Unseen Passage For Class 12 English With Answers

Please refer to Unseen Passage For Class 12 English with answers provided below. Its is very important for Class 12 English students to practice as many unseen passages as possible as it will help them to understand how to solve questions in the examination. We have provided comprehensions and passages with questions and answers for standard 12 English. These passages with solutions for Grade 10 will help you to gain practice and score better marks.

Unseen Passage for Class 12

Read the passage given below :

1. When you grow up in a place where it rains five months a year, wise elders help you to get acquainted with the rain early. They teach you that it is ignorant to think that it is the same rain falling every day. Oh no, the rain is always doing different things at different times. There is rain that is gentle, and there is also rain that falls too hard and damages the crops. Hence, the prayers are for the sweet rain that helps the crops to grow.

2. The monsoon in the Naga hills goes by the native name, khuthotei (which means the rice-growing season). It lasts from May to early or mid-October. The local residents firmly believe that Durga Puja in October announces the end of rain. After that, one might expect a couple of short winter showers, and the spring showers in March and April. Finally, comes the “big rain” in May; proper rainstorms accompanied by heart-stopping lightning and ear-splitting thunder. I have stood out in storms looking at lightning arc across dark skies, a light-andsound show that can go on for hours.

3. This is the season when people use the word sezuo or sizu to refer to the week-long rains, when clothes don’t dry and smell of mould, when fungus forms on the and when you can’t see the moon or the stars because of the rainclouds. But you learn not to complain. Rain, after all, is the farmer’s friend and brings food to the table. Rituals and festivals centre around the agricultural rhythm of life, which is the occupation of about 70 per cent of the population.

4. The wise learn to understand its ways. I grew up hearing my grandfather say, “It’s very windy this year. We’ll get good rain.” If the windy season was short and weak, he worried there might not be enough rain for the crops. I learned the interconnectedness of the seasons from childhood, and marvelled at how the wind could bring rain. Another evening, many rainy seasons ago, my paternal aunt observed the new moon and worried, “Its legs are in the air, we’re in for some heavy rain.” She was right. That week, a storm cut off power lines and brought down trees and bamboos.

5. Eskimos boast of having a hundred names for snow. Norwegians in the north can describe all kinds of snow by an equal amount of names : pudder, powder snow, wet snow, slaps, extra wet snow, tight snowfall, dry snow, and at least 95 more categories of snow. Likewise, in India we have names and names for rain. Some are common, some are passing into history.

6. The rains are also called after flowering plants and people believe that the blossoming of those plants draws out rain. Once the monsoons set in, field work is carried out in earnest and the work of uprooting and transplanting paddy in flooded terrace fields is done. The months of hard labour are June, July and August. In August rain, also called phrogü, is a sign that the time for cultivation is over. If any new grain seeds are sown, they may not sprout; even if they do sprout, they are not likely to bear grain. The rain acts as a kind of farmer’s almanac.

7. The urban population of school-goers and office goers naturally dislikes the monsoon and its accompanying problems of landslides, muddy streets and periodic infections. For non-farmers, the month of September can be depressing, when the rainfall is incessant and the awareness persists that the monsoons will last out till October. One needs to have the heart of a farmer to remain grateful for the watery days, and be able to observe—from what seems to the inexperienced as a continuous downpour—the many kinds of rain. Some of the commonly known rain-weeks are named after the plants that alternately bloom in August and September. The native belief is that the flowers draw out the rain.

8. Each rain period has a job to fulfil : October rain helps garlic bulbs to form, while kümünyo rain helps the rice bear grain. Without it, the ears of rice cannot form properly. End October is the most beautiful month in the Naga hills, as the fields turn go ld and wild sunflower bloom over the slopes, all heralding the harvest. Prayers go up for protecting the fields from storms, and the rains to retreat because the grain needs to stand in the sun and ripen. The cycle nears completion a few weeks before the harvest, and the rain does retreat so thoroughly from the reaped furrows that the earth quickly turns hard. The months of rain become a distant memory until it starts all over again.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow : 
Question. The rains are called after flowering plants because
(i) heavy rains kill plants.
(ii) flowers grow in the rainy season.
(iii) it is believed that the plants bring the rain.
(iv) flowers grow all the year round.

Question. The rain is like a calendar for farmers because
(i) it tells them when to sow and when to harvest.
(ii) it tells them the birthdays of their children.
(iii) each month has a time for plantation.
(iv) different kinds of rain tell different things.

Question. People who live in cities don’t like rain because
(i) it brings mud and sickness with it.
(ii) they are not bothered about the farmers.
(iii) they don’t like the plants that grow during the rain.
(iv) going shopping becomes difficult.

Question. People pray asking the rain to retreat because
(i) the fungus and mould to dry.
(ii) children don’t get a chance to play.
(iii) the crops need the sun and heat to ripen.
(iv) they like to pray.

Answer the following questions briefly : 

Question. Why do the elders want you to understand the rains in the Naga hills ? 
Answer : The elders wants us to understand the rains in the Naga hills because when you grow up in a place where it rains five months in a year it helps you to get acquainted with the situations in rainy season.

Question. What kind of rain is called sezuo ?
Answer : Sezuo refers to the week-long rains, when clothes do not dry and they smells of mould, when fungus forms on the floor and when we cannot see the moon or the stars because of the rain clouds.

Question. When does rain become a memory in the minds of the people of the Naga hills ?
Answer : Rain becomes a memory in the minds of the people of the Naga hills, when the cycle nears completion a few weeks before the harvest.

Question. What does Durga Puja mean to the farmers of the Naga hills ?
Answer : Durga Puja announces the end of the rainy season to the farmers of the Naga hills.

Question. What is the occupation of more than half the population of the Naga hills ?
Answer : The occupation of more than half the population of the Naga hills is farming.

Question. How is the heart of the farmer different from that of the city person ?
Answer : The city person dislikes the rain because of landslides, muddy streets and periodic infections. He finds incessant rain depressing.
However, a farmer remains grateful for the watery days and is able to observe with delight the many kinds of rain.

Question. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following : 
(i) flowering (para 6)
(ii) non-stop (para 7)
Answer : (i) blossoming
(ii) incessant

Class 12 English Unseen Passage

Read the passage given below :

1. Every morning Ravi gives his brain an extra boost. We’re not talking about drinking strong cups of coffee or playing one of those mind-training video games advertised all over Facebook. “I jump into my stationary bike and cycle for 45 minutes to work,” says Ravi. “When I get to my desk, my brain is at peak activity for a few hours.” After his mental focus comes to a halt later in the day, he starts it with another short spell of cycling to be able to run errands.

2. Ride, work, ride, repeat. It’s a scientifically proven system that describes some unexpected benefits of cycling. In a recent study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, scientists found that people scored higher on tests of memory, reasoning, and planning after 30 minutes of spinning on a stationary bike than they did before they rode the bike. They also complete the tests faster after pedalling.

3. Exercise is like fertilizer for your brain. All those hours spent on exercising your muscles, create rich capillary beds not only in leg and hip muscles, but also in your brain. More blood vessels in your brain and muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients to help them work. When you pedal, you also force more nerve cells to fire. The result: you double or triple the production of these cells—literally building your brain. You also release neurotransmitters (the messengers between your brain cells) so all those cells, new and old, can communicate with each other for better, faster functioning. That’s a pretty profound benefit to cyclists.

4. This kind of growth is especially important with each passing birthday, because as we age, our brains shrink and those connections weaken. Exercise restores and protects the brain cells. Neuroscientists say, “ Adults who exercise display sharper memory skills, higher concentration levels, more fluid thinking, and greater problem-solving ability than those who are sedentary.”

5. Cycling also elevates your mood, relieves anxiety, increases stress resistance, and even banishes the blues. “Exercise works in the same way as psychotherapy and antidepressants in the treatment of depression, maybe better,” says Dr. Manjari. A recent study analyzing 26 years of research finds that even some exercise—as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day—can prevent depression over the long term.

6. Remember : Although it’s healthy, exercise itself is a stress, especially when you’re just getting started or getting back into riding. When you first begin to exert yourself, your body releases a particular hormone to raise your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels, says Meher Ahluwalia, PhD, a professor of integrative physiology. As you get fitter, it takes a longer, harder ride to trigger that same response.

On the basis of your understanding of the passage, complete the statements given below with the help of the options that follow : 

Question. Ravi gets his brain to work at peak level by
(i) drinking three cups of coffee.
(ii) playing games that need brain activity.
(iii) cycling on a stationary bike.
(iv) taking tablets to pump up his brain.

Question. When nerve cells work during exercise then
(i) they body experiences stress.
(ii) the brain is strengthened by multiplying them.
(iii) you start to lose your temper.
(iv) your stationary cycle starts to beep.

Answer the following questions briefly : 

Question. How does exercise help the brain ?

Answer : Exercise is like the fertilizer to the brain. It creates rich capillary beds not only in legs and hips muscles,but also in the brain. More blood vessels in the brainand muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients to help them work. One doubles or triples the nerve cells. This builds the brain. It also releases neurotransmitters.

Question. Why does Ravi do a circuit of ‘ride, work, ride’ ?

Answer : Ravi does a circuit of ‘ride, work, ride’ because people who do such rigorous activities score higher on tests of memory, reasoning and planning. It also helps in completing the tests faster.

Question. What is the work of neurotransmitters ?

Answer : Neurotransmitters are the messengers between our brain cells. They enable faster, better communication between the brain cells.

Question. What benefits other than greater brain activity does one get from cycling ?

Answer : Cycling elevates our mood, relieves anxiety, increases stress resistance and even banishes the blues. It prevents depression.

Question. Why is exercise so important for adults ?

Answer : As we age, our brain shrinks and the connections between cells weaken. Exercise restores and protects the brain cells. It leads to sharper memory skills, higher concentration levels, more fluid thinking and better problem solving ability.

Question. How is exercise itself a stress ?

Answer : Exercise itself is a stress especially when one just starts an activity or gets back to it. At that point the body releases a particular hormone which raises the heart rate, blood pressure and blood/glucose levels.

Question. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following : 
(i) manure (para 3) (ii) inactive (para 4)
Answer :  
(i) fertilizer
(ii) sedentary

Unseen Passage for Class 12 with Answers

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

1. We sit in the last row, bumped about but free of stares. The bus rolls out of the dull crossroads of the city, and we are soon in the open countryside, with fields of sunflowers as far as the eye can see, their heads all facing us. Where there is no water, the land reverts to the desert. While still on level ground, we see in the distance the tall range of the Mount Bogda, abrupt like a shining prism laid horizontally on the desert surface. It is over 5,000 metres high, and the peaks are under permanent snow, in powerful contrast to the flat desert all around. Heaven lake lies part of the way up this range, about 2,000 meters above sea level, at the foot of one of the highest snow-peaks.

2. As the bus climbs, the sky, brilliant before, grows overcast. I have brought nothing warm to wear. It is all down at the hotel in Urumqi. Rain begins to fall. The man behind me is eating overpoweringly smelly goat’s cheese. The bus window leaks inhospitably but reveals a beautiful view. We have passed quickly from the desert through arable land to pasture and the ground is now green with grass, the slopes dark with pine. A few cattle drink at a clear stream flowing past moss-covered stones; it is a Constable landscape. The stream changes into a white torrent, and as we climb higher I wish more and more that I had brought with me something warmer than the pair of shorts that have served me so well in the desert. The stream (which, we are told, rises in Heaven Lake) disappears, and we continue our slow ascent. About noon, we arrive at Heaven Lake, and look for a place to stay at the foot, which is the resort area. We get a room in a small cottage, and I am happy to note that there are thick quilts on the beds.

3. Standing outside the cottage, we survey our surroundings. Heaven Lake is long, sardine-shaped and fed by snowmelt from a stream at its head. The lake is an intense blue, surrounded on all sides by green mountain walls, dotted with distant sheep. At the head of the lake, beyond the delta of the inflowing stream, is a massive snow-capped peak which dominates the vista; it is part of a series of peaks that culminate, a little out of view, in Mount Bogda itself.

4. For those who live in the resort, there is a small mess-hall by the shore. We eat here sometimes, and sometimes buy food from the vendors outside, who sell kabab and naan until the last buses leave. The kababs, cooked on skewers over charcoal braziers, are particularly good; highly spiced and well-done. Horse’s milk is available too from the local Kazakh herdsmen, but I decline this. I am so affected by the cold that Mr. Cao, the relaxed young man who runs the mess, lends me a spare pair of trousers, several sizes too large but more than comfortable. Once I am warm again, I feel a pre-dinner spurt of energy—dinner will be long in coming—and I ask him whether the lake is good for swimming in.

5. “Swimming ?” Mr. Cao says. “You aren’t thinking of swimming, are you ?”

6. “I thought I might,” I confess, “What’s the water like ?”

7. He doesn’t answer me immediately, turning instead to examine some receipts with exaggerated interest. Mr. Cao, with great off-handedness, addresses the air. “People are often drowned here,” he says. After a pause, he continues. “When was the last one ?” This questions is directed at the cook, who is preparing a tray of mantou (squat, white steamed bread rolls), and who now appears, wiping his doughy hand across his forehead. “Was it the Beijing athlete ?” asks Mr. Cao.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer the statements given below with the help of options that follow : 

Question. The narrator was travelling to :
(i) Mount Bogda
(ii) Heaven Lake
(iii) a 200 metre high snow peak
(iv) Urumqi

Question. On reaching the destination, the narrator felt relieved because :
(i) he had gotten away from the desert.
(ii) a difficult journey had come to an end.
(iii) he could watch the snow peak.
(iv) there were thick quilts on the bed.

Question. One benefit of sitting in the last row of the bus was that :
(i) the narrator enjoyed the bumps.
(ii) no one stared at him.
(iii) he could see the sunflowers.
(iv) he avoided the dullness of the city.

Question. Mount Bogda is compared to :
(i) a horizontal desert surface.
(ii) a shining prism.
(iii) a Constable landscape.
(iv) the overcast sky.

Answer the following questions briefly : 

Question. What made the scene look like a Constable landscape ?

Answer : A few cattle were drinking at a clear stream flowing past moss covered stones made the scene look like a Constable landscape.

Question. What is ironic about the pair of trousers lent by Mr. Cao ?

Answer : Mr. Cao lends the narrator a spare pair of trousers and the irony about it is that those trousers were several sizes big.

Question. What did he regret as the bus climbed higher ?

Answer : The narrator regrets that he didn’t bring anything warm to wear instead of a pair of shorts.

Question. Why did Mr. Cao not like the narrator’s wish to swim in the lake ?

Answer : Mr. Cao did not like the narrator’s wish to swim in the lake because he had seen people drown in the lake.

Question. Which two things, in the bus, made the narrator feel uncomfortable ?

Answer : As the bus climbs, the sky grows overcast and the narrator has not brought anything warm to wear. And a man sitting behind the narrator starts eating overpoweringly smelly goat’s cheese.

Question Why did the narrator like to buy food from outside ?

Answer : The narrator likes to buy food from outside because the vendors sell kebabs and naan until the last buses leave.
The kebabs cooked on skewers over charcool braziers are particularly good, highly spiced and well done.

Question Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following :
(i) sellers (para 4)
(ii) increased (para 7)

Answer : (i) sellers–vendors
(ii) increased–exaggerated

Comprehensions for Class 12 English with Solutions

Read the passage given below :

Keeping cities clean is essential for keeping their residents healthy. Our health depends not just on personal hygiene and nutrition, but critically also on how clean we keep our cities and their surroundings. The spread of dengue and chikungunya are intimately linked to the deteriorating state of public health conditions in our cities.

The good news is that waste management to keep cities clean is now getting attention through the Swachh Bharat Mission. However, much of the attention begins and stops with the brooms and the dustbins, extending at most to the collection and transportation of the mixed waste to some distant or not so distant place, preferably out of sight. The challenge of processing and treating the different streams of solid waste, and safe disposal of the residuals in scientific landfills, has received much less attention in municipal solid waste management than is expected from a health point of view.

One of the problems is that instead of focusing on waste management for health, we have got sidetracked into “waste for energy”. If only we were to begin by not mixing the biodegradable component of solid waste (close to 60 per cent of the total) in our cities with the dry waste, and instead use this stream of waste for composting and producing a gas called methane.

City compost from biodegradable waste provides an alternative to farmyard manure (like cow-dung). It provides an opportunity to simultaneously clean up our cities and help improve agricultural productivity and quality of the soil. Organic manure or compost plays a very important role as supplement to chemical fertilisers in enriching the nutrient-deficient soils. City compost can be the new player in the field.

Benefits of compost on the farm are well-known. The water holding capacity of the soil which uses compost helps with drought-proofing, and the requirement of less water per crop is a welcome feature for a water-stressed future. By making the soil porous, use of compost also makes roots stronger and resistant to pests and decay. Farmers using compost, therefore, need less quantity of pesticides. There is also evidence to suggest that horticulture crops grown with compost have better flavour, size, colour and shelf-life. City compost has the additional advantage of being weedfree unlike farmyard manure which brings with it the seeds of undigested grasses and requires a substantial labour cost for weeding as the crops grow. City compost is also rich in organic carbon, and our soils are short in this. Farmers clearly recognize the value of city compost. If city waste was composted before making it available to the farmers for applying to the soil, cities would be cleaned up and the fields around them would be much more productive.

Quite apart from cleaning up the cities of biodegradable waste, this would be a major and sustainable contribution to improving the health of our soil without further damage by excessive chemical inputs. What a marvellous change from waste to health!

The good news is that some states are regularly laying plastic roads. Plastic roads will not only withstand future monsoon damage but will also solve a city’s problem of disposing of non-recyclable plastic. It is clear that if the mountains of waste from our cities were to recycled into road construction material, it would tackle the problem of managing waste while freeing up scarce land.

(a) On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognisable abbreviations wherever necessary (minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply and appropriate title to it.

(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.
Answer : Title : Keeping cities clean—a challenge/Cleanliness in cities.

Title : Keeping cities clean—a challenge/Cleanliness in cities.
I. Reasons
1.1 Keeps residents healthy
1.2 Prevents spread of (a) dengue (b) chikungunya.
1.3 Promotes overall health.

II. Swachh Bharat Mission–Problems
2.1 Attn. begins and stops with brooms dustbins.
2.2 Processing and treating diff. streams of solid waste.
2.3 Safe disposal of residuals in scientific landfills.
2.4 Sidetracked into “waste for energy”.

III. Advantages—City Compost
3.1 Provides alternative to farmyard manure.
3.2 Opportunity to clean cities.
3.3 Improves agri. productivity.
3.4 Better qlty. of soil.
3.5 Supplements chem. fertilizers.
3.6 Enriches nutrient deficient soils.
3.7 Weed free.
3.8 Rich in organic carbon.

IV. Advantages—Farm Compost
4.1 H2O holding capacity—helps drought proofing.
4.2 Requires less water per crop.
4.3 Makes soil porous—roots stronger.
4.4 Use of less pesticides.
4.5 Horticulture crops—
(i) better flavour
(ii) colour
(iii) shelf-life

V. Advantages—Plastic roads
5.1 Withstands future monsoon damage
5.2 Solves problem—disposing non-recyclable plastic.
5.3 Better waste mgmt.
5.4 Frees up scarce land.

Solved Unseen Passage for Class 12 English

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 

1. Thackeray reached Kittur along with a small British army force and a few of his officers. He thought that the very presence of the British on the outskirts of Kittur would terrorise the rulers and people of Kittur and that they would lay down their arms. He was quite confident that he would be able to crush the revolt in no time. He ordered that tents be erected on the eastern side for the fighting forces, and a little away on the western slopes, tents be put up for the family members of the officers who had accompanied them. During the afternoon and evening of 20th October, the British soldiers were busy making arrangments for these camps.

2. On the 21st morning, Thackeray sent his political assistants to Kittur fort to obtain a written assurance from all the important officers of Kittur rendering them answerable for the security of the treasury of Kittur. They, accordingly, met Sardar Gurusiddappa and other officers of Kittur and asked them to comply with the orders of Thackeray. They did not know that the people were in a defiant mood. The commanders of Kittur dismissed the agent’s orders as no documents could be signed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.

3. Thackeray was enraged and sent for the commander of the Horse Artillery, which was about 100 strong, ordered him to rush his artillery into the fort and capture the commanders of the Desai’s army. When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, Sardar Gurusiddappa, who had kept his men on full alert, promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers.

4. Meanwhile, the Desai’s guards had shut the gates of the fort and the British Horse Artillery men, being completely overrun and routed, had to get out through the escape window. Rani’s soldiers chased them out of the fort, killing a few of them until they retreated to their camps on the outskirts.

5. A few of the British had found refuge in some private residences, while some were hiding in their tents. The Kittur soldiers captured about forty persons and brought them to the palace. These included twelve children and a few women from the British officers’ camp. When they were brought in the presence of the Rani, she ordered the soldiers to be imprisoned. For the women and children she had only gentleness, and admonished her soldiers for taking them into custody. At her orders, these women and children were taken inside the palace and given food and shelter. Rani came down from her throne, patted the children lovingly and told them that no harm would come to them.

6. She, then, sent word through a messenger to Thackeray that the British women and children were safe and could be taken back any time. Seeing this noble gesture of the Rani, he was moved. He wanted to meet this gracious lady and talk to her. He even thought of trying to persuade her to enter into an agreement with the British to stop all hostilities in lieu of an inam (prize) of eleven villages. His offer was dismissed with a gesture of contempt. She had no wish to meet Thackeray. That night she called Sardar Gurusiddappa and other leading Sardars and after discussing all the issues came to the conclusion that there was no point in meeting Thackeray who had come with an army to threaten Kittur into submission to British sovereignty.

On the basis of your understanding of the above passage complete the statements given below with the help of options that follow : 

Question. Thackeray was a/an :
(i) British tourist
(ii) army officer
(iii) adviser to Rani of Kittur
(iv) treasury officer

Question. British women and children came to Kittur to :
(i) visit Kittur
(ii) enjoy life in tents
(iii) stay in the palace
(iv) give company to the army officers

Answer the following questions briefly : 

Question. Why did the Kittur officials refuse to give the desired assurance to Thackeray ?
Answer : The Kittur officials refused to give the desired assurance because they were in a defiant mood. Moreover nodocuments could be singed without sanction from Rani Chennamma.

Question. Why did the Rani refuse to meet Thackeray ?
Answer : Rani refused to meet Thackeray because there wasn’t any point in meeting a person who had come with an army to threaten Kittur and its people into submission to the British sovereignty.

Question. What happened to the Horse Artillery ?
Answer : When the Horse Artillery stormed into the fort, Sardar Gurusidappa, who kept his men on full alert, promptly commanded his men to repel and chase them away. The Kittur forces made a bold front and overpowered the British soldiers.

Question. How, do we know that the Rani was a noble queen ?
Answer : The kittur soldiers captured about forty people and brought them to the palace. These included twelve children and a few women from the British officers’ camp.
The Rani ordered the soldiers to be imprisoned, whereas for the women and children, she had only gentleness and admonished her soldiers for taking them into custody. At her order, the women and children were taken inside the palace and given food and shelter. The Rani came down from her throne, patted the children lovingly and told them that no harm would come to them.
So this is how we come to know that the Rani was a noble queen.

Question. Why did Thackeray come to Kittur ?
Answer : Thackeray came to Kittur as he believed that the presence of the British on the outskirts of Kittur would terrorise the rulers and people of Kittur and that they would lay down their arms. He was quite confident that he would be able to crush the revolt in no time.

Question. How in your opinion, would the British women have felt after meeting the Rani ?
Answer : The British women must have felt guilty as their husbands attacked the queen who was so humble and generous to them.

Question. Find words from the passage which mean the same as the following : 
(i) entered forcibly (para 3)
(ii) aggressive/refusing to obey (para 2)
Answer : (i) entered forcibly–stormed
(ii) aggressive/refusing to obey–defiant.

Unseen Passages for Class 12 English

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : 

The most alarming of man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrevocable; the chain of evil it initiates is for the most part irreversible. In this contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world; radiation released through nuclear explosions into the air, comes to the earth in rain, lodges into the soil, enters the grass or corn, or wheat grown there and reaches the bones of a human being, there to remain until his death. Similarly, chemicals sprayed on crops lie long in soil, entering living organisms, passing from one to another in a chain of posioning and death. Or they pass by underground streams until they emerge and combine into new forms that kill vegetation, sicken cattle and harm those who drink from once pure wells.

It took hundreds of millions of years to produce the life that now inhabits the earth and reached a stage of adjustment and balance with its surroundings. The environment contained elements that were hostile as well as supporting. Even within the light of the sun, there are short wave radiations with power to injure. Given time, life has adjusted and a balance reached. For time is the essential ingredient, but in the modern world there is no time.

The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature. Radiation is no longer the bombardment of cosmic rays; it is now the unnatural creation of man’s tampering with the atom. The chemicals to which life is asked to make adjustments are no longer merely calcium and silica and copper and all the rest of the minerals washed out of the rocks and carried in the rivers to the sea; they are the synthetic creations of man’s inventive mind, brewed in his laboratories, and having no counterparts in nature.

(a) One the basis of your understanding of the above passage make notes on it using headings and subheadings.
Use recognizable abbreviations (wherever necessary-minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply a title to it. 

(b) Write a summary of the passage in about 80 words.
Answer : The Degradation of Environment

(a) I : Contamination of the environment.

I. 1. Pollution is for most part irrevocable
I. 1. i. Initiates an irreversible chain of evil.
I. 2. Chemicals are the sinister partners of radiation
I. 2. i. Radiations released through nuclear exp.
I. 2. ii. Comes to Earth in F. O. rain.
I. 2. iii. Enters the body of humans and remain till death.
I. 3. Chemical lying in soil
I. 3. i. Passes from one to another in F. C.
I. 3. ii. kills veg. sickens cattle etc.

II. Establishment of life on earth.
II. 1. Took hundreds of millions of yrs.
II. 2. The env. contained elements hostile and supporting.
III. 3. Life has adj. balance reached
III. 3. i. Time is essential
III. 3. ii. Modern world has no time

III. The heedless pace of man
III. 1. Radiation no longer the bombardment of cosmic rays.
III. 2. The chemicals are no longer natural
III. 3. They have truned out to be synthetic

Key :
(i) exp.     – explosions.
(ii) F. O.    – form of
(iii) F. C.   – food chain
(iv) veg.   – vegetation
(v) yrs.    – years
(vi) env.  – environment
(vii) adj.  – adjusted
(viii) &    – and

(b) The Degradation of Environment
The above passage tells us about the degradation of environment since the human life has evolved on this planet.
The chain of evil initiated by pollution is for the most part irreversible and irrevocable. The various chemicals that come to Earth in form of rain and are sprayed in the soil get transferred through the food chain and remain there till the death of the host organisms. The modern world does not have much time to spare as it is well adjusted and balance reached. But the rapidity in change follows the heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature.
The radiations and chemicals are no longer natural, rather synthetic or man-made.

Solved Unseen Passages for English Class 12

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: 

(1) Too many parents these days can’t say no. As a result, they find themselves raising children who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn’t satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators and parents think it’s time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what’s really important: values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher – and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were overindulged as children, paints a discouraging picture of their future : when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life’s disappointments. They also have a distorted sense of entitlement that gets in the way of success in the workplace and in relationships.

(2) Psychologists say that parents who overindulge their kids set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today’s parents themselves raised on values of thrift and self-sacrifice, grew up in a culture where ‘no’ was a household word. Today’s kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this Generation Excess were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assault on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat-screen TVs as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.

(3) Today’s parents aren’t equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and ‘70s, swore they’d act differently from their parents and have closer relationships with their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it’s tempting to buy peace with a ‘yes’ and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about the future is another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won’t spoil a child. Too few limits will.

(4) What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure. Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially their parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges, is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one’s own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.

(a) Answer the following:

Question. What values do parents and teachers want children to learn ?
Answer : Teachers and parents want children to learn values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion.

Question. What are the results of giving the children too much too soon ?
Answer : Giving children too much too soon brings its own illeffects;they grow up to be adults and experience difficulty coping with life’s disappointments, as they are likely to develop a distorted sense of entitlement that hinders their success at work place and in relationships.

Question Why do today’s children want more ?
Answer : Children of present time want more because of increasing desire. Their priorities lie in attaining luxury which they try to acquire through unmitigated strategy.

Question. What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world ?
Answer : In today’s world, there is an exigent need for parents to strike a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals.

Question. What is the necessity to set limits for children ?
Answer : There is a necessity t o set limits for children because they feel better and more assured when they live within a secured structure and aura.

(b) Pick out words from the passage that mean the same as the following : 

(i) A feeling of satisfaction (para 1)
(ii) Valuable (para 3)
(iii) Important (para 4)
Answer: (i) Contentment
(ii) Precious
(iii) Essential.

Unseen Passage Class 12 English Pdf

Read the passage carefully.

(1) I remember my childhood as being generally happy and can recall experiencing some of the most carefree times of my life. But I can also remember, even more vividly, moments of being deeply frightened. As a child, I was truly terrified of the dark and getting lost. These fears were very real and caused me some extremely uncomfortable moments.

(2) May be it was the strange way in which things looked and sounded familiar in my room at night that scared me so much. There was never total darkness, but a street light or passing car lights made clothes hung over a chair take on the shape of an unknown beast. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw curtains move when there was no breeze. A tiny creak in the floor would sound a hundred times louder than in the daylight and my imagination would take over, creating burglars and monsters. Darkness always made me feel helpless. My heart would pound and I would lie very still so that ‘the enemy’ wouldn’t discover me.

(3) Another childhood fear of mine was that I would get lost, especially on the way home from school. Every morning, I got on the school bus right near my home – that was no problem. After school, though, when all the buses were lined up along the curve, I was terrified that I would get on the wrong one and be taken to some unfamiliar neighbourhood. I would scan the bus for the faces of my friends, make sure that the bus driver was the same one that had been there in the morning, and even then ask the others over and over again to be sure I was in the right bus. On school or family trips to an amusement park or a museum, I wouldn’t let the leaders out of my sight. And of course, I was never very adventurous when it came to taking walks or hikes because I would go only where I was sure I would never get lost.

(4) Perhaps, one of the worst fears I had as a child was that of not being liked or accepted by others. First of all, I was quite shy. Secondly, I worried constantly about my looks, thinking people wouldn’t like me because I was too fat or wore braces. I tried to wear ‘the right clothes’ and had intense arguments with my mother over the importance of wearing flats instead of saddled shoes to school. Being popular was very important to me then, and the fear of not being liked was a powerful one.

(5) One of the processes of evolving from a child to an adult is being able to recognise and overcome our fears. I have learnt that darkness does not have to take on a life of its own, that others can help me when I am lost and that friendliness and sincerity will encourage people to like me. Understanding the things that scared us, as children helps to cope with our lives as adults.

(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes using headings and sub-headings. Use recognisable abbreviations wherever necessary. 
(b) Make a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title. 

Answer: (a)

1. Recollection of childhood memories
1.1. Happy and carefree
1.2. Terrified of darkness and getting lost

2. Childhood fears or hallucinating vibes
2.1. Feeling helpless in the dark
2.2. Strange shadows-an unknown beast
2.3. Moving curtains
2.4. Creaking sounds
2.5. Imagining burglars and monsters
2.6. Lying still, with pounding heart
2.7. Fear of getting lost (on the way back home)
2.8. Scanning school bus searching familiar faces, same driver

2.9. Re-confirming the bus
2.10. Not letting leaders out of sight
2.11. Avoiding adventurous act
2.12. Going only when sure of not being lost
2.13. Fear of not being liked
2.14. Quite shy
2.15. Worried about looks-fat, wore braces, clothes
2.16. Wearing the right clothes
2.17. Flats vs. saddled shoes for school
2.18. Imp. of popularity

3. Coping with childhood fears as an adult
3.1. Undg. evolution process from a child to an adult
3.2. Recog. and overcoming fears
3.3. Accepting help from others
3.4. Role of friendliness and sincerity
3.5. Undg. things that scared

List of abbreviations used
1. &-and                          2. Act.-activities
3. Vs.-versus                    4. Imp.-importance
5. Undg. – understanding  6. Recog.-recognizing

(b) Childhood Nostalgia
The Narrator had happy and carefree moments in his childhood. However, darkness scared him with its shadows, unexpected movement of curtains and blatant creaking sounds, made him to imagine about monsters and burglars.
He felt helpless and was scared of getting lost. Before boarding his school bus, he looked in for familiar faces. He was shy and afraid of not being liked by others which had been his biggest phobia. As he evolved from a child to an adult, he realised that understanding things that scare us as a child helps in coping with the challenges of life.

Unseen Passage for Class 12

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :

(1) Air pollution is an issue which concerns us all alike. One can willingly choose or reject a food, a drink or a life comfort, but unfortunately there is little choice for the air we breathe. All, is there in the air is inhaled by one and all living in those surroundings.

(2) Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations. It could either be gaseous or a particulate matter. The important and harmful polluting gases are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The common particulate pollutants are the dusts of various inorganic or organic origins. Although we often talk of the outdoor air pollution caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.

(3) Recognition of air pollution is relatively recent. It is not uncommon to experience a feeling of ‘suffocation’ in a closed environment. It is often ascribed to the lack of oxygen. Fortunately, however, the composition of air is remarkably constant all over the world. There is about 79 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen in the air – the other gases forming a very small fraction. It is true that carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs may accumulate in a closed and over-crowded place. But such an increase is usually small and temporary unless the room is really air-tight. Exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide may occur in a closed room, heated by burning coal inside. This may also prove to be fatal.

(4) What is more common in a poorly ventilated home is a vague constellation of symptoms described as the sick-building syndrome. It is characterised by a general feeling of malaise, head-ache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes. It may also be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression. Sick building syndrome is getting commoner in big cities with the small houses, which are generally overfurnished. Some of the important pollutants whose indoor concentrations exceed to those of the outdoors include gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and organic substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and allergens. The sources are attributed to a variety of construction materials, insulations, furnishings, adhesives, cosmetics, house dusts, fungi and other indoor products.

(5) By-products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the burning of dried dung and fuelwood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.

(6) Smoking of tobacco in a closed environment is an important source of indoor pollution. It may not be high quantitatively, but significantly hazardous for health. It is because of the fact that there are over 3000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which have been identified. These are harmful for human health.

(7) Micro-organisms and allergens are of special significance in the causation and spread of diseases. Most of the infective illnesses may involve more persons of a family living in common indoor environment. These include viral and bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.

(8) Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonias are common, but more persistent and serious. These are attributed to exposures to allergens from various fungi, molds, hay and other organic materials. Indoor air ventilation systems, coolers, airconditioners, dampness, decay, pet animals, production or handling of the causative items are responsible for these hypersensitivity – diseases.

(9) Obviously, the spectrum of pollution is very wide and our options are limited. Indoor pollution may be handled relatively easily by an individual. Moreover, the good work must start from one’s own house.

(a)
Question. What is an air pollutant ? 
Answer : Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present in the air while normally, it is not present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations.

Question In what forms are the air pollutants present ? 
Answer : Air pollutants are present in gaseous form such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The pollutants are also in the form of dust of various inorganic or organic origins.

Question Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment ?
Answer : We feel suffocated in a closed environment due to lack of oxygen. Accumulation of carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs and exposure to carbon monoxide are also the reasons of suffocation.

Question What is sick building syndrome ? How is it increasing ?
Answer : Sick building syndrome is characterised by a general feeling of malaise, headache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membrane. It may be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression.
It is increasing due to poorly ventilated and over furnished houses in big cities in which there is high concentration of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen and other harmful substances.

Question How is indoor smoking hazardous ? 
Answer : Indoor smoking is hazardous in the way that there are 3,000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke which are harmful for human health.

Question How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution?
Answer : The houses should be properly ventilated with more and more greenery around them. Smoking of tobacco and burning of coal inside the houses should also be avoided to overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution.

(b) Find the words from the above passage which mean the same as the following : 
(i) Giddiness (para 4)
Answer : Dizziness

(ii) Constant (para 8)
Answer : Persistent

(iii) Humidity (para 8)
Answer : Dampness.

Class 12 English Unseen Passage

Air pollution is an issue which concerns us all alike. One can willingly choose or reject a food, a drink or a life comfort, but unfortunately there is little choice for the air we breathe. All, what is there in the air is inhaled by one and all living in those surroundings.
Air pollutant is defined as a substance which is present while normally it is not there or present in an amount exceeding the normal concentrations. It could either be gaseous or a particulate matter. The important and harmful polluting gases are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen. The common particulate pollutants are the dusts of various inorganic or organic origins. Although we often talk of the outdoor air pollution caused by industrial and vehicular exhausts, the indoor pollution may prove to be as or a more important cause of health problems.
Recognition of air pollution is relatively recent. It is not uncommon to experience a feeling of ‘suffocation’ in a closed environment. It is often ascribed to the lack of oxygen. Fortunately, however, the composition of air is remarkably constant all over the world. There is about 79 per cent nitrogen and 21 per cent oxygen in the air the other gases forming a very small fraction. It is true that carbon dioxide exhaled out of lungs may accumulate in a closed and overcrowded place. But such an increase is usually small and temporary unless the room is really airtight. Exposure to poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide may occur in a closed room, heated by burning coal inside. This may also prove to be fatal.
What is more common in a poorly ventilated home is a vague constellation of symptoms described as the sick building syndrome. It is characterized by a general feeling of malaise, headache, dizziness and irritation of mucous membranes. It may also be accompanied by nausea, itching, aches, pains and depression. Sick building syndrome is getting commoner in big cities with the small houses, which are generally over furnished. Some of the important pollutants whose indoor concentrations exceed those of the outdoors include gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and organic substances like spores, formaldehydes, hydrocarbon aerosols and allergens. The sources are attributed to a variety of construction materials, insulations, furnishings, adhesives, cosmetics, house dusts, fungi and other indoor products.
By products of fuel combustion are important in houses with indoor kitchens. It is not only the burning of dried dung and fuel wood which is responsible, but also kerosene and liquid petroleum gas. Oxides of both nitrogen and sulphur are released from their combustion.
Smoking of tobacco in the closed environment is an important source of indoor pollution. It may not be high qualitatively but significantly hazardous for health. It is because of the fact that there are over 3,000 chemical constituents in tobacco smoke, which have been identified. These are harmful for human health.
Microorganisms and allergens are of special significance in the causation and spread of diseases. Most of the infective illnesses may involve more persons of a family living in common indoor environment. These include viral and bacterial diseases like tuberculosis.
Besides infections, allergic and hypersensitivity disorders are spreading fast. Although asthma is the most common form of respiratory allergic disorders, pneumonias are not uncommon, but more persistent and serious. These are attributed to exposures to allergens from various fungi, moulds, hay and other organic materials. Indoor air ventilation systems, coolers, air-conditioners, dampness, decay, pet animals, production or handling of the causative items are responsible for these hyper-sensitivity diseases.
Obviously, the spectrum of pollution is very wide and our options are limited. Indoor pollution may be handled relatively easily by an individual. Moreover, the good work must start from one’s own house.

Answer the following questions:
Question.What is an air pollutant?
a) a substance present with an amount exceeding the normal concentrations.
b) Material added to environment intentionally
c) A substance that is not present in the atmosphere.
d) None of the above

Answer : A

Question.In what forms are the air pollutants present?
a) Gaseous form
b) Particulate matter
c) Both a & b
d) None of the above

Answer : C

Question.Why do we feel suffocated in a closed environment?
a) Due to lack of space
b) Due to lack of Nitrogen
c) Due to lack of Oxygen
d) Due to Mental disorder.

Answer : C

Question.What is sick building syndrome?
a) A feeling of sick when entering the building
b) A building where the sick person live
c) A building where the sick person are getting treatment
d) A vague constellation of symptoms in a poorly ventilated room.

Answer : D

Question. Name the Symptoms that generally can be felt in a sick building syndrome.
a) A general feeling of malaise
b) Headache and dizziness
c) irritation of mucous membranes
d) All of the above.

Answer : D

Question.How is indoor smoking very hazardous?
a) As over 3,000 chemical constituents are present in tobacco smoke.
b) As it directly leads to cancer
c) As it directly affects our environment
d) None of the above

Answer : A

Question.How can one overcome the dangers of indoor air pollution?
a) Can be avoided through well ventilated houses and improving greenery around houses.
b) can be avoided by not smoking tobacco inside houses
c) by not burning coal inside closed rooms.
d) All of the above.

Answer : D

Question.Give the meaning of the following words:

A) Dizziness
a) Feeling easy
b) Feeling hurt
c) Giddiness
d) None of the above

Answer : C

B) Persistent
a) Constantly
b) Paused
c) Intermittent
d) None of the above

Answer : A

C) Dampness
a) Dry
b) Humid
c) Suffocating
d) None of the above

Answer : B

Solved Unseen Passage for Class 12 English

Too many parents these days can’t say no. As a result, they find themselves raising ‘children’ who respond greedily to the advertisements aimed right at them. Even getting what they want doesn’t satisfy some kids; they only want more. Now, a growing number of psychologists, educators and parents think it’s time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what’s really important: values like hard work, contentment, honesty and compassion. The struggle to set limits has never been tougher and the stakes have never been higher. One recent study of adults who were over indulged as children, paints a discouraging picture of their future: when given too much too soon, they grow up to be adults who have difficulty coping with life’s disappointments. They also have distorted sense of enlightenment that gets in the way of success in the work place and in relationships.
Psychologists say that parents, who overindulge their kids, set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression. Today’s parents themselves raised, on values of thrift and self sacrifice, grew up in a culture where no was a household word. Today’s kids want much more, partly because there is so much more to want. The oldest members of this generation were born in the late 1980s, just as PCs and video games were making their assault on the family room. They think of MP3 players and flat screen TV as essential utilities, and they have developed strategies to get them. One survey of teenagers found that when they crave for something new, most expect to ask nine times before their parents give in. By every measure, parents are shelling out record amounts. In the heat of this buying blitz, even parents who desperately need to say no find themselves reaching for their credit cards.
Today’s parents aren’t equipped to deal with the problem. Many of them, raised in the 1960s and ’70s, swore they’d act differently from their parents and have closer relationships w ith their own children. Many even wear the same designer clothes as their kids and listen to the same music. And they work more hours; at the end of a long week, it’s tempting to buy peace with ‘yes’ and not mar precious family time with conflict. Anxiety about future is another factor. How do well intentioned parents say no to all the sports gear and arts and language lessons they believe will help their kids thrive in an increasingly competitive world? Experts agree: too much love won’t spoil a child. Too few limits will.
What parents need to find, is a balance between the advantages of an affluent society and the critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals. That search for balance has to start early. Children need limits on their behaviour because they feel better and more secure when they live within a secured structure. Older children learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents act. Learning how to overcome challenges is essential to becoming a successful adult. Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overburdened by social and academic pressures. Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning, beyond one’s own immediate happiness. That means parents eager to teach values have to take a long, hard look at their own.

Answer the following questions:

Question.What values do parents and teachers want children to learn?
a) Hard work
b) Contentment
c) Honesty and compassion
d) All of the above

Answer : D

Question.What are the results of giving the children too much too soon?
a) Grow up with life’s disappointments.
b) Have a distorted sense of enlightenment
c) Both a & b
d) None of the above.

Answer : C

Question.What is the balance which the parents need to have in today’s world?
a) The advantages of an affluent society
b) The critical life lessons that come from waiting, saving and working hard to achieve goals.
c) Both a & b
d) None of the above.

Answer : C

Question.How do older children learn self-control?
a) By watching how others, especially parents act.
b) By demanding more and more
c) By making pressure on parents
d) By reviewing what the others have

Answer : A

Question.What is essential for becoming a successful adult?
a) Learning how to use the items
b) Learning how to overcome challenges
c) Learning how to get new things
d) All of the above

Answer : B

Give the meaning of the following words:
A) Contentment
a) A feeling of satisfaction.
b) A feeling of greed
c) A feeling of hatred
d) A feeling of suffocation

Answer : A

B) Valuable
a) Cheap
b) Costly
c) Precious
d) Both b & c

Answer : D

C) Essential
a) Important
b) unimportant
c) Desirable
d) Unwanted

Answer : A

Unseen Passage for Class 12

For four days, I walked through the narrow lanes of the old city, enjoying the romance of being in a city, where history still lives in its cobble stone streets and in its people riding asses, carrying vine leaves and palm as they once did during the time of Christ.
This is Jerusalem, home to the sacred sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. This is the place that houses the church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was finally laid to rest. This is also the site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Built by the Roman Emperor Constantine at the site of an earlier temple to Aphrodite, it is the most venerated Christian shrine in the world. And justifiably so. Here, within the church, are the last five stations of the Cross, the 10th station where Jesus was stripped of his clothes, the 11th where he was nailed to the Cross, the 12th where he died on the cross, the 13th where the body was removed from the Cross, and the 14th, his tomb.
For all this weighty tradition, the approach and entrance to the church is nondescript. You have to ask for directions. Even to the devout Christian pilgrims walking along the Via Dolorosa the Way of Sorrows first nine stations look clueless. Then a courtyard appears, hemmed in by other buildings and a doorway to one side. This leads to a vast area of huge stone architecture.
Immediately inside the entrance is your first stop. It’s the stone of anointing: this is the pla ce, according to Greek tradition, where Christ was removed from the cross. The Roman Catholics, however, believe it to be the spot where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial by Joseph.
What happened next? Jesus was buried. He was taken to a place outside the city of Jerusalem where other graves existed and there, he was buried in a cave. However, all that is long gone, destroyed by continued attacks and rebuilding; what remains is the massive and impressive Rotunda (a round building with a dome) that Emperor Constantine built. Under this, and right in the centre of the Rotunda, is the structure that contains the Holy Sepulchre.
“How do you know that this is Jesus’ tomb?” I asked one of the pilgrims standing next to me. He was clueless, more interested, like the rest of them, in the novelty of it all and in photographing it, than in its history or tradition.
At the start of the first century, the place was a disused quarry outside the city walls. According to the gospels, Jesus’ crucifixion occurred ‘at a place outside the city walls with graves nearby. Archaeologists have discovered tombs from that era, so the site is compatible with the biblical period.
The structure at the site is a marble tomb built over the original burial chamber. It has two rooms, and you enter four at a time into the first of these, the Chapel of the Angel. Here the angel is supposed to have sat on a stone to recount Christ’s resurrection. A low door made of white marble, partly worn away by pilgrims’ hands, leads to a smaller chamber inside. This is the ‘room of the tomb’, the place where Jesus was buried.
We entered in a single file. On my right was a large marble slab that covered the original rock bench on which the body of Jesus was laid. A woman knelt and prayed. Her eyes were wet with tears. She pressed her face against the slab to hide them, but it only made it worse.

Answer the following questions:

Question. How does Jerusalem still retain the charm of the ancient era?
a) There are narrow lanes.
b) Roads are paved with cobblestones,
c) People can be seen riding asses.
d) All of the above.

Answer : D

Question. Holy Sepulchre is sacred to
a) Christianity
b) Islam
c) Judaism
d) Both a and c

Answer : A

Question. Why does one have to constantly ask for directions to the church?
a) Its lanes are narrow.
b) Entrance to the church is nondescript.
c) People are not tourist-friendly.
d) Everyone is lost in enjoying the romance of the place.

Answer : B

Question. Where was Jesus buried?
a) In a cave
b) At a place outside the city
c) In the Holy Sepulchre
d) Both a & b

Answer : D

Question. What is the Greek belief about the ‘stone of anointing’?
a) A place where Christ was buried
b) A place where Christ was prepared for to be buried.
c) the place where Christ was removed from the cross
d) the place where Christ was crucified

Answer : C

Question. hy did Emperor Constantine build the Rotunda?
a) to venerate the place of burial of Jesus
b) to protect the Holy Sepulchre
c) both a & b
d) none of the above

Answer : C

Question. What is the general attitude of the pilgrims?
a) They are more interested in the novelty of it all
b) they are not interested in the history or tradition of the place and the tomb
c) They are interested in photographing it.
d) All of the above

Answer : D

Question. Why did the pilgrims enter the ‘room of the tomb’ in a single file?
a) it has a narrow passage
b) it has a low door which leads to a smaller chamber.
c) Both a & b
d) none of the above

Answer : C

Question. Why did ‘a woman’ try to hide her tears?
a) She was pretending to shed tears
b) she did not want anyone to see her crying.
c) It was an offence
d) It was not possible to cry for her

Answer : B