“Mum!” I shouted. “Are you okay?” I saw her little tent shuddering in the gale and listened closely for her response. Her voice was almost casual: “Oh, yes, I’m fine.” That’s my mother. It was the first night of our cycling trip through the interior of Iceland − a region so remote and inhospitable that for centuries, according to legend, it was abandoned. The weather was decidedly hurricane-like, but Mum wasn’t concerned. Months ago, I told her about my plan to pedal across Iceland. “It will be really difficult,” I said. “The roads are unpaved and often washed out, and the wind is blowing constantly − sometimes so hard that it pushes you off the road.” There was silence for a moment. Then she asked, “Can I come?” “Sure,” I replied. “But like the rest of us, you have to train to do two 160 kilometers a day back-to-back,” “Wow,” she said, “I could never do that,” I had more faith in my mother’s physical abilities than she did. I’d seen her raise six children and put in long hours doing physical labor on our small farm. “Sure you can,” I told her, “Start tomorrow.” What really concerned me was what I perceived to be her frustrating humility: I thought her too self − deprecating about her intellect just because she had not completed college. I felt she underestimated her attractiveness just because she was not the type to wear make-up or fancy clothes. As I had grown into adulthood, the life I’d chosen seemed light-years away from Mum’s quiet existence, still caring for her children and her children’s children. Sometimes, on a visit home, I’d describe some recent trip I’d taken, and her blue eyes would shine with interest. So I couldn’t help thinking this trek might revitalize Mum, who had started to slow down in her 50s. It might spice up what I saw as her humdrum life. And it might be a boost to her tentative and retiring persona. Mum trained furiously, months in advance. As the trip roster was pared down to Mum, my good friend Allen and me, she stood as the most dedicated. Soon she was riding 80-100 kilometers per day, and was as strong a rider as Allen or I.

1.1 Based on your reading of the passage, complete the following sentences.

(a) The narrator describes the roads across Iceland as ……….

(b) The narrator had faith in his mother’s physical abilities as ………...

(c) The training to take the adventure trip on cycle included …………….

(d) In his adulthood the narrator realized that his life was…………..

(e) Descriptions of his trips always ……………

(f) The narrator was sure that the trip would ………..

(g) The narrator and his friend were sure about Mum’s preparation when …………


1.2 Find words from the passage that mean the same as the following. 

(a) noticed/became aware of
(b) to give new life
(c) hesitance/not certain

Read the following passage carefully.

From the danger of losing one leg due to a knee injury to winning an Olympic bronze medal, Yogeshwar Dutt has come a long way. The freestyle wrestler’s story is one of passion for the sport and his perseverance and solid determination in realising his dream. Thanks to him, Bhainswal Kalan, a village, some 20 kilometres away from Sonepat in Haryana, has become very popular now. Yogeshwar has qualities of a champion and virtues like humility, respect for others and extending a helping hand to the needy, which make him even more endearing. His dream of winning an Olympic medal was not fulfilled in Beijing in 2008. Going through the injuries was a difficult period for him. The Mittal Champions Trust helped him when he had the knee injury after the Beijing Olympics. He had a problem in seeing due to injury. His intense desire to win a medal worked as a healing agent to all his injuries. He trained hard and God listened to his prayers. After 2008, his sole target was the 2012 Olympics. He wanted to Participate in more and more competitions, but he was pulled down by injuries in 2009 and that robbed him of nearly one year. After that, he could not reduce his weight too often to take part in various events. All the time the Olympics was there in his mind. Even when he was injured he thought of winning an Olympic medal. His back injury was a problem but he got over it. His friends and family backed him a lot. His brother and friends shared his responsibilities and allowed him to focus on wrestling with a free mind.

Based on your reading of the passage, choose the right answer from the given options to complete the following sentences.

(a) A quality necessary for a champion is ………

(i) perseverance
(ii) determination
(iii) passion
(iv) each one of the above

(b) Yogeshwar Dutt lost almost a year in 2009 because of ………..

(i) injuries
(ii) worship
(iii) loss of weight
(iv) the villagers

(c) The problem that did not trouble Yogeshwar was ………. injury.

(i) eye
(ii) knee
(iii) back
(iv) head

(d) Even during his long and lonely stays abroad ……. kept him motivated.

(i) his parents
(ii) the thought of the Olympic medal
(iii) his injuries
(iv) the thought of his responsibilities

(e) Yogeshwar Dutt was able to give his best as …………

(i) he did not have to think of his responsibilities
(ii) he participated in the Olympic games
(iii) he was sure to get a medal
(iv) he had an intense desire to win a medal

We sat in silence in the dark of the night as the large head appeared from the large foliage. The female was young, healthy and alert. Seconds later, she walked confidently to the edge of a waterhole followed by not one, not two, but three beautiful young cubs. Like works of art on display, all four tigers bent low at the waterhole that had been created for them and for the myriad creatures that shared their troubled kingdom. The Goshri tigers had come visiting and we watched them with rapt attention on our closed − circuit TV screens, in the conservation retreat of Harsh and Poonam Dhanwatey, a husband and wife team whose life had been dedicated to the protection of tigers in and around Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. Their son Nikhil carefully positioned the cameras and cabled them 40 meter from their conservation retreat, near the waterhole that had turned into a magnet for every conceivable animal found in the Tiger Reserve itself. We were making preparations to set up one of the first Community Conservation Reserves in Central India. Originally into business, the Dhanwateys changed tracks midstream by shutting down a thriving interior design business in response to just one meeting they had with Dr. Ullas Karanth and Valmik Thapar, two of India’s finest tiger people, in Nagpur. In their own words: “From admirers of wildlife we became passionate defenders and we launched our non-governmental organization called Tiger Research and Conservation Trust (TRACT).” The Dhanwateys lived for years in a small hut that was their field camp near the famous Tadoba Lake and they discovered the secrets of the forest in the best way possible, by walking its trails, and generally learning all they could about the magical mix of life that comprised this tropical, dry deciduous forest.
Based on your reading of the passage, choose the right answer from the given options to complete the following sentences.

(a) Before taking up the cause of tigers the Dhanwateys were………

(i) working in a non-governmental organization
(ii) in the textile business
(iii) working with Dr. Karanth
(iv) managing an interior design business

(b) The waterhole is referred to as a magnet because ……

(i) a magnet was placed there
(ii) all the animals were attracted to it
(iii) cameras had magnets
(iv) water was not available

(c) The narrator had gone to the Tiger Reserve to ………

(i) kill tigers
(ii) set up a Tiger Reserve
(iii) set up the first Community Conservation Reserve
(iv) employ Nikhil in the Tiger Reserve

(d) The meeting with Dr. Ullas Karanth and Valmik Thapar changed the lives of …… 

(i) Nikhil
(ii) the Dhanwateys
(iii) the narrator
(iv) TRACT

(e) The activities in which the champions of TRACT are not involved are …….

(i) killing of tigers in that area
(ii) discovering the secrets of the forests
(iii) Walking the trails of tigers
(iv) living in the deciduous forests

Your school is celebrating grandparents’ day next week. Write a notice in 50-60 words to be put up on the school notice board informing students of the celebration and requesting them to be present with their grandparents. You are Samir/Suman, Head Boy/Head Girl ABC Sen. Sec. School, Delhi.

You are Mahesh. You have been asked to meet the passport officer urgently to clarify certain details regarding renewal of your passport. Write a message in 50-60 words for your mother who was not at home informing her of the matter and also telling her that you would be late in reaching home.