a reason not lost its way?
Answer:
The clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.
Question 4.
For what do people stretch their arms?
Answer:
People stretch their arms towards perfection.
Question 5.
What divides the world into fragments?
Answer:
Differences on the basis of caste, creed, language, etc., divide the world into fragments.
Question 6.
How can people achieve perfection?
Answer:
People can achieve perfection through continuous hard work.
Choose from the stanza the words that mean:
Question 7.
The continuous movement of a liquid.
Answer:
Flow
Question 8.
Trying very hard.
Answer:
Striving
Question 9.
Small pieces that have broken off from a larger part.
Answer:
Fragments
Passage 6.
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
Whose woods these are I think, I know,
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. – Robert Frost
Question 1.
Where does the owner of the woods live?
Answer:
He lives in a village quite close to the place where the poet is with his horse.
Question 2.
Who wishes to stop and where?
Answer:
The poet (the rider of the horse) wishes to stop near the woods.
Question 3.
What type of evening was that of the year?
Answer:
It was the darkest evening of the year.
Question 4.
Why does the horse think that the rider has made some mistake?
Answer:
The horse thinks so because his rider stops at night at a place where there is no farmhouse to stay in.
Question 5.
What other sounds did the poet hear in the woods?
Answer:
The other sound the poet hears in the woods was the sweep of wind and of downy flake.
Question 6.
Why did the horse shake its harness bells?
Answer:
The horse did so as if to ask if there was something wrong.
Choose from the passage the words that mean:
Question 7.
Covered with ice
Answer:
Frozen
Question 8.
The leatherwork by which a horse is controlled
Answer:
Harness
Question 9.
Beautiful
Answer:
Lovely
Passage 7.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Prince Siddhartha, the son of king Suddhodan, lived a very happy life in the pleasure-palace. He was married to a beautiful princess, Yashodhara. There were music, dancing and pleasure all around him. He knew nothing of want, pain, disease, old age or death.
One day a veena was put on the window sill. The wind touched the strings and it produced music. The prince heard that the Devas were playing on the veena. He heard them giving a message. The voices of the wind told the prince that he was born to save mankind. The world was waiting for him. He should leave worldly love to save humanity from miseries of life. He felt a great desire to see the vast world outside the pleasure-palace.
When the king came to know of the prince’s desire, he ordered that the whole city should be decorated beautifully. The prince should not see any ugly and painful sight. No blind, sick, old person or a leper should come out. So the city of Kapilvastu was decorated in a very fine way. It looked quite clean and attractive – ‘a capital of some enchanted land’. The people welcomed the prince joyfully. The prince also felt happy to see people’s joy.
Then the prince saw an old man. He was wearing dirty and torn clothes. He was very lean and thin. He looked very tired and weak. He had no teeth. The prince asked his charioteer, Channa, who that man was. Channa told him that he was an old man. The prince asked if old age would come to all. Channa told him that it would. This made the prince very sad.
He ordered Channa to return to the palace. He did not take food. The entire night he was sleepless, uncomforted. That night the king saw a very fearful dream. He dreamed seven signs of fear. He was much disturbed. He lost all peace of mind. He called dream-readers to explain the meaning of the seven visions but none of them could explain the meaning.
At last, an old hermit came to the palace. He said that the seven fears were seven joys. The prince would shine like the sun. He would leave the world and give a new message of hope and love for the suffering of humanity. The king became very sad. For the prince’s second trip, he doubled the number of guards at all the doors of the palace. He tried his best to divert the mind of the prince but his efforts were of no use.
The Prince desired to see the city once more. The king gave permission for it. The next day, the prince dressed like a merchant and Channa in the dress of his clerk went out to see the city once more. The prince saw all kinds of people and all the common things. The prince saw a sick man. He was painfully crying for help. He asked Channa why the man was crying. Channa told him that he (the sick man) was suffering from a fatal disease. The disease would destroy all his powers. Then he would die.
Channa further told the prince that all grow old, fall sick and die. Then the prince saw a dead body being carried towards the river bank. He saw a group of people. They were crying, ‘Ram, Ram Satya hai’. The sight of the dead man and his cremation moved the prince deeply. Channa told him that no man is immortal. All must die. The prince was greatly troubled in mind. He said that he would try to remove suffering from the world. He then asked Channa to return home as he had seen enough.
(Difficult words: sill = चौखट। strings = तारों। miseries = कष्ट। vast = विशाल। enchanted = जादूई। lean and thin = दुबला-पतला। charioteer = रथ हाँकने वाला। cremation = अंतिम संस्कार। immortal = अमर।)
Question 1.
How was the old man looking?
Answer:
The old man was wearing dirty and torn clothes. He was very lean and thin. He looked very tired and weak. He had no teeth.
Question 2.
What did the prince decide finally?
Answer:
The prince decided that he would try to remove suffering from the body.
Question 3.
Why did the king order to decorate the whole city beautifully?
Answer:
The king ordered to decorate the whole city beautifully because the prince felt a great desire to see the vast world outside the pleasure-palace.
Question 4.
What did the prince not know initially?
Answer:
The prince initially knew nothing of want, pain, disease, old age or death.
Question 5.
What did the old hermit say?
Answer:
The old hermit said that the seven fears were seven joys and the prince would shine like the sun and leave the world and give a new message of hope and love for the suffering humanity.
Question 6.
What did the voices of the wind tell the prince?
Answer:
The voices of the wind told the prince that he was born to save mankind.
Find out a word from the passage which means:
Question 7.
Influenced as by charms
Answer:
Enchanted
Question 8.
The incineration of a dead body
Answer:
Cremation
Question 9.
Turn aside
Answer:
Divert
Passage 8.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The role of friends plays in our lives has become significantly greater than at any other time in our history. Today many of us live and work at great distances from where we were born or we grew up and are separated from our original families. The pain we feel when we are away from our families can be significant.
The happiness of the individual relies on friendships which form a necessary human connection. It is perfectly normal to need and want friends and depression is more prevalent among those who lack friends. Such people lack intimacy and richness, friends can bring into their lives. Frequently, friends reflect similar values to us.
Yet these values are often different from the ones we grew up with; they are the values we created for ourselves in our adult lives. Communication skills are fundamental in all friendships. The more friends and acquaintances one has, the greater are one’s communication skills. Some call these, people skills.
Like watering a plant, we nourish our friendships (and all our relationships) by nurturing them. Friendships need the same attention as other relationships if they are to continue. These relationships can be delightfully non-judgemental, supportive, understanding and fun.
Sometimes friendship can bring out the positive side that you never show in any other relationship. This may be because the pressure of playing a ‘role’ (daughter, partner or child) is removed. With a friend, you are able to be yourself and free to change. Of course, you are free to do this in all other relationships as well, but in friendships, you get to have lots of rehearsals and discussion about changes as you experience them. It is an unconditional experience where you receive as much as you give.
You can explain yourself to a friend openly without the fear of hurting a family member. How do friendships grow? The answer is simple. By revealing yourself; being attentive; remembering what is most important to your friend and asking them about it; put yourself in their position; showing sympathy; seeing the world through the eyes of your friend, you will understand the value of friendship.
All this means learning to accept a person from a completely different family to your own or perhaps someone from a completely different cultural background. This is the way we learn tolerance. In turn, we gain tolerance and acceptance for our own differences.
Friendships are made by being considerate which needs communication skills, e.g. active listening skills, questioning skills, negotiation skills, reflection skills, emotional skills, and editing yourself. Friendships offer a great opportunity to learn about yourself because a friend can reflect back to you how you come across in the world.
They also allow you to practise skills in dealing with ‘personal boundaries’ by looking after yourself as well as your friend. They help you develop resilience in relation to the wider social world beyond your family.
(Difficult words: significantly = महत्वपूर्ण रूप से। relies = निर्भर करता है। depression = अवसाद। prevalent = व्याप्त। lack = कमी। intimacy = घनिष्ठता। frequently = बहुधा। fundamental = मूलभूत। acquaintances = परिचित। nurturing = पालन पोषण। delightfully = प्रसन्नतापूर्वक। rehearsal = दुहराव। revealing = प्रकट करते हुए। tolerance = सहनशीलता। considerate = विचारशील। negotiation = समझौता। reflecting = प्रकट करना। resilience = लचीलापन।)
Question 1.
How do friendships offer a great opportunity to learn about yourself?
Answer:
Friendships offer a great opportunity to learn about yourself because a friend can reflect back to you how you come across the world.
Question 2.
What is necessary if we want to continue friendships?
Answer:
If we want to continue friendships, they need the same attention as other relationship.
Question 3.
In what does the happiness of the individual rely on?
Answer:
The happiness of the individual relies on friendship.
Question 4.
What is fundamental in all friendships?
Answer:
Communication skills are fundamental in all friendships.
Question 5.
How is friendship better than any others relationship?
Answer:
Friendship can bring out the positive side that cannot be brought out by any other relationship.
Question 6.
What kind of pressure is removed in friendship?
Answer:
The pressure of playing the role of relatives is removed in friendship.
Find out a word from the passage which means:
Question 7.
A Form of practice
Answer:
Rehearsal
Question 8.
Sad feelings of gloom
Answer:
Depression
Question 9.
Chance
Answer:
Opportunity
Passage 9.
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Rabindranath Tagore’s stature, the stature of our country is in the eyes of the world. A versatile genius, a literary artist, an educator, a composer, a singer, an actor, Tagore had all the gifts of Nature and fortunes in his favours. Born in a renowned Hindu family, Tagore pleaded not only for Concord with the past but also for freedom from the past. All healthy growth needs continuity and change.
We are not free unless our minds are liberated from dead forms, tyrannical restrictions and crippling social habits. Tagore condemned many of our reprehensible social practices. He believed that the essence of life lies in perpetual renewal and rededication to self-development. Tagore did not live in an ivory tower.
He led a procession in 1905 through the streets of Calcutta singing his song, “Are you so mighty as to cut asunder the bond forged by Providence?” Millions of voices have sung the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana,’ calling upon us to nourish the unity of our country and be devoted to it.
He was not only a playwright but a novelist and a storyteller, a nationalist and an internationalist. As if these activities were not enough, he turned towards painting in his later years. He rejected traditional canons and experimented with new forms and colour compositions.
We honour him not only for this many-sided genius but also for his guidance and work in this troubled world. Tagore’s mission was one of reconciliation between East and West in a spirit of understanding and mutual enlightenment. For India, unity is truth and division is evil. The poet’s name is symbolic of the light of the day.
The sun which dispels the mist of darkness and the clouds of suspicion restores health to the human system. Though his work was rooted in Indian soil, his mind ranged across the world and hence had a universal appeal. Tagore’s writings have been translated into many languages, but even the best translations do not bring out the music and melody or the force of the original.
As Tagore was born at a difficult stage when India was in a revolutionary mood, he participated in the movement revolting against social, political and religious institutions. He was perpetually convinced of the validity and vitality of the fundamental ideals set forth by the seers and saints of India. Tagore’s philosophy was one of wholeness and unity. For Tagore-God, Man and Nature are bound together in a single unity. He was not a dreamer or a visionary. He kept constant vigil over the world.
He was a great sentinel as Gandhi called him. The moral health of a nation depended on the inspiration the people derived from their poets and artists. Asceticism for Tagore meant self-control and not abstention from worldly activities. Very early in his life when he was seventeen, he had the need to control his emotions.
He was not an unworldly saint. He had a tough earthly quality. The ideals of social life, economic pursuits, and the enjoyment of beauty should be cultivated equally. Water surrounds the lotus flower but does not wet its petals. Even so, human beings should work in this world without being affected by it.
For Tagore, as for Gandhi, the measure of man’s greatness lies in a happy blend of contemplation and action. For Tagore, as for Gandhi, the measure of man’s greatness is not his material passions but for the truth in him which is universal. His voice was the conscience of our age. He bequeathed to the country and the world a life that had no littleness about it.
(Difficult words: stature = कद। versatile = बहुमुखी। genius = प्रतिभाशाली। composer= रचनाकार। renowned = प्रसिद्ध। concord = मेल, सामंजस्य। tyrannical = तानाशाही पूर्ण। restrictions = प्रतिबंधों। crippling = पंगु कर देने वाला। condemned = भर्त्सना की। reprehensible = घृणित। essence = निष्कर्ष। perpetual = सतत। rededication = पुर्नसमर्पण। ivory tower = एकान्त। forged = बनाया हुआ। nourish = पोषित करना। canons = सिद्धान्त। reconciliation = मेल-जोल। mutual = आपसी। enlightenment = जागृति। dispels = हटाना। mist = कुहरा। restores = पुनः प्राप्त करना। ranged = विस्तृत था। revolutionary = क्रान्तिकारी। participated = भाग लिया। vitality = उत्साह। seers = ऋषियों। philosophy = दर्शन। wholeness = पूर्णता। vigil = दृष्टि रखना, नजर रखना। sentinel = चौकीदार। abstention = बचाव। asceticism = संयास। unworldly = अलौकिक। contemplation = मनन, चिंतन। bequeathed = वसीयत में देना।)
Question 1.
Who was Rabindranath Tagore?
Answer:
Rabindranath Tagore was a versatile genius, a literary artist, an educator, a composer, singer and an actor.
Question 2.
What was Tagore’s plea?
Answer:
Tagore’s plea was freedom from the past and accord with the past.
Question 3.
Tagore was a versatile genius. How?
Answer:
Tagore was a versatile genius because he was not only a playwright but å novelist and a storyteller, a nationalist and an internationalist.
Question 4.
What is the message given in the National Anthem composed by Tagore?
Answer:
The message is to nourish the unity of our country and be devoted to it.
Question 5.
How should human beings work in this world?
Answer:
Human beings should work in this world without being affected by it.
Question 6.
What was Tagore’s mission in life?
Answer:
Versatile
Find out a word from the passage which means:
Question 7.
Able to do many different things
Answer:
Distinct
Question 8.
Never Ceasing
Answer:
Perpetual
Question 9.
Energy Or Enthusiasm
Answer:
Vitality
Passage 10. (S S Exam 2012)
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
The test of a great book is whether we want to read it only once or more than once. A really great book is one which we want to read the second time even more than we wanted to read it the first time, and every additional time that we read it we find new meanings and new beauties in it.
A book that a person of education and good taste does not care to read more than once is very probably not worth much. But we cannot consider the judgement of a single individual infallible. The opinion that makes a book great must be the opinion of many. For even the greatest critics are apt to have certain dullness. Carlyle, for example, could not endure Browning; Byron could not endure some of the greatest of English poets.
A man must be many-sided to utter a trustworthy estimate of many books. We may doubt the judgement of the single critic at times. But there is no doubt possible in regard to the judgement of generations. Even if we cannot at once perceive anything good in a book which has been admired and praised for hundreds of years, we may be sure that by trying, by studying it. carefully, we shall at least be able to feel the reason for this admiration and praise.
The best of all libraries for a poor man would be a library entirely composed of such great works only, books which have passed the test of time. This then would be the most important guide for us in the choice of readings. We should read only the books we want to read more than once, nor should we buy any others, unless we have some special reason for so investing money. The second fact demanding attention is the general character of the value that lies hidden within all such great books.
They never become old; their youth is immortal. A great book is not apt to be comprehended by a young person at the first reading except in a superficial way. Only the surface, the narrative, is absorbed and enjoyed. No young man can possibly see at first reading the qualities of a great book. Remember that it has taken humanity in many cases hundreds of years to find out all that there is in such a book.
But according to a man’s experience of life, the text will unfold new meanings to him. The book that delighted us at eighteen, if it is a good book, will delight us much more at twenty-five and it will prove like a new book to us at thirty years of age. At forty we shall re-read it, wondering why we never saw how beautiful it was before. At fifty or sixty years of age, the same facts will repeat themselves. A great book grows exactly in proportion to the growth of the reader’s mind.
(Difficult words: test = कसौटी। probably = संभवतः। infallible = अचूक। apt to = संभावना होना। dullness= संकीर्ण मानसिकता। endure = सहन करना। trustworthy = विश्वसनीय। estimate = आँकलन। at times = कभी कभी। generations = पीढ़ियाँ। perceive = अनुभूति करना। investing = पैसा लगाना। to be comprehended = superficial = is absorbed = wondering = आश्चर्य से सोचते हुए। proportion = अनुपात। growth = विकास।)
Question 1.
What is the quality of a great book?
Answer:
The quality of a great book is that we want to read it again and again.
Question 2.
In which case is a judgement about a book beyond doubt?
Answer:
There is no doubt possible with regard to the judgement of generations.
Question 3.
What kind of understanding of a great book is a young person likely to have at the first reading of that book?
Answer:
A great book is not apt to be comprehended by a young person at the first reading except in a superficial way.
Question 4.
Whose work did Carlyle find difficult to appreciate?
Answer:
Carlyle found difficult to appreciate the work of Browning.
Question 5.
What would a poor man’s library contain?
Answer:
A poor man’s library would contain the books which have passed the test of time.
Question 6.
What does a person of forty feel when he re-reads some good books?
Answer:
When a person of forty re-reads some good books, he feels wondering why he never saw how beautiful they were before.
Find from the passage the words which mean:
Question 7.
Not capable of making mistakes.
Answer:
Infallible
Question 8.
To suffer something unpleasant or difficult in a patient way.
Answer:
Endure
Question 9.
The ability to make a sensible decision.
Answer:
Comprehend
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