Vovaging Towards Excellence 6

Extract No 06

 Page No. 82 / 83  [Lines, “Coming back  ………  religion..”]

Read the first activity, read the extract and do all the activities that follow.

A1. True or false : (02)

State whether the following statements are True or false.

a) The writer thought that passing the examination of life is more important than passing IIT Exam.   (T)

b) The writer did not believe in discrimination.  (T)

c) The writer’s group was interested in science and Technology only.  (F)

d) Music, Literature, Painting were the regular subjects in the curriculum Of IIT (F)

Coming back to my groups in IIT, my friends were not only more intelligent than me, but they were very well-read. They had interest in all the subjects like Science, Technology, Sociology, Psychology, Economics, Philosophy, Anthropology, Archeology, Political Science etc. Our group was interested in all of these branches apart from all the fine arts such as music, literature, painting …. In short, our group was interested in almost anything under the sun and which concerned human life and existence. I was immediately attracted to the group and developed immense and deep interest in all these branches of knowledge. None of these subjects were part of our curriculum at IIT, but again, I never studied for scoring marks in any examination. Here was a sea of knowledge in front of me which I thought was necessary to pass the ‘examination of life’ which was far more important than just passing IIT examination. It is very difficult to become a master or an expert in all these subjects, but it was very important for me to understand at least the basic principles of most of these subjects. Any of us could easily top the GRE examination and migrate to the US. However, that thought never even touched our minds. To understand the world and how it works and serving India and her people was far more important to us. 

Therefore, I plunged into all these branches of knowledge. It was a period of renaissance for me. We used to discuss about relativity, Big Bang, aesthetics, literature, philosophy, economics and many other subjects every day until late into the nights. My cupboard was full of books on a variety of topics. It is only because of the human curiosity that we have been able to make such a great progress in science and technology, and social sciences. I have a number of limitations, but one thing I am proud of is the curiosity, humility and humanity, i.e., concern for our fellow human beings. I learnt these values during my IIT days. I also became a firm believer in rationalism and equality for all the castes, creeds, races, genders and religions. I started treating Nature as God and humanity as religion.

 

A2:Find out : (02)

Find out the expressions that show that the writer did not believe in scoring marks in the exam.

1. I never studied for scoring marks in any exam.

2. Here was a sea of knowledge.

3. I thought it was necessary to pass the examination of life which was far more important than just passing IIT exam.

4. It was very important for me  to understand at least the basic principles of most of these subjects.

A3. Give Reasons : (02)

Curiosity and humanity are important because……..

It is only because of the human curiosity that we have been able to make such a great progress in  science and technology and social sciences.................

A4. Personal Response : (02)

The world is a sea of knowledge. Do you agree with the writer’s view? Explain with suitable examples.

A5. Language study : (02)

a) It is very difficult to become an expert.  (Make it Negative)

It is not easy to become an expert.

b) All of us could easily top the GRE exam.  (Use "be able to" and Rewrite it.)

All of us were able to top the GRE exam easily.

c) I learnt these values during my IIT days.

(Rewrite the sentence using past perfect tense)

I had learnt these values during my IIT days.

A6. Vocabulary : (02)

Find out words from the extract which mean the following.

a) Study of human biological and psychological character = Anthropology

b) Study of human civilisation by excavation = Archaeology

c) A set of nature and appreciating the beauty =  Aesthetic

d) Study of human mind and behaviour = psychology.

Activities with expected answers

Prepared by

TUSHAR J BAGWE

K J SOMAIYA COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND COMMERCE VIDYAVIHAR EAST MUMBAI 77

Mobile : 9820928141

E Mail ID : tushar@somaiya.edu