Passage

Answer : Not so long ago a book on human origins would have devoted a substantial number of pages to descriptions of the fossil evidence for primate evolution. This was in part because it was assumed that at each stage of primate evolution one of the fossil primates would have been recognizable as the direct ancestor of modern humans. However, we now know that for various reasons many of these taxa are highly unlikely to be ancestral to living higher primates. Instead, this account will concentrate on what we know of the evolution and relationships of the great apes. It will review how long Western scientists have known about the great apes, and it will show how ideas about their relationships to each other, and to modern humans, have changed. It will also explore which of the living apes is most closely related to modern humans.

Among the tales of exotic animals brought home by explorers and traders: were descriptions of what we now know as the great apes, that is, chimpanzees and gorillas, from Africa, and orangutans from Asia. Aristotle referred to “apes as well as to ‘monkeys’ and ‘baboons” in his Historia animalium (literally the “History of Animals’), but his ‘apes’ were the same as the “apes’ dissected by the early anatomists, which were short-tailed macaque monkeys from North Africa.

One of the first people to undertake a systematic review of the differences between modern humans and the chimpanzee and gorilla was Thomas Henry Huxley. In an essay entitled “On the relations of Man to the Lower Animals’ that formed the central section of his 1863 book called Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature, he concluded the anatomical differences between modern humans and the chimpanzee and gorilla were less marked than the differences between the two African apes and the orangutan.

Darwin used this evidence in his The Descent of Man published in 1871 to suggest that, because the African apes were morphologically closer to modern humans than to the only great ape known from Asia, the ancestors of modern humans were more likely to be found in Africa than elsewhere. This deduction played a critical role in pointing most researchers towards Africa as a likely place to find human ancestors As we will see in the next chapter, those who considered the orangutan our closest relative looked to South-East Asia as the most likely place to find modem human ancestors.

Developments in biochemistry and immunology during the first half of the 20th century allowed the search for evidence about the nature of the relationships between modern humans and the apes to be shifted from traditional morphology to the morphology of molecules. The earliest attempts to use proteins to determine primate relationships were made just after the turn of the century, hut the first results of a new generation of analyses were reported in the early 1960s. The famous US biochemist Linus Pauling coined the name ‘molecular anthropology for this area of research.

Two reports, both published in 1963, provided crucial evidence. Emile Zuckerkandl, another pioneer molecular anthropologist, described how he used enzymes to break up the protein haemoglobin from blood red cells into its peptide components, and that when he separated them using a small electric current, the patterns made by the peptides from a modern human, a chimpanzee, and a gorilla were indistinguishable.

The second contribution was by Morris Goodman, who has spent his life working on molecular anthropology, who used techniques borrowed from immunology to study samples of a serum (serum is what is left after blood has clotted) protein called albumin taken from modern humans, apes, and monkeys. He came to the Conclusion that the albumins of modern humans and chimpanzees were so alike in their structure that you cannot tell them apart.

Proteins are made up of a string of amino acids. In many instances one amino acid may be substituted for another without changing the function of the protein. In the 1960s and 1970s Vince Sarich and Allan Wilson, two Berkeley biochemists interested in primate and human evolution, exploited these minor variations in protein structure in order to determine the evolutionary history of the molecules, and therefore, presumably, the evolutionary history of the taxa being sampled. They, too, concluded that modern humans and the African apes were very closely related.

Q. (a) What does the author say about earlier assumptions regarding evolution?

Ans: The author states that earlier studies of human evolution focused on fossil evidence because it was assumed that at each stage of primate evolution, one of the fossil primates would have been recognizable as the direct ancestor of modern humans. The author asserts that now we know that this is not true.

(b) According to the author, how are modern humans and apes related?

Ans: The author has given several evidences of the relationship between modern humans and apes by quoting the works of different researchers, like Thomas Henry Huxley, who in his 1863 book, "Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature," said that the anatomical differences between modern humans and the chimpanzee and gorilla were less marked than the differences between the two African apes and the orangutan. This evidence was cited by Darwin in his book "The Descent of Man," where he made the argument that since African apes resembled modern humans more closely than the great apes known to exist in Asia, the ancestors of modern humans were more likely to have originated in Africa. This deduction played a critical role in pointing most researchers toward Africa as a likely place to find human ancestors.

(c) What later developments took place in the twentieth century in investigating the relationship of apes and humans?

Ans: The first half of the 20th century saw advances in biochemistry and immunology, which allowed the focus of the investigation into the nature of the links between contemporary humans and apes to change from classical morphology to the morphology of molecules. The term "molecular anthropology" was created by American biochemist Linus Pauling to describe this field of study. When Emile Zuckerkandl used a modest electric current to separate the peptides from a modern human, a chimpanzee, and a gorilla, the patterns they created were indistinguishable. He had utilised enzymes to break the protein haemoglobin from blood red cells into its peptide components. Morris Goodman came to the conclusion that there was no way to distinguish between modern humans and chimps' albumins due to their structural similarity.

(d) What were the attempts made to use proteins to determine primate relationships?

Ans: Proteins were studied to determine primate relationships by different researchers.For example, Emile Zuckerkandl used enzymes to break up the protein haemoglobin from blood red cells into its peptide components, and by passing an electric current through them, he observed that the patterns made by the peptides from a modern human, a chimpanzee, and a gorilla were indistinguishable. Morris Goodman, studied samples of serum protein called albumin taken from modern humans, apes, and monkeys and concluded that the structure of modern humans and chimpanzees were indistinguishable. Vince Sarich and Allan Wilson used the minor variations in protein structure to determine the evolutionary history of the primates and modern humans.

(e) In what way does the latest research prove the relationship between apes and humans?

Ans: Vince Sarich and Allan Wilson used variations in protein structure to infer the evolutionary history of the molecules and, in turn, the evolutionary history of humans and primates. Vince Sarich and Allan Wilson knew that one amino acid can be substituted for another without changing the function of the protein. They concluded that modern humans and African apes were closely related.

Answer : Life on planet earth has been possible for millions of years largely because of certain basic services associated with the biosphere. Important among these are: Climate and radiation regulation; Microbial transformations and decomposition; Biological diversity; and Opportunities for sustainable advances in biological productivity.

We now find ourselves in a state where these essential services are in jeopardy, largely as a result of human induced damage to the basic life support systems of land, water, flora, fauna and the atmosphere. Symptoms of an impending and general breakdown of the life support and ecological systems are already here. Some of these are mounting population growth; vanishing source of drinking water; vanishing forests, plants and animal biodiversity; intensifying drought and floods; loss of grazing lands; growing degradation of fertile land and desertification; deterioration of the quality of air and water; accumulation of toxic and non-biodegradable wastes in the biosphere; explosive growth of rural and urban unemployment and mushrooming of urban slums. It is the poor and the marginalised urban and rural people who are suffering most from such environmental breakdown.

The threats to climate change and radiation regulation are receiving the most prominent public attention largely because of the all-pervasive nature of their potential harmful impact. "Our Common Future", the report of the World Commission of Environment and Development by the United Nations is indicative that ecologically the fates of people, whether rich or poor, are intertwined. Recent reports on the state of the world paints a frightening picture of the rapid depletion of the world's natural resources coupled with rising social and economic problems.

They reflect the widespread frustration about the inability of current approaches to solve the interlinked problems of environment and development and call for major changes in the way people think, use the finite resources of earth and programme their development. Developing countries like ours are faced with the urgent need for accelerating economic growth in a manner that the poor become the main beneficiaries and not the rich. We should also avoid proceeding on those developmental paths where environmental costs are high and the developmental activities cannot be sustained for long. The new paradigm of development should promote economic activities and life-styles based on the concept of "man with nature" and not "man against nature".

Today, we are passing through an era of global change whether it is in politics or economics. Inequity in the resource distribution and consumption between the developed and the developing nations of the world have become most apparent. The earth is undergoing drastic climatic changes. The last few years have been the warmest ones ever recorded. The heat trap works differently in different latitudes and altitudes having a tremendous effect on major crops like wheat. The protective ozone layer is being slowly damaged giving rise to medical problems for human beings and affecting several plants and their yield, animals and their behaviour.

Though the causes of pollution of our soils, lakes and vegetation are different, the effect is the same. Mercilessly everyday pristine wild habitats are being destroyed. Nearly half of our country is tilled for agriculture and only 11 per cent of the land area has to bear the brunt of growing population, housing, roads and factories and its "carrying capacity" is under severe stress.

The dreaded nuclear autumn or nuclear winter is a potential threat to the environment which might result in large scale habitat destruction, species extinction, air pollution, toxic chemicals, acid rain, ozone depletion etc. A nuclear non-proliferation movement with abolition of nuclear weapons, has to be spearheaded enthusiastically.

Experts have predicted that serious food shortages could occur during this decade. Such a prognosis is based on three major factors: Soil erosion; Unsustainable utilisation of groundwater; and Deforestation. They are together reducing the global potential for food production by nearly 14 million tonnes each year. New technologies, including biotechnology, are unlikely to help in achieving a quantum jump in productivity improvement at least during this decade. Due to the continuing damage to the ecological foundations of stable and sustainable agriculture, land degradation and water depletion, ecological access to food may become the most important food security challenge of the 21st century.

Q. (a) According to the passage, what are the factors responsible for the evolution of life on earth?

Ans: According to the passage, life on earth has been possible because of certain basic services associated with the biosphere: Climate and radiation regulation, Microbial transformations and decomposition, Biological diversity, and opportunities for sustainable advances in biological productivity.

(b) What does the author mean by environmental breakdown? What are its impacts?

Ans: By ‘environmental breakdown’ the author wants to convey that the essential services associated with the biosphere are now in danger because of human induced damage to the basic life support systems of land, water, flora, fauna, and the atmosphere.

The impacts of this can be seen in the increasing population growth, depleting sources of drinking water, receding forests, plants, and animal biodiversity, increasing incidents of drought and floods, loss of grazing lands, degradation of fertile land and desertification, deterioration of the quality of air and water, accumulation of toxic and non-biodegradable wastes in the biosphere, explosive growth of rural and urban unemployment and rapid increase of urban slums.

(c) What suggestions does the author offer to balance the environment, development and inequality in consumption?

Ans: To balance environment, development, and inequity in consumption the author calls for major changes in the way people think and use the finite natural resources of the earth. The development of countries should be such that the environmental costs are not high, and the developmental activities can be sustained for a long time.The fruits of development should be mainly reaped by the poor and not the rich. The new paradigm of development should promote economic activities and lifestyles based on the concept of "man with nature" and not "man against nature".

(d) How is life on earth being affected by climate change as per the passage?

Ans: Life on earth is undergoing drastic changes as a result of climate change. With the depletion of the ozone layer, we are seeing catastrophic changes for life on Earth.

The last few years have been the warmest ever recorded. Areas which were earlier cold are becoming warmer whereas areas which were hot are becoming hotter. The heat trap works differently in different latitudes and altitudes having a tremendous effect on major crops like wheat. It is having a bad effect on the food security of countries.

We are witnessing a rise in diseases, with areas experiencing new medical issues that were earlier not there as a result of changing temperatures. Natural habitats of plants and animals are being destroyed, leading to species extinction. The Earth’s carrying capacity is under immense stress because of increased pressure that is felt to sustain a growing population by providing services like housing, roads and factories.

(e) How is environmental breakdown related to probable food storage?

Ans: Experts have predicted that serious food shortages could occur during this decade. Environmental breakdown resulting in damage to the systems of land and water can lead to a probable food shortage.

Soil erosion, unsustainable utilisation of groundwater, and deforestation are reducing the global potential for food production by nearly 14 million tons each year.

The continuing damage to the ecological foundations of sustainable agriculture, land degradation and water depletion can manifest into a food security issue, where access to food by all can become a challenge.

Answer : When Tolstoy led a party composed of his family and visitors to harvest a field for a widow, he was doing two things. In part, he was saying that everyone ought to do his share of what he called “bread labour”, and earn his keep by the sweat of his brow.

At the same time, he was affirming that each of us should help our less fortunate neighbours. Mahatma Gandhi agreed whole-heartedly with both these principles, but he linked them more closely than Tolstoy with what he saw as the decadence of industrial life that takes people away from the home and village crafts, which are varied and rewarding, to the soul-destroying monotony of machines.

Even before either of these great men had given their philosophy to the world, an American author named Thoreau, had built himself a hut in the woods to prove that he could support himself by the simplest manual work; and in Britain, Ruskin had led his students out from Oxford to build a raised footpath across the water meadows to a village to demonstrate the dignity of labour.

The path remains to this day, almost one hundred and fifty years later, lined with tall poplars, as a memorial to a fine ideal.

One could trace the history of such ideas still further back, to the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who preached the dignity and equality of man and the educational value of Nature and manual work, from the Swiss city of Geneva in the eighteenth century. It was however, a Swiss called Pierre Ceresole, a contemporary of Gandhiji, who took these basic principles and used them to promote international reconciliation.

Pierre was no ordinary Swiss, for it is rare for ordinary people to have the courage to dream dreams and attempt to put them into practice. Pierre’s father’s family originated in Italy, his mother’s family came from France, he had a German grandmother and had relations in England. He used to point out the stupidity of frontiers.

Pierre described how, at the age of seventeen, he was walking in the woods and experienced “something which seemed to me like a solemn dedication to truth ... in which the first necessity was to recognise one’s own faults. In a blinding fashion there came to me the Vision of Truth amid Nature’s mysteries and solitude.”

He had the habit of keeping a pencil and a notebook with him for entering his stray thoughts, and from these notebooks, of which there are more than a hundred, it is seen that he fretted over the many failures of the Western way of life and yet was generous about the people he met.

Despite being an engineer, Pierre, in order to work his way, took a job on a poultry farm and later in an oil-field. While he was in Honolulu, Hawaii, he earned his living by teaching French, but this resulted in his being paid more than he needed for his keep; he gave all his savings away to charity.

From Hawaii he moved on to Japan, experiencing there an entirely new way of life which helped him to see more clearly the virtues and follies of European culture. Returning home at the outbreak of the war, in 1914, he gave all the money inherited from his father to the State, saying, “I believe that the teachings of Christ are superior to good business sense.” Later he wrote, “Two thousand years ago there came a radiant light, full of peace and loving kindness — and we immediately crucified it.”

Pierre had been impressed with the sacrifice and heroism in war and wanted something equally positive mobilised in the cause of peace. He organised the first international work-camp at a war-devastated village in France. The idea was that people of different nationalities, including those whose countries had recently been enemies of one another, should be joined side by side in honest work to rebuild not only the concrete things but also the feelings of brotherhood that are shattered by war. The number of volunteers and the number of camps began to grow rapidly, and what had been the Swiss Service Civil became the Service Civil International (SCI). Pierre died in 1945 after World War II.

Pierre Ceresole had the satisfaction of doing what he believed to be right. Each year a growing number of volunteers go to work-camps and there is scarcely a country that has not heard of them. Anyone can become a work-camper, and for many this is the place to start — planting young trees and crossing the frontiers.

Q.(a) What were the principles of Tolstoy with which Mahatma Gandhi agreed? (CSE 2020)

Ans: Mahatma Gandhi wholeheartedly agreed with two principles of Tolstoy, i.e. one should earn his keep by the sweat of his brow and each of us should help our less fortunate neighbours.

(b) How are Thoreau and Ruskin linked to Gandhi and Tolstoy in the passage? (CSE 2020)

Ans: Thoreau and Ruskin are linked to Gandhi and Tolstoy in the passage through their shared belief in the principles of self-dependence and dignity of labour. Thoreau had built a hut for himself in the woods and Ruskin along with his students had built a footpath across the water meadows to a village.

(c) What was Pierre’s philosophy of life? (CSE 2020)

Ans: Pierre came from a multicultural family, tracing his roots to countries like Italy, France, Germany and England and as such he did not believe in division of country frontiers. He was religious and gave away large amounts of money to the State, saying that “I believe the teachings of Christ are superior to good business sense.” He wanted to promote international reconciliation and worked towards achieving it by including enemy countries in rebuilding efforts. He believed that not only should they rebuild concrete things but also feelings of brotherhood shattered by war.

(d) What is SCI and how did it come into existence? (CSE 2020)

Ans: Pierre organized the first international work camp at a war torn village in France, where people of different nationalities worked together in building not only the village but also the feelings of brotherhood. Soon, the number of volunteers and camps began to grow rapidly, and what had been the Swiss Service Civil came to be known as the Service Civil International.

(e) How is Pierre’s work different from the work of those mentioned in the passage?
(CSE 2020)

Ans: Pierre’s work is different from the work of Gandhi, Tolstoy, Thoreau, Ruskin and Rousseau because not only did he believe in the same principles as them but he moved a step further and used these principles to realize his dream of international reconciliation. He started work camps where volunteers from different countries, enemy countries worked together in rebuilding efforts.

Answer : History has a great variety of definitions and applications. In the broadest sense, it considers every thought that man has had since his first appearance and records every significant advance or recession. It attempts to evaluate all the developments in science, in art, in literature, in law. It sketches as complete a picture as possible of everything that has influenced man directly or indirectly.

History, more than any other subject, has been enslaved and distorted for selfish purposes. Members of the clergy have used it to glorify and to promote the interests of the church, statesman has utilized it to sway masses, and writers have distorted facts to substantiate their conclusions. War spirit them. The historian is likely to exaggerate the history of his own country- sometimes unintentionally --- because of his environment, and sometimes in order to facilitate the sale of his book. In all countries, there are zealots in responsible positions who cannot bear to have their fatherland criticized. Truth is frequently sacrificed at the altar of patriotism. Henry C. Lea, an outstanding American historian, declared that history should be “a serious attempt to ascertain the severest truth as to the past and set it forth without fear of favour.” Michelet, a famous French historian, believed that “sacrilege and the mocking of false gods are the historian’s first duty, his indispensable instrument for re-establishing the truth.”

The slight progress that we have made in the direction indicated by Lea and Michelet is rather discouraging, but there is a trend toward a broader and more inclusive point of view in the writing and teaching of history. World history, correctly interpreted, puts the individual state in the proper perspective and lessens the dangers of excessive nationalism. History has become more than war and politics. To make the story complete, the historian of the new school makes use of the work of the ethnologist, the anthropologist, the geographer, the archaeologist, geologist, the psychologist, the astronomer, the zoologist, the biologist, the chemist, the sociologist, and the economist. He is concerned with man’s cultural advances and his society, as well as with charters, constitutions, and wars.

There are dangers, as well as virtues, in the vast scope of the “new history”. Overpopulation and under specialization tend to cheapen history and to destroy some of its qualities as a basic and sober study. There are decided advantages in the comprehension of the broad scope of history, but, in addition, the student should be able to appreciate the depth of the subject. Years of research have been spent and volumes have been written on a single topic. Without these specialized works, surveys would be of no particular value. However, some of the historians of the “new history” have sacrificed important fundamental facts in order to make a chronicle of heroic persons and romantic occurrences. They have overstepped the point where history and fiction should meet. The historian should make his description of the past lifelike, hence, he should include grim realities as well as romantic incidents.

One of the important aspects of the “new history” is the emphasis upon man’s cultural developments, popularly termed civilization. Civilization is difficult to define and evaluate. Just where it began and where man’s actions and thoughts became human is impossible to determine. Man, like animals, has senses but some are less acutely developed; man has emotions, most of which are present, but latent, in animals. Comfort seems to be the chief goal of the lower forms of animal life, but man pushes beyond that toward something that he has difficulty in defining. This intangible something may be called civilization. Professor Lynn Thorndike believes that civilization “is the product of our higher qualities as exercised first by original and superior individuals and then accepted or followed by a sufficient number of human beings to make it a social fact.” Buckle held that moral and intellectual progress, and Bertrand Russell, a modern philosopher, thinks that it is the progress and predominance of science. Perhaps we can agree that knowledge of nature, progress in art, an ethical code, a government, and a degree of material prosperity are essential in any form of civilized society. Civilization became possible when chaos and insecurity were minimized. Curiosity and constructiveness were encouraged when fear was overcome and man turned his attention toward the understanding and embellishment of life.

Q.(a)Why does the author consider history an all-inclusive area of study? (CSE 2019)

Ans: The author considers history to be an all-inclusive area of study because of its various applications and definitions. It considers every thought of man, since its inception and records every significant advance or recession. History records and evaluates every development in other fields of study like science, art, literature and law. In all, it makes a record of anything and everything that has influenced man directly or indirectly.

(b) According to the author, how has history suffered distortions and why? (CSE 2019)

Ans: History has suffered several distortions through the centuries because of the selfish interests of its writers. Members of the clergy have used it to glorify and promote the interests of the Church, statesmen have used it to sway the masses and writers have distorted facts to substantiate their conclusions. Historians have exaggerated the history of their own country sometimes intentionally-to facilitate the sales of his book and sometimes unintentionally because of zealots who cannot bear to have their country criticized.

(c) How does the author describe the new school of historians? (CSE 2019)

Ans: The author describes the new school of historians as those who have moved beyond war and politics. They make use of the work of the ethnologist, the anthropologist, the geographer, the archaeologist, geologist, the psychologist, the astronomer, the zoologist, the biologist, the chemist, the sociologist and the economist. He is not only concerned about man’s cultural advances and his society but also with charters, constitutions and wars.

(d) What are the dangers associated with “new history”? (CSE 2019)

Ans: The dangers that are associated with “new history” are that overpopulation and under specialization tend to cheapen and destroy some of its qualities as a basic and sober study. Some of the historians of the “new history” have sacrificed important fundamental facts in order to make a chronicle of heroic persons and romantic occurrences. They have overstepped the point where history and fiction should meet.

(e) Why is it difficult to define and evaluate civilization? (CSE 2019)

Ans: Civilization is difficult to define and evaluate because it is impossible to evaluate just where it began and where man’s actions and thoughts became humane. Man, like animals, has senses but some are less acutely developed. Man has emotions, most of which are present, but latent, in animals. Comfort is the chief goal of animal life, but man pushes beyond that towards an intangible something that he has difficulty in defining. This intangible something may be called civilization.

Answer : It is often said that the Ghaznavid and Ghurid soldiers regarded death in a war against infidels as martyrdom in the cause of Islam. But it is more likely that the real draw was the attraction of plunder, the likes of which they had not seen in campaigns in more arid lands. For Indian Commanders, apart from plunder, battles incorporated the niceties of a sport with its own rules of play. Immortalizing the heroism of kings in battle, the poets and bards emphasized the rules of war and chivalry. To apply the chivalric code in minor campaigns may have relieved the tedium of war, but the campaigns against the Ghurids were of an entirely different nature and this may not have been realized initially. Notions of honour and devotion were often placed above expediency, and gradually the astrologically determined auspicious moment for attack took precedence over strategy and tactics. Inflated claims to valour, such as the hero who could defeat a thousand warriors simultaneously, began to enter the rhetoric of courtly literature.

The organization of Indian armies added to their weakness. Each army had as its permanent core the standing army, but many of the soldiers were local levies or soldiers supplied by Samantas where this was part of the latter’s obligation to the suzerain. In addition, mercenaries were a visible section of the armies of these times. Such a collection of soldiers had not always been trained to fight as a consolidated army. It was possibly also the dispersed character of the army that gave it a license to plunder indiscriminately.

Villagers were harassed and looted by armies on the march, particularly if the campaign coincided with the harvesting of the crop, as it often did. For peasants and merchants, war was a nightmare that disrupted the routine of earning a livelihood. Laying waste vast tracts of inhabited and cultivated land, merely because it was part of the enemy’s territory, was a proud boast attributed to Prithviraj Chauhan on defeating the Chandella ruler.

Historians have sometimes commented, perhaps more from hindsight, on why Indian rulers did not make a conjoint effort through the centuries to defend the North-Western passes. Time and again invaders came through these passes, yet little was done to prevent this, the defence of the region lying arbitrarily in the hands of the local rulers. It appears the construction of a series of fortifications along the passes was not thought feasible. Perhaps the need for defence was not given priority, the area being viewed as a natural frontier.

Alternatively, given the mountainous terrain, the only routes for pastoralists and caravan were through the passes and it was therefore thought better to leave them open. The local kings and chiefs who controlled the passes derived an income from this trade. There would have been familiarity too with those coming across the passes and therefore a slow recognition that sometimes friendliness had turned into hostility. The effectiveness of mountains as a frontier was also thwarted by the many occasions when the Punjab was conquered from across the borders or was involved in the politics of Afghanistan and Central Asia.

This closeness militated against a properly focused perspective on political developments across the borderlands and in Central Asia.

Invasions by outsiders are known in many parts of the world: the Huns attacking Rome, the Arabs invading Spain or the Spanish and Portuguese conquering Latin America.

The potentialities of invasions were recognised only in Hindsight. These invasions were mounted by alien peoples who were little known, if at all, to the societies they invaded. But the Turks had been a contiguous people, familiar from trade in horses and other commodities and from the Turkish mercenaries employed in some Indian Armies. However, the historical scene in Central Asia and West Asia had now changed, with new political ambitions after the rise of Islam. For the rulers of Northern India, to recognize this would have required an understanding of a wider range of politics beyond the areas enclosed by the immediate frontiers. This does not appear to have been an Indian concern. Indians who travelled to different parts of Asia on a variety of assignments wrote little about what they observed, remaining silent on the politics of other lands. It was almost as if the exterior landscape was irrelevant. Political interests therefore tended to be parochial. This marks a striking contrast to the world of the Chinese and the Arabs, both made aware of distant places through the detailed accounts of travellers and traders. The Arabs had a fascination for the geography of other lands and the Chinese were wary of happenings in their neighbourhood in Central Asia.

Alberuni, in the opening chapter of his book, suggests other reasons for his lack of recording observations concerning the wider perception of the world, which one may or may not agree with: “The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no king like their theirs, no science like theirs ........ They are by nature niggardly in communicating what they know and they take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another caste from among their own people, still more of course from any foreigner”.

Q.(a) What was the nature of campaigns against Ghurids? (CSE 2018)

Ans: The nature of campaigns against Ghurids was entirely different from general process. In these campaigns, notions of honor and devotion were given precedence over expediency. In addition, gradually instead of strategy and tactics, astrologically determined auspicious moment for attack started getting more traction.

(b) According to the passage, “the Indian rulers did not find it necessary to fortify the North-Western Pass”. Why? (CSE 2018)

Ans: According to the passage “the Indian rulers did not find it necessary to fortify the North-Western Pass” because construction of a series of fortifications along the passes was not thought feasible. Perhaps they did not give priority to this area, as they perceived it as a natural frontier. Alternatively, given the mountainous terrain, the only route for pastoralists and caravan were through the passes and it was therefore thought better to leave them open.

(c) Explain the statement “The potentialities of invasions were recognized only in hindsight”. (CSE 2018)

Ans: “The potentialities of invasions were recognized only in hindsight” means that the knowledge of a particular attack could be realized only after the invasion and not beforehand. For instance, the attack of Huns on Rome, Arabs on Spain, etc. could be assimilated only as an afterthought and could not be conceived beforehand because it was orchestrated by alien people. However, Indians failed to gauge the intentions of Turks who were frequent visitors due to trade relations for their ignorance of the changed political winds in Central Asia.

(d) Give your critical observations on Alberuni’s comments on Hindus. (CSE 2018)

Ans: Alberuni’s comments in the opening chapter of his book throws a light on his assessment of Hindus according to which Hindus consider that there is no other country but theirs, No nation like theirs, no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, etc. He has painted Hindus as stingy and conservative people who are cautious in sharing knowledge not only with their own people of another caste but also with people of foreign origin. Through this Alberuni tried to decipher reasons for Indian’s disregard for recording observations concerning the wider perception of the world. However through this prejudiced lens he fails to appreciate other underlying reasons which might be responsible for Indian’s limited knowledge of the outside world. Therefore, it can be concluded that Alberuni was little harsh in his assessment of Indians and analyze the situation holistically.

(e) Enumerate the major viewpoints of the given passage. (CSE 2018)

Ans: The major viewpoints of the passage are as follows:

• The Ghaznavid and Ghurid soldiers were persuaded to wage war for martyrdom in the cause of Islam. However, the underlying reason for these wars was the attraction of plunder, the likes of which they had not seen in campaigns in more arid lands.
• The court literature during this time began to write inflated stories about the valour and heroism of their rulers even when nature of war was undergoing metamorphoses.
• The organization of armies during this time had taken a form of mercenary army which did not shy away from plundering and ransacking the villages through the course of their campaigns.
• The Indian rulers were not vigilant to the dangers emerging from their unsecured borders. They were blind to political developments beyond their borders, which could have ramifications for them in future.
• Also, in their naivety Indian rulers could not assess the true nature of travellers and traders who could have given a hint of the impending danger from Central Asia.
• Also, it highlights the importance of being aware and vigilant like Arabs and Chinese to keep oneself prepared for surprise turnaround of political currents beyond one’s geographical limits.
• Alberuni’s comments conclude the underlying theme of the passage by attributing India’s lack of knowledge of outside world to their stingy and conservative nature.

Answer : Man, since antiquity, has been an inveterate traveller. Only the motivations for travel have changed. In ancient times, the main motivations for travel were trade, pilgrimage and conquest. It is not often realised how extensive were the contacts among the people several thousand years ago. For instance, there was considerable interchange of ideas and knowledge between India and West Asia and the Graeco-Roman civilization.

Travel became the means of acquiring culture in Europe. The tradition of the Grand Tour which started in the 17th century was more firmly established in the 18th and the 19th centuries by the emergence of an affluent mercantile class. After the Second World War, Europe lay in ruins.

The Marshall plan which was introduced by the United States for the revival of the economies of Europe countries made tourism as one of its planks. It provided large amount of money for the reconstruction of hotels and tourism infrastructure of Western Europe. What was more significant was that for the first time tourism was viewed as an engine for economic development. This made the Governments start assuming responsibility for the promotion of tourism.

Three technological inventions have fuelled the growth of travel on a large scale in successive periods. First, steam engine which made travel by rail and steamship possible before 1914; then the internal combustion engine which popularized travel by automobile in the inter-War years and lastly, the jet propulsion engine which has led to the international tourist explosion of the post-War era.

The Government of India also took note of the new phenomenon of tourism and its economic implications. In 1947, the private sector consisted of a number of hotels and travel agencies in the cities mainly owned and operated by foreign interests. As it happened in other industries after Independence, the control of many of these hotels passed into the hands of Indian entrepreneurs. At the same time, a number of new indigenously owned and operated travel agencies and hotels started being set up. In the last 50 years, the Indian travel industry has shown remarkable enterprise.

Some of the leading Indian hotel groups and travel agencies have branched out overseas and their performance is highly regarded in the international tourism, markets.

The tourism revolution which started in full measure 50 years ago has not run its course. There are several reasons for taking a long-term optimistic view of tourism. First, the increase in leisure time in industrialised societies; paid holiday which were introduced as a social welfare measure have now become an accepted feature not only in industrialised countries but also in many developing countries. The length of paid holidays has increased.

The working week, both in public and private sectors, has come down to 40 hours, spread over 5 days. Evidently Governments will have to concern themselves with the quality of use of leisure. Tourism has become a preeminent form of recreation for the younger people. This is reflected in the increase in travel in the age group of 18 to 25 years. Second, the rise in literacy and educational standards.

Third, better health care has made it possible for retired persons, above 60 years, to undertake travel for pleasure. Fourth, the increase in discretionary incomes in real terms in the last twenty years, partly due to two income families with fewer children. Tourism is highly susceptible to income elasticity. Many research studies have established that increase in income level in real terms results in increase in propensity for travel. And lastly, taking a vacation, generally twice a years, has become a way of life in modern societies.

(a) What, according to the author, were the main motivations for travel in ancient times? (CSE 2017)

Ans: Initially humans travelled for conquest, pilgrimage and trade. Nomadic tribes needed vast areas of land to support even a small group of people. A single tribe would have needed hundreds of square miles to support them through the year and humans were as territorial in prehistory as they are now. Tribes poaching neighbours hunting grounds could expect a violent response. If the population increased (and it did) and new tribes were formed, they would need to roam to find new lands able to support them, meaning that every generation saw humans covering the planet in an expanding bubble as they looked for new sources of food and resources to make tools. So trade developed between distant places. And religious curiosity also compelled them to go here and there.

(b) What was the state of tourism in Europe and the United States? (CSE 2017)

Ans: The state of tourism was better in Britain before the Second World War and in America. But Second World War ruined Europe and obviously Britain was its major victim.

Just to support Britain and other European countries America unveiled Marshall Plan and it kick started the economy of Europe. For the revival of the economy tourism now became inevitable for Britain.

Therefore Government of Britain started promoting tourism and it wanted to develop economic infrastructure to develop and support economy. But more than that three things brought a revolution in the area of tourism. These included Jet propulsion engine, Steam engine and internal combustion engine which made it possible for America and Britain to indulge in several activities concerning tourism.

(c) What part did technology play in the growth of tourism? (CSE 2017)

Ans: Technology played a major role in promoting tourism. It proved to be shot in the arm for tourism. First breakthrough was the invention of steam engine. It made it possible to travel by ship and train. Secondly, the invention of internal combustion engine now made it possible to move by automobile. Thirdly the coming up of jet engine literally revolutionized the tourism as people could fly and travel by air.

(d) How does the author describe the state of tourism in the post-Independence India? (CSE 2017)

Ans: Tourism became a prominent feature in post independence India. Earlier many hotels and travel agencies were set up in India owned by private sector but motivated by foreign interests. Later tourism attracted other industries also. Indigenous travel agencies were set up by Indian entrepreneurs.

Moreover branches of these agencies were opened abroad also. Thus in the last 50 years tourism industry in India have flourished like anything.

In fact india has become the destination of tourism world over and it has proved to be a remarkable achievement for India.

(e) Why does the author think that there is a bright future for tourism in modern societies? (CSE 2017)

Ans: The author is very optimistic about the future of tourism in modern society. There are several valid reasons for this hope. First, people have much leisure time. Secondly the concept of paid holidays is becoming popular not only in developed countries but also in developing countries.

Length of paid holidays is being increased day by day. Moreover the working week is now not tiresome and it has come down to 40.

Among younger lot travel and tourism has become almost a craze and literacy and education has an added advantage as it has also spurred the tourism activities particularly among youths.

The popularity of nuclear family, rising income and the concept of recreation are some the other factors that silver linings for the future growth of tourism.

Answer : The thought of Yong Bengal (Pearychand Mitra, one of the circle, called it in 1877 “Young Calcutta’) flowed through the fourth decade of the 19th century, arising in the late twenties and ebbing away after the mid-forties. Its inspire was Derozio (1809-31). competent scholar, gifted writer, radical thinker, and the most famous of our teachers in the new education. It will be unusual to link with Young Bengal as second name, that of David Hare (1755-1841) who seems so different from Derozio in so many ways.

Hare was indeed no professional instructor or intellectual, no man of letters or of academic learning. He had neither the brilliance nor the way wardress of his contemporary; unlike him he had become in diet and habits almost a half-Hindu. Yet between the two may be detected an underlying resemblance which furnishes a key to a proper estimation of Young Bengal.

Common to both was the passionate conviction that for India nothing was more essential than “a dissemination of European learning and science among her people.” Both encouraged freedom of thinking and discussion and inspired a courage and personal integrity in their followers “to throw off the fetters of that antiquated bigotry which still clung to their countrymen.” And unlike other leaders around them, both were ‘godless’ secularists with little faith in denominations or religious instruction, and yet staunch idealists. Nor can one forget that in the hour of trial Hare tried to stand by Derozio and his maligned pupils about whom he declared–“your countrymen look upon you as–their reformers and instructors”; while the Derozians were the first to honour Hare publicly, and after his death they were in the forefront in the endeavour to perpetuate his memory, in the unique First of June anniversaries for 25 years without a break.

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was a Calcutta Eurasian of Portuguese-Indian ancestry, the son of an officer in an English mercantile firm. (In the Hindu College Records of 1831, the name is occasionally spelt as De Rozio; Max Muller wrote D. Rozario). He was educated in one of the pioneer English-teaching private schools of the early 19th century, run by the Scotsman Drummond in the Dharmatala area. Drummond was a scholar-poet, and as a notorious free-thinker an exile from his native land. It may safely be conjectured that Derozio derived from Drummond his taste in literature and philosophy, his love of Burns, his faith in the French Revolution and English Radicalism.

Derozio’s youthful critique on Kant was considered as something which “would not disgrace even gifted philosophers”, his translation of a French essay on Moral Philosophy was printed posthumously. The fame already won secured him, an appointment as teacher to the senior classes in the Hindu College before he had ended his ‘teens’.

Derozio’s personality brought “a new era in the annals of the College”, the youthful teacher drawing the senior boys “like a magnet” round him. According to his biographer “neither before, nor since his day has any teacher, within the walls of any native educational establishment in India, ever exercised such an influence over his pupils’” Not alone in the classrooms, but outside the hours as well, he strove with success “to broaden and deepen the knowledge of his pupils” in Western thought and literature, the new fountain which emancipated and intoxicated. The College students clustered round him and very many of them carried down to their last days the deep impress stamped on them by their Master. This was the cementing link which held together the Young Bengal group, the memory which made a close-knit fellowship of affection and friendship even in later life.

Unlike most teachers, Derozio encouraged his students to debate freely and question authority. He urged them to think for themselves, “to be in no ways influenced by any of the idols mentioned by Bacon-to live and die for truth.” One of his pupils, Radhanath Sikdar, said of him: “he has been the cause and the sole cause of that spirit of enquiry after truth, and that contempt of vice–which cannot but be beneficial to India’” Another, Ramgopal Ghosh, held up the motto: “He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool, and he who does not is a slave.”

Q.(a) Which was the period when the thought of Yong Bengal, the youthful band of reformers flourished in Bengal? Who were the two main teachers of the new education and in what ways were they different from each other? (CSE 2016)

Ans: It was in the fourth decade of the 19 th century that a band of youthful reformers led by Henry Vivian Derozio and david hare flourished in Bengal. In fact these two teachers inspired their pupil as to how to break the shackles of bondage. More than that, they also taught their pupils the significance of logic and reason and for that matter the importance of western learning and science.

Though both these teachers had common goal but they had many things uncommon between them. Derozio was a scholar but it was not the case with David hare. Moreover Derozio was an intellectual as well as a teacher also.David Hare though interested in the spread of English education in India, was not a teacher by profession. Unlike Derozio he was not a scholar and brilliant which stood him in a different stead.

(b) What was common to both these teachers? How did they support each other? (CSE 2016)

Ans: There were many things common between Derozio and David Hare. Both believed in the fact that English education and science was essential for Indians. Both of them loved freedom of thinking and were of opinion that discussion is the key to get a way out. Being a true lover of freedom and liberty they left no stone unturned to teach their followers that Indians should overthrow the foreign rule and for that personal conviction and integrity is essential. Bothe of them were idealists and hardly believed in the god though Derozio never called himself atheist. David Hare, the founder of Hindu college could easily facilitate the required environment for the Derozio to instill among his students the power of reason and logic so that they understand the meaning of education and the vices of foreign rule.

(c) Comment on the education of Derozio. Did Drummond have any influence on him? Justify your answer. (CSE 2016)

Ans: Derozio began his education at age 6, and went to the school at Dhurmatollah, which was headed by David Drummond, a Scottish man respected for his candour and keen interest in modes of thought, rather than petty considerations for grammar. Drummond, influenced tremendously by the likes of David Hume, taught the children at his school freedom of thought and skeptical inquiry. When one considers Derozio’s later career as a teacher himself, it becomes very apparent where his style of teaching came from. Drummond, sensing in Derozio a keen promise, nurtured his intellect as best he could, providing him with classics of English literature and poetry, which Derozio took to most fervently.

Though proficient enough in mathematics, Derozio’s true love was English poetry. This formed the basis for his most famous poem, The Fakeer of Jungheera.

(d) What kind of influence did Derozio have on his pupils i.e., the Young Bengal group? (CSE 2016)

Ans: Derozio is known for the brilliance of his teaching as well as his unorthodox teaching methods. He made his students read a wide variety of texts, from Homer’s Iliad to Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man. Through an Academic Association which he set up, Derozio encouraged free discussion and debate on ideas?Such discussions, notably critical of established religions, continued long after college hours.

Somewhere along the line, students picked up from their mentor the habit of eating what were for them forbidden foods such as pork and beef, and drinking beer. Hindu College students adopted two precepts, derived from Derozio. The first was: ‘He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot reason is a fool, and he who does not reason is a slave.’ The second: ‘Cast off your prejudices, and be free in your thought and actions. Break down everything old and rear in its stead what is new.’

(e) ‘He has been the cause and the sole cause of the spirit of enquiry after truth.’ Explain the significance of the statement by Radhanath Sikdar. (CSE 2016)

Ans: The statement made by RadhaNath Sikdar implies the fact that it was Derozio who introduced the ‘Advancement of Learning’ in his new way of teaching in India. Thus, ‘he at once drew to himself like a magnet a group of young pupils in the upper classes who began to adore him and drink deep in the stream of free thought’.

These followers of Derozio are known as ‘Young Bengal’, later ‘Derozians’. Derozio encouraged them to debate freely and to doubt everything. He asked them not to accept anything without questioning that subject. Derozio was a competent scholar, gifted writer and radical thinker. Derozio developed the zeal of free thought among his pupils. This legacy of freedom of thought and expression is the soul of Renaissance which was carried over by his followers and later reformers like Raja ram Mohan Roy and others.

Answer : A desert is a barren area of land where little precipitation occurs and living conditions are threatening for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the vulnerable surface of the ground to the processes of denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the world is arid or semi-arid Deserts are usually hot and barren places; yet they are also beautiful.

A few plants, rocks and dusty red-brown soil make up the ingredients of most North American deserts where there is sufficient food and water for certain animals to survive. Deserts cover more than one-fifth of the Earth’s land and they are found on every continent. A place that receives less than 10 inches of rain per year is normally considered a desert.

They are part of a wider classification of regions called “dry land”. These areas exist under a moisture deficit, which means they repeatedly lose more moisture through evaporation than they receive from annual precipitation.

Deserts are biologically rich habitats with a vast array of animals and plants that have adapted to harsh conditions there. Some deserts’ plants that have adapted to harsh conditions there. Some deserts are among the planet s last remaining areas of total wilderness. Yet more than one billion people, one-sixth of the Earth’s population, actually live in the desert regions.

Despite the common notion of deserts as dry and hot, there are cold deserts as well. One famous dry and hot place in the world with no visible rock or plant and barely any water is the Sahara desert.

It is the largest hot desert in the world that reaches temperatures of up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Some deserts are very cold, like the Gobi desert in Asia and the desert on the continent of Antarctica. Only about 10 percent of deserts are covered by sand dunes. The driest deserts get less than half an inch of precipitation each year and that is from condensed fog Desert animals have adapted ways to help them keep cool and The Animal when the going gets tough.

Camels also have thick hair in their ears for keeping out sand; they also sport closable nostrils, an eye membrane, and wide feet that act like snow-shoes in the land. Desert plants may have to go without fresh water for years at a time. Some plants have adapted to the arid climate by growing long roots that tap water from deep underground. Other plants, such as cacti, have special means conserving years old.

Some of the world’s semi-arid regions are turning into deserts at an alarming rate. This process, known as desertification, is not caused by drought, but usually arises from the demands of human population that settles the soil by the hooves of livestock may degrade the soil and encourage (erosion warming deserts. Higher temperature may produce an increasing number of wildfires eliminating slow-growing trees and shrubs and replacing them with fast-growing grasses

(a) Explain what you understand by barren and dry land. (CSE 2015)

Ans: Barren and dry lands are commonly known as deserts. But such lands are also beautiful. Here little precipitation occurs and consequently living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. Plants and animals found here are adapted to harsh conditions.

A desert is a region of land that is very dry because it receives low amounts of precipitation, often has little coverage by plants, and in which streams dry up unless they are supplied by water from outside the area. Deserts can also be described as areas where more water is lost by evaporation than falls as precipitation. Deserts generally receive less than 250 mm (10 in) of precipitation each year. Deserts are sometimes classified as “hot” or “cold”, “semiarid” or “coastal.

There are some plants, however, that adapt to the almost waterless conditions of the desert. They contain valuable mineral deposits that were formed in the arid environment or that were exposed by erosion. Because deserts are dry, they are ideal places for human artifacts and fossils to be preserved. Deserts are also fragile environments. Among deserts some are cold and some are hot and not suitable for inhabitation.

(b) What do you understand by rich habitats?(CSE 2015)

Ans: Places having several plants and animals are called rich habitats. In fact such habitats full of trees and shrubs and all kinds of animals. Such habitats are ecological or environmental areas that are inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant, or other type of organism.

Rich habitats are also a source for a wide range of resources that can be exploited for economic profit. There is also economic value in rich natural habitats.

(c) How have desert animals and plants in arid climate adapted themselves to the use of less water. (CSE 2015)

Ans: To survive, desert plants have adapted to the extremes of heat and aridity by using both physical and behavioral mechanisms, much like desert animals.Some plants have adapted by altering their physical structure .They usually have special means of storing and conserving water. They often have few or no leaves, which reduce transpiration. Some plants that have adapted to arid environments by growing extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire moisture at or near the water table. Other desert plants, using behavioral adaptations, have developed a lifestyle in conformance with the seasons of greatest moisture and/or coolest temperatures.

Desert perennials often survive by remaining dormant during dry periods of the year, then springing to life when water becomes available.

(d) Describe the process of desertification. (CSE 2015)

Ans: Although desertification can occur naturally due to extreme droughts, there are many situations where the process of desertification has been caused or accelerated by human activities. Humans often divert rivers from their natural path in order to use the water for agriculture.

If plants are removed, the soil will have nothing protecting it, and it will be more susceptible to erosion by wind. This will reduce fertility of the land because the top layer of soil that will be blown away by wind is often the richest in nutrients. Once this top layer of soil is removed, the land will no longer be fertile and will be unable to support the growth of vegetation. Eventually, the land will become so dry and devoid of vegetation that it will be classified as a desert.

(e) What are the camel’s two most visible features that make it perfect for deserts? (CSE 2015)

Ans: Camel humps are a major adaptation of a animal that helps them be suited for a desert environment. This makes them the most popular and dependable desert animal. However, other adaptations of the camel to a desert environment are also beneficial. Camels have long eyelashes that help protect the eyes from the sun and the blowing sand. While some say there are two rows of eyelashes, others believe that one row is eyebrows while the other a row of eyelashes.

They can close their nostrils completely so that no sand particles enter the nose. Moreover a camel’s hump is for storage, but unlike common belief that it stores water; a hump actually stores fat tissues. When there is scarcity of food the fat is metabolised to provide energy.

Answer : A complete reading program, therefore, should include four factors: at least one good book each week, a newspaper or news magazine, magazines of comment and interpretation, and book reviews. If you keep feeding your intelligence with these four foods, you can be sure that your brain cells will be properly nourished. To this must be added the digestive process that comes from your own thinking and from discussion with individuals or groups.

It is often desirable to make books that you own personally part of your mind by underlining or by marking in the margin the more important statements. This will help you to understand the book as you first read it, because out of the mass of details you must have selected the essential ideas. It will help you to remember better the gist of the book, since the physical act of underlining, with your eyes on the page, tends to put the thought more firmly into your brain cells. It will save time whenever you need to refer to the book.

Above all, never forget that creative intelligence is correlation of facts and ideas, not mere memorizing. What counts is what you can do with your knowledge, by linking it with other things you have studied or observed. If you read Plutarch’s life of Julius Caesar, think how his rise to political power paralleled the technique of Adolf Hitler, or that of your local political boss. If you read a play by Shakespeare, think how his portrayal of the characters helps you to understand someo’ne you know. In everything you read, keep at the back of your mind what it means to your life here and now, how it supports or challenges the things you were taught in school, in church and at home, and how the wisdom you get from books can guide you in your thinking, in your career, in your voting as a citizen and in your personal morals.

(i) What are the four things required for a complete reading program and why? (CSE 2014)

Ans: Good reading reflects the sense of liberal-educated mind. It is of immense value. Therefore a reading program should be prepared taking in to consideration the fact that it is going to affect your whole personality. That is why one should be very careful while going for a reading program which may prove to be vital in due course if properly chosen. In fact, a good reading program should consists of good books which should be read with consistency.

Secondly, newspaper is of utmost importance if one has to catch up with everything that is happening round the world. To exercise one’s brain one must include a magagine of interpretation and some book reviews in one’s reading program to assert one’s analytical skills also.

(ii) What else is required to feed your intelligence? (CSE 2014)

Ans: Thinking and discussion with peer groups may of great help in satiating one’s intellectual urge. The activity in which people talk about something and tell each other their ideas or opinions is called discussion in the real sense of the term. While thinking an individual, in reaction to a range of stimuli, starts a process that modifies or strengthens their world view, beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and behaviours. And this is also one of the best ways to feed intelligence.

(iii) Why does the writer recommend underlining or marking in the margin the more important statements? (CSE 2014)

Ans: In fact, the physical act of writing, with one’s own hand, brings words and sentences more sharply before one’s mind and preserves them better in your memory. To set down one’s reaction to important words and sentences one has read, and the questions they have raised in one’s mind, is to preserve those reactions and sharpen those questions. Recording questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in one’s mind; reducing a complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right through the book is what the writer reccomends and this really helps understand the gist of the book. Perhaps this is the reason writer wants the reader to underline importants facts and ideas contained in the book.

(iv) What use can you put your knowledge to? (CSE 2014)

Ans: Knowledge refers not to the information, not to the process of transmitting messages, but to the contents the knowledge conveyed by it. This knowledge can be used to understand the persons, things and phenomena present in one’s surroundings, It may help in linking cause and effects of everything that is worth emulating. In a nutshell it may help expedite in translating one’s thought in to action required by the circumstances.

(v) How can what you learn from books help you in your life? (CSE 2014)

Ans: Knowledge gained from books can help us in ways more than one. It helps us understand the situation and meet the challenges of life. One can use and apply the wisdom so gained in tackling different situations in life. Contents and ideas in books are valuable for understanding human life in this world and for living that life well. Wisdom we get from books can guide us in your thinking, in our career, in our voting as a citizen and in your personal morals.

Answer : In barely one generation, we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives, to trying to get away from them - often, in order to make more time. The more ways we have to connect, the more of us seem desperate to unplug. Like a teenager, we appear to have gone from knowing nothing about the world to knowing too much, all but overnight.

The average person spends at least eight and a half hours a day in front of the screen. The average teenager spends or receives 75 text messages a day. Since luxury, as any economist will tell you, is a function of scarcity, the children of tomorrow will crave nothing more than freedom, if only for a short while, from all the blinking machines, streaming videos and scrolling headlines that leave them feeling empty, and too full all at once.

The urgency of slowing down - to find the time and space to think - is nothing new, of course, and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention we pay to the moment, the less time and energy we have to place it in some larger context. Even half a century ago, Marshall McLuhan warned, “When things come at you very fast, naturally you lose touch with yourself.”

Yet few of those voices can be heard these days, precisely because `breaking news’ is coming through perpetually on the news channels, and Meena is posting images of her summer vacation and the phone is ringing. We barely have enough time to see how little time we have. And the more that floods in on us, the less of ourselves we have to give to every snippet.

We have more and more ways to communicate, as Thoreau noted, but less and less to say. Partly because we are so busy communicating. And - as he might also have said - we are rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines.

So what to do? The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual.

All the data in the world cannot teach us how to sift through data; images don’t show us how to process images. The only way to do justice to our onscreen lives is by summoning exactly the emotional and moral clarity that cannot be found on any screen. Maybe that is why more and more people, even if they have no religious commitment, seem to be turning to yoga or meditation, or tai chi; these are not New Age fads so much as ways to connect with what could be called the wisdom of old age.

A series of tests in recent years has shown that after spending time in a quiet rural setting, subjects “exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper.”

More than that, empathy, as well as deep thought, depends on neural processes that are “inherently slow”. The very ones our high-speed lives have little time for. (10×5 = 50 Marks)

(a) According to the author, what is likely to become a scarcity in the future? (CSE 2013)

Ans: Information technology is now ubiquitous in the lives of people across the globe. New forms of these technologies are working their way into every aspect of daily life. Therefore we hardly find time for ourselves. There may be a time in the future when we would hardly have any space for thoughts and emotions. Empathy will be mere a word in the dictionary.

In fact information technology has facilitated 24*7 “connect” with people we want to keep in touch. Cell phones and Internet are the solution for many issues, but, at the same time, have reduced our privacy. Mental peace is increasingly becoming elusive.Electronic gadgets take people’s focus away from more important things, such as nature and health. And this is what we would crave for in future.

(b) What ability have people lost thanks to the constant inflow of data? (CSE 2013)

Ans: In this age of electronics and computers people are constantly exposed to high-tech machines, data and deadlines imposed on them by the multinational work culture. This machine-culture has made them work like machine devoid of power of reasoning. Therefore modern-day men have become just like a slave. They hardly take pain to think what they are doing is benefitting who and what.

Mankind has invented these machines but unfortunately they have hardly any time to think over how to make most out of it. Rather, these machines are making most out of the mankind. Power of judgement, scrutiny, search and probe is missing and people are behaving like robot. These abilities have to be rediscovered or reignited.

(c) Why does the author say, “We have more and more ways to communicate, but less and less to say? (CSE 2013)

Ans: Revolution in the field of information technology is an open secret. There is an availability of various ways and means in the form electronic gadgets that enable us to keep in touch with our friends and foes. And the result is constant flow of text messages, emails and the likes. Virtual connect has become quite common and the real connect is missing. Therefore, there is a dearth of content that is to be conveyed. We even hardly understand what exactly we should communicate even there is an occasion when we have real connect with our kith and kin.

(d) Why are people taking an active interest in old-age fads?(CSE 2013)

Ans: Technologies are working their way into every aspect of daily life. Fast paced life and work load with deadlines take heavy toll of physical and mental health. We have made our lives dependable on these gadgets which we use every day at the cost of mental peace.

Mental peace is more of a power that one will obtain once they converge their mind towards something powerful. Realization that something is missing is the first step to discovery.

Yoga is considered a mind-body type of complementary and alternative medicine practice. Yoga and meditation (sometimes called old age fad) bring together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety. Therefore most of the people are getting attracted towards these old-age fads.

(e) Why is modern man unable to empathize with others? (CSE 2013)

Ans: Being able to empathize means to be capable of identifying and understanding another person’s feelings, without experiencing them for you at that particular moment. It is the ability to literally experience the world from another person’s perspective; to walk in their shoes, to view life from their living conditions and to feel what it feels like to be that person. It depends upon one’s emotional intelligence. In other words one can empathize with others only if one is able to understand one’s feelings and emotions. But thanks to this digital age, man has become machine with no sense of reasoning and logic or emotions. He just dances to tune of modern day maladies. That is why he unable to empathize with others.

Answer : Oratory demands enthusiasm, which can spring only in an earnest soul; and neither beauty of composition not graceful delivery can compensate for want of passion.

To be able to interest people without tiring them in a prime test of oratory. It is a gift that we draw valuable aid from such natural advantages as a noble figure, handsome countenance, and pleasant voice, but there has been no lack of eminent orators of ungainly mien at any time. Few have equaled Sir Robert Peel in skilful management of the House of Commons, but he often assumed much undignified postures standing with his hands behind his coat tails, or thumbs buried in the pockets of his waistcoat, and threw one leg over the other in attitudes of nonchalance. The composition of his speeches was slovenly and they were noted for the disorder of their contents, Oliver Cromwell was one of the most influential speakers of his day, but he rarely wore clean linen and his voice was “harsh and untuneable.”

The indispensable requisite of oratory is a mind well-stored with knowledge and information, sound reasoning, wit and humour, vehemence, fire, and imaginative insight all conducive to enhance the power of eloquence; but the same speakers are not able to make the same impression in all places, not secure the same effect at all times. The pinnacle of triumph of oratory is reached when a speaker is able to magnetize his hearers into thinking as he thinks, and feeling as he feels. When Sheridan has concluded his famous speech in Parliament on the “Begum Charge”, so great was the excitement caused by it that the Minister concerned besought the House of adjourn the decision of the question, “as being incapacitated from forming a just judgment under the influence of such powerful eloquence.” It is clear that there is a rivalry between the orator and the occasion and the dazzling effect of the moment does not always endure later cool reflection.

The world moves in continual cycle of action and reaction, and the homage paid to speakers is followed by tests in the course of which there is unrelenting research as to what extent precept and example tally. When there is no wide gulf between the two, further speeches are listened to with increased respect.

(a) What are the most important qualities required for becoming a good orator? (CSE 2012)

Ans: A good orator is driven to know his stuff and care about a particular topic. His passion will cause others to be convinced, not just because of his force of reasoning, but also because he is visibly enjoying the beliefs he wants his audience to accept. Moreover a personality is what makes a person distinct. We all get one at birth, and many of us lose ours when we set foot on a stage. It doesn’t have to be a warm personality, although warmth is an attractive quality. It just needs to be real, determined, and accessible. Listeners crave intimacy with speakers. A good orator also needs to create presentations and speeches. He needs to say plain things in interesting ways, and interesting things in plain ways.

(b) What was the effect created by Sheridan’s speech? (CSE 2012)

Ans: Mr. Sheridan spoke ferociously and nothing could be more perfect than his delivery. He created huge excitement in the parliament and at last the concerned minister had to ask for the adjournment of the house as he was so mesmerized that he was not in a position to make a just judgment in the “Begum Charge” trial.

(c) How can you judge the true effect of a good oration? (CSE 2012)

Ans: The best way to deliver an Oratory is to grab the audience’s attention and make them want to listen to the speaker’s message, and not just hear another figure trying to persuade. To keep an audience’s attention the subject should be shown to be relevant to the audience; facts and startling figures can do this. If one did not make a good impression on the audience before, chances are slim that one will not recover with a smashing conclusion. If an orator is able to do such things and listeners get swept away by his thoughts and perceptions, he is a good orator in the true sense of the term.

(d) What research does the audience do when they listen to speakers? (CSE 2012)

Ans: The audience always wants to know if the speaker is real or of cosmetic nature. What an orator say should conform the examples given by him. In other words the tenets proposed by speaker should be pragmatic and go by the law of the land. Audiences in general look into such things while analyzing the speech of the speaker.

Answer : Water is the basis of all life. Every animal and every plant contains a substantial proportion of free or combined water in its body, and no kind of physiological activity is possible in which the fluid does not play an essential part.

Water is, of course, necessary for animal life. While moisture in the soil is equally imperative for the life and growth of plants and trees though the quantity necessary varies enormously with the species.

The conservation and utilization of water is thus fundamental for human welfare. Apart from artesian water the ultimate source in all cases is rain or snowfall. Much of Indian Agriculture depends on seasonal rainfall and is therefore very sensitive to any failure or irregularity of the same. It is clear that the adoption of techniques preventing soil erosion would also help to conserve and keep the water where it is wanted. In other words, on and in the soil and such techniques therefore serve a double purpose.

It is evident, however that in a country having only a seasonal rainfall an immense quantity of rain-water must be necessarily run off the ground. The collection and utilization of water is therefore of vital importance. Much of it flows down into the streams and rivers and ultimately finds its way to the sea.

The harnessing of our rivers the waters of which now mostly run to waste is a great national problem which must be considered and dealt with on national lines. Closely connected with the conservation of water supplies is the problem of afforestation. The systematic planning of suitable trees in every possible or even in impossible areas and the development of what one can call civilized forests as distinguished from wild and untamed jungle is one the most urgent needs of India. Such plantation would directly and indirectly prove a source of untold wealth to the country.

They would check soil erosion and conserve the rainfall of the country from flowing away to waste and would provide the necessary supplies of cheap fuel and thus stop unnecessary waste of farmyard manure.

(a) Where does the world get water from? (CSE 2011)

Ans: According to the passage there are three sources of water on the earth. These are artesian water, rainfall and snowfall. Out of these three sources, rainfall and snowfall are the major sources of water world over. In fact it is the rainfall that is the major source of water for the world civilization.

(b) What is the national problem relating to our rivers? (CSE 2011)

Ans: The national problem relating to the rivers in India is how to harness the river water. In India we have seasonal rainfall on which we have to depend. But rain water runs off the ground and goes to river from where it flows to sea. Thus most of the river water runs to waste. Harnessing the water in the river has been a great issue. If river water is harnessed properly, we will be able to meet water scarcity very easily

(c) What are the benefits of afforestation? (CSE 2011)

Ans: Afforestation refers to the conversion of wasteland into a woodland or forest. It is essentially the transformation of land. Soil erosion is significantly reduced as tree plantations prevent run off after heavy rains. In addition, trees bring soils together which prevents soil erosion. Moreover afforestation is very valuable due to the explosion of livestock and human population as it supplies cheap fuel and is also instrumental in conserving rainfall water.

(d) What is fundamental for human welfare? (CSE 2011)

Ans: According to the passage water is the basis of living beings. No physiological activity is possible without the fluid in the human body. Hence the conservation and utilization of water is indispensable for human welfare.

(e) What are the advantages of preventing soil erosion? (CSE 2011)

Ans: Soil erosion provides benefits such as: Reduces soil moisture loss, may increase infiltration, reduce flow velocities, provide a suitable microclimate for seed germination, and prevent crusting and sealing of the soil surface etc. It helps in water conservation and more than that preventing soil erosion may result in increase in the agricultural productivity.

Answer : According to the findings of recent government survey there are 3.3 million registered NGOs working in the country - one for every 400 Indians. Not only has the number of NGOs in India risen dramatically but so has their influence. In some of India’s flagship development efforts - the national rural employment guarantee act, the national rural health mission, the right to education or even the draft right to food act - NGOs has been at forefront both in formulating in these laws & policies & in implementing them. NGOs have helped voice the concerns of some of the India’s most vulnerable groups & focus the attention of the government on critical, social & development issues. They have also spearheaded efforts to expose corruption & maladministration in government bringing in much needed transparency.

But despite the growing influence of NGOs in India today, we know very little about them, their structure, activities, sources of funding & more importantly, how accountable they are to the people they represent. This is alarming given the crores of rupees in development aid that NGOs receive from the government & from donors every year. Ironically, though NGOs have been watchdogs of the government for many years there has been little regulation or monitoring of their own activities. Leading many to ask a very fundamental question: who watches the watchers?

Interestingly, although India has probably the world’s highest NGOs population, the debate on NGO accountability is still in its nascent stages. Across the world NGOs have been experimenting with different ways of addressing the issue of accountability; Indian NGOs would do well by learning from these efforts. for example , NGOs in Kenya are legally required to comply with code of conduct for NGOs developed by the national council of NGOs a self regulatory body set up under the NGO coordination act in 1990.

The code ensures that NGOs comply with basic ethical & governance standards. Similarly in Uganda, the NGO quality assurance mechanism (QuAM) certifies NGO against a set of quality standards designed to ensure NGO credibility.

In Chile, Chile transparent has developed transparency standards for NGOs which require organizations to establish online information about their mission, vision, activities, staff, details of funding etc.

(a) What are India’s important development schemes? (CSE 2010)

Ans: India’s important developmental schemes include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, the National Rural Health Mission, the Right to Food and the Right to Education.

(b) How do NGOs help ‘vulnerable groups’ in India? (CSE 2010)

Ans: The government of India has launched many flagship programs for the upliftment of the poor and deprived section of the society. These programs need strategy and policy formulation. It is at this level that NGOs play a crucial role as they help formulate such policies so as to make them realistic addressing the needs of the vulnerable sections of the society.

Moreover at the implementation level also, these NGOs work hand in hand with the government agencies and try to make such schemes successful. Moreover, NGOs work as a pressure group and influence the government policies for the cause of or in the best interest of the vulnerable section of the society.

Sometimes they work like a whistle blower to expose the corruption within the government and bureaucracy.

(c) What do we know about structure, activities & sources of funding of NGOs in India? (CSE 2010)

Ans: The common people in India have little idea about the structure, function and sources of funding of the NGOs in India. But the fact that these NGOs receive crores of rupees through government aid is an open secret. They also receive funds from abroad of which there is no record or audit open to one and all.

(d) Who does authors describes as watchers? Why? (CSE 2010)

Ans: The term “watchers” used by the author in the said passage has been used for NGOs working in India. By “watchers” the author means to say that the nature of the work of these NGOs is synonym with the word watchdog. In other words NGOs in India keep a close watch on the role and function of the government and try to influence the governmental policies in the best interest of the deprived section of the society.

(e) How do the NGOs in other nations deal with the issue of accountability? (CSE 2010)

Ans: NGOs in other nations show serious concern on the issue of accountability. They keep experimenting in ways more than one to make their work and procedure quite transparent. In Kenya, NGOs themselves have formed a council to watch the functions of the NGOs in Kenya. They are, in fact legally bound to go by the code of conduct made by this council. In Uganda, there is a quality assurance mechanism that certifies the NGOs and their functioning. In Chile, NGOs are supposed to upload online each of their activities making it public just to ensure transparency.

Answer : The altogether new thing in the world then was the scientific method of research, which in that period of Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Harvey and Francis Bacon was advancing with enormous strides. All walls, all the limitations, all the certainties of the ages were in dissolution, tottering. In fact this epoch, in which we are participating still, with continually opening vistas, can be compared in magnitude and promise only to that of the 8th to the 4th millenniums B.C. : of the birth of civilization in the Near East, when the inventions of food production, grain agriculture and stockbreeding, released mankind from the primitive condition or foraging and so made possible an establishments of soundly grounded communities: first villages, then towns, then cities, kingdoms, and empires. Leo Frobenius wrote of that age as the Monumental Age, and of the age now dawning as the Global : “In all previous ages, only restricted portions of the surface of the earth were known.

Men looked out from the narrowest, upon a somewhat larger neighbourhood, and beyond that, a great unknown. They were all, so to say, insular: bound in. Whereas our view is confined no longer to a spot of space on the surface of this earth. It surveys the whole of the planet. And this fact, this lack of horizon, is something new.”

“It is chiefly to the scientific method of research that this release of mankind is due, and every developed individual has been freed from the once protective but now dissolved horizons of the local land, local moral code, local modes of group thought and sentiment. Not only in the sciences but in every department of life the will and courage to credit one’s own senses and to honor one’s own decisions, to name one’s own virtues and to claim one’s own vision of truth, have been the generative forces of the new age.

There is a growing realization even in the moral field that all Judgments are (to use Nietzsche’s words) “human, all too human,”

(a) What is the “epoch in which we are participating still”? (CSE 2009)

Ans: According the passage we are still participating in an epoch which is overpowered by scientific research. We are still trying to open up new vistas of life. These include new avenues in the field of food, agriculture and such other things.

(b) In what way is it comparable to the period of the 8th to the 4th millenniums B.C.? (CSE 2009)

Ans:The new epoch is comparable to the period of the 8th to the 4th millenniums B.C. in the sense that this period was marked by new inventions in the field of food, agriculture and establishment of villages, cities and towns. In this new epoch we are still engaged in new inventions to bring about new horizons of life with the help of scientific method and research.

(c) What is meant by the new “lack of horizon”? (CSE 2009)

Ans: This refers to vastness of areas which the modern man is surveying. He is no more confined to a particular horizon or some specific spots on the planet. Instead, the whole planet is his field of exploration. So much so that he is exploring the other world in the universe.

(d) What do you think is implied by “all the certainties of the ages” that were “in dissolution” during the period of Galileo and his fellow scientists. (CSE 2009)

Ans: New method of scientific research have opened up the mental abilities of man. There is no limitation to experimentation. Advancement has occurred in every field of life and nothing remains confined to closed spheres. It is because of scientific research that this period introduced men of substance like Galileo, Kepler, Descartes and Francis Bacon.

(e) What is the new freedom we have found, and why does it require courage? (CSE 2009)

Ans: The lack of horizon today has brought man out of the shackles of confinement and into the new age of scientific research. He can realize and recognize his potential and decide according to his own will and ability. Of course, all this calls for courage. And now, only because of man’s courage that he is his own master not only in the field of science but also in all the fields of life.

Answer : Winning the war against France had been a Herculean effort. The conventional wisdom, then and later, attributed final victory to sea-power because, above all, it ensured that Britain stayed in the ring.

The ships of the Royal Navy had prevented invasion; they had confined French power to Europe and allowed Britain to occupy nearly all the overseas possessions of her adversaries; they had guarded the convoys which sustained Wellington’s army in the peninsula; and they had guaranteed the survival of Britain’s global commerce, which generated the wealth needed to pay for her war effort, and underwrite those of the three big European powers with armies large enough to engage Napolean on equal terms.

There were many reasons for the navy’s success. The determination, self-confidence and professionalism of its officers and crews owed much to traditions established in the previous hundred years. Nelson was outstanding as a leader and tractician, but Duncan, Jervis and Collingwood also deserve high praise.

All understood their country’s predicament and how much depended on them, which was why, whenever the chance came for battle, they grabbed at it, regardless of the odds. In the decisive battles of Cape St. Vincent, Camper down, Abukir Bay and Trafalgar the British fleets were outnumbered but, trusting to superior seamanship and gunnery, their admirals took the offensive. An aggressive, gambling spirit paid off. As Nelson famously observed, an officer who laid his ship alongside the enemy could never be in the wrong.

Much depended on the individual naval officer’s instinctively correct response to an emergency, something which Nelson cultivated among his subordinates to the point where they knew without being told what he expected of them. This quality filtered downwards. During an engagement with the French frigate Topaze off Guadeloupe in January, 1809, Captain William Maude of the Jason saw no need to inform the commander of his consort, the Cleopatra, of his intentions.

“I considered it unnecessary to make any signals to him, and he most fully anticipated my wishes by bringing his ship to anchor on the frigate’s starboard bow and opening a heavy fire,” Maude wrote afterwards. The action lasted forty minutes and was decided by superior broadsides aimed against the French ship’s hull.

(a) How did the British navy defeat the French navy? (CSE 2008)

Ans: The British Navy pursued conventional war strategy to defeat the French navy. It could prevent any decisive French attack on Indian navy. Rather the British Navy could successfully made it impossible for the French Navy to reach out to its colonies outside Europe. Thus it could thwart the French economy and on the other hand the British Navy also grabbed the French colonies. Thus British economy remained intact to support the army and wage the war against France successfully.

(b) What were the reasons for the British Navy’s success? (CSE 2008)

Ans: First of all able the commanders of the British navy played a vital role in the victory of the royal navy. The determination, professionalism and the war tactics they pursued were simply outstanding. More than that, the conventional strategy also was instrumental in defeating the French army.

More than that they (British commanders) knew that there is no way out and it was essential
for Britain to win the day by any means. They did so and the result was the defeat of the French navy.

(c) How did the British Navy win the battle of Cape Saint Vincent, Camperdown etc.? (CSE 2008)

Ans: It was the policy of aggressive war against the French navy that proved to be of great success against the French army. Though the British fleets were outnumbered but the British admirals decided to take risks and their better gunnery and seamanship finally let them to success in the battle of Cape St and Camper down.

(d) What did Nelson cultivate among his subordinates? (CSE 2008)

Ans: Nelson was an able commander. He knew how to motivate his admirals. In fact he taught his admirals how to deal with crisis situation and respond accordingly. This paid positively. Nelson could successfully inculcate in his admirals that the need of the hour is to act without any other consideration. Admirals did the same to won the day.

(e) What was the reason for Captain William Maude’s victory in January, 1809? (CSE 2008)

Ans: Captain William Maude victory was the result of his ability to take decision in time. He was confident enough of his actions and strategy of war. He knew how to act in a particular situation without taking formal permission of his commander. His independent though and belief in himself took him to victory in January, 1809.

Answer : An educated man should know what is first-rate in those activities which spring from the creative and intellectual faculties of human nature, such as literature, art, architecture and music.

I should like to add science and philosophy, but in these two subjects it is difficult for any but the expert to estimate quality, and many educated people have not the close knowledge necessary to judge their real worth. On the other hand everyone has close and daily contact with the other four.

Architecture surrounds him in every city, literature meets him on every book-stall, music assails his ears on his radio set and from every juke-box; and art in its protean aspects of form and colour is a part of daily life.

The architecture may often be bad, the literature and music often puerile, the art often undeserving of the name; but that is all the more reason why we should be able, in all of them, to distinguish good from bad.

To judge by the literature offered us in hotel book-stands, and by most of the music played on the radio and by jukeboxes we might be more discriminating in these fields than we are if it be said that music and art and literature are not essentials of life but its frills, I would reply that if so, it is curious that they are among the few immortal things in the world, and that should a man wish to be remembered two thousand years hence, the only certain way is to write a great poem or book, compose a great symphony, paint a great picture, carve a great sculpture, or build a great building.

(a) What is it that is necessary for an educated person to know? (CSE 2007)

Ans: According to the passage an educated person should know how to distinguish between good or bad or first- rate and second- rate activities. Such activities, according to the author include art, architecture, literature and music also.

The intellectual faculty of an educated person makes him able to rate the quality of creative works activities like art or literature. Only then a person is said to be educated in the real sense of the term.

(b) Why does the author exclude science and philosophy from it? (CSE 2007)

Ans: According to the author science and philosophy should be excluded from the category of creative activities that an educated person should be able to rate if it is bad quality or good quality. In other words author is of opinion that even an educated person can’t rate the works of science or philosophy as good quality or bad quality.

This is possible only for experts who can easily decipher science or philosophy in terms of quality. People in general may not the ability to judge science and philosophy.

(c) What makes it practically easy for an educated man to be able to know literature, art, architecture and music? (CSE 2007)

Ans: An educated man is able to understand art, literature and music easily. It is the intellectual faculty of his mind that makes him able to know, understand and judge the art, music and literature and decide about their standard and quality.

(d) How does exposure to ordinary literature and music help us? (CSE 2007)

Ans: According to the author exposure to music and literature is very common and we get easily exposed to such things be it music or literature.

This easy exposure makes it easy for us to distinguish between good or bad quality music or first-rate or second- rate literature.

(e) What is the author’s argument to prove that music, art and literature are essentials of life? (CSE 2007)

Ans: According to the author music, art or literature are immortal things. These things can’t be destroyed. It is by the creative activities that an individual is remembered by one and all for life and in fact an individual wish to be remembered through these works.

Answer : There is no reason to believe that there are fundamental differences between the East and the West. Human beings are everywhere human and hold the same deepest values. The differences which are, no doubt, significant, are related to external, temporary social conditions and are alterable with them. East and West are relative terms. They are geographical expressions and not cultural types. The differences among countries like China, Japan and India are quite as significant as those among European or American countries. Specific cultural patterns with distinctive beliefs and habits developed in different regions in relative isolation from one another.

There were periods when China and India were pre-eminent in cultural affairs, others when Western nations became dominant. For the last four centuries Western nations aided by scientific development have dominated the East. The world has now reached a state of inter-communication. All societies are fast becoming industrialized and new sets of values are springing up. We are called upon to participate in the painful birth of a new civilization. If we are to live together in peace we must develop international cooperation and understanding.

It is for the political leaders to determine the practical steps by which the sources of power and communication now available to us can be used for closer cooperation and friendliness among the people of the world. No political understanding can be made permanent without understanding at the cultural level. Apart from its intrinsic importance, such understanding contributes to the enrichment of human experience. Facile generalizations are made by philosophers of history which are highly misleading. Hegel in his Lectures on the philosophy of History says that ‘Persia is the land of light; Greece the land of grace; India the land of dream; Rome the land of Empire,’

(a) What does the passage say about cultural differences in different regions? (CSE 2006)

Ans: According to the passage the cultural differences between tdiferent regions are just external and temporary. These differences may blurr because different social conditions existing in different regions are not permanent. They may change with time. In fact different regions are just different geographical expressions with different names. These different geographical regions develop different cultural patterns because of of geographical distance. Therefore these differences are just relative and not absolute.

(b) What comments does the author make about the similarities and dissimilarities between the East and the West? (CSE 2006)

Ans: The author does not deny the differences between east and west. He acknowledges that the cultural differences among eastern nations and also among western nations are significant. But he is of opinion that different countries in east or west are not different cultural types. Rather they are different geographical expressions developed in isolation and reflect like a different culture. Nature, values and instincts are same and differences are just externa.

(c) What, according to the passage, is the role of communication in building up a new civilization? (CSE 2006)

Ans: According to the passage the communication has played a significant role in the birth of a new civilization. This new civilization has arisen out of inter-communication between different countries of the world.

These countries have developed over time to become industrialised nations fully equipped with hi-tech communication facilities. This new civilivation has a common new set of human values and culture.

(d) How will cultural understanding at the international level benefit human societies? (CSE 2006)

Ans: Cultural understanding at internation level, according to the author, may lead to better cooperation among the so called different nations.

Moreover it will enrich human values common to all in the new civilization arising out of inter-communication between different industrialised nations. Moreover cultural understanding between these nations may also lead to better political understanding among these nations leading to peace and stability.

(e) Why does the author call the statements of Hegel ‘facile generalization’? (CSE 2006)

Ans: The author is not happy with philosophers who make general statements regarding different nations of the world. Their comments lack substance and their assessments are based on face vlue.

They don’t go in deep to evaluate the so called different cultural patterns and just name these cultures in a particular context. That is why the author uses facile generalizations.

Answer : It is wrong to believe that science has totally eclipsed literature with its inspiring zeal. That literature plays a subordinate role to science is equally untrue. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that science has comparatively a wider range for its impact on the physical world than literature. But that does not mean that literature has been incorporated in the realm of science to the extent that it loses its distinct individuality.

The reality is that both co-exist without the one overshadowing the other, Those who think that science has pushed literature into shade reducing it to a non-entity seem to be simply imaginative and illogical in the comparisons of their respective merits. It is no doubt unquestionable that products of science are of greater material value than those which make an emotional appeal, e. g. a bridge is of greater use to the public than a poem. But thereby one should not ignore the importance of a poem which will continue to appeal to human mind for time to come.

It is indisputable that a scientific theory like the one propounded by Einstein is not without its philosophical import as it lays its impress on the future growth of literature. But to be effective in this respect, science should unfold its principles by appealing to human emotions and not through crude and concrete material facts. Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection in its exposition of the evolution of man by appeal to emotions and imagination of men has been conducive to the growth of nineteenth century literature.

Mans emotional attitudes to life and vicissitudes of his fortune are colored not only by his inherited instincts and faith in his fate but also by his hope in point of longevity of life and betterment of future prospects. Oriented by a scientific theory, they give a colour to literature. Literature feeds the emotional and imaginative hunger of man in this perspective science will not oust literature but enrich it by its impact on human life. Science can provide amenities of life for human comfort but fails to lend or impart spiritual pleasure delight that literature instills in man far transcends the comforts which science provides.

(a) What is the basic contribution of science to humankind? (CSE 2005)

Ans: Science is indeed,a great blessing. It has revolutionized human life. It has made rapid progres and transformed outwardly the manner of our living giving comforts to mankind. Science is also a continuing effeort to discover and increase human knowledge, undderstanding and creative writing. All civic amenities mankind is availing of is the contribution of science.

(b) What aspect of human life is fulfilled by works of literature? (CSE 2005)

Ans: Literature - seen as a body of works offers a unique education in itself, representing a wealth of ideas, perpectives, world views, emotional insights and more, all of which enrich the reader’s expanding the range of thoughts and ideas. Work of literature is of spiritual value and imparts spiritual delight and pleasure.

(c) How have Darwin’s and Einstein’s theories proved conducive to the growth of literature? (CSE 2005)

Ans: Scientific theories of Einstein and Darwin have also an emotional appeal. They have provided a positive outlook to mankind. Such scientis have given a hope to human beings and it is this hope that inspires us to look forward to future and make effortsfor the betterment of our lives.

(d) How is science friendly and not hostile to the growth of literature? (CSE 2005)

Ans: Scientific theories also have some philosophical import. They also appeal human conscience and emotions. Hence in some way or the other they motivate mankind to think creatively and express ideas in a variety of ways. This results in the literary works or better to say growth of literature becomes an usual after effect.

(e) Briefly enumerate the key ideas in the passage. (CSE 2005)

Ans: There is a general belief that literature and science are two fundamental and fundamentally different activities of human mind. Literature is a way of experiencing the world which naturally finds its expression in literary works while science is altogether another way of experiencing the world. Nevertheless we must not suppose that because these principles are opposites. Human life needs both for its richness and perfection. In fact they are complementary to each other. Science works as a motivation in the growth of literature.

Answer : The flowering of Indian civilization constitutes one of the most glorious chapters in the history of mankind. A culture, remarkable for its moral no less than for its material creativity, which has endured for three millennia and more, is necessarily a subject of great fascination. Yet over and above its longevity, Indian civilization is also characterized by some other features which deserve to be highlighted in any review of its past.

The ability of this civilization to absorb alien cultures without losing its distinctive identity has intrigued scholars over the centuries; and this capacity for creative absorption is as much in evidence today, when India is undergoing a seminal transformation into a modern industrial community, as it was in the centuries past, when alien communities with novel ways of life migrated into the subcontinent, to be drawn into the living matrix of Indian society; The continuity of Indian civilization rests very substantially upon social institutions and upon the dissemination of a common corpus of religious values among different classes and communities in the subcontinent.

This civilization was also geared to a cycle of agricultural activity which substantially determined the total ordering of society. Hence, the fact that the great epicentres of Indian civilization were located in the plains of the Indus and the Ganga in the north; and those of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Cauvery in the south. Over the centuries the people living in these riverine regions had conjured into existence a round of economic activity and a set of social institutions, which were designed to produce the agricultural wealth which sustained life. Indeed, the structure of rural society; with a central place occupied by the cultivating classes, which were linked by ties of patronage and prescription to numerous artisanal and menial groups; and the fabric of caste society; with the interlocking institutions of Varna and Jati has to be looked upon as the historical answer of the Indian genius to the needs of sustaining production in a rural society; The striking feature of this social organization was the premium which it put on self-sufficiency and survival within the framework of an agrarian civilization.

(a) What is the most distinctive feature of Indian civilization? (CSE 2004)

Ans: Moral and material creativity mark the distinctiveness of Indian society. More than that resilience and longevity are some other attributes of Indian civilization. Indian civilization has been like a melting pot. People of different origin and culture could easily mingle with Indian society and became very mauch a part of Indian society. Moreover Indian has successfully transformed itself in to an industrial society though agriculture is still its life life. This transition has not affected its unity in diversity where people of differen religious and cultural values are living in unison.

(b) Which section of the society occupied a central place in Indian civilization? (CSE 2004)

Ans: It is the cultivating class better known as peasant of the rural society of Indo-Gangetic plain which occupeied central place in Indian society. Their labour and effort could produce more than enough to feed the rest of the population.

(c) Identify the great epicentres of Indian civilization as narrated in the passage (CSE 2004)

Ans: The riverine regions of the north and south Indian have been the great epeicentres of Indian civilization. Indo-Gangetic plane and the river basins of the the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri rivers were instrumental in the continuity of the Indian civilization.

(d) On what did the Indian social organization lay emphasis? (CSE 2004)

Ans: Indian social organization laid emphasis on the social structure of the society. Varna and jati were the backbone of the Indian society which perpetuated a hierarchy where agriculture and artisanal activities were supposed to be the duties of a particular section of the society.

(e) What does the phrase “conjured into existence” mean? (CSE 2004)

Ans: In fact people living in the river basin areas of north and south Indian brought about a system in which which agricultural and other economic activities could easily be carried out as if some external or mysterious forces are guiding them to make it happen. It was only due to this understanding among themselves that everything worked out well and the civilization continued.

Answer : This rule of trying always to do things as well as one can do them has an important bearing upon the problem of ambition. No man or woman should be without ambition, which is the inspiration of activity. But if one allows ambition to drive one to attempt things which are beyond one’s own personal capacity, then unhappiness will result: If one imagines that one can do everything better than other people, then envy and jealousy, those twin monsters, will come to sadden one’s days. But if one concentrates one’s attention upon developing one’s own special capacities, the things one is best at, then one does not worry over much if other people are more successful.

There are those again who are discontented with their own job and complain of drudgery. But there is no job in the world which does not contain a large element of drudgery. Do you imagine that a Prime Minister has no drudgery to do, or an artist, or an author? I loathe drudgery as much as any man; but I have learnt that the only way to conquer drudgery is to get through it as neatly, as efficiently as one can. You know I am right when I say that. A dull job slackly done becomes twice as dull; a dull job which you try to do just as well as you can, becomes half as dull. Here again effort appears to me the main part of the art of living.

Have I any other, and less disagreeable, hints to suggest? I believe that every man and woman has somewhere tucked away inside them a sense of beauty. Without this sense life on this earth is veiled in dim grey clouds. It may be that you do not care, or think you do not care, for poetry or art or music. If you make the least effort, you may find that some or all of these things will cause you sudden delight; and once you catch that delight it will never leave you. Because if life, as I believe, is a constantly renewed effort, then the human frame aid nerves require some relaxation.

(a) When does ambition lead to unhappiness? (CSE 2003)

Ans: Being ambitious is always good because it makes us work to achieve our goal. In other words, it serves as a source of inspiration to be in the quest of something coveted. But ambition at the same time may be a source of agony. This is particularly when one does not understand one’s limit and aspires for something beyond one’s capacity. It is quite understandable that if we want to achieve what we can’t we will have to suffer. Therefore being ambitious is not bad but being too much ambitious always brings with it disappointment and disgrace leading to unhappiness.

(b) How can a person avoid envy and jealousy? (CSE 2003)

Ans: One should be reasonable and pragmatic in one’s way of thinking. Precisely speaking if we concentrate on our own ability and work accordingly, there will always be a change of progress. The moment we concentrate on what others are doing we start comparing theirs with our ways of doing things.

Here we may develop a feeling of superiority. It leads us thinking that others are not as better as we are. In other words we try to convince ourselves that we are the best. It develops envy and jealousy. To get rid of such thoughts it is always better to concentrate on our own work and achievements.

(c) How can we avoid the feeling of drudgery? (CSE 2003)

Ans: Sometimes people get fade up with what they do as they are not happy with the results they get. In that case they complain that this or that work is dull and uninteresting. But reality is that each task may have some boring elements in it. It doesn’t mean that the task is menial. What is needed is to do it with interest. If one takes interest in a work it no longer remains dull. Therefore it is always better to involve in the work you are doing. You can easily get drudgery out of it.

(d) Should we avoid ambition? (CSE 2003)

Ans: Never! One should always be ambitious. Being ambitious is always good. But it should be characterized by rationality. Ambition always gives impetus to be in the business and takes one nearer to one’s goal. Without any ambition you may not feel incentives to work. Rather, you may become dull or jobless. You may have nothing before you to achieve which is always bad for an individual. Ambition determines goal of your life.

(e) What does the phrase “to get through it” mean? (CSE 2003)

Ans: The phrase “to get through it” refers to the fact that one should always get involved in what is he doing. In fact one should keep attempting to solve the puzzle. Procrastination can never be a solution of any problem. Blame game is also does not show a healthy state of mind.

Answer : The scientific and technological revolution has brought about fundamental changes in the socio - economic sphere. The use of diesel engine and electricity and the beginning of the application of atomic energy have changed the modes of production. These things have led to the concentration of capital in a few hands. Great enterprises are replacing cottage industries and small firms. The working classes have certainly benefited economically. The miracle of production has necessitated the miracle of consumption. Better amenities are available at a lower cost. A man can buy anything he wants today, if he can only afford. But what kinds of men are needed today for our society? Men who can cooperate in large groups, men whose tasks are standardized, men who feel free and independent and at the same time are willing to fit in the social machine without any friction. Modem man is faced with a sort of moral and spiritual dilemma.

The crisis of values yawns before him. Today the old values are in the melting pot, and the new values have not found their foothold. Man has become the automaton he has contrived; he has lost ownership of himself. The discord between the development of positive science on the one hand and the dehumanization of man on the other is the worst crisis of the modem age.

Apart from the economic sphere, the socio-political sphere has not escaped this stratification and the congruent crisis of values.

Since the Renaissance, man has been striving for individual rights and self-dignity. But under the present set-up, only two types of men are found - the conditioner and the conditioned. The propaganda offices and the planning bureaus have almost crushed the ‘individual self’, and it has resulted in the rise of the ‘social self. Due to this pressure, the personality fulfillment or its all- round development is denied to many.

(a) What has changed the modes of production today? (CSE 2002)

Ans: Advancements in the field of science and technology have brought about a drastic change in the modes of production. The machines using different sources of energy can work wonder now and therefore there is a paradigm shift in the way industrial production is taking place. Now we have advanced engines using fossil fuel as well nuclear energy which make it possible to produce more in less time.

(b) What things are being replaced by great enterprise? (CSE 2002)

Ans: Small scale and cottage industries are facing tough challenges. They are being replaced gradually with large industries. Development in science and technology has made it possible to take up big projects. Therefore big enterprise is the order of the day now.

(c) What kind of men is needed today for our society? (CSE 2002)

Ans: Man of moral are needed today. A man ready to work with team spirit is the need of the hour. Liberty of thought and expression is must for the progress of mankind. But modern man has become machine. Therefore he has lost his real self and has become quite insensitive to society. This condition is not conducive for the progress of the society as well. So this is the time our society needs men who can establish an organic relationship with the society. One who can think, feel, realize, analyze on his own would be most suitable today for our society.

(d) Why has man become the automation of his own creation? (CSE 2002)

Ans: Actually automation has generated a culture of consumerism. In fact modern machine has led production on a large scale. Moreover this scale of production comprises almost everything mankind wishes for. Therefore they can get whatever they want and this tendency has become habitual.

In other words a man of today is leading a lavish life style availing all kinds of facility and therefore is destined to go with the machine. Being the slave of this own desire and under the influence of consumerism man has made himself just a slave of machine.

(e) Is modem man able to attain personality fulfillment? (CSE 2002)

Answer : The world we live in presents an endless variety of fascinating problems which excite our wonder and curiosity. The scientific worker attempts to formulate these problems in accurate terms and to solve them in the light of all the relevant facts that can be collected by observation and experiment. Such questions as ‘What, ‘How’, ‘Where’ and ‘When’ challenge him to find the clues that may suggest possible replies. Confronted by the many problems presented by, let us say, an active volcano, we may ask ‘What are the lavas made of? How does the volcano work and how is the heat generated? Where do the lavas and gases come from? When did the volcano first begin to erupt and when is it likely to erupt again?

In terms of chemical compounds and elements, the question ‘How’ refers to processes - the way things are made or happen or change. The ancients regarded natural processes as manifestations of energy acting on or through matter. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes no longer reflect the erratic behaviour of the gods of the underworld; they arise from the action of the earth’s internal heat on and through the surrounding crust. The source of the energy lies in the material of inner earth. In many directions, of course, our knowledge is still incomplete, only the first of the questions we have asked about volcanoes, for example, can as yet be satisfactorily answered. The point is not that we now pretend to understand everything but that we have faith in the orderliness of natural processes. As a result of two or three centuries of scientific investigation, we have come to believe that Nature is understandable in the sense that when we ask questions by way of appropriate observations and experiments, she will answer truly and reward us with discoveries that endure.

(a) How does the author describe the task of the scientific worker? (CSE 2001)

Ans: There are varieties of question we face in this world and in this case a scientist always tries to find the answers of these questions in concrete terms. In other word a scientist first tries to explain the root cause of such problems and then relies on the facts he comes across so as to find the relevant solution.

Thus the scientist’s approach is always curative and he believes in observation and experiments to make a tangible solution of any problems.

(b) Why does the author speak about volcanoes? (CSE 2001)

Ans: This passage is all about various problems we are facing in this world and the ways these problems are being interpreted to get a possible solution. Volcano is one such problem which raises various questions providing fodder for a number of streams such as science, geography, geology etc.

In other words it is this natural phenomenon that has given us an opportunity to understand the nature better than before when people tend to believe that it is the GOD behind every natural phenomenon.

(c) What does the equation ‘How’ refer to? (CSE 2001)

Ans: The significance of the equation ‘how’ lies in the fact that it addresses the root causes of problems of every kind or nature.

In other words, it is this very approach by which one can understand the process or mechanism that leads to or make something happen.

(d) How did the ancients look upon volcanoes and earthquakes? (CSE 2001)

Ans: The ancients had their own limitations. Their approach of going about earthquake, volcano or any other such natural phenomena was based on the belief that there is something transcendental that guides or work behind all this.

(e) What does the author say about our knowledge of the world? (CSE 2001)

Ans: According to the author our knowledge of nature has got better. The scientific observation and experiments has made it possible the nature better. And with this understanding we get a better solution of problems or disasters the present civilization is facing every now and then.

Answer : Two important stages came not so long before the dawn of written history. The first was the domestication of animals; the second was agriculture. Agriculture, which began in the river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia, was a step in human progress to which subsequently there was nothing comparable until our own machine age. Agriculture made possible an immense increase in the numbers of the human species in the regions where it could be successfully practised but at first these regions were few.

These were in fact, only those in which nature fertilised the soil after each harvest. Agriculture met with violent resistance, analogous to that which our Ruskins and Samuel Butlers offered to machines. Pastoral nomads considered themselves vastly superior to the tame folk who stayed in one place and were enslaved to the soil.

But although the nomads repeatedly won military victories, the physical comforts which the upper classes derived from agricultural serfs always prevailed in the end, and the area of agriculture gradually increased. Even now this process is not at an end, but what remains for it to achieve is no longer very important.

The only fundamental technical advance that preceded the emergence of man into recorded history was the invention of writing. Writing, like spoken language, developed gradually. It developed out of pictures, but as soon as it had reached a certain stage. It made possible the keeping of records and the transmission of information to people who were not present when the information was given.

(a) What was the second important stage in our pre-history and where did it begin? (CSE 2000)

Ans: The second important step in our pre-history was the beginning of agriculture. It began in the river valleys of two ancient civilizations named Egypt and Mesopotamia. In fact this stage proved to be a mile-stone in the history of human progress as humans never looked back since then and kept making efforts to achieve more and more until the dawn of language.

(b) What happened in the regions where agriculture was successful? (CSE 2000)

Ans:The practice of agriculture resulted in the increase in human population. But it could be possible in only those areas soils were fertile. In the absence of the fertility of soil farming could not have yielded adequate agricultural production. Unfortunately, areas with fertile soils were very few. Moreover the practice of agriculture didn’t have smooth sailing because of hostile nomadic tribes. They looked down upon agricultural communities because such communities had to lead a sedentary life style quite opposite to the nomadic tribes.

(c) What happened in the conflict between the nomads and agriculturists? (CSE 2000)

Ans: When it came to the conflict between the nomads and agriculturists, the nomads proved mightier. In other words agriculturists had to face defeat. But the conflict was just a physical show of strength. Ultimately, it was agricultural community who proved wiser and could easily tame a section engaged in agricultural labour. In fact they proved that only they know how to rule and make other serve.

(d) What technical advance took place before the period of recorded history and what did it accomplish? (CSE 2000)

Ans: It is the invention of writing that took place before the dawn of recorded history. History is impossible without the written word as one would lack context in which to interpret physical evidence from the ancient past. Writing records the lives of a people and so is the first necessary step in the written history of a culture or civilization. Thus documentation of human progress could be possible after the art of writing man could invent.

(e) Who considered themselves superior to whom and why? (CSE 2000)

Ans: People leading nomadic life thought themselves superior to the agricultural communities. This is because nomads thought they are at liberty to live and move as and when they feel like. They didn’t endorse settled life as it requires to stay at a particular place eke out livelihood which could be otherwise earned by moving here and there. Being stick to a particular place meant some kind of dependency which didn’t suit them.