Valentina Tereshkova was born in the village Maslennikovo - 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 below and answer the questions following it.

Valentina Tereshkova was born in the village Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, in Central Russia. Tereshkova’s father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. Tereshkova began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953 and continued her education through distance learning. She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aero club, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959. At that time she was employed as a textile worker in a local factory. It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut. After the flight of Yuri Gagarin (the first human being to travel to outer space in 1961), the Soviet Union decided to send a woman in space. On 16 February 1962, ‘proletaria’ Valentina Tereshkova was selected for this project from among more than four hundred applicants. Tereshkova had to undergo a series of training that included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UTI jet fighters. Since the successful launch of the spacecraft Vostok-5 on 14 June 1963, Tereshkova began preparing for her own flight. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up cosmonaut Solovyova ware dressed in space-suits and taken to the space shuttle launch pad by a bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside Vostok 6. Finishing a two-hour countdown, Vostok-6 launched faultlessly.

A.  Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 5

(a)  ‘Outer space’ refers to —

i. interplanetary space ii. outside the space

iii. space beyond the atmosphere of iv. any location inside the earth

(b)  The word ‘undergo’ stands for —

i. to experience ii. to sustain iii. imperative iv. to endure

c)  Tereshkova had knack in —

i. swimming ii. skydiving iii. flying in the sky iv. Gardening

d)  Tereshkova made her first jump at the age of —

i. 12 ii. 22 iii. 25 iv. 20

e)  ‘—her expertise in skydiving that led. Her selection as a cosmonaut.’ What does it imply?

i.  Skydiving made impediment on her way to be an astronaut

ii.  Skydiving is the most essential quality to be an astronaut

iii.  Skydiving helped her to be chosen as an astronaut

iv.  Skydiving is not needed to be an astronaut

B.  Answer the following questions. 10

a)  How do you differentiate Tereshkova from other girls of her age?

b)  What qualities do you think helped Valentina build her career as an astronaut?

c)  Why did Tereshkova receive education through distance learning though she could have received education in school?

d)  How do you evaluate the story of Tereshkova’s becoming a part of history?

e)   ‘Only man has the audacity to go outer space.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Ans. to the ques.

1. A. Ans. (a) iii. space beyond the atmosphere of (b) i. to experience (c) ii. skydiving (d) ii. 22 (e) iii. Skydiving helped her to be chosen as an astronaut.

1. B. Ans.

a)  Tereshkova was different from other girls of her age. Firstly, she had a knack of skydiving. Secondly, she had the audacity to do outer space.

b)  I think the aptitude in skydiving helped her to be an astronaut. Her determination also helped her to be so.

c)    Though Tereshkova could have received education in school, she received education through distance learning. The reason is that she was from insolvent family. She had to work as a textile worker.

d)  Tereshkova has became a part of history by didn’t of her audacity to fly in the outer space. She was the first woman to do so. Thus she made an epoch-making event. And she has made her name a part of history.

e)   I disagree with this statement. Not only man but also woman has the audacity to fly in the sky. Tereshkova is a glaring example of it.

Answer:

Bangla Translation

সৌন্দর্য উপলব্ধি করা সহজ কিন্তু সংজ্ঞায়িত করা কঠিন। আমরা যখন চারপাশে তাকাই, তখন আমরা আনন্দদায়ক বস্তু এবং দৃশ্যের মধ্যে সৌন্দর্য আবিষ্কার করি - প্রকৃতিতে, শিশুদের হাসিতে, অপরিচিতদের দয়ায়। কিন্তু সংজ্ঞায়িত করার জন্য জিজ্ঞাসা করলে আমরা সমস্যার সম্মুখীন হই। সৌন্দর্যের কি একটি স্বাধীন বস্তুনিষ্ঠ পরিচয় আছে? এটি কি সর্বজনীন, নাকি এটি আমাদের ইন্দ্রিয় উপলব্ধির উপর নির্ভরশীল? এটি কি দর্শকের চোখে পড়ে? - আমরা নিজেদেরকে জিজ্ঞাসা করি। আরও একটি অসুবিধা দেখা দেয় যখন সৌন্দর্য কেবল তার উপস্থিতি দ্বারাই নয়, বরং তার অনুপস্থিতিতেও নিজেকে প্রকাশ করে, যেমন যখন আমরা কদর্যতা দ্বারা বিতাড়িত হই এবং সৌন্দর্য কামনা করি। কিন্তু তারপর কদর্যতা আমাদের জীবনে সৌন্দর্যের মতোই স্থান পায়, অথবা আরও বেশি হতে পারে - যেমন যখন একটি সমাজে ব্যাপক ক্ষুধা এবং অবিচার থাকে। দার্শনিকরা আমাদের বলেছেন যে সৌন্দর্য জীবনের একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অংশ, কিন্তু কদর্যতা কি জীবনের একটি অংশ নয়? এবং যদি শিল্পের সৌন্দর্য একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ উপাদান হিসাবে থাকে, তবে এটি কি কেবল সৌন্দর্যের অভিক্ষেপের মধ্যেই সীমাবদ্ধ থাকতে পারে? শিল্প কি যা সুন্দর নয় তা উপেক্ষা করতে পারে?

কবি এবং শিল্পীরা তাদের কাজে উভয়কেই অন্তর্ভুক্ত করে একটি উত্তর দিয়েছেন। এইভাবে, তারা প্রায়শই সৌন্দর্যকে সত্য এবং ন্যায়ের সাথে সংযুক্ত করেছেন, যাতে যা সুন্দর নয় তা সহনীয় অনুপাত ধরে নেয় যা জীবনের কিছু সত্যকে প্রতিনিধিত্ব করে। রোমান্টিক কবি জন কিটস তার বিখ্যাত 'ওড অন আ গ্রীসিয়ান আর্ন'-এ লিখেছেন 'সৌন্দর্য সত্য, সত্য সৌন্দর্য', যার অর্থ তিনি সত্যকে, এমনকি যদি তা মনোরম নাও হয়, তবে উচ্চতর স্তরে সুন্দর হয়ে ওঠে। একইভাবে, যা সুন্দর তা চিরকাল সত্য থাকে। গ্রীসিয়ান আর্ন - একটি শিল্প বস্তু - এর প্রেক্ষাপটে আরেকটি অর্থ হল সত্য শিল্পের একটি শর্ত।

প্রতিটি ভাষার কবিতা সৌন্দর্য এবং সত্যকে উদযাপন করে। শিল্পও তাই করে। এখানে দুটি ভিন্ন সময়ের দুটি কবিতা রয়েছে যা সৌন্দর্য এবং সত্য সম্পর্কে কিছু স্থায়ী ধারণা উপস্থাপন করে। কবিতাগুলি রোমান্টিক ঐতিহ্যের একজন ইংরেজ কবি লর্ড বায়রন (১৭৮৮-১৮২৪) এবং আমেরিকান কবি এমিলি ডিকিনসন (১৮৩০-১৮৮৬) এর লেখা, যিনি মানব দৃশ্য, প্রেম এবং মৃত্যু সম্পর্কে লিখেছিলেন।

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Passage-2

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

Valentina Tereshkova was born in the village Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District, in Central Russia. Tereshkova's father was a tractor driver and her mother worked in a textile plant. Tereshkova began school in 1945 at the age of eight, but left school in 1953 and continued her education through distance learning. She became interested in parachuting from a young age, and trained in skydiving at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959. At that time she was employed as a textile worker in a local factory. It was her expertise in skydiving that led to her selection as a cosmonaut.

After the flight of Yuri Gagarin (the first human being to travel to outer space in 1961), the Soviet Union decided to send a woman in space. On 16 February 1962, "proletaria" Valentina Tereshkova was selected for this project from among more than four hundred applicants. Tereshkova had to undergo a series of training that included weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UTI jet fighters.

Since the successful launch of the spacecraft Vostok-5 on 14 June 1963, Tereshkova began preparing for her own flight. On the morning of 16 June 1963, Tereshkova and her back-up cosmonaut Solovyova were dressed in space-suits and taken to the space shuttle launch pad by a bus. After completing her communication and life support checks, she was sealed inside Vostok 6. Finishing a two-hour countdown, Vostok-6 launched faultlessly.

Although Tereshkova experienced nausea and physical discomfort for much of the flight, she orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. With a single flight, she logged more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that date. Tereshkova also maintained a flight log and took photographs of the horizon, which were later used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere.

Vostok-6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched two days after Vostok-5, which carried Valery Bykovsky into a similar orbit for five days, landing three hours after Tereshkova. The two vessels approached each other within 5 kilometers at one point, and from space Tereshkova communicated with Bykovsky and the Soviet leader Khrushchev by radio.

Much later, in 1977 Tereshkova earned a doctorate in Engineering from Zhukovsky Air Force Academy. Afterwards she turned to politics. During the Soviet regime she became one of the presidium members of the Supreme Soviet. Now this living legend is a member in the lower house of the Russian legislature. On her 70th birthday when she was invited by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, she expressed her desire to fly to Mars, even if for a one-way trip.

[Unit-1; Lesson-3]

[Feni Girls' Cadet College, Feni- '16]

বাংলা অনুবাদঃ 

ভেলেন্তিনা তেরেসকোভা মধ্য রাশিয়ার টাটাভস্কি জেলার মাসলোনিকোভা গ্রামে জন্মগ্রহণ করেন। তেরেসকোভার বাবা ছিলেন একজন ট্রাকটর চালক আর তার মা একটি টেক্সটাইল কারখানায় কাজ করতেন। ১৯৪৫ সালে আট বছর বয়সে তেরেসকোভা বিদ্যালয়ে যান, কিন্তু ১৯৫৩ সালে স্কুল ত্যাগ করেন এবং দূরশিক্ষণের মাধ্যমে তার পড়াশোনা চালিয়ে যান। অল্প বয়স থেকেই তিনি প্যারাশূট চালনায় আগ্রহী হয়ে উঠেন, এবং স্থানীয় একটি এরোক্লাবে স্কাইডাইভিঙের প্রশিক্ষণ নেন, ১৯৫৯ সালের ২১ মে ২২ বছর বয়সে প্রথম অভিযান শুরু করেন। ঐ সময় তিনি একটি স্থানীয় কারখানায় টেক্সটাইলের কর্মী হিসাবে কাজ করতেন। স্কাইডাইভিঙে তার নৈপূণ্য তাকে নভোচারী হিসাবে নির্বাচিত হওয়ার পক্ষে সুযোগ তৈরি করে।

ইউরি গ্যাগরিনের মহাকাশ অভিযানের পর (প্রথম মানব যিনি ১৯৬১ সালে মহাকাশ ভ্রমণ করেন), সোভিয়েত ইউনিয়ন মহাশূন্যে একজন মহিলা পাঠানোর সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়। ১৯৬২ সালের ১৬ ফেব্রুয়ারি “প্রলিটারিয়া” ভেলেন্তিনা তেরেসকোভাকে চারশত আবেদনকারীদের মধ্যে বাছাই করা হয়। তেরেসকোভাকে অনেকগুলো প্রশিক্ষণ নিতে হয় সেগুলোর মধ্যে রয়েছে ওজনবিহীন উড্ডয়ন, নির্জনতার পরীক্ষা, তরল পদার্থে বস্তুকণিকাকে ঘূর্ণনগতির দ্বারা পরস্পর থেকে পৃথক করার পরীক্ষা, রকেট চালানোর বিদ্যা, মহাকাশযান প্রকৌশলবিদ্যা, ১২০ প্যারাশূট উড্ডয়ন এবং মিগ-15UTI জেট বিমান চালনার প্রশিক্ষণ।

১৯৬৩ সালের ১৪ জুন মহাকাশযান ভস্টক-৫ এর সফলজনক অভিযানের পর, তেরেসকোভা তার নিজের অভিযানের প্রস্তুতি নেন। ১৯৬৩ সালের ১৬ জুন সকালে, তেরেসকোভা এবং তার সহযোগী নভোচারী সলোভাইওভা নভোচারীর পোশাক পরিধান করেন এবং একটি বাসে করে তাকে মহাকাশযান উড্ডয়নের মঞ্চে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয়। তার যোগাযোগ এবং জীবন রক্ষাকারী সরঞ্জামের পরীক্ষা সম্পূর্ণ করার পর, তাকে ভস্টক-৬ এর মধ্যে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয়। দুই-ঘণ্টা উল্টো গণনার পর, ভষ্টক-৬ ত্রুটিহীনভাবে যাত্রা শুরু করে।

যদিও বিমানে উড্ডয়নের ফলে তেরেসকোভার বমি বমি ভাব হয়েছিল এবং শারীরিকভাবে অস্বস্তি অনুভব করেছিলেন, তিনি ৪৮ বার পৃথিবীকে প্রদক্ষিণ করেছিলেন এবং মহাশূন্যে প্রায় তিনদিন অতিবাহিত করেন। মাত্র একবার উড্ডয়ন করে, তিনি ঐ তারিখের পূর্বে সকল আমেরিকান নভোচারীরা যে সময় ব্যয় করেছিল তার চেয়ে বেশি সময় অতিবাহিত করেন। তেরেসকোভা উড্ডয়নের একটি সময় তালিকা বজায় রাখতেন এবং দিগন্তের ছবি তুলতেন, যা পরবর্তীতে জলবায়ু এরোসলের স্তর সনাক্তকরণে ব্যবহৃত হয়।

ভস্টক-৬ হচ্ছে সর্বশেষ ভস্টক ফ্লাইট যা ভস্টক-৫ উড্ডয়নের দুই দিন পর চালু হয়, যা ভ্যালারি ভাইকভস্কিকে একই পথে পাঁচদিনের জন্য বহন করে, এবং তেরেসকোভা মাটিতে অবতরণের তিন ঘণ্টা পরে অবতরণ করেন। মহাকাশযান দুইটি এক সময় পাঁচ কিলোমিটারের মধ্যে পৌঁছে যায়, এবং মহাকাশযান থেকে তেরেসকোভা ভাইকভস্কি এবং সোভিয়েত নেতা খরুসচেঙ এর সাথে রেডিওর মাধ্যমে যোগাযোগ করেন।

অনেক পরে, ১৯৭৭ সালে তেরেসকোভা জুকোভস্কি এয়ারফোর্স একাডেমি থেকে ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং এর উপর ডক্টরেট ডিগ্রী অর্জন করেন। এরপর, তিনি রাজনীতিতে যোগদান করেন। সোভিয়েত শাসনের সময়কালে তিনি সুপ্রীম সোভিয়েতের একজন প্রেসিডিয়াম সদস্য হোন। এখন এই জীবন্ত কিংবদন্তী রাশিয়ান পার্লামেন্টের নিæকক্ষের একজন সদস্য। তার ৭০তম জন্মদিনে যখন রাশিয়ান প্রধানমন্ত্রী ভ্লাদিমির পুতিন তাকে নিমন্ত্রণ জানিয়েছিল, তিনি মঙ্গল গ্রহে যাওয়ার ইচ্ছা ব্যক্ত করেন। এমনকি যদি তিনি সেখান থেকে ফিরে আসতে নাও পারেন তবুও।

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

(a) Valentina Tereshkova was born in —.

 (i) 1936 (ii) 1937 (iii) 1939 (iv) 1935

(b) She studied in school for —.

 (i) 7 years (ii) 8 years (iii) 9 years (iv) 6 years

(c) Tereshkova is the — to have flown in space.

 (i) third woman (ii) first man (iii) last woman (iv) first woman

(d) Tereshkova was a textile factory worker before her — as a cosmonaut.

 (i) cancellation (ii) recruitment (iii) coming (iv) beginning

(e) After the flight of Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet Union — to send a woman in space.

 (i) came up with the idea (ii) marched (iii) finalized  (iv) fixed

❤ Extra Questions:

(f) Valentina had —.

 (i) low social status (ii) high social status (iii) minimum education  (iv) sufficient education

(g) Tereshkova was — when she made her first flight to space.

 (i) 26 years old (ii) upset (iii) sick (iv) 20 years old

(h) Which of the following statement is false?

 (i) Tereshkova left school at an early age (ii) Vostok-6 was launched before Vostok-5

 (iii) Valentina was selected from among more than 400 applicants

 (iv) Soviet Union recruited Valentina for their mission

(i) The word 'regime' means —.

 (i) command (ii) establishment (iii) rule (iv) system

(j) What does the word 'legislature' means?

 (i) house (ii) respected (iii) politician (iv) parliament

(k) Vostok-6 was launched on —.

 (i) 16 June 1963 (ii) 15 June 1963 (iii) 14 June 1963 (iv) 16 June 1964

(l) Tereshkova left school when she was —.

 (i) 15 years old (ii) 16 years old (iii) 17 years old (iv) 9 years old

(m) Tereshkova was selected for Soviet Union's space mission at the age of —.

 (i) 22 (ii) 25 (iii) 21 (iv) 26

(n) Tereshkova maintained a — during her orbitting the earth.

 (i) a register book (ii) record (iii) diary (iv) time schedule

(o) Which of the following is synonymous to 'horizon' according to the meaning of the text?

 (i) prospect (ii) vertical (iii) skyline (iv) scope

(p) What is the closest meaning of 'employ'?

 (i) service (ii) engage (iii) spend (iv) use

(q) What does the phrase 'expertise in skydiving' mean?

 (i) expertness in skydiving  (ii) expert skydiver  (iii) skydiving trainer  (iv) all the above statements

(r) What is the meaning of 'faultlessly'?

 (i) inappropriately (ii) incorrectly (iii) imperfectly (iv) appropriately

(s) This living legend is a member in -.

 (i) the lower house of the Russian legislature (ii) the upper house of the Russian legislature

 (iii) the Supreme Soviet (iv) Russian Air Force Academy

(t) 'Vostok-6 was the final Vostok flight and was launched two days after Vostok-5.' What does it mean?

 (i) Vostok-6 orbited for 5 days (ii) Vostok-5 orbited for 2 days

 (iii) Vostok-6 made the last space flight (iv) none of the above statements

(u) Tereshkova's father was a —.

 (i) bus driver (ii) truck driver (iii) can driver (iv) tractor driver

(v) Tereshkova's mother worked in a/ an —.

 (i) textile plant (ii) gas plant (iii) electricity plant (iv) jute plant

(w) She made her first skydiving at the age of —.

 (i) 20 (ii) 21 (iii) 22 (iv) 23

(x) She was selected for space flight —.

 (i) 10.02.1962 (ii) 12.02.1963 (iii) 14.03.1962 (iv) 16.02.1962

(y) The word 'nausea' means —.

 (i) aversion (ii) sickness (iii) vomiting (iv) disgust

(z) The synonym of 'communicate' is —.

 (i) announce (ii) correspond (iii) fax (iv) notify

(aa)  Tereshkova orbited the earth — times.

 (i) 40 (ii) 44 (iii) 46 (iv) 48

(bb)  Tereshkova earned a doctorate in Engineering from Zhukovasky Air Force Academy in —.

 (i) 1877 (ii) 1927 (iii) 1977 (iv) 2000

Answer (A): 

(a) (ii) 1937 (b) (ii) 8 years (c) (iv) first woman (d) (ii) recruitment (e) (i) came up with the idea (f) (i) low social status (g) (i) 26 years old (h) (ii) Vostok-6 was launched before Vostok-5 (i) (iii) rule (j) (iv) parliament (k) (i) 16 June 1963 (l) (ii) 16 years old (m) (ii) 25 (n) (i) a register book (o) (iii) skyline (p) (ii) engage (q) (i) expertness in skydiving (r) (iv) appropriately (s) (i) the lower house of the Russian legislature (t) (iii) Vostok-6 made the last space flight (u) (iv) tractor driver (v) (i) textile plant (w) (iii) 22 (x) (iv) 16.02.1962 (y) (iii) vomiting (z) (ii) correspond (aa) (iv) 48 (bb) (iii) 1977

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

(a) What is distance learning?

(b) What do you mean by "proletaria"? Why is Valentina Tereshkova said a 'proletaria"?

(c) What helped Valentina to be a cosmonaut?

(d) What do you know about Vostok-6?

(e) Which record did Tereshkova make during her flight?

❤ Extra Questions:

(f) Describe the preparation that was taken before the launch of Vostok-6.

(g) Explain Tereshkova's flight in 2/3 sentences.

(h) What do you mean by 'living legend'? Is Valentina Tereshkova a 'living legend'? Describe in 2/3 sentences.

(i) Give an account of Valentina Tereshkova's early life.

(j) What do you know about Valentina Tereshkova's education before joining the flight project?

(k) Which trainings did Valentina have to take after joining the flight project?

(l) What is the central idea of the passage relating to Valentina Tereshkova?

(m) What do you know about Vostok-5?

(n) Who is Valentina Tereshkova? Where was she born?

(o) Who is Vladimir Putin? What did Tereshkova desire to do on her 70th birthday?

Answer (B): 

(a) Distance learning is the education of students who are not physically present at an institution. It is a way of learning through which students learn remotely without being in regular face-to-face contact with a teacher in the classroom.

(b) "Proletaria" means a member of a working class people in a capitalist society. Valentina Tereshkova is said a "Proletaria" as she was a textile worker in a local factory.

(c) Valentina Tereshkova had interest in Parachuting from young age and she was trained in skydiving. These things helped Tereshkova to be a cosmonaut.

(d) Vostok 6 was the first human spaceflight mission to carry a woman cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, into space. The spacecraft was launched successfully on June 16, 1963.

(e) Tereshkova orbited the earth 48 times and spent almost three days in space. She made a record of logging more flight time than the combined times of all American astronauts who had flown before that day with a single flight.

(f) Vostok 6 was launched two days later of the successful launch of Vostok 5. On the morning of 16 June, 1963, Tereshkova and her backup cosmonaut Solovyova were dressed in space suits and taken to the space shuttle launch pad by a bus. There held a final checks of communication and life support.

(g) Valentina Tereshkova made her first flight to space, carried by Vostok 6, on June 16, 1963. She was the first woman in the history of spaceflight. She spent almost three days in space and orbitted the earth 48 times.

(h) "Living legend" refers to those people who are extremely famous during the time that they are alive. Yes, Valentina Tereshkova is a living legend. She is the first women in the history who made an adventurous flight to space.

(i) Valentina Tereshkova came of a proletariat family in Central Russia. She began schooling at the age of eight but did not continue. Then she received education through distance learning. She became interested in parachuting from a tender age.

(j) Valentina Tereshkova entered school at the age of eight in 1945 but left it in 1953. She continued her education through distance learning. She took training in skydiving at the local Aeroclub before joining the flight project. She made her first jump in 1959 and her expertise in skydiving led to her selection as an astronaut.

(k) After joining the flight project Valentina Tereshkova had to undergo a series of trainings including weightless flights, isolation tests, centrifuge tests, rocket theory, spacecraft engineering, 120 parachute jumps and pilot training in MiG-15UT1 jet fighters.

(l) The passage depicts Valentina Tereshkova's ambitious and courageous struggle of becoming the first ever woman to space although she belongs to a proletariate family.

(m) Vostok-5 is a spacecraft of the then Soviet Union. Valary Bykovsky, a Soviet astronaut flew in space by this spaceship launched two days before Vostok-6. It launched into a similar orbit for five days and landed three hours after Tereshkova.

(n) Valentina Tereshkova is a Russian cosmonaut. She was born in the village Maslennikovo, Tutayevsky District in Central Russia.

(o) Vladimir Putin is the Prime Minister of Russia. Tereshkova expressed her desire to fly to Mars even if for a one way trip on her 70th birthday.

Passage-3

3. Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.

Beauty is easy to appreciate but difficult to define. As we look around, we discover beauty in pleasurable objects and sights – in nature, in the laughter of children, in the kindness of strangers. But asked to define, we run into difficulties. Does beauty have an independent objective identity? Is it universal, or is it dependent on our sense perceptions? Does it lie in the eye of the beholder? -we ask ourselves. A further difficulty arises when beauty manifests itself not only by its presence, but by its absence as well, as when we are repulsed by ugliness and desire beauty. But then ugliness has as much a place in our lives as beauty, or may be more-as when there is widespread hunger and injustice in a society. Philosophers  have told us that beauty is an important part of life, but isn’t ugliness a part of life too? And if art has beauty as an important ingredient, can it confine itself only to a projection of beauty? Can art ignore what is not beautiful?

Poets and artists have provided an answer by incorporating both into their work. In doing so, they have often tied beauty to truth and justice, so that what is not beautiful assumes a tolerable proportion as something that represents some truth about life. John Keats, the romantic poet, wrote in his celebrated ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ by which he means that truth, even if it’s not pleasant, becomes beautiful at a higher level. Similarly, what is beautiful forever remains true. Another meaning, in the context of the Grecian Urn-an art object-is that truth is a condition of art.

Poetry in every language celebrates beauty and truth. So does art. Here are two poems from two different times that present some enduring ideas about beauty and truth. The poems are by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an English poet of the Romantic tradition, and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), an American poet who wrote about the human scene, love and death.

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

(a)     Which of the following has the closest meaning of the word “pleasurable”?

(i) dissatisfaction   (ii) pain             (iii) offend         (iv) delightful

(b)     What is the closest meaning of the word “incorporate”?

(i) embody (ii) corporation (iii) incorporeal (iv) intangible

(c)     ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is written by ——-.

(i) Lord Byron         (ii) John Keats (iii) Wordsworth (iv) PB Shelly

(d)                  What does the word ‘tolerable’ mean?

(i) not so good                    (ii) bad              (iii) moderately good    (iv) tolerant

(e)     Lord Byron is a ——– poet?

(i)     Revolutionary (ii) Romantic (iii) Classical (iv) Modern

 Answer the following questions. 2´5=10

(a)     How can we discover beauty in our surroundings?

(b)     How much place does ugliness have in our life?

(c)     What is the name of the poet of “Ode and a Grecian Urn”?

(d)     Do you get any definition of beauty from the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’?

(e)     What was Byron’s intention?