One of the sources of water in our country are the rivers / Buriganga - Multiple Choice & Short Question for HSC English First Paper - English for Today for Class 11 and 12 / Seen Passage for HSC

1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.

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.

The report says that the river had a glorious past. Once it was a tributary of the mighty Ganges and flowed into the Bay of Bengal through the river Dhaleshwari. Gradually, it lost its link with the Ganges and got the name Buriganga. The Mughals marveled at the tide level of the Buriganga and founded their capital Jahangirnagar on its banks in 1610. The river supplied drinking water and supported trade and commerce. Jahangirnagar was renamed Dhaka which grew into a heavily populated city with a chronic shortage of space.

The city paid back the bounty of the river by sucking life out of it! According to newspaper report, the Buriganga is dying because of pollution. Huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river every day. The city of Dhaka discharges about 4500 tons of solid waste every day and most of it is directly released into the Buriganga. According to the Department of the Environment (DoE), 20,000 tons of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials, are released into the river every day. Experts identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city as the primary sources of river pollution: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal.

The river would need a monster's stomach to digest all the wastes mentioned above. There is a limit up to which it can put up with its cruel and thoughtless treatment. We the humans have successfully killed one of our rivers. There are other rivers in the country that are being subjected to similar thoughtless treatment. Unless we take care of our rivers there may come a time when we will cry 'water, water' and find it nowhere.

A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1☓5 = 5

(a) The word 'tributary' refers to —. [DB '17]

 (i) fountain (ii) territory (iii) stream (iv) kingdom

(b) The Buriganga water fills the air with —. [DB '17]

 (i) aroma (ii) fragrance (iii) stink (iv) scent

(c) — founded their capital on the bank of the Buriganga. [DB '17]

 (i) The British (ii) The Mughals (iii) The Indians (iv) The Bangladeshi

(d) Which of the following statements is false? [DB '17]

 (i) Buriganga is a river  (ii) Our rivers are not in a good shape 

 (iii) Jahangirnagar was once called Dhaka (iv) Water is being contaminated

(e) The best synonym of 'toxic' is —. [DB '17]

 (i) Poisonous (ii) Hygienic (iii) Healthy  (iv) Useful

(f) What could be the closest meaning for 'shape'? [JB '17]

 (i) Condition (ii) Form (iii) Model (iv) Body

(g) Which one of the following statements is false? [JB '17]

 (i) The rivers are the only sources of water in our country.

 (ii) The tide-level of the Buriganga was surprising.

 (iii) It was connected with the river Dhaleshwari.

 (iv) The humans are responsible for pollution.

(h) How are the rivers related to 'literature'? They are related to "literature' as they —. [JB '17]

 (i) are being polluted 

 (ii) are a very important water source

 (iii) can inspire the poets, novelists, etc.

 (iv) constitute two-thirds of our country

(i) Buriganga is on deathbed due to —. [JB '17]

 (i) water vehicles  (ii) pollutions 

 (iii) the Mughals  (iv) the report published in the newspaper

(j) The Buriganga — the Ganges. [JB '17]

 (i) has a link with  (ii) has nothing to do with

 (iii) was a branch of  (iv) was once called

(k) The word 'tributary' mentioned in the passage means. [BB '17]

 (i) rivulet (ii) lake (iii) pond (iv) estuary

(l) The word 'marvelled' mentioned in the passage means. [BB '17]

 (i) offended (ii) grief-stricken (iii) overwhelmed (iv) hurt

(m) The word 'toxic' mentioned in the passage means. [BB '17]

 (i) tasty (ii) healthy (iii) moderate (iv) poisonous

(n) How did Dhaka city pay back the bounty of the river? [BB '17]

 (i) By cleaning the river (ii) By polluting the river

 (iii) By purifying its water (iv) By making it glorious

(o) The word 'identified' in the passage means. [BB '17]

 (i) excluded  (ii) traced out (iii) carried out (iv) teased

(p) Water of the river Buriganga is —.

 (i) fresh (ii) polluted (iii) clean (iv) safe

(q) The word in the passage 'discharge' means —.

 (i) include  (ii) attach  (iii) release  (iv) fill 

(r) What do you understand by "dying river"?

 (i) the river which is dead (ii) the river which is endangered

 (iii) the river which is alive (iv) all of the above statements

(s) Buriganga river's past was —.

 (i) splendid (ii) stigmatic (iii) disgraceful (iv) majestic

(t) Which are mostly responsible for river pollution?

 (i) residential area  (ii) commercial area 

 (iii) non-residential area (iv) manufacturing area

(u) Which are the industrial area from the following?

 (i) Tarabo, Tongi, Mohakhali (ii) Uttara, Savar, Tongi

 (iii) Dhaka EPZ, Tongi, Narayagonj (iv) Both (i) and (iii)

(v) The Dhaka city discharges solid waste —.

 (i) constantly (ii) occasionally (iii) rarely (iv) seldom

Answer (A):

(a) (iii) stream (b) (iii) stink (c) (ii) The Mughals (d) iii) Jahangirnagar was once called Dhaka (e) (i) Poisonous (f) (iii) form (g) (i) The rivers are the only sources of water in our country (h) (iii) can inspire the poets, novelists etc. (i) (ii) pollutions (j) (iii) was a branch of (k) (i) rivulet (l) (iii) overwhelmed (m) (iv) poisonous (n) (ii) By polluting the river (o) (ii) traced out (p) (ii) polluted (q) (iii) release (r) (ii) the river which is endangered (s) (iv) majestic (t) (iv) manufacturing area (u) (iii) Dhaka EPZ, Tongi, Narayangonj (v) (i) constantly

B. Answer the following questions. 2☓5 = 10

(a) What do you think is the condition of the rivers of our country? [DB '17]

(b) What is the commercial value of the river Buriganga? [DB '17]

(c) Why is the Buriganga described as an example of a dying river? Give reasons for your answer. 

[DB '17]

(d) How is the Buriganga polluted? [DB '17]

(e) What did the Mughals marvel at? What was the outcome of it? [DB '17]

(f) Do you think rivers attract people to urbanization? How? [JB '17]

(g) In what sense rivers are going through the pangs of death? [JB '17]

(h) What should we do to bring back the glorious past of the rivers? [JB '17]

(i) Do you think industrialization is responsible for river pollution? [JB '17]

(j) We, the people are responsible for the catastrophe of our rivers. Do you agree? Why/why not? 

[JB '17]

(k) According to the passage, what happened in the year 1610 ? [BB '17]

(l) What, according to the experts, are the primary sources of river pollution in and around Dhaka city? [BB '17]

(m) What amount of solid waste is produced in Dhaka city and where does it go? [BB '17]

(n) What does DoE say? [BB '17]

Answer (B):

 (a) The present condition of the river Buriganga is very deplorable. It is dying and being polluted seriously by toxic industrial wastes from mills and factories.

 (b) The river Buriganga has a great commercial value. Many industrial areas are founded on the banks of the river and they contribute to our national economy.

 (c) The Buriganga is descrided as an example of dying river because of pollution. Once the river had a link with the Bay of Bengal but with the passage of time it has lost its link. Now, it has become an almost dying river.

 (d) The Buriganga is polluted in many ways. Huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river everyday that pollute the water of river Buriganga.

 (e) The Mughals marvelled at the tide level of the Buriganga. In 1610, they founded their capital, Jahangirnagar on its banks.

 (f) Yes, I think that rivers attract people to urbanization. Rivers are the easy way of communication and necessary for trade and commerce. For this reason, many industrial areas and town are founded on the banks of the rivers.

 (g) Rivers are losing their depth and wideth because of pollutions and the lack of proper supervision. This is why, some rivers are already dead and some of them are going through the pangs of death.

 (h) We should dredge our rivers properly and regularly and keep them free of pollution to bring back the glorious past of the rivers.

 (i) Yes, I think that industrialization is responsible for river pollution. But human beings are mainly responsible for river pollution.

 (j) Yes, I do agree. We, the people, do many unwise things. Everyday huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals, clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river. Thus our rivers become polluted.

 (k) In 1610, the Mughals marveled at the tide level the Buriganga and founded their capital Jahangirnagar on its bank.

 (l) According to the experts there are nine industrial areas in and around Dhaka city and these areas are the primary sources of river pollution. The areas are: Tongi, Tejgao, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal. 

 (m) Everyday about 4500 tons of solid waste is produced in Dhaka city. This huge amount of solid waste directly goes into the Buriganga.

 (n) Department of the Environment (DoE) says that 20,000 of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials are released into the river Buriganga everyday.

Bangla Translation

বাংলা অনুবাদঃ 

বাংলা অনুবাদঃ 

.আমাদের দেশের পানির অন্যতম উৎস হচ্ছে নদী। নদী আমাদের জীবন, সাহিত্য, অর্থনীতি এবং সংস্কৃতির সর্বত্রই বিরাজমান। কিন্তু নদীগুলো কি ভালো অবস্থায়/ আকৃতিতে আছে? দুর্ভাগ্যবশত তা নেই। কিছু নদী ইতোমধ্যে মৃত এবং অনেক নদী মৃত্যু যন্ত্রণার মধ্য দিয়ে চলছে। বুড়িগঙ্গা নদী একটা মৃত প্রায় নদীর উদাহরণ। ডেইলি সান পত্রিকায় প্রকাশিত এক প্রতিবেদনে বুড়িগঙ্গা নদীর এমন দশা কেন হয়েছে তার বর্ণনা দিয়েছে। এর পানি দূষিত এবং একটা অন্তহীন দুর্গন্ধে এর চারিদিকের বাতাসপূর্ণ। কিন্তু এটা আগে যেমন ছিল তার মত নয়।

প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে যে নদীটির একটি গৌরবময় অতীত ছিল। একসময় এটা প্রমত্তা গঙ্গার শাখানদী ছিল এবং ধলেশ্বরী নদীর মাধ্যমে বঙ্গোপসাগরে প্রবাহিত হত। ধীরে ধীরে এটা গঙ্গানদীর সংগে সংযোগ হারিয়ে ফেলে এবং বুড়িগঙ্গা নাম ধারণ করে। মুঘলরা বুড়িগঙ্গার জোয়ার ভাটার উচ্চতায় বিস্মিত হতেন এবং ১৬১০ সালে তারা এর তীরে তাদের রাজধানী জাহাঙ্গীরনগর প্রতিষ্ঠা করেন। নদীটি পানীয় জল সরবরাহ এবং ব্যবসা বাণিজ্যে সহায়তা করত। জাহাঙ্গীরনগরের পুনঃনামকরণ ঢাকা করা হয়েছিল যা তীব্র স্থানাভাবে মারাত্মক জনবহুল নগরীতে পরিণত হয়েছে।

নদীটির জীবন শোষণ করে নগরী তার প্রাচুর্যের ঋণ পরিশোধ করেছে! সংবাদপত্রের প্রতিবেদন অনুযায়ী, দূষণের কারণে বুড়িগঙ্গা মরে যাচ্ছে। বিশাল পরিমাণে বিষাক্ত রাসায়নিক দ্রব্যাদি এবং কল-কারখানা, হাসপাতাল, ক্লিনিক, ঘরবাড়ি ও অন্যান্য স্থাপনা হতে বর্জ্য পদার্থ প্রত্যেকদিন নদীতে ফেলা হয়। ঢাকা শহর প্রত্যেকদিন প্রায় ৪৫০০ টন কঠিন বর্জ্য ত্যাগ করে এবং এর অধিকাংশই সরাসরি বুড়িগঙ্গা নদীতে ফেলা হয়। পরিবেশ অধিদপ্তরের মতে, কিছু অতি মাত্রায় বিষাক্ত পদার্থসহ ২০,০০০ টন ট্যানারি বর্জ্য প্রত্যেকদিন নদীতে ফেলা হয়। বিশেষজ্ঞগণ রাজধানীর ভিতরে ও আশেপাশের টঙ্গী, তেজগাঁও, হাজারিবাগ, তারাব, নারায়ণগঞ্জ, সাভার, গাজীপুর, ঢাকা রপ্তানী প্রক্রিয়াজাত অঞ্চল এবং ঘোড়াশালকে নদী দূষণের প্রাথমিক উৎস হিসেবে চিহ্নিত করেছেন। 

উপরে উল্লেখিত সমস্ত বর্জ্য হজম করতে নদীটির একটা দৈত্যের পাকস্থলি প্রয়োজন হবে। এটা এই নিষ্ঠুর ও বিবেচনাহীন আচরণ কতটুকু সহ্য করতে পারে তার একটা সীমা আছে। আমরা মানুষেরাই সফলভাবে আমাদের একটি নদীকে মেরে ফেলেছি। দেশে অন্যান্য নদীগুলোও অনুরূপ বিবেচনাহীন আচরনের শিকার হতে যাচ্ছে। যদি আমরা আমদের নদীগুলোর যত্ন না নেই তাহলে একটা সময় আসবে যখন আমরা পানি, পানি বলে চিৎকার করব কিন্তু কোথাও পানি পাব না।

Ad

Ad