Read the news item on a survey that was carried out by www.shine.com.

More than 90 per cent of people agrees that being part of a team is one of the best things about their work. Working in a team is a challenge but our poll results on www.shine.com indicate that most people are unhappy working in teams and are intolerant of any changes in the group structure.

Taking help from the verbal stimulus given below, write an article in about 100-120 words for your school magazine on how to get the best out of a team.

• Working in a team—healer and stress buster.
• Team—everybody works towards a common goal.
• Effective communication between team members.
— Strong leadership — Avoid conflicts
— Focus on the goals — Respect for others’ competencies

Read the following passage carefully.

“Mum!” I shouted. “Are you okay?” I saw her little tent shuddering in the gale and listened closely for her response. Her voice was almost casual: “Oh, yes, I’m fine.” That’s my mother. It was the first night of our cycling trip through the interior of Iceland—a region so remote and inhospitable that for centuries, according to legend, it was abandoned. The weather was decidedly hurricane-like, but Mum wasn’t concerned. Months ago, I told her about my plan to pedal across Iceland. “It will be really difficult,” I said. “The roads are unpaved and often washed out, and the wind is blowing constantly — sometimes so hard that it pushes you off the road.” There was silence for a moment. Then she asked, “Can I come?” “Sure,” I replied. “But like the rest of us, you have to train to do two 160 kilometres a day back-to-back,” “Wow,” she said, “I could never do that.” I had more faith in my mother’s physical abilities than she did. I’d seen her raise six children and put in long hours doing physical labour on our small farm. “Sure you can,” I told her, “Start tomorrow.” What really concerned me was what 1 perceived to be her frustrating humility: I thought her too self-depreciating about her intellect just because she had not completed college. 1 felt she underestimated her attractiveness just because she was not the type to wear makeup or fancy clothes. As I had grown into adulthood, the life I’d chosen seemed light-years away from Mum’s quiet existence, still caring for her children and her children’s children. Sometimes, on a visit home, I’d describe some recent trip I’d taken, and her blue eyes would shine with interest. So I couldn’t help thinking this trek might revitalize Mum, who had started to slow down in her 50s. It might spice up what I saw as her humdrum life. And it might be a boost to her tentative and retiring persona. Mum trained furiously, months in advance. As the trip roster was pared down to Mum, my good friend Allen and me, she stood as the most dedicated. Soon she was riding 80-100 kilometres per day, and was as strong a rider as Allen or I.

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

(a) How does the narrator describe the weather and road conditions in Iceland?

(b) What training did the adventure cycling trip require? Why did the narrator have faith in his mother’s physical ability to undertake the trip?

(c) In what way did the narrator think the trip would help his mother?

(d) When were the narrator and his friend sure about his mum’s preparation?

Read the following passage carefully.

“Mum!” I shouted. “Are you okay?” I saw her little tent shuddering in the gale and listened closely for her response. Her voice was almost casual: “Oh, yes, I’m fine.” That’s my mother. It was the first night of our cycling trip through the interior of Iceland—a region so remote and inhospitable that for centuries, according to legend, it was abandoned. The weather was decidedly hurricane-like, but Mum wasn’t concerned. Months ago, I told her about my plan to pedal across Iceland. “It will be really difficult,” I said. “The roads are unpaved and often washed out, and the wind is blowing constantly — sometimes so hard that it pushes you off the road.” There was silence for a moment. Then she asked, “Can I come?” “Sure,” I replied. “But like the rest of us, you have to train to do two 160 kilometres a day back-to-back,” “Wow,” she said, “I could never do that.” I had more faith in my mother’s physical abilities than she did. I’d seen her raise six children and put in long hours doing physical labour on our small farm. “Sure you can,” I told her, “Start tomorrow.” What really concerned me was what 1 perceived to be her frustrating humility: I thought her too self-depreciating about her intellect just because she had not completed college. 1 felt she underestimated her attractiveness just because she was not the type to wear makeup or fancy clothes. As I had grown into adulthood, the life I’d chosen seemed light-years away from Mum’s quiet existence, still caring for her children and her children’s children. Sometimes, on a visit home, I’d describe some recent trip I’d taken, and her blue eyes would shine with interest. So I couldn’t help thinking this trek might revitalize Mum, who had started to slow down in her 50s. It might spice up what I saw as her humdrum life. And it might be a boost to her tentative and retiring persona. Mum trained furiously, months in advance. As the trip roster was pared down to Mum, my good friend Allen and me, she stood as the most dedicated. Soon she was riding 80-100 kilometres per day, and was as strong a rider as Allen or I.

Choose the most appropriate meaning of the given word from the options provided:

(a) The word ‘perceived’ means

(i) associate (ii) acknowledge (iii) pressurize (iv) notice/ become aware of

(b) The word ‘revitalize’ means

(i) to pause (ii) to enjoy (iii) to give new life (iv) to end something

(c) The word ‘tentative’ means.

(i) hesitant/not certain (ii) sure/ certain (iii) tense (iv) tempted

(d) The word ‘abandoned’ means

(i) to give up/leave behind (ii) to choose (iii) to accept something

You are Mr. William who loves travelling. You saw the following picture in a reading daily. It made you wonder about the present state of tourism in India. Write an article in 100-120 words on the state of tourism in India and how to promote it further. Take ideas from the unit on ‘Travel and Tourism’.

Develop the following hints into a readable story of 150-200 words:
Once there was a farmer—lots of farm animals—one goose laid golden egg—farmer sold golden eggs daily—became richer and richer—neglected his farm and other animals— farmer and wife became greedy—killed the good—ripped open belly—found nothing— greed ruined them.