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Read the passage given below and answer
the questions that follow. (8)
Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan
environmentalist who began a movement to reforest hercountry by paying poor
women a few shillings to plant trees and who went on to become thefirst African
woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, died in 2011.
Dr Maathai played many roles?
environmentalist, feminist, politician, professor,rabble-rouser, human rights
advocate and head of the Green Belt Movement which she founded in 1977. Its
mission was to plant trees across Kenya to fight erosion and to create firewood
for fuel and jobs for women. The movement made her very popular and she was affectionately
called "Tree Woman" or "The Tree Mother of Africa".
Dr Maathai was as comfortable in
the gritty streets of Nairobi's slums or the muddy hillsides of central Kenya
as she was hobnobbing with heads of state. She won the Peace Prize in 2004 for
what the Nobel committee called "her contribution to sustainable
development, democracy and peace." Her Green Belt Movement has planted
more than 30 million trees in Africa and has helped nearly 900000 women,
according to the United Nations, while inspiring similar efforts in other
African countries.
''Wangari Maathai was a force of
nature," said Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nations'
environmental programme. He likened her to Africa's ubiquitous acacia trees,
"strong incharacter and able to survive sometimes the harshest of
conditions."
Dr Maathai toured the world,
speaking out against environment degradation and poverty which she said early
on were intimately connected. But she never lost focus on her native Kenya. She
was athorn in the side of Kenya's previous President, Daniel Arap Moi whose
government labelled the Green Belt Movement" subversive" during the
1980s. Mr Moi was particularly scornful of herleading the charge against a
government plan to build a huge skyscraper in one of central Nairobi'sonly
parks. The proposal was eventually scrapped, though not long afterward, during
a protest, Dr Maathai was beaten unconscious by the police.
(a) Answer the/allowing
questions. (1
x 6 = 8)
(i) Who was Wangari Maathai?
(ii) When did Wangari Maathai die?
(iii) Why was Dr Maathai called
the 'Tree Woman'?
(iv) What role did Dr Maathai play
in the Green Belt Movement?
(v) What was the mission of Green
Belt Movement?
(vi) What was Steiner's complement
for Maathai?
(vii) When did Maathai win the Peace
Prize?
(viii) How did Maathai react to
environment degradation?
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Read the passage given below and answer
the questions that follow. (12)
A study conducted by the experts
of the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) here has predictedacute water
shortage in the coming summer months, unless immediate remedial steps are
initiated. The report, which is yet to be made public, claims that the water
table in most parts of the metropolis is falling rapidly and in many places in
South Delhi is almost bone-dry. The crumbling ofthe over half-a-century old
supply infrastructure and the burgeoning population have compounded the
problem.
According to the report, Delhi
"attracts more than 4 lakh people each year. Even as it accepts, with in its
fold, all these new citizens, the city's infrastructure is on the verge of a
breakdown". The study suggests that the ground water level is receding
steadily, and at places, rather rapidly. Due tounbridled urbanization, the
scarce rain water runs off without being tapped, which is a complete waste of
resources. Delhi receives its water supply from surface flow and ground water.
The availability from surface sources, that is, Yamuna, Ganga, and Bhakra is
approximately 1150 MCM (million cubic metres) and of this 60% is available from
Yamuna.
Delhi gets an average rainfall
of 600 mm per year, of which 80% is received in three months (July-September).
More than half the rainwater runs off into the Yamuna. It is ironical that
while the Yamuna is frequently in spate, during monsoon it reports 'zero flow'
and that too in peak summer.The pressure on ground water is already beyond
capacity and recent reports suggest that people are increasingly tapping this
water resource. Even the DJB depends on groundwater.
Though the courts have put curbs
on new tubewells, those already installed are gnawing at the dwindling
reserves. The latter operate without any restrictions, some even for 24 hours.
Accordingto the study, the ground water table in the Delhi region, at varying
depths 20 to 50 metres below ground level, is saline. In some areas nears the
Yamuna, these saline aquifers occur at a depth ofabout 65 m. This effectively
makes the water unfit for consumption within that level. Electrical conductivity
is also reported to be high, making the groundwater further unfit for
consumption. The status is similar with respect to fluoride levels in certain
areas. Already, the average level of water table for blocks away from Yamuna is
between 15 to 20 m. The water table has receded by 10 m in many areas.
(a) Answer the following
questions. (2
x 4 = 8)
(i) What does the TERI survey
report say?
(ii) What is the reason of water
crisis in Delhi?
(iii) What are the sources of
water supply in Delhi?
(iv) What is the condition of
groundwater according to the study?
(b) Answer the following
questions, (1
x 4 = 4)
(i) What is the meaning of the
word "unbridled" in the passage?
(ii) Give the synonym of
"crumbling".
(iii) Give the opposite of
"recent" in the passage.
(iv) Pick a word from the passage
that means 'border'.
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You recently attended a seminar on 'How
to Achieve Success' organized by your school. Write your feelings and
experience in 100-120 words in a diary, (5)
Or
You happened to watch some
children engaged as labourers in hazardous industries like bidi-cigarettes,
crackers and bangles industries and also as domestic labourers in roadside
dhabas and as labourers on construction sites. You felt moved and want to write
an article describing the plight of such children. Write an article in about
100-120 words for your school magazine.
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Write a story beginning with
"It was the first day at a new school when............ "in 150-200
words. (10)
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Read the following paragraph
carefully and fill in the blank with one correct word. (1
x 3 = 3)
The total preparation time for paking (a) ....... be thirty
minutes. They (b) ........start the process by taking together, (c) .........
orientation survey is in process.
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In the following passage one word has
been omitted in each line and a '/' is given where the word ismissing. Write the
correct word in the space provided, (1
x 4 = 4)
(a) Sophia's mother advised that
she/see a doctor.
(b) She/to sleep for several hours
a day.
(c) A woman strides/a room full of
men.
(d) Either the doctors or the
chief surgeon/going to make a decision.
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Rearrange the following
words/phrases to form meaningful sentences. The first one has been done for you
as an example. (1
x 3 = 3)
men/ three/stayed/there
Three men stayed there.
(i) Dussehra/goodness/over/of
/celebrates/ victory/the/evil
(ii) made/from/invincible/Shiva/boon/a/Ravana
(iii) Lord
Rama/Vijayadashmi/victory/as/is/of/the/celebrated
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Read the extract given below and answer
the questions that follow. (1
x 3 = 3)
"Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain :
OListen !for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
(i) Which poetic device is used in
last two lines?
(ii) What does 'melancholy strain'
mean?
(iii) Why does the poet feel that
the song of the girl was sad?
Or
"Avva was a wonderful student. The
amount of homework she did was amazing."
(i) Who is "Awa"?
(ii) How was "Awa" as a student?
(iii) What does
"amazing" mean?
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Answer the following questions in 30-40
words each. (2
x 4 = 8)
(i)
Why do you think Charles Hooper's appointment as Assistant National Sales
Manager is considered tobe a tribute to Duke?
(ii) Mention two qualities of the
granddaughter. Give reasons to support them.
(iii) In what way is the
nightingale's song a welcome song?
(iv) Write an account on Mrs Al
Smith's encounter with Gaston.
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"The granddaughter in
return touched the feet of her grandmother". Explain in 80-100 words with reference
to the values inculcated in granddaughter's
gesture. (4)
Or
'One is often unable to taste the
fruits of one's hard work'. Explain with reference to the story 'A Dog Named
Duke'.
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Answer any one of the following
questions in about 150-200 words. (10)
What was the punishment proposed
for Gulliver in Lilliput? Explain. (Gulliver's
Travels)
Or
Comment on the character of Skyresh
Bolgolam. (Gulliver's
Travels)
Why does the narrator not take
the weather forecast seriously? (Three
Men in a Boat)
Or
Analyse the character of the old bald
man in the novel. (Three
Men in a Boat)
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