NIOS Class 12 English: Chapter 20 Summary- ‘READING with UNDERSTANDING’

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Section 20.1 Summary of Seen or Unseen Passage- ‘Riyaz- A Strong Boy’

Mohammad Riyaz Ahmad is an eleven-year-old boy who studies in Std. III at Prathmic Vidyalaya of Aminabad, Lucknow. He is fun loving boy who laughs a lot, plays video games and attends tuition at home to resume his studies.
Riyaz is awarded with Sanjay Chopra Bravery Award.
The situation was different a year ago; Riyaz was in hospital for more than three months.
On January 16,2003 Riyaz lost one of his limbs, one arm and the wrist of the other arm while he was saving a four-year-old girl named Shazia.
Shazia was standing on the railway track at Daaligaon Bridge, Lucknow and was completely unaware about fast train towards her.
After hearing train whistle Riyaz warned the girl՚s father to remove her from the track, but her father was mentally challenged and cannot hear properly, so he did not listen to Riyaz՚s warning.
When the train was almost near, Riyaz rushed to pull her back.
But while he was holding the girl his leg got stuck between the lines, because he was just 10-year-old at that time so bear her weight is not possible for him.
In this incident the girl also lost one of her limbs as the train ran over them.
Shakeel Ahmad of Gorakhpur who was an eyewitness had rushed them to King George Hospital in Lucknow.
Riyaz had very strong spirit due to which he recovers from this tuff time.
He wanted to resume his studies as his dream was to become a doctor.
He loves to ‘eat meat and fish and to play football.’
With his fitting spirit and strong belief, he shows his engineering skills with electronic items at home!

Section 20.2 Summary of Seen or Unseen Passage- ‘India՚s Young Hero’

India՚s Young Heroes is a book about children who have won the national bravery awards in earlier years.
In this section, below are biographical sketches of six such children-marked A to F.
Which sketch does each sentence (1 to 10) describe? And we have to choose sentence choose one letter (A to F) .

A. Sayal Lahnubhai Bhoya

She was born on 1 June 1967 in Gujarat.
she had studied in Prathmik Shala.
She can speak Gujarati.
She has two brothers and a sister.
Her father is a labourer.
Music, reading and sports were her hobbies.
She saved a friend from a python՚s deadly grip.

B. Govindan

He was born on 15 April 1966 in Tamil Nadu
He studied at Kurubarapalli High School.
He speaks Tamil and English.
He has six brothers and two sisters.
His father is a labourer.
Govindan՚s hobbies are reading, music and games.
He jumped on to a road in front of a speeding truck to save a blind old beggar.

C. Sonia Sinha

She was born on 3 November 1969 in Bihar.
She studied at St. Joseph՚s Convent in Patna.
She speaks Hindi and English.
She has a brother and a sister.
She lost her father, a child specialist, during a fire accident.
Her hobbies include reading and she is fond of sports.
Her bravery saved the lives of her brother and sister.

D. Shatrughna Lal Sahu

He was born on 16 December 1966 in Madhya Pradesh.
He studied at Nehru Prathmik Shala in Durg.
He speaks Chattisgarhi and Hindi.
After the death of his parents, he was adopted by Zilla Sahu Sangh.
His hobbies include folk programmes, games and reading adventure stories.
His ambition is to be an engineer.
He was with the group of eight using the railway tracks in the night when an engine rode into them.
He was able to save two children.

E. Felicitas Soreng

She was born on 21 June 1950 in Orissa.
After her matriculation she trained as a nurse at the Government Hospital in Rourkela.
She speaks Oriya, Hindi and English.
She has two brothers and five sisters.
Her father is a farmer.
Her hobbies include music and handicrafts.
She swam to save herself and a boy when the boat they were in capsized.

F. Satish Kumar Phulsingh

He was born in 1968 in Uttar Pradesh.
He did not attend school but contributed to the family՚s income by looking after the cattle of others.
He speaks Hindi.
He has two elder brothers and a sister.
His father is a labourer.
His presence of mind and bravery contributed towards saving his village from dacoits.

1. She speaks Oriya and is a nurse.

Answer: E

2. His father is a labourer and they live in Tamil Nadu.

Answer: B

3. She speaks Gujarati and loves sports.

Answer: A

4. He looked after other peoples′ cattle.

Answer: F

5. She studied in a convent school in Patna.

Answer: C

6. He lives in Durg and was adopted by the community.

Answer: D

7. He risked his own life to save a beggar.

Answer: B

8. Her bravery, strength and skill in swimming helped her save herself and another boy.

Answer: E

9. The villagers and he were using the railway tracks by night.

Answer: D

10. Her father was a farmer.

Answer: E