English Reading Comprehension (Set-2)

Reading Comprehension

Q1 (CBSE 2011 Class 9 Exam): Read the passage carefully.

It is about nine in the morning and a scraggly bunch of kids is waiting near an abandoned building in Lodhi Colony for their school to arrive. The school is a bright yellow bus kitted out with cabinets, a blackboard, a water dispenser, a ladder, a canopy, teaching aids and an LCD TV.  They call it the Mobile Learning Centre or school-on-wheels. When the bus arrives, it parks parallel to the pavement, the television is turned to face the road and an inspirational song is played loud enough to draw the attention of children.
The project, launched by the Delhi Government's Department of Education in February 2008 is run by Butterflies, an NGO. The mission is to bring underprivileged kids into the mainstream and prepare them for government schools.  Children are taught Hindi, English and Mathematics and given tips on health and hygiene twice a week.  A sports teacher comes along once a week.  Is the yellow bus a magnet then? "Attendance is a little thin now, "admits NGO volunteer Asif Ali Chaudhary, even as Mausami Baruah, one of the two teachers, pulls a child out of line for chewing gum. "Some have gone to their villages for a festival and haven't returned so far. And then, it's Thursday, Manu will be helping her parents sell garlands at a temple."  Even so, at least 25 children are present.  Keeping the students focused is quite a task.  "Many bring along younger siblings as there's no one at home and they are assigned babysitting duties," says Chaudhary. Crawling babies aren't the only distraction.   As the senior class, backs leaning against the boundary wall learn geometrical shapes, a different scene is playing out right behind.  A policeman has spotted someone in the abandoned block of flats nearby and with remarkable agility, has jumped over the wall to inspect.    As he gives chase, several children run away.  The school teachers carry on as if nothing has happened. Essentially, the mobile school is able to do its job, stopping at four contact points, where it can enrol a maximum of 40 students per stop. But even those who haven't enrolled - and are merely hanging around the area - are welcome.

Write the correct option in your answer sheets.
(a) Mobile Learning Centre is a project launched by the Delhi Government's Department of Education with the aim of (i) bringing underprivileged kids into the mainstream and preparing them for government school
(ii) providing underprivileged children all the facilities of the school with  no fee structure
(iii) bringing underprivileged kids under the same roof to avoid all sorts of discrimination
(iv) carrying underprivileged children to school

(b)  Besides regular teaching in the school, children are also given in order to stay healthy.(i)   tips to earn their bread
(ii)  tips on health and hygiene
(iii) tips to become rich
(iv) tips  to act

(c) The word 'scraggly' means. (i)   fat and clumsy
(ii)  strong and sturdy
(iii) lean and bony
(iv)  healthy and stable

(d) Many distractions in the study of children are found responsible for  (i)  high attendance
(ii) low attendance
(iii) average attendance
(iv) maximum attendance

(e) The mobile school has been doing its job by not only teaching but also including to fulfil the purpose of its mission.

(i) those who haven't enrolled themselves and merely hang around the area
(ii) those who have got themselves enrolled
(iii) those who have performed well in the studies
(iv) those who play well

Answer:
(a) (i) bringing underprivileged kids into the mainstream and preparing them for government school
(b) (ii) tips on health and hygiene
(c) (iii) lean and bony
(d) (ii) low attendance
(e) (i) those who haven't enrolled themselves and merely hang around the area

Q2: Read the following poem.

CRICKET

Cricket is a game

From which players get fame.
Some people watching are tense,
When they see the opposition hit the ball to the fence.
Some people buy tickets,
To watch the bowlers take wickets.

There is a batsman who works hard to concentrate,
While the bowler tries hard to him frustrate.
There is an umpire, who always makes the right decision,
To help the players who are out to accomplish a mission.
But these days there is a lot of chaos in cricket,
Because the players play badly deliberately on the wicket.
I hope cricket is played sincerely,
So that everyone can enjoy it happily.

Write the correct option in your answer sheets.

(a) The word 'concentrate' in the passage can be replaced by which of the following?
(i) assemble
(ii) gather
(iii)focus
(iv) attentive

(b) By saying "While the bowler tries hard to him frustrate", the poet means that

(i)  the bowler is a mean person.
(ii) the bowler is a frustrated person.
(iii)the bowler tries to bowl well making it difficult to score runs.
(iv) the batsman does not like the bowler.

(c) The poet feels that there is chaos in cricket because
(i) the wickets are of poor quality.
(ii) the players intentionally play a bad game.
(iii) the players are troubled by the spectators.
(iv) the players run into the pitch and break the wickets.

(d) Which word given below does not have a rhyming word in the poem?
(i) tense
(ii) wickets
(iii)mission
(iv) fielders

(e) The poem ends with
(i)   a request to restore fame to the game by playing with loyalty.
(ii)  anger at the stupidity of the game.
(iii) happiness at the change in the people towards cricket.
(iv)  a feeling of indifference to the game.

Answers:   
(a) (iii) focus
(b) (iii) the bowler tries to bowl well making it difficult to score runs.
(c) (ii)  the players intentionally play a bad game.
(d) (iv)  fielders
(e) (i)   a request to restore fame to the game by playing with loyalty.