Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follows:

The Poet’s Farewell to Life

The fire of this life’s poison has gone out,

No more does it look forward

To the coming of new leaves

In the grove of the heart,

Burns the lamp of hope;

The path envelop’d in darkness, lighted

By a single ray of light,

As direction is found

By the pole -star

Among the cluster of stars

Time to wrap up life’s play

Like the yogi fulfilled,

Or like the common man:

Bhishma watching it all

From his hard bed of arrows

Mellow’d is the summer’s heat, the rain over,

Past is life’s autumn, covered over with golden hair;

Gone the biting winter, the drunken spring,

Filled with the pleasure mangoes bring.

Spent is the expedition fourfold,

The poet’s assault on life, conquering quarters four

Rich with movement, rhythm and vision,

With sound full of significance,

Endowed with imagery, emotion of art and love:

The ringing arithmetic of music, rhyme, meter,

Has already slipped from these fingers

Playful acts turned to shame-faced silence,

Fatuous the attacks of rival wrestlers with words,

They’ve gone wide of the mark.

This skin, once taut as a leather-shield,

Hangs in folds from the body

Come morning once again,

Let it be another round of life. (206 words)

(Nirala)

(a) What does the poet mean by ‘The fire of this life poison’?

(b) What is directing the poet now?

(c) Explain ‘spent in the expedition fourfold’?

(d) What makes the sound significant?

(e) With what has the skin been compared to?

(f) Give the gist of the poem in a sentence

(g) Give the meaning of ‘fatuous’.

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow –

Friends, I visualize a scene. A school was having about 50 teachers and 750 students. It is a place of beauty and for fostering creativity and learning. How is it possible? It is because the school management and the Principal selected the teachers who love teaching, who treat the students as their children or grandchildren. The children see the teachers as role models not only in teaching but how they conduct their lives. Above all, I see an environment in which there is nothing like a good student, average student or poor student. The whole school and teacher system is involved in generating students who perform to their best. And above all, what should be the traits the teacher should possess based on teachers’ life both inside the class room and outside the school? When good teachers walk among them, the students should feel the heat of knowledge and the purity of their lives radiate from them. This race of teachers should multiply.

Teachers and parents should preserve the happy smiles on the faces of their children even when they complete their school education. The student should feel confident that ‘I can do it’. He or she should have the self-esteem and the capability to become an employment generator. This transformation can only be brought about by a teacher who has the vision to transform. I have always liked to sit in a class. When I visit schools and colleges in India and abroad, I like to see how teachers teach and students interact in the classroom. Recently, I was in Andhra Pradesh, in a one-teacher school classroom. The school had classes only up to the fifth grade. I was with the students and the teacher was teaching. How happy were the children? The teacher was telling the young students, ‘Dear children, you see the full moon, the beautiful scene in the sky brings smiles and cheers. Remember, as you smile the family also smiles. How many of you keep your parents happy?’ The whole class lifted their hands. They said they would do it. I also lifted my hand along with the students.

I would like to share this event that I witnessed when I was a young boy of about ten years. In our house, periodically I used to see three different unique personalities meet. Pakshi Lakshamana Shastrigal, who was the head priest of the famous Rameshwaram temple and a Vedic Scholar, Rev father Bodal, who built the first church in Rameshwaram Island and my father who was an imam in the mosque. All three of them used to sit and discuss the island’s problems and find solutions. In addition, they initiated dialogues between communities with compassion.

This connectivity’s quietly spread in the island like the fragrance from the flowers. The memory of the three men meeting always comes to my mind whenever I discuss the importance of dialogue between religions. India has had this advantage of integration of minds for thousands of years. Throughout the world, the need to have a frank dialogue among cultures, religions and civilizations is being felt now more than ever.

There are some events that bring together the whole world.

We have seen how the launching of Sputnik by the Russians or Neil Armstrong’s stepping on the moon electrified the entire youth of the world. When an Indian origin astronaut along with her colleagues was returning to Earth after a major space mission, the entire world prayed for their safe return. Cricket is followed avidly in the commonwealth while soccer has an European inspiration, and they represent intense competition and admiration across borders. Similarly I have seen many instances of how art and music integrate the minds of the youth.

A few years back, when I met Mr. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, we agreed on building a youth satellite where the youth from different countries can work together. Such working together will increase understanding, make them explore new avenues and the spirit of cooperation among the youth globally will prevail, the idea of a youth satellite as a joint venture of countries was born. I am glad, the space agencies of India and Russia put in efforts and the first youth satellite was launched on 20thApril, 2011 from Shriharikota in the state of Andhra Pradesh. I had then suggested to the ISRO team to continue the series of youth satellite, so that you may also use this as a platform to developing collaborative project needed for scientific and technological developments and its applications. And above all, it will lead to integration of minds.

Dear friends, if you ask me, how my life has enriched for the last eighty-three years, I have to convey to all of you one message. The message is like this. When I reached the age of seventeen, I had one great companion. That companion was nothing but great books. Throughout my life, books enriched me.

Earth is facing many conflicts both natural and man-made. As a youth, all of you have a responsibility to work for universal harmony by ironing out all the causes of conflicts. Are you ready to do so?

One of the important areas of work is moving towards clean green energy and a clean planet earth. That means it is centered around on a mission for providing a good life to 7 billion people. If all of you work for this singular mission, then earth will be free from fossil fuel. We will move away from costly fuel which is detrimental to the environment and achieve clean energy using solar power, nuclear power and bio-fuel. Certainly these missions challenge the innovative ability of the youth. I am confident that the youth leaders will take up this challenge. The action starts from today onwards. Will you take up the challenge with an indomitable spirit?

Yes dear friends, the power of the youth will definitely make a change-a change that will bring prosperity of the nation and the world.

(Adapted from Learning How To Fly by- Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam)

On the basis of your reading of the passage answer the following questions:

(a) What did the narrator observe?

(b) What was the chief concern of these gentlemen?

(c) What impact did these meetings have on the narrator’s mind ?

(d) Which feelings are inspired throughout the world by some events?

(e) What was the outcome of meeting when the narrator met Mr. Vladimir Putin?

(f) What is the message of the narrator?

(g) What is expected from the youth?

(h) What can be achieved by the power of youth ?

(i) You are Sumant /Sumedha of Aryan Public School, Mathura. Write a speech to be delivered in morning assembly by the head boy/girl on “Importance of Self Discipline in Student’s life in about 80 -100 words.

(ii) You are Sumant /Sumedha of 186-E, Ekta Apartment, Jaisalmer. Write an article to be printed in local Newspaper on “Cleanliness is a Habit Reflected by the City” in about 80-100 words.

You are Arpit /Arpita of Tejaswi Public School, Udaipur. You observed that small children who should be going to school are engaged in begging at different traffic signals in your city. Spread a message against such inhuman conditions which deprive these kids of their innocent childhood. Write an article on Beggary: a stigma on society in about 150-200 words.

OR

You are Nirwan /Nisha of B.P.L. Public School, Patna. Write a debate in favour or against the motion on ‘Mobile should be allowed in Educational Institutes’ in about 150-200 words.

In the paragraph given below, one word has been omitted in each line. Write the missing word along with the word that comes before and the word that comes after it. Ensure that the word that forms your answer is underlined.