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GRAMMAR

Common for First & Second Term

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IX

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D.P. BhanotShailja Sangar

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE – CLASS IX

VOLUME I

(COMMON FOR SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS I & II)

(FOR FIRST & SECOND TERM)

SECTION–A(Reading Comprehension)

1. Passages of Type-I (SA–I) 3–202. Passages of Type-II (SA–I) 21–383. Factual and Literary Passages (SA–II) 39–514. Passages for Practice (SA–II) 52–625. OTBA Passages (SA–II) 63–746. OTBA Passages for Practice (SA–II) 75–90

SECTION–B.1(Composition Writing)

1. DIARY WRITING 93–100

2. ARTICLE WRITING 101–122

1. Licence to Drive, Not Licence to Kill 1032. Tiger Becoming Extinct 1043. Safety of Tourists to Kashmir 1044. Consequences of Sedentary Life 1055. Pollution and Migratory Birds 1056. Children and TV Advertising 1067. Importance of Music in Life 1068. The Green Gardens Resort 1079. Scarcity of Clean Drinking Water 107

10. Stop Crowding Hamirpur 10811. Cancer — A Silent Killer 10812. Promotion of Tourism 10913. Role of School in a Child’s Life 10914. Atithi Devo Bhava 11015. Importance of Trees 11016. The Junk Food Menace 11117. Pollution 111

18. Measures against Malaria 11219. Smoking — A Silent Killer 11220. Patriotism and the Youth 11321. Overpopulation 11322. Stepmotherly Treatment to Hockey 11423. Tree Plantation 11524. The Generation Gap 11625. Slaves to Machines 11726. Need of Environmental Awareness 11727. Conserve Every Drop of Water 11828. Save the Planet Earth 11929. Video Games and Violence 11930. Changed Face of the City 12031. Global Warming 12132. Influence of Films 12133. Leaders can’t be Created 122

3. SHORT STORY WRITING 123–136TYPE - I

1. An Accident on a Dark Wintry Night 1252. Having a Cat as a Pet 1253. Stick No Bills 1264. Broken Arm and Leg from Kite Flying 1265. A Sleepless Summer Night 1266. A Coolie’s Daring Act 1277. Travelling on the Roof of a

Crowded Bus 1278. The Rescue 1279. A Carpenter’s House on Fire 128

10. A Horrible Storm 12811. A Pleasant Surprise 12812. A Noble Act 12913. The Story of My Lost Bicycle 130

TYPE - II1. Union is Strength 1302. Bad Company 1303. The Thirsty Crow 1314. The Fox and the Crow 1315. The Fox and the Grapes 1316. The Fox and the Crane 1327. The Fox and the Goat 1328. Two Foolish Goats 1329. The Lion and the Mouse 132

10. The Wolf and the Lamb 13311. The Shepherd-boy and the Wolf 13312. The Vain Stag 13313. The Greedy Dog 13414. The Hare and the Tortoise 13415. The Bee and the Dove 13416. The Capseller and the Monkeys 13517. Half the Profit 135

18. The Tailor and the Elephant 13519. Two Friends and the Bear 13620. King Bruce and the Spider 136

SECTION–B.2(Grammar)

1. Elementary Exercises on Grammar 139–188

1. Tenses 1392. Modals 1493. Voice 1554. Subject-Verb Concord 1615. Reporting 1656. Clauses 1717. Determiners 1778. Prepositions 185

2. Examination-Style IntegratedContextual Exercises 189-216

1

A

SECTION

READING COMPREHENSION

Examination Specifications :

SA–I

Q. 1. A Factual passage of 300-350 words with eight very-short-answertype questions. 8 marks

Q. 2. A Discursive passage of 350-400 words with four short-answer typequestions to test inference, evaluation and analysis and four very-short-answer type questions to test vocabulary. 12 marks

SA–II

Q. 1. A Factual passage of 200-250 words with five very-short-answer typequestions including one question to test vocabulary. 5 marks

Q. 2. A Literary passage (Prose only –– Fiction / Non-fiction) of 200-250 wordswith five short-answer type questions to test inference, evaluation andanalysis including one question to test vocabulary. 5 marks

Q. 3. Open Text-based Assessment (OTBA) with 1 or 2 long-answer type questions

to test analytical and critical thinking skills. 10 marks

2

WHAT TO DOThe aim of ‘Reading Comprehension’ is to measure your ability to read and understand.

For this reason, you will not be penalised for mistakes in grammar, spelling or punctuation,

provided that you have shown a good understanding of the passage. However, you still

need to be careful with your language, because marks can only be awarded if you have

expressed your ideas clearly. Examiners cannot give you any marks if they are unable to

understand what you are trying to say !

Always try to answer the questions briefly. Often, it is possible to give a good answer,

using only a single word or phrase, and it is not necessary to write in complete sentences.

You may also answer using an expression taken from the passage, provided that it gives a

good, brief answer to the question. But beware of just copying from the passage without

really understanding what you are writing ! You will not gain any marks for this kind of

answer.

This section also includes some vocabulary questions, but these are designed to test

your reading skills rather than the size of your vocabulary. If you already know the word

which is being tested, this is fine. However, if you do not know the word, you should use

your reading skills to work out the meaning from the context as you have practised in

some exercises of your Main Coursebook. A large number of passages, including passages

from various Question Papers, have been given here for your practice. Attempt these

passages yourself and then have them checked by your teacher.

UNSEEN COMPREHENSIONPassages of Type-I (SA-I)

Note : Model answers to all these passages have been given at the end of this Set. Students are advisedto attempt each passage themselves and then compare their answers with the given answers, orhave them checked by their teachers.

PASSAGE 1

1 Wolves, jackals and foxes –– all belong to one family, the family of dogs. They are found on all thecontinents except Antarctica. The legs of the animals in this family are long and well-shaped. Thepaws have strong blunt claws. All the animals run fast, some at a speed of 65 kilometres an hour !

2 The hair is thick and of various shades of grey or red. Some of the animals are striped. Oneof the African jackals is called the striped jackal. The African wild dog has black, white andyellow spots. This is the only wild animal that has hair of three colours.

3 The largest and strongest animal in the dog family is the wolf. It can run so fast with a goat orsheep on its shoulder that you can hardly catch up with it even on a good race horse. It is verytrue to say that the wolf lives by its feet. Sometimes, it runs 60 kilometres a day in search of a prey.And not always does it find it, even running that distance. It is not easy for an animal in the wildto find food. For this reason, when a wolf makes a good kill, it gorges1 itself. It can eat 10kilograms of meat at one time. The wolf has very strong jaws. It can crush large bones easily. Thejackal is the most cunning member of the dog family. People don’t like it because it is a terriblethief. What cunning it shows ! If a jackal wants to catch a crow or a magpie2, it lies down by theroad and makes it believe it is dead. When the bird sees the jackal, it comes down to peck at the‘dead’ flesh. Up jumps the cunning jackal, and that is the end of the bird !

4 There are many tales about the cunning fox, but they are all untrue. The wolf and the jackalare far more cunning than the fox. It is certainly not a capricious3 animal. It never hunts justto kill. It feeds mainly on barn4 and field mice. It is a master at catching these rodents5 thatdo so much damage to farms.

Word-meanings : 1. gorges—eats greedily, fills itself, ÃÊ’«∏UÃÊ«∏U πÊÃÊ „ÒU, ¬≈U ∑§Ê ¬Í⁄UË Ã⁄U„U ÷⁄U ‹ÃÊ „ÒU; 2. magpie—anoisy black-and-white bird, ∞∑§ ∑§Ê‹-‚$»§Œ ⁄¢Uª ∑§Ê ‡ÊÊ⁄U ◊øÊŸ flÊ‹Ê ¬ˇÊË; 3. capricious—suddenly changing in behaviouror attitude, •¬ŸË œÊ⁄UáÊÊ ÿÊ √ÿfl„UÊ⁄U ∑§Ê ∞∑§Œ◊ ’Œ‹ ŒŸ flÊ‹Ê; 4. barn—simple building for storing hay, grain, etc. ona farm, πÁ‹„UÊŸU;U 5. rodents—types of small animals that gnaw things with their strong front teeth, e.g. rats,squirrels, fl ¿UÊ≈U ¡ÊŸfl⁄U ¡Ê •¬Ÿ ‚Ê◊Ÿ flÊ‹ ◊ Ê’ÍÃ ŒÊ¢ÃÊ¥ ‚ øË ÊÊ¥ ∑§Ê ∑È§Ã⁄UÃ „Ò¥U, ©UŒÊ„U⁄UáÊÊÕ¸ øÍ„U, Áª‹„UÁ⁄UÿÊ¢–

Answer the following questions briefly :

1. Where are the striped jackals found ?2. Which animal in the dog family has black, white and yellow spots ?3. Which is the largest and strongest animal in the dog family ?4. Why is it true to say that a wolf lives by its feet ?5. How much can a wolf eat at one time ?6. Which is the most cunning member of the dog family ?7. Why is a jackal not liked ?8. What is not true to say about a fox ?

3

MBD SUPER REFRESHER ENGLISH LANG & LIT. (IX CBSE)4 FOR FIRST & SECOND TERM

PASSAGE 2

1 You know that the earth goes round the sun and the moon goes round the earth. You know alsoperhaps that there are several other bodies which, like the earth, go round the sun. They areMercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. All these, including our earth,are called planets of the sun. The moon is called a satellite1 of the earth because it keeps goinground the earth. The other planets have also got their satellites.

2 The sun and the planets with their satellites form a happy family, called the solar system. Solarmeans belonging to the sun. The sun is the father of all the planets, so the whole group is calledthe solar system.

3 At night, you see thousands of stars in the sky. Only a few of them are planets. We can easilydistinguish2 between a planet and a star. Compared to the stars, the planets are really very tiny,like our earth. But they look bigger than stars because they are much nearer to us. Comparedto a star, the moon is really quite like a baby. It looks so big because it is very near to us. Thereal way to distinguish a star from a planet is to see whether it twinkles or not. Stars twinkle3,planets don’t. Planets shine only because they get the light of the sun. It is merely the sunshineon the planets or the moon that we see.

4 Stars are like the sun. They shine of themselves because they are very hot and burning. In fact,the sun itself is a star. It looks bigger than stars because it is much nearer. We see it as a greatball of fire in the sky.

5 Thus our earth belongs to the family of the sun. We think the earth is very big. Compared toour tiny selves, it is truly very big. It takes weeks and months in a fast train or ship to go fromone part of the earth to another. But although it seems so big, it is just like a speck4 of dusthanging in the air. The sun is millions of miles away and the other stars are even further away.That is why they look so small to us.

Word-meanings : 1. satellite—a natural body in space that moves round a larger body, especially a planet,©U¬ª˝„U; 2. distinguish—tell the differences, ÷Œ ∑§⁄UŸÊ; 3. twinkle—to shine with a light that changes constantly frombright to faint, Á¤Ê‹Á◊‹ÊŸÊ; 4. speck—a tiny particle, ∑§áÊ–


1. Name the planets that move round the sun.

2. What does the solar system consist of ?

3. What do we see in the sky at night ?

4. How can you distinguish a star from a planet ?

5. Why does the moon look bigger than the sun ?

6. What makes the sun shine ?

7. What makes the moon shine ?

8. How big is the earth as compared to the sun ?

UNSEEN COMPREHENSION 5FOR FIRST & SECOND TERM

PASSAGE 3

1 What is trade and how did it begin ? Today you see large shops and it is so easy to go insidethem and buy what you want. But do you ever think where the things you buy come from ?You may buy a woollen shawl in a shop in your city. It may have come all the way from Kashmirand the wool may have grown on the backs of sheep in the mountains of Kashmir or Ladakh. Awatch that you buy may have come in ships and railway trains all the way from Japan. So also,you may buy things made in America or China or Paris or London. Great ships are alwayscarrying the goods of one country to another. But it was not always so.

2 In the early days when man settled down1, there was very little trade. Everything that a manwanted, he had to grow himself or make himself. Sometimes it must have happened that onetribe2 had a great deal3 of one thing and another a great deal of something else. It was naturalfor them to exchange goods. For instance4, one tribe might give a cow for a bag of grain. Therewas no money in those days. Things could only be exchanged. So exchange began. It must havebeen rather inconvenient. To get a bag of grain, or something like it, one had to carry a cowor maybe a couple of sheep !

3 When gold and silver were found, people started using them for trade. It was easier to carrythem. And gradually5, the custom6 arose of paying for things in gold and silver. The first personwho thought of this must have been a very clever person. The use of gold and silver made tradevery much easier. Even then, there were no coins as we have them now. Gold used to be weighedin a balance and then given to another person. Much later came coins and these made tradeand exchange still simpler. No weighing was required then as everybody knew the value of acoin. Now money (in many different forms) is used all over the world.

Word-meanings : 1. settle down—to adjust to one’s position, Á≈U∑§ŸÊ, ’‚ ¡ÊŸÊ; 2. tribe—a group or class ofpeople, ∑§’Ë‹Ê, ¡ÊÁÃ; 3. deal—quantity, ◊ÊòÊÊ; 4. instance—example, ©UŒÊ„U⁄UáÊ; 5. gradually—slowly, œË⁄U-œË⁄U;6. custom—tradition, ¬⁄¢U¬⁄UÊ, ø‹Ÿ–


1. What is trade ?

2. Where do the things in a shop come from ?

3. What had man to do in early days ?

4. What did the men exchange in the early days ?

5. How did the use of gold and silver make trade easier ?

6. Why don’t we have to weigh coins ?

7. How can you say that exchanging goods for goods was rather inconvenient ?

8. What has been said about the person who first thought of paying for things in goldand silver ?


PASSAGE 4

1 Three-fourths of the surface of our planet1 is covered by the sea, which both separates andunites the various races of mankind. The sea is the great highway along which man may journeyat his will, the great road that has no walls or hedges hemming2 it in, and that nobody has tokeep in good repair with the aid of pickaxes3 and barrels of tar and steamrollers. The sea appealsto man’s love of the perilous4 and the unknown, to his love of conquest, his love of knowledge,and his love of gold. Its green, and grey, and blue, and purple waters call to him, and bid himfare forth in quest of fresh fields5. Beyond their horizons, he has found danger and death, gloryand gain.

2 In some great continents, such as America and Australia, there are towns and villages manythousands of miles from the coast, whose children have never seen or heard or felt the wavesof the sea. But in the British Isles, it is nowhere much more than a hundred miles from themost inland6 spot. The love of the sea is in the very blood of the British people.

3 The great surface of the sea seems about the same everywhere; but its floor is very uneven. Ithas mountains and plains like the continents. Here and there are great deeps like tremendoussaucers7. At other places are hills and valleys. On the ocean floor are mountains whose loftysummits8 rise to the surface of the sea and form islands such as the Hawaiian group9.

4 We know that the average depth of the sea is about two and a half miles, but in a few placesit is very deep indeed — over six miles. If the highest mountain in the world, Everest, whichis nearly six miles high, could be placed in this deepest place in the Pacific, the mountaintopwould still be more than half a mile under the surface of the sea.

Word-meanings : 1. planet—any of the bodies moving around a star (such as the sun) and illuminated by it.Our earth is also a planet which moves round the sun and is illuminated by it, ª˝„U; 2. hemming—surroundingand restricting the movement of, ÉÊ⁄UÃË „ÈUß¸; 3. pickaxe—large tool used for breaking stones, ¬àÕ⁄U ∑§Ê ÃÊ«∏UŸ ∑§Ë ªÒ¥ÃË;4. perilous—dangerous, $πÃ⁄UŸÊ∑§; 5. fare forth in quest of fresh fields—go on in search of fresh lands or areas ofknowledge, Ÿß¸ ¡ª„UÊ¥ ÿÊ ôÊÊŸ ∑§ ˇÊòÊÊ¥ ∑§Ë πÊ¡ ◊¥ ¡ÊŸÊ; 6. inland—situated in the interior of the country, not by the sea,Œ‡Ê ∑§ ÷ËÃ⁄U; 7. tremendous saucers—very huge curved dishes, ’„ÈUÃ Áfl‡ÊÊ‹, fl∑˝§Ê∑§Ê⁄U Ã‡ÃÁ⁄UÿÊ¢; 8. summits—peaks, øÊÁ≈UÿÊ¢;9. Hawaiian group—a group of 20 islands about 2,400 miles from the west coast of the United States, „UflÊß¸ mË¬-‚◊Í„U–


1. How much of our planet is covered by the sea ?

2. What do you think about the sea as a highway ?

3. What has man found beyond the horizons of sea waters ?

4. What call do the waters of the sea make to man ?

5. Why do you think children in some big continents have never seen the sea ?

6. How do the British people have the love of the sea in their very blood ?

7. What is the difference between the surface and the floor of the sea ?

8. What is the average depth of the sea ?


PASSAGE 5

1 There are three main groups of oil : animal, vegetable and mineral. Great quantities of animaloil come from whales; those enormous creatures of the sea which are the largest remaininganimals in the world. To protect the whale from the cold of the Arctic1 seas, nature hasprovided it with a thick covering of fat called blubber2. When the whale is killed, the blubberis stripped off and boiled down, either on board ship or on shore. It produces a great quantityof oil which can be made into food for human consumption. A few other creatures yield oil,but none so much as the whale. The livers of the cod3 and the halibut4, two kinds of fish, yieldnourishing oil. Both cod liver oil and halibut liver oil are given to sick children and otherinvalids who need certain vitamins. These oils may be bought at any chemist’s.

2 Vegetable oil has been known from antiquity5. No household can get on without it, for it is usedin cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made fromvegetable and animals oils.

3 To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the politicianor the engineer refers to oil, he almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives tanks,aeroplanes and warships, motor cars and diesel locomotives; the oil that is used to lubricate allkinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it isrefined into petrol, it is used to drive the internal-combustion engine6. To it we owe the existenceof the motor car, which has replaced the private carriage drawn by the horse. To it we owe thepossibility of flying. It has changed the methods of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oilcomes out of the earth. Because it burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways it is superiorto coal in this respect. Many big ships now burn oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly,it is used for illumination; countless homes are still illuminated with oil-burning lamps. Becauseit is very slippery, it is used for lubrication.

Word-meanings : 1. Arctic—of the regions around the North Pole, ©UûÊ⁄UË œÈ̋fl ∑§ ˇÊòÊ; 2. blubber — fat of whalesand other sea animals from which oil is obtained, uÔU‹ •ÊÒ⁄U •ãÿ ‚◊Èº˝Ë ¡ËflÊ¥ ∑§Ë ø’Ë¸ Á¡‚‚ Ã‹ ¬˝ÊåàÊ Á∑§ÿÊ ¡ÊÃÊ „ÒU;3. cod—large sea fish, ∞∑§ ¬˝∑§Ê⁄U ∑§Ë ’«∏UË ‚◊Èº˝Ë ◊¿U‹Ë; 4. halibut—large flat sea fish, ∞∑§ •ãÿ ¬˝∑§Ê⁄U ∑§Ë ’«∏UË, ø¬≈UË ‚◊Èº˝Ë◊¿U‹Ë; 5. antiquity—ancient times, before the middle ages, ◊äÿ-∑§Ê‹ ‚ ¬È⁄UÊŸÊ ‚◊ÿ; 6. internal-combustion engine—an engine in which the combustion that generates the heat takes place inside the engine proper instead of in afurnace, ∞∑§ ∞‚Ê ß¢¡Ÿ Á¡‚◊¥ ÃÊ¬ ∑§Ê ©Uà¬ÊŒŸ ß¢¡Ÿ ∑§ •¢Œ⁄U „UË ªÒ‚Ê¥ ∑§ ¡‹Ÿ ‚ „UÊÃÊ „ÒU, Ÿ Á∑§ Á∑§‚Ë ’Ê„U⁄UË ÷_ÔUË ‚–


1. What are the three main groups of oil ?

2. Which is the largest animal in the world ?

3. What do we get from the whale ?

4. What protects the whale from the cold ?

5. What are the various uses of vegetable oil ?

6. Which oil has changed the life of the common man ?

7. What does mineral oil give us ?

8. Why is mineral oil used for lubrication ?


PASSAGE 6

1 Bamboo is perhaps the most useful plant in the world. It grows in almost all tropical1 andsubtropical countries. The only continents in which bamboo does not grow are Europe andAntarctica. In India, it grows extensively2 in the north-east and in the Western Ghats. Thereare varieties of bamboo that grow to a height of 40 metres, and others that reach a height ofonly a metre. Bamboo is among the fastest-growing plants of the world; one plant in Japanrecorded a growth of 121 centimetres in one day ! You could almost see it growing !

2 The bamboo is a variety of grass, with a woody, many-jointed stem3. The stem itself is hollowand is connected to a rhizome4 network which spreads out beneath the surface of the soil.Roots grow out of this network of rhizomes and help the plant to absorb5 and distribute foodand water from the soil. Many species6 of bamboo flower7 once in several years and then die.One species flowers regularly once in 120 years; bamboos of that species all over the worldflower together in the same year, and then die.

3 Bamboo is a versatile8 plant. Men have found several uses for it. Bamboo shoots are staple9 dietin many Asian countries. The shoots are pickled or stewed, and served as delicacies. Thefleshy fruits of one species of bamboo in Assam are eaten raw or cooked. When there is adrought10, bamboo seeds are used as a substitute for rice.

4 The commercial uses of a bamboo are astonishing. India produces over 3 million tonnes ofbamboo annually, and nearly half of it is turned into paper. Another important use of bamboois in housing. Instead of costly timber11, bamboo can be used in the construction of houses. InColumbia, bamboo used in house structures is covered with plaster. Bamboo can even replacesteel in many of its uses. Concrete reinforced12 with bamboo has sufficient strength for mostuses. In Assam, suspension bridges have been built using bamboo. Scientists at the Forest ResearchInstitute, Dehradun, are working on the extraction13 of diesel fuel from the jointed stem ofbamboo. With its network of rhizomes and roots, bamboo plays an important role in theprevention of soil erosion.

Word-meanings : 1. tropical—situated in the tropics, ©UcáÊ ∑§Á≈U’¢œËÿ; 2. extensively—covering a large area, greatin amount, ’„ÈUÃÊÿÃ ◊¥; 3. stem—the main thick part of a plant above the ground, ÃŸÊ; 4. rhizome—the thick stemof some plants that grows along or under the ground and has roots and stems growing from it, ¬˝∑¢§Œ; 5. absorb—to take in, ‚Êπ ‹ŸÊ; 6. species—groups into which animals, plants, etc. are divided, ¡ÊÁÃ, Á∑§S◊; 7. flower—bloom,Áπ‹ŸÊ; 8. versatile—having many uses, ∑§ß¸ ¬˝∑§Ê⁄U ‚ ¬˝ÿÈÄÃ „UÊŸ flÊ‹Ê; 9. staple—important part of something, ◊ÈÅÿ;10. drought—a little or no rain, ‚ÍπÊ, •ŸÊflÎÁc≈U; 11. timber—wood prepared for use in building, ß◊Ê⁄UÃË ‹∑§«∏UË;12. reinforce—make stronger, ÖÿÊŒÊ ◊ Ê’ÍÃ ’ŸÊŸÊ; 13. extraction—taking out, ÁŸ∑§Ê‹ŸÊ–


1. Where does the bamboo grow ?2. What are the only continents in which the bamboo does not grow ?3. Where does the bamboo grow extensively in India ?4. What type of a stem does the bamboo have ?5. How do the roots of the bamboo help it ?6. ‘Bamboo is a versatile plant.’ What does it mean ?7. What are the scientists at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, working on ?8. What important role can the bamboo rhizomes and roots play ?


PASSAGE 7

1 About one in five of all the people in the world follow the teachings of the Buddha, who livedabout 2,600 years ago. (He was born in 563 BC.) ‘The Buddha’ is a title, not a name. It means ‘theEnlightened One’ or ‘the One who knows’ . The Buddha’s real name was Siddhartha. He was theson of a Sakya1 king in northern India. He and his family were all Hindus and belonged to theGautama clan2.

2 Gautama Siddhartha was brought up in luxury. He lived in his father’s palace and saw nothingof the outside world until he was a young man. Then one day, accompanied by his charioteer3

Channa, Prince Siddhartha went round the city. On his way, he saw some sights that he hadnever seen before. First, he saw a man who was very old and was bent with age. Then he sawa man who was suffering from a terrible disease, possibly leprosy4. And then he saw a dead manwho was being taken to the cremation ground5. These sights made the Prince very sad.

3 Now a complete change came in Gautama Siddhartha’s life. He was filled with a longing6 tofind the cause and cure of human suffering. He wanted to find the true meaning of life andhelp his fellow men. Although he was married and had a baby son, he left his home in searchof truth. He was then only 28.

4 First of all, Gautama went to two Hindu priests. He wanted to know from them the cause ofhuman suffering. But the priests could not give him any satisfactory answers. Now Gautamatried to live the life of an ascetic7. For six years, he tortured8 himself so that he could becomeindifferent9 to any kind of pain. He was reduced to a mere skeleton10. But eventually11, herealized that all this was foolish and useless. Now he sat in deep meditation12 under a bo treenear Gaya (in Bihar). Here at last, he attained Enlightenment13 and found the answers to hisquestions. He was then 35 years old.

Word-meanings : 1. Sakya—an ancient warrior race that lived in the south of Nepal, ŒÁˇÊáÊË Ÿ¬Ê‹ ∑§Ê ∞∑§ ¬˝ÊøËŸˇÊÁòÊÿ fl¢‡Ê; 2. clan—a social group smaller than a tribe, ¿UÊ≈UÊ ∑§’Ë‹Ê; 3. charioteer—a person driving a chariot, ‚Ê⁄UÕË;4. leprosy—an infectious disease affecting the skin and nerves, causing deformity, ∑È§cΔU ⁄UÊª; 5. cremation ground—a place where the dead are burnt to ashes, ‡◊‡ÊÊŸ ÷ÍÁ◊; 6. longing—a strong desire, ÃËfl˝ ßë¿UÊ; 7. ascetic—one wholives a very simple life and doesn’t allow himself any physical pleasures, Ã¬SflË; 8. tortured—gave great physicalpain, ÿÊÃŸÊ ŒË; 9. indifferent—not caring about something or somebody, ©UŒÊ‚ËŸ; 10. skeleton—a framework ofbones supporting the body, very thin because of hunger, illness, etc., ∑¢§∑§Ê‹, ÷Íπ ÿÊ ’Ë◊Ê⁄UË ∑§Ë fl¡„U ‚ •ÁÃ ŒÈ’¸‹;11. eventually—at last, in the end, •ãÃÃ—; 12. meditation—deep thought about spiritual matters, äÿÊŸ ‹ªÊŸ ∑§ËÁ∑˝§ÿÊ; 13. attained enlightenment—realized the ultimate universal truth, knew all about body, soul, God, etc.,ÁŸflÊ¸áÊ ¬˝ÊåàÊ Á∑§ÿÊ–


1. How many people in the world follow the teachings of the Buddha ?2. When was the Buddha born ?3. Who was Channa ?4. What longing was Gautama filled with when he was 28 ?5. Why did Gautama go to the Hindu priests ?6. Why did Gautama start living the life of an ascetic ?7. How did Gautama find the answers to his questions ?8. How old was Gautama when he attained Enlightenment ?


PASSAGE 8

1 Rights and duties are the two sides of the same coin. One can’t exist without the other. Dutieswithout rights are mere slavery. Similarly, rights without duties amount to lawlessness. In anycivilized society, rights and duties must go side by side.

2 But in today’s world, everybody talks much about his rights. There is a great hue and cry ifour rights are infringed1. But nobody seems to bother much about his duties. That is whythere is a great unrest in our present-day life. Actually duties come first, and rights afterwards.Many a time, one man’s right is another man’s duty and vice versa2. For example, every manhas the right to have an undisturbed sleep. So it becomes the duty of his neighbour not totune his radio at too high a pitch. If we want to enjoy our rights, we should act in such away that the rights of others are not trespassed3. It can happen only if we take due accountof our duties also. In short, rights and duties are complementary4 things and notcontradictory5.

3 It is difficult to agree on which rights should be guaranteed to a citizen. For example, does a childhave the right to be educated in his / her mother tongue ? Some enthusiasts may say, “Certainly.”But others may say that while everyone must have a right to education, the government shouldnot be forced to spend money to employ special teachers for the language of every group andcommunity. Take another example. Does every adult have a right to job ? Some will say, “Yes.”Others will disagree and say that this is a privilege, not a right. They say that in these days ofpopulation explosion, it is not possible for any government to ensure full employment.

4 There can be disagreement on such controversial6 issues, but there can be no disagreement onsuch things as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedomfrom fear. Every nation worth the name must ensure these rights for her citizens.

Word-meanings : 1. infringe—to restrict, ‚ËÁ◊Ã ∑§⁄UŸÊ; 2. vice versa—in the opposite way to what has just beensaid, ß‚∑§ Áfl¬⁄UËÃ; 3. trespassed—encroached, ©UÀ‹¢ÉÊŸ Á∑§ÿÊ; 4. complementary—combining well to form a balancedor attractive group, ∑§◊Ë ¬Í⁄UË ∑§⁄UŸ flÊ‹Ê; 5. contradictory—containing information which denies other information,Áfl¬⁄UËÃ, ¬⁄US¬⁄U-ÁflL§h; 6. controversial—pertaining to points in dispute, ÁflflÊŒÊS¬Œ–


1. What are the two sides of the same coin ?

2. What do rights without duties amount to ?

3. What place do rights and duties have in a civilized society ?

4. Why is there a great unrest in the present-day life ?

5. What do we do when our rights are infringed ?

6. What should we do if we want to enjoy our rights ?

7. What is difficult to agree on ?

8. What rights every citizen must have ?

MBD Super Refresher EnglishLanguage & Literature Class-IX Vol-I

CBSE

Publisher : MBD GroupPublishers

ISBN : 9789385905025Author : D. P. Bhanot,Shailja Sangar

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