20. Reading Skills Comprehension: Air Pollution

Read the following passage carefully:                                                              

Air Pollution

India’s growing obsession with vehicles and failure to develop roads has increased air pollution in most cities, the country’s pollution watchdog has revealed. In the past two decades, the carrying capacity of roads increased by less than 2.5 per cent whereas the number of vehicles grew at an annual rate of over 10 per cent. In 2008, in India, 12 million vehicles were plying on the 3.5 million km road network.

 For people, its visible impact is the increased congestion on roads but what one didn’t see was the higher air pollution. “Vehicles in major cities estimated to account for 70 per cent of carbon monoxide, 50 per cent of hydrocarbons and 30 per cent of suspended particulate matter of the total pollution load of these cities,” the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said in its report on Wednesday. Four metros and cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kanpur are among the worst affected.

 The report said that the high concentration of pollutants like carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons cause lung cancer and asthma, besides routine breathing problems. The sudden jump in air pollution is a recent phenomenon, with the CPCB finding that half of the two-wheelers and cars running on Indian roads have been registered in the last five to seven years. The growth phenomenon in the case of heavy vehicles has been less impressive.

The new vehicles, however, are not the sole cause of air pollution. The CPCB said that vehicles older than 10 years caused 60 per cent of vehicular air pollution. And the reason is poor maintenance and no norms in India for the expiry of a vehicle, especially private ones. Adulteration of fuel has been stated as another reason for high vehicular pollution.

 So far, ironically, because of a lower level of income thresholds, the Indian market has favoured small cars and two-wheelers. As small engines use less fuel, the average fleet-wide fuel consumption is expected to be low. But already, with rising income levels, there is a steady shift towards bigger cars that use more fuel. Taking their place are biker cars in compact, mid-size and high-end segments. Therefore, standards can make a significant difference in India.

 

Answer the following questions:                                                                              

(a) What is the major cause of air pollution in India?

(b) What has increased more than the carrying capacity of the roads?

(c) What causes lung cancer and asthma?

(d) Why do Indians favour small cars and two-wheelers?

 Answer the following by selecting the most appropriate option: 

(e) Which word in the passage means ‘mixing with inferior material’?

 (i) concentration         (ii) adulteration          

(iii) phenomenon        (iv) congestion

(f) Which word in the passage means the same as ‘collection’?

(i) concentration          (ii) phenomenon         

(iii) pollution                 (iv) growth

(g) Find the word opposite in meaning to ‘achievement’.

(i) impact                       (ii) failure       

(iii) expiry                     (iv) difference           

(h) Find the word opposite in meaning to ‘production’.

(i) congestion               (ii) growth      

(iii) adulteration        (iv) consumption

 Answers:

(a) The major cause of air pollution in India is growing an obsession with vehicles and failure to develop roads.

(b) The number of vehicles, growing at the rate of over than the carrying capacity of the roads.

(c) Pollutants like carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons

(d) Indians favour small cars and two-wheelers because also because their small engines use less fuel.

(e) Adulteration

(f) Concentration

(g) Failure

(h) Consumption

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