CBSE Class 10 English Discursive Passage Set 16

Passage 1

1. A 92-year-old lady who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock with perfect make-up, even though she is blind, moved to an old age home. Her husband recently passed away making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby she smiled sweetly when she was told her room was ready. She was provided a visual description of her tiny room.

2. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

3. “But .... but Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room,” said the attendant. “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide. I have already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I can spend the day in bed, recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that don’t work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as I am alive I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.” The attendant was greatly touched by the elderly woman’s sense of cheer and boundless enthusiasm.

Questions and Answers

(a). Why did the old woman move to an old age home?
Answer: She moved to an old age home because her husband had recently passed away.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 explains why the move was necessary.

 

(b). How did she react when the attendant gave a description of the room she had to live in?
Answer: She said “I love it” with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old who had just been given a new puppy.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes her reaction.

 

(c). What resolution did she make when she woke up every morning?
Answer: Every morning she decided to be happy, since happiness is something one decides; she chose to be thankful for the parts of her body that worked.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 quotes her decision.

 

(d). What does the story tell about the old woman?
Answer: She was an enthusiastic and positive woman who found happiness in everything, considered each day a gift and decided to live happily as long as she was alive.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 shows her cheerful attitude to life.

 

(e). Which word in the passage means the same as ‘without limit’?
Answer: boundless
Explanation: The last sentence speaks of her “boundless enthusiasm”.

 

Passage 2

1. It’s a common sight to see children racing down hills, playing in the rain, chasing each other through fields, or walking through the meadows to school. Rarely would you come across a child howling because of a scraped knee or a hurt elbow. Kids grow into strong, sturdy people with lots of physical energy and stamina. I attribute this glory of well-being to the region’s open spaces and grounds that allow us to grow up in the midst of nature.

2. I have noticed how sluggish the ‘healthy’ urban children are, especially in comparison to children in my village. Children in cities look incapable of climbing even one small hill - something that would be a child’s play for many of us.

3. When I ask most people at these felicitation parties what their kids are doing, they proudly tell me how busy these kids are with their studies, tuitions and TV! It makes me wonder if after all this, if they have any time at all to play. Video games and computer games hardly classify as play or sport.

4. We have all heard that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy or Jill a dull girl. This isn’t a maxim but a reality. I urge you all to look at play not as a waste of time but as a necessity. Play encourages children to participate, socialize, cooperate and team up. It allows them to experiment - toughening them up physically and mentally.
— Mary Kom, Olympic Medallist

Questions and Answers

(a). The urban children are busy with ______.
(a) cricket matches
(b) sports
(c) studies and tuitions
(d) playing in parks
Answer: (c) studies and tuitions
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says parents proudly say their kids are busy with studies, tuitions and TV.

 

(b). Children in hilly areas are strong because while going to school they ______.
(a) race down hills
(b) chase each other through fields
(c) walk through the meadows
(d) all of the above
Answer: (d) all of the above
Explanation: Paragraph 1 lists all these activities of the village children.

 

(c). Urban children in comparison to village children in hills are ______.
(a) capable of climbing hills
(b) healthy
(c) sluggish
(d) strong
Answer: (c) sluggish
Explanation: Paragraph 2 notes “how sluggish the ‘healthy’ urban children are”.

 

(d). The author attributes the glory of children growing physically and mentally strong to ______.
(a) stamina
(b) playgrounds and open spaces
(c) studies
(d) video games and computer games
Answer: (b) playgrounds and open spaces
Explanation: Paragraph 1 attributes their well-being to the region’s open spaces and grounds.

 

(e). The maxim ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ means that ______.
(a) games are a waste of time
(b) games make children dull
(c) games encourage team spirit among children
(d) children become dull if they don’t play
Answer: (d) children become dull if they don’t play
Explanation: Paragraph 4 explains that without play children become dull.

 

Passage 3

1. Between May and July, Govind Rawat applies for long leave from his office in Dehradun and heads for his village above Joshimath near the temple town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand Himalayas. There, he joins other villagers on a trek to the high altitude bugyals (alpine meadows) situated almost 5,000 meters above sea level. His quest, like that of many others who are fanning out to meadows in different parts of the Himalayas during this time of the year, is for a thin, caterpillar like fungus which is locally known as keera jari (insect herb).

2. The worm-like appearance belies the importance of this fungus, scientifically known as Cordyceps sinensis and highly valued as a tremendous energy booster in the traditional medicinal systems of China, Nepal and India. For Rawat and his co-villagers, it is worth its weight in gold, if not more. One kilogram can fetch at least Rs. 2.5 lakh. But it is very difficult to locate, since it appears as any other twig sprouting from the ground.

3. The importance of the herb in Chinese medicine - ancient records suggest that royal physicians of the Ming dynasty were aware of this wonder herb and used it to develop powerful medicines - has ensured that there is a surging demand for it in China. The Chinese are by far, the biggest consumers of Cordyceps. They procure a lot of it from Tibet besides importing it from Bhutan, Nepal and India.

Questions and Answers

(a). Mr. Rawat takes leave from his office every summer to ______.
(a) visit Joshimath
(b) visit Badrinath, the holy town
(c) go on a trek to the high altitude bugyals
(d) climb mountains
Answer: (c) go on a trek to the high altitude bugyals
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says he joins other villagers on a trek to the high altitude bugyals.

 

(b). Many villagers rush to mountain meadows in search of ______.
(a) gold
(b) caterpillars
(c) grass
(d) keera jari
Answer: (d) keera jari
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says their quest is for the fungus known as keera jari.

 

(c). Each season the villagers climb up the high altitudes in the months of ______.
(a) April, May and June
(b) May, June and July
(c) April, June and July
(d) None of the above
Answer: (b) May, June and July
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says “Between May and July”.

 

(d). The Chinese attach great importance to keera jari for ______.
(a) its energy enriching qualities
(b) it is very precious
(c) it is a rare medicine
(d) all of the above
Answer: (d) all of the above
Explanation: Paragraphs 2 and 3 describe it as an energy booster, precious and a rare medicine.

 

(e). China imports this medicinal herb from ______.
(a) Tibet, India and Nepal
(b) Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet
(c) Bhutan, India and Nepal
(d) All of the above
Answer: (c) Bhutan, India and Nepal
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says China procures it from Tibet besides importing it from Bhutan, Nepal and India.

 

Passage 4

1. My grandmother and I were good friends. My parents left me with her when they went to live in the city and we were constantly together. She used to wake me up in the morning and get me ready for school. She said her morning prayer in a monotonous singsong while she bathed and dressed me in the hope that I would listen and get to know it by heart; I listened because I loved her voice but never bothered to learn it. Then she would fetch my wooden slate which she had already washed and plastered with yellow chalk, a tiny earthen ink-pot and a red pen, tie them all in a bundle and hand it to me. After a breakfast of a thick, stale chapati with a little butter and sugar spread on it, we went to school. She carried several stale chapatis with her for the village dogs.

2. My grandmother always went to school with me because the school was attached to the temple. The priest taught us the alphabet and the morning prayer. While the children sat in rows on either side of the verandah singing the alphabet or the prayer in a chorus, my grandmother sat inside reading the scriptures. When we had both finished, we would walk back together.
— Khushwant Singh

Questions and Answers

(a). Why was the author as a child left with his grandmother?
Answer: His parents left him with his grandmother when they went to live in the city.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 explains this.

 

(b). Why did the grandmother always accompany the author?
Answer: She always went with him because the school was attached to the temple, where she read the scriptures.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 explains why she went to school with him.

 

(c). Who taught the alphabet to the author?
Answer: The priest taught him the alphabet and the morning prayer.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 names the priest.

 

(d). Why did the author’s grandmother say her prayer in a singsong?
Answer: She hoped that the author would listen and get to know it by heart.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 gives her reason.

 

(e). Which word in the passage means the same as ‘holy books’?
Answer: scriptures
Explanation: Paragraph 2 says the grandmother sat inside “reading the scriptures”.

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