1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B.
Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Eurystheus, the King of Mycenae and his cousin, made him undergo some difficult tasks, which are known in Greek myths as the 'twelve labours of Hercules.' He first involved a fight with a lion. The valley of Nemea was being disturbed by a terrible lion and so Eurystheus ordered Hercules to slay the beast and bring him his skin. At first, Hercules tried to fight the lion with his club and arrows but this took him nowhere. Then Hercules attempted a different tactic: he decided he would use his hands. He thus managed to slay the animal on his own, relying entirely on his immense strength. Victorious, he returned to Mycenae carrying the dead lion on his shoulders, a sight that terrified the King.
His next task was to slay a monster called Hydra that was ravaging the country of Argos. The Hydra had nine heads, of which the middle one was said to be immortal. Our hero struck off its heads with his club, but whenever he knocked off a head, two new ones erupted in its place. Eventually with the help of his devoted servant Iolaus, Hercules succeeded in burning all the heads of the Hydra except the ninth or immortal one, which he decided to bury under a huge rock. In other words, Hercules triumphed again, as he would every time he was given an impossible task by Eurystheus! And this is how he began to acquire the reputation of a hero possessing immense strength throughout the world.
[Unit-9; Lesson-4]
[Bogra Cantonment Public School & College- '16; Chittagong Govt. Mohila College- '16; Joypurhat Girls' Cadet College- '16; Rajshahi College- '16; Cantonment Public School & College, Rangpur- '16; Abdur Razzak Municipal College, Jessore- '16; Chittagong Govt. Women's College- '16; Govt. Fazilatunnesa Women's College, Bhola- '16]
বাংলা অনুবাদঃ
হারকিউলিস ছিলেন জুপিটার ও আল্কমিনার পুত্র। মাইসিনির রাজা ইউরিসথিউয়াস এবং তার চাচাত ভাই তাকে কিছু কঠিন কাজ করতে বাধ্য করত যা গ্রিক পুরাণে ‘হারকিউলিসের দ্বাদশ শ্রম’ নামে পরিচিত। প্রথমে সে একটি সিংহের সাথে যুদ্ধে লিপ্ত হয়েছিল। নিমিয়া উপত্যকায় একটি ভয়ানক সিংহ উৎপাত করছিল আর তাই ইউরিসথিউয়াস হারকিউলিসকে আদেশ দিল প্রাণীটিকে বধ করে তার চামড়া আনার জন্য। প্রথমে, হারকিউলিস তার তীর ও ধনুক দিয়ে সিংহটির সাথে যুদ্ধ করার জন্য চেষ্টা করেছিল কিন্তু তা কোনো কাজে আসেনি। তারপর হারকিউলিস ভিন্ন কৌশল অবলম্বন করল। সে হাত ব্যবহার করার সিদ্ধান্ত নিল। এভাবে সে পশুটিকে তার অপরিমেয় শক্তির দ্বারা হত্যা করল। বিজয় লাভ করার পর, যে মৃত সিংহটিকে তার কাধের উপর নিয়ে মাইসিনিতে ফিরে আসলো, যা রাজাকে আতঙ্কিত করেছিল।
তার পরবর্তী কাজ ছিল হাইড্রা নামক দৈত্যকে হত্যা করা যা আরগো দেশটিকে ধ্বংস করছিল। হাইড্রার মাথা ছিল নয়টি; যার মধ্যে মাঝখানের মাথাটি ছিল অমরণশীল। আমাদের বীরপুরুষ তার মুগুর দিয়ে মাথায় আঘাত করে, কিন্তু যখনই একটি মাথা বিচ্ছিন্ন হয়, সেখানে দুইটি নতুন মাথা জন্মায়। অবশেষে তার অনুগত ভৃত্য ইয়োলাসের সহযোগিতায় হারকিউলিস হাইড্রার নবম অমরনশীল মাথাটি ব্যতীত সকল মাথা পুড়িয়ে ফেলতে সফল হয়েছিল। যা সে বিশাল পাহাড়ের নিচে পুঁতে রাখার সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছিল। অন্য কথায়, হারকিউলিস ইউরিসথিউয়াসের দেওয়া প্রতিটি অসম্ভব কাজের মত এ কাজটিতেও জয় লাভ করল। আর এভাবে সে সারা বিশ্বে অপরিমেয় শক্তির অধিকারী বীরপুরুষ হওয়ার খ্যাতি অর্জন করতে শুরু করল।
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1☓5 = 5
(a) The phrase 'made him undergo' in the text refers to —.
(i) Hercules compelled him (ii) Hercules was compelled to
(iii) They ignore him (iv) They order Hercules
(b) The word 'slay' used in the text is synonymous to —.
(i) to bring (ii) to yield (iii) to imprison (iv) to kill
(c) What does 'twelve labours of Hercules' refers to —.
(i) some hard tasks (ii) some easy tasks (iii) some hard triumph (iv) some fight with beast
(d) The word 'tactic' refers to in the passage —.
(i) method (ii) sensitivity (iii) idea (iv) trick
(e) What does 'this took him nowhere' means —.
(i) fruitful (ii) fruitless (iii) victory (iv) terrible
❤ Extra Questions:
(f) A terrible — was disturbing the valley of Nemea.
(i) monsters (ii) beasts (iii) Hydra (iv) lion
(g) Eurystheus — Hercules to slay the beast (lion).
(i) commanded (ii) requested (iii) hoped (iv) wished
(h) The word 'monster' refers to —.
(i) a gigantic building (ii) a gigantic creature (iii) a big beast (iv) a gigantic statue
(i) The word 'immortal' is synonymous to —.
(i) great (ii) undying (iii) stable (iv) unshakable
(j) The middle head of Hydra was —.
(i) big (ii) everlasting (iii) bald (iv) transitory
(k) Hydra was a —.
(i) beast (ii) rock (iii) monster (iv) a city
(l) Hercules managed to — the animal lion.
(i) slay (ii) capture (iii) bind (iv) prey
(m) Hercules returned to Mycenae carrying the dead lion on his —.
(i) hands (ii) head (iii) shoulders (iv) back
(n) Who was Jupiter?
(i) king of Gods (ii) one of the gods
(iii) king of Greek (iv) a man of supernatural power
(o) 'In burning all the heads of the Hydra' means —.
(i) destroying all the heads (ii) removing all the heads
(iii) cutting all the heads (iv) dividing all the heads
(p) The synonym of the word 'erupt' in the text is —.
(i) burn (ii) burst (iii) break (iv) expand
(q) — was the devoted servant of Hercules.
(i) Hydra (ii) Eurystheus (iii) Iolaus (iv) Jupiter
(r) Hercules decided to bury the ninth head of Hydra under a —.
(i) tree (ii) the sky (iii) huge rock (iv) the roof
(s) The best synonym of 'acquire' is —.
(i) to gain anything (ii) to lose anything (iii) to give anything (iv) to sustain anything
(t) Hercules began to acquire the reputation of a hero because of his immense —.
(i) power (ii) energy (iii) virtue (iv) wisdom
(u) The word 'undergo' means —.
(i) suffer (ii) go through (iii) endure (iv) undertake
(v) Hercules killed the Nemean lion with his —.
(i) spear (ii) hands (iii) club (iv) sword
(w) What does the word 'immense' mean?
(i) tiny (ii) emigrant (iii) minute (iv) enormous
(x) "he returned to Mycenae carrying the dead lion on his shoulders, a sight that terrified the king"— what does it imply?
(i) The king was a coward (ii) The king was weak
(iii) The king was astonished to see Hercules' power (iv) None of those
(y) What does the phrase 'throughout the world' mean?
(i) beside the world (ii) around the world (iii) outside the world (iv) inside the world
(z) What does the word 'club' refer to?
(i) organization (ii) society (iii) community (iv) a weapon
(aa) The word 'relying' in the text means—.
(i) depending on (ii) exposure to (iii) relating to (iv) accepting
(bb) The word 'ravaging' in the text means—.
(i) pulling (ii) constructing (iii) destroying (iv) rebuilding
(cc) Jupiter belonged to which religion?
(i) Muslims (ii) Christians (iii) Jews (iv) Pagans
(dd) Hercules was able to kill the lion because of his —.
(i) bravery (ii) heroism (iii) fame and name (iv) supernatural power
(ee) The king was terrified to see Hercules' —.
(i) victory (ii) immense strength (iii) popularity (iv) return
(ff) Hercules buried the middle head of Hydra under a heavy rock so that —.
(i) it might regenerate (ii) it might not come out (iii) it might die (iv) it might rot
Answer (A):
(a) (ii) Hercules was compelled to (b) (iv) to kill (c) (i) some hard tasks (d) (iv) trick (e) (ii) fruitless (f) (iv) lion (g) (i) commanded (h) (ii) a gigantic creature (i) (ii) undying (j) (ii) ever lasting (k) (iii) monster (l) (i) slay (m) (iii) shoulders (n) (i) king of Gods (o) (i) destroying all the heads (p) (ii) burst (q) (iii) Iolaus (r) (iii) huge rock (s) (i) to gain anything (t) (i) power (u) (iii) endure (v) (ii) hands (w) (iv) enormous (x) (iii) The king was astonished to see Hercules' power (y) (ii) around the world (z) (iv) a weapon (aa) (i) depending on (bb) (iii) destroying (cc) (iv) Pagans (dd) (i) bravery (ee) (ii) immense strength (ff) (ii) it might not come out
B. Answer the following questions. 2☓5 = 10
(a) What do you know about Hercules?
(b) What is the 'twelve labours of Hercules'?
(c) Why did Eurystheus order Hercules to slay the beast (lion)?
(d) How did Hercules succeed to slay the beast?
(e) What terrified the king?
❤ Extra Questions:
(f) What do you know about the next task/ second task of Hercules?
(g) What do you know about Hydra and his head?
(h) What had happened while Hercules knocked off Hydra's head?
(i) Who helped him in burning all the heads of Hydra and what did Hercules do to the ninth head?
(j) What brought Hercules a recognition as a hero possessing immense strength throughout the world?
(k) Describe in your own words the 'first labour' of Hercules.
(l) How was Hercules's 'second labour' different from the first one?
(m) What are some of the qualities that made Hercules succeed in impossible tasks?
(n) Why did Hercules bury the ninth head of Hydra?
(o) What reasons can you find for calling Hercules a hero?
(p) How did Hercules beat the Hydra?
(q) How did Hercules acquire the reputation of a hero of immense strength?
(r) Why was Hercules so strong?
(s) How did Hercules kill the lion?
(t) What are "the twelve labours of Hercules"?
(u) Why did king Eurystheus order Hercules to do so impossible tasks?
(v) Why did Hercules stop cutting Hydra's heads?
Answer (B):
(a) Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. He was a great hero in Greek mythology because of his immense strength.
(b) The 'twelve labours of Hercules' was the difficult task what Hercules was compelled to do by Eurystheus and his cousin.
(c) Eurystheus ordered Hercules to slay the beast (lion) and bring him his skin because the terrible lion was disturbing the valley of Nemea.
(d) At first, Hercules tried to slay the beast with his club and arrows but failed. Then he used his hands and slain the animal on his own, relying entirely on his immense strength.
(e) Hercules had such immense power that he managed to kill the terrible lion with his own hands. Then he brought the dead lion to the king carrying on his shoulders. That sight terrified the king.
(f) Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae, commanded Hercules to do some difficult tasks. The second of them was to slay a monster called Hydra which was ravaging the country of Argos. Hercules burnt all the heads of Hydra and burried the immortal one.
(g) Hydra was a monster and Hercules was ordered to slay it. The Hydra had nine heads and the middle one was said to be immortal. When Hercules knocked off Hydra's head, two new heads erupted in its place.
(h) While Hercules knocked off Hydra's head, two new ones erupted in its place.
(i) Hercules's devoted servent Iolaus helped him in burning all the heads of the Hydra. Hercules decided to bury the ninth head of Hydra under a huge rock.
(j) Hercules triumphed everytime completing many impossible tasks given by Eurystheus. That brought Hercules a recognition as a hero possessing immense strength throughout the world.
(k) In his first labour, Hercules killed a terrible lion. After failing to kill it with weapons, he killed it with his hands.
(l) In his first labour, Hercules did not take any other's help. But in his second task his devoted servant Iolaus helped him to burn the heads of Hydra. That was the difference betwen his two 'labours'.
(m) Hercules had strength and courage that made him succeed.
(n) Hercules could not burn Hydra's ninth head as it was immortal, so he buried it so that it could not make harm any more.
(o) Hercules had extraordinary strength, courage and determination to succeed in a heroic mission. So he should be called a hero.
(p) Hercules beat the Hydra by burning all the eight heads except the middle and immortal one which he buried under a huge rock.
(q) Hercules acquired the reputation of a hero of immense strength through out the world by dint of his great strength and with the help and advice of his beloved servant Iolaus.
(r) Hercules was the son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Being the son of a god of Greek mythology, he was so strong.
(s) At first, Hercules tried to kill the lion with his club and arrows but failed. Then he decided to use his hands and succeeded to kill the animal relying entirely on his own immense strength.
(t) "The twelve labours of Hercules" are the difficult tasks which were imposed on Hercules by Eurystheus, the king of Mycenae and his cousin.
(u) King Eurystheus ordered Hercules to do so impossible tasks to save his kingdom from some mighty and terrible beasts which were destroying his kingdom.
(v) Whenever Hercules cut a head of Hydra, two new ones erupted in its place. So he stopped cutting Hydra's heads.
Answer:
Bangla Translation
বাংলা অনুবাদঃ
ব্রিটিশ-বাংলাদেশি যারা ব্রিটিশ-বাঙালি নামেও পরিচিত তারা বাংলাদেশি অভিবাসীদের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ অংশ অথবা ঐ সকল বাংলাদেশি বংশোদ্ভূত যারা বিদেশে বসবাস করছে। প্রায় অর্ধেক ব্রিটিশ-বাংলাদেশি লন্ডনে বাস করে, বিশেষ করে পূর্ব লন্ডনের বিশাল এলাকায় যেখানে টাওয়ার হ্যামলেট সর্বাধিক নজরকাড়া।
আজ একজন পর্যটক যিনি লন্ডনে নতুন, ভালোভাবে বাংলা টাউন ভ্রমণের সিদ্ধান্ত নিতে পারেন যা শহরের শেষ পূর্ব প্রান্তে অবস্থিত। চমৎকার টিউব স্টেশনের পরে তাকে কিছু চিহ্ন অনুসরণ করতে হতে পারে যা মণিকা আলীর সবচেয়ে বেশি বিক্রিত উপন্যাস থেকে কুখ্যাতি অর্জনকারী একটি রাস্তা ব্রিক লেনকে নির্দেশ করে, যা দিয়ে চলচিত্রও তৈরি হয়েছিল। দুপুরের খাবারের জন্য সেখানে অবস্থিত বাংলাদেশি অনেক রেস্তোরাঁ থেকে তাকে একটি বেছে নিতে হতে পারে। রাস্তামুখী একটি টেবিলে বসে জানালা দিয়ে সে দেখতে পারে রাস্তার নামফলকগুলো শুধু ইংরেজিতে নয় বরং একই সাথে বাংলায়। রাস্তার ল্যাম্পপোস্টগুলো সবুজ লাল বাংলাদেশের পতাকার রং। বস্তুত সব জায়গায় সে দেখে বাংলাদেশি দৃশ্যমান নির্দেশিকা এবং বিশেষ করে এখানে সিলেটিদের উপস্থিতি। দোকানের সম্মুখভাগ বিজ্ঞাপন দেয় লন্ডন থেকে সিলেট যাত্রার বাংলাদেশ বিমানে (বাংলাদেশের জাতীয় এয়ার লাইন) এবং অন্যটি হলো এয়ার সিলেট- একটি ব্যক্তিমালিকানাধীন এয়ার লাইন কোম্পানী যা গঠিত হয়েছে ব্রিটিশ বাংলাদেশিদের দ্বারা। এখানে রয়েছে সোনালী ব্যাংকের নামফলক যা বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রায়ত্ত বাণিজ্যিক ব্যাংক। এখানে রয়েছে হিমায়িত মাছের দোকান যা সিলেটের সুরমা নদী থেকে আনা। সে দেখেছে দুজন প্রবীণ ধূসর লম্বা দাড়িওয়ালা লোককে যারা দোকানে ঢুকছে; তারা চাদর ও পায়জামা এবং মাথায় সাদা টুপি পরিহিত। সে দেখতে পাচ্ছে একদল চটপটে ও বাকপটু কিশোরী রাস্তা দিয়ে হেঁটে যাচ্ছে। একজন কালো বোরখা পরিহিতা এবং অন্যরা জিনস এবং লম্বা শার্ট সহ উজ্জ্বল চিক্চিকেহিজাব তাদের মাথায়। লন্ডন গাইড বুকে চোখ বুলিয়ে সে বাংলা টাউনে প্রতিবেশীর সম্পর্কে দেখে নিল।
২০০১ সালে ব্রিটিশ বাংলাদেশি নেতারা ২য় প্রজন্মের কর্মীদের নিয়ে টাওয়ার হ্যামলেট কাউন্সিলের মাধ্যমে ব্রিকলেন ও তার পার্শ্ববর্তী এলাকার জন্য বাংলাটাউন এর সরকারি মর্যাদা অর্জনে একটি সফল প্রচেষ্টা পরিচালনা করেন। রাস্তার নামফলক ও বিজ্ঞাপন প্রদর্শনের মাধ্যমে আশা ছিল এ এলাকাটি একটি ব্যতিক্রমি সাংস্কৃতিক পরিচিতির অধিকারী হবে যা পর্যটকদের নিকট আকর্ষণীয় হবে এবং এখানে অবস্থিত বাংলাদেশি ব্যবসার জন্য সুবিধাজনক হবে। বস্তুতঃ এ এলাকায় বাংলাদেশি বিখ্যাত স্থাপনা রয়েছে যেমন আলতাব আলী পার্ক, কবি নজরুল কালচারাল সেন্টার এবং শহিদ মিনার। বাংলাটাউন দাপ্তরিক পদবি নিয়ে এ বিখ্যাত স্থাপনাটি যথার্থভাবেই ব্রিটিশ বাংলাদেশিদের গৌরব। এগুলো ব্রিটেনে তাদের কষ্টার্জিত উপস্থিতি আর রাজনৈতিক কণ্ঠস্বরকে প্রকাশ করে।
Ad
Ad
Passage-2
1. Read the passage and answer the questions following it
Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to a multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world. Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela never lost his resolve to fight for his people’s emancipation. He was determined to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war. His prestige and charisma helped him win the support of the world. ‘I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestation. I have fought it all during my life; I will fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days,’ Mandela said in his acceptance speech on becoming South Africa’s first black president in 1994,… ‘The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.’ ‘We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation.’ In 1993, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he shared with F.W, de Klerk, the white African leader who had freed him from prison three years earlier and negotiated the end of apartheid.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives 5
a) What could be the closest meaning for ‘shackles of apartheid’ in the first paragraph?
i. Tentacles of domination ii. Bondages of slavery
iii. Manacles of racial discrimination iv. Chains of exploitation
b) The word ‘reconciliation’ in the first paragraph refers to
i. memorization ii. recall iii. reuniting iv. Change
c) ‘Resolve’ in the second paragraph could be replaced by
i. dissolve ii. determination iii. hesitation iv. Solution
d) Mandela spent around years behind the bars.
i. twenty ii. thirty iii. forty iv. Fifty
e) The best synonym of ‘chasm’ is
i. exposition ii. rift iii. harmony iv. union.
B. Answer the following questions 10
a) What, according to text, is apartheid?
b) Mention three great achievements in Mandela's life.
c) Why did Mandela want to break the manacles of apartheid?
d) What does the expression ‘I have fought it all during my life; I will fight it now, and I will do so until
the end of my days’ mean?
e) Do you find any similarity between Mandela and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman? If any, mention. Ans. to the Ques. No. Set-1
1A. Ans.:
a. iii. Manacles of racial discrimination, b. iii. reuniting, c. ii.determination, d. ii. thirty, e. ii. rift,
1B. Ans.:
a. According to text apartheid means the racial segregation prevailing in South Africa. It means the domination of the white over the black people of South Africa. Nelson Mandela is famous for breaking the manacles of apartheid from South Africa.
b. Though Mandela had to suffer a lot, his achievements were noteworthy. His frist achievement was to break the manacles of apartheid. His second achievement was to become the first black president of South Africa. His third achievement was to win the Nobel Prize.
c. Mandela wanted to break the manacles of apartheid because this very evil practice was responsible for the racial bigotry in South Africa. The manacles of apartheid confined the black people of South Africa inside the four walls of oppression.
d. This very statement is the expression of Mandela's firm resolution to fight against racial bigotry. Mandela had an absolute abhorrence towards race discrimination. He fought against it and was ready to fight against till his last breath.
e. I see some similarities between Nelson Mandela and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fought respective countries. Finally, Mandela fought against the white rulers of his country. In the same way, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman fought against the Pakistani rulers. Then both of them were undisputable a presidents in their respective countries. Finally, both of them were would famous leaders.
Passage-3
3. Read the passage below and answer the questions following it.
Beauty is easy to appreciate but difficult to define. As we look around, we discover beauty in pleasurable objects and sights – in nature, in the laughter of children, in the kindness of strangers. But asked to define, we run into difficulties. Does beauty have an independent objective identity? Is it universal, or is it dependent on our sense perceptions? Does it lie in the eye of the beholder? -we ask ourselves. A further difficulty arises when beauty manifests itself not only by its presence, but by its absence as well, as when we are repulsed by ugliness and desire beauty. But then ugliness has as much a place in our lives as beauty, or may be more-as when there is widespread hunger and injustice in a society. Philosophers have told us that beauty is an important part of life, but isn’t ugliness a part of life too? And if art has beauty as an important ingredient, can it confine itself only to a projection of beauty? Can art ignore what is not beautiful?
Poets and artists have provided an answer by incorporating both into their work. In doing so, they have often tied beauty to truth and justice, so that what is not beautiful assumes a tolerable proportion as something that represents some truth about life. John Keats, the romantic poet, wrote in his celebrated ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ by which he means that truth, even if it’s not pleasant, becomes beautiful at a higher level. Similarly, what is beautiful forever remains true. Another meaning, in the context of the Grecian Urn-an art object-is that truth is a condition of art.
Poetry in every language celebrates beauty and truth. So does art. Here are two poems from two different times that present some enduring ideas about beauty and truth. The poems are by Lord Byron (1788-1824), an English poet of the Romantic tradition, and Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), an American poet who wrote about the human scene, love and death.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. 1´5=5
(a) Which of the following has the closest meaning of the word “pleasurable”?
(i) dissatisfaction (ii) pain (iii) offend (iv) delightful
(b) What is the closest meaning of the word “incorporate”?
(i) embody (ii) corporation (iii) incorporeal (iv) intangible
(c) ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is written by ——-.
(i) Lord Byron (ii) John Keats (iii) Wordsworth (iv) PB Shelly
(d) What does the word ‘tolerable’ mean?
(i) not so good (ii) bad (iii) moderately good (iv) tolerant
(e) Lord Byron is a ——– poet?
(i) Revolutionary (ii) Romantic (iii) Classical (iv) Modern
Answer the following questions. 2´5=10
(a) How can we discover beauty in our surroundings?
(b) How much place does ugliness have in our life?
(c) What is the name of the poet of “Ode and a Grecian Urn”?
(d) Do you get any definition of beauty from the poem ‘She Walks in Beauty’?
(e) What was Byron’s intention?
Comments