10 Exercises for Precis writing for Class 10, 11, 12 and Graduation and other classes Examination. Solved Precise 3

Write a precis of the following passage and give it a suitable heading.

EXERCISE 1

Everyone wants to take rest, but few know how to enjoy it. The rich and the poor, the young and the old, all go to bed at night, but very few enjoy a restful sleep. Generally, people do not know the right manner of taking rest. It is why they do not derive real comfort even after having seven to eight hours sleep at night. Before describing the right manner of taking rest, it must be clearly understood that man’s physical state of health effects his thoughts considerably and vice-versa. It is a well-recognised (or established) fact that when a man’s stomach is heavy and the food is not properly digested his thoughts wander about and the mood becomes restless. But if the stomach is light and body healthy, the man’s thoughts, too, are pure. In a healthy state, the man’s brain is active and the mind cheerful and he does not bother much about the worries of the world,

EXERCISE 2

It is not the life that matters. It is the courage that you bring to it. For, what is life without courage? What though life be beset with hardships and misfortunes, trials and torments at every step, we should not lose heart. We should be neither daunted, by failures nor dispirited by defeat but ever march onwards with an unconquerable will and invincible courage. It is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. There is nothing more in this world than defeat provided you do not give up the struggle. Mahatma Gandhi and some other national leaders, failed not one, not twice but many times before they got Independence for the motherland. Their secret was that in spite of failures they persisted in their efforts. If efforts are sincere and endless then no goal is beyond our reach.

EXERCISE 3

Language is the most important national institution. It is often the distinguishing feature of nationality. Language is the bond of society. It marks off our countrymen from the strangers. Without it we cannot live for a day. It not only unites the men of the present generation and enables them to deliberate together on national affairs, but it also enables us to hold communication with the dead. It is the key to national history. The words and deeds of our forefathers are enshrined in our language, in Sanskrit, Hindi or Punjabi, A Dutch proverb says, no language no nationality. National language thus preserves historical continuity which is the life of the nation. A common historical background is one of the indispensable conditions of national growth. Common political ideas and aspirations are impossible without a common past. Language is also the guardian of the National literature which voices the National spirit. It preserves and interprets National History and Literature. It stands sentinel at the gate of National Temple and no one who does not answer its calls who goes there”, can enter the sacred precincts.

EXERCISE 4

Firstly, each one of us should have a hobby. Now sometimes boys and girls are encouraged in schools to take up hobbies. They work at certain things in schools such as collecting stamps, or carpentry, but their so-called hobby is a thing for schools only. They do not pay any attention to it in their homes. Sometimes this is because of poverty, sometimes because of lack of suitable arrangements in the homes, sometimes because of lack of interest. But a hobby is not really a hobby unless we are so interested in it that we want to carry it on whenever we have spare time. The dictionary tells us that a hobby is a favourite subject or occupation that is not one’s main business. That is, it is something in which we are more interested than in anything else. It is a kind of play or game for us, though, it may mean doing what we would call hard work if it were not connected with our hobby. The dictionary wisely says a hobby is an occupation. It does not say whether it is play or work, because a hobby is one of those things which cannot be called either.

EXERCISE 5

Education and youth are closely interlocked like fragrance and flower. Education is primarily meant for youth, since youth is the springtime of life when an individual has to blossom in terms of knowledge, wisdom and character. A person devoid of education is no better than a biped. In the present democratic set-up of our country, it is as much the duty of youth as it is their right to receive proper education which will equip them for a good life and enlightened citizenship. It is a pity, however, that the purpose and philosophy of education are not properly understood. Education does not mean bookish knowledge, nor does it mean superficial success at the examination. In reality it is a process which develops the body, nourishes the mind, sublimates emotions and regenerates the spirit.

EXERCISE 6

The advance of science has made man a materialist. In him has grown basic discontent, heartache and the neglect of all that is peaceful, good and joyous around him. Today man is so feverishly busy in the mad pursuits and claims of life that the net result is worry, care and anxiety. He is enmeshed in the complexities of life, more sublime. To him, time is money and money is time. Leisure which is essential for true enjoyment of life is totally absent from his routine. If a man remains plunged in worries and strife of life and has no time to enjoy himself he will lead a wretched life. He has no time to look to the objects and sights which do not yield him any material gain. Even when a man is travelling in a bus or a train he prefers to study a book or a newspaper rather than to enjoy beautiful sights outside. Haste and constant work tire the body and brain, multiply worry and anxiety and ultimately lead to nervous breakdown. Leisure refreshes the body and the mind and fills them with fresh vigour and vitality.

EXERCISE 7

Human life is dull and boring, if it is not full of struggle. The world is like a battlefield. There is a constant clash between good and evil. It is wrong to be afraid of struggle in life. The joy and glory of life can never be achieved without effort and hard work. But most of the human beings wish to have an easy-going life. They curse their enemies and desire to achieve their ambition without facing difficulties and hardships in life. Life would rust, if there were no struggle. The fear of the enemy would keep us mentally and physically alert. The power of a swimmer cannot be tested without a strong and swift current. Hardships bring in the real moral strength. The difficulties and hurdles in life make us strong, courageous and self-reliant. There is no joy in success or achievement if it is obtained without any trial of mental and physical strength. To sum up, life is a struggle and struggle is life.

EXERCISE 8

One of the drawbacks that we have often noticed in the present day educational system is its lack of proper understanding of the realities of the actual day-to-day life and they, no doubt, account for a wide gap between life in actual practice and what is taught in the schools and colleges. This can best be remedied by making the curricula as realistic as possible and by giving every opportunity to the students to engage themselves in practical tasks by which they would come into contact with the people, Very often we treat our student community as an isolated group. We have to consider them as part and parcel of the community and channels of communication must be effective and open not only between the teachers and the taught, not only between the parents and their wards, but also between the student community and the society in general. Unless and until we are able to establish two-way traffic, we will not be able to tackle their problems in a realistic manner.

EXERCISE 9

Hero worship is a dangerous vice, and one of the minor merits of a democracy is that it does not encourage it, or produce that unmanageable type of citizen known as the Great Man. It produces instead different kinds of small men-a much finer achievement. But people who cannot get interested in the variety of life, and cannot make up their own minds, get discontented over this, and they long for a hero to bow down before and to follow blindly. It is significant that a hero is an integral part of the authoritarian stock-in-trade today. An efficiency regime cannot be run without a few heroes stuck about it to carry off the dullness-much as plums have to be put into a bad pudding to make it palatable. One hero at the top and a smaller one each side of him is a favourite arrangement, and the timid and the bored are comforted by the trinity, and bowing down feel exalted and strengthened.

No, I distrust Great Men. They produce a desert of uniformity around them and often a pool of blood, too and I always feel a little man’s pleasure when they come a cropper.

EXERCISE 10

Money can be abused just as any other thing can be abused. Money in our day means power, and if a man uses that power to buy off men so that they may betray their homes, their friends, or their country, or if a man uses his money for purely selfish purposes, he is abusing his power. All young people want money but money to be worthwhile must be earned. A person who inherits money or gets money from gambling or profiteering or in any other way in which he does not earn it, never knows the real value and purpose of money. Often he abuses it rather than uses it. What are the uses of money? Money is a medium of exchange. It is one of the mediums we use that helps us to live together. It is to be used for food, clothing, shelter, education, amusement and recreation. It is to be saved, not hoarded, for sickness, old age, investment and service to others. It is to be given away to relieve suffering, a place to live in. for study, for the mission, for welfare work, for anything that will make the world a better and happier collected or saved; Relieve-to remove.