Current Affairs 2nd Class

     People who help us   In our neighborhood, people do various kinds of works. Chemist sells medicine.     Greengrocers sell vegetables.   Blacksmiths make things from iron.     Carpenter makes furniture from wood. He also makes doors and windows for our houses.   Tailor stitches clothes for us.     Cobbler mends our shoes.       Plumber fixes the pipes and taps so that we can have water.         Electrician fits wares, switches, bulbs, fans etc.      

       Festival   In our neighbourhood, we celebrate many festivals. Festivals bring the people of neighbourhood together. It unites us and brings happiness in our life.   Festivals are mainly of two types: (i) Religious festivals (ii) National festivals              Religious Festivals People of different religion celebrate different festivals. Holi, Id, Diwali, Christmas, Gurpurab are some of these festivals.     Holi is the festival of colours.   Diwali is the festival of light. Both of these festivals are celebrated mainly by Hindus.     EId is celebrated by Muslims, on the day after Ramzan.     Christmas is the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is the main festival for the Christians.   Gurpurab is the Sikh festival.     We also have some regional festivals. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu. Bihu is the harvest festival of Assam. In Kerala people celebrates Onam, a colourful harvest festivals. During this festival, a special boat race, known as snakesboat, is held in kerala.                National Festivals National festivals are celebrated by everyone, throughout the country. We celebrated 15th August as our Independence Day.   26th January is celebrated as Republic Day.     2nd October is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti. Mahatma Gandhi, our father of Nation was born on this day.                                  On 14th November we celebrate Children's Day.   Teacher's Day is celebrated on September 5th.           Which one of the following catches thieves and helps to search for lost things? (a) Postman (b) Nurse (c) Policeman (d) Doctor   Answer: (c) Explanation  We all know that police does the functions mentioned in the question. Therefore, option (C) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.         Which one of the following is used to send messages quickly? (a) Post card (b) Letter (c) Telegram (d) None of these   Answer: (c) Explanation Out of the given choices, telegram is the fastest means of sending messages. Therefore, option (C) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.

      Introduction   We live in a house with our parents. Near our house, there are many houses. We call them neighbours. Neighbours help each other. They celebrate festivals together. All these houses together make our neighbourhood. In a neighbourhood, there are many services. Let us read about some of these services.            Post Office The place where we post letters is called post office. We drop our letters in the letter box. Postman takes all letters to the post office, from where they are delivered to the required places. We send things through parcel. When a short message has to be sent quickly, then we can make use of a telegram.                Bank Bank is the place where we deposit money and can take them out when required. We can make use of ATM to withdraw money. An ATM is an automatic machine that allows people to take out money any time and from anywhere.               Police Station Policeman guard our neighbourhood. They are always there for our safety. Traffic policeman is the person who handles traffic.                  Fire Station We call firemen when a building catches fires. They helps us in putting out the fire.              Hospital We visit hospital when we are sick/ill. In hospital doctor checks us and prescribes the necessary medicines. A nurse looks after us when we stay at the hospital.                  Market It is a place from where we can buy necessary things for our daily needs. There are many shops in a market.                Railway Station This is a place from where we board trains. Before boarding trains, we have to book our tickets. Trains are fast and low cost means of transport which are used to go to distant places.                School School is a place where we learn to write, read, sing, dance, also to respect, obey and love teachers. We also learn good habits and good manners in school.

     Sources of Clothing   We obtain clothes from both plants and animals.              Clothes obtained from animals We get the following types of clothes from animals. (i) Silk (ii) Wool             Silk We get silk from silkworm. Silkworms are a type of insect. They feed on mulberry leaves. They give out a long, sticky thread from their mouth. These thread are wrapped around their body and become their home, known as cocoon. The threads of cocoon are collected, processed and then woven to make silk.                  Silk clothes            Wool Sheep gives us wool. The thick hair that grows on the body of a sheep is collected, then cleaned and made into woolen threads. Wool is used to knit sweaters, caps, shawls etc. It keeps us warm during winter.                                                            Sweater                                                         Wool               Clothes Obtained From Plants We get the following types of clothes from plants. (i) Cotton (ii) Jute                Cotton Cotton clothes are made from cotton plants. Cotton grows in pods. The pods are picked and thread is made from the cotton. Making thread from cotton is known as spinning. Weaving is the process of making clothes from thread.                                                                                     Jute Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibre, which is used for making things for our regular use. For example, rope, bag, mat etc. are made up of jute fibres. Jute fibres are pale yellow in colour and are quite strong. They have a silky lustre and are also used in making clothes.                                         Some Interesting Points   Naphthalene more...

       Our Clothes   We wear different types of clothes at different times and in different seasons. We wear cotton clothes in summer. We wear woolen clothes in winter. We wear raincoat during rainy seasons. We wear uniform in school. We wear formal dress when we go to a party or attend any function.  

     Good Food Habits   Some of the food habits that we should take care of are as follows: (i) We should wash our hands with soaps before and after taking food. (ii) We should take only that amount of food which we can eat. (iii) We should cook the food properly. (iv) We should not talk while eating food. (v) After eating, we should wash our mouth. (vi) We should eat clean and fresh food. (vii) Avoid eating uncovered or stale food.               Which one of the following food item is obtained from animals? (a) Honey (b) Meat (c) Cereals (d) Both (A) and (B)   Answer: (d) Explanation  Honey we obtain from honey bees. Meat we obtain from fish, chicken, goat, and sheep. Therefore, option (D) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.            Which one of the following is true? (a) We should talk while eating                  (b) We should not eat uncovered food (c) We should not wash our hands before and after eating. (d) None of these   Answer: (b) Explanation  Uncovered food attracts various germ bearing insects. If we take this food we may fall sick. Therefore, option (B) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.

      Sources of Food   All these food items you have seen above comes from two major sources: (i) Plants and (ii) Animals Both plants and animals are useful to us as they provide many of our food items. A table given below shows some food items obtained from plants and animals. Food item obtain from plants                      Food item obtain from animals Vegetables                                                         Milk Fruits                                                                    meat Cereals                                                                 Egg Pulses                                                                   Honey Oils Spices            Food Items From Animals You already know that animals provide us different food items such as milk, egg, meat, honey etc. Some animals such as insects, silk worms, etc., provide us other useful products. We can, therefore, categories animals on the basis of the food items they provide us. Milk generally comes from cow, buffalo and goat. Pig, hen, goat, fish, sheep, prawn, crabs, etc. and many others are eaten as meat in different parts of world. Hen, duck provide us eggs.  Honey bees is the source of honey  Ghee and fats are obtained from the milk of cows and buffaloes.              Food Items from Plants  Plants are the main sources of food for all animals. We obtain variety of food items from different plants, which are listed as follows: Cereal, pulses, vegetables and fruits are obtained from food producing plants. Groundnut, mustard, soybean and coconut are obtained from oil producing plants. Clove, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon are obtained from spices and condiments producing plants. Sugarcane and beetroot are obtained from sugar producing plants.   Do you know that some plants like Neem, Tulsi, Cinchona, etc. are used as medicines?            Importance of Food Food is needed by all living organisms for four main purposes. (i) It helps human beings, animals as well as plants to grow. (ii) It provides energy. We need energy for our all body movements such as running, walking, speaking or raising our arm. (iii) It is required by living organisms for replacement and more...

    Other Planets in Our Solar System            Mercury Mercury is the smallest and nearest to the Sun. It takes 88 days to complete one revolution around the Sun and it rotates three times on its axis during every two revolutions. The first spacecraft. Mariner 10 was launch in 1974 for collecting the data from the planet Mercury.          Venus Venus is the second nearest planet to the Sun. It takes 224 days to revolve one revolution around the Sun. It can be seen from the earth in the sky. The planet Venus is also called as the morning and evening star.            Mars The position of the planet Mars is fourth from the Sun in the solar system. Colour of the Mars is radish due to the presence of iron oxide on its surface hence it is also called as the red planet.          Jupiter This is the fifth planet in our solar system from the Sun. The planet Jupiter is the largest planet in solar system. Remaining four planets after the Mars form Jovian which is also called outer planets. It takes 4331 days to complete one revolution around the Sun.            Saturn This is the sixth and second largest planet in the solar system. It takes 10759 days to complete one revolution around the Sun. This is one of the four outer planets in the solar system.            Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system from the Sun. It takes 30799 days to complete one revolution around the Sun. Uranus and Neptune are mostly made up of ice, helium and hydrogen.            Neptune Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun in the solar system. This the eight planet from the sun. It revolves one revolution in 60190 days around the Sun. This is basically made up of helium, hydrogen and ice.               Which one of the following planets in solar system is called the outer planet? (a) Mercury (b) Neptune (c) Mars   (d) All of these   Answer: (b) Explanation  Neptune is the outer planet in solar system. Therefore, option (B) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.            Consider the following statements: Statement 1: Mercury is the innermost planet from the Sun in the solar system. Statement 2: Mercury is the third planet from the Sun in the solar system. Which one of the following is correct about the above statements: (a) Statement 1 is false more...

      The Earth   The earth is the third planet from the Sun. The position of the earth in our solar system is just after the Venus. Structure of our earth looks like an orange and it revolves around the Sun. Our earth takes about 365 days to complete one revolution around the Sun. The earth rotates on its axis also. Night and day on the earth are due to the rotation of the earth on its axis. The revolution of the earth around the Sun causes different seasons.   Look at the following picture of rotation of the earth:   In the picture above, the upper and lower part which are called north and South Pole respectively are the coldest region on the earth. The north and south region on the earth are called polar region. The core of the earth is very hot due to the pressure of its upper surface. The atmosphere of the earth is layered.   Look at the following picture of layers of atmosphere on the earth:              The Moon   Our earth has one moon (Lunar) which revolves around the earth. The moon of the earth is also called its natural satellite. It completes one revolution around the earth in one month. The moon does not have its own light; therefore, it shines by the sun light. When sun, earth and moon are a lined in a straight line then a natural phenomena called eclipse is occurred. Solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the earth. In this natural phenomena, the moon covers the Sun partially or fully as seen from the earth.   Look at the following picture of the solar eclipse:       Another natural phenomena that occur due to the rotation of the earth and the moon is lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth falls on the surface of the moon, or the earth comes between the Sun and the moon.   Look of the following picture of the lunar eclipse:                 The number of days of a month is related to which one of the following natural phenomena? (a) Revolution of the moon around the earth (b) Revolution of the earth around the sun (c) Rotation of the earth on its axis (d) All of these   Answer: (a) Explanation  The moon takes one month to revolve once around the earth. Therefore, option (A) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.           Consider the following statements: Statement 1: The upper most layer more...

     The Sun   Sun is the biggest and hottest body in our solar system. Every planet in our solar system revolves around the Sun and all planet revolve on a fixed path which is called orbit. Sun is made up of helium and hydrogen gas. A small part of Sun is made up of oxygen, carbon, neon and iron. The core of the Sun is hottest as compare to the upper surface. Light radiated by the Sun contains ultraviolet rays which is dangerous for the living organism. Ozone layer around the earth stop the ultraviolet rays for survival of living organism. Our earth is far away from the Sun. Hence Sun's rays take 8 minutes to reach on to the earth, from the Sun.   Look at the following picture of the Sun:               The approximate time taken by the light from the Sun to reach on the earth is: (a) About 2 minutes (b) About 8 minutes (c) About 5 minutes   (d) About 3 minutes   Answer: (b) Explanation  Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach on to the earth. Therefore, option (B) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.            Which one of the following is correct about the Sun? (a) It is made up of helium only (b) It is made up of hydrogen only (c) It is made up of oxygen only (d) It is made up of mainly hydrogen and helium   Answer: (d) Explanation Most part of the Sun is made up of helium and hydrogen and a small part is made up of oxygen and iron. Therefore, option (D) is correct and rest of the options is incorrect.