SSC CGL English – Reading Comprehension – Level 1 · Warm-up · Tier I Level

Imran always chose the sixth bench, near the window, where the breeze came in and nobody asked him to read from the blackboard. His notebooks were full of half-copied sums, and his marks in mathematics had slipped from good to poor in a single term. His father scolded him for being careless, and Imran began to believe that he was simply not clever enough.

Mrs Fernandes, the new mathematics teacher, noticed something the others had missed. Whenever she wrote on the board, Imran leaned forward and narrowed his eyes, and he copied fastest when she read the numbers aloud. One afternoon she asked him to sit on the first bench for a week. His work improved at once.

She wrote a short note to his parents suggesting an eye test. The doctor found that Imran was short-sighted; he had not been careless at all. He simply could not see clearly what was written on a board some distance away.

The next Monday, Imran walked into class wearing a pair of black-framed spectacles. He chose the sixth bench again, out of habit, and then laughed, because for the first time he could read every word on the board from there.

In many Indian cities, flat terraces sit empty under the sun for most of the year. More and more families are now turning these bare roofs into small gardens. Tomatoes, chillies, spinach and curry leaves grow in old buckets, cut plastic cans and grow-bags lined along the parapet.

Supporters say that the benefits go beyond fresh vegetables. A layer of plants and soil shades the concrete below, so the rooms under a green terrace stay cooler on summer afternoons. Kitchen waste, instead of going to an overflowing bin, can be turned into compost for the pots. For children who have only seen vegetables in a shop, watching a seed become a plant is a lesson no textbook can give.

Terrace gardening is not without problems, however. Water must be carried up or piped, and in a dry month that can be a burden. Pots that are too heavy, or drains blocked by soil, can damage an old roof. Experienced gardeners therefore advise beginners to start with a few light containers, keep the drainage outlets clear and consult an engineer before building large raised beds.

Done with care, a terrace garden turns a forgotten space into a source of food, shade and learning.