Read the following passage carefully:
(1) A recent survey conducted by an independent research firm sought to measure levels of happiness among youth aged 16–24 years in seven countries. The findings revealed some intriguing insights into what makes today’s youth happiest, as well as which factors influence their overall well-being. In India, an overwhelming majority of the youth reported feeling satisfied with their lives, with 87% rating their overall happiness as ‘high’ or ‘very high.’ Financial security was identified as the primary source of happiness for 66%, followed by family support (89%), having a purpose in life (50%), and work or studies (40%). Unfortunately, 65% reported feeling stress related to academic performance or workload, while 25% reported feeling lonely. These figures point to a need for increased mental health support among India’s youth.
(2) These surveys also revealed that family support is an important source of contentment for young people across countries. In Europe, 59% of respondents said that their families were a major source of happiness; in France this figure was 67%, and 63% in Germany. In North America, 64% rated family as an important factor for well-being in Canada, while 61% did so in the United States. Similarly, 89% of survey respondents in India named family support as a major contributor to their overall contentment level.
(3) It is clear that stress has a significant impact on the happiness of today’s youth. The findings suggest that young people need better resources to manage their mental health and well-being. This may include access to counselling services, mindfulness activities and support groups to help them cope with challenging circumstances. It is also important to provide financial support so as to reduce some of the economic pressures.
(4) In India, 65% of youth surveyed reported feeling anxious about their academic performance or workload, while 25% felt lonely. These figures are especially significant given how important family support is for young people’s overall contentment.
Answer the following question, based on the above passage:
What are the two findings that the survey mentioned in paragraph 1 reveals? Answer in about 40 words.
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Solution and Explanation
The findings of the survey highlight that financial security and family support are major contributors to happiness, while stress from academics and loneliness negatively impact the mental well-being of Indian youth.The survey reveals that financial security is a significant source of happiness for 66% of Indian youth, while 89% report family support as a major contributor. However, 65% experience stress due to academic workload, and 25% feel lonely.
Explain in about 40 words the statement “It is also important to provide financial support so as to reduce some of the economic pressures.”
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Solution and Explanation
Elaborate, giving data, the statement “Stress has a significant impact on the happiness of today’s youth.”
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Solution and Explanation
Which of the following factors, with reference to the given passage, does not play a substantial role in the well-being of Indian youth?
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- Family support and strong ties
- Social connection and technology
- Books and literature
- Economic stability
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
State whether True or False, with reference to the given passage:
It is not necessary to provide financial support to the youth as only academic performance plays an upper hand in deciding the stress level.
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Solution and Explanation
What are the top choices which are of maximum value to today’s youth?
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- I and II
- II and III
- I and IV
- II and IV
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The mental health of today’s youth can be managed by resources like ......... and ............
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Solution and Explanation
Write the following sources that provide happiness to today’s youth in descending order:
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- purposefulness
- financial status
- family support
- stress
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
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
- Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
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.- 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
Questions Asked in CBSE CLASS XII exam
- An electric dipole consists of charges \(\pm 4 \mu C\) separated by a distance of \(6\,cm\). Calculate the electric field at a point on the axial line at a distance \(20\,cm\) from its center.
- How does the author prove in paragraph 1 that a sense of humour is a double-edged sword?
- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- Reading Comprehension
- Consider the Linear Programming Problem, where the objective function \[ Z = x + 4y \] needs to be minimized subject to the following constraints: \[ 2x + y \geq 1000, \] \[ x + 2y \geq 800, \] \[ x \geq 0, \quad y \geq 0. \] Draw a neat graph of the feasible region and find the minimum value of $Z$.
- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- Linear Programming Problem
- Altima Ltd. invited applications for 2,00,000 equity shares of ₹ 10 at a premium of ₹ 4 per share. Amount payable:
On application and allotment – ₹ 7 (incl. ₹ 1 premium)
On first and final call – Balance.
Applications received for 2,40,000 shares. 30,000 rejected. Manvi allotted 4,000 shares failed to pay first and final call. Her shares were forfeited. These were reissued at ₹ 4 per share fully paid-up.
Pass journal entries in the books of Altima Ltd.- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- Accounting for Share Capital
- Cite two evidences from the text to show that gender bias is still a hindrance in the progress of women in society.
- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- Reading Comprehension