CBSE Class 10 Reading Comprehension Exercise

Read the passage given below.

If the most devastating flood of the century almost brought Kerala to its knees, it also brought in an army of good Samaritans who came from all over the state to help people get back on their feet.

The waters rose and Kerala fought back. Even when their own homes were water-logged, volunteers travelled to Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kochi and Thrissur, to save the lives of people marooned in homes and institutions. They ran rescue missions, set up relief centers and started organizing help.

Fishermen from across the state rushed in with boats for rescue operations. Truckers drove through blinding rain and flooded roads to take essential materials to relief camps. Bus drivers put their lives at risk to keep transport lines open. Government machinery worked almost round the clock in the city.

Sleep and rest became alien to an army of young volunteers. The shopping frenzy for Onam was replaced with shoppers buying for collection centers working for camps all over Kerala. Shelves were emptied of water bottles, biscuits, towels, sanitary napkins, diapers- the essentials of daily life people take so much for granted on a regular day. A large network of people went online from all over the world to keep updating the list of requirements at the camps and take calls for rescue coming in from different parts of the Kerala and the globe.

With the capital city being spared the worst of the floods, when compared to many other places in Kerala, the group started working in association with other clusters formed on social media across Kerala and offline teams that were on ground round the clock, attending to rescue operations and collecting relief materials.

On August 16, a group of fishermen under the MATSYA THOZHILALI SAMRAKSHANA SAMITHI had decided to go with 24 boats to Pathanamthitta, one of the worst hit by the floods. For the hardy seafaring fishermen from Poonthura, it was a trip they would never ever forget. All they had were biscuits and tea for sustenance, but they had no complaints whatsoever. The 733 relief camps in Kochi sheltered as many as 2.16 lakh displaced flood victims. Brimming with stories of loss, heroism and love, the camps were a microcosm of humanity in times of peril.
The calamitous monsoon in Kerala has left countless families without shelter and thousands of animals displaced. Three animal NGOs – PEOPLE FOR ANIMALS, HANDS FOR PAWS and STREET DOG WATCH, have joined forces to form Save Animals Kerala, a collective initiative to help rescue, rehabilitate and provide medical assistance to flood affected animals throughout Kerala.

1.1 On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each.

a) In what way was Kerala benefitted by the flood though it brought the state to its knees?

b) What work did the volunteers accomplish during the devastating flood?

c) What was the actual purpose of shopping this year?

d) Mention the initiatives taken up by the Animal NGOs?

e) ‘the camps were a microcosm of humanity in times of peril’ – explain

1.2 On the basis of your reading of the passage, fill in any two of the following blanks with appropriate words/phrase.

a) When compared to all the other places in Kerala, the ……………………… was spared of the flood.

b) The hardy sea-faring fishermen from Poonthura had only ………………………… for their sustenance during the flood relief operation.

c) Stories of …………………………… could be heard in the relief camps.

Answers

1.1 a) The floods wreaked havoc across Kerala; however, they also brought together thousands of people willing to offer help. Volunteers from across the state travelled to areas worst affected by the floods to provide relief. Actually, the floods acted as a force that united everyone in the state regardless of their caste, religion or social or financial status.

b) Volunteers ran rescue missions, set up relief centres and organized help. Fishermen rushed in with their boats for rescue operations. Truckers took essentials to relief camps. In short the army of volunteers worked day and night to ensure that marooned people were saved and those in relief camps received essentials of life.

c) This year Onam shopping was all about buying essentials for collection centres providing relief to camps all over the state. People bought bottled water, biscuits, towels, diapers, sanitary napkins and other essentials and deposited them at collection centres.

d) The floods had displaced thousands of animals. There animal NGOs – People for Animals, Hands for Paws and Street Dog Watch – joined hands together to form a collective initiative called Save Animals Kerala. They rescued, rehabilitated and provided medical assistance to animals affected by the floods.

e) The 733 relief camps set up across the state sheltered as many as 2.16 lakh people affected by the floods. Many had lost their belongings. Others had stories of courage and love to tell. They belonged to the different strata of the society. At the relief camps, however, they were a microcosm of humanity united in the times of peril.

1.2 a) When compared to all the other places in Kerala, the capital city was spared of the flood.

b) The hardy sea-faring fishermen from Poonthura had only biscuits and tea for their sustenance during the flood relief operation.

c) Stories of loss, heroism and love could be heard in the relief camps.