Read the passage given below:

1. If one early June morning you are suddenly stopped in your walk by a ringing

“piu-piu-piu-pee-pee-piu-piu” call coming from the trees in your park or garden, you will feel your heart suddenly lifted. Look around, and you may see two large, handsome, black-and-white birds with long coattails chase each other through the trees. They are pied cuckoos, that have come from Africa, and are said to announce the arrival of the greatest show on earth – the Indian monsoon. Be assured, the curtain will rise in a month or so.

2. To get a proper view of the onset of the monsoon, you really need to be stationed anywhere on the coastline of India or up in the hills. The grand show of grey clouds approaches like an airborne army, preceded by cool breezes, filling the air with electric charge so that you feel very happy. Spear of lighting flickers in the sky and the sound of thunder makes you feel excited. And then, it pours. The cracked earth without any green cover sucks down the flood of water-and then Mother Nature goes mad. Seeds scattered or buried like grains of sand or pebbles in the ground suddenly come to life. Shoots of plants rocket skywards, roots plunge into the soft, spongy earth sucking up water and nutrients. It’s a hint the grasshoppers have been waiting for. And bugs, beetles, caterpillars, centipedes, etc. emerge in their billions, feasting on the fresh green plants in the fields (to the annoyance of many a farmer) as also on each other.

3. There are miracles, and there is music too: singing golden frogs appearing in large numbers in a rain-filled ditch, taking part in a group song that Bollywood would have envied. They vanish the very next day. They’d been waiting patiently all through the blistering summer, deep underground, conserving whatever moisture they had soaked up. Fireflies wink through the trees in the hills, sending their greenish signals to one another in codes as precise as any we may use for our most secret messages.

4. All this is what the birds have been waiting for. Most birds have spent the spring and summer courting, and now it’s time to settle down. Baby birds need a lot of high protein at frequent intervals, which the rich supply of insect life so happily provides: Caterpillars are eaten up in their millions, as are furry moths, earthworms slurped down like noodles, spiky dragonflies beaten to bits to soften them up into baby food. The long-legged storks and herons – get busy with fishing. As for the big guys like lions and tigers in the jungles: they too had it relatively easy during the summer when their thirsty prey came to the waterholes. Now, with water easily available, in streams and ponds all over, they need to work harder for their meals. But yes, this is, perhaps, compensated by the arrival of baby deer – and fawns are sweet and soft, not very experienced in the merciless ways of the lions and tigers, even if they may seem more like a snack than a main meal. The animals get a rest from us, too, as parks and sanctuaries close down, not so much out of kindness as because the roads become impassable.

5. And then, just as you are beginning to tire of the green mould on your shoes, belts and bags, and of all the sniffles and snuffles that the rains also bring (bacteria and viruses also love this season), the clouds begin to disperse and float away in large armies. But before this happens, at least once, do go out in the midst of a downpour, raise your face to the heavens and dance and sing and celebrate this, the greatest show on earth.

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage answer each of the questions given below by choosing one of the options that follow:

(a) The winged messengers from Africa:

(i) bring rain from Africa

(ii) bring the message that the rains are coming soon.

(iii) Create a lot of horrible noise.

(iv) are not welcome.

(b) Baby birds benefit from the rains because:

(i) the mummy bird cannot fly in the rain.

(ii) they need a lot of noodles.

(iii) the rain brings a lot of insects which they eat.

(iv) they like wet nests.

(c) Humans don’t visit the animals in game sanctuaries during the rainy season because:

(i) humans don’t like to get wet.

(ii) the paths to the sanctuaries become waterlogged.

(iii) baby animals are born in the sanctuaries.

(iv) humans get bitten during the rainy season.

(d) The green mould that grows on leather comes :

(i) from the creepy insects that come with the rain.

(ii) because grass becomes very green during the rainy season.

(iii) because of the moisture in the air during the rainy season.

(iv) from fluffy clouds in the sky.

1.2 Answer the following questions briefly :

(a) What according to the author is the advantage of staying near the coast?

(b) How does Mother Nature react to the monsoon rain?

(c) What do bugs, beetles, caterpillars, etc. do after the rains?

(d) Why do lions and tigers have to work harder to catch their prey during the rainy season?

(e) Why are parks and sanctuaries closed during the rains?

(f) Mention one bad thing that the rainy season brings.

1.3 Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following:

(i) declare (para 1)

(ii) disappear (para 3)

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

1. South India is known mainly for its music, arts and rich literature. Madras or Chennai can be called the cultural capital and the soul of Mother India. The city is built low in pleasant contrast to the ugly tall structures of Mumbai and Kolkata. It has vast open spaces and ample greenery. The majestic spacious

Mount Road looks like a river, wide and deep. A walk along the Marina Beach in the evening with the sea shining in your face is totally refreshing. The breeze soothes the body, it refreshes the mind and brightens the intellect.

2. One can never feel dull in Chennai. The intellectual and cultural life of the city is something of a marvel. Every street corner of Chennai has a literary forum, a debating society, and music, dance or dramatic club. The intelligent arguments, the sparkling wit, and dashing irony make every meeting very interesting. There is a young men’s association which attracts brilliant speakers and equally brilliant listeners to its meetings. It is a treat to watch them use their speaking skills. Chennai speakers are by and large sweet and civilized, though angry and noisy variety is also often witnessed during election time. The more urbane speakers weave their arguments slowly like the unfolding of a melody set to

Carnatic music.

3. Music concerts and dance performances draw packed houses. There is hardly any cultured family in Chennai that does not learn and patronize music and dance in its original form. Rukmani Devi Arundale’s ‘Kala Kshetra’ is a renowned international centre. It has turned out hundreds of celebrated maestros and dancers who have brought fame and glory to our country. Carnatic music has a beautiful charm of its own. It has the moon’s soft beauty and soft pace. Thousands of people flock to the temple ‘maidans’ to enjoy the sweet melodies of their favourite singers. They sit out all night even in the unbearable heat, swaying to the rhythm of ‘nadaswaram’ and the measured beats of ‘mridangam’.

4. The gods might descend from heaven to see a South Indian damsel dancing. There are several varieties of South Indian dance – Bharat Natyam, Mohini Attam, Kathakali etc. Age cannot wither, nor custom stales its beautiful variety. Bharat Natyam is the most graceful and enchanting dance form whereas Kathakali is most masculine and virile. South Indian dances combine pleasure

with purity. Here, every muscle and fibre of the body vibrates into life, and as the movement increases, a divine flame-like passion comes out as if making an effort to reach heaven.

5. South Indian dress, particularly of the males, is puritanically simple. There you cannot distinguish a judge from a ‘peon’ by his dress. South Indian ladies to look charming and graceful in their colourful Kanjeevaram and Mysore Silk Saris.

6. South Indian cuisine, especially ‘dosa’, ‘idli’ and ‘vada’ are so delicious that now we enjoy them almost everywhere in India and even in some foreign countries. The Madrasi ‘idli’ which was a favourite of Gandhiji is served with ‘sambhar’ and ‘chutney’.

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

(a) South India is known mainly for its:

(i) tasty food.

(ii) traditional music, art, and literature.

(iii) scenic beauty.

(iv) delicate and precise ways.

(b) In South Indian cuisine, Gandhiji's favourite was:

(i) dosa.

(ii) vada.

(iii) uttapam.

(iv) idli.

2.2 Answer the following questions briefly:

(a) How does the breeze on Marina Beach affect the body?

(b) Why does one never feel dull in Chennai?

(c) What is usual for a cultured family in Chennai?

(d) What makes Carnatic music charming?

(e) What is special about ‘Kathakali’?

(f) What has ‘Kala Kshetra’ achieved?

2.3 Find words from the passage which are similar in meaning to the following:

(a) wonder (para 2)

(b) promote / support (para 3)

Read the following passage carefully:

1. There are two types of diabetes, insulin dependent, and non-insulin dependent. 90-95% of the estimated 13-14 million people in the United States with diabetes have non-insulin dependent, or type II diabetes. Because this type of diabetes usually begins in adults over the age of 40 and is most common after the age of 55, it used to be called adult-onset diabetes, its symptoms often develop gradually and are hard to identify at first; therefore nearly half of all the people with diabetes do not know it. So, someone who has developed Type II diabetes may feel tired or ill without knowing why. This can be particularly dangerous because untreated diabetes can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. While the causes, short-term effects, and treatments of the two types of diabetes differ, both types can cause long-term health problems.

2. Most importantly, both types affect the body’s ability to use digested food for energy. Diabetes does not interfere with digestion, but it does prevent the body from using an important product of digestion, glucose, for energy. After a meal, the normal digestive system breaks some food down into glucose. The blood carries the glucose or sugar throughout the body, causing blood glucose levels to rise. In response to this, insulin is released into the bloodstream and signals the body tissues to metabolize or burn the glucose for fuel, which causes blood glucose levels to return to normal. The glucose that the body does not use is stored in the liver, muscle or fat.

3. In both types of diabetes, the normal function of glands is affected. A gland called pancreas makes insulin. In people with insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin at all. People with non-insulin dependent diabetes usually produce some insulin in their pancreas, but their body tissues do not metabolize the glucose property, a condition known as insulin resistance.

4. There’s no cure for diabetes yet. However, there are ways to get relief from its symptoms. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates break down into glucose during digestion, causing blood glucose to rise. Also, studies have shown that cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. So we should eat such uncooked whole grain foods.

3.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary (minimum four).

3.2 Write a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words. Supply a suitable title to it.

Public taps are generally leaking. A lot of water is wasted. Design a poster not more than 50 words to make people aware of the need for saving water. You are Rohit/Reena.

OR

Write an invitation not more than 50 words to your friend Rameshwari to spend her winter break with you in Mumbai. You are Puja/Puneet of 25, M.G. Road, Mumbai.

You are Ramesh Kumar, Manager, Ekta Book House, Fort Road, Mumbai. You supplied a number of books to Prajapati Public School, Pune. The school complained that the books, received by it are not according to the order. Write a letter in 120-150 words to the Principal expressing regret, explaining the reasons why the error took place and promising a prompt and correct delivery.

OR

Your school has opened a new activity wing for the kindergarten students for which you require play equipment. Write a letter in 120-150 words to Bright Sports Materials, Paharganj, Delhi placing an order for educational toys and other play equipment. You are Principal, XYZ School, Delhi.