Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

Winning is a habit of real-life achievers, and so is positive thinking. You cannot be a winner in the true sense, be both successful and happy, lead a purposeful life, realize your goal and contribute to your society unless you are a positive thinker. And you cannot be a positive thinker unless you are a positive person who believes in basic goodness, are sensitive to your own needs and desires as well as the needs of other people around you. Positive thinking leads you to a healthy attitude to life that makes you independent, courageous and cooperative. These qualities are essential for a purposeful, meaningful and rewarding existence. Positive thinking is very often thought to be the ability to focus on what is right and ignoring what is wrong or unpleasant, to be able to turn a blind eye to what is disagreeable and disturbing. But this is not Positive Thinking is all about. It does not tell us to close our eyes to reality and stay where we are, resign to fate and not strive for more or better, not to make an effort at the risk of failure. It does not tell us to run away from anything, however unpleasant or difficult it may be. The edifice of positive thinking rests on the power of your inner self, your motivation and preparedness to change, your determination and hard work, your ability to learn and improve. It will depend on your ability to step out of your inertia and move ahead, your ability to handle failure and setbacks, your ability to learn from your mistakes and move ahead.

Positive thinking can make reaching your goal easier and more enjoyable. It gives you the strength to face adversities and failure with courage and bounce back a stronger and more confident person. It is your best gift and the most powerful tool. It helps you to live your life to the fullest. However simple Positive thinking may sound and however easy it may appear to be, statistics show that only about five percent of people are able to think positive and become super achievers. These are the people who work harder and better than others and earn and control fifty percent of the world’s resources. So, to learn to look at everything in a positive way you have to break free from your negative conditioning and move ahead. You can change the way you perceive, interpret and think. You know that you can change when you want to change and you will want to change only when you acknowledge that there is a mistake and you need to set it right. Change can be brought about, not without your active participation and your will. (455 words) (Excerpt from ‘Be Positive think Positive’ by Mridula Agarwal)

a. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it, using headings and subheadings. Also use recognizable abbreviations, wherever necessary. Supply an appropriate title to it.

b. Write a summary of the above passage in about eighty words.

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

The stark observation made in the Economic Survey of 15-16 that “Indian agriculture, is in a way, a victim of its own past success - especially the green revolution”, shows the dark reality of the agriculture sector at present and the havoc that has been wreaked by the green revolution. The green revolution, which is often characterized by the introduction of high-yielding variety of seeds and fertilizers, undoubtedly increased the productivity of land considerably. But the growth in the productivity has been stagnant in recent years, resulting in a significant decline in the income of farmers. There have also been negative environmental effects in the form of depleting water table, emission of greenhouse gases, and the contamination of surface and ground water. Needless to say, the agriculture sector is in a state of distress, which is severely affecting peasants and marginal farmers, and urgent policy interventions are required to protect their interests. The government has responded to the problem by constituting a panel, which will recommend ways to double the income of farmers by 2022. While this may be an overtly ambitious target, if we want to boost stagnated agricultural growth a shift has to be made, from food security of the nation to income security of the farmers. However, there are many hurdles that have to be crossed if we want to achieve this objective. The first major barrier to overcome is declining productivity. Data from 2013 reveals that India’s average yield of cereal per hectare is far less than that of many countries (including several low income countries), but the difference is huge when compared to China. For instance, our average yield per hectare is 39% below than that of China and for rice this figure is 46%. Even Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia fare better than India in case of rice yield. Further, there is a huge inter-regional variation; the wheat and rice yield from Haryana and Punjab is much higher than from the other states. In order to cross the declining productivity barrier there is a need to herald a rainbow revolution by making a shift from wheat-rice cycle to other cereals and pulses. Since wheat and rice coupled with other crops are backed by minimum support prices (MSP) and input subsidy (whether water, fertilizer or power) regime, there is a huge incentive for the farmers in the irrigated region of Northwest India to grow these crops

Imagine yourself to be Sujal/ Sujata who had visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands with family during summer break. You jotted down a few facts about the place since it was required to be written as a description for one of your holiday’s homework.

Using the above noted information, write a factual description in 80-100 words.

OR

You are Sujal/Sujata, residing at 24- D, Malviya Nagar, Alwar, Rajasthan. You own a Hero Honda motor cycle which you want to sell as you wish to buy a car. Draft an advertisement for the VEHICLE column of your local newspaper. Invent all necessary details. (50 words)

You are Mr. Rajneesh Mishra, Senior Department Head of Blooms Public School, Jaipur. The water coolers of your school are now very old and exhausted. There is an urgent need for replacement. You have finalized on the quotations sent by M.G. Coolers Pvt. Ltd., Jawahar Industrial Area, Jaipur. Draft a letter placing an order for five water coolers of five hundred liters capacity each. Invent all other details like reference no., quotation, detail of order, date of delivery, mode of payment etc.

OR

RED RADIO CHILLIES

Requires a young, energetic Radio Jockey, between the age group of 20-30; male / female; graduate in Mass Media Studies preferred; with minimum 2 year experience of the post offered. Salary in six figures (negotiable as per the qualification of the candidate).Eligible candidates may send their complete Bio-Data to the below mentioned address or e-mail it on the below given mailing address, latest by 29 October 20_ _. The Radio Station Manager, Red Radio Chillies, 25 Chitra Gupta Road, Jhansi. Email : [email protected]

You are Simar/ Smriti of 10 A, Krishna Nagar, Lucknow. Having recently completed your graduation inMass Media Studies, you are looking for a job as a Radio Jockey in a reputed Radio Station. Surfing through the newspaper, you have come across the above mentioned advertisement in a national daily. Apply in response to this advertisement giving your detailed Bio-Data.

Your school, Amar Vikas Public School, Delhi, organized a Seminar on “Animation” for the students of Classes IX – XII. The objective was to enlighten them about this very lucrative vocational field of graphics. As Reema/ Raman, Head Girl / Boy of the school, write a report in 150-200 words on the programme for your school magazine.

OR

Exercising is the only healthy way to a consistent and happy life. As Manuj/Manjula of Class XII, write a speech to be delivered in the school’s morning Assembly on “Impact of Healthy Life style on a Student’s Life-through Yoga”. The speech in the assembly is a part of “International Yoga Day” celebration.