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Reading with Understanding, , Reading With Understanding, , 11, , Notes, , READING WITH UNDERSTANDING, , OBJECTIVES, At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:, •, , understand short theme-based passages;, , •, , answer questions on those passages., , 11.1 SECTION I, Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:, Restoring Childhood, , Girls in particular have no time for childhood. Much of the work that girls and, younger children do is carried out in a family group or domestic setting. This is, rarely perceived as labour. For example, the concept of “child servitude” implicitly, excludes the domestic labour of girls, although this may be full-time work,, detrimental to development, necessary for survival and equally inescapable., Perhaps, this blindness to girls’ work is because non-remunerative and nurturing, tasks do not have a visible market value. So, while the exploitation of a boy, working on gem stones in a small manufacturing unit in Jaipur is easily recognized,, the equally hazardous work of a girl cutting grass on a precipitous mountain slope, in Garhwal is ignored. Such a concept of child labour is clearly inadequate for, understanding the real nature and extent of children’s work., The overwhelming majority of child workers in India are cultivators and agricultural, labourers. Poor children also undertake a variety of domestic chores and, , ENGLISH, , 91

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Reading with Understanding, , Reading With Understanding, subsistence activities like minding siblings, grazing cattle, collecting fuel wood and, fodder as part of their daily lives, whether or not they are at school., , Notes, , However, the documentation on child labour in India has a strong focus on the, dehumanizing conditions of children labouring in hazardous industries, such as the, match and fireworks factories of Sivakasi (Tamil Nadu) or the glass-works of, Firozabad (U.P.). The self-employed and ‘street’ children of Delhi, Bombay,, Bangalore and other big cities have also been the object of many studies. Yet,, these children represent only the most striking and visible aspect of the denial of a, child’s right to a healthy childhood., The invisibility of rural child workers reflect an urban bias in Indian administration,, research and the media, and the pervasiveness of the seductive idea that rural life, is somewhat idyllic. This bias is not peculiar to middle class., , INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.1, I., , Tick the correct answer, , 1., , People are blind to girl’s work because it is considered —, a. not profitable and doesn’t have market value., b. hazardous., c. inadequate., , 2., , Whose work is more easily recognized or noticed?, a. a girl cutting grass on a dangerous mountain slope, b. a boy working in a gem stone manufacturing unit, , 3., , A large number of children in India are:, a. cultivators, b. agricultural labourers, c. baby-sitters for their siblings, , 4., , List the kinds of work/jobs that girls do (which is considered as child, servitude)., , 5., , a) After reading the passage why do your think poor children in India are, not able to have a healthy childhood?, b) What is ‘Child Servitude’?, , 92, , ENGLISH

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Reading With Understanding, 6., , You have a baby sister/brother/niece/nephew in your family who needs looking, after. Your aunt gets a ten-year old girl/boy from the village to look him after, the baby. You know that it is illegal to hire anyone below the age of fourteen, for work. Write the points that you would raise to convince your aunt against, hiring young children., , Reading with Understanding, , Notes, , 11.2 SECTION II, Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:, Marketing of Coconut Products, Copra is primarily used for extracting oil. The country produces about 4.5 lakh, tonnes of coconut oil equivalent to about 6.9 lakh tonnes of milling Copra. Tamil, Nadu and Kerala account for 90 percent of oil production. The usage of coconut, oil as a cooking medium is confined to Kerala., Palm oil and palm kernel oil are the two primary substitutes of coconut oil. The, former competes with coconut oil in the edible oils segment and the latter in the, non-edible oils segment of the consumption base. Palm oil prices are globally, cheaper than other major edible oils. Palm oil dominates the Indian import scene., A major reason for augmenting marketing of various coconut products besides, coconut oil is perhaps because demand for coconut oil has turned sluggish. It, seems necessary to augment and diversify the production of coconut-based, commodities such as packaged coconut water, coconut cream etc. However, the, competition in these areas is not easy. Coconut water in 200ml. sachet costs Rs., 13 which is much more than bottled soft drinks. It is also more costly than the, other natural drink, namely milk, which is sold at about Rs. 14 per litre.., , INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.2, 1., , Name the states where copra is produced., , 2., , Where is coconut oil mainly used for cooking?, , 3., , Which oils are used in place of coconut oil?, , 4., , Why does Palm oil dominate the import market?, , 5., , What can be produced to promote coconut based commodities?, , 6., , Which is costlier?, a) 200 ml. coconut water sachet., b) 1 Ltr. milk, , ENGLISH, , 93

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Reading with Understanding, , Reading With Understanding, , CHECK YOUR ANSWERS, Intext Questions 11.1, Notes, , a., , 1 – a, 2 – b, 3 – a, b, , b., , domestic labour, , c., , a) They spend most of their time doing various kinds of labour to earn., b) child labour, , Intext Questions 11.2, , 94, , 1., , Tamil Nadu and Kerala, , 2., , Kerela, , 3., , palm oil and kernel oil, , 4., , palm oil is globally cheaper than other edible oil., , 5., , coconut water, coconut cream., , 6., , a coconut water sachet., , ENGLISH