Q. 2. Read the passage given …

Q. 2. Read the passage given below: Torrential rains and swollen rivers have caused chaos across central and Eastern Europe, while a massive heat wave in southern Europe has helped reduce the Portuguese wood land to tinder Tens of thousands of people face a massive relief operation as the extent of the devastation slowly becomes clear. The death toll continues to mount steadily across the continent. The latest estimate puts the number since mid-August 2005 at over 150. “Unfortunately, we are expecting the number of victims to rise by the hour,” said Romanian interior minister Vasile Blaga. Though the heat wave persists in Portugal and Spain, forest fires in Portugal have been brought under control By August 26, 2005, the waters began to recede across Germany and the Czech Republic, the countries hardest hit, by the floods. The situation also improved in Croatia, Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. But some areas of Switzerland and Germany remained on alert. Huge damages were reported from all over Europe. Thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes. Many villages were abandoned in Portugal, while helicopters were used in Switzerland and Austria to airlift people from flooded houses and landslides. The floods worst impact was along the Danube, Morava and Elbe rivers and their tributaries. Dresden in Germany was one of the hardest hit. Germany puts the damages at around US 14billion,buttheGermanstateofSaxonyaloneputsitsowncostsataroundUS14billion,buttheGermanstateofSaxonyaloneputsitsowncostsataroundUS16 billion. Austria quotes a cleanup bill of US 2billion,andthe‘CzechRepublicUS2billion,andthe‘CzechRepublicUS3 billion. But all these figures are speculative. What is disturbing is that relief operations appear stretched. In Germany, only US $200 per adult is currently available from both the EU and the government. The reason behind the bedlam is the jet stream, high-speed winds usually found just below the tropopause, which drives the depressions and fronts that affect the weather. Usually found between 7,620 metres (in) and ‘13,716(m) altitude, it flows eastwards at speeds up to 200 m per hour around the Earth. It is formed when cold air from the Arctic meets warm air from the tropics. Because the jet stream fluctuates, its track makes huge differences to the weather. This year it positioned around Europe locking high pressure over southwest Europe which in its turn is responsible for creating intense drought in some parts and deluges of rain in other parts. While many blame global warming for the disaster, some scientists are reluctant to draw a direct link. “We are linking these events to climate change… There are also other things happening building up of the land bad land use plans, bad fire prevention m the south… But all the factors together are more and more exacerbated by global warming,” explains Martin Hiller spokesperson for Worldwide Fund for Nature Malcolm Haylock of the University of East Anglia the UK, is more dithering You can say that due to the Earth getting warmer there will be on an average more extreme events but you can’t attribute any specific event to climate change’ Despite growing consensus about global warming, it is hard to find long-term trends in rainfall that would have directly the droughts and floods. Some experts believe the North Atlantic Oscillation climate system has caused a drift towards drier conditions in southern Europe and more rainfall m the north during winters; its effects during summers are not as clear. a. On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. (5) b. Write a summary of the above passage in 80 words using the notes made and also suggest a suitable title. (3)

Why did the grandmother hate music

He had no premonition that this night call would prove unusual, still less that it would influence his whole future in blainelly".what was the unusual event for him ?

It takes 64 muscles to frown and 13 to smile. So, why overwork yourself by frowning. So said report by some US psychiatrists, and that set me on my nerve racking mission of spotting smiling faces among the sea of humanity. I had not noticed till then how is our national need to smile dispelling all gloom. make note and summarize it.

Why is the first meeting described by author in vain ? From the address

Why couldn't the narrator reconcile the fact that his grandmother was once young and pretty? The portrait of a lady class 11

Describe the arrival of the gold Finch to the laburnum tree?

Bbc class 11 module 2 ca9

The theme of the story we are not afraid to die brings out the important of having confidence and making optimum use of our potential elaborating an occurrence from the text to inspire the audience to challenge hurdles of life

theme of the story we are not afraid to die brings out the important of having confidence and making optimum use of our potential elaborating an occurrence from the text to inspire the audience to challenge hurdles of life

Read the following passage given below and answer the questions the follow: The Great wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of china. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built and it is said that it is the only one visible from space. Many thousands of people must have given their lives to build this huge construction. The great wall of china is a series of towers made of stone, brick, earth, wood and other materials, generally built along an east-to- west line across the historical northern borders of china to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were being built as carly as the 7th century BCE, these later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are now collectively referred to as the Great wall Especially famous is the wall built (220-206 BCE) by Qin shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the great wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained and enhanced, the majority of the existing wall is from the ming dynasty (1368-1644) other purposes of the Great wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the silk road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, gharrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire and the fact that the path of the Great wall also served as a transportation corridor. The Great wall stretches from Dandong in the cast to Lop Lake in the west, along an are that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km. This is made up of 6,259 km sections of actual wall, 359 km of trenches and 2,232 km of natural defensiove barriers such as hills and rivers. Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measures out to be 21,196km. King Zheng of Qin conquered the last of his opponents and unified china as the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty Qin shi Huang in 221 BCE. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of some sections of the walls, however, he ordered building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while earth was used for construction in the plains. The Great wall concept was revived under the Ming dynasty in the 14th century, to gain a clear upper Hand over the Mongolian tribes. 1.1 On the basis of your reading of the above passage make notes on it, using headings and subheadings. Use recognizable abbreviations (Wherever necessary, minimum four) and a format you consider suitable. Also supply an appropriate title to it. 1.2 Write a summary of the passage in about 50 words.