Read the passage carefully :
Chronobiology : The Science of Time is within Us.
(1) Beneath the conscious rhythm of our waking lives lies a subtler, deeply embedded tempo of our body’s internal clock, orchestrated by the field of chronobiology. This clock doesn’t tick with mechanical precision but rather responds to cues from nature: the rising sun, the fading light, or the temperature of the wind. Governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain, this circadian rhythm aligns our sleep, metabolism, hormone release, and even mood with the 24-hour cycle.
(2) Scientists have discovered that disrupting this internal clock whether through jet lag, night shifts, or excessive exposure to screens can lead to a biological desynchronization that affects everything from digestion to memory. A study from the University of Colorado found that just one week of camping away from artificial light, resets participants’ circadian rhythm entirely. The body, it seems, remembers the sun even when the mind forgets.
(3) What’s striking is the clock’s inflexible loyalty to nature. Artificial attempts to override it such as caffeine-induced wakefulness or screen-induced sleeplessness may work temporarily but often has a hidden cost : chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and weakened immunity. Its not just sleep we lose, it’s the invisible equilibrium that our biology depends on.
(4) Modern life, with its blurring of day and night, has birthed what experts call ‘social jet lag’ a state where our societal obligations pull us in one temporal direction, while our biology tugs us in another. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable, as their natural clocks shift later during puberty, clashing with early school timings. The result ? A generation persistently deprived of meaningful rest.
(5) What is the way forward – we need to understand that sleep deficiency and chronic fatigue are considered major risk factors for diseases, depression, and accidents. People must take care of sleep hygiene at regular time, avoid screen time before bed time, and ensure comfortable conditions. Taking short breaks for stretching, breathing, or a few hours of exercise reduces tension. When body demands rest, it should not be ignored. One must respond to it rather than ignoring it.
(6) Chronobiologists argue that respecting internal time could transform public health. Adjusting school hours, designing light-conscious architecture or aligning work shifts with biological peaks could reduce stress and enhance productivity. As we continue racing against time, perhaps the most radical act is to slow down and listen to the timekeepers within us quiet, persistent and wise.
According to paragraph 1, what role does the suprachiasmatic nucleus play in our daily lives ?
How does the author use the metaphor ‘the body remembers the sun even when the mind forgets’ in paragraph 1 ?
Read and complete the following sentence suitably (Para 2).
The phrase biological desynchronization refers to the state in which the :
Choose the correct response from the two options to complete the sentence.
Complete the following suitably with ONE advantage with reference to Para 2.
Designating specific hours/days for screen free activity can help _______.
Why does the writer refer to the circadian clock’s loyalty to nature as inflexible ? (Para 3)
Provide ONE textual evidence to support ‘The body pays a hidden price for tampering with its natural rhythms’. (Para 3)
In the line ‘… societal obligations pull us in one temporal direction, while our biology tugs us in another’, what does this contrast reveal about modern life ? (Para 4)
Scientists use the term ‘social jet lag’ in paragraph 4 to describe the modern sleep crisis to _______.
Explain why adolescents may be at risk of internal time disruption. (Para 4-5)
Based on paragraph 6, identify possible obstacles to applying chronobiological principles in everyday life.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
New Forms of Publication
By the end of the nineteenth century, a new visual culture was taking shape. With the setting up of an increasing number of printing presses. visual images could be easily reproduced in multiple copies. Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produced images for mass circulation. Poor wood gngravers who made woodblocks and were employed by print shops. Cheap prints and calendars, easily available in the bazaar, could be bought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their homes or places of work. These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and politics, and society and culture. By the 1870s, caricatures and cartoons were being published in journals and newspapers, commenting on social and political issues. Some caricatures ridiculed the educated Indians’ fascination with Western tastes and clothes, while others expressed the fear of social change. There were imperial caricatures lampooning nationalists, as well as pationalist cartoons criticising imperial rule.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
Sacred Groves — a wealth of diverse and rare species
‘Nature worship is an age old tribal belicf based on the premisc that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses). These patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left tintouched by the localpeople and any interference with them is banned, Certain socicties revere from time region worship (cadamba) trees. and the tribals (Tamarindus indica) and and Bihar worship the tamarind weddings. To many of us, (Mangifera indica) trees during o o peepal and banyan trees are considered sacred. Cly comprises several cultures, each with its own set of traditional methods of conservion are often nature and its creations.The mountain peaks, plants and animals which around many temples.“I” find troops of macaques. They are fed daily and treated as a part of temple devotees In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck. nilgai and peacocks can be seen as an integral part of the community and nobody harms them.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow :
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that arca. All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are clected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Zilla parishad chairperson is the
political head of the zilla parishad. Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. gi.ig cities are .Conslilulcd into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by clected bodies consisting of people’s representatives. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the mayor. This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.