Due to online exams, the new pattern of question papers in CBSE, KVS and other Education Boards has mandated multiple-choice questions(MCQs) to be part of the paper. Below are some of the questions from the chapter 'The Ailing Planet: The Green Movement's Role by Nani Palkivala' This is from the textbook 'Hornbill' prescribed in class XI English Core. Find the keys at the end.
Q.1. "Every four days the world population increases by ____"
(A) 1.5 million
(B) 1 million
(C) 1.7 million
(D) half a million
Q.2. What forms the foundation of the global economic system according to Lester Brown?
(A) fisheries, forests, grasslands, croplands
(B) land and water.
(C) forests, fisheries, grasslands
(D) fisheries and forests
Q.3. "Scientists have catalogued about .............. living species with which mankind shares the earth"
(A) 1.4 million
(C) 1.8 million.
(B) 1.6 million
(D) 1.2 million
Q.4. Where was the first nationwide Green party founded?
(A) U.S.A
(B) Australia
(C) New Zealand
(D) Canada
Q.5. Who said, "We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children"?
(A) Margaret Thatcher
(B) Mr Edgar S. Woolard
(C) Mr Lester Brown
(D) Brandt Commission
Q.6. What is the transcending concern?
(A) Survival of the planet.
(B) Survival of the forests
(C) Global warming
(D) Save water
Q.7. What does the three-year study conducted by the United Nations state?
(A) Environment has deteriorated and is in a critical state in eighty-eight countries.
(B) Forests are being cut down at an alarming rate.
(C) There is not much of drinking water left.
(D) Fossil fuels are getting extinct at a rapid pace.
Q.8. Which article of the Constitution of India provides that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country?
(A) Article 48 A
(B) Article 51 A
(C) Article 49 A
(D) Article 52 A
Q.9. What is the meaning of holistic and ecological view?
(A) rainwater harvesting
(B) saving of the water resources
(C) saving trees
(D) preservation of the environment
Q.10. What is one of the reasons for the exploitation of the environment?
(A) global warming
(B) increasing population
(C) animal extinctions
(D) water
Q.11. What happens to the forests in poor countries?
(A) They cut down trees for fuel-wood.
(B) They cut down trees for furniture.
(C) They grow plants in a large number.
(D) Nothing as such.
Q.12. What are the four principal biological systems that form the foundation of the global economic system?
(A) water, air, sand, forests
(B) ocean, forests, deserts, land
(C) fisheries, grasslands, forests and croplands
(D) fisheries, grasslands, oceans, land
Q.13. A signboard in the zoo at____read,
'World's most dangerous animal'.
(A) Albama
(B) Alaska
(C) Louvre
(D) Lusaka
Q.14. What is the concept of Sustainable Development?
(A) Development of the future
(B) Development for the present
(C) Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations
(D) Environmental development
Q.15. Dr Myres stated that:
(A) World's most dangerous animal
(B) Tropical forests are the powerhouse evolution of
(C) We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children
(D) fisheries, grasslands, oceans, land
Answer Key
| 1. B | 2. A | 3. A | 4. C | 5. C |
| 6. A | 7. A | 8. A | 9. D | 10. B |
| 11. A | 12. C | 13. D | 14. C | 15. B |
Extract Based MCQs
I. Read the extracts given below and answer the following questions by choosing the correct option:
Q.1. What is the effect of efforts of a number of agencies on human beings in different countries?
(A) They have started realising that our environment needs to be preserved.
(B) They have started realising that we are not the sole owners of this planet.
(C) They have started realising that our planet needs to be saved for saving our existence.
(D) All of these
Q.2. Which of the following means the same as 'dawned upon'?
(A) assault
(B) reveal
(C) flop
(D) encouragement
Q.3. Human beings share the Earth with___of species
(A) millions
(B) hundreds
(C) thousands
(D) tens
Q.4. Due to domination humans have always the resources of the Earth.
(A) utilized
(B) exploited
(C) developed
(D) urbanised
II. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow : Fertility falls as incomes rise, education spreads and health improves. Thus, development is the best contraceptive.
But development itself may not be possible if the present increase in numbers continues.
Q.1. Whose fertility is being talked about here?
(A) Humans
(B) Animals
(C) Soil
(D) All of these
Q.2. Fertility falls as incomes rise.... This shows that:
(A) with rise in income, greed increases and so investment in fertility enhancers will
(B) with rise in income, time is invested in more productive engagements instead of raising population not be done
(C) with rise in income, greed increases and so sharing becomes obsolete
(D) All of these
Q.3. How is the health affected with development?
(A) It deteriorates.
(C) It improves.
(B) It is not affected at all.
(D) It is not clear.
Q.4. What is a contraceptive'?
(A) a disease
(B) a medicine
(C) a protection measure
(D) None of these
Q.5. What can stop perpetuation of poverty?
(A) destruction
(C) birth control
(B) domination
(D) determination
III. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
Of all the statements made by Margaret Thatcher during the years of her Prime Ministership, none has passed so decisively into the current coin of English usage as her felicitous words: "No generation has a freehold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy with a full repairing lease". In the words of Mr. Lester Brown, "We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children."
Q.1. Having a freehold on the land means
(A) one is under subjugation
(B) one has acquired the property under lease (C) one is the sole owner of the land
(D) one can use the property freely as a tenant
Q.2. What is meant by 'decisively?
(A) carefully
(B) deviously
(C) clearly
(D) cleverly
Q.3. Which of the following options clearly define 'a full repairing lease'?
(A) the tenant is responsible for the cost of all the repairs
(B) the tenant is responsible for the upkeep of the property
(C) Both A & B
(D) None of these
Q.4. When we have borrowed the earth from our children, our responsibility is to:
(A) extract the resources from the earth before returning the earth to the future generations
(B) keep all the resources intact before returning the earth to the future generations
(C) exploit the earth before returning it to the future generations
(D) fulfill all the needs of the present generation and return the earth to the future generations in whatever state it is left
Q.5. Felicitous words' mean:
(A) apt
(B) well chosen
(C) pertinent
(D) All of these
Answer key
1. Option (D) is correct
Explanation: Man has realised the wisdom of shifting from a system based on domination to one based on partwrnship.
2. Option (B) is correct
Explanation: Become clear
3. Option (A) is correct
Explanation: Scientists have catalogued about 1.4 million living species with which mankind shares the earth. Estimates vary widely with respect to the still-uncatalogued living species.
4. Option (B) is correct
Explanation: Used indiscriminate.
II. 1. Option (A) is correct
Explanation: Increased fertility is related to increasing population.
2. Option (B) is correct
3. Option (C) is correct
Explanation: it improves due to better health facilities.
4. Option (C) is correct
5. Option (C) is correct
Explanation: Family planning
III. 1. Option (C) is correct
Explanation: The sole owner can use or sell or do whatever with the freehold property.
2. Option (C) is correct
Explanation: well-chosen and definite
3. Option (C) is correct
Explanation: Tenant is held responsible for any damage done to the property.
4. Option (B) is correct
Explanation: We are not the owners, we are like tenants/ trustees.
5. Option (D) is correct
Explanation: All these words are synonyms of felicitous.
Short Answer Type Questions:-
Q.1. (a) What do you know about the Green Movement ?
(b) What does the author mean by a mechanical view of the world?
Ans. (a) In 1972, the world's first Green Party was founded in New Zealand. The Green movement has never looked back since its inception.
(b) The mechanical view of the world means looking at the world as if it was a machine. A machine has no feeling and no emotional needs.
Q.2. How does the author point out the importance of Green Movement?
Ans. The author points out the importance of the Green Movement by comparing it to the revolutionary ideas of Copernicus. He had taught mankind in the 16th century that the earth and the other planets revolved round the sun.
Q.3. How have human beings shifted their perceptions?
Ans. We have shifted our perception from mechanistic view to a holistic and ecological one. Now, we regard the own metabolic needs and vital earth as a living organism. It is an enormous being and we are its parts. It has processes. We must respect and preserve them.
Q.4. What is the holistic and ecological view of the world?
Ans. The holistic and ecological view means that the world is one whole one enormous being of which human beings are a part. So, the ecology depends not just on human beings but on all things living and non-living Like human being, the world has its own metabolic needs which should be respected and preserved. This view considers the earth as a living organism.
Q.5. What do you understand by the concept of sustainable development?
Ans. The concept of sustainable development is linked with the survival of human race. It means to consume the resources of the earth in a manner that does not hamper the survival of the coming generations. We should use the resources for our present need without compromising the right of future generation to use them in their need.
Q.6. Describe the terms 'Holistic approach' and sustainable development.
Ans. The holistic approach is a comprehensive approach in which the world is viewed as a living organism with all its natural resources and species.
Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their needs.
Q.7. What is the new world view according to the author?
Ans. In the new world view, people feel concerned for the survival of not just the people but of the planet. The new world view is the holistic view of our existence. We can survive or perish only with all other creatures-our future is linked with them.
Q.8. What is the state of earth today? How should we act now?
Ans. The signs of the earth which are connected with life shows that the earth is a patient in declining health. We must realize our moral obligations to be good stewards of the planet. We must act as responsible trustees of the legacy of future generations.
Q.9. Who is the world's most dangerous animal? Why is it called so?
Ans. There is a zoo at Lusaka, in Zambia. A notice outside one of the cages says the world's most dangerous animal and when one looks inside the cave, one finds himself in the mirror inside the cave clearly telling that human beings are the world's most dangerous animals as they are the creators of all kinds of pollution and destruction
Q.10. How does the earth's biological systems behave on reaching an unsustainable level ?
Ans. The productivity of the earth's biological systems is impaired on reaching an unsustainable level. Fisheries collapse, forests disappear, grasslands turn into barren wastelands and croplands become worse.
Q.11. How are the earth's principal biological systems being depleted?
Ans. The four principal biological systems of the earth are croplands, fisheries, forests and grasslands. Their productivity has become impaired because of human pressure on them. Forests have been cleared. Grasslands have been converted into wastelands. People are overfishing for protein. The world's increasing population is the cause behind the depletion of these biological systems.
Q.12. How can overfishing and decimation of forests prove harmful?
Ans. Overfishing may lead to stripping of fisheries. Then man will lose a rich source of protein. The decimation of forests will harm ecology. Moreover, several species of life that live in forest will face extinction.
Q.13. Why do we need to plant more forests in India?
Ans. According to official data, India is losing its forests at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year. The actual loss of forests is estimated to be about eight times the rate indicated by government statistics. Large areas, officially named forest land are already treeless. Moreover, a five fold increase in the rate of forest planting is needed to cope up with the expected fuel wood demand five years later.
Q. 14. How have the croplands deteriorated?
Ans. The growing population needs more food. So, different chemical fertilizers are used to produce more and more food. In the long run, these fertilizers deteriorate the quality of the soil, i.e., the croplands.
Q. 15. What is new awareness that has dawned upon most of the countries in the world?
Ans. The new awareness which dawned upon most of the countries of the world is the realization that we have to shift from a system based on domination of the earth to one of partnership. It means that if the human race is to survive, it can do so only with all other creatures and things.
Q.16. What makes the author unhappy about the laws in India ?
Ans. The author is unhappy with the laws of India because laws are neither respected nor enforced in India. There are many good laws India for the protection of the environment, but they are shamelessly flouted.
Q.17. How has the population increased after the year 1800 ?
Ans. The world's population was only about one billion around the year 1800 and this had been possible after about a million years. However, there has been a very rapid increase since then. By the year 1900, it became two billions and it has reached upto some 6 billions now.
0.18. Why does the author agree that growth of world's population is one of the strongest factors distorting future of human society ?
Ans. The world's population has grown fast since the year 1800. At present, the population of the world has reached 5.7 billion. Forest cover is deteriorated due to population pressure. It results in the expansion of deserts. Grasslands are becoming barren. Natural resources are depleting fast. The environment deteriorated upto the critical point. The existence of man himself is threatened. Many species of life have faced total extinction. Thus, the population growth is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society.
Q.19. Why is population control essential in India?
Ans. The population of India was estimated to be 920 million in 1924. Over population upsets all plans of development and causes poverty and unemployment. So, either population is to be controlled or people would remain poor forever Voluntary family planning is essential in order to overcome such problems.
Q.20. What does the notice "The world's most dangerous animal" at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify ?
Ans. The notice placed at the cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia read "The world's most dangerous animal. There is no animal in the cage. There is a mirror in it. One sees his own reflection in the zoo. It signifies that man himself is the most dangerous animal. He is responsible for the deterioration of ecology and environment.
Q. 21. How are the earth's principal biological systems being depleted?
Ans. The earth's principal biological systems are four. They are fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. They are the foundation of the global economy. Their productivity has become impaired due to human pressure on them. Forests have been cleared and cut down for fuel. Grasslands have been converted into barren wasteland. Fisheries are exploited on a large scale for protein. The world's increasing population is the cause behind the depletion of these biological systems.
Q.22 Why does the author say that the growth of world population is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society?
Ans. The world's population has grown fast since the year 1800. At present, the population of the world has reached 57 billion. Forest cover is deteriorated due to population pressure. It results in the expansion of deserts. Grasslands are becoming barren. Natural resources are depleting fast. The environment has deteriorated upto the critical point. The existence of man himself is threatened. Many species of life have faced total extinction. Thus, the population growth is one of the strongest factors distorting the future of human society.
Long Answer Type Questions
Q.1. What are the factors enumerated by Nani Palkhivala that have made our earth ensure its health ?
Or
Why does Nani Palkhivala call all the earth "The Ailing Planet? How can the ailing planet survive?
Ans. The signs of the earth connected with life (necessary for staying alive) show that the earth is a patient in declining health. Its deserts are advancing. Landscapes are being impoverished and environment is ailing. Aerial photography using satellites has revealed that the environment has deteriorated very badly in many parts of the world, in fact, it has become critical in many of the eighty eight countries investigated. The concept of sustainable development and Green Movement can help the ailing planet to survive. People must discharge their moral responsibility as stewards of the planet and trustees of the legacy of the future generations. The plundering of the natural resources should be controlled. These must be preserved for the future generations.
Q.2. Lester R. Brown divided the Earth into four bio-systems, what are they ? What harm is being caused by human beings to these bio-systems?
Ans. According to Lester R. Brown, there are four principal biological systems in the world. They are croplands, graslands, fisheries and forests. They together form the foundation of the global economic system. In addition to provide food, these four systems provide us with the raw materials for industry But in most part of the world, these systems have been overexploited Fisheries are being ruined, forests are tast disappearing, grasslands and croplands are being converted into deserts and wastelands. The Earth and its environment show deterioration and degradation. Sudden climatic change and global warming are all vital signs The Mother Earth shows all signs of a patient in declining health and is in need of immediate cure.
Q.3. We have not inherited this earth from our fore-fathers we have borrowed it from our children. Elucidate.
Ans. This statement is made by Mr. Lester Brown, the author of the book The Global Economic Prospect, Mr. Brown has in his mind the well known belief that the property which we inherit from our forefathers is ours and we can do whatever we like with it. So, he asks us to remember that the earth is not for us to use or abuse as we like. It is something which we are duty-bound to preserve for the next generations. So, while we use the earth and its resources for our present needs, it is our duty to see that we do not compromise the ability of the future generations to meet their needs. It is therefore, very important that we do not strip the world off natural resources that our future generation would need. Even more important is the fact that we should not pollute these resources which make them useless or harmful.
Q.4. How is growing human population responsible for the falling health of the earth? Ans. Earth's principal biological systems are being depleted because of over-consumption. These systems are unable to cope up with the demands of human beings. The population of the world which was just one billion in the year 1800, has now become six billion. The increased population has increased demands. There are large areas on the earth where the forests have disappeared and the grasslands have become barren The protein hungry world eats more fish than the sea can easily afford. Consequently, the amount of the fish has depleted. The poor burn wood for fire. The number of trees that are planted are not enough to undo the cutting trees and so the forests deplete. Human beings use chemicals to have more production from crops and this results in the deterioration of the cropland.
Q.5. What are the earth's principal biological systems ? Why have they been depleted and how can they preserved ?
Ans. The earth has four principal biological systems. These are fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. They form the basis of the world's economic system. They supply us food and raw materials for industry. These biological systems are being depleted due to excessive use. Overfishing is quite common Forests are being destroyed to obtain firewood for cooking In many areas of the world, these biological systems have reached an unsustainable level. Grasslands are turning into deserts and produce from croplands is decreasing. It seems they have lost their productivity. The decimation of forests is likely to cause extinction of several species. We must change our outlook and stop over using the natural resources. We have to hand them over to the coming generations in a healthy state so that they can meet their needs. Consciousness of our moral responsibility as caretakers of the legacy of our children can help to preserve these non-renewable resources.
Q.6. Write a brief note based on your study of this chapter on the 'need for the protection of the environment'.
Ans. For the first time in human history, the people have shown real concern for the environment. It is so because they have understood that human beings cannot survive the systems of the earth fail. We now know that human life depends on four basic systems namely-fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. These four together along with water and air make our environment. Hence, there is the need for the protection of these parts of the environment. Today, the human beings have brought the environment to a state from where it can be allowed to go down only at the peril of human society and indeed all living beings.
Q.7. Write about the Write about the importance of the forests according to the author Nani Palkhivala.
Ans. Nani Palkhivala reminds us of the famous, saying "forests precede mankind, the deserts follow". The best forests on the earth are the tropical forests. The great wealth is now eroding at the rate of forty to fifty million acres a year. The poor cut the forests for the sake of firewood. A five fold increase in the forest planting is needed to cope up with this demand alone. We are losing the forests at the rate of one and a half acre per second in the world. The constitution of India provides that the state shall try to protect and improve the forests of the country.
However, a report of Parliament Estimates Committee has highlighted the near catastrophic depletion of India's torests We are losing forests at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year in our country. The author says that the actual loss of forests is estimated to be about eight times the rate indicated by the government because large areas officially designated as forest land are already virtually treeless.
Q.8. For the first time in human history, we see transcending concern-"the survival not of the people but of the planet." Elucidate.
Ans. In the twentieth century, there has been a revolutionary change in human perceptions. We have begun to take a holistic view of the very basis of our existence. The earth is now regarded as a living organism of which we are parts. It has its own metabolic needs and processes necessary for staying alive, which needs to be respected and preserved. The environmental problem does not necessarily indicate our death it is our passport for the future. A new world vision has emerged. It is a holistic view and an ecological view. This regards the world as a whole rather than a collection of isolated parts. This vision has ushered in the 'Era of Responsibility Industrialists, politicians and writers have become environment friendly and realized their responsibility in preserving the non-renewable natural resources.
Q.9. "Are we to leave our successors a scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing environment ?"
Ans. It certainly seems possible that we might leave a scorched planet of advancing deserts and an ailing environment to future generations. The earth has four chief biological systems-fisheries, forests, grasslands and croplands. These systems not only supply us food but also the raw material for our industry. In many parts of the earth, human intake from these systems is more than the systems can support. These systems have reached a level where their productivity is impaired When this happens, fisheries collapse, forests disappear, grasslands are converted into barren lands and
croplands become less productive. People are eating more and more fish hi search of protein. The poor burning more and more wood as fire. So the fish disappear and the forests deplete.
Q.10. The problems of overpopulation that directly affect our everyday life.
Ans. The problems of overpopulation directly affect our daily life. The basic needs of human beings are-food, clothes and a house. Now, the capacity of the earth to give us these things is not unlimited. This earth used to support about one billion people at the end of the eighteenth century Le.. about the year 1800 but the same earth has to support now a population of about six billion people. It is, therefore, natural that we find it more and more difficult to provide the basic needs for all the inhabitants of the earth. Just a few decades back, getting admission in a school of our choice was not at all difficult. It is not so any longer. The colleges used to allow admission even to failures which is impossible to think now. Cotton clothes were the only clothes that the mankind used but now artificial fibre is used and even that has become very costly. Thus, over population is affecting our everyday life.
Some answering tips:-
• Read the story thoroughly-more than once, if necessary-to grasp the gist.
• Do not rely on paraphrases.
• Note the character traits of both the major and the minor characters.
• Find out the context of the story. This will help to understand the sub-themes.
• Focus on the narrative style of the story.
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