1. Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
Vegetable oil has been known since antiquity. No household can get on without it, for it is used
in cooking. Perfumes may be made from the oils of certain flowers. Soaps are made from
vegetable and animal oils.
To the ordinary man, one kind of oil may be as important as another. But when the 5 politicians
or the engineer refers to oil, he almost always means mineral oil, the oil that drives tanks,
aeroplanes and warships, motor cars and diesel locomotives ; the oil that is used to lubricate all
kinds of machinery. This is the oil that has changed the life of the common man. When it is
refined into petrol it is used to drive the internal combustion engine. To it we owe the existence
of the motor car, which has replaced the private 10 carriage drawn by the horse. To it we owe
the possibility of flying. It has changed the methods of warfare on land and sea. This kind of oil
comes out of the earth. Because it burns well, it is used as fuel and in some ways it is superior
to coal in this respect. Many big ships now burn oil instead of coal. Because it burns brightly, it
is used for illumination ; countless homes are still illuminated with oil burning lamps. Because it
15 is very slippery, it is used for lubrication. Two metal surfaces rubbing together cause friction
and heat. But if they are separated by a thin film of oil, the friction and heat are reduced. No
machine would work for long if it were not properly lubricated. The oil used for this purpose must
be of the correct thickness; if it is too thin it will not give sufficient lubrication, and if it is too thick
it will not reach all parts that must be lubricated.
The existence of oil wells has been known for a long time. Some of the Indians of North America
used to collect and sell the oil from the wells of Pennsylvania. No one, however, seems to have
realised the importance of this oil until it was found that paraffin oil could be made from it. This
led to the development of the wells and to the making of enormous profits. When the internal combustion engine was invented, oil became of 25 worldwide importance.
Questions
1. Which is the most talked about oil in the world ?
2. Where does the mineral oil come from?
3. Which is the oldest known oil ?
4. Where do we get petrol from?
5.Which word in the passage means ‘a thin layer’?
2.Write a Report to be published in your school magazine on 'Environment Day Celebration' in
150-200 words describing all the activities that took place. You are a head boy/head girl.

3. Write a dialogue between two friends who are excitedly making plans for the summer
vacation.