Chapter 1.8 Voyaging Towards Excellence Solutions

BalbhartiYuvakbharati English 12th DigestChapter 1.8 Voyaging Towards Excellence Notes, Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers.

Maharashtra State Board Class 12 English Yuvakbharati Solutions Chapter 1.8 Voyaging Towards Excellence

12th English Digest Chapter 1.8 Voyaging Towards Excellence Textbook Questions and Answers

(A1)

Question (i)
Upbringing plays a very important role in shaping one’s life.
Answer:
The teacher will form two groups in the class. One group will speak in favour of the above topic while the other will speak against it. Debate brings out different perspectives, it does not mean one is right and other is wrong. You can take help of the following points and have a debate on it:

(A2)

Question (i)
Make a list of great Indian and foreign personalities who had a great impact on Achyut Godbole during his childhood.
Answer:

Question (ii)
Find the different techniques used by the writer to learn Science and Mathematics.
Answer:
The different techniques used by the writer to learn Science and Mathematics are:
(a) The writer used to appreciate the inherent beauty of these subjects.
(b) He found Newton’s law of motion beautiful and the Pythagorean Theorem elegant.
(c) The writer loved solving problems of Mathematics of the 9th standard when he was in the 7th.
(d) He used to love solving problems and used to enjoy finding out the most elegant method of solving them, even though I they were not a part of the curriculum.

Question (iii)
The writer faced numerous problems while communicating in English because-
Answer:
(a) He had his entire education in Marathi.
(b) His vocabulary was very weak, and pronunciation was terrible.
(c) His construction of sentences was very awkward.

Question (iv)
The writer was completely stumped because his:
Answer:
(a) vocabulary was very weak
(b) spoken English was quite pathetic
(c) pronunciation was terrible
(d) construction of sentences was very awkward

Question (v)
Due to the writer’s pathetic English speaking style, he:
Answer:
(a) felt quite lonely and terrified, in Mumbai in general, and IIT in particular.
(b) developed an inferiority complex
(c) felt depressed and diffident.
(d) wanted to run away from IIT and even Mumbai.

Question (vi)
Complete the following. The writer wanted to achieve mastery in English because-
Answer:
(a) he wanted to speak excellent, elegant and fluent English
(b) he would be able to achieve excellence and excel in anything he tried to do
(c) he need not have to feel afraid of anybody and start feeling at home in his hostel.

Question (vii)
Make a list of different steps that the writer undertook to improve his English speaking skills.
Answer:
To improve his English the writer:
(a) decided to also think in English before speaking in English.
(b) started reading English newspapers and English novels.
(c) studied etymology and phonetics and studied the roots of the words and how to pronounce them.
(d) used to stand in front of the mirror and practice speaking, realising his mistakes and correcting them himself all the time and improvising and improving day by day.

Question (viii)
Describe the writer’s achievements after achieving mastery over the English language.
Answer:
After achieving mastery over the English language:

Question (a)
Complete the table comparing the two different phases of the life of the writer- as an MD or Chief Executive Officer and an activist of Sarvodaya movement.
Answer:

Question (ix)
Complete the web highlighting the various opportunities you gained due to your good English speaking skills.

Answer:

Question (a)
Describe a situation or incident when you felt embarrassed for your lack of knowledge of a particular subject or incompetence in speaking English fluently.
Answer:
This happened after my Std X exams. I live in Latur, and I was visiting my cousins in Mumbai for the first time. In order to entertain me, they took me to a musical nite. Unfortunately, it was music show based on English songs, and I had no knowledge of it or interest in it. I love to listen to Hindi and Marathi songs only. They soon realized my lack of interest, and were sorry for their mistake. I was embarrassed about my complete lack of knowledge about English music.

(A3)

Question (i)
Fill in the blanks selecting the correct phrase from the alternatives given.
(feel out of place, speak at length, feel at home, sea of knowledge)
(a) By the end of the week she was beginning ………………… in her new job.
(b) When he lost his mother he was completely ……………….
(c) Travelling can help to …………………...
(d) After my retirement I started ……………… as a social worker.
(e) Having faith in God ……………………. in difficult situations.
(f) To succeed in any competitive examination, one requires a sea of knowledge.
(g) The simple village girl ……………………. in a formal party.
(h) The work done by Sindhutai Sapkal …………………. of millions
(i) The teacher …………………….. explaining the concept.
(j) The speaker was ……………………… by the intelligent questions asked by the audience.
Answer:
(a) By the end of the week she was beginning to feel at home in her new job.
(b) When he lost his mother he was completely broken.
(c) Travelling can help to broaden one’s horizon.
(d) After my retirement I started my second innings as a social worker.
(e) Having faith in God keeps one going in difficult situations.
(f) To succeed in any competitive examination, one requires a sea of knowledge.
(g) The simple village girl felt out of place in a formal party.
(h) The work done by Sindhutai Sapkal touched the hearts of millions
(i) The teacher spoke at length explaining the concept.
(j) The speaker was completely stumped by the intelligent questions asked by the audience.

Question (ii)
Find out a word related to the game of cricket. List two meanings for it.

Answer:
Second innings:
1. general meaning: the second phase of life of an individual where he/she starts/ pursues a new or different career or the post retirement life.
2. related to cricket: when a team comes to bat for the second time in a test match

Question (iii)
Go through the text to find the antonyms of the words given in the grid and fill in the boxes. One is done for you.

Answer:

(A4)

Question (i)
Write whether the underlined verbs in the following sentences are Main verbs or Primary auxiliary verbs:
(a) I had a very simple upbringing. ………………
(b) I was immensely impressed. ………………..
(c) I had learnt from my childhood that money did not mean everything in life. …………………
(d) He was a convent educated guy. ……………….
(e) They did all the work in time. …………………..
(f) I had to achieve a lot in life. …………………….
Answer:
(a) Main verb
(b) Main verb
(c) Auxiliary verb
(d) Main verb
(e) Main verb
(f) Main verb

Question (a)
Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals according to the situations given in the following sentences:
Answer:

Question (b)
Find from the extract, the sentences that show past habit.
Answer:
1. Poets like Vinda Karandikar, Mangesh Padgaonkar and Vasant Bapat used to visit our home.
2. They used to talk about Keshavsut…

(iii) Do as directed and rewrite the sentence:

Question (a)
I did not fully understand their discussions but I was immensely impressed. (Remove ‘but’.)
Answer:
Though I did not fully understand their discussions, I was immensely impressed.

Question (b)
I had decided that I would do nothing of this sort. (Remove ‘that’.)
Answer:
I had decided to do nothing of this sort.

Question (c)
My fear had vanished and I started feeling at home in my hostel. (Use ‘when’.)
Answer:
When my fear had vanished, I started feeling at home in my hostel.

Question (d)
It was only my self-esteem which stopped me. (Remove ‘which’.)
Answer:
Only my self-esteem stopped me.

Question (e)
I plunged into all these branches of knowledge. It was a period of renaissance.
(Join with ‘which’.)
Answer:
I plunged into all these branches of knowledge, which was a period of renaissance.

Question (f)
When I look back, there are a number of lessons that I cherish. (Remove ‘When’.)
Answer:
On looking back, I find that there are a number of lessons that I cherish.

Question (g)
There are hundreds who tell me that they understood the theory of relativity. (Remove ‘who’.)
Answer:
Hundreds tell me that they understood the theory of relativity.

(A5)