Includes:
•
Reading Skills• Writing Skills & Grammar
• Interact in English—Literature Reader
• Interact in English—Main Course Book
• Interact in English—Workbook
• Diary of a Young Girl—Novel
• The Story of My Life—Novel
10
CBSE
TERM-2
ENGLISH
Communicative
(As per the latest CBSE Syllabus)
FULL MARKS PVT LTD
Educational Publishers
“This book is meant for educational and learning purposes. The author(s) of the book has/have taken all reasonable care to ensure that the contents of the book do not violate any existing copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person in any manner whatsoever. In the event the author(s) has/have been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.”
Printed at:
Published by:
FULL MARKS PVT LTD 4238A/1, Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi-110002 Phone: 011-40556600 (100 Lines) Fax: 011-40556688 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.fullmarks.org © Author
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Branches:
• Ahmedabad • Bengaluru • Chennai • Dehradun • Guwahati • Hyderabad • Jaipur • Kolkata • Lucknow • Mumbai • Ranchi
(iii)
FULL MARKS ENGLISH COMMUNICATIVE–10 has been thoroughly revised as per the latest CBSE Syllabus.
As per the new Curriculum, Section A: Reading carries 20 marks with 02 Reading Tasks; Section B: Writing and Grammar carries 25 marks — 15 for Writing and 10 for Grammar; Section C: Literature & Long Reading Text carries 25 marks — 15 for Literature and
10 for Long Reading Text. Hence, now the question paper will carry only 70 marks. There will be an Assessment of Speaking & Listening (ASL) carrying 20 marks. Marking
Scheme and the pattern of questions have been recently modified and so this book has been revised accordingly.
All Sections—Reading, Writing, Grammar and Literature have been completely modified. This book contains perfect and high quality content in order to provide complete support to students.
The book meets the need of a high quality, up-to-date, dependable and learner-friendly resource. The support website www.fullmarks.org is an added benefit for the users where
one can get much more and also an opportunity to share one’s academic complexities.
(v)
Section Total Weightage90
A Reading Skills 20
B Writing Skills with Grammar 25
C Literature Textbooks and Long Reading Text 25
D Assessment of Speaking and Listening (ASL) 20
TOTAL 90
Note: • It is division of marks assigned to all the four skills of language. The distribution of marks for Formative Assessments carrying 40% weightage may be done by the school themselves. A veriety of activities to assess all the skills of language may be used for Formative Assessments.
• The Summative Assessment Question Papers, if developed by the schools themselves, may be for 70 marks to which 20 marks may be added for Assessment of Speaking and Listening skills making the paper of 90 marks. The one third of the 90 marks i.e. 30 should be added each in both Summative Assessments.
• Assessment of Speaking and Listening skills (ASL) will be done formally at the term end examination in Summative-II. Schools can conduct ASL for Summative-I themselves as per the guidelines provided by the CBSE. However assessment of these skills may also be done under the Formative Activities spread over two terms.
There will be one written paper of English at the end of each term carrying 70 marks. The time limit will be three hours.
SECTION A: READING SKILLS 20 MARKS 50 PERIODS
Qs 1-2: This section will have two unseen passages of a total length of 700-750 words.
The arrangement within the reading section is as follows:
Q1. A Factual passage of 300-350 words with eight very short answer type
questions. 08 marks
Q2. A Discursive passage of 350-400 words with four short answer type questions to
test inference, evaluation and analysis with four MCQs to test vocabulary.
12 marks
(vi)
SECTION B: WRITING SKILLS & GRAMMAR 25 MARKS 60 PERIODS
Q3. Letter to the Editor/Article in about 100-120 words based on any visual/verbal
stimulus. 05 marks
Q4. Writing a short story based on a given outline or cue/s in about 150-200 words.
10 marks
The Grammar syllabus will include the following areas in classes IX & X: 1. Tenses
2. Modals (have to/had to, must, should, need, ought to and their negative forms) 3. Use of passive voice
4. Subject – verb concord 5. Reporting:
(i) Commands and requests (ii) Statements
(iii) Questions 6. Clauses:
(i) Noun clauses
(ii) Adverb clauses of condition and time (iii) Relative clauses
7. Determiners, and 8. Prepositions
The above items may be tested through test types as given below:
Q5. Gap Filling with one or two words to test Prepositions, Articles, Conjunctions and
Tenses. 03 marks
Q6. Editing or Omission 04 marks
Q7. Sentences Reordering or Sentence Transformation in context. 03 marks
SECTION C: LITERATURE TEXTBOOK 25 MARKS 60 PERIODS
& LONG READING TEXT
Q8. One out of two extracts from prose/poetry/play for reference to the context. Three
very short answer questions.
One mark in each extract will be for vocabulary. One question will be used for testing local and global comprehension and one question will be on interpretation.
03 marks
Q9. Four short answer type questions from the Literature Reader to test local and
global comprehension of theme and ideas (30-40 words each). 2 × 4 = 08 marks
Q10. One out of two long answer type questions to assess how the values inherent in
the text have been brought out. Creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across the texts will be assessed (80-100 words). 04 marks
Q11. One out of two very long answer question on theme or plot involving interpretation,
inferenece and character in about 150-200 words based on prescribed novel.
(vii)
Prescribed Books: Published by CBSE, New Delhi
Interact in English Series:
• Main Course Book (Revised Edition)
• Workbook (Revised Edition)
• Literature Reader (Revised Edition)
Novel (either one):
• Diary of a Young Girl – 1947 By Anne Frank (unabridged edition) • The Story of My Life – 1903 By Helen Keller (unabridged edition)
NOTE: Teachers are advised to:
(i) encourage classroom interaction among peers, students and teachers through activities such as role play, group work etc.
(ii) reduce teacher-talking time and keep it to the minimum,
(iii) take up questions for discussion to encourage pupils to participate and to marshal their ideas and express and defend their views, and
(iv) use the performance descriptors scale for conversation skills to test the students for continuous assessment.
Besides measuring attainment, texts serve the dual purpose of diagnosing mistakes and areas of non-learning. To make evaluation a true index of learners’ attainment, each language skill is to be assessed through a judicious mixture of different types of questions. In addition to the summative tests, formative assessment is essential to measure the level of attainment in the four language skills and the learners’ communicative competence. Formative assessment should be done through ‘in class’ activities throughout the year. Reading Section: Reading for comprehension, critical evaluation, inference and analysis is a skill to be tested in Formative as well as Summative Assessments.
Writing Section: All types of short and extended writing tasks will be dealt with in both I and II Term Formative as well as in Summative Assessments.
Grammar: Grammar items mentioned in the syllabus will be taught and assessed formatively over a period of time. There will be no division of syllabus for Grammar in the Summative Assessment for the two terms.
Speaking and Listening Skills: Since the introduction of Assessment of Speaking and Listening Skills (ASL) in classes IX and X, it has become imperative to carry out speaking and listening activities in regular classroom teaching. Sufficient practice should be given to students in order to prepare them for ASL. Performance descriptors should be shared
(viii)
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
TEXTBOOKS
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT-I SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT-II LITERATURE READER
Prose
1. Two Gentlemen of Verona 1. A Shady Plot
2. Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger 2. Patol Babu, Film Star
3. The Letter 3. Virtually True
Poetry
1. The Frog and the Nightingale 1. Ozymandias
2. Mirror 2. The Rime of Ancient Mariner
3. Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments 3. Snake
Drama
1. The Dear Departed 1. Julius Caesar
MAIN COURSE BOOK
1. Health and Medicine 1. Environment
2. Education 2. Travel and Tourism
3. Science 3. National Integration
LONG READING TEXT—NOVELS (either one)
Diary of a Young Girl–1947 Diary of a Young Girl–1947
June 12, 1942 to March 14, 1944 March 16, 1944 to August 01, 1944
By Anne Frank (unabridged edition) By Anne Frank (unabridged edition) The Story of My Life–1903 The Story of My Life–1903
Chapters 1-14 Chapters 15-23
(ix)
WORKBOOK* — Suggested Break-up of Units for the Purpose of Classroom Teaching only – NOT FOR TESTING (see the note below).
TERM-I TERM-I
1. Determiners 8. Comparison
2. Tenses 9. Avoiding Repetition
3. Subject-Verb Agreement 10. Nominalization
4. Non-Finites 11. Modals
5. Relatives 12. Active and Passive
6. Connectors 13. Reported Speech
7. Conditionals 14. Prepositions
* NOTE ON WORKBOOK
The suggested split up of the units of the Workbook reflects a distribution for the purpose of classroom teaching only. Since grammar and usage is not be tested discreetly, but in an integrated manner, the split up as shown above will not restrict question in the grammar section of SA I and SA II question papers to the specific units shown in the split up of Workbook units. Grammar will be tested by recycling grammar items
learnt over a period of time in a comprehensive manner. Teachers may adapt this suggested distribution for classroom teaching making modifications according to their specific needs. Similarly Formative Assessment of grammar items may also be carried out in an integrated manner along with the skills of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening as well as Literature.
Note: 1. Formative Assessment is assessment ‘for’ learning. Thus schools may adapt
the above break-up as per their convenience.
2. All activities related to Formative Assessment such as Language games, quizzes, projects, role plays, dramatization, script writing etc. must be done as ‘in class’ and ‘in school’ activities. In case, field survey or visit is taken up it must be under the direct supervision of the teacher.
(x)
QUESTION PAPER DESIGN
Typology Testing VSAQ Short Long Long Very Total competencies/ 1 mark Answer Answer Answer Long Marks learning outcomes Questions Question-I Question-II Answer
30-40 80-100 100-120 Question words words words 150-200
2 marks 4 marks 5 marks words
(HOTS)
10 marks
Reading Conceptual
Skills understanding decoding, analyzing, inferring, 12 04 — — — 20 interpreting and
vocabulary.
Creative Expressing an opinion,
Writing reasoning, justifying, Skills and illustrating, appropriacy Grammar of style and tone, using
appropriate format and 10 — — 01 01 25 fluency. Applying
conventions, using integrated structures
with accuracy and fluency.
Literature Recalling, reasoning,
and appreciating, applying
Textbooks literary conventions, extrapolating, illustrating and justifying etc. Extracting 03 04 01 — 01 25 relevant information,
identifying the central theme and sub themes,
understanding the writer’s message and
writing fluently.
Total 25×01 08×02 01×04 01×05 02×10 70 marks = 25 = 16 = 04 = 05 = 20 marks
marks marks marks marks marks
Assessment Interaction, reasoning, of Speaking diction, articulation,
and clarity, pronunciation 20
Listening and overall fluency
Skills
(xi)
SECTION A: READING SKILLS
1. Factual Passages ... 14 2. Discursive Passages ... 33
SECTION B: WRITING SKILLS & GRAMMAR
PART I: WRITING SKILLS ... 58-86
3. Composition-I ... 58 4. Composition-II ... 78
PART II: GRAMMAR ... 87-102
5. Gap Filling ... 87 6. Editing Task ... 90 7. Sentence Reordering & Sentence Transformation ... 98
SECTION: C TEXTBOOKS
LITERATURE READER ... 103-310
Fiction
F4. A Shady Plot ... 104 F5. Patol Babu, Film Star ... 139 F6. Virtually True ... 171
Poetry
P4. Ozymandias ... 201 P5. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ... 214 P6. Snake ... 250
Drama
D2. Julius Caesar ... 273
(xii)
MAIN COURSE BOOK ... 311-386
4. Environment ... 311
5. Travel and Tourism ... 341
6. National Integration ... 368
WORKBOOK ... 387-434 8. Comparison ... 387
• Integrated Grammar Practice-4 ... 392
9. Avoiding Repetition ... 395
10. Nominalisation ... 400
• Integrated Grammar Practice-5 ... 404
11. Modals—Expressing Attitudes ... 407
• Integrated Grammar Practice-6 ... 412
12. Active and Passive ... 415
• Integrated Grammar Practice-7 ... 420
13. Reported Speech ... 423
• Integrated Grammar Practice-8 ... 427
14. Prepositions ... 430
• Integrated Grammar Practice-9 ... 433
NOVEL/LONG READING TEXTS... 435-480 1. The Diary of a Young Girl ... 435
Factual Passages n 13
SECTION A
READING SKILLS
20 MARKS
SYLLABUS
SECTION A: READING SKILLS 20 MARKS 50 PERIODS Qs 1-2: This section will have two unseen passages of a total length of 700-750
words. The arrangement within the reading section is as follows:
Q1. A Factual passage of 300-350 words with eight very short answer type
questions.
08 marks Q2. A Discursive passage of 350-400 words with four short answer type questions
to test inference, evaluation and analysis with four MCQs to test vocabulary.
Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow them: (8 marks) ————— PASSAGE 1 —————
AS ‘DIRTY’ FACTORIES THRIVE, TOXINS SPREAD ACROSS
Industrial pollution is not restricted to the peripheries but is silently causing damage inside the city. On the Edge, a study by an NGO, has identified 18 potential pollution hotspots in the capital.
Unsafe, and often unorganized, methods of e-waste dismantling, dyeing, lead acid battery recycling, cathode-ray tube (CRT) dismantling and other processes have given rise to health and environmental concerns, says the Toxics Link study. Delhi has more than 1.2 lakh industries and 29 industrial estates, necessitating a watch over acid and lead fumes, as well as groundwater and air pollution.
The researchers assessed 51 industrial areas on five parameters--industrial processes, chemicals used, emissions, disposal technique and occupational health hazard. They found that 18 of them were flouting the norms.
Prem Nagar in Mandoli houses 110 lead acid battery recycling units. There is no understanding of pollution control, claims the report. “Most units in this area rely on coal-to-fuel crude furnaces and recover lead in a crude manner. While recycling, battery acid is dumped on the ground, waste pile or into a waterbody. As lead plates are melted, lead ash settles in the surroundings, collects on clothing or is inhaled by workers,” it says. A large amount of waste at Seelampur, where e-waste is recycled, comes from the US and Europe. Workshops emit lead fumes and the melted lead solder often finds its way to nearby drains. “The working conditions are appalling with poorly ventilated rooms and no safety measures,” says the report about Moti Nagar, which recycles CFL devices.
The landfills at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla are responsible for toxic leachate contamination of air and groundwater. The Najafgarh drain basin, which includes Wazirpur, Naraina, Anand Parbat and Okhla industrial areas, is the largest surface drain joining Yamuna and contributes to over 50% of the wastewater discharged into the river. Wazirpur is one of the worst managed areas with 1,200 small units, a majority of which are involved in steel pickling. The report also highlights the need to address toxic smoke and dust from open dumping, burning and spilling of chemicals. “In 2011, MCD was supposed to close down around 22,000 units, but not much seems to have been done”, said Satish Sinha of Toxics Link.
Source: Times News Network
1
Factual Passages n 15
Word-Meaning: Restricted—limited, lhferA Peripheries—outer-limits, ckgjh lhek,¡A Potential—
(here) likely, lEHkkforA Dismantling—destroying, u"V djukA Concern—worry, fpUrkA Emissions—
throwing out in the (air), (gok) esa ckgj NksM+ukA Flouting—breaking, vogsyuk djukA Norms—(here)
rules, fu;eA Crude—not refined, dPphA Appalling—shocking, 'kkspuh;A Ventilated—(here) airy, goknkjA
Contaminating—polluting, nwf"kr djrs gq,A Toxic—poisonous, tgjhykA Spilling—separating, vyx djukA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. Is industrial pollution restricted to the peripheries in Delhi?
2. How many potential pollution hotspots have been identified by an NGO? 3. Name three things that have given rise to health and environmental concerns. 4. What were the parameters of industrial areas assessed by the researchers? 5. Where does a large amount of waste at Seelampur come from?
6. What harm do the landfills at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla do to the environment? 7. Name the problems that should be addressed immediately as recommended by the
report.
8. What contributes to 50% of the wastewater discharged into the river? Answers
1. No, the industrial pollution has gone down deeper into the city of Delhi. 2. An NGO has identified 18 potential pollution hotspots in the capital.
3. Unsafe methods of the e-waste dismantling, dyeing and lead acid battery recycling have given rise to health and environmental concerns.
4. The researchers assessed 51 industrial areas on the given parameters — industrial processes, chemicals used, emissions, disposal technique and occupational health hazard.
5. A large amount of waste at Seelampur where e-waste is recycled, comes from the US and Europe.
6. The landfills at Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla contaminate air and ground water making it toxic.
7. The report highlighted the need to address toxic smoke and dust from open dumping, burning and spilling of chemicals.
8. The Najafgarh drain and the industrial areas contribute to over 50% of the wastewater discharged into the river.
————— PASSAGE 2 —————
The government indicated on Tuesday that it was considering conferring the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on Dhyan Chand. The home ministry has forwarded several recommendations to the PMO for awarding the legendary hockey player. It is now up to PM Narendra Modi to forward his name to the President.
In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said, “The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India. Although no formal recommendations for Bharat Ratna are necessary, recommendations have been received from several quarters for Bharat Ratna for Late Major Dhyan Chand. These recommendations have been forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office.” Speculation is rife over the identity of this year’s Bharat Ratna awardees, even as the government has ordered five medallions from the RBI Mint. Two names discussed most frequently are those of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and of senior BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee.
There has been a growing demand for conferring the award on Dhyan Chand ever since cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was given the award this year. The sports ministry had last year recommended Dhyan Chand’s name too, but the PMO nodded in favour of Tendulkar who had just announced his retirement from international cricket.
Many quarters called this a bias in favour of the more popular sport cricket and maintained that Dhyan Chand’s contribution to sports and the nation was greater than Tendulkar’s and that he should have been considered first.
Several noted people have already expressed favourable views on conferring the award on Dhyan Chand. Cricketer Virender Sehwag, during a CRPF function on Tuesday, said, “I am not on the panel so I can’t decide whether Dhyan Chand should get the award. But I believe all great sports men who have contributed immensely to any sport must be awarded. Sachin Tendulkar has already got the Bharat Ratna. Others too should be considered.” Meanwhile, several BJP MPs, responding to news of Dhyan Chand’s name having been included in the probable awardees list, expressed happiness. Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal was quoted as saying: “If Major Dhyan Chand is given the Bharat Ratna, we will all be really happy.”
Born in 1905, Dhyan Chand earned the moniker of ‘Hockey Wizard’ for his superb skills and ball control. He won three Olympic gold medals for India between 1928 and 1936. Dhyan Chand retired from the game in 1948 and was awarded the Padma Bhushan eight years later. He retired from the Indian Army with the rank of Major and passed away in New Delhi in 1979 at the age of 79. The National Stadium, where the first ever Asian Games were held in 1951, is named after the great player and at the entrance, houses a giant statue of the legendary player.
Word-Meaning: Indicated—pointed out, b'kkjk fd;kA Legendary—(here) historically great, ,sfrgkfld O;fDrRoA Speculations—guess work, vUnktsA Mint—where currency is printed or cast, VdlkyA Bias—prejudice, bZ";kZA Moniker—(a great name), uke dekukA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. What is the intention of the government regarding conferring the Bharat Ratna award this year?
2. Who has to forward Dhayan Chand’s name to the President of India for the award? 3. What has the government ordered to the RBI Mint?
4. Who was the first sportsman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna award?
5. Is Dhyan Chand’s contribution to sports and the nation lesser than Tendulkar’s? 6. What does Sehwag say about the award?
7. What was the moniker that Dhyan Chand earned during his lifetime? 8. What is the National Stadium named after?
Answers
1. The intention of the government is to confer the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna on Dhyan Chand.
2. The PM Narendra Modi has to forward Dhyan Chand ’s name to the President of India for the award.
3. The government has ordered five medallions from the RBI Mint.
4. Sachin Tendulkar was the first sportsman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna award. 5. No, Dhyan Chand’s contribution to sports and the nation is greater than that of
Tendulkar’s.
Factual Passages n 17
7. Dhyan Chand earned the moniker of “Hockey Wizard” in his life time.
8. The National Stadium, Delhi is named after the great “Hockey Wizard”, Dhyan Chand. ————— PASSAGE 3 —————
DIFFICULT BUT WORTH IT
With high-visibility film releases and continued discounts on all brands, Delhiites usually have a lot to do on their much awaited August 15 holiday. But as some kite lovers tell us, even with all the options available to them, switching off from those options and coming back to kites and socializing is worth it. Amit Chadha, who runs his own business in Kamla Nagar, tells us, “The excitement of flying kites is not the same as it used to be when we were kids. Tab toh kuch aur hota hi nahi tha karne ko, sirf terrace kite wars hote they. Now, cancelling movie and travel plans to fly kites with friends seems like a bad idea to most, but my group of friends and I still make it happen. We think it’s worth switching off from the usual rigmarole on one day and doing something relaxed and fun like this. Every year, we get a lot of friends who see our updates online, and then join us by the evening. This year also, we have a kite flying get-together at my place on the 15th.”
Saurabh Tiwari, an MBA student staying with his family in Paschim Vihar in West Delhi, adds, “I’ve been away from home for the last two I-Days, but now that I am back, I want to do what we’ve always done on this day — get a music system on the roof, some snacks, lots of friends - and fly kites. I have made a WhatsApp group and I’m convincing my friends to get together and come over to our old flat’s terrace. August 15 used to be a day-long kite-flying party for us, and I really want to do the same thing now, even though it doesn’t happen so much in other parts of the city these days.”
Passing on the tradition
Getting over the whole August 15 kite flying concept is most difficult for children of the 80s and the 90s, who have grown up participating in society functions where they indulged in kite battles. And for them, getting their kids and the next generation excited about the same is a very “important challenge”. Juhi Malpani Bhatt, a professor of architecture, who stays with her family in Dwarka, tells us, “When we were kids, we would get excited about kites weeks in advance. I really missed all that when I moved out of Delhi for a short while. But now, I want both my kids to feel the same way about kites. We’ve been getting them kites for the past couple of years, and thanks to their school functions and our efforts, they’ve developed a liking for it and that makes me happy and nostalgic.”
Vinod Taneja, who works with a bank in Green Park, is still trying to get his kids out of their rooms and onto the terrace. He says, “For us, kite flying came so naturally. We were never taught how to do it, bas dekhi dikhai ho jaati thi. I am trying to get my son to be involved in the whole August 15 kite flying thing now. But usko TV se hata ke upar leke
jaana hi ek struggle hai. Plus, how do I teach him? This year again, we’ve got kites and
manjhas and have invited friends over. I really want him to feel the way we felt about this day. So let’s see what happens.”
Word-Meaning: Visibility—in sight, u”kj esa vk;h gqbZA Options—alternatives, fodYiA Switching off—changing, cnyukA Rigmarole—complicated, isphnkA Concept—idea, fopkjA Manjhas—thread
for flying kites, Mksj] ek¡>kA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. What do some kite lovers tell about their option?
2. What does Amit Chadha say about the excitement of flying kites? 3. Do people in general like cancelling movies and travel plans to fly kites?
4. How does Saurabh Tiwari enjoy flying kites on the roof?
5. Is getting over the whole August 15 kite flying concept easy for children of the 80s and 90s?
6. What makes Juhi happy and nostalgic?
7. How does Vinod Taneja struggle with his son regarding kite flying? 8. What does Vinod Taneja want his son to feel?
Answers
1. Some kite lovers would like to use the option of flying kites on August 15.
2. Amit Chadha feels that the excitement of flying kites is not the same as it used to be when he was a kid.
3. No, people in general would not like cancelling movies and travel plans to fly kites. 4. Saurabh Tiwari will take some snacks, a music system and lots of friends on the roof
to enjoy kite flying on the Independence Day.
5. No, the children of 80s and 90s were brought up in the tradition of flying kites on the Independence Day.
6. Flying kites on the Independence Day with her kids makes Juhi happy and nostalgic. 7. Vinod Taneja struggles with his son as the child is glued to the television and has
no interest in flying kites.
8. Vinod Taneja wants his son to feel the way he felt about the Independence Day himself when he was a kid.
————— PASSAGE 4 —————
US PIPS RUSSIA AS TOP ARMS SUPPLIER TO INDIA
The US has overtaken Russia as the largest arms supplier to India in the last three years. But in terms of overall numbers, Russia still remains the biggest weapons exporter to India, having notched military sales worth over $40 billion since the first MiG-21 jets and T-55 tanks in the 1960s to the present-day Sukhoi-30MKI fighters and T-90S main-battle tanks.
Russia, of course, is now running scared of the aggressive inroads being made by the US into the money-spinning Indian arms market, as if the continuing challenge from France and Israel was not enough. India, incidentally, has even turned to Israel to upgrade some of its Russian-origin equipment.
With IAF having inducted over 200 of
the 272 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters ordered for over $12 billion, Russia is eager to quickly seal the final R&D contract with India to jointly develop the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft. If India indeed moves to induct over 200 such “swing-role” stealth fighters in the next decade, it will spend close to $35 billion on them.
Factual Passages n 19
But that is in the future. On Tuesday, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, defence minister Arun Jaitley said India spent Rs 83,458 crore on importing weapons over the last three years. The US stood first in this list with Rs 32,615 crore, followed by Russia (Rs 25,364 crore), France (Rs 12,047 crore) and Israel (Rs 3,389 crore).
The US has bagged Indian defence deals worth almost $10 billion since 2007-2008. The deals include ones for 12 C-130J ‘Super Hercules’ aircraft ($2 billion), eight P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft ($2.1 billion) and 10 C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift aircraft ($4.1 billion), as earlier reported by TOI.
India is also now close to inking another two deals with the US, worth over $2.5 billion, for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers. Both these helicopters outgunned their Russian rivals, Mi-28 Havocs and Mi-26s, in the sweepstakes. The Apache deal will get bigger in the coming years since the Army also wants 39 such attack helicopters after IAF inducts the first 22.
US defence secretary Chuck Hagel also made a renewed pitch for co-production of another dozen arms projects during his visit here last week. They range from Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, MH-60 Romeo multi-role helicopters, “big data” and cyber-security to magnetic catapults for aircraft carriers, spy drones, mine-scattering systems and 127mm warship guns.
India has consciously tried to diversify its arms imports since the 1999 Kargil conflict due to Russia’s propensity to not adhere to delivery schedules, jack up costs midway through execution of contracts, create hurdles in transfer of technology and unreliable spares supply. The long-delayed delivery of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) as well as the huge jump in its refit cost to $2.33 billion was just the most prominent example of it.
Source: Times of India
Word-Meaning: Pips—beats in the race, nkSM+ esa iNkM+ nsrk gSA Notched—achieved, izkIr dj fy;k gSA
Scared—fearful, Mjk gqvkA Consciously—deliberately, tku cw> djA Diversify—branch out, nwljs {ks=kksa esa izos'k djukA Propensity—inclination, >qdkoA Adhere—follow, viukuk] ekuukA Jack up—increase,
c<+kukA Hurdles—obstacles, ck/k,¡A
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. How has the Us overtaken Russia? 2. Why is Russia scared?
3. Why has India turned to Israel?
4. How much money will India invest to develop the stealth fifth generation fighters in the next decade?
5. Name four countries that have topped in the sales of weapons to India. 6. What did the US defence secretary say about arms project in India? 7. Why is India consciously trying to diversify its arms imports? 8. What is INS Vikramaditya?
Answers
1. The US has overtaken Russia in the supply of arms to India.
2. Russia is scared of the aggressive inroads made by the US in sales of arms to India. 3. India has turned to Israel to upgrade some of its Russian-origin equipments. 4. India will spend close to $ 35 billion in the purchase of 200 stealth fighters in the
5. The US, Russia, France and Israel are the four countries that have topped in the sales of weapons to India.
6. US defence secretary made a renewed pitch for co-production of arms in another dozen projects.
7. India is consciously trying to diversify its arms imports as it doesn’t want to depend on any one country, mainly Russia, in this regard.
8. INS Vikramaditya is an aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy. ————— PASSAGE 5 —————
LOOKING TO MAKE A FRESH START
Yesterday, the nation heard its first Independence Day speech by a prime minister born after Independence. Expectations were sky high. And Narendra Modi did deliver, while posting some surprises along the way.
For years the norm has been ho-hum speeches and abstract statistics, while doling out favours to different sectors, communities and states. Modi turned that formula on its head, taking it out for a John F Kennedy spin — Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Do ‘jan bhagidhari’ instead of always asking
‘mujhe kya milega’.
He also broke with the formulaic fetishising of diversity. He spoke to a shared national character by speaking to shared shame — like rapes. A good speech is judged by its style and substance, but above all by its impact. The PM’s words on reducing rapes drew huge applause at Red Fort but they derive their true power from the possibility of how they will be heard in the millions of households where they were beamed.
No sooner do girls enter puberty that parents become super vigilant, keeping a constant check on where they are going, who they are meeting. From the grand heights of Red Fort, the PM spoke the plainest commonsense — It would be better all round if parents quizzed their sons more and daughters less. After all every rapist and almost every extremist is someone’s son.
He laid out an ambitious goal of a toilet in every school within a year, saying it was at this level that giving dignity to the poor started. Speaking extempore, he’s shown an ability to meld small details — the difficulty that poor women face in relieving themselves — with a larger vision and agenda for implementation: a manufacturing revolution, financial inclusion and digital makeover.
While Modi may have passed the oratorical test big questions remain: of implementation. For example, take his invitation to the world to ‘Make in India’ everything from paper to plastic, satellite to submarines. This won’t be heeded until India makes big improvements in infrastructure, the land acquisition logjam, labour laws et al.
He indicated a greater role for states by reading the obituary of the Planning Commission. Federalist direction was echoed in urging every MP to develop model villages by the next elections. Since there are more MPs from BJP than other parties, it’s an example of how this PM treads development and electoral tracks simultaneously.
Modi was very conscious of addressing all Indians as directly as possible. But he sent a message across the border too — If our ancestors threw the coloniser out together, can’t we just get along now? Instead of fighting each other, let’s fight poverty together. This year, India’s Independence Day speech is sure to get some attention in the neighbourhood too.
Factual Passages n 21
Word-Meaning: Expectation—hope, vk'kkA Norms—rules, fu;eA Abstract Statistics—vague
accounts, vLi"V vk¡dMs+A Doling out—money given by the government, ljdkj }kjk iSlk@èku nsukA
Formulaic—according to a formula, iQkeZwykxrA Fetishising—(here) spending too much time, cgqr le; yxkrs gq,A Super vigilant—over cautious, vfr lkoèkkuA Quizzed—asked questions, loky fd;k tkukA Extempore—(here) speaking without reading, vfyf[kr Hkk"k.kA Oratorical—(here) speaking art,
Hkk"k.k dykA Acquisition—acquiring, gkWfly djukA Logjam—bottlenecks, ckèkk,¡A Simultaneously—at
the same time, mlh le;A
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. How did the nation hear the first Independence Day speech of Narendra Modi? 2. What did Modi remind the people like John F. Kennedy?
3. How did the PM speak to a shared national character? 4. When and why do parents become super vigilant?
5. Why did the PM ask the parents to quiz their sons more than their daughters? 6. Did the PM deliver a prepared and written speech on the Independence Day? 7. What invitation did Modi send to the nations of the world regarding India? 8. What should we do instead of fighting each other?
Answers
1. The nation heard the first Independence Day speech of Narendra Modi with great expectations and hopes.
2. Like John F. Kennedy, Modi reminded his countrymen what they can do for their nation than asking what the nation can do for them.
3. The Prime Minister spoke freely to a shared national character by speaking to a shared shame — like rapes.
4. Parents become super vigilant when their daughters attain puberty, keeping a constant watch on their activities.
5. The PM asked the parents to quiz their sons more than their daughters as every rapist and extremist is someone’s son.
6. No, the Prime Minister made an extempore speech on the Independence Day. 7. Modi invited the advanced nations of the world to invest in India and make things
in India.
8. Instead of fighting each other, we should fight poverty together. ————— PASSAGE 6 —————
Two-thirds of a century into India’s independence, two aspects of the country’s political evolution are noteworthy. The first is the institutionalization of the periodic transfer of power, peacefully and predictably, recently evident in NDA’s victory earlier this year. But the journey has been much rockier with regard to another critical question: how to direct that power for the broader public good.
While popular commentary on political power focuses on its misuse for private gain or corruption, there has been less attention on the limited ability of political power to translate intentions into outcomes.
The history of independent India is replete with government programmes, ranging from state-owned enterprises to multiple poverty programmes, where political power did have good intentions, but where outcomes have left much to be desired. Critics have put the onus on misaligned incentives and a craven political-bureaucratic nexus.
These factors have their roots in a distinctive feature of India’s political evolution: namely the weakness of the Indian state, hobbled as much by lack of competence as by corruption. Historically the state in India has always been weak and this changed only modestly after Independence. Yes, the state expanded massively; and yes the social composition of the functionaries of the Indian state has changed markedly.
Size and social legitimacy undoubtedly have built state ‘strength’ — the negative power of the Indian state to thwart is certainly manifest. But positive power — the power to do something, to execute programmes and provide basic public goods that are the bread and butter of a state’s responsibilities to its citizens — is still a far cry.
Why strong states develop in some societies and not in others is a complex historical question. One argument is that a strong state can only be built on a firm foundation of nationhood which itself is still a work-in-progress in India. Another view is that warfare laid the foundations of the modern nation state especially in Europe and East Asia. Historian Charles Tilly famously argued that states make war and war makes states, a reference to the rise of the modern European state after centuries of warfare among hundreds of polities and kingdoms. The ability to wage war successfully requires states to create viable systems of taxation, mobilization and coordination — and only those states that can, survive. But these attributes are also critical for any modern state to deliver public goods and services.
—Devesh Kapur
Word-Meaning: Evolution—(here) peaceful progress, fodklA Institutionalisation—becoming a
part of an organised system, laLFkkxr Hkkx gks tkukA Periodic—(here) from time to time, le;≤ ijA
Predictably—possible, lEHkkforA Evident—clear, Li"VA Rockier—(here) hard, dfBuA Focusses—
centres on, osQfUnzr gSA Intentions—desirous of doing, bjknsA Replete—(here) full of, Hkjh gSA Outcomes—
results, ifj.kkeA Onus—responsibility, ftEesnkjhA Misaligned—not in a correct position, xyr
fLFkfrA Incentives—something that encourages, izksRlkgu nsus okyhA Craven—cowardly, dk;jrkiw.kZA Bureaucratic—of officials, viQlj'kkgh dkA Nexus—(here) (evil) connection, xBtksM+A Distinctive—
different, vyxA Hobbled—limping, y¡xM+krs gq,A Competence—ability, ;ksX;rkA Modestly—(here)
limited, lhfer <ax lsA Legitimacy—validity, oSèkrkA Thwart—stop, jksdukA Manifest—easily seen, vklkuh ls ns[kk tkus okykA Execute—put into action, dke dks djukA Far cry—a distant possibility, nwj dh ckrA Viable—feasible, djus ;ksX;A Survive—live, ftank jgukA Attributes—qualities, y{[email protected]
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. How has the transfer of power in India taken place?
2. Why has the journey been much rockier regarding the second critical question? 3. Why has there been less attention on the implementation of schemes?
4. What were the outcomes of the good intentions of the government? 5. Whom do critics hold responsible for this poor show?
6. What has still remained a far cry?
7. What is another view regarding laying the foundations of the modern nation state? 8. What has the historian Charles Tilly argued?
Answers
1. The transfer of power in India has taken place quite peacefully and in a democratic manner.
2. Regarding translating good intentions into solid result, the journey has been quite rockier for the government so far.
Factual Passages n 23
3. There has been more stress on talking than, giving attention to the implementation, of schemes by the government.
4. The outcomes of the good intentions of the government were not very encouraging. 5. Misaligned incentives and the nexus between politicians and bureaucrats have been
held responsible for the poor show.
6. Providing relief to the masses and implementing the welfare programmes has remained a far cry so far.
7. Another view is that warfare laid the foundations of the modern nation state in Europe and East Asia.
8. Historian Charles Tilly argues that states make war and war makes states. ————— PASSAGE 7 —————
SKILLING INDIA: THE WAY AHEAD
India has over 35,000 institutions of higher education, a number that is one of the largest in the world.The central and state universities together still comprise a substantial percentage of them. However, over the next decade or two, this is likely to shift towards private institutions as more and more Indians decide to get higher education.
India today is a rapidly changing country, which is markedly different from what it was 20 years ago when it started on a new path to liberalisation. With a large number of companies in the other hemisphere outsourcing jobs to India, the country has virtually become the world’s back-office. This has also spurred the demand for quality graduates in multiple disciplines.
With the number of middle class Indians swelling, the requirements of careers changing and a new breed of young Indians leading the clamour for world-class education at home, India’s education sector is also changing rapidly.
The Gross Enrolment Ratio or GER in higher education in India is still a little less than 15 per cent. This too varies from region to region.
With 60 per cent of this huge population under the age of 25, the demand for higher education is set to grow. The government is responding to these requirements by establishing more AIIMS and IITS across states, but given the state’s limited resources, there remains a certain limit to government’s spending on education. In these circumstances, the rapidly increasing demands of Indians on the education front can be met only when the private sector invests heavily in the field. And this is something it is already doing.
According to a McKinsey report on Indian demography, 590 million people will live in Indian cities by 2030, almost twice the current US population. There will be 91 million urban homes by 2030 in India, as against 20 million today. A large number of rural residents would be shifting base to urban centers, giving up their age-old family profession of farming and cultivation in favour of new avenues for their children.
These create a never-before seen demand for higher education in India. This is where the role of the private sector will and is proving to be crucial.
It is not just the numbers that are increasing. Another major shift is in the demand for quality. More globally-exposed Indians are today asking why a greater number of Indian educational institutions cannot provide world-class education, comparable to prestigious foreign institutions.
Consequently, not only are more and more private universities and colleges emerging everywhere, but also there is an increasing consciousness among ‘education providers’ that quality education is what the young Indians are looking for. Private universities are also breaking new paradigms in education by offering wide options of learning to students and developing new mechanisms of learning. The teaching techniques and the quality of learning have also been transformed. Indian institutions today are also working to cater to a growing international clientele of students that are looking for new pastures to get an education. Some prestigious institutions today also attract foreign students to the country, with their state-of-the-art infrastructure and world-class education. It is time the government recognises the role of private sector education in building a sound future for India.
—Arvina Purkayastha
Word-Meaning: Substantial—enough, dkiQhA Rapidly—fast, rsth lsA Virtually—literally, okLro esaA
Spurred—increased, c<+k;hA Swelling—increasing fast, rsth ls c<+rs gq,A Clamour—(here) noise for,
demand, 'kksj] ek¡xA Demography—(here) changes in the population, tula[;k esa ifjorZuA Avenues—
(here) opportunities, voljA Crucial—very important, vfr vko';dA Emerging—rising, mB [kMs+ gksuk@ [kqyukA Paradigms—patterns of things, phtksa dh i¼fr;k¡A Options—alternatives, fodYiA Mechanism—
(here) methods, rjhosQA Clientele—demand of becoming clients, xzkgdhA Pastures—(here) grounds,
opportunities, voljA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. Does India have a high number of institutions of higher education?
2. Where will more and more Indians decide to get higher education in the coming decades?
3. How has India virtually become the world’s back office? 4. What are the requirements of careers changing in India?
5. How is the government responding to the requirements of higher education? 6. What will be the condition of Indian cities by 2030?
7. What is the thing in higher education that the young Indians are looking for? 8. What role can the private sector education play in the future?
Answers
1. Yes, India has over 35,000 institutions of higher education.
2. In the coming decades more and more Indians will look towards private institutions for higher education.
3. India has virtually become the world’s back office as foreign companies are outsourcing jobs to India.
4. With the number of educated middle class Indians swelling, the requirements of careers are changing in India.
5. The government is responding to the requirements of higher education by establishing more AIIMS and IITs across states.
6. By 2030, almost 590 million people will live in cities in India, almost twice the current population of the United States of America.
7. Young Indians are looking for the quality education or the world-class education in India.
8. The private sector education can play a leading role in building a sound future of India.
Factual Passages n 25
————— PASSAGE 8 —————
NEW SAFETY RULES FOR E-RICKSHAWS SOON
Importing motors, batteries and other parts from China to assemble e-rickshaws and selling them in India by fly-by-night operators won’t be possible any more with the road transport ministry set to tighten norms governing safety and quality of such vehicles. The new norms and mandatory tests would take care of safety concerns including roll over, brake, battery quality, speed, installation of rear view mirrors for drivers and other parameters for all vehicle parts besides passing gradient test since e-rickshaws also need to cross flyovers. All new models will have to undergo about 28 tests and must comply with the norms before these are registered and are allowed to ply.
However, the biggest catch is how the government would regularize the thousands of e-rickshaws that are already plying or standing idle after the Delhi high court order. TOI has learnt that there will be one-time registration of these battery-operated vehicles. The mechanism that is being mooted is the e-rickshaw association would prepare a list of e-rickshaw models and certify them before submitting it to the state government, in case of the capital it would be Delhi government by a cut off date. The transport department would then submit it to test agencies notified under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules such as ICAT and IRAI. After getting the certificate from test agencies the department would register e-rickshaws of that model.
But this provision is set to face severe criticism since pulling power tests on 53 e-rickshaws by TERI showed that the components and processes used in the manufacturing of these vehicles are not standardized. “Therefore, the performances of e-rickshaws belonging to the same model vary,” it had concluded.
S P Singh of IFTRT, a think tank on transport issues, said, “These vehicles have over 150 variants with different size, structure, material, wheels and tyres, mismatch in payload and gross vehicle weight. Any attempt to retrospective regularization is illegal.”
He added e-rickshaw kits were imported, assembled and sold in Delhi and other cities and were purchased ignoring notices issued since 2012. Since the manufacturers and assemblers have shortchanged the public exchequer and have sold unsafe, non-certified vehicles for greed they should be directed to take back these vehicles and refund the money to buyers. “There cannot be trade off between road safety and business gains,” Singh said.
Source: Times of India
Word-Meaning: Norms—rules, fu;eA Mandatory—compulsory, vfuok;ZA Comply—follow, vuqlj.k djuk] ekuukA Ply—(here) move on roads, lM+d ij pyukA Catch—a hidden difficulty, Nqih gqbZ ckèkk@ ijs'kkuhA Mooted—put forward, izLrko j[kk x;k gSA Severe—harsh, dBksjA Components—parts, fgLlsA Standardized—according to the given standards, ekud osQ vuqlkjA Retrospective—from the back
date, ihNs lsA Exchequer—treasury, [ktkukA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. What attitude is the transport ministry going to adopt towards the e-ricks operators? 2. What tests will have to be cleared by all new models of e-rickshaws?
3. What is the biggest catch in the government’s ambitious plans? 4. When will the department register e-rickshaws of a particular model? 5. Do the e-rickshaws of the same model give the same performance? 6. How have the assemblers deceived the public and the exchequer?
7. What is the opinion of a think-tank on transport issues?.
8. Can there be any trade off between road safety and business gains? Answers
1. The transport ministry is set to tighten norms governing safety and quality of e-rickshaws.
2. All new models will have to undergo 28 tests, and must comply with the safety norms before they are registered.
3. The biggest catch in this ambitious plan of the government is the regularisation of thousands of rickshaws that are already plying or standing idle after the High Court’s order.
4. The department will register a particular model of e-rickshaw only, after it has cleared all the 28 tests.
5. No, the e-rickshaws of the same model may not give the same kind of performance. 6. The assemblers who deceived the public and the exchequer must be directed to take
back these vehicles and refund the money to buyers.
7. The think-tank on transport issues opined that e-rickshaws have over 150 variants with different size, structure, material, wheels and tyres, mismatch in payload and gross vechicle weight.
8. No, there can’t be any trade off between road safety and business gains. ————— PASSAGE 9 —————
It was in the 1986 Asian Games at Seoul when Kartar Singh beat Pakistan’s Shahid Pervaiz Butt in 100kg category to claim the yellow metal. It was the last time an Indian grappler had won gold in the Asian Games.
Twenty eight years hence, the wrestling contingent will be looking to break the jinx. The wrestling squad -7 freestyle, 7 Greco-Roman and 4 women will be without two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar who pulled out due to a shoulder injury and lack of preparation.
In his absence, London Olympics bronze medallist and Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold winner Yogeshwar Dutt will spearhead the Indian challenge in Incheon.
“We have trained very well. Sushil ki kami khalegi (The squad will miss Sushil’s presence). But we are still expecting around four to five medals in freestyle and this includes some gold medals too. In wrestling, an Asian Games medal is like winning the World Championship,” a confident Yogeshwar said.
India’s performance dropped from six medals (1 silver and 5 bronze) in the 2006 Asiad in Doha to only three bronze medals in 2010. But this time round, the squad promises to surpass expectations.
Young Amit Kumar, who won gold in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and bronze in the World Championship, is one of the leading contenders for gold in the 57kg category. World No. 1 Hassan Rahimi of Iran is likely to pose a tough challenge for the Indian, who is ranked second in the world.
World No. 5 Narasingh Yadav will fill in for Sushil in the 74kg category while World Junior medallist Praveen Rana (70kg), who also won a gold in Colorado Springs, US, early this year, will look to impress. The 70kg category is being introduced for the first time after the International wrestling federation (FILA) introduced new rules and tweaked weight categories late last year in an attempt to make the sport more exciting.
FaCtual PassagEs n 27
Glasgow CWG silver medallist Bajrang Punia (61kg), bronze medallist Pawan Kumar (86kg) and silver medallist Satayavrat Kadiyan (97kg) complete the line-up in the freestyle category.
There will be no participation in the 125kg category. The Indians are likely to face a stiff challenge from South Korea, Mongolia, Iraq, Japan and Kazakhstan.
“This team is better than the team that participated in Guangzhou in 2010. Yogeshwar and Amit are contenders for gold while Bajrang, Praveen and Narsingh have the capability to contribute to India’s medal haul,” coach Yashvir summed it up.
In the Greco-Roman, India, traditionally a force at the Asian level, are likely to return with a rich medal haul. The squad includes five-time Commonwealth champion and Asian Games bronze medalist Ravinder, Asian champion Krishan Kumar Yadav, World Championship bronze winner Sandeep Yadav, Asian Championship bronze medalist Manoj Kumar and, Arjuna Awardee Dharmender Dalal.
Word-Meaning: Yellow metal—gold, lksukA Break the jinx—break the bad luck, nqHkkZX; nwj gksukA
Surpass—cross, ikj dj tkukA Contenders—(here) rivals, izfr}anhA Stiff—hard, dBksjA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. When did an Indian grappler win gold in the Asian games last time?
2. What has the wrestling contingent been looking forward to during these 28 years? 3. Name the Olympic medalist who has pulled out of the games due to a shoulder injury. 4. Who will spearhead the Indian challenge in wrestling in Incheon?
5. How is winning an Asian games medal in wrestling like? 6. How did India perform in 2010 in New Delhi?
7. Who will fill in for Sushil in the 74 kg category at the Asian games?
8. Name the countries that will throw a stiff challenge to Indian wrestlers in Incheon. Answers
1. It was in 1986 Asian games at Seoul when the Indian wrestler Kartar Singh won the gold medal last.
2. During these 28 years the wrestling contingent has been looking forward to break the jinx.
3. Sushil Kumar, the two time Olympic medallist, has pulled out of the Asian Games 2014 due to a shoulder injury.
4. Yogeshwar Dutt, who won the bronze at the London Olympics will spearhead the Indian challenge in wrestling in Incheon.
5. Winning an Asian Games medal in wrestling is like winning the world championship. 6. India’s performance dropped from six medals in Doha to only three bronzes in 2010
Asian Games.
7. Nar singh Yadav, World No. 5, will fill in for Sushil in the 74 kg category.
8. South Korea, Mongolia, Iraq, Japan and Kazakhstan will throw a stiff challenge to Indian wrestlers in Incheon.
————— PASSAGE 10 —————
98 COUNTRIES HAVE ABOLISHED DEATH PENALTY
Written history has several mentions of capital punishment. The legal principle lex talionis — an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life — was mentioned in the 18th century BCE code of Babylonian king Hammurabi. Many ancient societies had similar
codes to justify judicial executions. The 7th century BCE’s Draconian Code of Athens, the 5th century BCE Roman Law and Kautilya’s Arthasastra, all had provisions of death sentence. These executions were done by several methods like crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, stoning, burning alive, impalement, hanging and so on.
According to Amnesty International’s 2014 report on death penalties, in 2013, at least 778 executions were reported in 22 countries, 96 more than in 2012. With at least 369 executions in the year, Iran leads the list. It is followed by Iraq (169+), Saudi Arabia (79+), USA (39) and Somalia, where at least 34 judicial executions took place. Other countries that reported more than 10 executions were Sudan and Yemen. The global executions figure does not include China which is believed to have been executed thousands of convicts. China classifies death penalty as a state secret. The report also shows that at least 1,925 people were sentenced to death in 57 countries in 2013. As of 2013, there are 23,392 death row inmates globally. The methods of execution range from beheading, hanging, lethal injection to shooting.
Amnesty International reports that as of the end of 2013, more than two-thirds of all countries have abolished death penalty in law or in practice. There are 98 countries which have abolished it for all crimes. Most of these are in Western Europe and the Americas. Seven countries, including Brazil, Chile and Kazakhstan have abolished it for ordinary crimes. In these countries, death penalty can only be given for exceptional crimes such as crime committed under military law or under exceptional circumstances. Another 35 countries are categorized as abolitionist in practice. These retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes, but there have been no executions in the past 10 years. The death sentence is retained by the legal system of 58 countries. More than half of the world’s population lives in these countries.
They say that it is possible for innocent people to get executed because of unfair and discriminatory application of the death penalty. Studies across the world have shown that in most cases the person sentenced to death is from an economically and socially backward section of society, indicating the inability to hire good lawyers to contest their cases. Many studies have suggested that there is no evidence to show that capital punishment has any effect on murder rates. It is also argued that the sentence is a denial of human rights and sends a wrong message — that killing is acceptable under certain circumstances.
Word-Meaning: Mentions—descriptions, o.kZuA Capital punishment—death, e`R;qnaMA Codes—
(here) laws, dkuwuA Executions—killings, ekjukA Provisions—(here) alternatives, mik;A Convicts—
those punished by the law, ltk;kÝrk oSQnhA Ethal—(here) deadly, ?kkrdA Categorized—listed as, lwphc¼ gSaA Abolitionist—those who believe in abolition, tks mUewyu esa@gVkus esa fo'okl djrs gSaA Executed—killed,
ekjs tkukA
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. What did the code of Babylonian king Hammurabi say about death penalty? 2. Name any three methods of executing the death penalty to the condemned persons. 3. How many people were executed in 2013 in different countries of the world? 4. Why does the Amnesty Internationals’ 2014 report not include China in it? 5. How many countries have abolished the death sentence?
6. How many countries retain the death sentence in their legal system? 7. What do opponents of capital punishment say?
8. Is there any evidence to show that capital punishment has any effect on murder rates?
FaCtual PassagEs n 29
Answers
1. The code of Hammurabi believed in the concept — an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for life.
2. Crucifixion, burning alive and hanging were the three main methods of executing the death penalty to the condemned persons.
3. According to Amnesty Internationals’ 2014 report, at least 778 people were executed in 22 countries in 2013.
4. The Amnesty Internationals’ 2014 report doesn’t include China as it classifies death penalty as a state secret.
5. There are 98 countries in the world which have abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
6. The legal system of 58 countries still retain the death sentence for the condemned persons.
7. They argue that the death sentence is a denial of human rights to live.
8. There is no concrete evidence to show that capital punishment has any appreciable effect on murder rates.
TEST YOUR SKILLS
Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow them: (8 marks) 1. BPOs have often been faulted for the lack of women in their senior managerial
positions. “Communication and self-expression are the key challenges that women working in the BPO sector face today. These problems arise from lack of confidence”, says the CEO of sitagita.com, a blog for women who work in BPOs.
Not all BPO women are considered to be confident and on par with their male colleagues. Women at the senior level may be very confident but lower rung employees have a long way to go.
Another interesting angle to the debate on female self-expression is the number of women from small towns and conservative backgrounds who are new to the BPO culture. What awaits them at the industry is a complete cross cultural dilemma—a new work culture, pressure of deadlines and never-experienced-before graveyard shifts. Such dilemmas tend to worsen when self-expression is curtailed or not encouraged.
The sector wants more women to join. The companies, especially, are looking at women for the stability factor. The current man-woman ratio in the BPO sector is 69 : 31. And the number of women is set to rise. So sitagita.com is a platform that women can use to express their concerns.
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. Why have BPOs often been faulted?
2. What main challenges do women working in the BPO sector face today? 3. Why do these problems arise?
4. Are all women considered to be confident?
5. What awaits women from small towns and conservative background working in BPOs?
6. Why are companies looking at women?
7. What is the current man-woman ratio in the BPO sector?
8. What is the platform that woman can use to express their concerns?
2. Legends will tell you that flamingoes are no ordinary visitors to Kutch. They were the honoured guests of King Lakho and he had forbidden the hunting of flamingoes, which came to Kutch from various parts of the world every year to breed. For centuries the region has been a haven for the migratory bird. Today, Flamingo City, an island in the middle of the Rann of Kutch, known the world over as one of the biggest breeding grounds of the Greater Flamingo, is strewn with bodies of hundreds of flamingo chicks. The parents of these chicks have fled the island due to lack of food. Zooplanktons, algae and small fish that these birds survive on are dying due to a sudden increase in the salinity of the Rann waters. One can even see dead fish floating.
Flamingoes need salt-encrusted, damp mud to build nests. The place where they build their nests has to be inaccessible to predatory cats and birds. It should also have sufficient food. The right mix of sweet and brackish water in the Rann is crucial for the proliferation of planktons and algae that the flamingoes feed on. Faced with starvation flamingoes have fled the island leaving their chicks to fend for themselves. Till date around a thousand flamingoes have died.
Questions (8 × 1 = 8)
1. What will legends tell us?
2. Whose honoured guests were flamingoes?
3. Why do they come to Kutch from various parts of the world? 4. Where is flamingo city?
5. What is this land strewn with? 6. Why have the parents fled?
7. What do flamingoes need to build nests? 8. Why is the Rann crucial for flamingoes?
3. Most of us undoubtedly realise that God gives parents the responsibility of raising their children. After all, they are the parents. Sometimes, however, it is great to think outside the box. Recently in an exclusive survey it was discovered that now the time has come for Gen X to start parenting the other way round. To really work out that generation gap and even bring parents up to the maturity levels of a teen and how?
Some of the greatest joys of life can occur as teens and parents come to deeper understanding of each other sharing their feelings, dreams, desires and even fears. Sensitivity and openness is the key, our Gen X feels. “Parents need to listen to us,” says Gauri, a student of class XI, ‘‘They need to realise that proper communication is the key to bringing each other closer and to make each other comfortable.’’ ‘‘For the same’’, adds Apoorva of class XII, “they should participate in the same things as their kids, and try to see things from our point of view.” This, she says will give them a lot of perspective and insight in our psyche, and they will understand our problems better.
