Q. Read the following passage carefully.
(1) Sophie Germain was a mathematical genius who lived between 1776 and 1831. She was born in France. Her father, Ambroze Franscois, was a silk merchant. He and her mother, Marie Germain, were intellectuals who were active in the French Revolution.
(2) At the time, in France, daughters of wealthy people were given private tution, in reading and writing, but not maths, which they were never expected to use. Only boys went to school.
(3) Sophie spent a lot of time in her father's library, reading. There she came across a story about Archimedes, an ancient scientist, who was killed by the Romans because he was so engrossed in working out a math problem that he didn't notice their arrival. What was it about mathematics that could have so captivated a man's mind? Sophie wondered. To find out, she began to read books on mathematics.
(4) Her interest frightened her parents. They worried that it was harmful for a female to be engrossed in such a subject and tried to discourage her by putting out the fire when they went to bed, and taking away all the candles in her room to prevent her from reading after bedtime. Sophie didn't argue with parents, but she did hide candles away, and, after her parents were sound asleep, she would get up, wrap herself in a blanket, and, work on math problems in candlelight. One morning, her parents discovered their daughter's secret. She had fallen asleep at her desk. It had been so cold that the ink in her bottle had frozen!
(5) Realising that she wasn't going to give up, her parent reluctantly agreed to allow her to study on her own. However, they did not actively help by hiring tutors, and kept hoping that she would outgrow her interest. Finally, understanding that this would never happen, her mother secretly provided Sophie with financial support to study maths. [Dr. T. V. Padma (The Hindu)]
Questions
(I) On the basis of your reading of the passage, complete the following sentences as briefly as possible. Write the answers in the space provided.
(a) During Sophie's time, French daughters were not allowed to study maths because .... .
(b) Sophie's interest in mathematics frightened her parents because .............. .
(c) Two things Sophie's parents did to prevent her from reading after bedtime were: (i)......... and (ii) ......... .
(d) However, Sophie managed to continue to work on mathematics by: (i) .......... and (ii) ....... .
(e) Sophie's parents discovered her secret one day when ............. .
(f) Sophie's parents finally agreed to allow her to study mathematics because ................ .
(g) '.... this would never happen.' Here 'this' refers to ........... .
(h) Sophie's mother eventually helped her to study mathematics by .......... .
(II) Find words from passage which mean the same as the following from the paragraphs indicated. Write the answers in the space provided.
(a) Well educated persons (paragraph 1)
(b) charmed; attracted (paragraph 3)
Answers
(I)
(a) they were never expected to use it. (para 2)
(b) they worried that it was harmful for a female to be engrossed in such a subject. (para 4)
(c) (i) putting out the fire when they went to bed.
(ii) taking away all the candles from her room. (para 4)
(d) (i) by hiding candles
(ii) by wrapping herself in a blanket.(para 4)
(e) she had fallen asleep at her desk (para 4)
(f) she wasn't going to give up (para 5)
(g) outgrow her interest (para 5)
(h) secretly providing financial help to her (para 5)
(II)
(a) Intellectuals
(b) captivated
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