CBSE Class 10 English Language and Literature Sample Paper 2011 Set C

SECTION - A 

READING 

1. Read the passage given below: 

A park created by a Maharaja, the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, 176 km. from Delhi and 55 km. west of Agra and the Taj Mahal, is perhaps the only habitat created by a Maharaja. Two kilometres away from Bharatpur town, the royal family of Bharatpur developed the area in the late 19th Century. 

The Maharaja constructed small dams for water conservation, diverted water from a nearby irrigation canal and soon thousands of water birds descended. The Maharaja, wanting to celebrate his success, invited dignitaries of British and Princely India to shoot waterfowl. 

The sandstone in the park records the exploitation of those days. The first recorded shoot was by Lord Curzon in 1902. In 1956, the habitat shooting reserve became a sanctuary but the shooting continued until 1964. The sanctuary was upgraded to a National Park in 1981 and renamed Keoladeo Ghana. 

This 29 sq. km. fresh water shallow swamp of Keoladeo Ghana with kadam, babul (Acacia nilotica) - ber and ficus trees has a rich aquatic vegetation, 50 species of fish, five species of amphibians, 28 species of reptiles and more than 366 species of birds (which include 32 species of birds of prey) and 27 species of animals like blackbuck, sambar, spotted deer, bluebull and 379 floral species. 

The painted storks, like many other birds in Bharatpur during the monsoon, are local migrants. The highlight of the park is that it is the only known wintering area of the highly endangered central population of the Siberian cranes. 

Migratory birds at the park start arriving in October for wintering. That wetlands help in maintaining the freshwater flow within river systems is a known fact. In Bharatpur, the shallow aquifiers of the Gangetic plain are recharged during the monsoon and from streams and wetlands in all seasons. 

According to a report by Wetlands International, one-third of the world's wetlands are located in Asia.

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