1. Read the passage and answer the questions A and B :–– One of the sources of water in our country are 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 strench fills the air around it. But that is not what it was like before. The report says that the river has a glorious past. Once it was a tributary of the mighty Ganges and flowed into the Bay of Bengal through the river Dhaleswari. Gradually, it lost its link with the Ganges and got the name Buriganga. The Mughals marveled at the tide level of the Buriganga and founded their capital Jahangirnagar on its banks in 1610. The river supplied drinking water and supported trade and commerce. Jahangirnagar was renamed Dhaka which grew into a heavily populated city with a chronic shortage of space. The city paid back the bounty of the river by sucking life out of it! According to newspaper report, the Buriganga is dying because of pollution. Huge quantities of toxic chemicals and wastes from mills and factories, hospitals and clinics and households and other establishments are dumped into the river everyday. The city of Dhaka discharges about 4500 tons of solid waste everyday and most of it is directly released into the Buriganga. According to the department of the Environment (DoE) 20,000 tons of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials are released into the river everyday. Experts identified nine industrial areas in and around the capital city as the primary sources of river pollution: Tongi, Tejgaon, Hazaribagh, Tarabo, Narayanganj, Savar, Gazipur, Dhaka Export Processing Zone and Ghorashal. \boxed{\mathbf{~A~}} Choose the correct answer from the alternatives:– a. The word ‘tributary’ refers to — (i) fountain (ii) territory (iii) stream (iv) kingdom \\ b The Buriganga water fills the air with — (i) aroma (ii) fragrance (iii) stink (iv) scent \\ c. — founded their capital on the bank of the Buriganga. (i) The British (ii) The Mughals (iii) The Indians (iv) The Bangladeshi \\ d. Which of the following statement is false? (i) Buriganga is a river (ii) Our rivers are not in good shape (iii) Jahangirnagar was once called Dhaka (iv) Water is being contaminated \\ e. The best synonym of ‘toxic’ is — (i) Poisonous (ii) Hygienic (iii) Healthy (iv) Useful \\ \boxed{\mathbf{~B~}} Answer the following questions: (a) What do you think is the condition of the rivers of our country? (b) What is the commercial value of the river Buriganga? (c) Why is the Buriganga described as an example of a dying river? Give reasons for your answer. (d) How is the Buriganga polluted? (e) What did the Mughals marvel at? What was the outcome of it?