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    Grade 9

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    SK Lenka
    The passage discusses the origins and evolution of newspapers. It begins by describing how Julius Caesar issued daily announcements called Acta Diurma in Rome. Later, summaries of Roman Senate debates were also published, though some officials objected due to concerns about common people knowing too much. Printing presses enabled the mass production of newspapers in 15th century Europe. The earliest newspapers mainly contained commercial news and later included politics. The first modern newspaper was published in German in 1609. In India, news was relayed by runners for rulers like the Mughals. The Portuguese introduced printing in 1550 to publish religious materials. The British established news sheets in their presidencies for internal communications, until James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper for

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    Grade 9

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    SK Lenka
    309 views2 pages
    The passage discusses the origins and evolution of newspapers. It begins by describing how Julius Caesar issued daily announcements called Acta Diurma in Rome. Later, summaries of Roman Senate debates were also published, though some officials objected due to concerns about common people knowing too much. Printing presses enabled the mass production of newspapers in 15th century Europe. The earliest newspapers mainly contained commercial news and later included politics. The first modern newspaper was published in German in 1609. In India, news was relayed by runners for rulers like the Mughals. The Portuguese introduced printing in 1550 to publish religious materials. The British established news sheets in their presidencies for internal communications, until James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper for

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    The passage discusses the origins and evolution of newspapers. It begins by describing how Julius Caesar issued daily announcements called Acta Diurma in Rome. Later, summaries of Roman Senate debates were also published, though some officials objected due to concerns about common people knowing too much. Printing presses enabled the mass production of newspapers in 15th century Europe. The earliest newspapers mainly contained commercial news and later included politics. The first modern newspaper was published in German in 1609. In India, news was relayed by runners for rulers like the Mughals. The Portuguese introduced printing in 1550 to publish religious materials. The British established news sheets in their presidencies for internal communications, until James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper for

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    309 views2 pages

    Grade 9

    Uploaded by

    SK Lenka
    The passage discusses the origins and evolution of newspapers. It begins by describing how Julius Caesar issued daily announcements called Acta Diurma in Rome. Later, summaries of Roman Senate debates were also published, though some officials objected due to concerns about common people knowing too much. Printing presses enabled the mass production of newspapers in 15th century Europe. The earliest newspapers mainly contained commercial news and later included politics. The first modern newspaper was published in German in 1609. In India, news was relayed by runners for rulers like the Mughals. The Portuguese introduced printing in 1550 to publish religious materials. The British established news sheets in their presidencies for internal communications, until James Augustus Hicky published the first newspaper for

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    of 2

    CHAPTER END TEST 1

    GRADE IX
    SECTION A- READING SKILLS 20
    I. Read the passage given below. 10
    1. If one is looking for the origins of today’s newspapers, then one should go back to the days of
    the Romans under Julius Caesar. He started issuing handwritten public announcements which he
    called Acta Diurma’, which means ‘Daily Events’. Then in 59 BC, he began issuing Acta
    Senatus’ which contained a summary of the debates that were held in the Roman Senate. These
    were pasted on walls at places where it was convenient for the public to read. But some
    government officials were dissatisfied with this arrangement. They began objecting to the
    common people knowing too much about them and the news bulletins were discontinued. In the
    present day, such a measure would be termed as censorship, when people in power curb the
    power of the press.
    2. Newspapers got a great boost thereafter, when in the 15th century in Europe, printing presses
    came into use. The printed word became one of the most important means of communication.
    Large news-sheets were produced and this was a precursor of today’s newspaper. The first
    newspapers as we think of them, began in the 16th century. But these papers contained mainly
    commercial news. It was only later that political news began appearing in newspapers and that
    too, when it had a direct impact on commerce and trade. Finally, the first newspaper as we know
    it, was published in 1609, in German, and was called the Avisa Relation oder Zeitung’.
    3. In India, although printing on cloth, using wooden blocks was much in use, the link between
    communication and printing remained unexplored. Urgent news was carried by relays of runners
    and in the time of the Mughals, news writers, kept the emperor informed about conditions in
    distant parts of the country. The technology of printing began in India when some Portuguese
    Jesuit priests imported the first printing press in 1550, and used it to publish religious books and
    leaflets to spread Christianity among people. The first news sheets came up when the British set
    up their presidency in Calcutta and Madras. These news sheets were not for general circulation
    but were meant for informing their offices in Calcutta and Madras about what was happening to
    their fellow countrymen in India.
    4. But an adventurous individual among them, James Augustus Hicky, who had come to India to
    seek his fortune, began printing the first newspaper. He brought out a paper titled the ‘Bengal
    Gazette’ or the ‘Calcutta General Adviser’, in 1780, which described itself as being ‘a weekly
    political and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none.’ The paper contained
    advertisements, commercial news, and government or party gossip. It became unpopular with the
    government and two years later, Hicky was jailed. Other newspapers sprang up in its place, but
    now the government carefully watched its contents and often censored what was written.
    Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below.
    i. Why does the author refer to ‘Acta Senatus’?
    (a) These were the first public announcements shared by a king.
    (b) They were the first newspapers.
    (c) They were summary of the debates that were held in the Roman Senate.
    (d) They were official laws or acts announced by the Roman government.
    ii. According to the author, the fact that the earliest synopses of the Senate proceedings were
    discontinued at the behest of some senators, have an analogy in modern times which is _____.
    (a) Acta Diurma (b) editing
    (c) newspapers (d) censorship
    iii. Select the option that displays what the ‘Bengal gazette’ wanted to project, with reference to
    its tagline.
    ‘A weekly political and commercial paper open to all parties but influenced by none.’
    (a) diversity (b) neutrality
    (c) insularity (d) duality
    iv. Complete the following with a word or phrase from paragraph 2.
    Opinion Reason
    _______ That which establishes an antecedent
    v. The writer says that the early newspapers in the 16th century were printed on large news-
    sheets. Which social strata did they cater to?
    vi. Based on your reading of the text, list 2 reasons why the British Presidency keeping a close
    watch on news about them turned out to be a vain effort.
    1. __________
    2. __________
    vii. What connection does the writer draw out between the relaying of news and governments
    before the newspapers came into their own in India?
    viii. The news sheets that were introduced in the British presidency in Calcutta and Madras were
    not meant for general circulation. Which word matches with this statement? (Para 3)
    (a) inclusive
    (b) exclusive
    (c) censored
    (d) comprehensive
    ix. Supply 1 point to justify the following: The Portuguese had another motive in their minds
    when they
    imported printing press in India.
    x. Given below is the list of relaying of news in India, as mentioned in the passage since the
    Mughals.
    Evaluate the INAPPROPRIATE entry in this list.
    1. relays of runners and news writers
    2. religious books and leaflets to spread Christianity
    3. news sheets for the British presidency
    4. Bengal Gazette
    5. Calcutta General Adviser
    6. new newspapers.

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