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MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passages
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 1
CAMPS TO TAP CREATIVITY
1. As the dreaded examinations crawl to a halt, students look forward to the much-awaited “creative outlets”, the summer camps, to let off steam and spend their holidays. A summer camp is conducted over a short period of four to five weeks involving interesting filled activities. The colourful spectrum of summer-ramps- provides a wide variety of activities which include artistic skills, such as painting, origami, art, music, craft and also spoken English, cookery and computer courses. Not only this, the summer camps keep the child “fit as a fiddle” by imparting lessons in yoga, cricket, tennis and swimming.
2. With changing, times and trends parents have become productivity-oriented. They want their children to learn through productive play unlike in Lie past when play was just played. Today, the parents want to tap the potential of their children to the fullest. To achieve this aim, the summer camps afford an ideal opening for children to develop their hobbies and talents. The importance of creative play is often underestimated whereas the fact is ’that art and craft projects can excite even a young child’s imagination and promote a sense of great achievement. The little things that children make and take home give them a sense of achievement and pride when they show them to their parents.
3. Summer camps develop a child’s confidence and his ideas. They also encourage children to do things on their own. The camps are beneficial for hyperactive and aggressive children as they help channel their energies fruitfully by drawing out the best in them. They also promote mutual understanding not only among teachers and children but also bring about an interaction between the taught. This provides a good experience for a better future— a future of confidence.
(“The Young World” The Hindu)
Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the passage complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the.correct blank number :
(a) Activities in summer camps are …………………… and ……………………
(b) Summer camps keep the children healthy since ……………………
(c) Now-a-days parents think play should be ……………………
(d) “To achieve this aim”. What aim is the writer referring to here?
(e) “They also promote mutual understanding.” /They’ refers, …………………… to.
(f) Summer camps are particularly helpful for problem children who are …………………… and ……………………
Give the list of qualities (g) …………………… and (h) …………………… apart from the ones given below, which camps help to develop in children: confidence; creativity; talents
Answer:
(a) fun-filled and interesting.
(b) they impart lessons in yoga, cricket, tennis and swimming.
(c) productivity-oriented.
(d) The aim is the parent’s desire to tap the potential of their children to the fullest.
(e) ‘They’ refers to the summer camps.
(f) hyperactive and aggressive.
(g) independence
(h) mutual understanding
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 2
THE RABBITS WHO CAUSED ALL THE TROUBLES
1. Within the memory of the youngest child there was a family of rabbits who lived near a pack of wolves. The wolves announced that they did not like the way the rabbits were living. One night several wolves were killed in an earthquake and this was blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that rabbits pound on the ground with their hind legs and cause earthquakes. On another night one of the wolves was killed by a bolt of lightning and this also was blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that lettuce-eaters cause lightning.
2. The wolves threatened to civilise the rabbits if they did not behave, and the rabbits decided to run away to a desert island. But the other animals, who lived at a great distance, shamed them saying, “You must stay where you are and be brave. This is no world for escapists. If the wolves attack you, we will come to your aid, in all probability.” So the rabbits continued to live near the wolves. And one day there was a terrible flood which drowned a great many wolves. This was blamed on the rabbits, for it is well known that carrot nibblers with long ears cause floods. The wolves descended on the rabbits for their own good, and imprisoned them in a dark cave, for their own protection.
3. When nothing was heard about the rabbits for some weeks, the other animals demanded to know what had happened to them. The wolves replied that the rabbits had been eatem and since they had been eaten the affair was a purely internal matter. “They were trying to escape,” said the wolves, “and, as you know, this is no world for escapists.” Jamey Thurber
Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the passage above, complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct numbers.
(a) According to the wolves, the earthquake was caused by the rabbits, ……………………
(b) The rabbits did not run away from their place of living, to other safe place because ……………………
(c) Pick up two words from the passage which the wolves have used to indicate the nature of rabbits.
(d) What characteristic of the wolves does the phrase for their own good’ reveal?
(e) The wolves justified their action to the other animals by saying ……………………
(f) The final fate of the rabbits was ……………………
(g) ‘a purely Internal matter is humorous because ……………………
(h) The title ‘The Rabbits Who Caused All the Troubles’ is significant because ……………………
Answer:
(a) for it is well known that rabbits pound on the ground with their hind legs and cause earthquakes.
(b) they did not want to be shamed for being escapists.
(c) (i) lettuce-eaters (ii) carrot-nibblers
(d) This phrase reveals the self-centred nature of the wolves
(e) that the rabbits were trying to escape and this is no world for escapists
(f) imprisonment in a dark cave and being devoured by the wolves.
(g) the matter is not at all an internal one
(h) it is ironical as it was only the wolves who thought that the rabbits caused all the troubles
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 3
1. We’ve just left the dinner table, when I hear music coming from my daughter’s computer. It surprises me that my daughter Ida is listening to music from a time she refers to as the very old days. “What are you playing?” I ask. “It’s Phi Collins,” is her prompt reply, while she shows how, with a few strokes, she can download almost any song from the Internet. Times have certainly been changing since I scratched my first Beatles record. Tactfully I don’t mention that I had bought the record she’s listening to before she was bom. The concept of a phonograph record belongs to a bygone age and I don’t want to spoil the pleasure she’ll get from discovering her “own” new favorite musician.
2. The music brings memories flooding back. I have a sudden urge to bring back my record collection from the attic, where it has moldered for almost a decade. Only one thing stops me : my turntable succumbed to the damp air in a cellar where I stored it for a good ten years. No, I don’t care if turntables are ancient technology: I will find one. And I will restore my long lost record collection—-which took up a good amount of shelf space— to its former glory. Buying something as uncool as a turntable takes courage and planning. I find a promising TV and radio store in the phone book but I am expecting a mountain of Questions from the clerk, who will most certainly have been born and raised after the demise of the turntable.
3. “A turntable? Coming right up!” says the young man behind the counter. He disappears into the storeroom and before I can say long-playing record, he’s back with a small cardboard under his arm. It’s too good to be true. An hour later my new acquisition is in thej living room and a respectful atmosphere descends. I’ve sorted my records into piles all over the floor, I find a Beatles album.
4. Behind the wonderful music now flowing through the loudspeaker is the unmistakable sound of vinyl. It doesn’t take long for my twelve-year-old son’s eagle eye to spot the turntable and he has to try it out. Jonas is technically minded, a child of the computer age, yet I sense a certain reverence as he picks up the tone arm and tries to place it in the middle of the record. Brought up in the CD age how could he know what’s wrong? I say in a soothing voice: “The starting groove is on the edge of the record.” “Does it matter which side is up?” queried my daughter. “It does matter,” I replied. Soon we were listening to a Phil Collins number we both like. The generation gap vanishes as the music takes over. I relish the moment to the full and cast a glance at Ida. She’s relaxed and smiling. _
Question 1.
Fill in the following summary using only one word for each blank. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank number.
It was a moment of surprise for the author to (a) …………………… that his daughter had the same (b) …………………… for music as he had. This brought back (c) …………………… of his (d) …………………… collection in the attic. Though, a (e) …………………… task, he was (f) …………………… in locating a turntable.
Answer:
(a) discover (b) passion/interest (c) memories (d) record (e) difficult (f) successful
Question 2.
Complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet.
(a) Jonas did not know how to handle the turntable as ……………………
(b) Music could bridge the generation gap as ……………………
(c) The author was reluctant to bring out his turntable from the cellar because ……………………
Answer:
(a) he was seeing it for the first time and he was, a technically minded computer age child.
(b) it takes over the complete atmosphere and makes one relish each moment to the full.
(c) it had moldered there for almost a decade and might have succumbed to the damp air in a cellar
Question 3.
Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following
(a) skillfully avoiding giving offense (para 1)
(b) a feeling of respect (para 4)
Answer:
(a) tactfully (b) reverence
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 4
1. Papaya is the healthiest fruit with a list of properties that is long and exhaustive. Belonging to the family of Caricaceae fruit, it is commonly kown as Papaw in Australia and Mamao in Brazil. It first originated in southern Mexico and neighbouring Central America, but is now available in every tropical and subtropical country. Papaya favours digestion as well as cures skin irritation and sun burns. You can munch on it as a salad, have it cooked or boiled or just drink it up as milkshake or juices. Modern science confirms the age-old beliefs that papaya has much to contribute to the health cause. The most important of these virtues is the protein-digesting enzyme in the milky juice or latex. The enzyme is similar to pepsin in its digestive action and is said to be so powerful that it can digest 200 times its own weight in protein. It assists the body in assimilating the maximum nutritional value from food to provide energy and body building materials.
2. Papain in raw papaya makes up for the deficiency of gastric juice and fights excess of, unhealthy mucus in the stomach, dyspepsia and intestinal irritation. The ripe fruit, if eaten regularly corrects habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diar- ‘ rhoea. The juice of the papaya seeds also assists in the above- mentioned ailments.
3. The juice, used as a cosmetic, removes freckles or brown spots due to exposure to sunlight and makes the skin smooth7 and delicate. A paste of papaya sgeds is applied in skin diseases like those caused by ringworm. The black seeds of the papaya are highly beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism, malnutrition, etc. A tablespoonful of its juice, combined with a hint of fresh lime juice, should be consumed once or twice daily for a month. The fresh juice of raw papaya mixed with honey can be applied over inflamed tonsils, for diphtheria and other throat disorders. It dissolves the membrane and prevents infection from spreading.
Question 1.
Complete the following :
(a) The other names for papaya are :
(b) Though now found in every tropical country
(c) One of the most important virtues of papaya is:
(d) Intestinal irritation can be overcome.
(e) Diseases cured by papaya are
(f) Throat disorders can be cured if
Answer:
(a) Papaw and Mamao.
(b) it first originated in Southern Mexico and neighboring Central America.
(c) the protein-digesting enzyme in the milky juice or latex.
(d) by the papain in raw-papaya.
(e) habitual constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhea.
(f) fresh juice of raw papaya mixed with honey is applied over inflamed tonsils.
Question 2.
Complete the table below
| Portion / extract Juice (b) ………………………………….. Black seeds |
treatment for (a) ………………………………….. Skin diseases (d) ………………………………….. |
caused by Exposure to sunlight (c) ………………………………….. Alcoholism” |
Answer:
(a) freckles or brown spots
(b) Paste of Papaya seeds
(c) ringworm
(d) cirrhosis of the liver
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 5
1. Set in the declining but still green Western Ghats in the south west of Karnataka, Coorg is the heart of India’s coffee country, coffee being the world’s most heavily traded commodity after crude Oil. Coorg boasts a land area four times larger than Hong Kong and seven times the area of Singapore, most of it is under tree cover because unlike tea plants, the coffee bush requires shade.
2. India is acknowledged as the producer of the finest mild coffees. j With their tropical climate, high altitude, abundant rainfall and fertile soil, Coorg and the neighbouring Chickmagalur districts in Karnataka have consistently produced and exported high-quality coffee for over 150 years. The coffee output of these I two districts accounts for 70 percent of the total coffee produced in the country. Coorg coffee is valued for its blue colour, clean beans and fine liquoring qualities and hence is in demand in the international markets.
3. In March and April is the coffee blossom time in Coorg. When blossom transform into berries, the bushes are cropped. The cherry-red fruit is then pulped; the seeds separated, dried and sent for curing, Coorg or Kodagu is the district which is one of the largest producers of pepper, cardamom and honey in the world.
4. Not rftuch is known about early history of Coorg. Recorded history is available only from 1600 AD onwards when Kodava \ rajas ruled over the region and established their capital at Mercara by constructing a mud walled fort. The martial Kodavas troubled Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan who ruled the Mysore region in the 18th century by way of sporadic rebellions. But in 1785, Tipu’s large army marched into Kodagu and devastated the kingdom. Fourteen years later, with the help of the British who defeated Tipu Sultan following the historic siege of Srirangapatana ^ in 1799, Coorg regained independence and under the leadership of Raja Veerarajendra rebuilt the capital. Later in 1834, the British exiled its ruler Chikkaveera Rajendra and assumed administrative charge of the district. The British left India’ in 1947, leaving behind a legacy of coffee plantations, colonial buildings and well- planned road networks.
Question 1.
Complete the following:
(a) The tea plants are unlike coffee plants as the latter
(b) Coorg coffee is internationally acclaimed for its
(c) Coorg is famous not only for-coffee but also for
(d) After crude oil, coffee is the
Answer:
(a) require shade
(b) blue colour, clean beans and fine liquoring qualities
(c) pepper, cardamom and honey
(d) world’s most heavily traded commodity
Question 2.
Complete the table given below:
| Year | Events |
| (a) …………………………………………….. | Recorded history of Coorg |
| 1783 AD | available from |
| (b) …………………………………………….. | |
| (c) …………………………………………….. | Coorg regained independence |
| 1834 AD | (d) …………………………………………….. |
Answer:
(a) 1600 AD
(b) Tipu’s large army marched into Kodagu and .devastated the kingdom.
(c) 1799
(d) British exiled the ruler Chikkaveera Rajendra and assumed administrative charge of the district.
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 6
1. India Was once considered the land of knowledge and enlightenment. In ancient times scholars from all over Asia and Europe used to flock to Taxila, Nalanda and other Indian centres of learning. Apart from the arts, culture, philosophy and religion, these scholars came to study medicine, law and martial sciences. But despite having a vastly expanded university system and historical advantages, modern India has yet to provide international or even regional leadership in higher education. From the surrounding countries of Asia and Africa only a few students come to India for higher education.
2. The United States is by far the most successful country in attracting foreign students. But other countries such as Australia, Canada and Britain also aggressively market their universities abroad through their education counseling services and recruitment fairs with the active cooperation of their diplomatic missions abroad.
3. Likewise, India should also capitalise on the advantages offered by its higher education institutions, market Indian universities abroad and facilitate the entry of foreign students into them.
4. The revenue from foreign students can be used to ease the financial crunch faced by Indian universities, improve academic facilities and subsidise the cost of educating Indian students.
5. But apart from economic advantages many other benefits would accrue to the nation. India would gain global and regional influence, goodwill and become a major provider of higher education. Many Asian and African countries, especially the sinaller ones have poorly developed university systems and would look to Indian universities for the higher education of their youth. At the same time Indian students will not be deprived if 10 per cent supernumerary seats for foreign students are created in universities and professional colleges.
6. Already professional education in India has proved accessible and affordable for foreign students, especially from Malaysia, the Middle East and South Africa. In these countries higher education training facilities are limited. Many NRI (non-resident Indian) families abroad, especially those from English-speaking industrialised countries are also keen to send their children to study in their motherland and hopefully to become attuned to their Indian roots in the process.
Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the passage complete the sentences given below. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers. Do not copy the whole sentence.
(a) In spite of India having a historical advantage and a vastly expanded university system it ………………………
(b) Many parents send their children to India hoping that ………………………
(c) Academic facilities in India can be improved with ………………………
Answer:
(a) has yet to provide international or even regional leadership in higher education.
(b) by studying in their motherland these children would become attuned to their Indian roots.
(c) the revenue earned from the foreign students.
Question 2.
On the basis of yoq,r reading of the passage complete the following paragraph using one word only in each blank. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.
The income from foreign students would not only (a) …………………….. in educating Indian students but also in (b) ……………………… global and regional influence and thus (c) to higher education (d) The (e) ……………………… of countries with poorly developed education systems usually (f) ……………………… on Indian Universities for their higher education.
Answer:
(a) help (b) improving (c) provide (d) system (e) students (f) depend
Question 3.
Find words/phrases from the passage which mean the same as the following from the paragraphs indicated. _
(a) forceful (para 2) (b) easy to approach/to enter (para 5)
Answer:
(a) aggressive (b) accessible
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 7
1. Our house is filled with photos. They cover the walls of my kitchen, dining room and den. I see our family’s entire history, starting with my wedding, continuing through the births of both sons, buying a home, family gatherings and vacations. When my sons were little, they loved to pose. They waved, danced, climbed trees, batted balls, hung upside down’ from the jungle gym and did anything for a picture. But when they reached adolescence, picture-taking changed into something they barely tolerated. Their bodies were growing at haphazard speeds. Reluctantly they stood with us or with their grandparents at birthday celebrations and smiled weakly at the camera for as short a time as possible.
2. I am the chronicler of our photographs. I select those to be framed and arrange the others in albums. The process is addictive,. and as the shelves that hold our albums become fuller and fuller, I wonder what will become of them. Will anyone look at these photographs in future years? If my sons look at them, what will they think of us and of themselves? One bright afternoon, I took some photographs of my father with my husband as they fished on a lake near our vacation house. As my sons and I sat on the shore and watched them row away, I picked the camera up and photographed the beautiful lake surrounded by green trees. The two men I loved gradually grew smaller until all I could see were my father’s red shirt, and the tan and blue caps on their heads.
3. My father died a week later, and suddenly those photos became priceless to me. I wept when I pasted them in our album. I wept again after wards when I saw- my younger son looking at them. It was a few days before he went away to college. He had taken all our albums down from the bookshelves in the den and spread them out on the carpet. It had been A very long time since I had seen, him doing this. Once he stopped posing for pictures, he seemed to lose interest in looking at them. Bur now he was on the verge of leaving home. This was his special time to look ahead and look back. I stood for a moment in the hall by the den, and then tiptoed away. I didn’t take a photo of my son that afternoon, but I will remember how he looked for as long as I live. Some pictures, I learned, don’t have to be taken with a camera.
Question 1.
Fill in the summary using a word only:
The author was (a) …………………… about taking photographs and framing them. But she always (b) …………………… whether her sons would ever look at them. She was full of (c) …………………… when she pasted the pictures of her father’s last days in the album. She learned that some pictures always (d) …………………… in one’s mind without a camera.
Answer:
(a) addictive (b) wondered (c) tears (d) remained
Question 2.
Complete the sentences given below:
The author’s sons enjoyed getting photographed while they
(a) …………………… …………………… …………………… ……………………
(b) …………………… …………………… …………………… ……………………
(c) …………………… …………………… …………………… ……………………
(d) …………………… …………………… …………………… ……………………
Answer:
(a) waved and danced
(b) climbed trees
(c) batted balls
(d) hung upside down from the jungle gym
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 8
THE WORLD
Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass’ upon your breast—
World, you are beautifully drest.
The wonderful air is over me,
And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,
It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,
And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.
You friendly Earth, how far do you go,
With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow!
With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,
And people upon you for thousands of miles?
Ah! you are so great, and I am so small,
I tremble to think of you, World, at all;
And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,
A whisper inside me seemed to say,
‘You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:
You cam love and think, and the Earth cannot !’
—W.B. Rands
Question 1,
On the basis of your understanding of the poem above complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.
(a) The T refers to the (1) …………………… and the ‘you’ refers to the (2) …………………… in the poem.
(b) Pick out and write any two words from the poem refer to the grandeur of the earth.
(c) Pick out and write the words from the poem that refer to the following
(1) The green dress of the earth ……………………
(2) Whisper of the wind ……………………
(3) Fear in the speaker ……………………
(4) Oceans surrounding the earth ……………………
(d) ‘You are more than the Earth, though you a such a dot’ because ……………………
Answer:
(a) (i) poet, (ii) earth,
(b) (i) great (ii), wonderful,
(c) (i) wheat fields, gardens (ii) And talks to itself on the top of the hills (iii) tremble to think of you. (iv) With the wonderful water round you curled, (d) the poet can love and think and the Earth cannot.
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 9
THE COROMANDEL FISHERS
Rise, brothers, rise; the wakening skies pray to the morning light,
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn like a child that has cried all night.
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore and set our catamarans tree,
To capture the leaping wealth of the tide, for we are the kings -of the sea! ‘
No longer delay, let us hasten away in the track of the ‘seagull’s call,
The sea is our mother/ the cloud is our brother, the waves are our comrades all.
What though we toss at the fall of the sun where the hand of the sea-god drives?
He who holds the storm by the hair, will hide in his breast our lives.
Sweet is the shade of the cocoanut glade, and the scent of the mango grove,
And sweet are the sands at the full o’ the moon with the sound of the voices we love;
But sweeter, O brothers, the kiss of the spray and the dance of the wild foam’s glee;
Row, brothers, row to the edge of the verge, where the low sky -mates with the sea.
—Sarojini Naidu
Question 1.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem above, complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.
(a) The poet refers to fishermen through different words. Two of them are : (i) …………………… (ii) ……………………
(b) The leaping wealth of the tide is (i) …………………… which the fishermen catch with their (ii) ……………………
(c) The Sea-God would (i) …………………… even if (ii) ……………………
(d) Pick out and write the word (s) from the poem that refers to :
(i) The coming of the morning ……………………
(ii) The wind is not wild ……………………
(iii) The sea waves are the fishermen’s friends ……………………
Answer:
(a) (i) brothers (ii) kings of the sea
(b) (i) fish (ii) nets
(c) (i) drive his hand (ii) they toss at the fall of the sun.
(d) (i) wakening skies (ii) the wind lies asleep (iii) the waves are our comrades all
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 10
A GREEN CORNFIELD
The earth was green, the sky was blue;
I saw and heard one sunny morn
A skylark hang between the two,
A singing speck above the corn.
A stage below in gay accord,
White butterflies danced on wing,
And still the singing skylark soared,
And silent sank and soared to sing.
The cornfield stretched a tender green
To right and left beside my walks;
I knew he had a nest unseen
Somewhere among the million stalks.
And as I paused to hear his song
While swift the sunny moments slid,
Perhaps his mate sat listening long,
And listened longer than I did.
Question 1.
Read the following summary. Complete it by writing the missing words against the correct blank number in your answer sheet.
The poet’s intense (a) ……………………. for nature is (b) ……………………. in the poem. She looked (c) ……………………. from a cornfield and saw a (d) ……………………. soaring in the sky and (e) ……………………. The butterflies (f) ……………………. about in the cornfield. The poet knew that the skylark’s (g) ……………………. was hidden (h) the stalks. She (i) ……………………. that its (j) ……………………. too was listening intently to the song.
Answer:
1. (a) love (b) evident (c) up (d) skylark (e) singing (f) danced (g) nest (h) among (i) thought (j) mate
Question 2.
Complete the following statements on the basis of your reading of the poem. Write your answers in the answer sheet 1 against the correct blank number:
(a) The colours mentioned in the poem are ……………………
(b) One sunny morning the poet ……………………
(c) The phrase ‘gay accord’ in the second stanza means ……………………
Answer:
(a) green and blue.
(b) saw a skylark soaring and singing in the blue sky above the green cornfield.
(c) The phrase ‘gay accord’ means “set in a happy and cheerful atmosphere”.
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 11
1. Why is it that there are very few women players in our orchestras? If one could reply flatly—sex discrimination: they don’t want women in orchestras—that would be a definite answer. But one can’t say that. As a matter of fact there are, if not many, a few women playing today in symphony orchestras. Nevertheless, it is true that male orchestral players are in an over whelming majority. Why is that? I’m afraid, there is no one answer. There are physical reasons why women don’t perform well on certain instruments. The average woman is not likely to possess sufficient lung power and sheer muscular strength to play the tuba just as an average woman’s hands are not likely to be large enough to finger a double bass satisfactorily. But what about the other instruments?
2. I think social and family pressures have been very strong in keeping women out of orchestras. Think of the prejudice that existed half a century ago against the so-called ‘nice’ girls going on-stage. The stage was won out for the simple reason that it had to have women to play feminine roles in plays and operas, and was willing to offer a young woman more money than she could make in any other profession. Moreover, on stage, she was appearing as an individual, as a center of attraction. This was gratifying to both her and her-family. To this day, while the average parents are reconciled to seeing their daughter become an opera singer or concert artist, they don’t like the idea of seeing her submerging her personality to become ‘the member of a chorus of the orchestra.
3. Another reason why we have so few women orchestral musicians is that so few of them play wind instruments well enough. They don’t play well enough because they haven’t had the proper training; and the reason for that lies in the history of orchestral music. You will find that famous European family of bassoon players or clarinetists taught their sons^ to play the family instrument. Their sons; but never their daughters. If they had any other pupils, those were also boys; not girls. And to this day, while women vote, hold public office and practise many other professions, without shocking our sensibilities, in this particular field, the orchestra, our attitude towards women still remains the same. However, this prejudice is rapidly crumbling, 7 and is likely to disappear entirely in a few years. For this we7 have to thank our high-school bands and orchestras, which offer/ instruction, practice and experience in playing all orchestral/instruments to boys and girls alike.
Question 1.
Complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank number;
I. The reason why there are only very few women orchestra players—
(a) Physical reasons
(i) ………………………
(ii) ………………………
(b) Social reasons
(i) ………………………
(ii) ………………………
(c) Women won out on stage because
(i) ………………………
(ii) ………………………
II. The high school bands have to be thanked because
III. Lack of training has resulted in …..
Answer:
1. (a) (i) lack of sufficient lung power and sheer muscular strength to play the tuba
(ii) average woman’s hands are not large enough to finger a double bass satisfactorily (i) family pressure strong in keeping women out of orchestras.
(ii) prejudice exists, against girls going on stage.
(i) it had to have given to play feminine roles in plays and operas, (ii) offered a young woman more money that she could make in any other profession.
II. they offer instruction, practice and experience in playing all orchestral instruments to boys and girls alike.
III. having very few women orchestral musicians.
Question 2.
Find words from the passage which mean the same as the phrases given below. Write your answers in the answer sheet
Answer:
(a) discrimination, (b) crumbling, (c) gratifying, (d) training
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 12
1. We’ve just left the dinner table, when I hear music coming from my daughter’s computer. It surprises me that my daughter Ida is listening to music from a time she refers to as the very old days. “What are you playing?” I ask. “It’s Phil Collins,” is her prompt reply, while she shows how, with a few strokes, she can download almost any song from the Internet. Times have certainly been changing since I scratched my first Beatles record. Tactfully I don’t mentiop that I had bought the record she’s listening to before she was born. The concept of a phonograph … record belongs to a bygone age and I don’t want to spoil the pleasure she’ll get from discovering her “own” new favourite musician.
2. The music brings memories flooding back. I have a sudden urge to bring back my record collection from the attic, wngre it has mouldered for almost a decade. Only one thing stops me : my turntable succumbed to the damp air in a cellar where I stored. it for a good ten years. No, I don’t care if turntables are ancient technology: I will find one. And I will restore my long lost record collection—which took up a good amount of shelf space— to its former glory. Buying something as uncool as a turntable takes courage and planning. I find a promising TV and radio store in the phone book but I am expecting a mountain of Question s from the clerk, who will most certainly have been born and raised after the demise of the turntable.
3. “A turntable? Coming right up.'” says the young man behind . the counter. He disappers into the storeroom and before I can say long-playing record, he’s back with a small ‘cardboard under his arm. It’s too good to be true. An hour later my new acquisition . is in the living room and a respectful atmosphere descends. I’ve sorted my records into piles all over the floor, I find a Beatles album.
4. Behind the wonderful music now flowing through the loud speaker is the unmistakable sound of vinyl. It doesn’t take long for my twelve year old son’s eagle eye to spot the turntable and he has to try it out. Jonas is technically minded., a child of the’xromputer age, yet I sense a certain reverence as he picks up the tone arm and tries to place it in the middle of the record. Brought up in the CD age how could he know what’s wrong?
I say in a soothing voice: “The starting groove is on the edge of the record.” “Does it matter which side is up?” queried my daughter. “It does matter,” I replied. Soon we were listening to a Phil Collins number we both like. The generation gap vanishes as the music takes over. I relish the moment to the full and cast a glance at Ida. She’s relaxed and smiling.
Question 1.
Fill in the following summary using only one word for each blank. Write the answers in your answer, sheet against the correct blank number.
It was a moment of surprise for the author to (a) ……………………… that his daughter had the same (b) ……………………… for music as he had. This brought back (c) ……………………… of his (d) ……………………… collection in the attic. Though, a (e) ……………………… task, he was (f) ……………………… in locating a turntable.
Answer:
(a) discover (b) passion/interest (c) memories (d) record (e) difficult (f) successful
Question 2.
Complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet.
(a) Jonas did not know how to handle the turntable as
(b) Music could bridge the generation gap as
(c) The author was reluctant to bring out his turntable from the cellar because
Answer:
(a) he was seeing it for the first time and he was a technically minded computer age child.
(b) it takes over the complete atmosphere and makes one relish each moment to the full.
(c) it had moldered there for almost a decade and might have succumbed to the damp air in a cellar.
Question 3.
Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following.
(a) skillfully avoiding giving offense (para 1)
(b) a feeling of respect (para 4)
Answer:
(a) tactfully (b) reverence
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 13
NIGHT
The Sun descending in the west,
The evening star does shine;
‘The birds are silent in their nest,
And I must seek for mine.
The Moon, like a flower,
In heaven’s high bower,
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night.
Farewell, green fields and happy groves,
Where lambs have nibbled, silent moves
The feet of angels bright;
Unseen they pour blessing,
And joy without ceasing,
On each bud and blossom,
And each sleeping bosom.
“They look in every thoughtless nest,
Where birds are covered warm;
They visit caves of every beast,
To keep them all from harm.”
If they see any weeping
That should have been sleeping
They pour sleep on their head/
I And sit down by their bed.
—William Blake
Question 1.
Below is a summary of the poem. Complete it by writing the missing word/phrase against the correct blank number in your answer sheet.
K This poem conveys a beautiful impression of pe&ce and quietness that falls over the landscape at (a) ……………………………. At this time there is (b) ……………………………. everywhere. The poet compares the moon to a (c) ……………………………. It appears to be silently sitting and (d) ……………………………. during the night. The poem conveys a feeling of trust in God’s protection. His (e) ……………………………. angels whose feet are bright, shower (f) ……………………………. of safe sleep on all.
Answer:
(a) night (b) silence (c) flower (d) smiling (e) unseen (f) blessings
Question 2.
What do the angels do to the following, when they visit them at night? Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank numbers.
(a) birds in their nests
(b) beasts in their caves
(c) any weeping creature
Answer:
(a) to look at the warmly covered birds.
(b) to ensure that they are free from harm.
(c) to make sure that they sleep by pouring sleep on its head.
Question 3.
Find words/phrases from the poem which means the same as the following.
(a) areas of land with fruit trees of a particular type
(b) took small bites of food
Answer:
(a) groves, (b) nibbled.
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 14
1. Although everybody has a creative spark, the potential not always fully utilised. How does one recognise those who are developing their creative energies to the fullest? Mad painters and tormented poets are only comic stereotypes of the creative personality. The essential traits of creativity are found among ” a wide variety of less conspicuous creators, people in all walks of life. Unfortunately, the structure of our social and educational environment does not always promote its growth.
2. Generally speaking, creative people often believe their purpose in life is to discover and implement the interrelatedness of things, to make order out of disorder. They also see problems where others see none and Question the validity of even the most widely accepted answers. Creative persons are compulsive problem seekers, not so much because they thrive on problems, but because their senses are attuned to a world that demands to be put together, like a jigsaw puzzle scattered on a table.
3. Several tests now in use reveal that highly creative people are much more open and receptive to the complexities of experience than are less creative people. The creative temperament has a tendency to break problems down into their most basic elements, and then reconstruct them into whole new problems, thereby discovering new relationships and new solutions.
4. Highly creative people aren’t afraid to ask what may seem to be naive or silly Question s. They ask questions like, “why don’t spiders get tangled up in their own webs?” and, “why do dogs turn in circles before lying down?”., Such Questions s may seem childlike, and in a way they are. Children have not yet had their innate creative energies channeled into culturally acceptable directions and can give full rein to their cariosity —the absolute prerequisite for full’ creative functioning, both children and adults. ‘
5. Unlike children, creative people appear to have vast stores of patience to draw upon. Months, years, even decades can be devoted to a single problem.
6. The home that encourages inquisitiveness contributes to creative development. The teacher who stresses Question s rather than answers and rewards curiosity rather than restricting it is teaching a child to be creative.
7. To be extremely intelligent is not the same as to be gifted in creative work. The Quiz Kids are often referred to as geniuses. They would undoubtedly score high in memory functions …. But it is doubtful whether they are also fluent in producing ideas.
8. Contrary to popular myths that glorify youth, more creative achievements are likely to occur when people grow older. While memory may falter with age, creativity is ageless. (425 words)
Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the passage above, complete the following sentences:
Write the answers in your answer sheets against the correct blank number.
(a) Every person is not able to use his/her creativity fully because of the ……………………… .
(b) Three traits of highly creative people, that we get to know from the passage are :
(i) ………………………
(ii) ………………………
(iii) ………………………
(c) The most essential prerequisite for full creative functioning ………………………
(d) The Quiz’ Kids may be great in (i) ……………………… but they cannot be called creative unless they can (ii) ………………………
(e) Teachers can promote creativity among students by ………………………
(f) Growing older does not affect creativity.
Pick out and write the words/phrase from the passage in support of this view:
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Answer:
(a) structure of our social and educational environment which does not always promote their creative growth.
(b) (i) They believe their purpose in life is to discover and implement ’ the interrelatedness of things.
(ii) They make order out of disorder.
(iii) The Question the validity of even the most widely accepted answers of problems.
(c) not to be afraid to ask what may seem to be naive or silly Question s.
(d) (i) memory function (ii) produce fluent ideas
(e) rewarding curiosity rather than restricting it.
(f) creativity is ageless.
Question 2.
Find words/phrases from the passage which mean the same as the following, from the paragraph indicated. Write the answers in your answer sheets against the correct blank number.
(i) noticeable (para 1)
(ii) natural and instinctive (para 4)
(iii) simple and innocent (para 4)
(iv) commonly held notions (para 8)
Answer:
(i) conspicuous (ii) innate (iii) naive (iv) myths
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 15
WHICH LOVED BEST?
“I love you, Mother,” said little John;
Then, forgetting his work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
And left her the water and wood to bring.
“I love you, Mother,” said rosy Nell-
“I love you better than tongue can tell”;
Then she teased and pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.
“I love you. Mother,” said little Fan;
“Today I’ll help you all I can;
How glad I am that school doesn’t keep!”
So she rocked the babe till it fell asleep.
Then, stepping softly, she fetched the broom,
And swept the floor and tidied the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and happy as child could be.
“I love you. Mother,” again they said,
Three little children going to bed;
How do you think that mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?
—Joy Allison
Question 1.
(a) Instead of helping his mother John
(b) John could have helped his mother by …………………………
(c) The mother rejoiced when Nell went to play because …………………………
(d) It was easy for Fan to help her mother because …………………………
(e) Fan kept herself busy and happy that day by and …………………………
(f) Fan? stepped softly into the room because she …………………………
(g) Mother guessed that Fan loved her most because her other two children …………………………
Answer:
(a) went off to the garden swing.
(b) bringing to her the water and the wood.
(c) she was irritating her mother by teasing and pouting at her.
(d) she did not have to go to school that day.
(e) sweeping the floor, tidying the room.
(f) did not want to disturb the sleeping baby.
(g) did not even bother to help her in her daily chores.
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 16
WHICH LOVED BEST?
1. Martin Luther King, one of the greatest men ever to walk on this earth, started the defence force with which the American Blacks got their rights and gained freedom from the distressing racial discrimination.
2; Martin was bom on January 15, 1929. His family lived on the outskirts of Atlanta. The fact that he could not play with White children, or that he had to offer a seat in the bus to a White, disturbed him. When he was eight years old, his father a Baptist pastor, told the family a sad story: Bessie Smith, a great singer, met with an ; accident. An ambulance rushed her to the nearest hospital, but she was not admitted because she was a Black. The ambulance took her from one hospital to another, but she could not find a place for herself because these hospitals were only for the Whites. She died for want of blood. From that day, Martin Luther King dreamt of becoming a liberator of the Blacks.
3. King completed his studies at More House College, and then earned a doctor’s degree in theology at Boston University. In 1955, King married Alabama Soprano, Coretta Scott. That very year he became a pastor and preached his first sermon in the Baptist Church of Atlanta. As a young man, he was greatly impressed by Mahatma Gandhi’s success in the political field and the power of ahimsa. King decided to follow the path of non-violence and get millions of Blacks their due. He felt that the Blacks had immensely contributed towards the building of America, and there was no reason why they should not be treated with respect.
4. King drew national attention in 1956. Since the Blacks were not permitted to sit in the same buses as the Whites, he led a boycott of public buses in Montgomery. A year later, after many arrests and threats, the US Supreme Court gave a ruling that racial segregation of public transport was unlawful. This victory taught the Blacks the power of non-violence. After 1957, King began visiting various places to deliver lectures. Soon he became a powerful orator, drawing the attention of people the world over.
5. King continued the fight, a peaceful fight, demanding the rights of the Blacks. In 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1967, King led many peaceful demonstrations against the Vietnam War and in 1968 he declared a Poor People’s Campaign. On April 4, of that very year, while planning a demonstration of striking sanitation workers, he was shot dead by an assassin. (421 words)
Question 1.
On the basis of your reading of the above passage, complete the following sentences. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the correct blank number.
(a) Martin Luther King was disturbed by the fact that
(b) The story of motivated him to fight for the rights of the Blacks.
(c) He followed the path of non-violence because
Answer:
(a) he could not play with White children or that he had to offer a seat on the bus to a white.
(b) Bessie Smith, a great singer
(c) he was greatly impressed by Mahatma Gandhi’s success in the political field and the power of ‘ahimsa’.
Question 2.
Fill in the blanks to complete the following table. Write the answers in the answer sheet against the correct blank number.
Answer:
(a) 1955
(b) He drew national attention.
(c) He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
(d) He led many peaceful demonstrations against the Vietnam War.
(e) 1968
Question 3. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following from the paragraphs indicated. Write the answer in the answer sheet against the correct blank number.
(a) causing anxiety and pain (Para 1)
(b) very largely (Para 3)
(c) separation (Para 4)
(d) a person who murders (Para 5)
Answer:
(a) distressing iff) immensely (c) segregation (d) assassin
MP Board Class 11th Special English Unseen Passage 17
WHICH LOVED BEST?
1. Last June, my elder daughter Sylvie, finished kindergarten at the school near our home in Bethlehem, USA. If my wife, Theresa, and have our way, Sylvie will graduate from the same school. I aip eyeing Sylvie’s graduation because I want this to be her only school add Bethlehem to be her hometown. Both goals— first one a school, the second a hometown—eluded me. My father was in the army, and I attended numerous schools. Our transient lifestyle offered a grand upbringing, but it came at a cost. Of all those people I befriended on the run, for instance, I’ve maintained contact with exactly one. I’m generally from everywhere and exactly from nowhere.
2. I want Sylvie and her two-year-old sister Linnea, to have that hometown that I missed. It would be a place they know intimately, care about, return to with a thrill. So when Theresa took a teaching post in Bethlehem, we moved from Chicago and decided to settle down, here. That was almost six years ago, and the transition was rough. We did not like the paucity of movie houses, used-book stores and great restaurants. We found instead, cheap shopping malls; and cornfields being transformed into faceless suburbs. It was hard to imagine blossoming in such a place. We began to seek out the good things in Bethlehem, of which, we discovered, there are many. In short order we turned up the children’s comer of the public library, a number of parks and the folk-music dub that draws top performers to a venue no bigger than our living room.
3. Where we found good places, we found good people. Slowly their numbers increased. Soon we discovered we had knit together a circle of dear friends. As our friendship strengthened, so, too did an unspoken belief that we would be here for each other over the long haul. We’d watch each other’s children grow up; offer them a hand where we could, support each other through the joys and travails of parenthood.
4. There’s yearly party, a joint sale and more potluck dinners than I can count. We’ve celebrated both of Linnea’s birthdays with a bash on our front lawn. On Saturday mornings when many of us converge downtown, the shopkeepers greet me and my children by name, and hand out goodies. To the old-timers here, all this might be unremarkable. But to be the vagabond like me, this acceptance is heart-warming, nourishing and ultimately sustaining. So why resist its pull? Because it’s a mistake to take for granted a good community, or to assume we’d be lucky enough to find one somewhere else. In the end, good and lasting community arises from a commitment to it. And there’s no more basic commitment than staying put.
Question 1.
Complete the summary given below. Use only a word to fill in the blanks.
The author decided to stay put at Bethlehem’ as he wanted it to be his (a) ……………………….. hometown.
Though upset about the lack of (b) ……………………….. he and his wife started to seek out the good things there. Soon a strong bond developed between them and their (c) ……………………….. He resisted his (d) ……………………….. to move to greener pastures. He also (e) ……………………….. that only with commitment can a lasting community arise.
Answer:
(a) permanent (b) amenities (c) friends (d) temptation (e) realized
Question 2.
Find words which mean the same as the following:
(a) many/in large numbers (para 1)
(b) change (para 2)
(c) sorrows/unpleasant experiences (para 3)
(d) a person who travels from place to place (para 4)
Answer:
(a) of his transient lifestyle he was always on the run.
(b) out of all those people he befriended on the run.
(c) from a commitment to it.
Question 3.
Complete the following sentences:
(a) The author could not refer to any place as his hometown because
(b) The author had contact with only one friend
(c) The realization that lasting community arises
Answer:
(a) numerous (b) transition (c) travails (d) vagabond
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