Reading comprehension skill builder

Question 1:
One beautiful spring day, a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, “What a beautiful flower! I wish I was that lovely.” Another tree said, ” Dear Pine, do not be sad, we can’t have everything.” The rose turned its head and remarked, “It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in the forest.” A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, “In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them.” The red rose replied, “I see everyone admiring me.” Then the red rose looked at a cactus and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!” The pine tree said, “Red rose, what kind of talk is this? You have thorns, too.” The proud rose looked angrily at the pine and said, ” You have no taste! You can’t compare my thorns to that of the cactus.”

Question 2:
We are what we eat. The type of food we eat. has both immediate and long-term effect on us, at all the three levels – the body, the mind, and the spirit. Food which is tamsik (i.e., stale or leftover) in nature is bound to generate stress as it tends to upset the normal functioning of the human body.

Fresh food, whenever available, must be preferred. Excessive use of condiments should be avoided. Taking piping hot tea/milk or steaming hot food also disturbs one’s usually calm attitude. Further it is mistaken belief that smoking and drinking, even in moderation, relieves stress. Simple meals with one or two food items, rather than too many dishes are advisable. Thus, vegetarian diet is preferable. Although it is customary to serve fruits with food, it is not the right thing to do. This is because different kind of digestive secretions are produced by the stomach for variant foods. Mixing up too many varieties of food items at one meal creates unavoidable problems for the digestive system.

Question 3:

Most video games present changing colourful visual effects and complicated sound effects. A video game is controlled by a microprocessor. All video games have a programme. They are connected to viewing screen or video screen, that is why these games are called video games.

Video games are of two types, namely arcade games and home games. Arcade games are designed to play one kind of game while home games are programmable, i.e. they can be programmed to play different kind of games.

Equipment for typical video game consists basically of a microprocessor module connected to a television set. A cartridge inserted into the module provides the programme for the games action. The cartridge contains a ROM chip. This chip has all the instructions for playing the game and its accompanying sound. The action circuit board connects the ROM to the game console. A keyboard, keypad, rotary knob or joystick control the action. A home computer can also be used for playing these games.

Question 4:

Common sense use of paper, if practised by a majority of people, will save immense forests from needless cutting. Use paper carefully if, in writing, you use both sides of the paper, you reduce waste by 50 percent. Old envelopes, old bills, etc. make good memo paper. Do not discard a memo sheet until it is full. Don’t burn discarded paper. Better to have it converted to pulp and composting it. Be thoughtful about paper. Be conscious of how much you throw away that could be put to other uses. You can save eight to ten trees per year if you see that all reusable paper is returned for recycling. Stack newspapers in bundles and save them for return to the paper and pulp industries. Look for those products which contain the most reused paper. Some products feature completely recycled paper. Encourage recycling by buying such products. A ton of paper saved or recycled saves seventeen trees – your family uses that much or more each year.

Question 5:

He sounded very emotional, but at the same time he expressed immense satisfaction over the performances of his players. India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand believes that he could not have asked for more from his trainees who brought laurels to the nation by winning medals at the Olympics. Saina Nehwal won bronze 2012 London and the World Championship. P.V. Sindhu won bronze in 2013 at Guangzhou, China.

Honestly, I am not surprised with these results. Firstly, the credit goes to these champion players and the kind of commitment shown by the support staff at the academy (Gopi Chand’s academy) Whatever training you give, it is ultimately the players who will have to deliver out there, execute the game-plan according to the given situation,” says Gopi Chand.

“These medals, won by Saina and Sindhu are bigger than any other award I got; they are the reflection of real hard work despite facing all odds. I must thank my father and mother Subash Chandra and Subbaravamma who scarified so much and showed great commitment in helping me out,” says the 39-year-old Dronacharya Award winner, struggling to control his emotions.