First Flight ch07 Glimpses of India - CBSE Test Papers

CBSE Test Paper 01
Glimpses of India
  1. What are the elders reminiscing about the Portuguese days? 
  2. What are the elders in Goa nostalgic about? Write your answer in the context of Glimpses of India.
  3. How are the tea-pluckers different from the other farm labourers?
  4. How did Rajvir describe the view from the train?
  5. What did the appearance of a baker show about his profession?
  6. In the light of the lesson 'A Baker from Goa', discuss the culture of Goa and its impact on the life of the individuals.
  7. Should we learn from the history that has been passed on to us from generations?
  8. Describe the childhood memories of the bakers in the author's time in Goa and his fondness for breads and cakes. 
  9. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: (1 × 4 = 4)
    “Oh, this is a tea country now,” he said, “Assam has the largest concentration of plantations in the world.
    You will see enough gardens to last you a lifetime!”
    “I have been reading as much as I could about tea,” Rajvir said.
    “No one really knows who discovered tea but there are many legends .”
    "What legends?”
    "Well, there’s the one about the Chinese emperor who always boiled water before drinking it.
    One day a few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell into the water giving it a delicious flavour.
    It is said they were tea leaves.”
    "Tell me another!” scoffed Pranjol.
    "We have an Indian legend too. Bodhidharma, an ancient Buddhist ascetic, cut off his eyelids because he felt sleepy during meditations. Ten tea plants grew out of the eyelids.
    The leaves of these plants when put in hot water and drunk banished sleep. Tea was first drunk in China,” Rajvir added, "as far back as 2700 B.C.! In fact, words such as tea, ‘chai’ and 'chini are from Chinese.
    Tea came to Europe only in the sixteenth century and was drunk more as medicine than a beverage.”
    1. Why was Rajvir reading a lot about tea?
    2. Describe the Chinese legend about tea.
    3. Write a synonym for the word-‘Monk’.
    4. Why does Rajvir call Assam as 'a tea country'?
  10. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow: (1 × 4 = 4)
    Marriage gifts are meaningless without sweet bread known as the bol, just as a party or a feast loses its charm without bread. Not enough can be said to show how important a baker can be for a village. The lady of the house must prepare sandwiches on the occasion of her daughter’s engagement. Cakes and Bolinas are a must for Christmas as well as other festivals. Thus, the presence of the baker’s furnace in the village is absolutely essential.
    1. In the absence of which thing are the marriage gifts meaningless?
    2. On which occasion must the lady of the house prepare sandwiches?
    3. Find a word opposite in meaning to ‘partially’.
    4. Why is the presence of baker's furnace in a village essential?
CBSE Test Paper 01
Glimpses of India
Solution
  1. The elders are reminiscing nostalgically about the Portuguese days when bakers were important and they had a unique and different place among the people. The people love to eat loaves of bread. Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the bakers are still there. The mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves are still in Goa. Those age-old, time-tested furnaces still exist. The fire in the furnaces has not yet been extinguished. 
  2. The elders in Goa are nostalgic about the good old Portuguese days and the Portuguese loaves of bread. The Portuguese were very famous for their bread. Those eaters of loaves might have vanished but the makers are still there. The mixers, the moulders and those who bake the loaves still exist. Those age-old, time-tested furnaces still continue to function. 
  3. Tea pluckers are different from other farm labourers as the tea pluckers are hired labourers whereas the farm labourers can be hired or can be the owners of the land. Groups of tea-pluckers, with bamboo baskets on their backs, wearing plastic aprons, pluck the newly sprouted leaves. On the contrary, farm labourers go through the whole process, from sowing to harvesting.
  4. Rajvir described the magnificent view of the landscape from the train window. It was green everywhere. Rajvir had never seen so much greenery before. Then the soft green paddy fields gave way to tea bushes. Against the backdrop of densely wooded hills a sea of tea bushes stretched as far as the eye could see. Dwarfing the tiny tea plants were tall sturdy shade-trees and amidst the orderly rows of bushes busily moved doll-like figures. In the distance was an ugly building with smoke billowing out of tall chimneys.
  5. The appearance of a baker was healthy and strong. He, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to this. Any person with a jackfruit-like physical appearance was easily compared to a baker. 
  6. The lesson reflects the strong Portuguese effect on the Goan culture, testifying the fact that the ideologies of the political powers have a strong influence on the lives of common people and their lifestyles. In the lesson, "bread" acts as a symbol of unity among the Goan people as it highlights the constant need for food that is translated into a gift from the Portuguese that the Goans appreciate and look forward to. 
    'Culture' of a place develops as an outcome of the traditions which are followed by the people, the conventions they adhere to, the religion they follow, their ethics and morals and the philosophy of life that guides them. The author is nostalgic about his childhood days and has strong cultural ties with Goa. He highlights that the baker, also known as the 'Pader' is like a companion to the locals. People look forward to his arrival and the subsequent selection of different types of bread every day and on different festive occasions. The Pader has a mere profession, but his work binds everyone in society as he strengthens the bonds between the locals by making them support his occupation. 
  7. History is the mirror through which we can relive our past. It actually provides us with a glimpse of the path that our ancestors have laid for us. The various battles and wars, that are fought and won, show us the strength and valour our people had. The traditions and customs make us better human beings. 'A Baker from Goa' is a pen portrait of a traditional Goan village baker who still has an important place in the society. People learn the customs of bread baking passed down from their ancestors. The leavened, oven-baked bread is a gift of the Portuguese to India. These traditions have strengthened our present as they make us more aware of the ways of life of our ancestors. Their way of living helps us understand how we exist in the present, what we did wrong and how we can avoid mistakes to live a better life in future. We should appreciate the gifts given by our previous generations so that we can use their skills and preserve their culture. People may come and go, but it is this culture that prevails in the long run.
  8. The author highlighted that bread was an indispensable part of the life of the Goan people since the time of the Portuguese. The bread was a part of not only everyday life but also of festive occasions and events. For each occasion, there was a special kind of bread such as bread bangles or sweet bread of special make. He also highlighted that the baker had a leading role in the society which was so important in the life of the Goans that they got up with the jingling sound of his bamboo. According to the author, these bakers were known as 'Paders' in Goa. During the author's childhood in Goa, the baker used to be everyone's friend, companion and guide.
    The author further mentioned that the baker wore either a 'Kabai', which was a single piece long frock reaching down to the knees or a shirt and a half pant like trousers. The author observed the profit-making process in baking in earlier days by saying that the baker was very prosperous and never starved. He also knew that the bakers maintained monthly bills on walls in pencil. The baker, his family and his servants always looked happy and prosperous. Their plump physique was an open testimony to their prosperity. 
    1. Because Rajvir was excited to visit Assam.
    2. A few leaves of the twigs burning under the pot fell into the pot of the Chinese emperor in which water was being boiled and gave a delicious flavour to the water.
    3. 'Ascetic'.
    4. Rajvir calls Assam 'a tea country' as it has the largest concentration of tea plantations in the world.
    1. Marriage gifts are meaningless without the sweet bread known as the Bol.
    2. On the occasion of her daughter’s marriage, the lady of the house must prepare sandwiches.
    3. 'Absolutely'.
    4.  As marriage gifts, party or a feast, engagement and for Christmas or other festivals, baked items become essential.
    5. The baker's furnace plays a significant role in the making of the cakes and other delicacies for a party, festival and other occasions that's why it is essential for the village.