Reading Worksheet II : CBQs | Class 12| English| Board Exam 2024-25
Updated: May 17
Solve Previous Years Questions ( PYQs) from CBSE Board and excel in Reading Skill.
1 Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them a disgrace and a dishonour. But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve slowing, slowing, and stalling once more was no ordinary bird. Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight-how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.
2 This kind of thinking, he found, is not the way to make oneself popular with other birds. Even his parents were dismayed as Jonathan spent the whole day alone, making hundreds of low-level gliders, experimenting. "Why, Jon, why?" his mother asked. "Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can't you leave low flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don't you eat? Son, you're bone and feathers!" "I don't mind being bone and feathers, mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can't, that's all. I just want to know." "See here, Jonathan," said his father, not unkindly. "Winter isn't far away. Boats will be few, and the surface fish will be swimming deep. If you must study, then study food, and how to get it. This flying business is all very well, but you can't eat a glide, you know. Don't you forget that the reason you fly is to eat."
3 Jonathan nodded obediently. For the next few days he tried to behave like the other gulls; he really tried, screeching and fighting with the flock around the piers and fishing boats, diving on scraps of fish and bread. But he couldn't make it work. It wan't long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sen, hungry, happy, learning. The subject was speed, and in a week's practice he learned more about speed than the fastest gull alive. Time after time it happened. Careful as he was, working at the very peak of his ability, he lost control at a high speed. The key, he thought at last, dripping wet, must be to hold the wings still at high speeds to flap up to fifty and then hold the wings still.
4 From two thousand feet he tried again, rolling into his dive, beak straight down, wings full out and stable from the moment he passed fifty miles per hour. It took tremendous strength, but it worked. In ten seconds he had blurred ninety miles per hour. Jonathan had set a world speed record for seagulls! But victory was short-lived. The instant he began his pullout, the instant he changed the angle of his wings, he snapped into the same uncontrollable disaster, and at ninety miles per hour it hit him like dynamite. Jonathan Seagull exploded in midair and smashed down into a brick-hard sea. As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There's no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I'd have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I'd have a falcon's short wings. Short wings. A falcon's short wings! That's the answer! What a fool I've been! All I need is a tiny little wing, all I need is to fold most of my wings and just fly on the tips along. Short wings!
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below: 10×1=10
(1) Complete the sentence by choosing an appropriate option:
Majority of seagulls fly only short distances as
(a) they are more interested in food than flight.
(b) they don't have energy.
(c) they are not meant to fly low.
(d) food is not available at high speed.
(ii) Why were Jonathan Livingston's parents' dismayed?
(iii) Give two reasons for Jonathan's unconventional behaviour.
(Clue: think about Jonathan's point of view.)
(iv) Select the option that conveys the opposite of 'glory' from words used in paragraph 1.
(n) disgrace
(b) dishonour
(c) learning
(v) The writer would not agree with the given statements based on paragraph 2, EXCEPT
(a) Jonathan could not fly but only glide.
(b) Jonathan wanted to be popular with other birds.
(c) Jonathan realised that even the albatross flew at high altitudes.
(d) The reason seagulls flew was to find food.
(vi) Jonathan was different from other seagulls. Based on your understanding of paragraph 2, list what Jonathan wanted to know.
(vii) What was the mother's concern about Jonathan?
(viii) Complete the given sentence with an appropriate inference with respect to the following:
Father reminds Jonathan that he 'can't eat a glide' in order to _____
(ix) It wasn't long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sea. Which trait of Jonathan does this statement reveal?
(a) practical bird
(b) persistent learner
(c) lonely and sad
(d) carefree and irresponsible
(x) Was it fair to fly like a falcon when he was just a seagull? Why does he say so?
1 Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are products that sell quickly at relatively low cost. FMCG is the fourth-largest sector in the Indian economy. There are three main segments in the sector - food and beverages, which accounts for 19% of the sector; healthcare, which accounts for 31% of the share, and household and personal care, which accounts for the remaining 50% share. The urban segment contributes to about 55% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 45%. Rise in rural consumption will drive the FMCG market. The Indian processed food market is projected to expand to US$ 470 billion by 2025, up from US$ 263 billion in 2019-20.
2 The Indian FMCG industry grew by 16% in 2021, a 9-year high, despite nationwide lockdowns, supported by consumption-led growth and value expansion from higher product prices, particularly for staples. Real household spending is projected to increase 9.1% after 2021, after a decrease of 9-3% in 2020 due to the economic impact of the pandemic. Price increase across product categories will offset the impact of rising raw material prices, along with volume growth and resurgence of demand for discretionary items.
3 The FMCG sector has received good investments and support from the Government in the recent past. The sector witnessed healthy FDI inflows from April 2000 March 2022. Furthermore, as per the Union Budget 2022-23, a substantial amount has been allocated to the Department of Consumer Affairs, an increased amount has been allocated to the Department of Food and Public Distribution. In 2021-22, the Government approved Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) with an outlay of a larger amount to help Indian brands of food products in the international markets.
4 The Government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme gives companies a major opportunity to boost exports. The future outlook of the FMCG rural sector looks on track now. Rural consumption has increased, led by a combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels. There is an increased demand for branded products in rural India. The growth of organised sector in FMCG is expected to rise with an increased level of brand consciousness, augmented by the growth in modern retail.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below:
(i) Does the following statement agree with the information given in para 1?
Food and beverages segment dominates the Global FMCG market and is expected to retain its dominance.
Select from the following:
I. True If the statement agrees with the information
II. False If the statement contradicts the information
III. Not Given - If there is no information on this -
(ii) What do you think gives opportunities to boost exports?
(iii) Select the option that displays the most likely reason for FMCG rural sector being on track.
(a) FMCG sector has been unable to get investments from the Government.
(b) PLI schemes don't reach the rural sector.
(c) Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of the online grocery segment in India is expected to double in the next five years.
(d) There is a desire to buy branded products in the villages too.
(iv) Complete the sentence based on the following statement:
The Indian FMCG industry grew by 16% in 2021, a 9-year high, despite nationwide lockdowns because ________
(v) From the given pie chart, which segment of FMCG accounts for the maximum percentage of the sector?
(vi) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate
option:
The combination of increasing income and higher aspiration levels in the rural areas has led to
(a) the Government taking a direct interest
(b) the demand for branded products
(c) price increases across product categories
(d) the fall of supply in urban areas
(vii) How is the Government trying to help Indian brands of food products in the international markets ?
(viii) Complete the given sentence by selecting the most appropriate
option:
The concluding paragraph of the passage makes a clear case
(a) that the rural people also want branded products
(b) that the FMCG industry will not focus on brand consciousness
(c) for the role of data analytics in the FMCG industry
(d) for the Government's role by providing incentives
(ix) What will be the impact of increased level of brand consciousness?
(x) Based on the reading of the passage, correct the following statement:
The urban segment contributes to about 45% of the revenue share, while the rural segment accounts for 55%.
Answer Key
(i) (a) they are more interested in food than flight.
(ii) Suggested value points:
- spend whole day alone, making hundreds of low level gliders, experimenting
- not bothered about food
- unconventional behaviour
(iii) Suggested value points:
- flight mattered more than eating
- loved to fly - did not mind being bone and feathers
- testing his own strength / ability / what he can do in the air and what he can’t
(iv) (a) disgrace / (b) dishonour
(v) (d) The reason seagulls flew was to find food.
(vi) what he could do in the air and what he could not
(vii) Suggested value points: ( Any One)
- why couldn’t he conform
- he was not like other birds
- was bone and feathers
- not looking for food
(viii) Suggested value points: ( Any One)
- survive / live
- survive in winter
- get his priorities right
(ix) (b) persistent learner
(x) Suggested value points:
- realized his limit of flying due to size of wings
- to fly like falcon needed to have short wings
- realized he could fold wings to fly high
(i). II. False - If the statement contradicts the information
(ii). PLI scheme
(iii) (d) There is a desire to buy branded products in the villages too.
(iv) it was supported by consumption led growth and value expansion from higher product prices
(v) household and personal care
(vi) (b) the demand for branded products
(vii) by giving PLI scheme
(viii) (a) that the rural people also want branded products (ix) the growth of organized sector in FMCG
(x) urban segment 55% , rural segment 45%.
Buy HERE Printable PDF copies of this worksheet and all our Worksheets from Reading, Grammar & Literature.
.png)