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Playing to Western Tunes
Where do you think revealing raiments, weird slang and our youths' dismaying attitudes come from? Very obviously they are the results of attempts to emulate the western world.
Probe into the subject, delve into its various effects - you will be shocked at how rapidly Western culture is corroding our culture - exclusively ours, exclusively to be proud of, to rust. These spicy sauces of Western culture surely flatter the palate, but in course of time won't they canker it too?
Western countries do have desirable elements worth copying. But are we taking in those positive elements? No, we seem to be merely diving into the external glitter of the West.
The root of all this misfortune lies in the soil nourished by the word 'modern'. What does 'modern' mean to us? Do we become modern by wearing outrageous clothes that make us look like aliens? Does modernism set in by profuse use of western slang?
Life for today's youth means rocketing in BMWs or piercing flesh, late night parties, and black nail enamel and red mane. That is what a good percent of our younger generation have become, as a result of the obsessive aping of the glittering West.
--- Femina (December 2000)
I. On the basis of your reading the above passage, answer the following:
1. Fill in the spaces to make a summary of the passage:
The writer feels that the younger _________ is _________ by Western culture. She strongly feels that the emphasis on _________ culture is weaning them away from our own _________. She feels that the clothes and the language of our youth are _________. This is largely because our youth are unable to distinguish clearly between the _________ and negative aspects of Western culture. She thinks that wearing clothes that make you look like _________ does not in any way make a person _________. The youth are so engrossed with the _________ features of modernity that they forget that it comes from _________ oneself.
Suggested answer:
The writer feels that the younger generation is carried away by western culture. She strongly feels that the emphasis on western culture is weaning them away from our own culture. She feels that the clothes and the language of our youth are outrageous. This is largely because our youth are unable to distinguish clearly between the positive and negative aspects of western culture. She thinks that wearing clothes that make you look like aliens does not in any way make a person modern. The youth are so engrossed with the external features of modernity that they forget that it comes from within oneself.
II. Answer the following briefly:
1. Find a word in paragraph -1, which means clothes.
Suggested answer: The word, which means clothes, is 'raiments'.
2. Which word in paragraph -1 means 'a kind of language'?
Suggested answer: The word is 'slang'.
3. What figure of speech is 'spicy sauces of western culture'?
Suggested answer: The figure of speech is a metaphor.
4. Find the word in paragraph -1, which means, 'disease'.
Suggested answer: The word is 'canker'.
5. Which word in paragraph - 3 means 'in keeping with the times'?
Suggested answer: The word is 'modern'.
6. Pick out two things that the writer identifies with modern youth.
Suggested answer: 'Black nail enamel' and 'red mane' (hair) are both departures from tradition.
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