Passage 1

Bullet Train in India

Quite recently India laid the foundation stone for one of its most sought after projects – running a Bullet Train. It was very well considered as a dream project of the Honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Entire India felt proud of having its first ever bullet train scheduled to run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, a distance of 508 km, in about 2 hours 35 minutes. In his own words, “To grow , one needs to expand one’s dreams and decide one’s strength to achieve that. It’s the New India which has to fly high”. “Bullet Train is a project that will provide pace to development. Along with new technology, it will also bring results faster”, he added. According to Achal Khare, the Managing Director of the National High Speed Rail Corporation, the project would be completed by December 2023.

It all began with the Prime Minster’s ambitious dream of having a high speed train in India that cuts the travel time and yet remains an economical option to go from one city to another. The technology of this High Speed Rail , also known as HSR, was influenced by Japan, which runs a network of bullet trains in their country on Shikasen technology, making many cities well connected to others. According to reports, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered to provide US$ 12 billion of soft loans to build India’s first Bullet Train. The loan was offered at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent per year with repayment over 50 years and a moratorium for the first 15 years. The Japanese Government will be bearing 80 per cent of the total project cost whereas the increase in cost estimates has to be borne by both India and Japan.

The reason this deal between India and Japan is considered path-breaking is that there is currently no financial institution in India that could provide such a huge funding to be repaid over as long a time as 50 years.

Questions

 1. The ………………. for the Bullet Train project was laid recently.
a) railway track
b) signalling system
c) foundation stone
d) None of these

2. The bullet train will take about ………………. to run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
a) 3 hours 25 minutes
b) 2 hours 55 minutes
c) 2 hours 35 minutes
d) None of these

3. According to PM Modi, the two benefits that the bullet train will bring are to provide pace to ………………and faster……….
a) travel, trains
b) train travel, results
c) development, trains
d) development, results

4. The project is expected to be ………………… by December 2023.
a) completed
b) operationalised
c) started
d) None of these

5. What was the Prime Minister’s ambitious dream?

6. Where is the technology for the bullet train coming from ?

7. What are the details of the loan offered for this project by Japan?

8. Why is this deal between India and Japan considered as path-breaking?

Answers

1. c) foundation stone

2. c) 2 hours 35 minutes

3. d) development , results

4. a) completed

5. The Prime Minister’s ambitious dream was to have a high speed train in India that cuts the travel time and yet remains an economical option to go from one city to another.

6. The technology for the bullet train is coming from the bullet trains that run in Japan based on Shikasen technology.

7. The details of the loan offered for this project by Japan are US$ 12 billion of soft loans at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent per year with repayment over 50 years and a moratorium for the first 15 years.

8. The deal between India and Japan is considered path-breaking because currently no financial institution in India can provide such a huge funding to be repaid over as long a time as 50 years.

Passage 2

Mother Teresa : A Humanitarian

Mother Teresa was a humanitarian. This means she did things to help out other people. Her entire life was devoted to helping the poor, the sick, the needy and the helpless.

Mother Teresa was born in Uskub, Ottoman Empire on 26th August, 1910. This city is now called Skopje. Her birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her father died when she was eight and she was raised by her mother. She joined the Sisters of Loreto at the age of 18 to become a missionary in India. She first had to learn English. So she went to Ireland to learn English at the Loreto Abby.

A year later she started her missionary work in Darjeeling, India. She learnt the local language, Bengali, and taught at the local school. She soon took her first vows as a nun and took the name, Teresa.

When she was 36 years old, she felt the call from God to help the poor of India. She received some basic medical training and then set out to help the sick and the needy. This wasn’t an easy task in 1948 India. She had very little support and, while trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even had to beg for food.

Soon other women joined her and she formed the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa described the purpose of the Missionaries of Charity as an organisation to take care of “the hungry , the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who fed unwanted, unloved and uncared for throughout society.”

It wasn’t an easy task to build such an organistion and to keep the focus on the poorest people. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace. She was beatified in 2003, the first step on the path to sainthood, within the Catholic church. She worked almost up until her death on 5th September, 1997.

Questions

1. Mother Teresa was called …………. because her entire life was devoted to helping the poor, the sick, the needy and the helpless.
a) philanthropic
b) a humanitarian
c) a sympathiser
d) merciful

2. Mother Teresa was born in Uskub, now known as ………….., on 26th August, …………………
a) Skopje, 1899
b) Basra, 1911
c) Skopje, 1910
d) None of these

3. She went to Ireland to learn…………. at the Loreto Abby.
a) English
b) Irish
c) Hindi
d) Bengali

4. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu changed her to Teresa when she …………… as a nun.
a) left Ireland for India
b) joined the Sisters of Loreto
c) took her vows
d) None of these

5. When did she decide to help the poor in India?

6. What hardships did she face while helping the poor?

7. The purpose of the Missionaries of Charity, according to Mother Teresa, is……………

8. Why was Mother Teresa honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize?

Answers

1. b) a humanitarian

2. c) Skopje , 1910

3. a) English

4. c) took her vows

5. She decided to help the poor in India when, at the age of 36, she felt the call from God to help the poor in India.

6. The hardships she faced while helping the poor were that she had very little support and, while trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she herself was constantly hungry and even had to beg for food.

7. To work as an organisation to take care of “the hungry , the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the leapers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved and uncared for throughout society.”

8. Mother Teresa was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitutes a threat to peace.