Q. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: [8]
(1) Keep your watch accurate. For some people, moving up the time on their watch will help them get up earlier. For others, they will remember that the time on the watch is wrong and will disregard it altogether. It may be helpful to set your watch just two minutes ahead instead of five or ten.
(2) Keep a clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time in each room of your house. One of the easiest ways to run late is simply by not realising that the time is passing as quickly as it is.
(3) Set all your clocks and watches to the same time. Don’t be an optimist. Things usually take longer than what you’d expect, even without major delays. If you have a dinner appointment at 7:30 P.M., don’t think you can work till 7 P.M., then take a bath, dress and reach on time. Realistically, calculate the time you will take at each step and then add 10 minutes more to allow for unexpected delays, or you cannot get to your job in time.
(4) Wake up when you are supposed to wake up. Don’t hit the snooze button, keep on lying in bed, and watch TV at the very start of your day. Maybe try even setting your clock 10 minutes earlier than you need. If you have difficulty with this, move your alarm clock to somewhere away from your bed; that way, you have to get up to turn it off. Commit yourself to being 15 minutes early for everything. If you have to reach your place of work at 8:00, don’t even tell yourself this. Just tell yourself (and everyone else who listens– but don’t annoy them or make them think that they are late or early!) “I have to be at work at 7.45”. If you do this, you will be on time even with little unforeseen delays. You will be on time even with a traffic jam.
Complete the following statements using words/phrases from the passage. Attempt any eight. [1 × 8 = 8]
(a) Some people believe that if…….it will help them be earlier.
(b) Many others know……….they disregard it altogether.
(c) Keep……..in each room.
(d) One of the things that can be done is…….of five or ten minutes.
(e) Many a time we do not realise that……….
(f) Instead of pressing the snooze button……..
(g) If you have difficulty in getting up………
(h) It is a good habit to.……… somewhere away from your bed.
(i) It is good to commit yourself………for everything.
Answers:
(a) they move up the time on their watch,
(b) that the time on the watch is wrong so
(c) a clock, phone, computer or anything that displays time
(d) to set watch just two minutes ahead instead
(e) the time is passing as quickly as it is
(f) wake up when you are supposed to wake up
(g) early then try to set your clock ten minutes earlier.
(h) move your alarm clock to
(i) to being 15 minutes earlier
Q. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow : [12]
(1) Music is perhaps the most popular and widely practised form of Fine Arts, transcending all kinds of cultural and linguistic barriers. Any form of fine art is difficult to master and almost impossible to perfect and music is no exception.
(2) Nature, it is learnt, has blessed almost two-thirds of the human race with musical ability of some sort. Music has the power to bring out the deepest emotions. It can make one cry or bring a smile on one’s face. In fact it is a magic medicine and many seek refuge in it when they are depressed or stressed. It is this intimacy that makes us listen to music or even hum or sing sometimes. This singing, or realistically speaking, expressing one’s emotion musically sometimes takes a serious turn. This desire to show musical expression in public then becomes a serious business profession. And from here the musical journey begins.
(3) This desire to sing before an audience is innocent and beautiful and indeed it is perfectly alright to have such a genuine desire. But it is also important to understand that, singing is an intricate art — a highly refined one at that, which requires systematic, prolonged and strict training, to be acceptable. This is an aspect we forget in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform. It is almost like preparing a formal meal for some specially invited guests, without even having learnt and trained in the basics of cooking. This is why we have more noise and less music nowadays.
(4) These days almost everyone sings and it does not stop here. Most of us want to become professional singers, Result : a complete disregard for and ignorance of the training part, as the need is never felt to go through one and the urge to get to the stage and perform overcomes even a little desire to learn, if any. If at all, somewhere along the way one feels the need to gain some knowledge and training, it leads to hurried shortcuts and half-hearted attempts, best described as ‘Crash Courses’.
(5) It is observed that those who have attained the so called partial success, suddenly feel that they lack the required knowledge and are not learned enough. But it is too late by then. It should be understood here that the stage or a performance brings in a different mindset within the artist. It is always recommended and rightly said, that while on stage, cover the mistakes and weaknesses if any, and get along. But the contrary is true when it comes to acquiring knowledge and during the learning process. While under training, the student is expected to make mistakes but then rectify those mistakes under the supervision and guidance of the teacher. Therefore, it is good to make mistakes and then be corrected during the process of learning as this subsequently makes one flawless and educated. This is a different mindset. And these two mindsets discussed above, (those of a performer and that of a student) cannot co-exist.
1. On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each : [2 × 4 = 8]
(a) The desire to sing in public overcomes the need to train. Elaborate.
(b) How can we say that music is a magic medicine?
(c) What is best described as ‘Crash Courses’?
(d) What should be the mindset of a student of music?
(e) Why is singing a refined and intricate art?
Answers:
(a) The desire to sing in public is innocent and beautiful and indeed it is perfectly alright to have such a genuine desire. Most of us want to become professional singers with complete disregard for and ignorance of the training part. This is an aspect that we forget in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform which in turn, overcomes the desire to learn.
(b) Music has the power to bring out the deepest emotions. It is a magic medicine as it can make one cry or bring smile on one’s face and many seek refuge in it when they are depressed or stressed.
(c) If one feels the need to gain some knowledge and training to become a professional singer, it leads to hurried shortcuts and half-hearted attempts, best described as ‘Crash Courses’.
(d) While under training, the student is expected to make mistakes but then rectify those mistakes under the supervision and guidance of the teacher. Therefore, it is good to make mistakes and then correct them during the process of learning as this subsequently makes one flawless and educated. This should be the mindset of the student of music.
(e) Singing is a refined and intricate art because it requires systematic, prolonged and strict training to be acceptable. We forget this aspect in our keen desire to reach the stage and perform. It is like preparing a formal meal for some specially invited guests without even having learnt and trained in the basics of cooking. That is why we have more noise and less music nowadays.
1.2 On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any four of the following : [1 × 5 = 5]
(a) Almost ………………. of human population is blessed with musical ability of some sort.
(i) two-thirds
(ii) one-third
(iii) half
(iv) one-fifth
(b) Any form of ………………… is difficult to master.
(i) visual art (ii) audio-visual art (iii) fine arts (iv) design art
(c) ‘Transcending’ in para 1 means.
(i) drown under (ii) rise above (iii) surrender (iv) fail
(d) ‘Refuge’ in para 2 means.
(i) shelter from rain (ii) shelter from storm (iii) shelter from unhappiness (iv) shelter from sun
(e) ’Partial’ in para 5 means. (i) unfair (ii) incomplete (iii) whole (iv) total
Answer :
(a) (i) two-thirds
(b) (iii) fine arts
(c) (ii) rise above
(d) (iii) shelter from unhappiness
(e) (ii) incomplete
