Read the passage given below:

Just as education can equalize or divide countries and people, information and communication technologies can also go either way. Right now - even though they have sometimes advanced surprisingly in developing countries - they are very unevenly distributed.

One consequence of the huge investment in the last few years is an unbelievable overcapacity of the world’s communication system. If the world’s 6 billion people were to talk non-stop on the phone for the next year, their words could be transmitted in a few hours through the currently available bandwidth - the capacity that connects homes and offices to each other and to providers of data all over the world.

Yet some 2 billion people have never made a phone call. Cities like Manhattan and Tokyo have more telephone lines than all of sub-Saharan Africa. Cellular networks cover only 20 per cent of the Earth, mostly in rich countries. The telephone density (phone lines per 100 inhabitants) is fifty to sixty in rich countries but less than two in the poorest developing countries. Among developing countries to the distribution of telecommunications is uneven.

Information technology is even more unequally distributed. The Internet traffic between the United States and Europe is 100 times of that reaching Africa and 30 times of that reaching Latin America. About 10 per cent of the world’s population understands English, the language of 75 per cent of all websites. Rich countries have 95 per cent of all Internet hosts, Africa has 0.25 per cent. This is because of low telephone density; with less than 5 telephones per hundred. It is next to impossible for an African country to quickly increase its countrywide Internet connectivity.

Why should we worry about this? Because these technologies offer tremendous possibilities to developing countries - in so many areas that it has become hard to imagine a country developing and reducing its poverty levels without them.

Cellular telephony can become a real business, and a lifeline. Over the Andes, satellites providing telephony in rural areas cut down communication costs dramatically compared to the slow postal system.

New technologies enable teacher training and networking that raise the quality of basic education. Kids learn elementary computer skills by trial and error through ‘computers in the wall’ in Indian slums. Business schools reach hundreds of remote sites through interactive distance education in South Africa.

The use of computers in government is spreading fast. It holds great promise of improving services to people, cutting down bureaucratic hassle, errors and fraud with massive gains in efficiency and transparency.

The applications of information technology cover a large range - patient information, training of nurses, hygiene instructions and even remote diagnostics.

With the help of Internet-based networking and satellite detection, best practice exchanges in environment management and ecologically balanced agriculture can rapidly progress. Through quick connectivity, small businesses in the developing countries can hook up to their markets and their larger partners in rich countries.

In short, new technologies have become one of the most potent ways to accelerate development and reduce poverty in ways no one could have even thought of 10 years ago. But from a global point of view, it’s also a matter of making sure that these technologies narrow the income and wealth gap.

This issue does not demand expensive solutions because addressing it does not mean showering poor countries with donated phones and PCs. It means helping them develop themselves into efficient users of new technologies.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary. Use a format you consider suitable. Give it a suitable title.

NOTE-MAKING

ABBREVATIONS

(b) Write a summary of the above passage in about 80 words.

Read the passage given below:

What’s lost as handwriting fades?

1. Psychologists and neuroscientists say that handwriting has not yet lost its importance. New evidence suggests that the links between handwriting and broader educational development are very close.

2. Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand, but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information. In other words it’s not just what we write that matters - but how.

3. According to psychologist Stanislas Dehaene, ‘‘when a child writes, the brain reacts in a unique manner. The action of writing automatically triggers an activity in the brain. This activity recognizes what is the written word, which makes learning easier.’’

4. A 2012 study lent support to that view. Children who had not yet learnt to read and write were presented with a letter or a shape on an index card and were asked to produce it in one of three ways: trace the image on a sheet with a dotted outline, draw it on a blank white sheet, or type it on a computer. They were then placed in a brain scanner and shown the image again.

5. The researchers found that when children had drawn the letter freehand, they exhibited increased activity in areas of the brain that are activated in adults when they read and write. By contrast, children who typed or traced the letter showed no such effect. The activation was significantly weaker.

6. The effect goes beyond letter recognition. A study that followed children in grades two through five demonstrated that printing, cursive writing and typing on a keyboard are all associated with separate brain activities. When the children composed text by hand, they consistently produced more words more quickly than they did on a keyboard, and expressed more ideas. And brain imaging suggested that the connection between writing and idea generation went further. When these children were asked to come up with ideas for a competition, the ones with better handwriting exhibited greater mental activity in areas associated with working memory, and increased overall activation in the reading and writing networks.

7. More studies have reported that in both laboratory settings and classrooms, students learn better when they take notes by hand than when they type on a keyboard. Latest research suggests that writing by hand allows the student to process a lecture’s contents and reframe it.

8. Not every expert is persuaded that the long-term benefits of handwriting are all that significant. Still, one expert, Harold Bloom, says, the new research is, at least, thought provoking. ‘‘With handwriting, the very act of putting it down forces you to focus on what is important,’’ he said. ‘‘May be it helps you think better.’’

1.1 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the following questions very briefly:

(a) What happens when children learn to write by hand?

(b) What is the reaction of the brain when a person writes?

(c) What is the change when a person draws freehand?

(d) Which children perform better in competitions?

(e) What is the advantage of taking down notes by hand?

(f) According to Bloom, how does handwriting help a person get greater clarity of thought?

1.2 Choose the meanings of the words given below from the given options:

(a) Suggests (Para 1)

(i) conveys

(ii) denies

(iii) accepts

(iv) advises

(b) Unique (Para 3)

(i) commonplace

(ii) exclusive

(iii) difficult

(iv) easy

(c) Demonstrated (Para 6)

(i) spied

(ii) showed

(iii) installed

(iv) painted

(d) Benefits (Para 8)

(i) problems

(ii) secrets

(iii) advantages

(iv) efforts

MMR Eye Clinic is holding a free Eye Camp and Diabetes Checkup in your school. The camp will be held in the school auditorium from 8.00 am to 5.30 pm. Qualified and experienced doctors will be available for consultation through the day. Design a poster informing the students about the camp. Invent necessary details. You are Rahul/Rita, Secretary, Health Club. (50 – 60 words)

OR

Saarthi, an NGO, will be visiting your school to collect old books and stationery items. These books will be donated to the newly set up neighborhood slum school. Cartons for collection have been placed in various corners of the school. As In charge, Social Service Club, draft a notice motivating students to donate. Invent necessary details. You are Amrit/Amrita. (50-60 words)

You have made your annual payment for home garbage collection to the Residents Welfare Association. However, the collection is irregular and the collectors do not pick up all the garbage bags, leading to a further mess outside your house due to stray animals. The uncollected garbage is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Write a letter of complaint to the President of the Association, drawing his attention to this irregularity. Mention the inconvenience caused. You are Amrit/Amrita, 12-B Mall Apartments, Delhi. (120 - 150 words)

OR

Television today has reached every home, even in the remotest villages. The number of news channels is also increasing and the common man is aware of what is happening around him. Write a letter in 120 - 150 words to the Editor, National News, Delhi, expressing your views on the need for a responsible media that does not sensationalize news. You are Amrit/Amrita, 12-B Mall Apartments, Delhi.

Your school recently organized an Art and Craft Exhibition. The highlight of the exhibition was a section called ‘I-SPACE’ put up by students from classes sixth to twelfth. In addition, there was the sculpture section titled, ‘Best from Waste’ and a 10-foot high statue of the Buddha made by the Fine Arts Department. Renowned painter, Meera Menon, was the Chief Guest. As Chief Editor, write a report on the inauguration and exhibition in 150-200 words for the school magazine. You are Shaurya/Shirin.

OR

You recently attended a week-long Student Leadership Camp at Greenville School. 23 schools from India and abroad participated in the camp. The theme of the camp was ‘Be the Change’. The camp organized panel discussions followed by question and answer sessions. A workshop on leadership and need of community service was held followed by a cultural show. Based on your experience of participation, write a speech in 150-200 words on the importance of community service and the role of students in organizing it. You are Shaurya/Shirin.