Part
A :
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions following it. Unit-5: Lesson-1(A)
Meherjan
lives in a slum on the Sirajgonj Town Protection Embankment. Her polythene
roofed shelter looks like a cage. She is nearly 45 but looks more than her age.
In front of her shelter, she is trying to make a fire to cook the day’s only
meal. Her weak hands tremble as she adds some
fallen leaves and straw to the fire. The
whispering wind from the river Jamuna makes the fire unsteady. The dancing of
the flames reminds Meherjan of the turmoil in her life.
Not
long ago Meherjan had everything--- a family, cultivable land and cattle. The
erosion of the Jamuna consumed gradually all her landed property. It finally
claimed her last shelter during the last monsoon. It took the river only a day
to demolish Meher’s house, trees, vegetable garden and the bamboo bush. She had
a happy family once. Over the years, she lost her husband and her family to
diseases that cruel hunger and poverty brought to the family. Now, she is the
only one left to live on with the loss and the pain. The greedy Jamuna has
shattered her dreams and happiness.
There
are thousand others waiting to share the same fate with Meherjan.
VOCABULARY
Protection (cÖv‡UKkvb) n.- the act of
saving something/somebody; wbivcËv; syn- defend;
ant- attacker| Prompt (cÖgU&) adj.- done without delay; Awej¤^; syn- quick; Ant- lazy; idle; passive| Embankment
(Bge¨vsK‡g›U) n.- a wall of stone or earth made to keep water
back; euva-wbg©vY; syn- dam| Tremble (‡Uªgej) †Ku‡c IVv; syn- quiver; ant- steadiness| Turmoil (Uvi gqj) n.- a state of great anxiety and confusion; wek„•Ljv; syn- chaos; ant- calm| Threaten (‡_ªUb) n.- to say that you will cause trouble; hurt
somebody; etc; fq
†`Lv‡bv; syn- intimidate| Whisper (DBmcvi) v.- to speak very quietly to somebody so that other
people cannot hear what you are saying; wdm&wdm&& K‡i ejv; syn- murmur; ant- shout| Unsteady (Avb‡÷wW) adj.- liable to fall or shake; Kígvb, Ujg‡j; syn- shaky; ant-steady| Flame (‡d¬Bg)
n.- a hot bright stream of burning gas that comes from something that is on
fire; AwMœwkLv; syn- brightness| Remind (wigvBb&W) v.- to help somebody remember something; ¯§iY Kwi‡q †`Iqv; syn- call up| Consume (KbwmDg)
v.- to use something especially fuel; energy or time; e¨envi K‡i †kl Kiv; syn- use up| Claim (‡K¬Bg)
i.- to demand or ask for something; `vwe Kiv;
syn- demand| Demolish (wWgwjk) v.- to pull or knock down something. ‡f‡O †djv; Syn- bulldoze; ant- build up| Shatter (k¨vUvi) v.- to suddenly break into small pieces; PzY©-wePzY© Kiv; syn- crush| Harsh (nvi&k)
adj.- cruel; severe and unkind; K‡Vvi; syn-
rough; ant- kindly| Estimate (GmwU‡gBU) v.- to guess the cost; size; value; etc of
something; Avbygvwb
wn‡me Kiv/ g~j¨wePvi Kiv; syn- calculate| Adapt (A¨vWvcU) v.- to change something in order to make it suitable
for a new use or situation; gvwb‡q †bIqv; syn- adjust| Roar (‡ivi) v.- to make a loud deep harsh sound; ¸i“M¤¢xi MR©b Kiv; syn- growl|
1. Choose the best answer from the alternatives. 1×7=7
a. Meherjan’s dreams and happiness are ¾ by the greedy river Jamuna.
(i) destroyed (ii) boosted (iii) flourished (iv)
mixed
b.
(i) forests (ii) rivers (iii) the poor (iv) mosques
c. Every year river erosion makes people ¾.
(i) poor (ii) rich (iii)
homeless (iv) happy
d. Meherjan lives in a slum _ to
(i) belongs (ii) belonging (iii) situated (iv) closed
e. Due to river erosion in
(i) one lakh (ii) one thousand (iii) one million (iv) ten thousand
f. Mejerjan looks aged because of ¾.
(i) maltreatment (ii) deprivation (iii) her age (iv)
illness
g. People ¾ near the river banks are the victims of river
erosion.
(i) living (ii) live (iii) stay (iv) migrating
Extra Practices
h. The greedy Jamuna took only ¾ to demolish everything of Meherjan.
(i) a week (ii) a day (iii) a month (iv) an hour
i. The shelter of Meherjan is ¾ roofed.
(i) wood (ii) polythene (iii)
tin (iv) iron and
cement
j. The fire is made unsteady by the wind from
the ¾.
(i) Padma (ii) Meghna (iii)
Jamuna (iv) Buriganga
k. Meherjan lives in ——.
(i) a town (ii) a village (iii) a slum (iv) a footpath
l. Her dreams and happiness are shattered by
——.
(i) Padma (ii) Meghna (iii)
Jamuna (iv) Surma
m. Dancing
of the flame means ——.
(i) a traditional form of folk dance
(ii) a
flame that makes people dance around it
(iii) a flame that is made unstable by the blast of
air
(iv) a flame made by people to remember their
pasts
n. Each
year about —— became homeless due to river erosion in
(i) one lakh
people (ii) ten
thousand people
(iii) ten million people (iv) one crore people
o. Landed
property means ——.
(i) a rented piece of land (ii) a piece of land on the bank of a river.
(iii) property in the form a source of income to
its owner
(iv) property used only an agricultural farm
p. What
does the dancing of the flames remind Meherjan?
(i) happiness (ii) sadness (iii) discipline (iv) turinoil in her life
q. Who
did consume all her land property?
(i) the dancing of the flames (ii) the whispering wind
(iii) the last monsoon (iv) the erosion of the Jamuna
2. Answer the
following questions. 2×5
= 10
a. Where
does Meherjan live?
b. What
is river erosion?
c. What
things did Meherjan have not long ago?
d. What
makes her homeless?
e. How
many people become homeless annually due to river erosion?
Extra Practices
f. Why does she look more than her age?
g. How does her shelter look like?
h. What was she doing in front of her shelter?
i. What does the dancing of the flames remind
Meherjan?
j. What should we do to save our Meherjans?
k What does happen in front of her slum?
l. What had Meherjan had one day?
m. How many people become homeless every year?
n. Who has shattered Meherjan's dreams and
happiness?
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