Read the text and answer the questions below it.
21 February is a memorable day in our national history. We observe the day every year as international mother language day. The day is a national holiday.
On this day, we pay tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives to establish Bangla as a state language in undivided Pakistan in 1952. The struggle to achieve our language rights is known as the language movement.
The seed of the language movement was sown on 21 march 1948 when Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Governor General of Pakistan, declared in a public meeting in Dhaka that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan. The declaration raised a storm of protest in the eastern part of the country. The protest continued nonstop, gathering movement day by day. It turn into a movement and reached its climax in 1952. The government outlawed all sorts of public meetings and rallies to stop it. The student of Dhaka University defied the law and brought out a peaceful protest procession on 21 February 1952. When the procession reached near Dhaka Medical College, the police opened fire on the students, killing Salam, Rafique, Barkat and Jabbar. As a result, there were mass protests all over the country and the government had to declare Bangla as a state language. This kindled the sparks of independence movement of Bangladesh.
1. Guess the meaning of the following words used in the text above. 1×7=7
i) The martyrs of 21 February laid down lives to ¾ .
a) establish Bangla as a state language
b) establish Urdu as a state language
c) establish their political right
d) free the country from Pakistan
ii) What does the expression a ‘storm of protest’ reveal?
a) Moderate opposition b) Intense opposotion
c) Moderate demand d) Intense contest
iii) The word ‘outlaws’ refers to ¾ .
a) banned b) permitted c) enforced d) enacted
iv) The language movement inflamed the spark of ¾ .
a) mass movement b) six point launch movement
c) general election in 1970
d) independence movement
v) Which of the words is most relevant to the word ‘enkindled’ light of the passage?
a) lit b) kind c) spindle d) scandal
vi) Which of the words is closest to the word ‘climax’ in the passage?
a) bade b) peak c) track d) tide
vii) ‘Pay tribute to’ is a -----------.
a) noun phrase b) adjective c) verbal phrase
d) adverbial phrase
2. Answer the following questions. 2×5=10
Why is 21 February a memorable day in our national history?
How was the protest against the declaration of Mohammad Ali Jinnah?
Why did the government prohibit all sorts of public meetings and rallies?
Why was the government bound to declare Bengali as a state language?
‘The seed of independence was sown in 21 February, 1952.’ Do you agree with the comment? If yes, write the reason.
3. Read the following text and fill each gap with a suitable word based on the information of the text. 1×5=5
We live in society. And every society needs good citizens for its betterment. To be a good citizen, we have to prepare ourselves to do right works in society. Before discharging our duties towards society, we have to acquire knowledge. Today’s society is based on knowledge. We must have knowledge about our society, country and as a whole of the world. Then we have to gain the capability of applying our knowledge to do things properly. After acquiring the skills, we have to blend them into our behavior and the outcome will change our attitudes towards other people or things.
Today we live in knowledge (a) ¾ society. The other thing one (b) ¾ in society is skill. It should be applied for (c) ¾ purposes. Finally, knowing and doing things (d) ¾ about a change in a person’s behavior. This (e) ¾ change makes a man understand and feel others.
Answers
1.
(i) (a) establish Bangla as a state language
(ii) (b) Intense opposotion
(iii) (a) banned
(iv) (d) Independence movement
(v) (a) lit
(vi) (b) peak
(vii) (c) verbal phrase
2.
a) 21 February is a memorable day in our national history because on this day, we pay tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives to establish Bangla as a state language in undivided Pakistan in 1952.
b) The declaration of Mohammad Ali Jinnah raised a storm of protest in the eastern part of the country. This protest continued non-stop gathering momentum day by day. Consequently, this gathering turned into a movement and reached its climax in 1952.
c) The government prohibited all sorts of public meetings and rallies to stop mass movement against the declaration of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
d) The government was bound to declare Bengali as a state language because mass protest against the declaration of Mohammad Ali Jinnah was spreading all over the country speedily.
e) Yes, I agree with the comment mentioned in the question because it was exactly known to all that Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s declaration on 21 March 1948 was ‘Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan’. Later the declaration raised a storm of protest in the eastern part of the country. And this protest turned into a mass movement and reached its climax in 1952. At last, on the climax of protest, the government was bound to declare Bangla as a state language. So, it can be said that the seed of the independence was sown on 21 February in 1952.
3. (a) based; (b) acquires/gains/ needs; (c) various; (d) bring; (e) social/knowledgeable.
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