The first thing education does is to give us awareness about ourselves which leads to the development of our personality. As we begin school, we feel the need to belong to the class and make friends. We then expand our sense of belonging to include the school at large, our community and finally our country. Education thus prepares every child to become an active member of the community and work for its welfare.
Education, it is believed, releases our potentials and our inner strengths. It sharpens our intellect and develops our creativity. As we are taught to reason well and find solutions to the problems of life, we become productive members of society. Education by definition is progressive and liberal, teaching us to respect human diversity and cultural and religious differences. If all of us practise these values in life, the world becomes a much happier place. Education also fosters critical thinking and provides us a set of competencies including life skills that enable us to become competitive even in the most challenging of circumstances. Education also teaches us to appreciate beauty and the bounties of nature.
School, however, is not the only place where a child gets education. A Bangla poem tells us that nature can be our best teacher. Here are a couple of lines from the poem in English translation:
The sky has taught me to be liberal.
The wind has given me the motto to be industrious.
If we can make nature our friend, philosopher and guide, we can learn lessons about life that, combined with what our schools teach us, will prepare us for the future.
Choose the best answer from alternatives.
(a) What is the meaning of the word "awareness" as used in the passage?
(i) ignorance (ii) knowledge (iii) confusion (iv) hesitation
(b) What does "progressive" most closely mean in the context of the passage?
(i) regressive (ii) advancing (iii) stagnant (iv) backward
(c) The word "productive" in the passage is closest in meaning to:
(i) efficient (ii) idle (iii) unhelpful (iv) inactive
(d) What does "liberal" mean in the context of the poem?
(i) narrow-minded (ii) open-minded (iii) strict (iv) harsh
(e) What is the opposite of "diversity" ?
(i) variety (ii) uniformity (iii) multiplicity (iv) difference
(f) The word "competencies" in the passage most likely refers to :
(i) failures (ii) skills (iii) weaknesses (iv) challenges
(g) What is the synonym of "appreciate" as used in the passage?
(i) ignore (ii) value (iii) dislike (iv) neglect
(h) According to the passage, education helps us respect human diversity. What does "diversity" mean?
(i) similarity (ii) differences (iii) sameness (iv) repetition
(i) What lesson does the sky teach, according to the poem?
(i) to be industrious (ii) to be liberal (iii) to be strict (iv) to be competitive
(j) What does the wind symbolise in the poem?
(i) beauty (ii) industriousness (iii) laziness (iv) carelessness
(a) (ii) knowledge
(b) (ii) advancing
(c) (i) efficient
(d) (ii) open-minded
(e) (ii) uniformity
(f) (ii) skills
(g) (ii) value
(h) (ii) differences
(i) (ii) to be liberal
(j) (ii) industriousness