IGNOU BEGC-131 - Individual and Society

SECTION A 1. Read the following passage and answer the questions in your own words. If India is the macrocosm that represents unity in diversity, Nagaland is the microcosm of that philosophy. A melting pot of different tribal culture and cuisines, Nagaland is place where primeval landscapes, ancient people can leave you floored. At the Hornbill Festival held from December 1 to 10 in the state capital Kohima. I discovered that the concept of Athithi Devo Bhava-‘Guest is God’, came naturally to the Nagas, the indigenous people of the region. The Hornbill Festival showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof, attracting visitors from across the world. It usually takes place in the first week of December at the Naga Heritage Village called Kisama, located 12 km from Kohima. The village gets its name from the two villages Kigwema (Ki) and Phesama (Sa), where the village is now established. The suffix ‘Ma’ means village. Seventeen major tribes including Ao, Angami, Chang, Konyak, Lotha, Sum and Chakhesang take part in the festival. Besides reviving and protecting the rich culture of Nagaland, it helps visitors have a closer understanding of the people and their culture. According to Banuo Z Jamir, Nagaland’s first woman chief secretary, the festival is named after the hornbill, the bird eulogized in Naga tribal folklore. “Hornbill is central to the Naga tradition, finding symbolic representation in their faith and costumes,” She said. For Nagas, the bird exudes qualities of nobility, beauty and bravery and because of its roar-like call, its strength is believed to equal that of a tiger which personifies the quintessential Naga warrior. It is also a symbol of fertility-reproduction and agriculture-and is perceived to possess social values similar to those of humans. 1. What is the philosophy being referred to? 2. Why Nagaland is considered a ‘melting pot’? 3. The Hornbill Festival ‘showcases a mélange of cultural displays under one roof’. Discuss this statement in the light of the passage. 4. What does the Hornbill represent to the Nagas? 5. Give a suitable title to the passage. 6. Use the following words in sentences of your own: a. macrocosm b. cuisine c. melange d. eulogize e. folklore Section B 2. Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B 3. Make new words by adding suffix to the following words. Educate, conclude, produce, construct, permit 4. Complete the following sentences with the correct modals. i. _______ you do me a favour? ii. _______ I have a glass of water? iii. The recipe I am trying ______ turn out to be a hit iv. The hotel staff ______ behave politely. v. One ______ not lead sedentary life. 5. Complete the following sentences with participles using the basic verb given in the brackets. i) ‘There are no marks allocated for neatness in the ………………answers,’ announced the teacher. (write) ii) Doctors were finding it difficult to cope with so many ……….passengers after the train accident. (injure) iii) Many people from India went to the African countries to start businesses. Soon they had a ………….. trade and decided to settle here. (flourish) iv) The ……………. News of the Youth Festival in the university reached all colleges in no time. (excite) v) The guests were impressed with the pretty decorations and the neatly ………. furniture. (arrange) vi) One of the ………… principles of life is to be straightforward and honest. (abide) 6. Fill in the blanks with the correct words given in brackets. i) You will (lose, loose) __________ your money if you carry it in your hand. ii) He spent his (Vocation, vacation) ________rock climbing. iii) No one will address the audience (accept, except) _______ the Chief Guest. iv) This is the (centre, middle) ________ of the circle. v) My father is very (peculiar, particular) ________ about going for his early morning walk. SECTION C 7. You have been asked to give an inspiring speech about how one can achieve one’s dreams with courage and perseverance. Write out the speech in around 250 words. 8. Write an essay in around 250 words on the topic: Environment and Technology: Exploring the sustainable dynamics 9. You and your friends have decided to visit Himachal in the last week of December this year. Write a dialogue in around 200 words between you and a Travel Agent enquiring for the required arrangements for this trip.

SECTION A 1. Read the following passage and answer the questions in your own words. i Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. With the ring of the light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring. ii. As soon as the light in the bedroom went out, there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. it had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour’s sleep in order to hear what he had to say. iii. All the animals were now present except Moses, the tame raven, who slept on a perch behind the back door. When Major saw that they had all made themselves comfortable and were waiting attentively, he cleared his throat and began: ‘Comrades, you have heard already about the strange dream that I had last night. But I will come to the dream later. I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it may duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.’ iv. ‘Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it; our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and hose of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty.’( George Orwell’s Animal Farm) 1. Why was the ring of light from Mr. Jones’s lantern dancing from side to side? 2. Where had the animals agreed to meet? 3. Why had they assembled there? 4. What does old Major want to share with the animals? 5. Pick out the three words Major uses to describe the lives of the animals. Why does he use these words? 2. Make sentences of your own with the following words: 1. Snoring 2. Stirring 3. Fluttering 4. Tame 5. Lurched SECTION B 1. Rewrite the following sentences as directed: 1) A dozen people _________ (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) injured in yesterday’s accident. 2) __________ you busy now? (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) 3) I ________ going to the cinema to-night. (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) 4) There _________ many people in India even now who cannot read and write. (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) 5) I ____________ surprised to meet Raj yesterday evening. (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) 6) I think this __________ the most interesting of Chetan Bhagat’s novels. (Fill in with the correct form of ‘be’) 7) ______ you know how to make a pasta in white sauce? (Fill in the blank with do or does). 8) I ________ not think I can come with you. (Fill in the blank with do or does) 9) _________ you father work at the bank? (Fill in the blank with do or does) 10) ___________ he come to office by the metro train? (Fill in the blank with do or does) 11) How _____ we get there? (Fill in the blanks with have or has) 12) __________ they got a school in their village? (Fill in the blanks with have or has) 13) Now you __________ learnt the secret of happiness. (Fill in the blanks with have or has) 14) _______ he arrived already? (Fill in the blanks with have or has) 15) I sometimes _________ my breakfast at a restaurant. (Fill in the blanks with have or has) 2. Match Column A with words similar in meaning in Column B. A B 1. Preserved deteriorated 2. Prohibited enjoy 3. Destroyed looked after 4. Pleasure forbidden 5. Impoverished job 6. Clean depleted 7. Employment pure 8. Environment lively 9. Diligent neighbourhood 10 Active studious SECTION C 1. Write a speech of your own on Challenges and Opportunities in the National Education Policy (NEP) and its implementation. 2. You are resident of a locality in Delhi. Write a report on various steps taken by your residential locality to improve environment in your neighbourhood. 3. Your friend is visiting Delhi and has written to you to suggest a good place to stay for a week. Write a letter to her suggesting a good hotel for accommodation.