CBSE Class 12 English Elective Question Paper 2024 Solved

SECTION A

Reading

Read the passage given below :

(1) The United States and China are currently involved in an extraordinary standoff over allegations of espionage through high-altitude balloons. Last week, the US downed three unidentified 'objects' flying over its airspace and that of Canada. The downed 'objects' have not yet been recovered, so it is not clear whether these were balloons.

2) But the first incident involved a Chinese balloon that Beijing claimed was meant for research purposes and was accidentally blown off course by wind. The US has also claimed that Chinese balloons entered its airspace on at least four earlier occasions, remaining undetected at that time. China, in turn, has accused the US of sending surveillance balloons over its airspace at least 10 times since last year.

3) Balloons have been in frequent use for several decades now, though the first use goes back by at least 200 years. They are used mainly for scientific purposes, but increasingly for tourism and joy rides, surveillance, disaster relief and rescue.

4) The bigger balloons can be as large as a football stadium, go up to 40 - 50 km from the ground, and carry a few thousand kilograms of payloads. Most of these are built of thin sheets of polyethylene, like the common plastic bags, and are filled mostly with helium gas. Balloons can stay in flight from anywhere between a few hours to a couple of months. Those that are meant to remain in air for long, and go higher up in the atmosphere, are made of more advanced materials for increased sturdiness.

5) Balloons typically have a basket attached to them, called gondolas, that carry instruments or human beings. In unmanned flights, the gondolas are also attached to a parachute. Once the job of the balloon is done, a device in the gondola is triggered to snap its ties with the balloon as well as create a rupture in the fabric of the balloon. With the help of the parachute, the gondola then glides down to the earth, followed by the ruptured balloon. The possible landing zone is calculated ahead of the flight based on weather conditions.

6) The most common use of balloons is in scientific research. In a way, balloons equipped with instruments were able to perform the functions of a satellite before the space age dawned. Even in the times of advanced satellites, there are situations in which balloons are considered more suitable. Weather agencies routinely use balloons to make measurements of air temperature, pressure, wind speed, direction and aerosol concentrations.

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