Unseen Passage

Unseen Passage with Answers

Block – A

1. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. And Indian doctors have been quite creative when hamstrung by few or no tools to perform specific surgeries. They simply design it themselves at one-fourth the price they are sold abroad. In fact, some of their innovations are priced at as much as hundreds of dollars abroad.

Take 47-year-old Dr Burjor P Banaji, pioneer of Lasik surgery in India. He’s invented over a dozen surgical instruments. When this senior eye surgeon at Max Eye Care started Lasik, there were few surgeons doing it worldwide and no specific instruments were available either. “As I want things super-perfect, I designed a whole slew of instruments that made my surgery more efficient,” says Banaji. The most popular instruments are Banaji Lasik Shield and Banaji Lasik Spatula and Canulae. “It was simple. I had the designs in my head. Putting them down on paper was the simplest thing,” he says. Instruments manufacturers and large multinationals in the US snapped them up. “They would send me computer generated drawings which I would correct and send back. Their level of execution was astounding. Within two weeks of the designs being finalised, the instruments were in the world market.”

His instruments are priced at hundreds of dollars each in the US, and are also sold in Switzerland, South America, Korea, Eastern Europe, Africa and Japan. They’re available in India at a fraction of the price. 

1. Write the option that you consider the most appropriate in your answer sheet.

Why have some Indian doctors created their own surgical tools? 

(i) they have no tools to perform specific surgeries

(ii) they have a hamstring problem 

(iii) the tools they get from abroad cost four times as much

(iv) they can sell these tools at a very high price.

2. What has Dr Burjor P Banaji created?

(i) Lasik surgery (ii) Max Eye Care Centre

(iii) two surgical instruments called Banaji Lasik Shield and Banaji Lasik Spatula and Canulae 

(iv) more than a dozen instruments for operating on the eye.

3. Where does Dr Banaji get the instruments manufactured?

(i) India

(ii) the United States of America 

(iii) Switzerland

(iv) Japan

4. The term hamstrung refers to …………………….

(i) restricted

(ii) helped

(iii) harmed

(iv) liberated

5. What does the phrase slew of instruments refer to?

(i) a wide range of instruments

(ii) instruments used for slaying

(iii) tools of a similar nature

(iv) surgical instruments

Answer: 

Answer: 1 (iii) the tools they get from abroad cost four times as much.

Answer: 2 (iv) more than a dozen instruments for operating on the eye.

Answer: 3 (ii) the United States of America.

Answer: 4 (i) restricted.

Answer: 5 (i) a wide range of instruments.

Block – B

2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.

Tourists to Jammu and Kashmir have another attraction – a floating post office on the Dal Lake in Srinagar, the first in the country. ‘Floating Post Office, Dal Lake’ – claimed to be the only one such post office in the world is built on an intricately carved maroon houseboat, fastened on the western edge of the Dal Lake. This post office lets you avail of all the regular postal services available in the country while being afloat.

The seal used on everything posted from Floating Post Office is unique-along with the date and address, it bears the design of a boatman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake. The special feature of this post office is that letters posted from here carry a special design which has the picturesque scenery of Dal Lake and Srinagar city. These pictures reach wherever these letters are posted to and hence promote Kashmir as a tourist destination across the world. This is actually a heritage post office that has existed since British times. It was called the Nehru Park Post Office before 2011. But then the chief postmaster John Samuel renamed it as ‘Floating Post Office’.

The post office’s houseboat has two small rooms – one serves as the office and the other a small museum that traces the philatelic history of the state postal department. It has a shop that sells postage stamps and other products. But for the locals, the Floating Post office is more than an object of fascination. 1-2 crore is deposited per month in the Floating Post Office by communities living in and around Dal Lake. The lake has several islets that are home to more than 50,000 people.

The greatest fear is the recurrence of 2014 like floods in which the houseboat had gone for a toss uncontrollably pushed by the flood. Rescue teams had to anchor it using special mechanism in a nearby highland. Then it was brought back on the Dal after the water receded. The biggest boon is that at no time of the year do you need a fan in this post-office!

On the basis of your understanding of the given passage, answer ANY FIVE from the Six that follow. 

1. What is the location of the Floating Post Office in Srinagar? 

(a) On dal lake

(b) Near centaur 

(C) On Pari Maha

(d) Near Clock Tower

2. What is special about the seal used in the post office? 

(a) design of a houseboat on the Dal Lake

(b) design of a boatman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake

(c) design of a chinar tree on the Dal Lake

(d) design of Vaishno Devi Shrine on the Dal Lake

3. Who renamed the post office as ‘Floating Post Office’? 

(a)Chief Postmaster

(b) Postman

(c) Delivery agent

(d) Chief Minister

4. What is the greatest fear that the post office has?

(a) Floods

(b) Earthquakes

(c) Tsunami

(d) Storm

5. What is the biggest boon of this post office?

(a) You don’t need heat

(b) You need water

(c) You need air conditioning

(d) You do not need fan

6. The antonym of word “unique”:

(a) Rare

(b) Particular 

(c) Distinctive

(d) Ordinary

Answer:

Answer: 1 (a) On dal lake

Answer: 2 (b) design of a boatman rowing a shikara on the Dal Lake

Answer: 3 (d) Chief Minister

Answer: 4 (a) Floods.

Answer: 5 (a) You don’t need heat.

Answer: 6 (d) Ordinary.

Block – C

Read the passage and answer the following questions:

1. Hobbies help us grow as a person. The best way to have a new hobby is to try something new. All of us are unique, and this is the reason why our hobbies and interests are different. Once we find an activity we are passionate about, we can explore that activity more. When you get hooked, you will realize that your hobby has become an integral part of your life. Having a hobby that we enjoy brings us joy and refreshes us. Hobbies help us to manage our leisure and unplanned time more productively. It also affords you the opportunity to learn new skills in your work. But these are not the only benefits of having a hobby.

2. It feels great to be skilled and good at something, doesn’t it? And this is what makes you confident. It can take some time to develop your hobby so that you may be able to tell that you are skilled. But, the journey of experiencing your hobby is very rewarding in itself. With the exposure to different types of activities these days, it doesn’t matter which activity you choose. Whether you are pursuing a craft, sports, puzzles, or skill development, your hobby should be a diversion and a passion. Simultaneously, if your hobby gives you a sense of purpose, then you will be more confident about challenging yourself in your hobby and help you prepare for learning new things at work.

3. Hobbies give you an opportunity to enhance your life. Hobbies allow you to de-stress yourself while remaining mentally productive. Having hobbies promotes better health and may lower the risk of having high blood pressure. Enjoying a few hours of your hobby a week can also reduce the risk of depression and dementia. Hobbies refocus your mind on something that you enjoy doing. Hobbies that include physical activities create chemical changes in your body that help to reduce stress.

4. Even if it doesn’t involve physical activities, you can still reap the benefits of having a hobby. Getting a short break from work and doing something you are passionate about can rejuvenate your mind and help prepare you to handle challenges in the future in a better way.

5. Hobbies may provide an opportunity for you to socialize with people and that can be an additional benefit for your overall well-being. You can connect with people who enjoy doing the same things that you do. You can meet new people, discuss your hobby and get connected to a bigger circle that may even help you turn your hobby into your profession. The internet provides numerous groups and forums to connect with people that enjoy doing the same things that you want to do.

6. Some hobbies require creativity and if you develop creativity through your hobby, it can be beneficial. Creativity can help you experience new things at school and work. The skill of being creative is essential in today’s world.

1. When a person gets hooked on a hobby, he realizes that:

(a) it has become an integral part of our life.

(b) it has much more benefits than we realised.

(c) it is much more enjoyable to have a hobby. 

(d) it is quite essential for us to learn some skills through our hobbies.

2. No matter which sort of hobby you are pursuing, be it a craft, sports, puzzles, or skill development, your hobby should be:

(a) useful for you in the long run.

(b) a skill that improves your present circumstances.

(c) a diversion and a passion.

(d) followed through till the end.

3. The journey of experiencing a hobby is quite:

(a) challenging for a person.

(b) rewarding in itself.

(c) demanding in itself.

(d) inspirational for a person.

4. State any one way through which hobbies enhance your life?

5.List any two benefits of having a hobby.

1. ____________________

2. _____________________

Answer:

Answer: 1 (b) it has much more benefits than we realized.

Answer: 2 (c) a diversion and a passion.

Answer: 3 (b) rewarding in itself.

Answer: 4 Hobbies provide stress relief or relaxation

Answer: 5 Two benefits of having a hobby are: 

1. Improving mental well-being and reducing stress

2. Enhancing skills and creativity