1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B :–– Coleridge’s poem a ballad, narrate the harrowing sea-voyage of an old mariner who at one point of his journey did not have any water to drink because of a curse. Cursed or not, we know how important drinking water is in our life.We know we cannot survive without it. In fact two-third of our body is made up of water. Not for nothing it is said that the other name of water is life. Is there a crisis in our time with regard to access to clean drinking water? The United Nations in a meeting on the eve of the new millennium identified the drinking water problem as one of the challenges for the future. But do we need to worry about the problem as ours is a land of rivers and we have plenty of rainfall? Besides, we have a sea in our backyard too. One of the sources of water in our country is the rivers. Rivers are everywhere in our life, literature, economy and culture. But are the rivers in good shape? Unfortunately, they are not. A few are already dead and several are going through the pangs of death. The river Buriganga is an example of a dying river. A report published in the Daily Sun describes what has happened to the river Buriganga and why. Its water is polluted and a perpetual stench fills the air around it. But that is not what it was like before. \\ \boxed{\mathbf{~A~}} Choose the correct answer from the alternatives. i. What could be the closest meaning for ‘ballad’ in the first paragraph? (a) Epical poem (b) Mock-epical song (c) Parody (d) Simple narrative poem \\ ii. The word ‘curse’ in the first paragraph refers to (a) discharge (b) devilish act (c) divine decree of destruction (d) angel’s bounty \\ iii. ‘Survive’ in the first paragraph could be best replaced by----- (a) exist (b) attend (c) appear (d) revive \\ iv. The old mariner had a very — sea-voyage. (a) pleasant (b) agonizing (c) wonderful (d) memorable \\ v. The best synonym of ‘perpetual’ is – (a) continuous (b) stable (c) entire (d) temporary \\ \boxed{\mathbf{~B~}} Answer the following questions. (a) What, according to you, are the significance of water? (b) Why have the United Nations identified drinking water problem as a challenge? (c) Narrate the conditions of the rivers in Bangladesh in your own words. (d) What has been depicted in a report published in the Daily Sun? (e) Do you think the Buriganga river is dying? If so, why?