Chapter 19 – Unseen Comprehension

Chapter 19 – Unseen Comprehension

Points to Remember

1. Read the passage carefully: First read it quickly to understand the general theme. Then read it slowly and carefully to understand the details.
2. Read the questions before answering: Go through the questions and reread the passage to locate the relevant information. Read groups of words or phrases instead of reading word by word.
3. Understand words in context: Try to understand unfamiliar words through the surrounding words and the context of the sentence. While giving the meaning of a word, write only the most appropriate meaning.
4. Write accurate answers: Answer in complete sentences, wherever required. Keep your answers brief and to the point. While answering questions about verbs, use the same tense as in the passage and maintain the same part of speech in one-word answers.
5. Revise your answers: Check your answers for grammatical and spelling mistakes before submitting them. Avoid using a pen or pencil as a guide while reading; moving your eyes naturally helps improve reading speed.

Exercise I – Penicillin

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Penicillin is one of the most useful drugs invented by man. With its help, we can heal wounds caused by bacteria which cannot be otherwise healed. In the beginning, very few people knew of this wonderful discovery or its uses. First the scientists and then the ministers of governments were interested in it. Since penicillin could save the wounded soldiers, it was helpful in war. So, they decided to encourage the process of manufacture. Vast factories were set up for preparing it. Lives of hundreds and thousands of soldiers were saved with its help. Most people benefitted from it. Penicillin when introduced into the streams of the human blood, acts as an aid to those parts which are always fighting the deadly germs. It does not have power over every kind of bacteria, but certain kinds are destroyed by penicillin in the great majority of cases.

Questions:

1. Choose the correct statement.
   (a) Penicillin could save the wounded soldiers.
   (b) Penicillin could not save the soldiers.
   (c) Penicillin was harmful for the soldiers.
   (d) Penicillin was discarded by the scientists.
2. Who were interested in the discovery of Penicillin in the beginning?
   (a) Governments
   (b) Scientists and Ministers of Governments
   (c) Teachers
   (d) Doctors
3. How was penicillin useful in wars?
4. How does penicillin act on human blood?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   The water level decreases in the _________ in winters.
6. Match the following words in column A with their meaning from column B:
   A: aid, process
   B: method, help, decrease

Answers:

1. (a) Penicillin could save the wounded soldiers.
2. (b) Scientists and Ministers of Governments.
3. It saved the soldiers wounded in wars.
4. When introduced into human blood, penicillin acts as an aid to those parts which are always fighting the deadly germs.
5. Streams.
6. aid – help; process – method.

Exercise II – Social Classes

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

In the eighteenth century, one of the first modern economists, Adam Smith thought that the whole annual produce of the land and labour of every country provides revenue to three different orders of people; those who live by rent, those who live by wages and those who live by profit. Each successive stage of the industrial revolution, however, made the social structure more complicated.

Many intermediate groups grew up during the nineteenth century, between the upper middle class and the working class. There are small scale industrialists as well as the large ones, small shopkeepers and tradesmen, officials and salaried employees, skilled and unskilled workers and professionals, such as doctors and teachers. Farmers and peasants continue in all countries as independent groups.

In spite of this development, one of the most famous writers on social class in the nineteenth century, Karl Marx thought that there was tendency for society to split into huge class camps, the capitalists and the workers. Influential as Marx’s theory of social class was, it was over-simplified. The social make-up of modern societies is much more complex than he suggested.

Questions:

1. According to the passage, doctors and teachers belong to the:
   (a) upper class
   (b) upper middle class
   (c) working class
   (d) middle class
2. What effect did each stage of the industrial revolution make on social structure?
   (a) made it easier to learn
   (b) made it complicated
   (c) made it simple
   (d) made it flexible
3. Who developed the two-class theory?
4. Who are regarded as intermediate group?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   India became ___________ on 15th August 1947.
6. Match the following words in column A with their meaning in column B:
   A: split, annual
   B: yearly, independent, broken

Answers:

1. (b) Upper middle class.
2. (b) Made it complicated.
3. Karl Marx developed the two-class theory.
4. Small shopkeepers and tradesmen are regarded as intermediate groups.
5. Independent.
6. split – broken; annual – yearly.

Exercise III – John Dalton

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

John Dalton was an English Chemist whose atomic theory is the basis of Chemistry. Dalton could not distinguish red from green. In 1784, he was the first to describe colour blindness which came to be known as Daltonism. The word is still used in French, Spanish and Russian. After his death, the scientists from London and Cambridge examined DNA from fragments of Dalton’s eyes preserved at his request by the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, and have shown that he lacked the gene for making green pigment in the retina.

Dalton who lived from 1766 to 1844 gave instructions for his eyes to be examined after his death. He had believed that the vitreous humour, the clear substance in the inner chamber of the eyes must in his case, be tinted blue so that it absorbed red light. At the autopsy, no such blue tint was found. But from Dalton’s perception of how he perceived light, scientist have concluded that he must have lacked the pigment in the retina that is sensitive to red light.

Questions:

1. Which colours could not be distinguished by Dalton?
   (a) red from blue
   (b) red from yellow
   (c) red from green
   (d) blue from green
2. What instructions did Dalton give regarding his eyes?
   (a) To be preserved at home.
   (b) To be examined after death.
   (c) To be checked immediately.
   (d) To be kept in museum.
3. Which languages still use the word ‘Daltonism’?
4. What did Dalton believe about his own blindness?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   Scientists concluded that he _______ a pigment in his retina.
6. Match the words in column A with their meaning in column B:
   A: described, examined
   B: shown, explained, checked

Answers:

1. (c) Red from green.
2. (b) To be examined after death.
3. French, Spanish and Russian still use the word ‘Daltonism’.
4. Dalton believed that the vitreous humour, the clear substance in the inner chamber of the eyes, must in his case be tinted blue so that it absorbed red light.
5. Lacked.
6. described – explained; examined – checked.

Exercise IV – Foreign Travel

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Less obviously, but just as significant, are the social reasons behind the modern urge to travel. Foreign journeys were, at one time, expensive and difficult for most of the people to organize, in fact, an indulgence for the wealthy. Today, cheap airfares and package holidays have made foreign travel fashionable for many, especially for those who spend their lives working in crowded cities and in industry. Travel to foreign countries is now within the reach of the families who only thirty years ago would have hardly dreamt of such a thing. Indeed, for some, it has become a matter of personal pride to boast of. The more the time spent abroad, and the more glamorous and far-flung the destination, the better. Indians are now looking beyond the beaches of Goa to Miami beaches or to the mountains of Alps or the Niagara Falls or even the safaris of Africa for a new and vastly different experience. Travel companies have been quick to advertise the cultural and educational advantages of such holidays, selling wildlife exploration trips of the Amazon or the ancient temples of the east just as earnestly as they once did the ‘Magic of Rome’ or the ‘Splendour of Ancient Athens’.

Questions:

1. What was once considered an indulgence for the wealthy?
   (a) horse riding in the forests
   (b) foreign travel
   (c) playing on the ice
   (d) enjoying with family
2. What has made foreign travel fashionable now?
   (a) beauty of locations
   (b) people’s mood
   (c) cheap airfares and package holidays
   (d) internet
3. What makes people dream of holiday abroad now?
4. Where do the Indians look forward to go for holidaying nowadays?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   Mumbai is one of the most _____ cities in India.
6. Match the words in column A with their meaning in column B:
   A: expensive, earnestly
   B: sincerely, freely, costly

Answers:

1. (b) Foreign travel.
2. (c) Cheap airfares and package holidays.
3. People can now dream of foreign holidays because cheap airfares and package holidays have made foreign travel affordable.
4. Indians are now looking forward to visiting Miami beaches, the Alps, the Niagara Falls and the safaris of Africa.
5. Crowded.
6. expensive – costly; earnestly – sincerely.

Exercise V – Differently Abled Persons

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

There are in our country, as in other countries of the world, thousands of differently abled persons, such as those who are blind or deaf and dumb. In some cases, these persons may have been born blind or deaf, while in others, they may have gone blind or deaf as a result of some illness or accident.

You sometimes, hear people say of such handicapped persons: “It is the work of fate” or “It is the will of God.” Some even say, “They suffer the fruits of their own actions in the past.” Even the parents of differently abled children often express such feelings and opinions, and they scarcely ever think of how they can help these unfortunate ones. This certainly is not the way to look at the problems of the differently abled.

Whatever may be the cause of their suffering, we have got to treat the differently abled with sympathy and understanding. In many instances, physically challenged children suffer from neglect and are left to themselves in their homes. This makes their life extremely sad and lonely. Our first duty is to make these children happier and less lonely by engaging them in different activities suitable for them. Secondly, we have got to educate these children and help them to live meaningful lives. We should secure benefits of education for them in schools intended for them. We ought to make them self reliant by creating suitable employment opportunities for them. They will then have a sense of achievement. We will also feel satisfied that we have done our duty towards them.

Questions:

1. How should we treat the differently abled children?
   (a) indifferently
   (b) with sympathy and understanding
   (c) ignore their loneliness
   (d) neglect them
2. According to the author, what is our first duty towards differently abled children?
   (a) to make them homeless
   (b) to make them healthy
   (c) to make them happier and less lonely
   (d) to make them run fast
3. How do some children become differently abled?
4. What makes the life of handicapped children sad and lonely?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   We must ______ these children with love and sympathy.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: sympathy, lonely
   B: sad, nearly, feeling pity and tenderness

Answers:

1. (b) With sympathy and understanding.
2. (c) To make them happier and less lonely.
3. Some children are born blind or deaf, while others become differently abled because of an illness or an accident.
4. Neglect and being left to themselves in their homes make their lives sad and lonely.
5. Treat.
6. sympathy – feeling pity and tenderness; lonely – sad.

Exercise VI – Indian Economy

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

In a reversal of the norm elsewhere, in India, policymakers and economists have become optimists while bosses do the worrying. The country’s Central Bank has predicted that India’s economy is likely to grow at a double digit rate during the next 20-30 years. India has the capability with its vast labour and lauded entrepreneurial spirit. But the private sector, which is supposed to do the heavy lifting that turns India from the tenth largest economy to the third largest by 2030, has become fed up.

Business people often crib about India’s problems but their irritation this time has a nervous edge. In the first quarter of 2011, the GDP grew at an annual rate of 7.8 percent; in 2015-17 it managed 6-7 percent. The economy may be slowing naturally as the low interest rates and public spending that got India through the global crisis have been belatedly withdrawn. At the same time, the surge in inflation caused by exorbitant food prices has spread more widely, casting doubt over whether India can grow at 8-10 percent in the medium term without overheating.

Questions:

1. What rate of growth does the Central Bank predict for the Indian economy for the next 20-30 years?
   (a) eight percent
   (b) seven percent
   (c) double digit
   (d) five percent
2. Who is supposed to do the heavy lifting to turn India into the third largest economy?
   (a) government agencies
   (b) private sector
   (c) public sector
   (d) property owners
3. What is India’s capability to grow based on?
4. What is casting doubts over India’s growth rate?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   He suffered from a ______ breakdown.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: crisis, optimist
   B: large, difficult phase, one who looks forward to a positive outcome

Answers:

1. (c) Double digit.
2. (b) Private sector.
3. India’s capability to grow is based on its vast labour force and lauded entrepreneurial spirit.
4. The surge in inflation caused by exorbitant food prices is casting doubts over India’s growth rate.
5. Nervous.
6. crisis – difficult phase; optimist – one who looks forward to a positive outcome.

Exercise VII – Brain Drain

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Brain drain, also referred to as human capital flight, is the action of having highly skilled and educated people leaving their country to work abroad. It has actually become one of the serious concerns for the developing nations. While many people believe that immigration is a personal choice that must be understood and respected, others look at this phenomenon from a different perspective. What makes those people leave their country, their own people, should be seriously considered and a distinction between pull and push factors must be made. The push factors include low wages and lack of satisfactory working and living conditions. Social unrest, political conflicts and wars may also be the determining causes. The pull factors, however, include intellectual freedom and substantial funds for research. Brain drain has negative impact on the economic prospects and competitiveness of sender countries. It reduces the number of dynamic and creative people who can contribute to the development of their country. Likewise, with more entrepreneurs taking their investments abroad, developing countries are missing opportunity of wealth creation.

Questions:

1. The term ‘brain drain’ is also referred to as:
   (a) capital flight
   (b) human capital flight
   (c) pull factors
   (d) push factors
2. Brain drain has terrible consequences on the economic development of:
   (a) sending countries
   (b) receiving countries
   (c) developed countries
   (d) undeveloped countries
3. What do you mean by the term ‘Brain drain’?
4. Enumerate the push factors that lead to Brain drain.
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   Every citizen must __________ for the development of the nation wholeheartedly.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: conflicts, reduce
   B: decrease, disputes, increase

Answers:

1. (b) Human capital flight.
2. (a) Sending countries.
3. Brain drain is the migration of highly skilled and educated people from their own country to work abroad.
4. The push factors include low wages, lack of satisfactory working and living conditions, social unrest, political conflicts and wars.
5. Contribute.
6. conflicts – disputes; reduce – decrease.

Exercise VIII – Helping the Needy

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

One night, a man came to our house and told me, “There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days.” I took some food and went out. When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger. There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger. I gave the rice to the mother. She divided it in two and went out, carrying half the rice with her. When she came back, I asked her, “Where did you go?” She gave me this simple answer, “To my neighbour–they are also hungry.” I was not surprised because poor people are generous but I was surprised that she knew they were hungry.

As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves; we have no time for others. We become selfish and self-centered. Having experienced the pangs of sufferings, we should, rather extend a helping hand to the poor and the needy.

Questions:

1. The faces of the children reflected:
   (a) sorrow
   (b) joy
   (c) hunger
   (d) greediness
2. The action of the mother shows:
   (a) selfishness
   (b) hatred
   (c) gratitude
   (d) love
3. Where did the mother go after dividing the rice and why?
4. Why was the gentleman surprised?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   The faces of the little children were ______.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: simple, generous
   B: complicated, hatred, selfish

Answers:

1. (c) Hunger.
2. (d) Love.
3. The mother went to her neighbour’s house to give them half of the rice because they were also hungry.
4. The gentleman was surprised that the mother knew her neighbours were hungry even while her own family was suffering.
5. Disfigured.
6. simple – not complicated; generous – not selfish.

Exercise IX – Health and Hygiene

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Health and hygiene go hand in hand. Health refers to a state of sound mind and physically fit body, free from any form of sickness, disorder or ailment. Hygiene refers to the good practices that prevent disease and lead to good health through cleanliness, proper sewage disposal, balanced and nutritious food, regular exercise, proper sleep, pure and fresh air and supply of safe drinking water. The proverb, ‘Health is Wealth’ is truly said of all things in the world. Health is the most valuable thing that one can possess. Money is, undoubtedly, a prized possession, but can it provide pleasure to a ruined health? As body and mind are closely related, the mind can never be sound and cheerful without sound health. An unhealthy man may have intelligence, merit and wealth but he cannot put them to use and reap their benefits. We must, therefore, adopt proper hygienic measures to preserve and maintain good health. Too much work or exercise, eating or drinking are injurious to health. A regulated life coupled with clear and pure mind makes life worth living.

Questions:

1. Hygiene refers to practices that lead to good health through:
   (a) balanced diet
   (b) impure air
   (c) abundant wealth
   (d) regular play
2. Life will become worthless through:
   (a) gambling and drinking
   (b) regulated life
   (c) pure mind
   (d) healthy body
3. What does the term ‘health’ refer to?
4. Can a wealthy but unhealthy man enjoy life?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   The selection in Army service is made purely on ______.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: fresh, preserve
   B: use, state, destroy

Answers:

1. (a) Balanced diet.
2. (a) Gambling and drinking. Note: This is the option given in the textbook; the passage itself emphasises excessive work, exercise, eating or drinking as harmful.
3. Health refers to a state of sound mind and a physically fit body, free from any form of sickness, disorder or ailment.
4. No, an unhealthy man cannot fully enjoy life even if he is wealthy, because he cannot use his wealth and abilities to reap their benefits.
5. Merit.
6. fresh – new; preserve – maintain.

Exercise X – Pushpa Gujral Science City

Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Named after the former Prime Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral’s mother, Pushpa Gujral Science City located on Jalandhar-Kapurthala Road, just west of Jalandhar, is extremely thrilling. Almost every branch of Science is exhibited, right from physical, applied, natural and social sciences to health sciences, human evolution and civilization, engineering, technology, agriculture, the environment, ecosystems and Jurassic Park. In the Dome theatre, large format films are projected on 23 meter-tilted dome. Semi-circular giant dome screen produces huge images that soar and swoop above, beside and behind you, to give you a spectacular, immersible experience. The Light-Speed 3D Digital Theatre presents three dimensional computer graphics, videos and the most advanced animations. Amazing Living Machine Gallery presents the intricate structures and functions of the human body using large human models. The Flight Simulator provides the visitors a sense of adventure. The Laser Theatre presents laser shows that carry the visitors to a wonderland to experience a mind boggling mix of sound and laser beams. The Dinosaur Park displays the evolution of dinosaurs and the probable reasons for their extinction. There is also a kids’ park containing tunnels, rides, bouncers etc. and an artificial lake that allows the visitors to indulge in boating. With all the wonderful attractions, a visit to the Science City would be highly informative and enjoyable.

Questions:

1. Which facility provides a sense of adventure?
   (a) kid’s park
   (b) dome theatre
   (c) Flight Simulator
   (d) Laser Theatre
2. Large human models are found in:
   (a) Amazing Living Machine Gallery
   (b) Dinosaur Park
   (c) Digital Theatre
   (d) Laser Theatre
3. Where is the Pushpa Gujral Science City located?
4. What is displayed in the Dinosaur Park?
5. Fill in the blank with a suitable word from the passage.
   The works of famous painters are __________ in the Tagore Art Gallery.
6. Match the words under column A with their meaning under B:
   A: spectacular, giant
   B: huge, amazing, dirt

Answers:

1. (c) Flight Simulator.
2. (a) Amazing Living Machine Gallery.
3. Pushpa Gujral Science City is located on Jalandhar-Kapurthala Road, just west of Jalandhar.
4. The Dinosaur Park displays the evolution of dinosaurs and the probable reasons for their extinction.
5. Displayed.
6. spectacular – amazing; giant – huge.