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Holiday homework- SET-4

READING SECTION

UNSEEN PASSAGE- PRACTICE SET -4

I. Read the passage given below.

1 New Year is a holiday celebration that includes New Year's Eve and lasts through New Year's Day.
New Year’s
celebrations have been around for a long time in one form or another. They can be traced all the way back
to the Babylonians at around 2,000 B.C. New Year's Day was not always celebrated on January 1st as it is
today. Earlier, the New Year was celebrated in the spring, as new life began to emerge in the world.

2 This tradition is quite sensible in relation to the seasons, however ancient cultures struggled to create a
calendar that could retain alignment with the sun. The Romans went through several versions of calendars
in which they inevitably changed the first day of the year to January first. Their final change to the
calendar
was made by Julius Caesar in the year 46 B.C. (the Julian calendar). Caesar also adopted January 1 st as
the first day of the year. The Julian calendar became the basis for our current calendar, so New Year’s
Day is found at the top of the calendar on January 1st.

3 Certain Roman traditions of the New Year have remained in some form to this day. Among the many
Roman gods was Janus, a two-headed god. Janus was considered the god of beginnings and endings, and
the guardian of gates and doors. One of the heads of Janus faced forward and the other looked back. This
figure was a symbol of good beginnings and endings to the Romans. One head was able to look backward
to reflect upon what had passed, while the other could look forward to what was corning. The word Janus
is closely related to the word January.

4 The Romans considered the significance of Janus when they established their calendar, and named the
first month after him. This Roman belief has continued on, in tradition to this day. In many ways, the
modern celebration of New Year's Day carries on ancient traditions. The holiday itself is celebrated from
New Year's Eve (in the old year) and continued on through New Year's Day.
5 By observing the holiday in this manner, we are encouraged to look at the previous year as it passes
away
and to welcome the new one with renewed enthusiasm and desire to improve ourselves. New Year Day
has traditionally been a day to enjoy happiness that will hopefully endure throughout the year. With the
old
year gone, and the New Year just beginning, it is a great time to fulfill another New Year's tradition - to
make resolutions.

6 On New Year's Day, people begin to work at goals that will improve their circumstances. Some people
achieve their New Year's resolutions, while others lose sight of them over time. Here are a few ideas for
making resolutions and a few ideas on how to achieve them.
7 It is good to set personal goals, but it can also be beneficial to set goals as a family. Sit down as a family
and discuss a few ideas that you would like to achieve together. Working on goals as a family can be fun
and rewarding. An additional benefit of working on goals as a family is that it gives you a support system
that can make it easier to succeed. Set only a few goals, that are easy to remember and can be
accomplished
- reasonably and realistically.
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8 Making too many goals can complicate your efforts and make you lose sight of many of them
altogether. It
is amazing how the rush of life can quickly overtake the genuinely good intentions of worthy goals. When
goals are not written down, they can be easily forgotten. Write your goals down and post them
somewhere
where you will see them regularly. When your goals are written and clearly visible, you will be more
likely
to remember them and to follow good habits that lead to success.
9 Choose at least one resolution that will make you happy now. Many of the goals people choose are ones
that lead to greater stress, discomfort, or displeasure, at least for the short term. A few examples are
dieting,
getting a better job, and quitting a bad habit like smoking. These are worthy goals, but they frequently
cause greater stress while trying to achieve them.
10 In addition to these kinds of goals, choose a goal that increases your happiness such as taking an hour
to
relax each day, starting a new hobby, or spending time daily with the kids. The celebration of New Year's
Day is all about putting the past behind and looking forward to new and exciting things to come.
Although
Roman civilization passed from existence long ago, its traditions continue to influence the way New
Year's
Day is celebrated today.
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
(a) Choose the most appropriate statement to complete the sentence.
The holiday celebration of New Year's Day is _____________________
(i) since the time of the Babylonians, although not on New Year’s Day of the present time
(ii) since the time of 2000 BC and always on New Year's Day
(iii) since the time of 2000 BC, under the Babylonians, albeit not on 1st January as it is currently
(iv) on Babylonian New years Day since 2000 BC although not on a fixed January day

(b) What is the general consensus of opinion about New Year's Day?

(c) List two reasons behind the remaining of Roman traditions as regards the New year.

(d) Select the antonym for the word 'traditionally' from Para 5 of the text.
(i) divisionally (ii) divergently
(iii) divisively (iv) deferentially

(e) Based on your understanding of the text, what are the various advantages of setting New Year goals as
a family?

(f) With which statement given below would the readers of the passage agree?
(i) The rush of life can easily overtake the good intentions behind the goals we have set.
(ii) The writing down of one's goals can overtake good intentions.
(iii) Good intentions about goals are remembered when we follow good habits.
(iv) Good habits are the goals that are set when we write them down.

(g) Many of the goals we choose give us short-term gains because _________________

(h) Choose the conclusion for the given sentence, by choosing the most appropriate option.
Although Roman civilization has ended long ago ___________________
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(i) its traditions a will never be forgotten

(i) Mention how the making of too many resolutions is a drawback rather than a benefit.

(j) Which of the titles suggested below is a worthy one for this passage?
(i) The Need for a Judicious Selection of Goals, on New Year’s Day
(ii) Judicious Selections of New Year Goals, a Must
(iii) Judiciary's Selection of New Year Goals
(iv) New Year Goals and Judicious Selection are Inseparable Twins

Writing section

NOTICE-

PRACTICE SET-2

Q.2. You are Suman/Sumita, Cultural Secretary of Sunrise Public School, Gorakhpur. Your
School is organising an audition for singers to select and send to participate in Indian Idol. There
will be on-spot trials. Draft a notice in about 50 words informing them about time, date and
venue.