Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1. I‟ve always held the belief that rationale or logic has no place in faith. If you have faith in the Supreme then you must also accept that you are not out there to defend your faith based on any scientific evidence. Those who don‟t share your belief have an equal right to their opinion. What matters is your personal stand. If you feel peaceful and joyous, if you feel inspired to do good deeds by having your faith, then by all means keep it, there‟s no reason to abandon it.

2. Einstein once got a letter asking if he believed in the Supreme. Einstein sent a telegram in response stating, “I believe in Spinoza‟s idea of the Supreme whoreveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in someone who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.” In case you are not familiar, Baruch Spinoza (1632 – 1677) was a Dutch philosopher (yes, not just brilliant engineers, they have philosophers too). An unorthodox and independent thinker, his views were revolutionary at the time. His philosophy is thought-provoking. So, where does that leave us in regards to faith?

3. To me, faith is a sentiment, it‟s an emotion. Just like you fall in love and you surrender in love and you find yourself willing to do anything for the person you love, same is with faith. Faith is love. When you have faith, you let go off your worries of the future, you let go of your guilt of the past, because you have surrendered to the divine will. You remain committed to a life of goodness and action. But, you also recognize that there are other bigger forces, of immense scale, in play in the grand scheme of things and it‟ll do you much good to play along.

4. You gain this courage, zest and zeal to work hard, to excel, to serve. Life looks beautiful and everything looks priceless then, because it truly is. Even our suffering is priceless. It gives you strength, it makes you reflect on you. It is priceless because you appreciate life more, it brings you closer to you, the real you. Don‟t limit yourself by asking petty things from the Supreme. Trust the immensity of nature. Faith does not mean all your dreams will come true, it simply means you look upon everything that‟s granted to you as a blessing. Just focus on your deeds, and before long, you‟ll be filled beyond measure

5. Accepting the transient nature of this world, and its eternal impermanence, is the definitive path to inner peace. Either live in complete surrender or exercise total control. If your boat is neither anchored nor guided, it‟ll just drift then. It‟ll drift in the direction of your thoughts, desires and emotions. Here today, there tomorrow.

6. Cosmic intelligence is infinitely more subtle, smart, organized and selfless than individual intelligence. Anchor your ship if you are tired of rowing. Have faith. (499 words)

A Mystic‟s Viewpoint-Blog by Om Swami

2.1 On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:

a) Faith

i. does not depend on rationale and logic

ii. is a personal stand

iii. fills us with joy and peace

iv. All of the above

b) “Here today, there tomorrow‟ (Para 5) refers to

i. our thoughts

ii. our faith

iii. our emotions

iv. our desires

2.2 Answer the following briefly:

A) What was Einstein‟s belief about faith?

B) What does one gain from having faith?

C) In what way does suffering become priceless?

D) Why does the writer compare life to a birthday party?

E) What is the definitive path to inner peace?

F) How is cosmic intelligence superior to individual intelligence?

G) Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following:

i)proof (para 1):

ii) celestial (para 7):

Read the passage given below carefully and answer the questions that follow:

1. That large animals require luxuriant vegetation has been a general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but I do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest in the ancient history of the world. The prejudice has probably been derived from India, and the Indian islands, where troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in every one's mind. If, however, we refer to any work of travels through the southern parts of Africa, we shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. The same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which have been published of various parts of the interior.

2. Dr. Andrew Smith, who has lately succeeded in passing the Tropic of Capricorn, informs me that, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of Africa, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. On the southern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these exceptions, the traveler may pass for days together through open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. Now, if we look to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense.

3. It may be supposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am enabled to show that the case is very different. He informs me, that in lat. 24', in one day's march with the bullock-wagons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses - the same day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred.

4. At the distance of a little more than one hour's march from their place of encampment on the previous night, his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many more. In this same river there were likewise

crocodiles. Of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many greatanimals crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith describes the country passed through that day, as 'being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees.'

5. Besides these large animals, anyone the least acquainted with the natural history of the Cape has read of the herds of antelopes, which can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. The numbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowling round Dr. Smith's encampment. As this able naturalist remarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa must indeed be terrific! I confess it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find support in a country producing so little food.

6. The larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it; and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. There can be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much exaggerated. The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the converse is far from true.

7. Mr. Burchell observed to me that when entering Brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of the South American vegetation contrasted with that of South Africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. In his Travels, he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely curious. If we take on the one side, the elephants hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, five species of rhinoceros; and on the American side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the number), and then place these two groups alongside each other it is not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size.

8. After the above facts, we are compelled to conclude, against anterior probability that among the mammalia there exists no close relation between the bulk of the species, and the quantity of the vegetation, in the countries which they inhabit. (809 words)

Adapted from: Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin (1890)

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:

1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. discussing the relationship between the size of mammals and the nature of vegetation in their habitats

B. contrasting ecological conditions in India and Africa

C. proving that large animals do not require much food

D. describing the size of animals in various parts of the world

2. According to the author, the „prejudice‟ (Para 1) has lead to

A. errors in the reasoning of biologists

B. false ideas about animals in Africa

C. incorrect assumptions on the part of geologists

D. doubt in the mind of the author

3. The flocks of migratory birds (Para 5) are mentioned to

A. describe an aspect of the fauna of South Africa

B. illustrate a possible source of food for large carnivores

C. contrast with the habits of the antelope

D. suggest the size of antelope herds

4. Darwin quotes Burchell‟s observations in order to

A. counter a popular misconception

B. describe a region of great splendor

C. prove a hypothesis

D. illustrate a well-known phenomenon

1.2 Answer the following questions briefly:

1. What prejudice has vitiated the reasoning of geologists?

2. Why does Dr. Smith refer to Africa as a sterile country?

3. What is the „carnage‟ referred to by Dr. Smith?

4. What does Darwin‟s remark, „if there were sufficient data‟, indicate?

5. To account for the „surprising‟ number of animals in a „country producing so little food‟, what partial explanation does Darwin suggest?

6. What does the author conclude from Dr. Smith and Burchell‟s observations?

1.3 Pick out the words/phrases from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following:

a) Dense (Para 1)

b) Barren ((Para 2)

Read the following passage carefully:

1. Classical dance evolved from Tamil Nadu‟s temples across centuries. The revived and reformed Bharatanatyam keeps the art born of these ancient temples alive even to this day. Once sustained and nurtured in temples as part of a rich and vibrant temple tradition, classical dance in South India has remained over centuries a dynamic, living tradition that is continuously renewed.

2. Even 2000 years ago, dance in India was a highly evolved and complex art. It was an integral part of ancient Indian theatre as established by the Natya Shastra, the oldest and exhaustive treatise on theatre and dramaturgy. Dance dramas were performed in temple precincts. Dance movements were crystallised in stone as karanas in temple sculpture. Following the Bhakti movement in the 6th century, dance and music became powerful vehicles of veneration. The deity was treated like a much-loved king, praised and royally entertained with music and dance, as part of the daily sacred rituals of worship. Gifted, highly educated temple dancers or devadasis were supported by the temples that were richly endowed by the rulers. Some 400 temple dancers were dedicated to and maintained by the Brihadeswarar Temple in Thanjavur. Dance evolved as a composite art in temples as dancers, nattuvanars (dance gurus), musicians, poets, composers, architects, sculptors and painters shared a holistic approach to all the arts.

3. The evolution of Bharatanatyam derives from the invaluable contribution of The Tanjore Quartet. The four Pillai brothers – Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu – served as court musicians at the kingdom of Maratha king, Serfoji II in the early 19th century. Their legacy to Bharatanatyam has been their restructuring of the dance repertoire into the margam format and their vast and diverse music compositions set specifically for dance. Some of their descendants like Guru Meenakshisundaram Pillai evolved the famous Pandanallur bani (style) and trained many eminent dancers.

4. From the temples, dance made its way into the courts of kings and dancers were not just devadasis, but also rajanartakis. By the early 17th century dance forms like sadir or chinna melam, precursors to Bharatanatyam as we know it today had become popular in the courts of the Maratha rulers in Thanjavur. However, in the 19th century, colonial propaganda perceived such dance as vulgar and immoral. It led to the Anti-Nautch Movement and legislation against temple dance and dancers. Divested of all patronage and temple support, devadasis were thrown into dire straits. In the early 20th century, thanks to enlightened visionaries like EV Krishna Iyer and later, Rukmini Devi Arundale, and the dedication of a handful of devadasis and nattuvanars, classical dance was resuscitated and revived as bharatanatyam. Today, apart from a few cultural festivals in some temples, dance has left the temple for the proscenium stage. (454 words)

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. Give an appropriate title.

(b) Write a summary of the above in 80 words using the notes.

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