Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
The earth, that is sufficient,
I do not want the constellations any nearer.
Identify the lines from the extract that indicate the speaker’s ‘independence’ and ‘self-reliance’:
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
Independence & Self-reliance
\hline
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, & I myself am good-fortune,
I do not want the constellations any nearer. & Henceforth I whimper no more,
& postpone no more, need nothing.
\hline
\end{tabular}
\hline Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, & I myself am good-fortune,
I do not want the constellations any nearer. & Henceforth I whimper no more,
& postpone no more, need nothing.
\hline \end{tabular}
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
The narrator doesn’t want ‘constellations’ near to him. Give reasons.
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
‘A man without liberty is a body without a soul,’ Explain your views in about 50 words.
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line:
'Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing.'
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
Compose four poetic lines of your own on ‘freedom.’
Show Hint
Solution and Explanation
{A strength within that none can sway.}
{To speak my truth and walk my path,}
{Freedom’s the fire that shields my wrath.} Final Answer: The four lines emphasize freedom as an internal force, symbolized by light and fire, giving the speaker strength and protection.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
Read the extract and complete the activities given below :
I spent 32 years in Information Technology out of which I was a Chief Executive Officer or MDorthe software head for 23 years for large global multinational software companies with thousands of software professionals worldwide and 6 offices in the US, 3 in Europe, 1 in Japan and 1 in Australia. I had to travel all over the globe around 150 times for business. During this period, I had also written 4 books with 500-700 pages each on Information Technology published by Tata McGraw-Hill and then translated into Chinese for global distribution.
I learnt a lot of things when I was running these large companies. The first one was the importance of team work. In today’s world, nothing is possible without team work. You cannot be successful if you are a loner and an egoistic person. Secondly, you need to lead from the front by setting a good example in front of your staff. Third was that you need to treat your subordinates and your colleagues as friends. In my career, I made a few mistakes, but learnt a lot about motivation, being a good listener, target setting and the art of delegation which forms such an important part of today’s management.
After working for all these software companies for so many years, I wanted to retire from my line of work and write on various subjects concerning human life and existence. Therefore, I gave up two offers of around 3 crore rupees per annum to become a writer. This is how my second innings as a writer in Marathi began.
After this, I have written about 34 books in Marathi. Most of them have become bestsellers with tens of thousands of copies sold for each. However it is not sales or the money that is important to me as much as the fact that these books have brought about very good changes in the lives of thousands of readers.- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Change is the only constant and disruptive technologies are only quickening its pace. “I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life. Never has the pace of change been as high as it is today. Today, we are facing a large number of disruptive forces, especially those caused by technology,” Nilekani said. He shared the example of the iPhone, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. “What we have seen in the past 10 years is a complete change in the balance of technology from serving the enterprise to serving the consumer. Today, when you look at the leading companies in the world by Market Capitalisation, they are all companies that service consumers like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and so on. This is because the balance of power has shifted to consumer technology,” He said. The constant change will require constant learning and relearning. The core message from Nilekani therefore was: Lifetime learning. “The good news is that you have got degree from IIT Madras. The not so good news is that you can’t stop learning. You will have to keep learning for the rest of your life because we are now entering an era of lifelong learning,” he said. And by life-long learning, he didn’t mean “going to a campus and have fun for five years.” It will be learning in short bursts, any time learning, anywhere learning. It’s going to be just in time learning. A lot of it will even be online learning.
This need for constant learning and relearning will come because of our collective inability to predict the kind of jobs that will be done in future or the kind of organisations that people will be working for in future. The high rate of automation in the jobs will have an impact on the way jobs are done. We have seen in the past that technology has made repetitive jobs go away as computers became more and more powerful. In the past 10-15 years, you are seeing the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning. And increasingly, in the last 5-6 years, you are seeing the rise of deep learning, which allows you to use a new kind of technology called neural networks that can make computers smarter and smarter.- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Early rising leads to health and happiness. The man who rises late, can have little rest in the course of the day. Anyone who lies in bed late is compelled to work till a late hour in the evening. He has to do without the evening exercise which is so necessary for his health. In spite of all his efforts his work will not produce as good results as that of the early riser. The reason for this is that he cannot take advantage of the refreshing hours of the morning. Some people say that the quiet hour of midnight is the best time for working. Several great thinkers say that they can write best only when they burn the midnight oil. Yet it is true to say that few men have a clear brain at midnight when the body needs rest and sleep. Those who work at that time, soon ruin their health. Bad health must, in the long run, have a bad effect on the quality of their work.
What is the effect of health on one's work?- UP Board XII - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Early rising leads to health and happiness. The man who rises late, can have little rest in the course of the day. Anyone who lies in bed late is compelled to work till a late hour in the evening. He has to do without the evening exercise which is so necessary for his health. In spite of all his efforts his work will not produce as good results as that of the early riser. The reason for this is that he cannot take advantage of the refreshing hours of the morning. Some people say that the quiet hour of midnight is the best time for working. Several great thinkers say that they can write best only when they burn the midnight oil. Yet it is true to say that few men have a clear brain at midnight when the body needs rest and sleep. Those who work at that time, soon ruin their health. Bad health must, in the long run, have a bad effect on the quality of their work.
Why do some thinkers burn the midnight oil?- UP Board XII - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Early rising leads to health and happiness. The man who rises late, can have little rest in the course of the day. Anyone who lies in bed late is compelled to work till a late hour in the evening. He has to do without the evening exercise which is so necessary for his health. In spite of all his efforts his work will not produce as good results as that of the early riser. The reason for this is that he cannot take advantage of the refreshing hours of the morning. Some people say that the quiet hour of midnight is the best time for working. Several great thinkers say that they can write best only when they burn the midnight oil. Yet it is true to say that few men have a clear brain at midnight when the body needs rest and sleep. Those who work at that time, soon ruin their health. Bad health must, in the long run, have a bad effect on the quality of their work.
What are the advantages of both morning hours and midnight hours?- UP Board XII - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in Maharashtra Class XII exam
Complete the chain and rewrite in your answer paper \[ \begin{array}{|c|l|l|l|} \hline \textbf{No.} & \textbf{A} & \textbf{B} & \textbf{C} \\ \hline (1) & \text{Amazon River basin} & \text{Dense equatorial forest} & \text{Low population density} \\ \hline (2) & \text{Constructive Pyramid} & \text{More old age Population} & \text{Low birth rate and least death rate} \\ \hline (3) & \text{Industrial Region} & \text{Manufacturing Activities} & \text{Availability of Employment} \\ \hline (4) & \text{Pampas Grassland} & \text{Commercial cattle rearing} & \text{South America} \\ \hline (5) & \text{Private} & \text{Individual} & \text{Tata Iron and Steel Industries} \\ \hline \end{array} \]
- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- Logical chains and relationships
- Identify the correct co-relation in the given statements and write: % Assertion and Reasoning A : Assertion \hspace{1cm} R : Reasoning (1) A: Hardwood trees are found in equatorial evergreen forests.
R: Lumbering is not developed on a commercial level in equatorial regions.- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- Forest and Wildlife Resources
- Read the following map/graphs and answer the questions given below:
- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- Economic Activities
Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:
Considering the latitudinal distribution of animal husbandry in the world, it is located between 30°N to 60°N and 30°S to 55°S latitudes.
Climate is one of the most influencing factors in the development of animal husbandry. It is more developed in the Northern Hemisphere. Presence of grasslands in Australia and North and South America has led to the distribution of this occupation. But, this occupation is influenced by advanced technology, market, and availability of large estates.
It has developed on a commercial basis in North America, South America, and Australia. The animal husbandry in North and South America is carried out with the help of advanced technology on a commercial scale.
Dense forests, inhospitable climate, low-quality fodder in the equatorial region has discouraged the development of animal husbandry in these regions.- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- Economic Activities
- Explain the factors affecting trade.
- Maharashtra Class XII - 2025
- International Trade