Punjab State Board PSEB 11th Class English Book Solutions English Composition Notice Writing Exercise Questions and Answers, Notes.
PSEB 11th Class English Composition Note-Making
Note-making means presenting big chunks of knowledge in a neat and brief form. The characteristics of good notes are:
- They are brief.
- Only relevant facts are given.
- Only words or phrases are used. Full sentences are often not necessary. In other words, the language used in making or taking notes may not be grammatically very correct.
- Information is presented in a tabular form. It is divided and sub-divided. The division may be : main sections : 1, 2, 3, etc; sub-sections : a, b, c, etc.
- Abbreviations and symbols are used instead of complete words.
Common abbreviations are given in dictionaries. In addition, every individual can use his or her own set of abbreviations and symbols. For example, ‘Parliament may be reduced to ‘parlť or ‘par’ or ‘Po. But care should be taken that one abbreviation does not stand for more than one word.
A Solved Example
Passage
About 2,500 million years ago (according to present theories), the earth on which we live was a ball of gas which, on cooling, grew smaller and became liquid. The liquid continued to cool, giving off some of its heat by radiation and when liquids grew colder they solidified. The crust of the earth is the solid matter that resulted from this cooling, but probably inside the earth there is still a mass of molten material which has not cooled as much as the outer crust.
The crust on which we live and from which we obtain almost everything that we need is not quite rigid. The volcanoes of Etna and Stromboli in the Italian islands remind us from time to time of the force and heat below the ground. Various places on the earth are subject to earthquakes, the country that has suffered most from these being Japan. The study of earthquakes, the science of seismology, has shown that the origin of many of them is under the bottom of the sea and near the coast of a continent or large island. In an earthquake, the surface of the land may move suddenly in any direction, bringing houses down, changing a straight railway-track into a useless zigzag, altering the course of rivers, changing the shape of hills, and sometimes causing an immense sea wave to rush on to the nearest shore and leading to immense destruction. This tidal wave, as it is called, is wrongly named because it has nothing to do with the tide.
Title : THE EARTH’S CRUST
Notes : 1. Formation of the earth
(a) 2,500 million yrs. ago – earth – a ball of gas;
(b) gradually gas grew cooler – became liquid;
(c) liquid cooled and solidified – this became earth’s crust.
2. Volcanoes and earthquakes
(a) Vol. indicate force and heat below earth’s crust.
(b) Ea. qs. – origin and effects :
(i) origin of many
1. under bottom of the sea
2. near the coast of continents.
(ii) effects-
1. bring widespread destruction, e.g., of houses, railways
2. alter-courses of rivers-shape of hills
3. cause tidal waves.
Examination-Style Fully Solved Passages
Passage 1
1 Men who have studied the ways of ants tell strange things about their social life. Just as in ancient days, men kept slaves to work for them, so also some ants raid the homes of other ants, and making captives, bring them back to their own nests and compel them to work for their captors’. Ants, indeed, are by no means the only inhabitants? of ants’ nests. We are told that several hundreds of other small creatures such as beetles and crickets make their home with ants. Some of these creatures are useful to the ants and clean up the nest and do other duties, while others seem to be mere boarders”, and do nothing for their keep“. Why the ants allow them to stay no one knows. Is it sheer good nature ?
2 Ants, we are told, play games. They nurse their sick, bury their dead and see that everyone does its share of the work, and that no one is allowed to be lazy. All this seems to show that ants have some form of reasonable government. A celebrated naturalist? tells how he captured an ant and covered it with a piece of clay so that only its head showed. For some time, the little captive was not discovered, then one of its fellow ants found out what had happened and tried to set it free. But this task proved too much for one ant, and very soon it hurried away, to return in a few minutes with a dozen companions who at once set to work and in a very short time set the captive free.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. str. – strange
2. soc. – social
3. sl. – slaves
4. act. – activities
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Ants:
(a) str., soc. insects
(b) keep ant sl. to work for them
(c) have many others in their nests.
→ clean the nests
→ do other duties
2. Ant act-
(a) play games
(b) nurse their sick
(c) bury their dead
(d) keep everyone busy
(e) help those in need.
(B) Title : The Social Life of Ants
Passage 2
1 Why don’t I have a telephone ? Not because I pretend to be wise or pose as unusual. There are two chief reasons : because I don’t really like the telephone, and because I find I can still work and play, eat, breathe, and sleep without it. Why don’t I like the telephone ? Because I think it is a pest’ and a time-waster. It may create unnecessary suspense and anxiety, as when you wait for an expected call that doesn’t come; or irritating delay, as when you keep ringing a number that is always engaged. As for speaking in a public telephone box, that seems to me really horrible. You would not use it unless you were in a hurry, and because you are in a hurry, you will find other people waiting before you. When you do get into the box, you are half asphyxiated? by stale, unventilated air, flavoured with cheap face powder and chain-smoking; and by the time you have begun your conversation, your back is chilled by the cold looks of somebody who is fidgeting to take your place.
2 If you have a telephone in your house, you will admit that it tends to ring when you least want it – when you are asleep, or in the middle of a meal or a conversation, or when you are just going out, or when you are in your bath. Are you strong-minded enough to ignore it, to say to yourself, ‘Ah well, it will be the same in a hundred years time.’ ? You are not. You think there may be some important news or message for you. Have you never rushed dripping from the bath, or chewing from the table, or dazed4 from bed, only to be told that you are wrong number ? You were told the truth. In my opinion, all telephone numbers are wrong numbers. If, of course, your telephone rings and you decide not to answer it, then you will have to listen to an idiotic bell ringing and ringing in what is supposed to be the privacy of your own home. You might as well buy a bicycle bell and ring it yourself.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) Make notes on the basis of your reading of the above passage, using headings and sub headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. wr. – writer
2. tlph. – telephone
3. ppl. – people anxiety.
4. unwtd. – unwanted
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Why the wr. dislikes having a tlph.
(a) can do without it in all ways
(b) thinks it a pest and a time-waster
(c) creates unnecessary suspense and anxiety
2. What he thinks of using a tlph. box
(a) ppl. waiting before you
(b) can’t use when in hurry
(c) smelly, stinking boxes
(d) cold looks of ppl. waiting behind you.
3. The nuisance of having a tlph.
(a) unwtd. disturbance during sleep, meals, conversation, etc.
(b) can’t be ignored in any case
(c) even if ignored, the idiotic bell is most jarring.
(B) Title : Telephone — An Avoidable Nuisance
Passage 3
1. Gandhiji, the greatest political genius’ of our time, indicated the path to be taken. He gave living testimony to the fact that man’s will, sustained by an indomitable* conviction”, is more powerful than material forces that seem insurmountable’. On the whole, I believe that Gandhiji held the most enlightened? views of all the political men in our times. We should strives to do things in his spirit : not to use violence in fighting for our cause and to refrain’ from taking part in anything we believe as evil. Revolution without the use of violence was the method by which Gandhiji brought about the liberation of India. It is my belief that the problem of bringing peace to the world on a supranational basis will be solved only by employing Gandhiji’s method on a large scale.
2 The veneration1l in which Gandhiji has been held throughout the world rests on the recognition2, for the most part unconscious, that in our age of moral decay, he was the only statesman who represented that higher conception of human relation in the political sphere to which we must aspire 3 with all our powers. We must learn the difficult lesson that the future of mankind will only be tolerable when our course in world affairs as in all other matters, is based upon justice and law rather than the threat of naked” power, as has been true so far.
3 Gandhiji was a victim of his own principle, the principle of non-violence. He died because he did not take any personal armed protection in the times of disorder and general unrest in the country. He fully believed that the use of force is an evil in itself to be shunned?s by those who strive for absolute justice. He adopted this faith throughout his life and led the nation to the path of liberation.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. pol. = political
2. rev. – revolution
3. conc. – conception
4. pers. – personal
5. prot. – protection
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Gandhiji
(a) the greatest pol. genius of our time
(b) followed the path of non-violence
(c) believed in the power of the will
(d) believed in the rev. without the use of violence.
2. For tolerable future of mankind
(a) Gandhiji’s higher conc. of human relations
(b) application of justice and law instead of naked power.
3. Gandhiji, victim of his own principle of non-violence
(a) neglected pers. prot.
(b) called the use of force an evil
(B) Title : Gandhiji and Non-violence
Passage 4
1 Two determining factors pertaining to the nation’s health and well-being are family planning and nutrition. While talking about our country and its problems, let us remember that many of these problems are the result of our success and development. Our population problem is an example. As an eminent doctor has rightly remarked, doctors themselves are the creators of the population explosion. They must also find a way out. A child brings happiness. As Kabir, the saint-poet, has said, “A child comes crying into the world but the people around are swathed insmiles.” But such is the economic lot of the bulk of our people that even the birth of a child adds to their anxiety.
2 The aim of family planning is to restore4 joy to motherhood and to make every child a wanted child, with a fair chance of health, education and employment. Until now, our major difficulty was to create motivation and psychological climate. Our campaign has been successful in certain pockets. It is not unlikely that soon a nationwide clamour? for doctors and appliances for family planning will build up. And delay or failure in the family planning campaign will cause a setback to all our programmes. The other important health problem is that of nutrition. However good our harvest may be, let us not forget that a large part of our people are chronicallyundernourished in terms of calories as well as life-building proteins. If nothing is done about this protein scarcity’, these masses will remain condemned 10 to an incomplete and lustrelessl life.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it in points only using abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. nut. – nutrition
2. dev. — development
3. drs. – doctors
4. pop. – population
5. prob. – problem
6. ch. – child
7. ed. – education
8. emp. – employment
9. diff. – difficulties
10. mot. – motivation
11. psy. – psychological
12. camp. – campaign
13. prog. – programme
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Factors belonging to the nation’s health:
(a) Family planning
(b) Nut.
2. Our country’s problems:
(a) results of success and dev. e.g.
(i) Drs. responsible for pop. prob.
(ii) Birth of ch. brings anxiety.
3. Aim of family planning
(a) restore joy to motherhood
(b) provide every child health, ed. and emp.
4. Our major diff.:
(a) to create mot. and psy. climate
(b) camp. successful only in certain areas.
5. Delay or failure in family planning prog. :
(a) cause setback to all other progs.
6. Prob. of nut.:
(a) people undernourished
(b) condemned to incomplete and lustreless life.
(B) Title : Family Planning and Nutrition
Passage 5
Conversation is indeed the most easily teachable of all arts. All you need to do in order to become a good conversationalist’ is to find a subject that interests you and your listeners. There are, for example, numberless hobbies to talk about. But the important thing is that you must talk about the other fellow’s hobby rather than your own. Therein lies the secret of your popularity?. Talk to your friends about the things that interest them, and you will get a reputation for good fellowship*, charming wito and a brilliant mind. There is nothing that pleases people so much as your interest in their interests.
2 It is just as important to know what subjects to avoid as what subject to select for good conversation. If you don’t want to be set down as a wet blanket? or a bore, be careful to avoid certain unpleasant topics. Avoid talking about yourself, unless you are asked to do so. People are interested in their own problems, not in yours. Sickness or death bores everybody. The only one who willingly listens to such talk is the doctor, but he gets paid for it.
3 To be a good conversationalist, you must know not only what to say, but how to say it. Be civil and modest. Don’t overemphasizeyour own importance. Be mentally quick and witty. But don’t hurt others with your wit. Finally, try to avoid mannerism in your conversation.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. con. – conversationalist
2. sub. – subject
3. imp. – importance
4. mann. — mannerism
(A) Notes on the Passage :
1. To become a good con. :
(a) find sub. that interests listeners
(b) be civil and modest
(c) be mentally quick and witty
2. Avoid :
(a) talking about yourself
(b) talking about sickness and death
(c) overemphasizing your own imp.
(d) hurting others with your wit
(e) mann.
(B) Title : How to Become a Good Conversationalist
Passage 6
1 There is a big difference between the natural slavery of man and the unnatural slavery of man to man. Nature is kind to her slaves. If she forces you to eat and drink, she makes eating and drinking so pleasant that when we can afford it, we eat and drink too much. We must sleep or go mad : but then sleep is so pleasant that we have great difficulty in getting up in the morning. Thus, instead of resenting’ our natural wants as slavery, we take the greatest pleasure in their satisfaction. We write sentimental songs in praise of them.
2 The slavery of man to man is the very opposite of this. It is hateful to the body and to the soul. Our poets do not praise it; they proclaim that no man is good enough to be another man’s master. The latest of the great Jewish prophets, a gentleman named Mars, spent his life in proving that there is no extremity+ of selfish cruelty at which the slavery of man to man will stop if it is not stopped by law. You can see for yourself that it produces a continual civil war called the class war between the slaves and their masters, organised as trade unions on one side and employer’s federations on the other. We shall never have a peaceful and stable society until this struggle is ended by the abolition of slavery altogether and the compulsions of everyone to do his share of the world’s work with his own hands and brain, and not to attempt to put it on anyone else.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. slav. – slavery
2. nat. – natural
3. res. – resent
4. sent. — sentimental
5. soc. – society
6. imp. – impossible
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Slav. of nat. kind
(a) forces to eat, drink and sleep
(b) makes them pleasant.
2. Results of natural slav.
(a) we do not res.
(b) take pleasure
(c) write sent. songs.
3. Slav. of man to man
(a) hateful
(b) no poets praise
(c) no man good enough to be another man’s master.
4. Results of slav. of man to man
(a) continuous civil war
(b) peaceful and stable soc. imp.
(B) Title : Natural Slavery v/s Slavery of Man to Man
Passage 7
1. Much before medical science discovered it, Reader’s Digest’ came out with the prescription? – Laughter is the Best Medicine. Newspapers and magazines which regularly run humour columns are, therefore, doing their bit to keep the readers in good health. Reading light articles, whether they be satirical, comic or just humorous, relieves the tedium of work a-days world. Some pieces may even tickleó one’s grey matter?
2. It is said that if you laugh for ten minutes, you will be in a better position to put up with pain for two hours. According to US researchers, laughter is a good antidote8 to stress that tones up the system. Facial laugh muscles instruct the brain to ‘feel good? regardless of how you feel.
3. According to a French doctor, laughter deepens breathing, improves blood circulation, speeds up the process of tissue healing and stabilises many body functions. In short, it acts as a power drug with no side effects. Researchers state that laughter stimulates production of beta-endorphins, natural painkillers in the body and improves digestion. Those who laugh are less prone to digestive disorders and ulcers.
4. Some people in France have made it a career. You can hire a “jovialist who cracks jokes and laughs and promises to make you dissolve your worries in helpless laughter.
5 A word of caution. Although laughing is a good exercise for toning up the facial muscles, laughing at others’ expense, particularly at their disabilities, is in bad taste and is to be avoided. Secondly, laughing with food in the mouth is dangerous as the foodstuff can get into the windpipe and may choke the respiratory system.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used :
1. mdcn. – medicine
2. facl. – facial
3. hlth. – health
4. tdm – tedium
5. efts. – effects
6. p. killers – painkillers
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Laughter :
(a) the best mdcn.
(b) antidote to stress
(c) tones up facl. muscles.
2. Humorous articles in newspapers, magazines:
(a) keep readers in good hlth.
(b) relieve the tdm. of everyday life
(c) tickle one’s grey matter (intelligence).
3. A power drug with no side efts.:
(a) deepens breathing
(b) improves blood circulation
(c) speeds up the process of tissue healing
(d) stimulates natural p. killers in the body.
4. Never laugh:
(a) at the expense of others
(b) while eating.
(B) Title : Laughter, the Best Medicine
Passage 8
1. Every year, a large number of Siberian cranes come to the bird sanctuary’ at Bharatpur. Year after year, in the beginning of winter these birds cover thousands of miles from Siberia in the north of Russia to come to Bharatpur, and then, as winter ends, they once again return to their original habitat?, without making any mistake in the direction they have to take in their long flights. It is surprising how these birds find their way over such long distances, especially when vast stretches of land happen to be covered with clouds so that familiar landmarks”, which could have guided them, are not even visible. The same phenomenon“ has been observed in other parts of the world as well. By way of experiment, light metal rings with specific information are put on the legs of some migratory birds, and it is observed that they keep returning to the winter sanctuary year after year without fail.
2. Pigeons are well known for finding their way back home in spite of all odds. At one time, it was believed that they could find their way with the help of familiar landmarks which they had seen and remembered. In an experiment, some pigeons were carried to a considerable distance in cages covered with black cloth so that they could not see anything on the way. However, when they were released, they still managed to come back to the place from where they had been taken away in covered cages. To check whether the pigeons remembered the direction of movement even when they could not see anything, another experiment was undertaken. To confuse their sense of direction, some pigeons were carried in an aeroplane and then released. Many of them still managed to return home on their own. One possibility is that these birds somehow sense the direction of the magnetic poles of earth and use that to find their direction.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. sanc. – sanctuary
2. mis. – mistake of each winter.
3. exp. – experiments
4. yr. – year
5. dir. – direction
6. mag. – magnetic
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Siberian cranes:
(a) come to Bharatpur sanc. in the beginning
(b) go back at the end of winter.
(c) cover thousands of miles without making any mis.
2. Exp. prove the same birds return yr. after yr.
(light metal rings put on the legs of some birds).
3. Pigeons are known for their sense of dir. Exp.:
(a) carried to considerable distances in cages covered with black cloth.
(b) carried in an aeroplane.
(c) managed to return home on their own. 4. One possibility :
Birds somehow sense the dir. of mag. poles of the earth and use it to find dir.
(B) Title : Migratory Birds
Passage 9
1. Few animals are as useful or as unpopular as the goat. From ancient times, it has supplied people with milk and meat. Its skin has been made into leather and the wool of some breeds2 woven into soft, warm cloth. Goats are hardy creatures, and can live on the green remains of a thorny bush or a poor grassland. Nevertheless, they have always had a bad reputation. Perhaps this is because the billy goats (males) often have a bad temper and a strong, unpleasant smell. Goats also do serious damage to young trees and other plants,
and can quickly reduce a lush grazing land to a barren wasteland.
2. For its size, the goat provides man with more useful things than almost any other animal, yet it often does not receive the food and care given to other animals. The goat will try to eat anything and will put up with the most uncomfortable surroundings. But if it is well fed and carefully housed, the goat will produce much better milk, flesh and wool.
3. The goat is very closely related to the sheep. In fact, it looks very much like a sheep except for three things. It has a shorter tail which turns up instead of hanging down. Goats (both males and females) have beards and backward-slanting4 horns, whereas male sheep (rams) have curly horns. Goats have a hairy coat whereas sheep have a wolley one.
woolly one. Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. unpop. – unpopular
2. bly. – billy
3. difrs. – differs
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Goat-one of the most useful, yet one of the most unpop. animals.
2. Uses-meat, milk, wool.
3. Reasons of being hated:
(a) unpleasant smell of bly. goats
(b) bad temper
(c) damage to crops.
4. Positive Points:
(a) Needs least care
(b) Proper care can give better milk, wool and flesh.
5. How it difrs. from the sheep:
(a) tail
(b) horns
(c) coat.
(B) Title : The Goat and the Sheep
Passage 10
1. One question that often troubles today’s youth is the relevance of the education they are receiving. They feel disheartened by the thought that the degrees they are pursuing may not be of much help to them in earning their livelihood. So they lose interest in studies and let themselves drift with time. They do not realize that they are frittering away the golden phase of life when their mind is free from the routine worries of a householder and when they can enrich their mind with knowledge. This is also the time when they can develop their intellect and moral vision as they look at the society and the world around them with an open mind.
2 Relevance of any system of education has to be seen from three angles : (1) How far does it nurture the values that are highly respected by society ? (2) How far does it develop the individuals’ capabilities and give them confidence in themselves so that they can think and decide what is right, and can act according to that instead of always being influenced by propaganda and persuasion ? (3) How far does the system of education equip them with such skills and knowledge as would constructively help them in finding some occupation which would enable them to earn their living and satisfy their emotional needs as human beings ?
3 Our system of education may have some limitations as far as these purposes of education are concerned; however, a great deal can be achieved even from a somewhat defective system of education, if the students have an eager and open mind and are keen to learn and grow.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. ed. – education
2. rel. – relevant
3. att. – attitude
4. int. – intellect
5. soc. social
(A) Notes on the Passage :
1. Youth feel troubled:
(a) ed. they receive not rel.
(b) degree they pursue won’t help to earn their livelihood.
2. Harms of such an att.:
(a) waste away the golden phase of life
(b) fail to develop their int. and moral vision.
3. Relevance of ed. has to be judged by :
(a) how far it nurtures soc. values
(b) how far it develops the individuals capacities to think and decide independently
(c) How far it enables the youth to earn their living and satisfies their emotional needs.
4. Our system of ed.:
(a) may be somewhat defective
(b) if pursued with an eager and open mind, a great deal can be achieved.
(B) Title : Relevance of Education
Passages From Grammar Book (Fully Solved)
Passage 1
Social media has impacted the world in many ways. Millions of people are using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram worldwide. Such websites have proved to be the best way to connect and communicate with friends and family. These have also become the best tool to keep oneself abreast with latest buzz in every field. These are so convenient that one tends to forget that such tools are to be used very judiciously?. One needs to learn to be a responsible social media user. Especially young children must be taught to use social media very carefully. It is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to teach them proper use of social media.
Facebook started by Mark Zukerberg is the most used social media tool. Its business depends on persuading* people into sharing their personal experiences with public or their known people. Posting pictures, updating status has become an important part of their daily routine. No one is immune to its addictive effect. Periodically looking at their phones for any updates has become a norm for people. Users must be made aware of the fact that sharing personal details and photos can be misused by criminals or antisocial elements.
One must understand that every post on Facebook or such sites is not always backed by facts or truth. One must not make friends with unknown persons. Time and effort spent on social media can be used productively. Some people may use social media to spread religious fanaticism? or hatred. Social media should be used to help connect with people, not to disconnect or disintegrate from mainstream. It should be used to bring harmonys and love only.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used :
1. wldwd.- worldwide
2. effve. – effective
3. jdes. – judicious with near ones
4. respl. – responsible
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc.:
(a) popular wldwd.
(b) effve. means to remain in contact
(c) help us to keep abreast of current events.
2. Some cautions while using them :
(a) shouldn’t forget to make a jdcs. use of them
(b) should be respl. social media users
(c) young children to be taught their correct use.
3. The advantages of social media:
(a) sharing personal experiences
(b) can be shared with general public also.
4. Some grave possibilities:
(a) misuse by criminals
(b) not based on facts
(c) unknown / suspicious persons can become friends.
5. Useful advice:
(a) shouldn’t spend much time on the social media
(b) must not be influenced by fanaticism or hatred
(c) should be used to spread harmony and love.
(B) Title : Social Media — a Boon or a Bane?
Passage 2
Windows give the character to a house, just as final features reflect the personality in a face. Small changes in style, finish or proportions of windows can destroy the spririt of home. Consider carefully the effect that changes will make to the outside as well as the inside of the building. Until the seventeenth century, most windows were of the four-panel casement type. They opened outwards (or inside) like a door on butt hinges. The particular irregularity of the glass is important, and such windows are ruined by insensitive and mechanical metal casements and phoney lead lights.
Thereafter, sash window became more common in Britain and America; usually they open vertically, but horizontal-sliding sash windows have a peculiar charm and work well in wide, low frames. Today, we see a great use of glass, but originally windows were busily divided by mullions. The fine art of fenestration seems to have fallen by the wayside. Proper leaded lights, decorative Geogrian fanlights, and the dignified proportions conveyed by a satisfying geometry of wooden mullions seem to be a thing of the past. Replacing old windows with modern versions is almost always to the detrimento of house. Unfortunately, almost all double-glazing is hideous and metal-frames windows are heinous; terrible crimes are committed in the name of fuss-free windows. And blocking in a window or a glazed door can have a quite disproportionate effect on the light within – look closely at the path of light shed by the glazing in question before you decide to remove it.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations use:
1. chrct. – character
2. dest. — destroy
3. cfly. – carefully
4. otwds. – outwards
5. inwd. – inward
6. fnstn. – fenestration
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Importance of windows:
(a) give chrct. to house
(b) changes in finish & proper, can dest. spirit of house.
(c) effect of changes must be cfly. considered.
2. The windows in the seventeenth country:
(a) opened otwd. or inwd. like a door.
(b) such windows common in Britain & America.
3. Scenario today:
(a) people used to glass grates
(b) fine art of fnstn. has given way.
(B) Title : Significance of the Arrangement of Windows in a Building
Passage 3
In negotiation’, tactics and strategy are many a time mixed up. In simple words, tactics means negotiating small-scale and short-term interim? issues whereas strategy is about large-scale, longterm and final outcomes. For example, the strategic decisions about a journey will be about where the journey is from and to, the mode of travel – car, train, plane or boat – and when the journey takes place. On the other hand, from a tactical point of view, you would think of route and the terrain, the kind of traffic and other details regarding the nature of interaction with different people enroute this journey. So in negotiations, strategically you are more focused on the outcomes of your journey and tactically you think how to react to a situation or an action.
To be a successful negotiator, you need to take into account both these factors. We must choose them with care and with due regard for the outcome that we yearn for. Also they must be very effectively used. Having common interests with the negotiator will be an added advantage while making a negotiation. Such strategy leads to mutually beneficial agreements that can result in great satisfying needs of all parties. Such a strategy will require a high level of trust and a willingness to share ideas and make adjustments.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used:
1. strgy. – strategy
2. otcm. – outcome interim issues
3. undtk. – undertake
4. ptcl. – particular
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. In any negotiation :
(a) a mixture of tactics and strgy.
(b) tactics pertain to short-term
(c) strategy – the name given to long-term otcms.
2. Strategic decisions explained with journey as an example:
(a) will pertain to starting and finishing points
(b) will be about the mode of travel
(c) may be about the best time to undtk. the journey.
3. From the tactical point of view :
(a) one would think of route and terrain
(b) one would take into account the traffic, etc.
(c) the nature of interaction with people enroute will have to be considered.
4. Essentials to be a successful negotiator :
(a) need to be focused on the otcms. of the journey
(b) must know how to react in a ptcl. situation
(c) must choose them with care for a desired otcm.
5. Added advantages can be had by :
(a) an effective use of both – strgy. and tactics
(b) having common interests with the negotiator
(c) such strgy. will bring satisfaction to all parties.
6. Requirements of such a strgy.:
(a) a high level of mutual trust
(b) a ready willingness to make adjustments.
(B) Title : Negotiation – How it is Akin to a Journey
Passage 4
Swami Vivekanand wrote: We say, “Newton discovered Gravitaion. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him?” It was in his mind. The time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind. The infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is only the suggestion, the occasion’ which sets you to study your own mind. “No one was never really taught by anyone. Each of us has to teach himself. The external teacher offers only the suggestion which rouses the internal teacher to work to understand things. You cannot teach a child any more than you can grow a plant. The plant develops its own nature’. The child also teaches itself. But you can help him to go forward in his own way. Parents are constantly taxing their children to read and work, telling them that they will never learn anything and calling them fools and so forth”; the latter do actually turn out to be so in many cases. If you speak kind words to them and encourage them, they are bound to improve in time.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
Abbreviations used :
1. grvtn.- gravitaion
2. opprn.- opportune
3. knlge. — knowledge
4. lib. – library
5. extl. – external
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Swami Vivakanand said about gravtn.
(a) was always there
(b) was not waiting in a corner
(c) in fact, was in Newton’s mind
(d) he found it at the opprn. moment.
2. What he said about the mind:
(a) all knlge. comes from the mind
(b) it is the infinite lib. of the universe
(c) extł. world only a suggestion, an occasion.
3. About teaching:
(a) no one can teach another
(b) everyone of us has to teach himself
(c) an extl. teacher can only offer a useful help.
4. Similarity between a child and a plant:
(a) a plant develops its own nature
(b) a child teaches itself.
5. What can we do to help a child ?
(a) should not tax our children to read and work.
(b) should not always call them witless or fools.
(c) If done so, they may actually turn into fools.
(d) should treat them kindly and always encourage them.
(e) This done, they are bound to improve in time.
(B) Title : The Mind – its Boundless Potential
Passage 5
The energy conservation’ in street lighting is a new concept. But various technologies applied to achieve the goals are not new. It has been adopted and tested in various Industrial and Medical applications from decades. So these technologies are trustworthy’, when adopted at street lighting energy conservation. This will yield results in conserving the electrical energy. However, when such technologies are applied in public domain”, the measurement and verification procedures should be strong and should be in place before implementing such projects. In case of energy efficiency projects in Karnataka, there was no baseline of energy consumption.
As a result, it has become very difficult to realize the savings on records. So without baseline reference, crystalline realization of Energy Savings is impossible. These projects were implemented for a portion of the entire town / city. The maximum area covered under the project is about 20% of the total city lamp population. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to bifurcate and analyse the bills. Moreover, billing pattern from electricity companies to the municipalities is very erratic and needs lots of modificaitions.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Model Answers
(A) Notes on the Passage:
1. Energy cons. in street lighting:
(a) a new concept
(b) various techs. applied
(c) techs. are t.worthy.
2. When applied in public domain:
(a) should be in place before impmtg.
(b) Karnataka – no baseline in e.s.
(c) without baseline no e.s. possible
3. Project implementation in city / town:
(a) only 20% area covered
(b) not easy to bifct. & analyse bills
(c) bill patn. very erratic.
(B) Title : Energy Conservation in Street Lighting
Abbreviations used:
1. cons. – conservation
2. techs. – technologies
3. t.worthy. – trustworthy
4. impmtg. – implementing
5. e.s. – energy saving
6. bifct. – bifurcate
7. patn. – pattern
Passages For Practice
Passage 1
1. “Reading comprehension’ is the ability to know and understand what has been read. For example, when you read a passage about trains, you learn certain facts about this form of transport. Once you have finished reading, your teacher may ask you questions to find out how well you understood the passage. The meaning of a passage lies within the material being read, and you may understand or comprehend the meaning when you read a given passage. This can be termed as local comprehension.
2. Recently another idea about reading comprehension has become more common. Instead of simply asking the reader what meaning he or she has obtained from a given passage, a teacher may stress the importance of what ideas the passage stimulates in the reader’s mind. These ideas or these feelings are influenced by the reader’s own experience of what he or she is reading about. So when you read about trains, you may remember some of your own experiences when you were once travelling on or looking at trains. Words such as ‘engine’, ‘station’, or ‘passenger’ have their own special meaning for you.
For one person, an article about trains might bring memories of the time when a train he was in was three hours late because of a terrible storm. Another person might remember a train journey to a hill station during a holiday. A third person might recall4 a story she read about an exciting railway trip in a foreign land. Each reader ‘comprehends’ in a different manner. This can be termed as ‘global comprehension.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 2
1. Many people enjoy collecting things as a hobby. If you already have several costume dolls (i.e. dolls with dresses of particular period), or a pile of old comics, or a scrapbook containing picture cards, then you are already a collector. Collecting need not take up a lot of time, or cost a lot of money, but it can be rewarding and informative pastime. Everywhere you go, you may come across something new to add to your collection.
2. It does not really matter? what you collect. You can collect model aircraft, badges, postcards, glassware, pottery, matchbox labels, sports programmes, autographs, rocks, fossils”, and practically anything small enough to bring home and keep in a box or drawer. As your collection grows4, you will become more expert in the subject that most interests you. Yet, the more you know, the more there will be still to discover. You will make friends with other collectors, and perhaps join a collectors’ club or society.
3 A collection need not be of costly things. A scrapbook filled with newspaper cuttings and holiday photogaphs will grow in interest and value with the passing years. If it is kept safely, it will be a treasure store of interest, not just for you when you are older, but perhaps for your children and grandchildren in years to come. 4 Simple everyday things (food cans, magazines, buttons, and toys are examples) can become collector’s items in future. Some may become valuable. Greeting cards made in the 19th century, for instance, are now carefully collected. In a hundred years’ time, someone may be keenly interested in your last year’s birthday cards !
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 3
1. How does television affect our lives ? It can be very helpful to people who carefully choose the shows that they watch. Television can increase our knowledge of the outside world; there are high-quality programmes that help us understand many fields of study; science, medicine, the arts and so on. Moreover, television benefits very old people, who can’t often leave the house as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the advantages of daily informal language practice. They can increase their vocabulary and practise listening.
2. On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax? and spend our free time, but in some countries, people watch the ‘boob-tube’ for an average of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at a television screen for more hours each day than they do anything else, including studying and sleeping. It is clear that the tube has a powerful influence on their Yives and that its influence is often negative.
3. Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television, a person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is that it seems to cause poor concentration4. Children who view a lot of television can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty minutes. They can pay attention only for the amount of time between commercials.
Word-meanings :
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 4
1. Tourism has emerged as the world’s largest industry. Growing rapidly in the last two
decades’, today it accounts for 6% of world output? and employs some 100 million people around the globe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has developed immense revenue and development potential* and stands today as a unique natural renewables
resource industry.
2. Tourism – the travel-based recreation – provides people with a change of place and a break from the monotony? of daily life. It brings people of different nations together, allowing them to come into close contact with each other’s customs and other aspects of life. It reveals the scenic beauty8 and past heritage of a country of people belonging to other nations. The knowledge and experience gained in the process can lead to greater understanding and tolerancelo, and can even foster world peace.
3. The contribution of tourism can be seen nowhere more clearly than on the economic front. A study conducted by the United Nations has shown that developing countries, in particular, can reap handsome benefits out of tourism which greatly boosts national income. 4 Tourism generates employment, and adds to the entrepreneurial wealth of a nation. While tourism’s advantages are many, its undesirable side effects have raised fresh problems.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 5
1. It’s headache having a headache. Almost all of us have suffered from a headache at some time or the other. For some, a headache is a constant companion and life can be a painful hell of wasted time.
2. The most important step to cope with headaches is to identify the type of headache one is suffering from. In tension headaches (two-hand headache), a feeling of a tight band around the head exists along with pain in the neck and shoulders. It usually follows activities such as long stretches of driving, typing or sitting on the desk. They are usually short-lived but can also last for days or weeks.
3. A headache is usually caused due to spinal misalignment of the head and due to poor posture. Sleeping on the stomach with the head turned to one side and bending over positions for a long time make it worse.
4. In migraine headaches (one-handed headaches), the pain is usually on one side of the head and may be accompanied by nausea”, vomiting, irritability and bright spots of flashes of light. This headache is made worse by activity, especially bending. The throbbing pain in the head gets worse by noise and light. Certain triggers for migraines may be chocolate, caffeine”, smoking or MSU in certain food items. The pain may last from 8 to 24 hours and there may be a hangover’ for two-three days.
5. Migraines are often preceded by an ‘aura’ – changes in sight and sensation. There is usually a family history of migraine.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 6
1. Properly planned and executed’ holidays can tone up2 both mind and body. But many of us don’t know how to take a holiday. Good planning is all-important. A leading clinical psychologist reports that many people seek his help after poorly planned holidays that have led to family quarrels. Instead of making their holiday a period of rest, development of understanding and love for their families, people try to block everything out with ‘funpacked’ activity. When the ‘fun’ is over, they return in worse shape, mentally and physically,
than when it began.
2. Here are other common holiday errors which, as a doctor, I caution against : some of us delude ourselves into thinking that a quick holiday will give instanto relaxation and get us back on the track. Most people need a full three weeks or longer. To get any lasting good out of your holiday, you must have a change of pace and scene. That is one reason why travel can be so helpful. Thus, spending your entire holiday at home may be a mistake. Another common error that tourists often make is trying to see and do far too much. To be able to live in peace and quiet for a time is a mark of maturity. It gives you a chance to think about your family and yourself.
3. A holiday’s success is measurable by the results it produces. A good one is often marked by relaxed muscles, more satisfying sleep, slower heart rate and reduction in blood pressure.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.
Passage 7
1. Contrary to popular belief, the camel does not store water in its hump?. The hump is a food reserve composed mainly of fat. Although water is produced when the fat is broken down, the oxygen used in the process causes an additional loss of water through the lungs. This more or less cancels the amount of water gained from the hump. The main advantage of the hump is that the camel’s fat is concentrated in a single place – allowing the camel to lose heat freely from the rest of its body.
2. Another way in which camels conserve water is by retaining the urea which most mammals excrete in their urine. The urea is built up into proteins by bacteria in the camel’s stomach.
3. In addition, camels avoid sweating by allowing their body temperature to vary over a greater range than that of any other mammal. Camels do not begin to sweat until their body temperature reaches 46°C. After a lengthy period without water, camels will drink up to 180 litres at a time. They swell visibly in the process, and dilute their blood and tissue fluids to an extent that would kill most other mammals. Part of the explanation for the camel’s prodigiouss drinking ability may be the unusual shape of its blood corpuscles. They are oval rather than round. When it drinks, its blood as well as its tissues can absorb large amounts of water because the oval corpuscles can swell into spheres without any danger of the cell-walls bursting.
Word-meanings:
Questions
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary.
(b) Give a suitable title to the passage.