1.read The Following Passage and Answer The Questions That Follow

THE INDIAN SCHOOL
CLASS XI (2020-21)
ENGLISH CORE (301)
WORKSHEET 9
READING
1.Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Playing the mind game
1.The Mastermind quiz is billed as a “battle of minds‟. This battle is fought in two halves. In
the first, each of the four participants faces a barrage of questions for two minutes on any
topic of his or her choice. In the second round, the questions are of general knowledge. There
are two points for each correct answer and zero for wrong answers and passes. In the event of
a tie, the person who has passed fewer questions wins.
2.Questions can be bizarre but they are answered none the less. “It absolutely amazes you
that these guys know so much. In KBC it used to be that this guy knows so little,” says Basu
after the show. Siddhartha Basu was the director of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).
3.This year‟s Mastermind final was won by Ramanand Janardhana, a 22-year-old software
engineer from Pune. Janardhana had Agatha Christie‟s „Tommy and Tuppence‟ novels as his
specialist topic. He even knew that Tommy used asafoetida to create a stink in his room.
4. There are, of course, all sorts of quizzers. The diary-toting, Manorama yearbook wielding
variety will typically prepare for a contest by „studying‟. He knows that the best questions,
the ones that get the „wah-wahs‟, are always repeated. He is a solid quizzer because he knows
the obvious.
5.There is the other kind, like Janardhana, who claim they do nothing extra to prepare for
quizzes. They read the papers and magazines, watch TV, and become quizzers because they
enjoy the test of recall.
6.It was a test the nation took when KBC fever was at its height. But long before KBC there
were quiz societies across the country in places from Guwahati to Gandhinagar. Kolkata was
the hub of the game; quizzing in India began here in 1967. Even now the majority of quizzers
are from Kolkata. Of the four 2002 Mastermind finalists, two were from that city.
7.Quizzing is big in school and college festivals. It‟s the „literary‟ highlight of all fests. There
are even professional quizzers who like mercenaries play for money and the thrill of the
game. They represent various organisations at different times.
8.Most quizzers grow out of active quizzing after college. Some, the hardcore devotees of the
game, keep at it. “I don‟t get tired of quizzing,” says Pinaki Prasad Roy, a Mastermind
finalist. “I get excited.” Roy is a 46-year old finance professional from Kolkata and has been
a quizzer for three decades.
9.Curiosity is the most essential quality for a quizzer. A fantastic memory and instant recall
help. And for Mastermind at least, the choice of specialist subject is critical. In this year‟s
event, Janardhana took an unassailable lead in the specialist round itself.
A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:
1.The Mastermind quiz is called a ‘battle of minds’ because……………………….

(a) it is a duel of wits
(b) the participants are the most intelligent persons
(c) the participants face a shower of questions
(d) the mind is on the anvil
2.The participants in the quiz seem ‘masterminds’ because……………………….

(a) they seem to know so little
(b) they have a very polished manner
(c) they show a lot of self-confidence
(d) they seem to know so much
3.Ramanand Janardhana won as……………………….

(a) he had mastery over the specialist topic
(b) he had gone through the quiz columns in magazines
(c) he had chinks in his memory/recall
(d) he knew all the often-repeated questions asked by quizmasters
4.The studious quizzers are called ‘solid’ quizzers because……………………….

(a) they prepare expected questions
(b) they know the obvious questions
(c) they bank on general awareness
(d) they enjoy the test of recall
5.The quality most essential for a quizzer is……………………….

(a) love of learning
(b) mathematical accuracy
(c) curiosity to know
(d) comprehensive learning
6.The word ‘mercenaries’ in para 7 means.………………………

(a) those who seek mercy
(b) those who work on machines
(c) those who are lively and quick
(d) those who fight for money
B. Answer the following questions in brief:

7. Why did Ramanand Janardhana win the mastermind final?
8. Who are called solid quizzers? Why?
9. Which is the most essential quality of a quizzer?
10. How is Kolkata associated with the quizzing game?
11. Find the words from the passage which are similar in meaning to these words.
(a) those who fight for money (para 7)
(b) enthusiasts (para 8)
2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow.
1. Jahangir was born on 30 August 1569 to Akbar, the Mughal Emperor, and his Hindu wife,
Jodha Bai. He was crowned on 24 October 1605. In the twenty-two years he was Emperor till
his death on 28 October 1627, he had many battles to fight and many rebellions to suppress.
But he always found time for his greatest hobby-the study of animals and plants. He was an
avid bird watcher or an ornithologist as he would be called now, and a keen naturalist. The
care and accuracy with which Jahangir described various characteristics of animals and birds,
their geographical distribution and behaviour, would have done credit to a full-time naturalist.
His observations are recorded in his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.
2. Jahangir had a small zoo and he would spend hours-sometimes days and nights together-on
his observations. For the first time in the history- of ornithology, he noted how sarus cranes
mate brood over their eggs in turn, and how chicks are hatched and taken care of. He also
observed one human quality in this bird: the parents love not only their eggs and chicks but
also each other.
3. The Emperor had several famous painters in his court. When he came across a rare animal,
bird or plant, he would instruct an artist to draw it. The painter who excelled in this art was
Ustad Mansur. For modern ornithologists, Jahangir‟s collection of paintings provides a
strikingly accurate description of the natural history of the day. Unfortunately, most of these
paintings are no longer to be found in India. With the disintegration of the Mughal Empire,
foreign adventures looted this treasure. Most of the paintings were thus lost.
4. In 1958, a Russian researcher, A Ivanov, created a sensation when he discovered a rare

portrait of the Dodo, a large non-flying pigeon-like bird, which became extinct about three
centuries ago. This portrait was found in a collection of paintings at the Institute of
Orientalists of Soviet Academy of Sciences. There was no way of identifying the painter but
the style without a doubt was that of Ustad Mansur. Now there is evidence to show that it was
the portrait of Mauritian Dodo that was presented to Emperor Jahangir around 1624. Over
three centuries after their death, Jahangir and his Dodo made a dramatic reappearance in the
world of ornithology!
5. Jahangir also loved gardens but his dissertations in botany and horticulture were mostly
confined to how a lotus traps hornets or how saffron sprouts from soil. However, he was
responsible for the cultivation of high altitude trees such as the cypress, juniper, pine and
Javanese sandal in plains.
6. Jahangir had many other scientific interests. He once experimented to show that the air of
Mahmudabad (in Gujrat) was healthier than that of Ahmedabad. He was fascinated by the
movement of the stars and the planets and used to regularly record the occurrence of solar
and lunar eclipses. When a comet made its appearance, he recorded the growth and decay of
its tail.
(a) On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes. Also, suggest a suitable
title.
(b) Write a summary of the passage in not more than 80 words using the notes made.
WRITING SKILLS
1. You are Raj/Rani, living at 3, K.B. Road Delhi. You read an advertisement about an online
course in accountancy being run by Accounts Experts Institute, Patel Road, Delhi. Write a
letter to the advertiser seeking all the relevant information about the course.
2. You are Avinash/Avanti Arora. As the librarian of Swami Vivekanand Sr. Secondary
School, Vikaspuri, Delhi, you have to buy dictionaries and encyclopaedia for the school
library. Write a letter to M/s Universal Book Suppliers, 14, Gali Ram Nath, Chandni Chowk,
Delhi, asking for a list of such books available with them, their publishers, special discounts
for institutions, time taken for delivery and the mode of payment acceptable to them.
3.Draft a notice in not more than 50-words informing the students about the sale of old sports
goods of your school. You are Rohini/Rohan the secretary of the sports club of Alka Public
School, Indira Nagar Faridabad.
4.The Directorate of Education, Odisha State is organising an Essay Contest for all the
students of the state. Prepare a suitable poster which can be sent to different schools for
display on their notice-board.

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THE INDIAN SCHOOL

A. Answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate option:

1.The Mastermind quiz is called a ‘battle of minds’ because……………………….

2.The participants in the quiz seem ‘masterminds’ because……………………….

3.Ramanand Janardhana won as……………………….

4.The studious quizzers are called ‘solid’ quizzers because……………………….

5.The quality most essential for a quizzer is……………………….

6.The word ‘mercenaries’ in para 7 means.………………………

B. Answer the following questions in brief:

4. In 1958, a Russian researcher, A Ivanov, created a sensation when he discovered a rare

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