ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATU RE
SECTION A: READING
1. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
a. In the modern world, honesty has lost its meaning. Wealth plays an important role in man’s life today. The value of money has gone high. Everyone wants to become rich without hard work. He doesn’t hesitate to adopt any means at all to become rich. But there are people who still appreciate honesty. Every religion lays great emphasis on honesty.
b. An honest man is always bold and courageous. He is not afraid, though, he at times has to face grievous challenges. He is truthful and is liked by all. On the other hand, people who cheat, slander and use false means to gather fame and wealth are not liked. Honesty should be maintained everywhere, at home, in school, among friends and in our day to day interactions. An honest person always obeys the law and so has a free and happy outlook towards life.
c. Honesty also gives rise to spiritual strength. So, one takes up any challenge with confidence whereas a dishonest person, can never be sure of anything. He is always busy plotting his next move and so is never at peace. An honest man is eventually rewarded with success and happiness. Even after death, people remember him for his honest ways. He gets love and respect wherever he goes.
d. Dishonesty, no doubt, gives benefits but remember, those benefits are temporary, short- lived. It kills our soul and snatches away our peace of mind. It is not easy to remain honest in world. One needs courage and sacrifice to remain so. But even then, honesty has its own value and comes out victorious in the long run. The choice is yours.
1.1 Answer the following questions briefly :
a. What is lost and why, in the world today?
b. Why has honesty taken a back step in the world, we live in?
c. Can an honest man always be happy?
d. When do we call a person dishonest?
e. How is an honest person rewarded?
f. What are the ill effects of dishonesty?
g. Where can honesty be practiced?
h. What must we always be cautious about? Why?
2. Read the passage carefully and complete the questions :
a. The cultural heritage of a nation or a region is not solely composed of monuments and a museum collection, but also of living in tangible expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants. They have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environment and they contribute by giving us a sense of identity and continuity, providing a link from our past, through the present and into the future.
b. Traditional games or indigenous sports were just not games to be competed in or won between opposing teams or participants. The games of yore were designed in such a way that could develop a multitude of skills like logical thinking, strategy building, concentration and focus, basic mathematics, aiming and a lot more. In fact, they were also learning aids which helped develop sensory skills, colour identification, motor skills, hand eye coordination, adding subtracting etc.
c. Many modern games played around the world, today, have their origin in these traditional games which is a source of pride for a country and its people. So, the time has come to revive their forgotten glory and bring them back into our fold. Play stations, video games, online games have had a huge impact on the games that children choose to play these days. But, indigenous games are refreshing, take us through memory lanes, keep alive the culture and tradition of a community, so spare a thought for them…
d. The game of chess originated in India and was called ashtapada, from the Sanskrit word meaning eight feet. As centuries rolled by, the game was viewed as means of self improvement. The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement ; several valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the cause of human life, all to be acquired and strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain and competitors or adversaries to contend with and in which, there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence or the want of it.
e. Vishwanathan Anand is the celebrated Indian Chess Grandmaster and the former World Chess Champion. He became India’s first Grandmaster in 1988 and the first recipient of the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honour.In 2007, he was bestowed with India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to do so. In March 2015, a minor planet….4538 Vishyanand was named after him.
2.1 Answer the following questions briefly :
a. What impression have you gained, about the traditional games?
b. Why were the traditional games, environment friendly?
c. Which game has life been linked to? Why?
d. How has the cultural heritage of a nation evolved?
2.2 Complete the following sentences:
a. Spare a thought for the indigenous games as they are …………………….
b. Vishwanathan Anand became the first sportsperson to receive ……………….
2.3 Find a word from the passage that means the same. (
a. originating in a particular country. (para. 2)
b. presented (para. 6)
Please click on below link to download CBSE Class 9 English Question Paper Set N
