QUESTION BANK-2

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow. 8

Air pollution in India’s capital surged after Diwali, with a haze reducing

visibility to 50 meters at times and prompting calls for government action.

The level of PM2.5, tiny particles suspended in the air that can lodge in

lungs and cause disease, hit a new peak after the country

celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights last week. Fine particles of

diameter less than 2.5 microns penetrate the alveolus of the lungs where

the exchange of oxygen and carbon-di-oxide takes place.

“We saw an increase in pollutants this year because of very low wind

speed,” said Dr. Dipankar Saha, scientist and in-charge of the air laboratory

at the Central Pollution Control Board.

Mean wind speed dropped to 1.8 meters per second last week compared

with 3.4 meter per second around the same time last year, reducing the

amount of pollutants that were dispersed.

The problem was also aggravated by a reversal in normal direction of wind,

said R. Vishen, in-charge of the regional weather forecasting center of

India Meteorological Department, New Delhi. “Normally, the wind direction

in Delhi is north westerly (west to east). But from October 28 till date, the

north easterly (east to west) component was prevailing, preventing

pollutants from dispersing and allowing them to accumulate in the air,” he

said.

New Delhi is the 11th most polluted city in the world, with an annual

average PM2.5 measurement of 122. PM2.5 levels have been rising in the

city over the past five years.

The World Health Organization recommends that PM2.5 is kept below 10 as

an annual average. It says exposure to average annual concentrations of

PM2.5 of 35 or above is associated with a 15% higher long-term mortality

risk.

Burning of stubble in paddy fields to prepare them for the next harvest in

the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also add to

Delhi’s own air pollution woes: emissions from vehicles, industries using coal

for power and dust from construction activities and movement of vehicles.

The burning of trash, which can contain plastic, rubber and metal items

and gives off toxic emissions, also adds to the city’s acrid air.

“Unless we control our pollution from combustion, crop burning, vehicular

emissions and other sources on a regional scale, this problem of pollution

can’t be solved,” he said.

I. What happens to humans when the levels of PM2.5 increase? 1

II. How did the rising level of pollutants affect motorists? 1

III. What was unusual about the speed of the wind during the time when the

level of pollutants rose?

1

IV. What does the passage say about the direction of wind and its effect on

pollution?

V. Compare the levels of PM2.5 in Delhi with WHO specifications. 1

VI. Explain the meaning of ‘15% higher long-term mortality risk’. 1

VII. Comment on the action of the farmers of Punjab with reference to the

pollution in Delhi.

1

VIII. What danger does trash disposal pose to the people of Delhi? 1

A. 2. Read the passage carefully. 12

I would gladly forget what my family and I went through that frightful

afternoon in 1913 when the cry ”The dam has broken!” spread like a grass

fire through the East Side of Columbus. The West Side was at the time of the

scare under thirty feet of water during the great spring flood. The east Side

(where we lived and where all the running occurred) was not, it turned out

later, in any danger.

The broken-dam rumour, as i recall it, about noon on March 12. High Street,

the main canyon of trade, was loud with the placid hum of business.

Suddenly somebody began to run. It may be that he had simply

remembered, all of moment an appointment to meet is wife. Whatever it

was, he ran east. Then somebody else began to run, perhaps it was a new

boy in high spirits. Another man, a portly gentleman of affairs, broke into a

trot. Inside of ten minutes everybody in High Street from the Union Depot to

the Courthouse was running with grotesque desperation. A loud mumble

gradually crystallized into the dread word “dam”. “The dam has broke!”

the fear was put into words by nobody knows who. Abruptly, two thousand

people were in full flight; hundreds of them streamed by our house in wild

panic, screaming “Go east!” East away from the river, east to safety.

People ran out of the houses leaving fires burning and food cooking and

doors wide open. My mother took with her a dozen eggs and two loaves of

bread. It was her plan to seek refuge in the top of Memorial Hall, two blocks

away. But the seething throngs shouting “Go east!” drew her and the rest

of us along with her. Grandfather, turned upon the mob like a vengeful

prophet and exhorted the men to form ranks and roaring, “Go east!” in his

powerful voice, he caught up in one arm a small child and in the other a

slight clerkish man of perhaps forty-two and we slowly gained on those

ahead of us. Firemen, policemen and army officers in dress uniforms – added colour to the surging billows of people. “Go east!” cried a little in a

piping voice, as she ran past a porch on which drowsed a colonel of

infantry.

Trained to make quick decisions, the officers bounded off the porch and

running at full tilt, soon passed the child, bawling “Go east!” The two of

them rapidly emptied the houses of the street they were in. “What is it?”

“What is it?” demanded a fat waddling man who intercepted the colonel.

The officer dropped behind and asked the little child what it was. “The dam

has broke!” gasped the girl, “The dam has broke!” roared the colonel. “Go

east!” He was soon leading, with the exhausted child in his arms, a fleeing

company of three hundred persons.

I Answer the following. 2x4 =8

a. Why was the afternoon of 1913 frightful?

b. Describe the dram on High Street.

c. What did the people do in frenzy?

d. What had the narrator’s mother planned to do? Why could she not put it

into action?

II Complete the following.

The colonel of the infantry was trained to make a. ....

i. quick decisions ii. good food

iii. moulds iv. plans

A rumour of the dam having broken started at ... b.

i. the main canyon of trade ii. the appointed time

iii. when all were running iv. once

Everyone screamed to go... c.

i. quickly ii. to West Side

iii. east iv. immediately

Pick out a word from the passage that means ‘hopelessness’ d.

i. desperation ii. grotesque

iii. placid iv. trot

B. 1 I peeked at my watch It was exactly 12 midnight. I had missed the last bus

home and hence walked for almost an hour. Thank God! Home was just a

few kilometres away. Suddenly...Complete the story in any suitable way in

about 80-100 words.10

B. 2. People rarely understand the educational value of travelling. Based on the

information given above and using the ideas from the unit, Travel and

Tourism and your own ideas, write an article in about 120 words on the

topic.

B. 3 Read the following passage and fill in the blanks with suitable words. 3

1. Most of us fail in our efforts (a) _____________ improve ourselves because our

schemes are too ambitious and we never spend enough time

(b)_____________ carrying them out. We also make the fundamental error of

announcing our resolution to everybody so that we look even more foolish

when we slip back (c) _____________ our bad old ways. Aware of these

pitfalls, this year I attempted (d) _____________ keep my resolution to

myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions, to do physical exercise

every morning and to read more (e) _____________ the evening. An

overnight party on New Year’s eve provided me with a good excuse (f)

_____________ not carrying out either of these new resolutions on the first

day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.

C. Rearrange the following to form meaningful sentences. 3

a. Is its/ remarkable feature / preciousness / the most / of time

b. opportunities / of golden / every moment / thousand / brings / with it

c. slip away / not allow / we must / time to / such precious

D. In the passage given below, a word has been omitted in each line. Write

the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that

comes after ir in your answer sheet. Underline the word supplied by you.

Most people travel as part of their as a part

daily routine because it enjoyable a.

There are lots places to explore in b.

the world. Travelling worth every c.

penny you spend memories last forever d.

When travelling, one the opportunity e.

to meet different people from different f.

places. One the most important social g.

skills that we learn is how interact and h.

communicate with different people

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QUESTION BANK - FOR PRACTICE

Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow. 8

Many brilliant artists lives and worked in Italy during the fifteenth and

sixteenth centuries. Among them were Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and

Titian, but perhaps the greatest of them all was Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475. It is likely that Michelangelo

learnt to use a hammer and chisel long before he learnt to read and

write. When he was thirteen, he was apprenticed to Domenico

Ghirlandaio, a leading Florentine (one from Florence, Italy) painter, who

taught him to paint frescoes. Frescoes are pictures in watercolour on a

wall or ceiling before the plaster becomes dry.

The ruler of Florence, the rich and powerful Lorenzo de Medici, had a

school for sculptors. He was so impresses by Michelangelo’s sculpting

that he invited him to live in the Medici palace in Florence. Here he

participated in discussions with leading scholars and poets who visited

the house. In 1946, Michelangelo left Florence and wnet to Rome. He

sculpted the breathtakingly beautiful pieta, a life-like sculpture of the

grieving Mary holding a dead body of Jesus across her knees, for St.

Peter’s Church. Soon after, he sculpted his most magnificent statue the

colossal figure of David. This statue was over four metres high.

Michelangelo was so absorbed in his work that he paid little heed to his

appearance and took scant interest in domestic comforts. Often when

he was working he ate only a piece of bread n the entire course of the

day.

In 1508, Pope Julius II demanded that he paint the ceiling of the Sistine

Chapel in his palace, the Vatican. Michelangelo was reluctant to

undertake such a gigantic task as he always considered himself to be a

sculptor, not a painter. With some bitterness and unwillingness, he started

painting vivid frescoes on the ceiling of the Chapel which was eventually

to cover a ten-thousand-square-feet space. For four and a half years he

laboured lying on his back on the scaffolding nearly one hundred feet

above the Chapel floor. He painted the beginning of the world, the

creation of the sun and the moon, the creation of man and woman, and

the Last Judgement. At the age of seventy-two, Michelangelo was

made the chief architect of building St Peter’s Basilica. He completely

transformed the design of the church and its huge dome. Towards the

end of his life, Michelangelo did not have the physical strength or

stamina to sculpt huge statues or paint magnificent poetry. He

continued to supervise the building of St Peter’s and sculpted and wrote

poetry for his own enjoyment.

1a. What can be said about Michelangelo’s sculpting in the early years of his

life?

1b. Who can be given the credit for Michelangelo’s training to work on the

Sistine Chapel?

1c. How did the ruler of Florence show his appreciation for Michelangelo’s

work?

1d. What is the ‘Pieta’? 1

e. Why was the painting of Sistine Chapel such a challenging assignment? 1

f. What did the painting on the ceiling depict? 1

g. What is Michelangelo’s contribution to the field of architecture?

h. How did Michelangelo spend the last few years of his life? 1

B. Read the passage carefully.

The North and South Poles are remote and extremely cold places that

receive lots of animal visitors but few human tourists. Then why are they

important for us? Lately the polar regions have begun to undergo

changes due to global warming. Temperatures in these regions are rising

faster than anywhere else on the earth. As a result, the ice is melting. This

has led to rising sea levels around the world, putting animals and humans

at risk. Only by studying the poles, say researchers, can we find ways to

protect them and ourselves. Both the Arctic and the Antarctic are cold,

but there are differences between the two regions. The Arctic is an ice- covered land surrounded by water.

Most studies have focussed on the Arctic and that is where scientists

have observed the most dramatic changes. Arctic ice expands in the

winter and shrinks in the summer. However, the amount of ice covering

the ocean has been steadily decreasing in both seasons. In the winter of

2005-2006, the ice mass hit an all-time low. The amount of ice lost

equalled the size of Italy. In 2005, the summer low in the Arctic was 30 per

cent less than the low 20 years earlier. As more ice melts with rising global

temperatures, the rate of melting will most likely increase as well. That’s

because a sheet of ice acts like a huge mirror, reflecting sunlight back

into space. However, as the ice cover shrinks, the expanse of the open

ocean grows. Ocean water is darker than ice. Instead of reflecting the

sun’s energy, it absorbs most of it. This leads to even more open waters.

The cycle will continue-until all the ice is gone.

Disappearing ice could be devastating for wildlife in many ways. As the

ice melts, water drains into the oceans, diluting them and making them

less salty. That, along with warmer water temperatures, can harm the

creatures that live in, under and near the ice. Cold-adapted animals,

such as polar bears, foxes, hares and seals need ice for travel and

survival. Most species of fish, worms, sea spiders and other animals, plants, and other organisms that live in the waters of Antarctica are not

found anywhere else. Many of these creatures have special proteins in

their bodies that keep them from freezing to death and have other

adaptations to the cold that have yet to be explored.

Scientists have learned a good deal about Antarctica. However,

research on animal diversity in the area has been scattered. To learn

more, scientists on a fleet of research ships are using underwater robots,

cameras and other equipment to see what else lives in these waters.

“We want to look at everything from the plankton down to the

....penguins,” Stoddard, a scientist jokes. Seriously, he adds, “We don’t

know a lot about the Antarctic. We’re hoping the census will be able to

fill up some of these holes.” As studies on the impact of climate change

on the polar region continue, experts are urging us to reconsider the way

we live.

The fossil fuels that we burn in cars, power plants and factories are largely

to blame for the carbon-dioxide and greenhouse gases that are

trapping excess heat in our atmosphere. If we can produce fewer of

these gases, we can help save polar ice. Saving polar ice will help

protect the oceans and consequently us. Biking walking and using public

transport are examples of pole friendly activities. Encourage your friends

and family to switch to energy-saving light bulbs. Turn the lights off when

you’re not using them. Small things can make a difference if each of us

does our bit.

B1. Answer the following. 2x4=8

a. How has global warming impacted the climate of the polar regions and

life on earth?

b. In terms of physical differences what is the major difference between the

two poles?

c. Why does a sheet of ice not warm up lie the ocean/

a. What is major cause of global warming? 4

B. 2. Choose the correct meanings.

a. dramatic in para 2 means

i. slight ii. unreal

iii. in form of a drama iv. striking

b. expanse in para 2 means

i. colour ii. habitat in the ocean

iii. a wide and open space iv. density

c. devastating in para 3 means

i. causing immense damage ii. helpful

iii. encouraging iv. causing minor changes

d. urging in para 4 means

i. deciding for one ii. wondering

iii. commanding iv. advising someone earnestly

to do something

C1 Write a story titled ‘The Future Lies in our Hands’ in 150-200 words. 10

felling of trees around village-villagers protest-offenders continue to fell

trees-elders approach the office of the forest department in the region – action taken against offenders-each villager plants five saplings.

C. 2 A large section of the young generation has become very materialistic

and brad conscious. Write an article titled ‘You are Unique’ you may use

the ideas in the box.

 create own style

 not get carried away by branded products

 keep in mind affordability and culture

C. 3. Last week you were dining at a fast food restaurant when you found a

shard of glass in the food that you had ordered. A few days; prior to that,

at another restaurant you friend found an insect in the soup. Write a

letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

D. Read the following passages and fill in the blanks with suitable words.

1. Reading is one of the best hobbies (a) _____________ you can adopt

(b)_____________not only helps you to pass your leisure time usefully

(c_____________ also keeps you well informed. Besides that, it builds

(d)_____________vocabulary and helps (e)_____________to improve your

expression. (f)_____________ you can’t decide (g)_____________books to

read you (h)_____________consult your librarian.

2. When Koki was twelve, she and her mother went to spend a part of the

year with Koki’s maternal grandmother. (a) ___________ live in an old

house near the river. Her mother (b) ___________busy all day, cooking

and washing clothes, (c) ___________her grandmother, a round, bouncy

little woman, (d) ___________sit in the sun recounting stories (e)

___________her childhood,. Koki would spend (f) ___________mornings

helping her mother, the afternoons talking to her grandmother: but

towards evening the old lady would go indoors, and Koki would (g)

___________on her own in (h) ___________large garden in front of the

house.

E.1 Rearrange the following to form meaningful sentences. 5

a. release/ leaves/ from/ water/ the /stomata /through / the / plant

b. called / this / transpiration / keeping / cool

c. the leaves / helps / in /transpiration / keeping /cool

d. from / transpiration/ in / more water / also helps /the roots / pulling

e. the water / with it / nutrients / required by / brings / the plant/ important

E. 2

a. reform / movements / was/ a / Raja / Rammohun / Roy/ pioneer/ of/

the

b. he / the worship/ opposed / and / the performance / of idols / of rituals

c. he / untouchability / and/ was against/ superstition

d. and/ condemned / the/ he/ caste system / the /sati/ custom of

e. evils / established /he/ Brahmo Samaj / to / fight / the/ these

F. 1 The following passages have not been edited. There is one error in each

line. Find the errors. Underline them and write the correct word.

Ordinary good books depend on one’s sense

of humour –‘a merry heart has its cheerful a.

countenance’. Joyfulness keeps the heart but face b.

young. Laughter helps us to become better friends to c.

ourselves and others with whom we interact.

It was worthwhile being happy. d.

the sympathetic nerves are close connected: when

one

e.
set of nerves carries bad news with the head, the

nerves

f.
reaching the stomach is affected and indigestion g.

makes ones miserable and doleful. h.

F. 2 Folk tales offer a lot of advice. 4

Much of them deliver their message a.

quite clear. There is a story about b.

Birbal not being allowed to attending c.

the king’s free lunch. The reasoning is d.

which he was not dressed properly. This e.

was due to his great intellectual f.

abilities. The advise this conveyed was g.

“Don’t judge the book by its cover.” h.

G. A word has been omitted in each line. Write the omitted word in the

space provided.


The American naturalist author a.

Luther Burbank has called the b.

wizard horticulture. He was c.

interested developing new types d.

of fruits, flowers vegetables e.

for humankind rather than f.

science. He bought farm g.

and experimented. He developed

new varieties berries and flowers h.

like lilies, poppies and roses

H. Read this set of instructions to make baked cheesy potatoes. Fill in the

blanks to explain the process.

 Boil and slice eight potatoes and line the dish.  Spread onion rings  Season with salt and pepper  Sprinkle 200g cooking cheese.  Pour 500 ml cream over cheese

 Bake at 2000 C

7 A deep baking dish is taken and lined with boiled and sliced potatoes.

Next a layer of (a) ______________ spread over them. It (b) ______________

salt and pepper. Cheese (c) ______________and cream (d)

______________. Finally, (a) ______________2000 C.

I. 1 `Read the given conversations and complete the paragraphs that follow. 4

Nalini I would like to cancel my travel plans to Singapore.

Travel Agent All cancellations are made by the manager

Nalini Can I meet the manager?

Travel Agent She is on leave for two days.

Nalini I may not be able to come here again for another five

days.

Travel Agent Please leave all the details of your booking with me. I will

see if I can process the cancellation.

Nalini approached a travel agent and told him (a) _____________________________________to Singapore. The travel agent told

her that all cancellations were made by the manager. Nalini asked the

travel agent (b) _____________________________________. The travel agent

replied that she was on leave for two days. Nalini told him (c) _____________________________________ for another five days the travel

agent (d) _____________________________________.

I.2 Swati Why are you going to school on a Sunday? 4

Lalit I have to attend extra classes for mathematics.

Swati Has your teacher asked you attend the extra classes?

Lalit no, but I want to improve my performance and get hundred

percentile in maths.

Swati I am very impressed with your dedication to your studies.

Swat asked Lait (a) ________________________________. Lalit replied that he

had to attend extra classes for mathematics. Swat enquired (b) ________________________________. Lalit replied (c) ________________________________ and get hundred percentile in maths.

Swati told Lalit (d) ________________________________. J Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow. 3x 5=15

1. “I sat staring at it and presently noticed something just taking shape. It

was exactly like watching one of these moving picture cartoons being

put together.

What was the narrator staring it?

How was the figure taking shape?

Who was gradually taking a definite shape part by part?

8

2. ‘Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read.’

a. What is ‘them’?

b. What lie near them?

c. Whose expression did the sculptor read well?

3. ‘Patol Babu went slowly back to the paan shop. Standing in the shade,

he glanced down at the paper in his hand, cast a quick look around to

see if anyone was watching, crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it

into the roadside drain.’ a. Why did Patol Babu go back slowly to the paan shop?

b. Why did he cast a quick look around?

c. What is the synonym for the word ‘crushed’ in the extract?

4. "And now the storm-blast came, and he

Was tyrannous and strong:

He struck with his o'ertaking wings,

And chased us south along.

a. Who is ‘he’ in the above lines? How is he described?

b. Why has the storm being called ‘tyrannous’?

c. Point out the figure of speech in ‘o’ertaking wings’?

5. ‘And I thought of the albatross

And I wished he would come back, my snake.’

a. What made the narrator think of the albatross?

b. Why was he reminded of the albatross? What does this refer to?

c. Why did he want it to return?

K. Answer the following questions briefly. 2x 7=14

1. Bring out the irony in the statement: ‘I did not specialize in ghost stories,

but more or less, they seemed to specialize in me’?

2. Comment on the irony of the pharaoh’s words, “Look on my works, ye

Mighty, and despair.”

3. What did the other mariners hang around the ancient mariner’s neck

and why?

9

4. How does Caesar react to Calpurnia’s pleadings?

5. How does Antony pay a kind of glowing tribute to Caesar?

6. How is Antony’s speech more effective than that of Brutus?

7. The poet is filled with horror and protest when the snake prepares to

retreat and bury itself in the 'horrid black’, 'dreadful' hole. In the light of

this statement, bring out the irony of his act of throwing a log at the

snake.

L. Long Answers 4 x5=20

1. Why does the crew hang the albatross around the Mariner’s neck?

2. How did Antony incite the Roman people against the conspirators?

3. Imagine Antony writes his diary. Now write a diary page on his behalf

about what he has thought to do immediately after he hears the murder

of Julius Caesar. Write you answer in 150 words.

4. Give a character sketch of Lavinia highlighting her love for fancy

shopping craze for Ouija boards and her relationship with John.

5. The snake goes back into his hole and tells his family and friends about

how he was attacked by a cruel human. The newspaper ‘Snake Times’

carries an article entitled, ‘Never Trust Humans’. Write the article.

M. 1. Describe how Helen’s interest grew with the help of Miss Sullivan. 10x2=20

2. Describe Helen’s sailing experience in about 100 words.

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