CBSE Class 10 English Discursive Passage Set 13

Passage 1

1. Then all the windows of the grey wooden house (Miss Hilton used to live here. She expired last week), were thrown open, a thing I had never seen before.

2. At the end of the day, a sign was nailed on the mango tree: FOR SALE.

3. Nobody in the street knew Miss Hilton. While she lived, her front gate was always locked and no one ever saw her leave or saw anybody go in. So even if you wanted to, you couldn’t feel sorry and say that you missed Miss Hilton.

4. When I think of her house I see just two colours. Grey and green. The green of the mango tree, the grey of the house and the grey of the high iron fence that prevented you from getting at the mangoes.

5. If your cricket ball fell in Miss Hilton’s courtyard you never got it back. It wasn’t the mango season when Miss Hilton died. But we got back about ten or twelve of our cricket balls.

6. The house was sold and we were prepared to dislike the new owners even before they came. I think we were a little worried. Already we had one resident of the street who kept on complaining about us to our parents. He complained that we played cricket on the pavement; and if we were not playing cricket he complained that we were making too much noise anyway.

7. One afternoon when I came back from school Pal said, “Is a man and a woman. She pretty pretty, but he ugly like hell.” I didn’t see much. The front gate was open, but the windows were shut again. I heard a dog barking in an angry way.

8. One thing was settled pretty quickly. Whoever these people were they would never be the sort of people to complain that we were making noise and disturbing their sleep.

9. A lot of noise came from the house that night. The radio was going at full volume until midnight when the radio station closed down. The dog was barking and the man was shouting. I didn’t hear the woman.

Questions and Answers

(a). Nobody went into Miss Hilton’s house because her front ______.
Answer: gate was always locked and no one ever saw her leave or saw anybody go in
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says her front gate was always locked.

 

(b). Her house had only two colours, (i) ______ and (ii) ______.
Answer: (i) grey (ii) green
Explanation: Paragraph 4 says “I see just two colours. Grey and green.”

 

(c). The high iron fence did not let the boys get ______.
Answer: at the mangoes
Explanation: Paragraph 4 mentions the fence “that prevented you from getting at the mangoes”.

 

(d). They never got it back if their ______ fell into her courtyard.
Answer: cricket ball
Explanation: Paragraph 5 says a cricket ball that fell in her courtyard was never returned.

 

(e). The boys were ready to dislike the ______.
Answer: new owners even before they came
Explanation: Paragraph 6 says they were prepared to dislike the new owners even before they came.

 

(f). One resident of the street always ______.
Answer: complained about them to their parents
Explanation: Paragraph 6 describes the resident who kept complaining about the boys.

 

(g). The new owners of Miss Hilton’s house were (i) ______ and (ii) ______.
Answer: (i) a man (ii) a woman
Explanation: Paragraph 7 quotes Pal: “Is a man and a woman.”

 

(h). A man was shouting, a dog was barking, only ______.
Answer: the woman was silent (the narrator did not hear the woman)
Explanation: The last paragraph ends “I didn’t hear the woman.”

 

Passage 2

1. During our growing up years we as children were taught–both at home and school–to worship the photos and idols of the Gods of our respective religions. When we grew a little older, we were to read holy books like The Bhagwad Gita, Bible and Quran; we were told that there are a lot of life lessons to be learnt from these holy books. We were then introduced to stories from our mythologies which taught us about ethics and morality– what is good and what is bad. I also learnt to be respectful towards my parents who made my life comfortable with their hard work and love and care, and my teachers who guided me to become a good student and a responsible citizen.

2. Much later in life, I realised that though we learn much from our respective holy books, there is a lot to learn from our surroundings. This realisation dawned upon me when I learnt to enquire and explore. Everything around us–the sun, the moon, the stars, rain, rivers, stones, rocks, birds, plants and animals–teach us many valuable life lessons.

3. No wonder that besides the scriptures, in many cultures nature is also worshipped. The message that we get is to save our environment and maintain ecological balance. People are taught to live in harmony with nature and recognise that there is God in all aspects of nature.

4. Nature is a great teacher. A river never stops flowing. If it finds an obstacle in its way in the form of a heavy rock, the river water fights to remove it from its path or finds an alternative path to move ahead. This teaches us to be progressive in life, and keep the fighting spirit alive.

5. Snakes are worshipped as they eat insects in the field that can hurt our crops, thus protecting the grains for us. In fact, whatever we worship is our helper and makes our lives easy for us. There are many such examples in nature, but we are not ready to learn a lesson. Overcome with greed, we are destroying nature. As a result we face natural disasters like droughts, floods and landslides. We don’t know that nature is angry with us.

6. However, it is never too late to learn. If we learn to respect nature, the quality of our life will improve.

Questions and Answers

(a). What are we taught in our childhood and growing up years?
Answer: We are taught to worship the photos and idols of the Gods of our religions, to read holy books, to learn ethics and morality from mythological stories and to respect our parents and teachers.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 lists what we are taught while growing up.

 

(b). Why should we respect our parents and teachers?
Answer: We should respect our parents because they made our life comfortable with their hard work, love and care, and our teachers because they guided us to become good students and responsible citizens.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 gives the reasons.

 

(c). What message do we get when we worship nature?
Answer: The message is to save our environment and maintain ecological balance, and to live in harmony with nature.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 states the message.

 

(d). How does a river face an obstacle that comes in its way?
Answer: When a heavy rock blocks it, the river water fights to remove it from its path or finds an alternative path to move ahead.
Explanation: Paragraph 4 describes the river’s response.

 

(e). Choose the meaning of ‘guided’ (para 1).
(a) answered
(b) advised
(c) fought
(d) polished
Answer: (b) advised
Explanation: In paragraph 1 teachers “guided” the writer, i.e. advised and directed him.

 

(f). Choose the meaning of ‘explore’ (para 2).
(a) search
(b) frequent
(c) describe
(d) request
Answer: (a) search
Explanation: In paragraph 2 “learnt to enquire and explore” means to search and investigate.

 

(g). Choose the meaning of ‘valuable’ (para 2).
(a) proper
(b) desirable
(c) available
(d) useful
Answer: (d) useful
Explanation: In paragraph 2 nature teaches “valuable life lessons”, i.e. useful ones.

 

(h). Choose the meaning of ‘harmony’ (para 3).
(a) beauty
(b) friendship
(c) discomfort
(d) honesty
Answer: (b) friendship
Explanation: In paragraph 3 living “in harmony with nature” means living in friendly agreement with it.

 

Passage 3

1. This incident occurred when Bapu was practising law in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. His office was three miles from his house. One day a colleague of his, Mr. Polak, asked Gandhiji’s thirteen-year old son, Manilal to go and get him a book from the office. But Manilal completely forgot till Mr. Polak reminded him that evening. Gandhiji heard about it and sent for Manilal. He said, “Son, I know the night is dark and the way is long and lonely. You will have to walk nearly six miles but you gave your word to Mr. Polak. You promised to get him his book. Go and get it now.”

2. Ba and the family were upset when they heard of Bapu’s decision. The punishment seemed very severe. Manilal was only a child, the night was dark and the way lonely. He had only forgotten a book after all. It could be brought the next day. This was what they all felt, but no one had the courage to say anything. They knew that once Bapu’s mind was made up, nobody could change it.

3. At last, Kalyan Bhai plucked up courage. “I’ll get the book,” he offered. Bapu was gentle but firm: the promise was made by Manilal. “Very well, Manilal will go but let me go with him,” Kalyan Bhai pleaded. Bapu agreed to this and Manilal set off with Kalyan Bhai to get the book.

4. The kind and gentle Bapu could be firm as a rock at times. He saw that Manilal kept his word and did as he had promised.

Questions and Answers

(a). When the incident took place, what was Gandhiji doing?
Answer: Gandhiji was practising law in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Explanation: The first sentence of paragraph 1 answers this.

 

(b). What did Mr. Polak ask Manilal to do?
Answer: Mr. Polak asked Manilal to go and get him a book from Gandhiji’s office.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 describes Mr. Polak’s request.

 

(c). What did Gandhiji ask Manilal to do?
Answer: He asked Manilal to go and get the book that very night, though the night was dark and the way long and lonely, because Manilal had given his word to Mr. Polak.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 quotes Gandhiji’s instruction.

 

(d). Why were Ba and the family upset?
Answer: The punishment seemed very severe to them: Manilal was only a child, the night was dark and the way lonely, and the book could have been brought the next day.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 gives the family’s feelings.

 

(e). Why did the family not do anything?
Answer: No one had the courage to say anything, as they knew that once Bapu’s mind was made up, nobody could change it.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 explains their silence.

 

(f). What did Kalyan Bhai offer?
Answer: He first offered to get the book himself, and then pleaded to be allowed to go with Manilal.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 describes both offers.

 

(g). What was Gandhiji’s response to his offer?
Answer: Gandhiji gently but firmly refused to let Kalyan Bhai fetch the book, since the promise was Manilal’s; he agreed only to let Kalyan Bhai go along with Manilal.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 shows Gandhiji refusing the first offer and accepting the second.

 

(h). What does this incident tell us about Gandhiji?
Answer: It shows that the kind and gentle Bapu could be firm as a rock at times, and that he insisted on keeping one’s word.
Explanation: The last paragraph sums up his character.

 

Passage 4

1. Elephants wanting to feed on crops are often hit by electric current from the electric fencing around the farms, while farmers without any electric protection around their lands suffer huge crop damage. A new idea to use bees to prevent both the loss of elephant lives and the loss of crops seeks to change the way the problem of man-animal conflict is solved. Dr. Lucy King’s ‘Elephants and Bees Project’ has helped reduce such conflicts.

2. Dr. King heads the Nairobi-based ‘Save the Elephants’ (STE) charity’s ‘Human-Elephant Co-Existence Program’ and its ‘Elephants and Bees Project’, which is active in 11 countries mainly in Africa, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The project has also been adopted in Karnataka’s North Kanara district by the non-profit Wildlife Research Conservation Society (WRCS). “A beehive fence is made up of interlinked real beehives, and ‘dummy’ beehives hung 10 metres apart and interlinked with a plain piece of fencing wire that, if disturbed, causes the whole fence to swing and bees come out of their hives to stop crop-raiding elephants,” Dr. King told The Hindu in an email interview.

3. According to Dr. King, elephants are wary of bees. “My studies have shown that elephants will run from the sound of disturbed African bees as they fear being stung around the sensitive parts of their body, like the eyes, inside the mouth, and up the trunk,” she said. She said that STE’s studies have found that the fences are effective in 80 percent of cases, but male elephants are more likely to take the risk of bee attacks, especially in a herd, and cause damage. While Dr. King’s work focuses mainly on Africa, she said that each project was different and beehives were being used for different purposes. For example, “South Africa and Gabon are using beehives to protect important tree species from being damaged by elephants,” said Dr. King, who completed her D. Phil on the project from Oxford University.

4. Inspired by Dr. King’s experiment, the STE website quoted WRCS officials as saying, “pre-recorded bee sounds were broadcast during crop-raiding events and they showed an instant withdrawal of elephants from the crop fields.” Following this, they have set up low cost beehives in clay pots, bamboo structures and wooden logs to stop elephants. Apart from acting as defence mechanism for farms, beehive fences also act as an additional source of income, especially for the poorest farmers. “The beehives can generate as much as 50 percent more income for them in a year from the sale of honey,” she said.

Questions and Answers

(a). What are the problems being faced by the farmers as well as the elephants?
Answer: Elephants wanting to feed on crops are often hit by electric current from the fencing around farms, while farmers without electric protection suffer huge crop damage.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 describes both problems.

 

(b). How are beehives being used in South Africa?
Answer: South Africa (and Gabon) use beehives to protect important tree species from being damaged by elephants.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 quotes Dr. King on this.

 

(c). Why are elephants cautious of bees, according to Dr. King?
Answer: Elephants run from the sound of disturbed African bees as they fear being stung around the sensitive parts of their body, like the eyes, inside the mouth and up the trunk.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 gives Dr. King’s findings.

 

(d). How did WRCS use Dr. King’s experiment?
Answer: WRCS broadcast pre-recorded bee sounds during crop-raiding events, which made the elephants withdraw at once. It then set up low-cost beehives in clay pots, bamboo structures and wooden logs to stop elephants.
Explanation: Paragraph 4 describes what WRCS did.

 

(e). Find the word from the passage which means ‘fight/struggle’.
(a) raiding
(b) trouble
(c) conflict
(d) protection
Answer: (c) conflict
Explanation: Paragraph 1 speaks of “man-animal conflict”.

 

(f). Find the word from the passage which means ‘connected with each other’. (Para 2)
(a) interlinked
(b) beehive
(c) dummy
(d) swing
Answer: (a) interlinked
Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes “interlinked real beehives”.

 

(g). Find the word from the passage which means ‘hurt with something’. (Para 3)
(a) stung
(b) herd
(c) risk
(d) protect
Answer: (a) stung
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says elephants fear “being stung”.

 

(h). Find the word from the passage which means ‘produce’. (Para 4)
(a) generate
(b) mechanism
(c) stop
(d) inspired
Answer: (a) generate
Explanation: Paragraph 4 says beehives “can generate” more income.

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