Read the poem given below and choose the most appropriate answer to each question out of the options that follow:

Oh, books, what books they used to know, Those children living long ago!

So please, oh please, we beg; we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install

A lovely bookshelf on the wall

Then fill the shelves with lots of books, Ignoring all the dirty looks, ....

Fear not, because. we promise you

That, in about. a week or two

Of having nothing else to do,

They'll now begin to feel the need

Of having something to read

And once they start -oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy

That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen

They'll wonder what they'd ever seen

In that ridiculous machine.....

Roald Dahl

(a) The word ‘they’ in the first line refers to ________

(i) writers

(ii) children living in the present times

(iii) children living in the olden days

(iv) parents of children

(b) The poet wants the TV set to be replaced with ____________

(i) gadgets

(ii) bookshelves filled with lots of books

(iii) bookshelves

(iv) showcases

(c) The poet is sure that the children would begin to read the books within a week or two because they ______

(i) will have no other work

(ii) will have no television

(iii) will have books in the shelves

(iv) with no work, Will feel the need for something to read

Read the passage given below:

In ancient times, the Olympics were associated with Greek religious festivals. Life in ancient Greece revolved around their gods.

The Greeks believed that their gods were immortal, and more powerful than human beings. They honour their gods with festivals devoted to sports.

The most important of these festivals were the four national festivals. They were open to sportsmen from all Greek regions and colonies. Each of the festivals was held at a different place and was celebrated in honour of a particular god. The Olympic Games were held in Olympia which was an important religious center in ancient Greece. A magnificent temple was built there in honour of the god, Zeus. He was regarded as the ruler of both gods and men. People tried to please Zeus by excelling in sports, and many contests of skill and strength were held.

It was believed that the Olympic Games were founded by the Greek hero, Hercules who was known as the son of the god, Zeus. He performed twelve seemingly impossible tasks to become the greatest of all Greek heroes. He cleaned in a single day King Augeas' stables which was an impossible task. The king was fabulously rich and had thousands and thousands of animals. So his stables were extremely dirty and full of stink. Hercules redirected the course of the river, Alpheus through the stables of the king. All the muck and dirt were washed out in a single day. To celebrate this achievement, he started the Olympic Games in honour of his father, Zeus.

(a) The Greeks celebrated festivals devoted to sport to_____

(i) gain physical strength

(ii) honor their Gods

(iii) get power

(iv) become immortal

(b)In ancient Greece the Olympic Games were held ________

(i) in Greek regions

(ii) in colonies

(iii) at religious centers

(iv) at Olympia

(c) They honored Zeus by ________ building magnificent temples

(i) excelling in sports

(ii) excelling in contests of skill and strength

(iii) doing all above things

(d) The impossible task performed by Hercules was ________

(i) the cleaning of Augeas’ stables in a day

(ii) removing the muck and dirt from the king’s stables

(iii) redirecting the course of the river through the stables

(iv)all of the above

(e) The word/phrase in the passage which means ‘deathless’ is ________

(i) Gods

(ii) immortal

(iii) human beings

(iv)religious center

Read the poem given below and choose the most appropriate answer to each question out of the options that follow:

Oh, books, what books they used to know, Those children living long ago!

So please, oh please, we beg; we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install

A lovely bookshelf on the wall

Then fill the shelves with lots of books, Ignoring all the dirty looks, ....

Fear not, because. we promise you

That, in about. a week or two

Of having nothing else to do,

They'll now begin to feel the need

Of having something to read

And once they start -oh boy, oh boy!

You watch the slowly growing joy

That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen

They'll wonder what they'd ever seen

In that ridiculous machine.....

Roald Dahl

(a) Once the children start reading they will get _______

(i) joy

(ii) surprise

(iii) excitement

(iv) thrill

(b) The tone of the poem is

(i) sad

(ii) humorous

(iii) happy

(iv) satirical

Read the passage given below:

Once a carpenter went looking for a job He approached a building contractor and got a job at a decent salary and good working conditions. The carpenter was thrilled and determined to do his best. His boss provided him with tools and showed him the place where he was supposed to work.

At the end of the first day, the carpenter prepared fifteen doors. His boss was happy with his performance and congratulated him. The carpenter tried harder the. next day but he was able to prepare only 10 doors. The third day be tried even harder, but he could prepare only seven. Day after day he was preparing less and less doors.

"I must be losing my strength," the carpenter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. ''When was the last time when you sharpened your tools?" the boss asked. "Sharpen! I had no time to sharpen my tools. I have been busy trying to prepare doors," said the carpenter. Most of us never update our skills. We think that whatever we have learned is enough.

•Complete the following sentences based on your reading of the passage in your own words.

(a) The carpenter approached the building contractor because

_______________________________

(b) The carpenter became extremely happy because he

_________________________________

(c) The boss congratulated him because

________________________________

(d) His boss advised him

________________________________

(e) The word in the passage which means the same as 'asked someone for something' is

________________________________

You are Neetil Nitin living at 31, Patparganj Road, Mayur Vihar, Delhi. You are very happy to join hobby classes in your vacation. Write a letter in not more than 100 words to your friend, Rita/Rakesh describing your experience and also advise her/him to pursue some hobby.