Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.
Coleridge's poem, a ballad, narrates the harrowing sea-voyage of an old mariner who at one point of his journey didn't have any water to drink because of a cursE- Cursed or not, we know how important drinking water is in our lifE- We know we cannot survive without it. In fact two-thirds of our body is made up of water. Not for nothing it is said that the other name of water is lifE- Is there a crisis in our time with regard to access to clean drinking water? The United Nations in a meeting on the eve of the new millennium identified the drinking water problem as one of the challenges for the futurE- But do we need to worry about the problem as ours is a land of rivers and we have plenty of rainfall? Besides, we have a sea in our backyard too. One of the sources of water in our country are the rivers. Rivers are everywhere in our life, literature, economy and culturE- But are the rivers in good shape? Unfortunately, they are not. A few are already dead and several are going through the pangs of death. The river Buriganga is an example of a dying river. A report published in the Daily Sun describes what has happened to the river Buriganga and why. Its water is polluted and a perpetual stench fills the air around it. But that is not what it was like beforE-
- Which of the following is a synonym of the word 'subterfuge'?
- How are the rivers related to 'literature'? They are related to "literature" as they-
- What is the meaning of 'faultlessly'?
- 'Livelihood’ could be best replaced by-
- What does the word 'reconciliation' in the passage refer to?
- Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.The act of thinking deeply and calmly about something in a state of heightened awareness is known as meditation. It is an approach to train up the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. Voltaire explains, "Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity." From the ancient times, meditation has been a part of some religious traditions as a way of achieving the body's release from worldly cares, and creating inner harmony. Meditation in our time is practiced by people to reduce stress and tension, and improve focus. There are trainers who help beginners with some exercises such as improved breathing and progressive relaxation. One of the most common approaches to meditation is concentration. To develop concentration one needs to focus on a single point. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer duration . Meditation releases anxiety and brings a state of calmness. It increases the thinking ability of human brain so that people have a better control of their emotions. Those who practice meditation can work tirelessly for a longer period of timE- Meditation helps improve blood circulation in the brain and other parts of the body. Finally, meditation improves creativity, self-awareness and tolerance
- Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.Adolescents constitute a nation's core resource for national renewal and growth. Adolescence is a period in life when transition from childhood to adulthood takes place and behaviours and life styles are shaped. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescence is the period which shapes the future of girls' and boys' lives. There are 28 million adolescents in Bangladesh; 13.7 million of them are girls and 14.3 million boys. The situation of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is characterised by inequality and subordination within the family and society. This inequality leads to widespread practice of child marriage, marginalisation or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and sexual abusE- In Bangladesh, the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. However, 33 percent of adolescent girls are married before the age of 15 and 60 percent become mothers by the age of 19. Research finds that adolescents with higher level of education and from more affluent families tend to marry at a later agE- Boys, however, become ready for marriage only after several years of adolescence and young adulthood.
- Sheikh Kamal spent his boyhood -.
- A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives :What could be the closest meaning of the word 'constitute' in the first sentence ?
- Answer the following questions :(a) What were the natural phenomena during the journey by train? (b) Why did did the writer call the boat journey 'tranquil'?(c) When and why did the author fall asleep during her journey?(d) Can you guess which season it was when the writer made the journey? How could you guess it?(e) What do you mean by the expression, "A thatched bamboo outhouse"?
- The word 'Indigenous' mentioned in the passage means-
- Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.The orphanage is high in the Carolina mountains. I was there in the autumn. I wanted quiet, isolation, to do some troublesome writing. I wanted mountain air to blow out the malaria from too long a time in the subtropics. I was homesick too, for the flaming of maples in October, and for corn shocks and pumpkins and black-walnut trees.... I found them all living in a cabin that belonged to the orphanage, half a mile beyond the orphanage farm. When I took the cabin, I asked for a boy or man to come and chop wood for the fireplacE-... I looked up from my typewriter one late afternoon, a little startled. A boy stood at the door and my pointer dog, my companion, was at his side and had not barked to warn mE- The boy was probably twelve years old, but undersized. He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and was barefooted. He said, "I can chop some wood today."....."You? But you're small." "Size don't matter, chopping wood," he said. "Some of the big boys don't chop good. I've been chopping wood at the orphanage a long timE-" "Very well. There's the axE- Go ahead and see what you can do." I went back to work, closing the door.... He began to chop. The blows were rhythmic and steady, and shortly I had forgotten him, the sound no more of an interruption than a consistent rain. I suppose an hour and a half passed and I heard the boy's steps on the cabin stoop... The boy said, "I have to go to supper now," he said. "I can come again tomorrow. " I said, "I'll pay you now for what you've done," thinking I should probably have to insist on an older boy.... We went together back of the cabin. An astonishing amount of solid wood had been cut.... "But you've done as much as a man," I said. "This is a splendid pilE-" I looked at him, actually, for the first timE- His hair was the color of the corn shocks and his eyes, very direct, were like the mountain sky when rain is pending - gray, with a shadowing of that miraculous bluE-... I gave him a quarter. "You may come tomorrow afternoon," I said, "and thank you very much." He looked at me, and at the coin, and seemed to want to speak, but could not, and turned away.... At daylight I was half wakened by the sound of chopping. Again it was so even in texture that I went back to sleep. When I left my bed in the cool morning, the- boy had come and gone, and a stack of kindling was neat against the cabin wall. He came after school in the afternoon and worked until time to return to the orphanagE-
- A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives :What does the word 'expertise' mean?
- A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives :What does 'marginalize' refer to in line-2?
- Kuakata is also a holy place for the-
- Sheikh Kamal started his day by ______.
- The old mariner had a very — sea-voyagE-
- In Africa there have been-
- When do the mother fisheries produce fries?
- His own personal interest was at any cost important to him. Which part of speech is the underlined word?