question_answer

  Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.                                                                     (12) It is agreed that disasters have become a way of life. We simply can't wish them away. Be it earthquakes, cyclones, floods, landslides, sea-erosion or fires. But we are definitely in a stage to marginalize their effects. Because these calamities by themselves do not kill people, it is the structurally deficient buildings that give way burying within themselves the hapless many. The recent earthquake in Gujarat has indeed shaken all of us. Whereas Bhuj, at the epicentre of the quake, has turned into debris, many a buildings in Ahmedabad, 400 kms away, also simply collapsed. Surprising was the fact that the lower floors of many buildings sank into the soil. In the cyclone affected coastal Andhra and Odisha, majority of the houses were razed to the ground due to inadequate structural provisions. Stories of major fires in buildings in urban areas are too frequent to be missed by any of us. Why is it that same intensity of earthquake in Gujarat killed over 30000 people and destroyed over 3.5 lakhhouses and in Seattle with the same earthquake two weeks later, only one died, that too of heart attack with no damage to buildings. Sadly, a major portion of this loss to life and property was, in fact, avoidable, had the habitations been constructed with structural safety precautions and disaster resistant provisions, as already available in the National Building Codes and Earthquake Codes and Enactments. With details on disaster proneness of various regions for natural calamities already available through theVulnerability Atlas, what is needed is a determined effort to enforce a techno-legal regime to ensure incorporation of safety provisions in new construction as well the strengthening of existing vulnerable buildings in the operative buildings. Byelaws of the local bodies. So also for fire safety, we need to design and construct buildings with fire safety provisions. Insisting on annual renewal certificates to ensure proper maintenance could avoid many a fire hazards. The designs without structural soundness, execution with inferior quality of material and workmanship and scant attention to safety norms and disaster resistant features in construction are all fraught with serious risk and hazard to both life and property. It is indeed heartening to note that large number of discerning home owners have already started asking searching questions to the builders if the building is structurally safe for all situations. This never used to happen earlier. (a) Answer the following questions.                                                                                                                        (2 x 4 = 8) (i) Name some disasters that have become a way of life. (ii) What happened in Gujarat earthquake? (iii) What is Vulnerability Atlas? (vi) What should be done for fire safety? (b) Answer the following questions.                                                                                                                        (1 x 4 = 4) (i) What is the meaning of the word 'deficient'? (ii) Give a synonym for the word 'incorporation' in the passage. (iii) Give the opposite for the word 'inferior' in the passage. (iv) Pick out a word from the passage that means- 'hardly any'.

Answer:

  (a) (i) Some disasters that have become away of life are earthquakes, cyclones, floods, fires. (ii) The recent earthquake in Gujarat, Bhuj, has shaken many buildings in Ahmedabad at a distance of 400 kms away from the spot. (iii) The Vulnerability Atlas gives the detailed information on disaster proneness of various regions for natural calamities. (iv) We should construct buildings with fire safety provisions for fire safety. (b) (i) The word means not having enough. (ii) The synonym is implementation. (iii) The opposite is superior. (iv) The word is "scant".