Question 1.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (Delhi, All India
2009)

Effective speaking depends on effective listening. It takes energy to concentrate on

hearing and to concentrate on understanding what has been heard. Incompetent
listeners fail in a number of ways. First, they may drift. Their attention drifts from
what the speaker is saying. Second, they may counter. They find counter-arguments
to whatever a speaker may be saying. Third, they compete. Then, they filter. They
exclude from their understanding those parts of the message which do not readily fit
with their own frame of reference. Finally, they react. They let personal feelings
about a speaker or subject override the significance of the message which is being
sent.

What can a listener do to be more effective? The first key to effective listening is the
art of concentration. If a listener positively wishes to concentrate on receiving a
message his chances of success are high.

It may need determination. Some speakers are difficult to follow, either because of
voice problems or because of the form in which they send a message. There is then
a particular need for the determination of a listener to concentrate on what is being
said.

Concentration is helped by alertness. Mental alertness is helped by physical

alertness. It is not simply physical fitness, but also positioning of the body, the limbs
and the head. Some people also find it helpful to their concentration if they hold the
head slightly to one side. One useful way for achieving this is intensive note-taking,
by trying to capture the critical headings and sub-headings the speaker is referring
to.

Note-taking has been recommended as an aid to the listener. It also helps the
speaker. It gives him confidence when he sees that listeners are sufficiently
interested to take notes; the patterns of eye-contact when the note-taker looks up
can be very positive; and the speaker’s timing is aided-he can see when a note-taker
is writing hard and can then make effective use of pauses.

Posture too is important. Consider the impact made by a less competent listener who
pushes his chair backwards and slouches. An upright posture helps a listener’s
concentration. At the same time it is seen by the speaker to be a positive feature
amongst his listeners. Effective listening skills have an impact on both the listener
and the speaker.
Question 2.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (Delhi, All India
2010 )

Despite all the research every one of us catches cold and most of us catch it
frequently. Our failure to control one of the commonest of all ailments sometimes
seems ridiculous. Medical science regularly practises transplant surgery and has rid
whole countries of such killing diseases as Typhus and the Plague. But the problem
of common cold is unusually difficult and much has yet to be done to solve it. It is
known that a cold is caused by one of a number of viral infections that affect the
lining of the nose and other passages leading to the lungs but the confusing variety
of viruses makes study and remedy very difficult. It was shown in 1960 that many
typical colds in adults are caused by one or the other of a family of viruses known as
rhinoviruses, yet there still remain many colds for which no virus has as yet been
isolated.

There is also the difficulty that because they are so much smaller than the bacteria
which cause many other infections, viruses cannot be seen with ordinary
microscopes. Nor can they be cultivated easily in the bacteriologist’s laboratory,
since they only grow within the living cells of animals or plants. An important recent
step forward, however, is the development of the technique of tissue culture, in
which bits of animal tissue are enabled to go on living and to multiply independently
of the body. This has greatly aided virus research and has led to the discovery of a
large number of viruses. Their existence had previously been not only unknown but
even unsuspected.

The fact that we can catch a cold repeatedly creates another difficulty. Usually, a
virus strikes only once and leaves the victim immune to further attacks. Still, we do
not gain immunity from colds. Why? It may possibly be due to the fact that while
other viruses get into the bloodstream where anti-bodies can oppose them, the
viruses causing cold attack cells only on the surface. Or it may be that immunity from
one of the many different viruses does not guarantee protection from all the others. It
seems, therefore, that we are likely to have to suffer colds for some time yet.
Question 3.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (Delhi, All India
2011 )

There is nothing more frustrating than when you sit down at your table to study with
the most sincere of intentions and instead of being able to finish the task at hand,
you find your thoughts wandering. However, there are certain techniques that you
can use to enhance your concentration. “Your concentration level depends on a
number of factors,” says Samuel Ghosh, a social counsellor. “In order to develop
your concentration span, it is necessary to examine various 2 facets of your physical
and internal environment,” she adds.

To begin with one should attempt to create the physical environment that is
conducive to focussed thought. Whether it is the radio, TV or your noisy neighbours,
identify the factors that make it difficult for you to focus. For instance, if you live in a
very noisy neighbourhood, you could try to plan your study hours in a nearby library.

She disagrees with the notion that people can concentrate or study in an
environment with distractions like a loud television, blaring music etc. “If you are
distracted when you are attempting to focus, your attention and retention powers do
not work at optimum levels,” cautions Ghosh. “Not more than two of your senses
should be activated at the same time,” she adds. What that means is that music that
sets your feet tapping is not the ideal accompaniment to your books.

Also do not place your study table or desk in front of a window. “While there is no
cure for a mind that wants to wander, one
should try and provide as little stimulus as possible. Looking out of a window when
you are trying to concentrate will invariably send your mind on a tangent,” says
Ghosh.

The second important thing, she says, is to establish goals for oneself instead of
setting a general target and then trying to accomplish what you can in a haphazard
fashion. It is very important to decide what you have to finish in a given span of time.
The human mind recognizes fixed goals and targets and appreciates schedules
more than random thoughts. Once your thoughts and goals are in line, a focussed
system will follow.

She recommends that you divide your schedule into study and recreation hours.
When you study, choose a mix of subjects that you enjoy and dislike and save the
former for the last so that you have something to look forward to. For instance, if you
enjoy verbal skill tests more than mathematical problems, then finish Maths first. Not
only will you find yourself working harder, you will have a sense of achievement
when you wind up.

Try not to sit for more than 40 minutes at a stretch. Take a very short break to make
a cup of tea or listen to a song and sit down again. Under no circumstances, should
one sit for more than one and a half hours. Short breaks build your concentration
and refresh your mind. However, be careful not to overdo the relaxation. It may have
undesired effects.

More than anything else, do not get disheartened. Concentration is merely a matter
of disciplining the mind. It comes with practice and patience and does not take very
long to become a habit for life.
Question 4.
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (Delhi, All India
2012)

Research has shown that the human mind can process words at the rate of about
500 per minute, whereas a speaker speaks at the rate of about 150 words a minute.
The difference between the two at 350 is quite large.

So a speaker must make every effort to retain the attention of the audience and the
listener should also be careful not to let his mind wander. Good communication calls
for good listening skills. A good speaker must necessarily be a good listener.

Listening starts with hearing but goes beyond. Hearing, in other words is necessary
but is not a sufficient condition for listening. Listening involves hearing with attention.
Listening is a process that calls for concentration. While, listening, one should also
be observant. In other words, listening has to do with the ears, as well as with the
eyes and the mind. Listening is to be understood as the total process that involves
hearing with attention, being observant and making interpretations. Good
communication is essentially an interactive process. It calls for participation and
involvement. It is quite often a dialogue rather than a monologue. It is necessary to
be interested and also show or make it abundantly clear that one is interested in
knowing what the other person has to say.

Good listening is an art that can be cultivated. It relates to skills that can be
developed. A good listener knows the art of getting much more than what the
speaker is trying to convey. He knows how to prompt, persuade but not to cut off or
interrupt what the other person has to say. At times the speaker may or may not be
coherent, articulate and well organised in his thoughts and expressions. He may
have it in his mind and yet he may fail to marshal the right words while
communicating his thought.

Nevertheless, a good listener puts him at ease, helps him articulate and facilitates
him to get across the message that he wants to convey. For listening to be effective,
it is also necessary that barriers to listening are removed. Such barriers can be both
physical and psychological. Physical barriers generally relate to hindrances to proper
hearing whereas psychological barriers are more fundamental and relate to the
interpretation and evaluation of the speaker and the message.