AVIGNA TUTORIALS
BY AVANTIKA SINGH AND ADITYA MAHAJAN
English Class 12
SECTION A- ASSIGNMENT
PASSAGE 1
Read the passage given below.
1. The conservation work on the many monuments and sites in the region of
Humayun’s Tomb has been going on for some time. There have been various
phases in this work. It started with a massive renovation of Humayun’s Tomb
and moved to the nearby areas of Nizammudin Basti. This time it is the 16 th-
century site of Nila Gumbad, near the Humayun’s Tomb complex that is under
consideration. For the people living in the area, these monuments hold special
place.
2. To show their deep-seated involvement in the renovation of their area, the
tiles that are being used for renovating the dome of the monument are being
fashioned by local youths who have been trained by craftsman who have
specially come for this purpose from Uzbekistan. So far, this joint effort under
Uzbek ‘ustads’ has yielded 15,000 tiles. This is not enough because almost 10
per cent of the tiles are missing from the monument and the current rate of
production is not fast enough to meet this demand. Thus, the tile manufacturing
process has been sped up to meet the requirement.
3. The Nila Gumbad monument is one of the key component in the development
plans drawn up. Its importance lies in the fact that historically, and
architecturally, it encompasses the Persian influence on Mughal architecture,
specially through its unique tile work. The Chief Engineer of the tiles making
project, Rajpal Singh, is happy with the youth as he says that the Uzbek masters
have taught youth from the basti to make tiles identical to the ones used in the
Mughal period.
4. The complex nature of the restoration in hand has led to the involvement of
several agencies. Who initiated the restoration work?
5. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which first renovated Humayun’s Tomb,
subsequently took up the renovation of the Nila Gumbad as part of the
Humayun’s Tomb Complex renovation.
6. The work at the site which was first initiated as part of the Humayun’s
Tomb Complex was taken up a few months ago by the Aga Khan Trust
for Culture (AKTC). The protected monuments for renovation come
under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India. Besides the Aga
Khan Trust, there is a multidisciplinary team co-funding the restoration
work alongside. Some of the funds are coming from the Dorabji Tata
Trust as well.
7. Another player in the restoration process is the Northern Railways with
whom the conservators have had talks to resolve the issues. The railways
has not permitted the ongoing plans for implementation of a landscaping
project that was agreed to in 2011. The railway authorities were also
required to demolish a room which stands in the way of integrating the
complex.
8. The millions of visitors who come to Humayun’s Tomb annually are thus
denied the chance to envision the entire complex, due to these issues.
Nevertheless, the conservation plans are on in full swing and are based on
exhaustive documentation and an enhanced understanding of the
structure’s potential to throw light on Mughal architecture in the early
years and much before it had matured into the magnificent edifices of
later Mughal era.
9. The Nila Gumbad had remained in a state of forgotten neglect for some
time. In 2008, the Archaeological Survey of India had uncovered an
arcaded platform that stretches up to the Nila Gumbad and that
established that the Nila Gumbad complex was once part of the
Humayun’s Tomb Complex.
10. What few people realise is the fact that the NilaGumbad is among the
earliest building in Delhi, built by the Mughals. It had sandstone ‘jaalis’
which were subsequently removed in the 20th century and which will now
see a comeback with the current restoration.
11. Apart from restoring what was once part of the monument, conservators
will also undertake the massive task of removing those aspects of the
monument that were added in the current times and which have defaced
the fair face of this precious structure. The major cement plastering was
done on the interior and exterior of this monument, without giving a
thought to its original design and architecture. These surfaces are now
being carefully removed bit by bit, so as not to damage the surface in the
process. Once removed, these surfaces will once again be restored to their
pristine glory by being plastered with traditional lime plaster, so that the
restored monument gets back the feel and flavour of its original
importance.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, answer any
ten questions from the eleven given below.
(a) The Nila Gumbad of the Humayun’s Tomb Complex was______
(i) Built in the 16th century
(ii) Not a Mughal monument
(iii) Built by Persian architects
(iv) Built by people from Uzbekistan
(b) Local youth in the tile making process have been trained by_____
(i) The Archaeological Survey of India
(ii) Rajpal Singh
(iii) Craftsmen from Uzbekistan
(iv) Agra Khan Trust for Culture
(c) The original plastering of the monument was done with______
(i) Cement mortar plaster
(ii) Lime plaster
(iii) Marble
(iv) Tile work
(d) To meet the requirement, the tiles manufacturing process was_____
(i) Reduced
(ii) Stopped
(iii) Sped up
(iv) Shared with the neighbouring countries
(e) AKTC stands for Agra Khan_____
(i) Technology for Culture
(ii) Trust for Culture
(iii) Training Centre
(iv) Trust for Communication
(f) The____ had remained in a state of forgotten neglect for some time.
(i) Taj Mahal
(ii) Nila Gumbad
(iii) Humayun’s Tomb
(iv) Red fort of Agra
(g) The Nila Gumbad is going to regain_____
(h) Its glory
(i) Old designs
(j) Sandstone jaalis
(k) All of the above.
(h) To return the historical look _____ will be used.
(i) cement plaster
(ii) sand stone
(iii) Lime plaster
(iv ) both (ii) and (iii)
(i) The _____ is an intricate part of the Humayun’s Tomb complex.
(i) NizammudinBasti
(ii) NilaGumbad Complex
(iii) TajMahal
(iv) Red Fort
(j) The synonym of ‘enormous’ is para 1 is) ____
(i) Conservation
(ii) Massive
(ii) Renovation
(iii) Consideration
(k) The antonym of ‘partial’ in para 8 is____
(i) Exhaustive
(ii) Potential
(iii ) Edifices
(iv ) Enhanced
PASSAGE 2
Read the passage given below.
1. The transition to ‘work from home’ during the COVID crisis has resulted
in improved gender parity at work-places. The recent ‘Labour Market
Update’ by LinkedIn reveals that India recorded the highest increase in
the share of female hires in the past few months.
2. The hiring for women increased from around 30% in April to reach 37%
at the end of July. With the exception of the manufacturing sector, female
representation across most industries increased during the lock-down and
continued to rise in subsequent months.
3. The improvement is seen as a result of the support from live-in help and
grandparents, as well as more flexible working hours with remote
working schemes. The hiring of women in many developed countries
followed a U-shaped trajectory in 2020, dipping in April before
recovering in June and July. However, India bucked the trend in
maintaining the highest gender parity.
4. The talent with more advanced digital skills has weathered the COVID
storm than those with basic digital skills. The hiring dip for talent with
advanced digital skills was 1.8x less than talent with basic digital skills.
The report also showed a consistent improvement in the overall hiring
trends. According to the report, hiring picked up by 25 percentage points
by end of July as compared to June. Earlier in the year. Hiring declined
and reached below-50% year-on-year in April, before starting to slowly
recover. The hiring rate was at 15% year-on-year as of the end of June. In
late July, it crossed the 0% mark and reached positive territory of around
+10% year-on-year as of the end of July, registering a 25%point
improvement compared to the end of June. Over 69 million members
were analysed for the report.
On the basis of your understanding of the above passage, any any ten
questions from the eleven given below.
(a) According to the passage, in terms of hiring the COVID crisis was_____
1. A boon to the male gender
2. A gloomy period for the male gender
3. A parched stretch for the female gender
4. A blessing in disguise for the female gender
(i) Both 1 and 2
(ii) Both 2 and 3
(iii) Both 2 and 4
(iv) Both 3 and 1
(b) The graph states that in 2020 the hiring for women____
1. Increased in July
2. Decreased in July
3. Decreased in April
4. Increased in April
(i) Both 2 and 4
(ii) Only 4
(iii) Only 3
(iv) Both 1 and 3
(c) Mark the FALSE Statement.
(i) The manufacturing sector remained untouched by female gender.
(ii) Increase of female hiring is inversely proportional from grandparents
(iii) Live-in help smoothened the female hiring
(iv) Accommodating working hours.
(d) Hiring touched its lowest in the month of___
(i) April
(ii) June
(iii) Late July
(iv) Early July
(e) Which option correctly displays the hiring in terms of possessing
advanced digital skills.
(f) The synonym of ‘resisted’ in para 3 is_____
(i) Trajectory
(ii) Bucked
(iii) Trended
(iv) Live-in
(g) Mark the correct statement.
(i)More advanced digital skills scored better.
(ii) The hiring was more in June than in July
(iii)A U-shaped trajectory was observed in developing countries.
(iv ) India did not follow trend of other countries.
(h) Choose the word which is NOT similar to the word ‘consistent’
(i) Persistent
(i) Steady
(ii) Varying
(iii) Homogeneous
(i)Which option correctly displays the increase in h1iring.
(i)option 1
(ii) option 2
(iii)option 3
(iv)option 4
(j) The month which brought hiring from negativity to neutral was______
(i) April
(ii) June
(iii) Late July
(k) COVID has had a less burnt on _____ in terms of hiring.
(i) Men
(ii) Women
(iii) Hiving help
(iv) Grand parents
