Reading comprehension or Unseen passage exercises are important part of English language in school curriculum. Students are given small passage, and they need to read that, analyze that, infer that , and answer the question which come directly or indirectly from the passage. This type of exercises tests the reading as well as reasoning aspect of students in term of communication.
In this article, we have shared some unseen passage exercises for CBSE class 8 English. Students can go through them, and solve at their end.
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CBSE Class 8 English Exercise
Source- Tribune
The retired Colonel living next to my house is well past 80 but still fit as a fiddle. He is known for his stingy habits, a keen sense of humor and love for Urdu poetry. Once, I cheekily asked him why he was so frugal despite being affluent. Instead of being offended, he replied with a mischievous wink, ‘I have to save for my old age, shouldn’t I?’ I wondered when his old age would set in!
With his six-foot, lean physique, squarely unstylish haircut and puckered eyes, he resembles the ageing Tom Hanks in A Man Called Otto. He is as cynical, fussy and fastidious as Otto but not as grumpy as him. On the contrary, he is cordial to a fault and a deeply religious soul. A daily visit to Kali Bari Temple in the morning is one of his unfailing rituals. I often accompany him to relish his anecdotes sprinkled with Urdu couplets.
Last week, while passing through the Mall Road on our way to the temple, we saw a little girl sitting on the steps of Town Hall, crying silently. She had a charming, dimpled face that glistened with tears. She was wearing a school uniform which was slightly shabby. The Colonel sat beside her and, putting an arm consolingly around her shoulders, asked why she was distressed. Still sobbing, the girl related her tale of woe between gasps. She was the daughter of a poor widow working as a housemaid, whose sole ambition was to provide her only child with the best possible education. The woman saved money from her meagre earnings and secured the girl’s admission to a good public school. However, she was not left with enough money to buy a new uniform for her. The girl was asked to manage with a second-hand one received from the house where her mother worked. Today was her first day at school, but she was not allowed to attend classes as her uniform was not up to the school standard. She was apprehensive about facing her mother on returning home without attending school.
- Question 1 – How did author describe about the colonel?
- Question 2 – What similarities and differences does author find in colonel with Tom Hanks character in movie?
- Question 3 – Why was the little girl crying and worried about?
CBSE Grade 8 English worksheet
Source – Economics Times
Religious tourism within India has taken a big jump with rise in connectivity. The country could take the idea forward to boost international tourism. Culture is among the biggest draws India has for the foreign tourist. Policy encouragement to improve air linkages and hospitality could spur inbound leisure travel. There are successful models among larger cities of co-development of aviation and hospitality infrastructure that can be replicated in select religious circuits, such as the Buddhist one spread across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal as suggested by Narendra Modi. The reason to visit exists for the faithful. It’s a matter of making travel and stay more pleasant while pondering larger existential questions.
The existing Buddha circuit has come up with the assistance of countries with large Buddhist populations. But it’s nowhere near the potential it could achieve. International flights into the circuit would be needed from cities apart from national capitals across Asia. The hospitality on offer should be able to cater to much more culturally-diverse travelers. Add-on attractions must come up to showcase the local culture. Skilling has to be addressed for the employment such enterprise generates. Done right, this can offer strong competition to convention tourism, where India trails most among the developed tourism hubs in Asia. Foreign tourists seeking an enhanced cultural experience in India can offer a way out of the overdependence of domestic religious tourism. The local variety is driven by the unorganized sector and holds little attraction for the international traveler. But it racks up the numbers that are exerting undue pressure on the country’s tourism infra. Developing alternative religious or cultural circuits would deal with the sustainability issue. The proof of concept exists in the domestic tourism industry. What India needs is proof of execution for high-end religious tourism. One success story can throw up several others. Spirituality is as powerful a motivator for people to travel as sun and sand.
- Question 1- How has religious travel improved in India?
- Question 2- What are the changes required in Buddha circuit, as per author?
- Question 3- Summarize the passage in 50 words
Unseen passage for CBSE class 8 English
Source – Reuters
Slimy, green seaweed floats in water-filled beakers, buckets and bins in the University of Santiago’s labs, algae which scientists in the Chilean capital are trying to turn into an efficient power source.
Their field is biophotovoltaics, which uses a photosynthetic organism such as seaweed to convert light into electrical energy. The scientists spread the seaweed onto electrodes on biophotovoltaic panels, similar to the solar type.
“Algae use light to oxidize water, and in the process they release electrons,” said project leader Federico Tasca, adding that these can then be picked up in electric circuits, with the oxygen released in the process an added benefit.
Similar projects before have used microalgae, which are single-celled organisms, while seaweed is a macroalga, or multicellular organism, Tasca said.
“Macroalgae are more hardy, easier to work with, easier to harvest,” Tasca said, while acknowledging that the process was still far from being energy efficient.
“That’s exactly what the investigation is about, it’s about improving the efficiency of producing electricity,” he said.
Seaweed could be used in some cases where alternatives were not available. “It’s a good system to feed energy to a light bulb, to light up some LEDs,” he said.
Algae are still under-researched, said Alejandra Moenne, who heads the University of Santiago’s marine biology department.
“I’ve always said that algae are like a treasure chest buried at sea. They’re full of genes and molecules that we still don’t know enough about, which could even be used for medicinal purposes one day,” said Moenne.
- Question 1- What is biophotovoltaics?
- Question 2- How does algae generate electricity?
- Question 3- What is Macroalgae? Explain its usage
- Question 4- What is importance of algae in sea?
End Note
In this article, we have shared unseen passage exercises for CBSE class 8 English. Students can practice them, and prepare for the exam. In case, students want help in evaluating their answers, they can reach out to us.