CBSE Class 11 English Descriptive Passage Assignment Set 02

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) Delhi has grown into a city that shuns children. It is now an urban sprawl, its development model skewed in favour of motorised traffic and commercial capitalization. This has snatched play fields from kids. With vehicles, both stationary and on the move, occupying every inch of space available, the roads and even lanes and by-lanes are out of bounds for the little ones. Unlike in American and European cities, there are few public spaces where one can hang out. No wonder, our children spend a lot of time indoors, glued to the TV, PC or mobile screens. ‘It’s time,’ urban planning experts say, ‘to reconsider Delhi’s growth with the welfare of its children in mind.’
(2) Supreme Court Judge Kurian Joseph expressed his anguish at the shrinking playing space for children in Delhi. The condition of the parks in the city, he said in the letter, was a “serious violation of human rights of children” as it was “their right in their tender times to have a decent environment to play and frolic around.”
(3) Kuldeep Singh, an architect and urban planner, who worked with DDA during 1956-57 to bring out Delhi’s first master plan, explained how initially children’s needs were the town planners’ priority. “Space standards were set very rationally, and in every neighbourhood, a huge open space was reserved for children which we called ‘totlots’. This was the place where we thought children would get a space to play and mingle with each other and we kept it away from roads,” recalled Singh. However, due to administrative reasons, the idea of ‘tot-lots’ had to be dropped and regrettably, was never entertained again.
(4) “Over the years, circumstances have changed and people are reluctant to let their children go out without some kind of security, as a result of which the children are now suffering.” says Mr. Singh. Before it’s too late, Mr. Singh hopes the few open spaces for kids are restored and protected from vehicles looking for parking lots. Another urban planning expert says the first rectification Delhi’s development model needs to carry out is to ensure mobility of children.
(5) “Two thousand pedestrians die on Delhi’s roads every year of which several are children. There may not be a dearth of green spaces in Delhi, the city has a unique advantage on that front, but kids have no safe means to reach the places independently,” says Manjit Rastogi, founder of architecture firm Morphogenesis. “It is catastrophic to learn about child mortality on Delhi’s roads, but, on the other hand, you have the tragedy of kids being confined to their homes,” points out Mr. Rastogi. “From a city of cars, Delhi needs to become a city of pedestrians where children can enjoy and identify themselves with their surroundings,” he adds.
(6) Developing public spaces with colourful street furniture, swings, art installations, etc., could draw in kids and bring them out of their homes. DDA officials say their focus is on balanced development of the city, which takes into account children’s recreational needs. “DDA is working on new policies like Transit Oriented Development which have sufficient provisions for taking care of pedestrians and movement of children and women safely. These policies will guide the future development of the city,” said Neemo Dhar, Spokesperson, DDA.

Question. What does the passage suggest?
(a) That Delhi kids enjoy sitting in front of TV
(b) That Delhi has taken care of recreational needs of the kids
(c) The appalling conditions of children living in Delhi
(d) That motorists are not favoured by the city planners
Answer: (c) The appalling conditions of children living in Delhi

Question. Which of the following invalidates the statement “Delhi shuns children”?
(a) Delhi’s development model is skewed in favour of motorised traffic.
(b) Delhi kids have been deprived of play fields.
(c) The few public places where children can hang out are not safe to reach.
(d) DDA is working on Transit Oriented Development.
Answer: (d) DDA is working on Transit Oriented Development.

Question. Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?
(a) In past, children’s needs were a priority for city planners.
(b) Delhi has an acute shortage of green spaces.
(c) It is surprising that children spend much of their time in front of TV.
(d) American and European cities don’t have many public spaces where children can hang out.
Answer: (a) In past, children’s needs were a priority for city planners.

Question. To __________________ is the human right of the children.
(a) have a good environment to play and enjoy
(b) sit in front of TV screen
(c) use a mobile phone
(d) remain indoors
Answer: (a) have a good environment to play and enjoy

Question. The phrasal verb ‘draw in’ means:
(a) to persuade to draw together
(b) to persuade to draw inwards
(c) to persuade to draw indoors
(d) to persuade to join or entice
Answer: (d) to persuade to join or entice

Question. State whether the given statement is TRUE or FALSE.
Delhi has grown into a city that shuns children.
Answer: TRUE

Question. Complete the given analogy.
______________ : an open space reserved for children : : Transit Oriented Development : policy for pedestrians, children and women safety
Answer: tot lots

Question. Complete the given statement.
Manjit Rastogi observed that __________________________________.
Answer: it is catastrophic to learn about child mortality on Delhi’s roads, but, on the other hand, you have the tragedy of kids being confined to their homes.

Question. The full form of TOD: __________________.
Answer: Transit Oriented Development

Question. Which word from para 4 means the same as ‘the action of putting something right’?
Answer: rectification

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) White House security entrance at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17: There are six Indians in immaculate sherwanis that the secret service is trying to clear through by matching their passports or drivers’ licenses to the information they have on their computers. Four are clear and two have problems. One of them is me. The problem is that my passport has no last name. Even though I have met with candidate Trump, President-Elect Trump, and then President Trump, at least a dozen times, it’s never been at the White House.
(2) Diwali at the White House was scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m. For 30 minutes four different White House officials tried to get me cleared, but these secret service guys refused to break the protocol no matter who the visitor. It is 3:00 p.m. now. Finally, seeing no solution in sight the Secret Service offer a way out – I could go in as long as I am escorted by an official all the time. Three members of our group of six had already gone in, and finally the rest of us – to the Roosevelt room, right next to the Oval Office, just in time at 3:30 p.m.
(3) There were a total of 26 guests, most of them currently working for the Trump administration such as Nikki Haley, Seema Verma, Ajit Pai, Raj Shah, Vanilla Singh, along with six members of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC) that had played a major role in the election of President Trump. I am the RHC India Ambassador.
(4) After a 10-minute wait in the Roosevelt room, all 26 of us line up in the Oval Office. President Trump walks in, and comes over to us, the Kumar family which includes my dad Shalabh “Shalli” Kumar, his son Vikram Aditya Kumar and of course me.
(5) The President then proceeded to read his statement and light the diya with Nikki Haley and Seema Verma to his right and Shalabh Kumar and me to his left.

Question. Complete the given statement.
The author’s main problem was that ______________________________________.
Answer: her passport had no last name.

Question. The author was allowed to go in on the condition that:
(a) she could prove that she had met President Trump several times earlier
(b) she went in without a camera or a microphone
(c) a security officer remained with her all the time
(d) she could ask the Indian government to vouch for her character
Answer: (c) a security officer remained with her all the time

Question. Where were Diwali celebrations held?
(a) On the lawns of the White House
(b) In the Roosevelt Room
(c) In the Oval Office
(d) In President Trump’s drawing-room
Answer: (c) In the Oval Office

Question. In which of the following sentences has the word ‘immaculate’ been used appropriately as used in the first paragraph?
(a) Jenny made sure she looked immaculate before her job interview.
(b) The only immaculate carrier was the Egyptian.
(c) I prefer to keep my desk immaculate so that important papers are not lost.
(d) Dressed immaculate in a black coat and striped trousers, he could have passed for a top-flight barrister.
Answer: (a) Jenny made sure she looked immaculate before her job interview.

Question. The problem the Indians faced was that:
(a) their passports did not have a valid US visa marked on it
(b) they did not follow the protocol
(c) the information on their documents did not match with the information US security officials have on their computers
(d) they are late for the function
Answer: (c) the information on their documents did not match with the information US security officials have on their computers

Question. Complete the following.
The secret service was trying to clear the six Indians by ________________________.
Answer: matching their passports or drivers’ licenses to the information they have on their computers.

Question. ‘Scheduled’ in para 2 means the opposite of:
(a) expected
(b) decided
(c) charted
(d) spontaneous
Answer: (d) spontaneous

Question. Six members of the Republican Hindu Coalition played a major role in the election of President Trump. (True/False)
Answer: TRUE

Question. Complete the following.
The author was part of the team consisting of 26 members that celebrated Diwali with President Trump because ____________________.
Answer: she was the RHC India Ambassador.

Question. Find the word from paragraph 1 that means the same as ‘extremely clean and tidy’.
Answer: immaculate

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) No student of a foreign language needs to be told that grammar is complex. By changing word sequences and by adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we are able to communicate tiny variations in meaning. We can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks to convey subtle differences in meaning. Nor is this complexity inherent to the English language. All languages, even those of so-called ‘primitive’ tribes have clever grammatical components. The Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between ‘you and I’, ‘several other people and I’ and ‘you, another person and I’. In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one, crude pronoun ‘we’. Grammar is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is. So, the question which has baffled many linguists is – who created grammar?
(2) At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer. To find out how grammar is created, someone needs to be present at the time of a language’s creation, documenting its emergence. Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed, the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch. Amazingly, however, this is possible. Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade. At that time, slaves from a number of different ethnicities were forced to work together under colonizer’s rule. Since they had no opportunity to learn each other’s languages, they developed a makeshift language called a pidgin. Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the landowner. They have little in the way of grammar, and in many cases, it is difficult for a listener to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom. Speakers need to use circumlocution in order to make their meaning understood. Interestingly, however, all it takes for a pidgin to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it at the time when they learn their mother tongue. Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders; they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language. Complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins are termed creoles, and they are invented by children.
(3) Further evidence of this can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. Sign languages are not simply a series of gestures; they utilise the same grammatical machinery that is found in spoken languages. Moreover, there are many different languages used worldwide. The creation of one such language was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the deaf. Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home. It was basically a pidgin. Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar. However, children who joined the school later, when this inventive sign system was already around, developed a quite different sign language. Although it was based on the signs of the older children, the younger children’s language was more fluid and compact, and it utilised a large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning. What is more, all the children used the signs in the same way. A new creole was born.
(4) Some linguists believe that many of the world’s most established languages were creoles at first. The English past tense -ed ending may have evolved from the verb ‘do.’ It ended, may once have been ‘It end-did’. Therefore, it would appear that even the most widespread languages were partly created by children. Children appear to have innate grammatical machinery in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the world around them. Their minds can serve to create logical, complex structures, even when there is no grammar present for them to copy.

Question. In paragraph 1, why does the writer include information about the Cherokee language?
(a) To show how simple, traditional cultures can have complicated grammar structures
(b) To show how English grammar differs from Cherokee grammar
(c) To prove that complex grammar structures were invented by the Cherokees
(d) To demonstrate how difficult it is to learn the Cherokee language
Answer: (a) To show how simple, traditional cultures can have complicated grammar structures

Question. Which of the following did the slave children do?
(a) Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders.
(b) Slave children adapted their words to create a new, expressive language.
(c) Slave children created the complex grammar systems which emerge from pidgins termed Creoles.
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE about Nicaraguan language?
(a) The language has been created since 1979.
(b) The language is based on speech and lip reading.
(c) The language incorporates signs which children used at home.
(d) The language was perfected by younger children.
Answer: (b) The language is based on speech and lip reading.

Question. Fill in the blank.
_________________ is universal and plays a part in every language, no matter how widespread it is.
Answer: Grammar

Question. State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.
Some of the most recent languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade.
Answer: TRUE

Question. Which idea is presented in the last paragraph?
(a) English is probably once a creole.
(b) The English past tense system is inaccurate.
(c) Linguists have proven that English was created by children.
(d) Children say English past tenses differently from elders.
Answer: (a) English is probably once a creole.

Question. Pidgins are strings of words copied from the languages of the slaves. (True/False)
Answer: FALSE

Question. Complete the given analogy.
Creoles : complex grammar systems : : _____________ : pronoun system
Answer: Cherokee

Question. Complete the given statement.
We can find who created grammar by __________________________________.
Answer: observing how languages are started from scratch.

Question. Fill in the blank with a word/phrase.
Children appear to have innate __________________ in their brains, which springs to life when they are first trying to make sense of the world around them.
Answer: grammatical machinery

Read the following passage carefully.

(1) The outer system is the name of the planets beyond the asteroid belt. These planets are called gas giants because they are made up of gas and ice.
(2) The first stop of our tour is the fifth planet, Jupiter. It’s bigger than three hundred Earths! It is made up of hydrogen and helium and a few other gases. There are violent wind storms that circle around Jupiter. The most famous storm is called the Great Red Spot. It has been churning for more than four hundred years already. At last count, Jupiter has sixty-three known moons and a faint ring around it too.
(3) Next in our space neighbourhood comes Saturn. It is well-known for the series of beautiful rings that circle it. They are made up of tiny bits of frozen dirt and ice. Like Jupiter, Saturn is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium. It is smaller though, at only ninety-five times the size of the Earth. Saturn has sixty-two moons.
(4) The seventh planet, Uranus and its twenty-seven moons orbit very far from the sun. In addition to helium and hydrogen, Uranus’ atmosphere also contains ammonia ice and methane ice. It is a very cold planet, with no internal heat source. One of the strangest things about Uranus is that it is tipped over and orbits the sun on its side at a ninety-degree angle. The twenty-seven moons it has orbit from top to bottom, instead of left to right like our moon.
(5) The eighth planet is Neptune. Like Uranus, it is made up of hydrogen, helium, ammonia ice and methane ice. But unlike Uranus, Neptune does have an inner heat source, just like Earth. It radiates twice as much heat as it receives from the sun. Neptune’s most distinctive quality is its blue colour. Most of the information we know about it came from the Voyager 2 spacecraft passing close by it in 1989.
(6) Pluto is the last and was considered a planet after its discovery in 1930. In 2006, Pluto was demoted and reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto exists in the Kuiper belt. That’s just a fancy name for the band of rocks, dust and ice that lies beyond the gas giants. Scientists have found objects bigger than Pluto in this belt. Thus, the outer solar system has many secrets to explore.

Question. The two gases which make up most of Jupiter and Saturn are:
(a) hydrogen and ammonia
(b) hydrogen and methane
(c) hydrogen and helium
(d) none of these
Answer: (c) hydrogen and helium

Question. The Great Red Spot is one of the violent wind storms that circle around Jupiter. (True/False)
Answer: TRUE

Question. Fill in the blank.
Saturn is ______________ times the size of the earth.
Answer: ninety-five

Question. Complete the given statement.
The moons of Uranus are peculiar because _____________________________.
Answer: they orbit from top to bottom, instead of left to right like our moon.

Question. What is Kuiper belt?
(a) It is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that is between Jupiter and Saturn.
(b) It is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that is beyond Pluto.
(c) It is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that includes Pluto.
(d) It is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that surrounds Saturn’s rings.
Answer: (b) It is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that is beyond Pluto.

Question. Complete the given analogy.
Neptune : inner heat source : : ___________ : violent wind storms
Answer: Jupiter

Question. Which of the following words is the synonym of ‘faint’ as used in paragraph 2?
(a) Indistinct
(b) Slight
(c) Muffled
(d) Unconscious
Answer: (b) Slight

Question. Complete the given statement.
In 2006, Pluto was demoted and reclassified as a dwarf planet because _________________.
Answer: scientists have found objects bigger than Pluto in the Kuiper belt.

Question. Pick the word that means the same as ‘tipped’ as used in paragraph 4.
(a) Topped
(b) Tilted
(c) Poured
(d) Presented
Answer: (b) Tilted

Question. Jupiter is only ninety-five times the size of the earth. (True/False)
Answer: FALSE