CBSE Class 12 English Unseen Passage Assignment Set 03

PASSAGE 

1. Someone will say, And are you not ashamed, Socrates, of a course of life which is likely to bring you to an untimely end? To him I may fairly answer: There you are mistaken, a man who is good for anything ought not to calculate the chance of living or dying; he ought only to consider whether in doing anything, he is doing right or wrong, acting the part of a good man or of a bad.

2. Whereas, upon your view, the heroes who fell at Troy were not good for much, and the son of Thetis above all, who altogether despised danger in comparison with disgrace; and when he was so eager to slay Hector, his goddess mother said to him, that if he avenged his companion Patroclus, and slew Hector, he would die himself. “Fate”, she said, in these or the like words, “waits for you next after Hector.” He, receiving this warning, utterly despised danger and death, and instead of fearing them, feared rather to live in dishonour, and not to avenge his friend. “Let me die forthwith”, he replied, “and be avenged of my enemy, rather than abide here by the beaked ships, a laughing-stock and a burden of the earth.” Had Achilles any thought of death and danger? For wherever a man’s place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in which he has been placed by a commander, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything but of disgrace. And this, O men of Athens, is a true saying.

3. And therefore, if you let me go now and reject the counsels of Anytus, who said that if I were not put to death and that if I escape now, your sons will all be utterly ruined by listening to my words, if you say to me, Socrates, this time we will not mind Anytus and will let you off, but upon one condition; that you are not to inquire and speculate in this way any more, and that if you are caught doing this again you shall die, if this was the condition on which you let me go I should reply, men of Athens I honour and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you and while I have life and strength, I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet after my manner and convincing him, saying: O my friend, why do you, who are a citizen of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens, care so much about laying up the greatest amount of money and honour and reputation and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not ashamed of this? Therefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus bids or not as Anytus bids and either acquit me or not; but whatever you do, know that I shall never alter my ways, not even if I have to die many times.

4. And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my own sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against God or lightly reject his boon by condemning me. For if you kill me, you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by God; and the state is like a great and noble horse who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size and requires to be stirred into life. I am that gadfly which God had given the state and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you. I dare say that you may feel irritated at being suddenly awakened when you are caught napping; and you may think that if you were to strike me dead, as Anytus advises, which you easily might, then you would sleep on for the remainder of your lives, unless God in his care of you gives you another gadfly.

5. Well, Athenians, this and the like of this is nearly all the defence which I have to offer. Yet a word more. Perhaps there may be someone who is offended at me, when he calls to mind how he himself, on a similar or even a less serious occasion, had recourse to prayers and supplications with many tears and how he produced his children in court, which was a moving spectacle, together with a posse of his his relations and friends; whereas I, who am probably in danger of my life, will do none of these things.

Question. A man who is good for anything should not, according to Socrates, .....................
(a) consider whether he is acting like a good or bad man
(b) calculate whether he is doing right or wrong
(c) think about his chances of dying or living
(d) All of the options
Answer: (c) think about his chances of dying or living

Question. Socrates will never stop .............
(a) obeying the orders of the state
(b) being offended by people
(c) obeying all men
(d) practising and teaching philosophy
Answer: (d) practising and teaching philosophy

Question. Socrates compares himself to ......... .
(a) a gadfly for the people
(b) a God given gadfly to the state
(c) a ludicrous figure
(d) None of the options
Answer: (b) a God given gadfly to the state

Question. Socrates will never ......... in his defence.
(a) take a group of his relations and friends to the court
(b) cause a moving spectacle by bringing his children to the court
(c) take recourse to prayers and supplications with many tears
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. No man should think of ......... when he is stationed at a place chosen by his commander.
(a) dishonour and disgrace
(b) avenging his companion’s killing
(c) death and danger
(d) becoming a laughing-stock
Answer: (c) death and danger

Question. What did Socrates consider of greater value than wealth and honour?
Answer: Socrates considered wisdom, truth, and the improvement of the soul to be of greater value.

Question. What are two instances in the passage of Socrates saying that he was not afraid of death?
Answer: One instance is when he says he will not cease practicing philosophy even if he has to die many times. The other is when he states a good man should not calculate the chance of living or dying.

Question. What is the likeness between the practices of Socrates and a gadfly?
Answer: Just as a gadfly stirs a tardy horse into life by fastening upon it, Socrates arousing, persuading, and reproaching the state to stir it into life.

Question. How can you tell that Anytus wants Socrates to be executed?
Answer: The passage mentions Anytus counseling that Socrates should be put to death because his words would ruin the sons of Athens.

Question. What condition did Socrates not agree to while asserting that he would obey God rather than anybody else?
Answer: He did not agree to the condition that he would be let off only if he ceased to inquire and speculate in his philosophical way.

Question. According to Socrates, why should a man not consider his chances of living or dying?
Answer: He should only consider whether his actions are right or wrong, and whether he is acting as a good man or a bad man.

Question. Find the words in the given passage which convey the similar meaning to think carefully (para 1) and just now (para 2)
Answer:

• think carefully: calculate
• just now: forthwith

PASSAGE 

1. The Ring at Casterbridge was merely the local name of one of the finest Roman Amphitheatres, if not the very finest, remaining in Britain.

2. Casterbridge announced old Rome in every street, alley, and precinct. It looked Roman, bespoke the art of Rome, concealed dead men of Rome. It was impossible to dig more than a foot or two deep about the town fields and gardens without coming upon some tall soldier or other of the Empire, who had laid there in his silent unobtrusive rest for a space of fifteen hundred years. He was mostly found lying on his side, in an oval scoop in the chalk, like a chicken in its shell; his knees drawn up to his chest; sometimes with the remains of his spear against his arm; a brooch of bronze on his breast or forehead; an urn at his knees, a jar at his throat, a bottle at his mouth; and mystified conjecture pouring down upon him from the eyes of Casterbridge street boys, who had turned a moment to gaze at the familiar spectacle as they passed by.

3. Imaginative inhabitants, who would have felt an unpleasantness at the discovery of a comparatively modern skeleton in their gardens, were quite unmoved by these hoary shapes. They had lived so long ago, their time was so unlike the present, their hopes and motives were so widely removed from ours, that between them and the living there seemed to stretch a gulf too wide for even a spirit to pass.

4. The Amphitheatre was a huge circular enclosure, with a notch at opposite extremities of its diameter North and South. It was to Casterbridge what the ruined Coliseum is to modern Rome, and was nearly of the same magnitude. The dusk of evening was the proper hour at which a true impression of this suggestive place could be received. Standing in the middle of the arena at that time there, by degrees became apparent its real vastness, which a cursory view from the summit at noon-day was apt to obscure. Melancholy, impressive, lonely, yet accessible from every part of the town, the historic circle was the frequent spot for appointments of a furtive kind. Intrigues were arranged there; tentative meetings were experimented there after divisions and feuds. But one kind of appointment-in itself the most common of any-seldom had place in the Amphitheatre; that of happy lovers.

5. Why, seeing that it was pre-eminently an airy, accessible and sequestered spot for interviews, the cheerfullest form of those occurrences never took kindly to the soil of the ruin, would be a curious inquiry. Perhaps it was because its associations had about them something sinister. Its history proved that. Apart from the sanguinary nature of the games originally played therein, such incidents attached to its past as these: that for scores of years the town-gallows had stood at one corner; that in 1705 a woman who had murdered her husband was half-strangled and then burnt there in the presence of ten thousand spectators.

6. Tradition reports that at a certain stage of the burning her heart burst and leapt out of her body, to the terror of them all, and that not one of those ten thousand people ever cared particularly for hot roast after that. In addition to these old tragedies, pugilistic encounters almost to the death had come off down to recent dates in that secluded arena, entirely invisible to the outside world save by climbing to the top of the enclosure, which few townspeople in the daily round of their lives ever took the trouble to do. So that, though close to the turnpike-road, crimes might be perpetrated there unseen at mid-day.

7. Some boys had latterly tried to impart gaiety to the ruin by using the central arena as a cricket-ground. But the game usually languished for the aforesaid reason-the dismal privacy which the earthen circle enforced, shutting out every appreciative passer’s vision, every commendatory remark from outsiders; everything, except the sky; and to play at games in such circumstances was like acting to an empty house.

8. Possibly, too, the boys were timid, for some old people said that at certain moments in the summer time, in broad daylight, persons sitting with a book or dozing in the arena had, on lifting their eyes, beheld the slopes lined with a gazing legion of Hadrian’s soldiery as if watching the gladiatorial combat; and had heard the roar of their excited voices; that the scene would remain but a moment, like a lightning flash, and then disappear.

Question. All of the following are said to have taken place at the ring except
(a) ghostly apparitions
(b) hangings
(c) secret assignations
(d) theatrical performances
Answer: (d) theatrical performances

Question. Some boys had started using the central arena for
(a) boxing
(b) cricket
(c) football
(d) athletics
Answer: (b) cricket

Question. The 'curious enquiry' (para 5) refers to finding out .................
(a) how the amphitheatre came to have sinister associations
(b) why happy lovers never met there
(c) why interviews never took place there
(d) what historical events took place there
Answer: (b) why happy lovers never met there

Question. ‘Casterbridge announced old Rome in every street, alley and precinct' because it .............
(a) concealed the dead men of Rome under its soil
(b) contained evidence of the art of Rome
(c) looked Roman
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. A true impression of the vastness of the Amphitheatre was possible only during .................
(a) the dawn of a sunny morning
(b) the noon hour, when the sun was at its summit
(c) the dusk of evening
(d) None of the options
Answer: (c) the dusk of evening

Question. How was the Amphitheatre a 'suggestive place’?
Answer: It was a suggestive place because of its melancholy, lonely atmosphere and its vast, impressive enclosure that evoked a true impression of ancient Rome, especially at dusk.

Question. What were the sinister associations related to the Amphitheatre?
Answer: Sinister associations included the town-gallows standing at a corner for years, the public burning of a woman in 1705, and pugilistic encounters almost to the death.

Question. What happened when the woman who had murdered her husband was punished?
Answer: She was half-strangled and then burnt in the presence of ten thousand spectators; tradition says her heart burst and leapt out of her body.

Question. How did the Amphitheatre become a place for criminal activities?
Answer: It became a place for crimes because the secluded arena was entirely invisible to the outside world, allowing acts to be perpetrated unseen even at mid-day.

Question. Why had the boys given up their sport in the Amphitheatre?
Answer: They gave up cricket because the "dismal privacy" of the earthen circle shut out all outsiders, making the game feel like "acting to an empty house," and possibly because they were timid due to ghost stories.

Question. What is the author’s primary purpose of writing this passage?
Answer: The primary purpose is to describe the historical and atmospheric significance of the Roman Amphitheatre at Casterbridge and its impact on the local inhabitants.

Question. Find the words in the given passage which convey the similar meaning to secretive plans (para 4) and boxing (para 6)
Answer:

• secretive plans: intrigues
• boxing: pugilistic encounters

PASSAGE 

1. What is ‘social’ about social inequality and exclusion? This question has three broad answers. First, social inequality and exclusion are social because they are not about individuals but about groups. Second, they are social in the sense that they are not economic, although there is usually a strong link between social and economic inequality. Third, they are systematic and structured-there is a definite pattern to social inequalities.

2. In every society, some people have a greater share of valued resources-money, property, education, health, and power-than others. These social resources can be divided into three forms of capital-economic capital in the form of material assets and income; cultural capital such as educational qualifications and status; and social capital in the form of networks of contacts and social associations. Often, these three forms of capital overlap and one can be converted into the other. For instance, a person from a well-off family (economic capital) can afford expensive higher education, and so can acquire cultural or educational capital. Someone with influential relatives and friends (social capital) may-through access to good advice, recommendations or information-manage to get a well-paid job.

3. Patterns of unequal access to social resources are commonly called social inequality. Some social inequality reflects innate differences between individuals: for instance, their varying abilities and efforts. Someone may be endowed with exceptional intelligence or talent, or may have worked very hard to achieve wealth and status. However, by and large, social inequality is not the outcome of innate or ‘natural’ differences between people, but is produced by the society in which they live. Sociologists use the term social stratification to refer to a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy. This hierarchy then shapes people’s identity and experiences, their relations with others, as well as their access to resources and opportunities.

4. Three key principles help explain social stratification. These are
(a) Characteristic of Society Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences. It is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people. In the most technologically primitive societies-hunting and gathering societies, for instance-little was produced, so only rudimentary social stratification could exist. In more technologically advanced societies, where people produce a surplus over and above their basic needs, however, social resources are unequally distributed to various social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.
(b) Persists Permanently Social stratification persists over generations. It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s social position is ascribed. That is, children assume the social positions of their parents. Within the caste system, birth dictates occupational opportunities. A Dalit is likely to be confined to traditional occupations such as agricultural labour, scavenging, or leather work, with little chance of being able to get high-paying white-collar or professional work. The ascribed aspect of social inequality is reinforced by the practice of endogamy. That is, marriage is usually restricted to members of the same caste, ruling out the potential for blurring caste lines through inter-marriage.
(c) Supported by Belief or Ideology Patterns Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief or ideology. No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable. The caste system, for instance, is justified in terms of the opposition of purity and pollution, with the Brahmins designated as the most superior and Dalits as the most inferior by virtue of their birth and occupation. Not everyone, though, thinks of a system of inequality as legitimate. Typically, people with the greatest social privileges express the strongest support for systems of stratification such as caste and race. Those who have experienced the exploitation and humiliation of being at the bottom of the hierarchy are most likely to challenge it.

5. Often we discuss social exclusion and discrimination as though they pertain to differential economic resources alone. This, however, is only partially true. People often face discrimination and exclusion because of their gender, religion, ethnicity, language, caste and disability. Thus, women from a privileged background may face sexual harassment in public places. A middle class professional from a minority religious or ethnic group may find it difficult to get accommodation in a middle class colony even in a metropolitan city. People often harbour prejudices about other social groups. Each of us grows up as a member of a community from which we acquire ideas not just about our ‘communities’, our ‘caste’ or ‘class’, our ‘gender’, but also about others. Often these ideas reflect prejudices.

Question. Social inequality and exclusion is 'social' because it .................
(a) is not exclusively economic
(b) has a definite pattern
(c) refers to groups
(d) All of the options
Answer: (d) All of the options

Question. Social resources can be divided into ............... forms of capital.
(a) economic, educational and aesthetic
(b) cultural, social and economic
(c) economic, cultural and ethnic
(d) None of the options
Answer: (b) cultural, social and economic

Question. Social inequality is .................
(a) decided by the people’s varying abilities and efforts
(b) the outcome of innate or 'natural' differences between people
(c) produced by the society in which we live
(d) All of the options
Answer: (c) produced by the society in which we live

Question. The hierarchy of social stratification decides people's .................
(a) access to resources and opportunities
(b) general behaviour
(c) ability to acquire wealth
(d) aptitude for mental work
Answer: (a) access to resources and opportunities

Question. Endogamy is .................
(a) not an ascribed aspect of social inequality
(b) inter-caste marriage
(c) marriage restricted to members of the same caste
(d) None of the options
Answer: (c) marriage restricted to members of the same caste

Question. What are the valued resources in society which people want more than others?
Answer: The valued resources are money, property, education, health, and power.

Question. How can a person having economic capital acquire cultural capital?
Answer: A person from a well-off family can use economic capital to afford expensive higher education, thereby acquiring cultural or educational capital.

Question. How do sociologists define social stratification?
Answer: Sociologists define social stratification as a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy.

Question. In more technologically advanced societies, how are social resources distributed?
Answer: Social resources are distributed unequally to various social categories regardless of people’s innate individual abilities.

Question. What vocations is a Dalit worker likely to be confined to?
Answer: A Dalit worker is likely to be confined to traditional occupations such as agricultural labour, scavenging, or leather work.

Question. What kinds of people typically express the strongest support for systems of stratification such as caste and race?
Answer: Typically, people with the greatest social privileges express the strongest support for such systems.

Question. Find the words in the given passage which convey the meaning similar to provided with a quality (para 3) and arrangement or classification (para 4)
Answer:

• provided with a quality: endowed
• arrangement or classification: stratification

PASSAGE 

1. Digitisation has impacted our daily living. It has changed the way we communicate, read, watch and also learn. In order to succeed in this rapidly changing digital world, one needs to understand the continuous changes technology brings forth to us.

2. Digital learning is changing the world. It is connecting billions of young people to learner communities, teachers and economies. Considering the importance and efficiency of technology-based learning, digital learning and skills should be incorporated in all forms of professional and vocational education. Several universities and institutions provide digital learning courses and teach using technology. Tools such as multimedia, audio-visual, mobile and digital content are used to reach out to learners to enhance their learning experiences.

3. However, learning purely through digital means is not enough to acquire the requisite skill sets. Coupling digital learning along with an integrated apprenticeship programme will provide the right amount of workplace skills and exposure to the learner. Integrating and providing apprenticeship, vocational education and training are important, as they improve the skills of the workforce. Linking theory, practical and on-the-job training will help promote learning across industries and sectors. Further, teaching apprentices skills using the digital medium helps disseminate knowledge to a much larger audience. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills are crucial for the digital economy.

4. On the Job Training (OJT) or the apprenticeship model of learning can work closely either with online, onsite or on-campus learning. However, it usually works best in a hybrid format bringing in a mix. For instance, OJT can be combined with onsite and online, wherein a lot of self-learning content can be provided online. Here, the hands-on learning is acquired through OJT and the teacher provides learning through classrooms on site.

5. Interim assessments bring in the elements of monitoring and evaluation, keeping the learner and the teacher aligned to the defined learning goals and objectives. This allows the academia, industry and students to collaborate in developing a skilled and productive workforce for the industry.

6. The few key advantages of an integrated learning model of apprenticeship and digital learning are:
(a) Enhanced Learner Engagement The greater the variety of techniques used, the easier it will be to get the learners' attention and engagement to deliver a range of core competencies.
(b) Learning Flexibility Blended approaches mean a mixture of different learning models and flexibility can work not just for learners but also for employers and trainers to be able to deliver a learning programme or compliance course on time.
(c) Personalised Learning Using different forms of learning, the techniques of learning can be different for different learners depending on their individual learning style.
(d) Improved Learner A hybrid form of learning would mean a deeper and continuous engagement with each individual learner, not just for learning but to understand his or her learning needs and model the learning programme accordingly.
(e) Better Monitoring Any form of digital learning seeks to improvise the way a learner learns using technology. Further, it can be monitored right from the number of minutes he or she has been on a particular topic, the total programme covered, assessments taken and passed. This allows the trainer and employer to keep a close eye on each learner’s progress and help learn them better.
(f) Reduced Costs A mixed form of learning will not just reduce infrastructure and travel costs, but also build in efficiency through online, onsite and OJT forms of learning. This also enables the facilitators to customise on the basis of time and budgets available. Also, any training should be measured on the training outcomes achieved on a continuous basis, thereby measuring the return on training investments.

7. All the four forms of learning, OJT, Online, Onsite and On Campus, allow for regular interaction. Also, it is easy to modularise learning for each batch of learners if not for individual learners. India is going to be one of the few countries with the highest number of youth in the next few years. With a large young population proposed to enter the labour market, unless they have the right skills, most of them would be under-employed with lower wages.

8. There are huge opportunities for job-seekers and students opting for vocational skills as an alternate or an additional form of learning. ‘Learning by doing’ and ‘earning while learning’ are such mechanisms for learning vocational skills along with classroom learning. Being an apprentice would give a chance to the trainee to work towards his / her qualification. This will help one gain the skills and knowledge required for the specific industry. From the students’ perspective, being an apprentice is quite simple. They can either register on the government-run apprenticeship portal or the few private ones. The trainees are connected to prospective industries and get deployed at the industry for a stipulated duration and stipend.

9. A multi-modal form of learning has many advantages. Digital learning tools and technology fill gaps where traditional classrooms fail. In today’s age of big data, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT), there is a need for rapid reactions and changes based on market needs.

Question. To succeed in the digital world, one must .............
(a) improve one’s digital awareness
(b) change with the times
(c) comprehend how technology is changing what one does
(d) understand the continuous changes technology is bringing
Answer: (d) understand the continuous changes technology is bringing

Question. Tools such as ................. enhance the learners' learning experiences.
(a) OJT, Online, Onsite and On Campus training
(b) multimedia, audio-visual, mobile and digital content
(c) virtual reality and artificial intelligence
(d) None of the options
Answer: (b) multimedia, audio-visual, mobile and digital content

Question. OJT works best if combined with .................
(a) online learning
(b) offline learning
(c) classroom training on site
(d) digital learning in a laboratory
Answer: (c) classroom training on site

Question. ............... help promote learning across industries and sectors.
(a) Linking theory, practical and on-the-job training will
(b) Teaching apprentices skills using the digital medium will
(c) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills
(d) None of the options
Answer: (a) Linking theory, practical and on-the-job training will

Question. For the student to register as an apprentice, the student must .................
(a) register on the government-run apprenticeship portal
(b) register on a private apprenticeship portal
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) Either (a) or (b)
Answer: (d) Either (a) or (b)

Question. What are the tools of digital learning?
Answer: Tools of digital learning include multimedia, audio-visual, mobile, and digital content.

Question. What skills are crucial for the digital economy?
Answer: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills are crucial for the digital economy.

Question. What is the purpose of making interim assessments of learning?
Answer: The purpose is monitoring and evaluation to keep the learner and the teacher aligned to the defined learning goals and objectives.

Question. What is the meaning of ‘personalised learning'?
Answer: Personalised learning means using different techniques of learning for different learners depending on their individual learning style.

Question. Under what conditions will India’s youth remain under-employed with lower wages?
Answer: They will remain under-employed if they do not have the right skills required by the labour market.

Question. What are the advantages of a multi-modal form of learning?
Answer: Advantages include filling gaps where traditional classrooms fail, enabling rapid reactions to market needs, and providing enhanced engagement, flexibility, and reduced costs.

Question. Find the words in the given passage which convey the meaning similar to spread widely (para 3) and the educational community as a whole (para 5)
Answer:

• spread widely: disseminate
• the educational community as a whole: academia