Letter to editor appealing to light a candle and lamp of hope for nine minutes.

 Q. You are Yaksh/ Yakshya. You have heard Prime Minister's appeal to the Indian citizens to light lamp or a candle at 9:00 p.m. after switching off the lights as an expression of hope and solidarity (unity) against India's corona virus fight. He said that the gesture world would make us feel that we were not alone but together in this fight against COVID-19. Write a letter of a national daily appealing one and all to rise above petty politics, religion and caste and light a candle and lamp of hope for nine minutes on 5th April 2020.

61, Kirti Nagar

Yamuna Nagar

Jan. 22, 20xx

The Editor
The Hindustan Times
New Delhi

Sir, 

Subject: Appeal to light a candle and                   lamp of hope for nine minutes

Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to appeal to one and all to light a candle and lamp of hope for nine minutes.

The country is facing severe pandemic, covid-19 now a days. It is transmitting from one person to another at a very high rate. People are getting sick and die. Till now, there is no vaccine and medicine of this virus all over the world. Scientists, doctors, WHO, researchers are continuously performing their experiments to invent medicine and vaccine of this fatal disease.

The authorities are doing their best. Our PM is also continuously making the attempts to eradicate this virus from the country. He said that the gesture world would make us feel that we are not alone but together in this fight against COVID-19. He asked to light candles, lamps and hold mobile torches for nine minutes at 9:00 P.M.

This fatal disease cannot be eradicated by these people alone. PM made it clear that corona virus can be combated with the cooperation of people. The general public should come forward. Through this column, I make an appeal to one and all to rise above petty politics, religion and caste and light a candle and lamp of hope for nine minutes on 5th April 2020 as an expression of hope and solidarity against India's corona virus fight.

Yours truly

Yaksh

Unseen passage: Valentine's day.

 Q.  Read the following passage carefully:

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 every year to honour St.Valentine. The association of St.Valaentine’s Day with love and courtship rose from coincidence of the date with the Roman festival of Lupercalia. The festival is believed to have been in honour of Faunus, the Roman God of flocks and fertility. Also known as Lupercus, he was worshipped in a temple on Palatine Hill, and the festival was celebrated on February 14. The festival survived until the 5th century A.D. The Christian church ended the feast of Lupercalia, transforming it into the feast of St. Valentine. The name St. Valentine is given to two legendary Christian martyrs whose feasts were formerly observed on February 14. One was a Roman priest martyred in 269 A.D. The second was a Bishop of Terni martyred in Rome. In 1969, the feast day was dropped from the Vatican calendar. The great popularity of greeting cards, however, began in 19th Century England and America with cheap, efficient,colour printing methods and low postage rates. By the 1880s there were hundreds of varieties of mass-printed Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine cards. But it was Esther Howland, a 19-year-old American girl, who turned it into a global event. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1828, she was the youngest of three children. She recognised the potential in mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards, when she received a fancy card from her father’s friend. She felt she could make a better one. She designed her first card and showed it to her father, who was impressed. He encouraged her to make more cards.She sent several cards to her brother, when he went on a sales trip to New York. Much to hers surprise he returned with more than $5000 in orders. Faced with the huge order, she asked her three best friends to help her. A Valentine assembly line was born at the Howland home. Esther placed her first a in the local paper, The Daily Spy on February 5, 1850. Business grew rapidly and in 1879, The New England Valentine Company was born. She rented a building and moved the business. She published 31 pages of verse in a small book called The New England Valentine Co.’s Verse Book for 1879, and this book allowed the customer to choose the verse for the card.

Questions
(i) When is the Valentine’s Day celebrated and to honour whom?  1

(ii) What are the two emotions associated with the Valentine’s Day?    2

(iii) What were the two factors that contributed to the great popularity of greeting cards?        2

(iv) What ‘potential’ did Esther Howland recognise? 1

(v) How could a customer choose a verse for the card? 1

(vi) Write the synonym of ‘attractive’ from the passage? 1

ANSWERS
(i) 14th February - St. Valentine

(ii) love/courtship

(iii) efficient colour printing methods - low postage rates

(iv) mass production of Valentine’s Day cards

(v) from the book published by Esther

(vi) fancy

Staying fit- The need of the hour

 Q.  Modern lifestyle is sedentary and is giving rise to increasing cases of obesity amongst the youth. What aggravates the situation further is the careless attitude of the youth towards physical fitness. Write an article on "Staying Fit- The Need Of the hour".

STAYING FIT- THE NEED OF THE HOUR

Change is inevitable. Due to liberalisation and globalisation the world is changing very rapidly. Lifestyle and eating habits are changing continuously. Obesity has increased among youth in leaps and bounds. Staying fit is the need of the hour.

There are various ways and means to stay fit. Firstly, we should go for a morning walk which is very good for health. One get fresh oxygen at morning. It is rightly said that walking bare feet on grass is very helpful in improving eyesight. Also one get energy from the sun at morning, which is also a good source of vitamin c. 

Secondly, Exercising is necessary to stay fit to be survive according to modern lifestyle. Cycling, yoga, gymnastics etc. are some of the ways to remain fit and healthy. Good eating habits should be developed among the youth. Fresh and home cooked food should be consumed. 

Staying fit helps in promoting strong bones and muscles, maintaining healthy weight, reducing the risk of type-2 diabetes and cancer. It also plays a vital role in improving respiratory and cardiovascular health.

If our body is fit, we will be strong enough to cope with various illnesses and stress in our day-to-day life. So, one should always stay fit and happy.