Note Making

Read the passage and answer the questions given below:

There is a clear dichotomy between Jayashankar Prasad’s daily life
and the one that found expression in his literature. In his literary
formulations, Prasad advocated an escape from personality ideals and
categorically stated: “An artist’s art, and not his person, is the touchstone
to assess his work . . . it is only after losing his personality that he emerges
in his art as an artist”.

In Prasad’s works – his poems, short stories, novels, dramas etc. –

what emerges is life as shaped in the writer’s inner self by his emotions,
fancies, dreams, reveries . . . His writings are a record not of outer reality,
but of the artist’s inner world. As such, of a proper appreciation and
understanding of his works more emphasis needs to be placed on the
working of his mind, than the events of his day to-day life.

Prasad was born in a renowned family of Varanasi. His grand-father

Shiv RatanSahu, a dealer in high quality perfumed tobacco (snuff).
Besides being an astute businessman, he was endowed with a marked
cultural taste. His home was the meeting place of the local poets, singers,
artists, scholars and men of religion. Prasad’s father Devi Prasad Sahu
carried forward this high tradition of family. Prasad, therefore, had a
chance to study the various phases of human nature in the light of the
business traditions, artistic taste and religious background of his family.

When the business had somewhat recovered, Prasad planned the

publication of a literary journal. Prasad started the “Indu”. The inaugural
number appeared in July 1909. By this time Prasad’s notions of literature
had crystallized into a credo. In the first issue of Indu, he proclaimed,
“Literature has no fixed aim; it is not a slave to rules; it is a free and all-
embracing genius, gives birth to genuine literature which is subservient to
none. Whatever in the world is true and beautiful is its subject matter. By
dealing with the True and Beautiful it establishes the one and affects the
full flowering of the others. Its force can be measured by the degree of
pleasure it gives to the reader’s mind as also by the criticism which is free
of all prejudice”. The words sound like the manifesto of romanticism in
literature.

Even while recognizing the social relevance of literature, Prasad

insisted, “The poet is a creator . . . he is not conditioned by his milieu;
rather it is he who moulds it and gives it a new shape; he conjures up a
new world of beauty where the reader for the time being, becomes
oblivious of the outer world and passes his time in an eternal spring garden
where golden lotuses blossom and the air is thick and pollen”. Thus, the
chief aim of literature according to Prasad is to give joy to the reader and
to create a state of bliss in him. Later under the impact of Shiv Advaitism,
this faith of Prasad got further strengthened.

Answer 1:
1. Dichotomy between Jayashankar Prasad’s daily life and expression in
his literature.
1.1 advocated an escape from personality ideals
1.2 stated: “An artist’s art, and not his person
1.3 only after losing his personality- his art as an artist”.

1.4 his works emerges – life as shaped in the writer’s inner self by his
emotions, fancies, dreams, reveries . . .
1.5 His writings - a record not of outer reality, but of the artist’s inner
world.
2. Born in a renowned family of Varanasi
2.1 grand-father- an astute businessman
2.2 home- meeting place of the local poets, singers, singers, artists,
scholars and men of religion
2.3 a chance to study phases of human nature
3. Started the “Indu”- a literary journal in July 1909
3.1 proclaimed “Literature has no fixed aim; it is not a slave to rules “
3.2 a free and all-embracing genius
3.3 giving birth to genuine literature
3.4 The words sound like the manifesto of romanticism
4. recognizing the social relevance of literature
4.1 insisted “The poet is a creator”
4.2 moulding it and giving it a new shape;
4.3 conjuring up a new world of beauty
4.4 becoming oblivious of the outer world
5. Chief aim of literature giving joy to the reader and creating a state of
bliss
5.1 the impact of Shiv Advaitism-this faith of Prasad
5.2 strengthened further.

Note Making Example 2:

Read the following passage:
How does television affect our lives? It can be very helpful to people
who carefully choose the shows that they watch. Television can increase
our knowledge of the outside world; there are that help us understand
many fields of study, science, medicine, and the different arts and so on.
Moreover, television benefits very old people, who can’t leave the house,
as well as patients in hospitals. It also offers non-native speakers the
advantage of daily informal language practice. They can increase their
vocabulary and practice listening.
On the other hand, there are several serious disadvantages of
television. Of course, it provides us with a pleasant way to relax and spend
our free time, but in some countries people watch television for an average
of six hours or more a day. Many children stare at the TV screen for more
hours a day than they spend on anything else, including studying and
sleeping. It’s clear that TV has a powerful influence on their lives and that
its influence is often negative.
Recent studies show that after only thirty seconds of television
viewing, a person’s brain ‘relaxes’ the same way that it does just before
the person falls asleep. Another effect of television on the human brain is
that it seems to cause poor concentration. Children who view a lot of
television can often concentrate on a subject for only fifteen to twenty
minutes. They can pay attention only for the amount of time between
commercials.
Another disadvantage is that television often causes people to become
dissatisfied with their own lives. Real life does not seem so exciting to
these people. To many people, television becomes more real than reality
and their own lives seem boring. Also many people get upset or depressed
when they can’t solve problems in real life as quickly as television actors
seem to.
Before a child is fourteen years old, he or she views eleven thousand
murders on the TV. He or she begins to believe that there is nothing
strange about fights, killings and other kinds of violence. Many studies
show that people become more violent after viewing certain programmes.
They may even do the things that they see in a violent show.

Answer2:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Watching Television
1. does television affect our lives?
1.1 very helpful to people- the shows that they watch
1.2 increasing knowledge of the outside world
1.3 high quality programmes- many fields of study, science, medicine,
and the different arts and so on.
1.4 offers non-native speakers the advantage of daily informal language
practice
1.5, television benefits very old people& patients
1.6 informal language practice
1.7 increasing vocabulary and practice listening
2. Disadvantages of television
2.1 some countries people watch for 6 hrs. Or more
2.2 Many children stare at the TV screen for more hours a day
2.3 powerful and negative influence on their lives
2.4 only thirty seconds of television- a person’s brain ‘relaxes’
2.5 effect of television on the human brain
2.6 cause poor concentration
2.7 dissatisfied with their own lives
3 feels life not very exciting
3.1 TV more real, life seems boring
3.2 depression when can’t solve problems
4. Violence shown on TV
4.1Killings seem normal
4.2 children become violent in viewing certain programmes.
4.3 even do the things that they see in a violent show.

Note Making Example 3:

Read the passage given below
Well-being is not just the absence of disease or illness. It is a complex
combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health
factors. Well-being is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. In
short, it could be described as how one feels about oneself and one’s life.
Every aspect of one’s life influences the state of one’s well-being.
Researchers investigating happiness have found the following factors
which enhance a person’s well-being: network of close friends, enjoyable
and fulfilling career, enough money, regular exercise, nutritious diet,
sufficient sleep, fun hobbies and leisure pursuits, healthy self-esteem,
optimistic outlook and so on.
The factors that influence one’s well-being are interrelated. For
example, a job provides not just money but purpose, goals, friendships
and a sense of belonging. Some factors also make up for the lack of others;
for example, a good marriage can compensate for a lack of friendship,
while religious beliefs may help a person to accept physical illness.
Money is linked to well-being, because having enough money improves
living conditions and increases social status. But various international
studies have shown that it is the quality of our personal relationships, not
the size of our bank balance, which has the greatest effect on our state of
well-being. Believing that money is the key to happiness can also harm a
person’s well-being.
Understanding the well-being of the population is very important.
Measuring well-being, however, in a population is difficult because the
interpretation of well-being is so subjective — how one feels about
peoples’ lives largely depends on the way one sees it. Like the saying
goes: ‘one person’s problem is another person’s challenge.’
Keeping track of a population’s well-being helps governments to
decide on particular policies. It also acts as an indicator for various
population trends. For example, knowing the average weekly income of a
population helps to set the ‘poverty line’, which may then influence
decisions on social welfare reforms. Well-being can be achieved through
a variety of means. Some are as follows : developing and maintaining
strong relationships with family and friends, making regular time
available for social contact, trying to find work that is enjoyable and
rewarding, rather than just working for the best pay, eating healthy,
nutritious foods, doing regular physical activity, involving oneself in
activities that interest the people, joining in local organisations or clubs
that appeal, setting achievable goals and working towards them and trying
to be optimistic and enjoying each day.

Note making Example 4:

Read the passage given below:
Keeping cities clean is essential for keeping their residents healthy.
Our health depends not just on personal hygiene and nutrition, but
critically also on how clean we keep our cities and their surroundings. The
spread of dengue and chikungunya are intimately linked to the
deteriorating state of public health conditions in our cities.
The good news is that waste management to keep cities clean is now
getting attention through the Swachh Bharat Mission. However, much of
the attention begins and stops with the brooms and the dustbins, extending
at most to the collection and transportation of the mixed waste to some
distant or not so distant place, preferably out of sight.
The challenge of processing and treating the different streams of
solid waste, and safe disposal of the residuals in scientific landfills, has
received much less attention in municipal solid waste management than
is expected from a health point of view.
 One of the problems is that instead of focusing on waste
management for health, we have got sidetracked into ‘‘waste for energy’’.
If only we were to begin by not mixing the biodegradable component of
solid waste (close to 60 percent of the total) in our cities with the dry
waste, and instead use this stream of waste for composting and producing
a gas called methane.
City compost from biodegradable waste provides an alternative to
farmyard manure (like cow-dung). It provides an opportunity to
simultaneously clean up our cities and help improve agricultural
productivity and quality of the soil. Organic manure or compost plays a
very important role as a supplement to chemical fertilisers in enriching
the nutrient-deficient soils. City compost can be the new player in the
field.
Benefits of compost on the farm are well-known. The water holding
capacity of the soil which uses compost helps with drought-proofing, and
the requirement of less water per crop is a welcome feature for a water-
stressed future. By making the soil porous, use of compost also makes
roots stronger and resistant to pests and decay. Farmers using compost,
therefore, needless quantity of pesticides. There is also evidence to
suggest that horticulture crops grown with compost have better flavour,
size, colour and shelf-life.
City compost has the additional advantage of being weed-free
unlike farmyard manure which brings with it the seeds of undigested
grasses and requires a substantial additional labour cost for weeding as
the crops grow. City compost is also rich in organic carbon, and our soils
are short in this.
Farmers clearly recognize the value of city compost. If city waste
was composted before making it available to the farmers for applying to
the soil, cities would be cleaned up and the fields around them would be
much more productive.
Quite apart from cleaning up the cities of biodegradable waste, this
would be a major and sustainable contribution to improving the health of
our soil without further damage by excessive chemical inputs. What a
marvelous change from waste to health!
 The good news is that some states are regularly laying plastic roads.
Plastic roads will not only withstand future monsoon damage but will also
solve a city’s problem of disposing of non-recyclable plastic. It is clear
that if the mountains of waste from our cities were to be recycled into road
construction material, it would tackle the problem of managing waste
while freeing up scarce land.