MP Board 12th English Note Making Question Bank : We are providing a bunch of passage for Note Making Under MP Board 12th English Note Making Question Bank.
Read the following passage carefully and make notes on them also give a suitable title to them.
| Passage 1 Destruction of forests has a major impact on the productivity of our croplands. This happens in two ways. Soil erosion increases manifold and the soil literally gets washed away, leading to an accentuated cycle of floods and droughts. But equally important is the impact of the shortage of firewood on the productivity of croplands. When firewood becomes scarce, people begin to burn cow dung and crop wastes. In many places cow dung and crop wastes are now the major sources of cooking energy. Thus, slowly every part of the plant gets used and nothing goes back to the soil. Over a period of time this nutrient drain affects crop productivity. Add to this the technology of the Green Revolution, the technology of growing high yielding varieties on a limited diet of chemical fertilizers like nitrogen, phosphates and potash. The total biomass production goes up and so does the drain of the nutrients from the soil. |
| Passage 2 Women’s education in India is one of the foremost concerns of the Government of India as well as of the society at large. It is due to the fact that at the present time, the educated women play a very significant role in overall development and progress of the country. Women hold a prominent position in Indian society and all over the world. However, since the prehistoric times women were denied opportunities and had to suffer for the hegemonic masculine ideology. This unjustifiable and unwarrantable oppression had resulted into a movement that was fought to achieve the equal status of women all over the world. Women’s education in India is the consequence of such progress and this led to the tremendous improvement of women’s condition throughout the world. Nevertheless eradication of female illiteracy is considered as a major concern today. In the present era, Indian society has established a number of institutions for the educational development of women and girls. These educational institutions aim for immense help and are concerned with the development of women. In modern society, women in India have come a long way. Indian women are at par with men in all kinds of tasks like reaching the moon, conquering Mount Everest, and participating in all fields. All this is possible just because of education and the profound impact it has had on women. |
| Passage 3 Life is not a bed of roses, but a bed of thorns. It is full of dangers and difficulties. In the race of life, we should not be afraid of the risk which is but natural. Success in any work in life goes to those persons who welcome risk. Science would not have made such wonderful achievements if our scientists had not risked their lives and comforts. The more difficult the work is, the harder our efforts should be to perform it. Life is not smooth sailing. Petty difficulties frighten a weak heart, who is not prepared to take a risk. But brave hearts achieve fame and honour because they enjoy taking risks. In short, risk brings success and works miracles. |
| Passage 4 Conversation is indeed the most easily teachable of all arts. All you need to do in order to become a good conversationalist is to find a subject that interests you and your listeners. There are, for example, numberless hobbies to talk about. But the important thing is that you must talk about other fellow’s hobby rather than your own. Therein lies the secret of your popularity. Talk to your friends about the things that interest them, and you will get a reputation for good fellowship, charming wit, and a brilliant mind. There is nothing that pleases people so much as your interest in their interest. It is just as important to know what subjects to avoid and what subjects to select for good conversation. If you don’t want to be set down as a wet blanket or a bore, be careful to avoid certain unpleasant subjects. Avoid talking about yourself, unless you are asked to do so. People are interested in their own problems, not in yours. Sickness or death bores everybody. The only one who willingly listens to such talk is the doctor, but he gets paid for it. |
| Passage 5 In the world have we made health an end in itself? We have forgotten that health is really a means to enable a person to do his work and does it well. A lot of modern medicine is concerned with promotion of good health. Many patients as well as many physicians pay very little attention to health; but very much attention to health makes some people imagine that they are ill. Our great concern with health is shown by the medical columns in newspaper, the health articles in popular magazines and the popularity of the television programme and all those books on medicine we talk about health all the time. Yet for the most the only result is more people with imaginary illnesses. The healthy man should not be wasting any time talking about health, he should be using health for work, the work he does and the work that good health makes possible. |
| Passage 6 Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of a signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain meaning in and of themselves. A stop sign, for example, conveys meaning quickly and conveniently. Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver’s cultural perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theatre provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. Gestures such as waving and handshaking also communicate certain cultural messages. Although signals, signs, symbols and gestures are very useful, they do have a major disadvantage. They usually do not allow ideas to be shared without the sender being directly adjacent to the receiver. As a result, means of communication intended to be used for long distances and extended periods are based upon speech. Radio, television and the telephone are only a few of such means. |
| Passage 7 Fat comes in two types; Omega-3 which is found in marine life and Omega-6 which is concentrated in vegetable oils. The first is good, the other is plain rotten. The best source of Omega-3 is preferably sea-fish. But frying it in Omega-6 rich vegetable oil kills all its goodness. Ageing brains have low levels of thiamin, which is concentrated in wheat germ and bran, nuts, meat and cereals. Better brain-food comes from liver, milk and almonds, which are rich in riboflavin and extremely good for memory. Carotene, available in deep green leafy vegetables and fruits, is also good for geriatric brains. So is a high iron diet; it can make old brains gallop hyperactively like young ones. Iron comes from greens; liver shell-fish, red meat and soyabeans. Seas-food, very high in iron, is an excellent diet supplement. The New England Journal of Medicine reported in its May, 1985 issue that 30 grams of fish a day could result in a dramatic drop in the chances of acquiring cardiovascular diseases. Sea fish, particularly shell-fish, crabs, mackerel and sardines, are more effective than riverine fish because the latter is more vulnerable to chemical effluents. |
| Passage 8 Life is not a bed of roses, but a bed of thorns. It is full of dangers and difficulties. In the race of life, we should not be afraid of the risk which is but natural. Success in any work in life goes to those persons who welcome risk. Science would not have made such wonderful achievements if our scientists had not risked their lives and comforts. The more difficult the work is, the harder our efforts should be to perform it. Life is not smooth sailing. Petty difficulties frighten a weak heart, who is not prepared to take a risk. But brave hearts achieve fame and honour because they enjoy taking risks. In short, risk brings success and works miracles. |
| Passage 9 Conversation is indeed the most easily teachable of all arts. All you need to do in order to become a good conversationalist is to find a subject that interests you and your listeners. There are, for example, numberless hobbies to talk about. But the important thing is that you must talk about other fellow’s hobby rather than your own. Therein lies the secret of your popularity. Talk to your friends about the things that interest them, and you will get a reputation for good fellowship, charming wit, and a brilliant mind. There is nothing that pleases people so much as your interest in their interest. It is just as important to know what subjects to avoid and what subjects to select for good conversation. If you don’t want to be set down as a wet blanket or a bore, be careful to avoid certain unpleasant subjects. Avoid talking about yourself, unless you are asked to do so. People are interested in their own problems, not in yours. Sickness or death bores everybody. The only one who willingly listens to such talk is the doctor, but he gets paid for it. |
| Passage 10 In the world have we made health an end in itself? We have forgotten that health is really a means to enable a person to do his work and does it well. A lot of modern medicine is concerned with promotion of good health. Many patients as well as many physicians pay very little attention to health; but very much attention to health makes some people imagine that they are ill. Our great concern with health is shown by the medical columns in newspaper, the health articles in popular magazines and the popularity of the television programme and all those books on medicine we talk about health all the time. Yet for the most the only result is more people with imaginary illnesses. The healthy man should not be wasting any time talking about health, he should be using health for work, |