NCERT English Class 11 | Chapter 5 | The Ailing Planet: the Green Movement’s Role | Question Answer |
UNDERSTANDING
THE TEXT PAGE
47
1. Locate the lines in the text that
support the lines ‘The Ailing Planet’.
Answer:
The lines that support ‘The Ailing Planet’ are
• “Are we to leave our successors a
scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscapes and an ailing
environment.”
• A three-year study using satellites and
aerial photography conducted by the United Nations, warns that the environment
has deteriorated so badly that it is ‘critical’ in many of the eighty-eight
countries investigated.
2. What does the notice ‘The world’s most
dangerous animal’ at a cage in the zoo at Lusaka, Zambia, signify?
Answer:
The notice "The world's most deadly animals" on a cage in the zoo in
Lusaka, Zambia, implies that man is alone responsible for all environmental
degradation and natural resource depletion. As a result, man is the most
hazardous animal on the planet.
3. How are the Earth’s principal
biological systems being depleted?
Answer:
Excessive consumption is depleting the earth's primary biological systems.
Fishing from a boat is extremely prevalent. To gather firewood for cooking,
forests are being hacked down. Grasslands are becoming barren wastelands, while
croplands are deteriorating due to reduced yield.
4. Why does the author aver that the
growth of the world population is the strongest factor distorting the future of
human society?
Answer:
The world's growing population puts pressure on the planet's major biological
systems. These have reached an unsustainable level of productivity due to
excessive human claims. If the world's population continues to grow at its
current rate, the development will be impossible. Hunger, poverty, and
unemployment are all consequences of the rising population.
TALKING ABOUT
THE TEXT PAGE
47
Discuss in
groups of four.
1. Laws are never respected nor enforced
in India.
Answer:
In India, laws are not observed or enforced, which is distressing but real.
Let's look at some real-life examples. Almost everyone knows what the rules of
the road are. There are still instances of incorrect overtaking, lane jumping,
signal jumping, excessive speeding, and road rage. Our regulations require all
children to attend primary school until they reach the age of fourteen. Despite
this, we see many illiterate teenage boys and girls of this age loitering in
alleyways, working in tiny jobs at roadside restaurants, or working as domestic
servants. The conservation and enhancement of the environment are enshrined in
our Constitution. The obligation for forest and wildlife protection has been
delegated to the states. Forests are being torn down, and wildlife is being
shot illegally. Similarly, laws prohibiting casteism, untouchability, and
bonded labour exist. However, these are only on paper. These are never put into
practice in real life. As a result, it can be inferred that laws in India are
neither respected nor enforced.
2. “Are we to leave our successors a
scorched planet of advancing deserts, impoverished landscape and an ailing
environment?”
Answer:
I completely agree with the statement's viewpoint. There is a good chance that
this will happen in the future. This fear is based on strong grounds. Our
options are limited. If we continue to consume them in an indiscriminate
manner, they will not survive indefinitely. The global economic system is built
on the foundations of fisheries, forests, grasslands, and croplands. They
provide us with food and industrial raw materials. They are under great strain
as the population grows. Their production has been harmed as a result of their
excessive usage of these resources. These systems have attained an
unsustainable level in many parts of the world. The outcome is dreadful and
tragic.
Fisheries will dwindle, forests will vanish, grasslands
will become desolate wastelands, and farmland fertility will dwindle. Forest
deforestation will result in increased dryness and heat, as well as reduced
rainfall. As a result, the world may become an overheated place in the future,
with growing deserts, unattractive sceneries, and a deteriorating ecology.
3. “We have not inherited this earth from
our forefathers: we have borrowed it from our children.”
Answer:
Mr Lester Brown has made a groundbreaking declaration. It focuses attention on
man's place in the universe. People assume that the earth belongs to them
because they inherited it from their forebears. They overlook the fact that our
children are the true proprietors of the land. We are merely custodians or
trustees, and we must keep developing that satisfies current demands without
endangering future generations' ability to fulfil their own. We must not
deplete the natural world's resources for future generations. We are stealing
our children's heritage in our endeavour to feed the growing millions. For our
current aims, we have openly overused natural resources. The depletion of
natural resources will result in a deteriorating environment. Our use of
nonrenewable resources needs to be reduced. Natural resources must be preserved
and handed on to children in their entirety, as they are the true owners.
4. The problems of overpopulation that
directly affect our everyday lives.
Answer:
Overcrowding produces a slew of issues in everyday living. Food, clothing, and
shelter, the three most basic human necessities, have taken on alarming
proportions. Fisheries, woods, meadows, and croplands are all in danger. They
have attained an unsustainable level in many regions. To get protein, people
turn to overfishing. For the sake of obtaining firewood, forests are being
devastated. Deserts are forming in grasslands. Artificial fertilizers have
increased farmland production. Overcrowding stymies growth and harms the spread
of education and health services to the masses. It has been noticed that the
underprivileged have more children than the wealthy. It just serves to trap
them in a never-ending cycle of poverty. More children do not imply more
workers, but rather more people who are unemployed. As a result, overcrowding
causes unemployment. The public transportation system is insufficient. Long
lines may be seen everywhere. In summary, overcrowding degrades the environment
and shortens human lives by causing a slew of ailments.
THINKING ABOUT
LANGUAGE PAGE
48
The phrase inter alia meaning ‘among
other things is one of the many Latin expressions commonly used in English
Find out what these Latin phrases mean.
1. Prima facie 2. Ad hoc 3. Ad infinitum 4. mutatis mutandis
5. caveat 6. tabula rasa 7. in camera
Answer:
1. On the first view
2. For a special aim
3. Up to infinity with necessary changes
4. A warning that particular things need to be
considered before something is done
5. A smooth tablet
WORKING WITH
WORDS PAGE
48
I.
Locate the following phrases in the text and study their connotations.
(i) gripped the imagination of
Answer:
have a powerful effect on the imagination
(ii) dawned upon
Answer:
became obvious, began to realize for the first time
(iii) ushered in
Answer:
to start something new
(iv) passed into current coin
Answer:
become a part of current usage
(v) passport of the future
Answer:
a thing that enables us to achieve something
II. The words ‘grip’, ‘dawn’, ‘usher’, ‘coin’, ‘passport’ have a literal as well as a figurative meaning. Write pairs of sentences using each word in the literal sense as well as the figurative sense.
Answer:
(i) Grip
- he gripped the rod with both hands.
A sadness has gripped my sister since her cat died.
(ii) Dawn-
Rathi wakes up at dawn to collect water from the well.
It dawned on me that she couldn't walk because she
had met with an accident.
(iii) Usher-
The natives ushered me into their community.
The change in the marketing team ushered in creative
ideas.
(iv) Coin-
The poor girl was astonished to find a new twenty rupee coin in her pocket.
Scientists have coined terms based on their
research.
(v) Passport-
Everyone requires a passport and a visa to travel abroad.
Determination and dedication are passports to
success.
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