Unseen Passage– Know more about it.
An unseen passage is a paragraph that is not in a student’s book and is given on a question paper. It is also called a non-textual passage.
The student must answer questions about the passage. Unseen passages are important in English papers because they test a student’s ability to understand the meaning of a passage and answer questions in their own words.
Tips for students to deal with Unseen Passage:
1) Read the passage carefully.
2) Skim the passage to determine the main idea.
3) Underline words that are not understood.
4) Complete the activities using your own words.
5) Try to find the meaning behind words.
Important:
For HSC Board Activity sheet, it is expected that the unseen passage should not be informative. It should be interesting like a story. It should appeal to all students from each stream. Students should understand it thoroughly in a short time.
Example of Unseen Passage with activities.
| Unseen Passage No. 1 |
1) Read the extract and complete the activities given below.(12)
| Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day so that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say, I’m sorry. The wound is still there.” |
A1. Choose. (2)
Choose the two correct alternatives showing the theme of the extract.
a) Bad temper can be controlled by hammering a nail to fence.
b) Bad temper gives such wound which can’t be overcome later.
c) We should control our bad temper to maintain good relationships.
d) We can sort out the scars of bad temper by expressing regret.
A2. Justify. (2)
The wound of bad temper remains forever. Justify this statement by giving proof from the extract.
A3. Guess. (2)
The father suggested to the boy that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. Guess the intention behind such strange suggestion.
A4. Personal response. (2)
Suggest any four ways to control anger.
A.5 Language study. (2)
i) The fence will never be the same.
(Choose the alternative showing correct tense used in this sentence.)
a) Simple present tense.
b) Future perfect tense.
c) Simple future tense.
d) Future continuous tense.
ii) He must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
(Choose the correct modal auxiliary showing advice.)
a) will
b) may
c) should
d) can
A6. Vocabulary. (2)
Find the words from the extract which mean-
a) became weak or small.
b) a mark left on the skin after a wound has healed.
c) little by little.
d) became aware of.
See More-
See More examples in the following book-
Activity Workbook for Std. XII English
Writer – Prof. Tushar Chavan
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| Unseen Passage No. 2 |
2) Read the extract and complete the activities given below.(12)
| A man stopped one day to help an old lady who was stranded on the side of the road. He decided to help her, so he stopped his cycle next to her Mercedes and got out. The old lady was a bit frightened and nervous because of his shabby appearance. The man, sensing this, approached carefully and tried to calm her. He said to her, “Don’t worry. I’m here to help you. My name is Raman Maurya .” He proceeded to fix her flat tire and became dirty and slightly injured in the process. When he was finished, the lady asked him how much she owed him. He responded by telling her that if she really wanted to repay him, she could pass on the kindness to someone else in their time of need. Later that evening the lady stopped at a small, dingy cafe. The waitress who served her was pregnant and tired. Despite her apparent exhaustion, the waitress was very sweet and friendly. The lady wondered how someone who was so tired from a long day of work could still be so friendly and kind to her. Then she remembered Raman. When the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred-dollar bill. The waitress went to get change and when she came back, the lady was gone. She left a note on the napkin…“You don’t owe me anything. Somebody once helped me, just like I’m helping you now. If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you.” The waitress found four more one-hundred-dollar bills under the napkin. That night, the waitress went home early. She thought about the lady and the money she left. She wondered how the lady could possibly know how much they needed it. She knew her husband was worried about her treatment. She couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. When she saw him, she whispered…Now everything will be okay Raman. We could go to the hospital now. |
A1. True or false (2)
Read the extract and state whether the following statements are true or false.
a) A chain of kindness can spread love.
b) Raman was repaid for what he helped.
c) The waitress was very sweet and friendly.
d) The waitress worried about going to a restaurant.
A2. Give proof (2)
Raman Maurya was a kind person. Give its proof from the extract.
A3. Give reason (2)
The lady gave extra money to the waitress. Guess its reasons.
A4. Personal response (2)
Give your opinion about the view- A chain of kindness can spread love.
A5. Language study (2)
1) The man, sensing this, approached carefully.
(Choose the alternative showing the correct transformation of this sentence into complex sentence)
a) The man who sensing this, approached carefully.
b) When the man sensing this, he approached carefully.
c) The man who was sensing this, approached carefully.
d) The man who sensed this, approached carefully.
2) If you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you.
(Choose the alternative showing the correct use of ‘unless’ for this sentence.)
a) Unless you really want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you.
b) Unless you really want to pay me back, let this chain of love end with you.
c) Unless you really do not want to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you.
d) Unless you really want not to pay me back, do not let this chain of love end with you.
A6. Vocabulary (2)
Fill in the blanks with appropriate words from the extract to make meaningful sentences.
a) The furniture was old and ————-.
b) Seeing the snake, Arjun was a —————-.
c) He never ———- the amount taken from friends.
d) She was working as a ————- in the hotel.
| Unseen Passage No. 3 |
3) Read the extract and complete the activities given below.(12)
| Once a young man was very unhappy with his life. He felt depressed and terrible all the time. He got to know about a sage in nearby town. One day he decided to visit the sage and ask for solution. Young man went to him and said, “I have so many problems in life that I am always sad. Please tell me solution. How can I be happy?” The sage brought a glass of water and a bowl full of salt. He asked that young man to take a handful of salt from that bowl and put it in the glass and then drink that water. Young man was confused but he accepted the instruction. The sage asked, “How does it taste.?” Young man replied, “It’s terrible. All I could taste was salt.” Now the sage asked that young man to take a handful of salt and come with him. They both went to nearby lake. The sage said, “Now put this salt in the lake.” Young man swirled his handful of salt into the lake. After this the sage asked him to drink water from the lake. Young man took some water and drank. Now the sage asked, “How does it taste??” Young man replied, “It tastes good.” The sage questioned again, “Were you able to taste salt in this water?” Young man replied, “No.” The sage and young man sat near that lake. The sage took his hands and said, “The pain of life is pure salt. No more, No less. The amount of pain in life remains the same but the amount we taste the ‘pain’ depends on the container we put it into. So, when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake. |
A1. Choose (2)
Choose the correct alternatives and rewrite the sentence.
1) The young man was very unhappy with his friend’s life /own life.
2) The sage brought a glass of water and a bowl full of salt/sugar.
3) The sage asked to put salt in the river/lake.
4) The sage advised the young man to consider life as a glass/lake.
A2. Describe (2)
Describe the idea of the sage to teach a lesson of life to the young man.
A3. Message (2)
Write the message given by the sage.
A4. Personal Response (2)
Give your idea of living a happy life in 50 words.
A5. Language study. (2)
1) Were you able to taste salt in this water?
(Choose the alternative showing the correct removal of ‘able to’)
a) Were you can taste salt in this water?
b) Were you can taste salt in this water?
c) Can you taste salt in this water?
d) Can were you taste salt in this water?
2) He felt depressed and terrible all the time.
(Choose the alternative showing the correct use of ‘not only—-but also)
a) He not only felt depressed but also terrible all the time.
b) He felt not only depressed but also terrible all the time.
c) Not only he felt depressed but also terrible all the time.
d) He felt depressed not only but also terrible all the time.
A6. Vocabulary
Match the words given in ‘A’ with their meanings in ‘B’.
| A | B |
| 1) swirled | a) dejected |
| 2) depressed | b) baffled |
| 3) confused | c) determined |
| 4) decided | d) twined |
Answers–
A1.
1) The young man was very unhappy with his friend’s own life.
2) The sage brought a glass of water and a bowl full of salt.
3) The sage asked to put salt in the lake.
4) The sage advised the young man not to consider life as a glass.
A2. Describe (2)
The sage advised the young to drink a glass of salty water. He felt it’s test was terrible. Later the sage asked him to throw handful of salt in the lake and drank the water. It was not salty so the young man dank it happily.
A3.
The sage taught the lesson of life to enlarge the sense of things to decrease the pain of life.
A4.
1)
c) Can you taste salt in this water?
2)
b) He felt not only depressed but also terrible all the time.
A6. Vocabulary
| A | B |
| 1) swirled | d) twined |
| 2) depressed | a) dejected |
| 3) confused | b) baffled |
| 4) decided | c) determined |
Please give answers