UNSEEN PASSAGES

COMPREHENSION
QUESTIONS
The word comprehension means the ability to understand
something we listen or read. ... All the stories, poems, are unseen
before we read them. In a comprehension test, a passage or a
paragraph or two is given along with the questions which are to be
answered by reading the passage.
Before attempting the Comprehension Questions
1- Read the title and the passage once.
2- Quickly skim through the questions. This will help you to predict
what the passage/ poem is about. It will help you to read and
understand its contents with more clarity and will keep your
mind focused on its theme.
3- Focus on the question that tests vocabulary skills. Read the
antonym/synonym given. Look at the numbers of the
paragraphs. Write each word against its respective paragraph.
This gives you a ready reference and helps you to identify the
word in the Passage / Para while reading.
4- While reading do the following:
a. Underline the content words
b. Underline the possible answers of the given questions. It
will help you to identify the answers faster.
c. Encircle the words that are answers for the vocabulary.
Normally a noun for noun, a verb for a verb and an adverb
for an adverb etc.
5- Answer the questions -

a. The underlined content will help you to find the answer.

b. If confused between two words:
 i. Choose the word of the same part of speech / form
Read the sentence with the word in the question in place
ii.
of the ones you are choosing from the passage.
6- Additional tips:
a. Write clearly and neatly.
b. Keep in mind the marks allotted to each question.
c. Do not leave any question unanswered.

Sample Passage

When plastic waste is burnt, a complex weave of toxic chemicals is

released. Breaking down polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — used for
packaging, toys and coating electrical wires — produces dioxin, an
organochlorine which belongs to the family of Persistent Organic
Pollutants (POPs). A recent Dioxin Assessment Report brought out
by the United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) says
the risk of getting cancer from dioxin is ten times higher than
reported by the agency in 1994.
Yet the Delhi government is giving the green signal to a gasification
project which will convert garbage into energy without removing
plastic waste. Former transport minister Rajendra Gupta, the
promoter of this project, says this is not necessary.
He claims no air pollution will be caused and that the ash produced
can be used as manure. An earlier waste-to-energy project set up in
Timarpur failed. The new one, built with Australian assistance, will
cost ₹ 200 crore. It will generate 25 megawatts of power and gobble
1,000 tonnes of garbage every day.

“Technologies like gasification are a form of incineration,” says

Madhumita Dutta, central coordinator with Toxics Link, New Delhi.
Incineration merely transfers hazardous waste from a solid form to
air, water and ash, she points out.
Toxins produced during incineration include acidic gases, heavy
metals as well as dioxins and furans. “The ‘manure’ will be
hazardous and a problem to dispose,” says Dutta.
Municipal solid waste contains a mix of plastics. Breaking down this
waste emits hydrochloric acid which attacks the respiratory system,
skin and eyes, resulting in coughing, vomiting and nausea.
Polyethylene generates volatile compounds like formaldehyde and
acetaldehyde, both suspected carcinogenic. Breathing styrene from
polystyrene can cause leukaemia. Polyurethane is associated with
asthma. Dioxin released by PVC is a powerful hormone disrupter
and causes birth defects and reproductive problems. There is no
threshold dose to prevent it and our bodies have no defence against
it.
“Even the best run incinerators in the world have to deal with
stringent norms, apart from contaminated filters and ash, making
them hugely expensive to operate,” says Dutta. In Germany, air
pollution devices accounted for two-thirds the cost of incineration.
Despite such efforts, the European Dioxin Inventory noted that the
input of dioxin into the atmosphere was the highest from
incineration.

“India does not have the facility to test dioxin and the cost of setting
one up is prohibitively expensive,” says Dutta.
Besides, Indian garbage has a low calorific content of about 800
cal/kg, since it has high moisture and requires additional fuel to
burn. Toxics Link calculates that the electricity generated from such
technology will cost between ₹ 5-7 per unit, which is six times higher
than conventional energy. India has chosen a dioxin preventive
route and burning of chlorinated plastics is prohibited under
Municipal Solid Waste and Biomedical Rules.
Nearly 80 per cent of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable.
Resident associations, the informal sector and the municipal
corporation can make Delhi’s garbage disappear in a sustainable
manner. “Instead, the government promotes end of pipeline
solutions,” says Dutta.
Questions:
A. Choose the most appropriate option: (1 x 4 = 4 marks)

(a) Dioxine causes ………………..

1. cancer
2. heart attack
3. sickness
4. hypertension

(b) The gasification process transforms ………………..

1. energy into garbage

2. garbage into energy
3. water into energy
4. none of the above

(c) Garbage can be converted into energy by ………………..

1. gasification
2. gratification
3. a chemical process
4. incinators

(d) Indian garbage contains …………………

1. low moisture
2. high moisture
3. no moisture
4. none of these

B. Answer the following questions briefly: 1 x 6 = 6

(a) Which toxic chemical is released on burning plastic waste? How
is it harmful?
(b) What is the aim of waste-to-energy project? What is likely to
happen during incineration?
(c) How will burning plastic adversely impact the health of citizens?
(d) What two arguments are advanced against the use of
incinerators?
(e) Why would gasification of waste prove a wasteful luxury in
India?
(f) What facts are revealed in the passage pertaining to Indian
garbage?

C. Find words in the passage similar in meaning as: 1 x 2 = 2

(a) Waste material

(b) Swallow

Answers:

A.

(a) 1. cancer
(b) 2. garbage into energy
(c) 1. gasification
(d) 2. high moisture

B.

(a) Dioxin, an organochlorine, belonging to the family of Persistent

Organic Pollutants (POPs) is produced. It causes cancer.
(b) Converting garbage into energy to produce 25 megawatts of
power and swallow 1,000 tonnes of garbage everyday. Incineration
simply changes risky waste from solid form to air, water and ash.
(c)
(i) Hydrochloric acid attacks respiratory system, skin and eyes and
results in coughing, vomiting and nausea.
(ii) Polyethylene produces volatile carinogens like formaldehyde and
acetaldehyde which cause cancer.
(iii) Breathing styrene from polystyrene can cause leukaemia.
(iv) Polyurethane is linked with asthma.
(v) Dioxin disrupts hormones, causes birth defects and reproductive
problems.
(d)
(i) Exorbitantly expensive to operate.
(ii) Release of dioxin is highest from incinerators.
(e) Nearly 80% of Indian garbage is recyclable or compostable.
(f) Indian garbage has a^low calorific content of about 800 cal/kg
because it has high moisture. It requires additional fuel to bum.

C.

(a) garbage
(b) gobble

UNSEEN PASSAGES for Note- Making

1. Notes should be prepared by using phrases . complete sentences

should never be used.
2. The topic or the central idea of the passage is the title of the
notes and the ideas developed around it are Sub-titles
depending on the concepts in the paragraph.
3. Each sub-title should have relevant ideas which are the points
of the notes.
4. Provide an appropriate title for the notes or the summary or
abstract, as given in the question.
 5. Include a minimum of 4-6 distinctly different recognizable short
forms i.e., abbreviations of the words in the notes.
6. Cover all the important points in the notes meaningfully to
prepare the abstract/summary in about 80100 words.
7. Write the summary or abstract in complete sentences in a
paragraph.

How To Summarise A Given Passage

1. Read the passage very carefully. In the first reading do not

stop to get the meaning of any troubled section . You should try
to understand the author’s tone,.

2. While re-reading the passage underline the topic sentences

and the main points. . Identify areas that you do not understand
and try to clarify those points.

3. Write the main idea of each key point in sentences of your

summary.
A good summary presents ideas, facts or points in the order in
which they are given in the passage.

How to Use Abbreviations and Symbols

While making notes, using abbreviations and symbols help in saving time and
space. There are different ways to abbreviate long or complicated words:

Using the initials of two or more words e.g., United Nations – U.N., etc.
Using the first few letters of the words e.g., construction – Const.,
abbreviation – abbr., etc.
Universally recognised abbreviations e.g., Opposite – Opp., government –
govt., department – dept., etcetera – etc., that is – i.e., etc.
Removing the vowels e.g., reading – rdng, books- bks, shopping – shppng,
etc.
Universally recognised symbols e.g.,\ Therefore, Q because, > greater,
larger, < less, smaller, ↓ falling, decrease,↑ rising, increase
 Note Making Format

Title
1. SubTitle
A . point
B. point
C. points
2. SubTitle
A . point
B. point
C. points
3. SubTitle
A . point
B. point
C. points
4. SubTitle
A . point
B. point
C. points
5. SubTitle
A . point
B. point
C. points

Key to Abbreviations
1. eg. – example
2. etc. – etcetera
3. & – and
4.
5.
A sample Note on a given passage

The Tests of Life

The tests of life are its plus factors. Overcoming illness and suffering is a plus
factor for it moulds character. Steel is iron plus fire, soil is rock plus heat. So, lets
include the plus factor in our lives.

Sometimes the plus factor is more readily seen by the simple hearted. Myers tells
the story of a mother who brought into her home – as a companion to her own
son- a little boy who happened to have a hunch back. She had warned her son to
be careful, not to refer to his disability. The boys were playing and after a few
minutes she overheard her son say to his companion “ Do you know what you
have got on your back ?” The little boy was embarrassed, but before he could
reply, his playmate continued” It is the box in which your wings are, and some day
God is going to cut it open and then you will fly away and be an angel.”

Often it takes a third eye or a change in focus, to see the plus factor. Walking
along the corridors of a hospital recently where patients were struggling with fear
of pain and tests, I was perturbed. What gave me a fresh perspective were the
sayings put up everywhere, intended to uplift. One saying made me conscious of
the beauty of the universe in the midst of pain, suffering and struggle. The other
saying assured me that God was with me when I was in deep water and that no
troubles would overwhelm me.

The import of those sayings also made me aware of the nectar springs that flow
into people’s lives when they touch rock bottom or are lonely or guilt ridden. The
nectar springs make recovery possible, and they bring peace and patience in the
midst of negative forces.

The forces of death and destruction are not so much physical as they are psychic
and psychological. When malice, hatred and hard heartedness prevail, they get
channeled as forces of destruction. Where openness, peace and good heartedness
prevail, the forces of life gush forth to regenerate hope and joy. The life force is
triumphant when love overcomes fear. Both fear and love are deep mysteries, but
the effect of love is to build, whereas fear tends to destroy. Love is generally the
plus factor that helps build character. It creates bonds and its reach is infinite.
It is true there is no shortage of destructive elements – forces and people who seek
to destroy others and in the process destroy themselves but at the same time there
are signs of love and life everywhere that are constantly enabling us to overcome
setbacks. So let’s look at gloom and doom – let us seek positivity and happiness.
For it is when you seek that you will find what is waiting to be discovered.

Q. On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it in points
only, using abbreviations, wherever necessary. Also suggest a suitable title.
The Tests of Life the Plus factors
1. Necessity of the Tests of Life:
1. Illness & suffering mould charctr.
2. Simple hearted-view disability pstvly.
2. Change in focus
1. Sayings in hospital:
2. Awaken to the beauty of universe amidst paint suffering
3. Makes us realize the presence of God
4. Give strength to overcome obstacles,
5. Bring peace
3. Forces of Destruction:
1. Not physical but psychic & psychlgcal.
2. Malice, hatred & hard heartedness
4. Forces of Life:
1. Regenerate hope & joy
2. Overcome fear, build charter
Key to Abbreviations
1. Charctr – Character
2. Pstvly – Positively
3. Psychlgcal – Psychological
4. & – and

Q. Write a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words, using the notes
you have made.
Summary
The tests of life like illness and suffering build character. The simple hearted view
disability as signs of hope and the presence of God. Even in the midst of suffering,
there is God. A change in focus is required. The sayings in hospital awaken the
belief that amongst pain and suffering, the universe is still beautiful and God is
present which gives us strength to overcome obstacles. This brings hope, peace
and joy. The forces of destruction can be overcome by the power of love and good
heartedness.