Unseen Passage
If a man's house is full of bottles of medicines, we think that the man is probably sick; but if his house is full of books, we conclude that he is intelligent. We consider the bottles of medicines as the sign of a sick body, but we do not consider the books as the sign of a sick mind. Surely that is not right. The wise men of the past took no pains to make life literate; but they did much to make it meaningful. Books, after all, contain only letters. It is useless to hope to make life meaningful merely by collecting books. Can we know swimming merely by reading a book on swimming ?
Real knowledge is to be found in life itlsef. Until we understand this, we shall never taste true knowledge.
Word-meanings :
- probably - शायद ज़रूरी ही
- conclude - निष्कर्ष पर पहुंचना
- consider - समझना
- literate - पढ़ा - लिखा
- merely - केवल
Questions :
- What opinion do we form when we see bottles of medicines in a house ?
- What, on the other hand, do we conclude when we see a house full of books ?
- What attitude towards life did the wise men of the past have ?
- Which word in the passage means 'only I simply' ?
- How can we taste true knowledge ?
Answers :
- We think that the man is probably sick.
- We conclude that its owner is intelligent.
- They wanted make life not just literate, but also meaningful.
- merely = only/simply
- We can taste it by finding that real knowledge is to be found in life itself.