Where is Science Taking Us? Question Answers (Important)| PSEB Class 10 English Main Course Book

by | Oct 29, 2025 | General | 0 comments

Where is Science taking us Imp Qns

 

PSEB Class 10 English Chapter 2 Where is Science Taking Us? Important Question Answers from English Main Course Book

 

PSEB Class 10 English Where is Science Taking Us? Question Answers – Looking for questions and answers for PSEB Class 10 English Main Course Book Chapter 2 Where is Science Taking Us? Look no further! Our comprehensive compilation of important questions will help you brush up on your subject knowledge. Practising Class 10 English question answers can significantly improve your performance in the exam. Improve your chances of scoring high marks by exploring Chapter 2 Where is Science Taking Us? now. The questions listed below are based on the latest PSEB exam pattern. All the Questions Answers given at the back of the lesson have also been covered. 

 

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PSEB Class 10 English Chapter 2  Where is Science Taking Us? Textbook Questions

A. Comprehension Questions

(i) Answer the following questions in your own words:

1. Why does the author of ‘Where is Science Taking Us’ say that Science is doing less than nothing?
Ans: The author says science is doing “less than nothing” regarding ethical and spiritual values because it has over-emphasized material achievements to the point where people have begun questioning whether humans are merely machines. Instead of enriching spiritual life, science has actually harmed it by making people mechanistic in their thinking and ignoring non-material aspects of human existence.

2. What are machines doing for the humans?
Ans: Machines are performing various functions for humans. They enable people to fly without wings and swim underwater without gills. They work in fields, factories, homes, and streets, providing enormous power, petrol machines alone give ten times more power than all humans combined. In busy countries, each person has the equivalent of 600 human slaves working through machines. However, machines are also used to kill people in overwhelming numbers during wars.

3. What is the greatest triumph of Science?
Ans: The greatest triumph of science would have been providing food, clothing, and shelter for the entire world population, every man, woman, and child. For the first time in history, science made this theoretically possible. However, this triumph remains incomplete because despite producing abundant goods, science has no control over their fair distribution, resulting in people remaining hungry even when food is plentiful.

4. What are the consequences of war?
Ans: War is the worst example of the problems created by science. Scientific advancement in warfare has progressed so rapidly that ethics and morals are floundering hopelessly behind. Science has created machines capable of killing fellow humans in overwhelming numbers, and the technology of war has advanced far beyond humanity’s moral capacity to control or prevent it.

5. “Today the upper age group is overcrowded.” Why?
Ans: The upper age group is overcrowded because medical science has continuously increased life expectancy. Almost every year, new drugs add to the average lifespan, causing the elderly population to grow dramatically. For instance, the United States had nine million people over sixty in the 1950s, with projections reaching forty-five million in fifteen years. This creates social and economic challenges regarding who will support and care for this large elderly population.

6. What has happened to the ethics and morals in the modern world?
Ans: Ethics and morals have fallen far behind scientific and technological advancement in the modern world. Science has pushed warfare and other areas so far forward that ethical and moral considerations are “floundering hopelessly behind.” Science creates problems faster than society can develop the moral framework to handle them, leaving humanity struggling in a vicious circle, unable to catch up.

7. What is really needed in the world today?
Ans: What the world really needs today is not groundbreaking discoveries in nuclear physics, chemistry, or medicine, but rather a small advance in human virtues, charity, understanding, forbearance, tolerance, justice, and mercy. These non-material improvements in human character and relationships are what the world is anxiously waiting for, as they would contribute more to human happiness than any technological breakthrough.

8. Why does the author of ‘Where is Science Taking Us’ wish to live another hundred years?
Ans: The author wishes to live another hundred years because despite the present troubles and uncertainties (vicissitudes), he finds life becoming more and more interesting, intriguing, and exciting. He is optimistic about the future and wants to witness the developments and transformations that science and humanity will bring. He believes those who fear the future are cowardly in spirit, and he is enthusiastic about what lies ahead.

(ii) Answer the following questions in about 50 words each:

1. List the material triumphs of Science and the non-material necessities to make the world a better place.
Ans: Material triumphs of science include machines that enable flight and underwater exploration, abundant food production, extended life expectancy through medicine, enormous power generation, and labor-saving devices in every field. Non-material necessities needed to make the world better are charity, understanding, forbearance, tolerance, justice, and mercy. Science excels in material achievements but fails in developing these essential human virtues that would truly enrich life and create a harmonious society.

2. What should be the ultimate aim of Science?
Ans: The ultimate aim of science should not merely be the conquest of man’s material environment or understanding the human body’s physical workings. Rather, it should be the understanding of everything that makes life worthwhile and the enrichment of all that life means. This goes beyond material things like food, shelter, and clothing to include spiritual, ethical, and social dimensions. Science should help humans develop better understanding, reasoning, and compassion, potentially even improving human brain function to increase wisdom and abolish evils like war.

B. VOCABULARY EXERCISES
(i) A synonym is a word which is either identical in sense or has the same meaning as the other word. In the exercise which follows, some words have been taken from this lesson. The synonym of each word under column A rhymes with the other word given under column C. Try to fill up the blanks in column B with the synonyms of words under A. The first one is done for you.

A B C
1. fury rage page
2. began ……. parted
3. consequence ……. insult
4. conquest ……. history
5. ethical …….. oral
6. apparent …….. tedious
7. tolerate …… tear
8. charity ……. nation
9. sufficient ……. rough
10. abolish ……. mend

Ans.

A B C
1. fury rage page
2. began started parted
3. consequence result insult
4. conquest victory history
5. ethical moral oral
6. apparent obvious tedious
7. tolerate bear tear
8. charity donation nation
9. sufficient enough rough
10. abolish end mend

(ii) Match the words under A with their antonyms under B:

A B
material destructive
forward defeat
necessary more
creative unnecessary
triumph spiritual
less backward
obvious injustice
ultimate dull
justice initial
improvement unclear
exciting deterioration

Ans.

A B
material spiritual
forward backward
necessary Unnecessary 
creative destructive
triumph defeat
less More 
obvious unclear
ultimate Initial 
justice Injustice 
improvement deterioration
exciting Dull 

(iii) Look at the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. To kill our fellowmen in overwhelming numbers, there are machines.
2. Material teachings have been over-emphasized.
3. What is needed today is not some new world-shattering discovery in nuclear Physics or some breath-taking discovery in chemistry or medicine….
These are compound words. They are formed by joining two simple words. An addition to the beginning of the word is a prefix and an addition to the ending is a suffix. See if you can make some more meaningful words by using over and under as prefix or suffix.

………arm
……come …………do
……..line ……….ground
pull……..
…..estimate ………..age
…………statement …………pants
…………current …………charge

Ans. Compound Words with ‘over’ and ‘under’
With ‘over’ and ‘under’ as prefix:

  • overarm
  • overcome
  • overdo
  • underline
  • underground
  • underestimate
  • underage
  • understatement
  • underpants
  • undercurrent
  • undercharge
  • With ‘over’ and ‘under’ as suffix:
  • pullover

C. GRAMMAR EXERCISES

(i) Rewrite the following in Direct speech:
a. The minister said that he had spoken about the rights of the citizens in a democracy. He went on to say that he must speak about the citizen’s responsibilities too.
b. My mother advised me not to waste my time during the holidays but to do some useful reading.
c. The school inspector said that he had been very pleased with the school. He added that he wished to congratulate the principal and the staff.
d. The boys said to the teacher that they hadn’t understood the question and they requested her to explain it once more.
Ans. Direct Speech
a. The minister said, “I have spoken about the rights of the citizens in a democracy. I must speak about the citizen’s responsibilities too.”
b. My mother said to me, “Don’t waste your time during the holidays but do some useful reading.”
c. The school inspector said, “I have been very pleased with the school. I wish to congratulate the principal and the staff.”
d. The boys said to the teacher, “We haven’t understood the question. Please explain it once more.”

(ii) Change the voice in the following sentences:
1. He has passed the examination.
2. You must speak the truth.
3. You should follow your uncle’s advice.
4. She can sing a song now.
5. Ram will pass the test.
6. Why did you abuse him?
7. I have to do it.
8. He will be arrested soon.
9. She cannot tell a lie.
10. This must be accepted.

(ii) Change of Voice
1. The examination has been passed by him.
2. The truth must be spoken by you.
3. Your uncle’s advice should be followed by you.
4. A song can be sung by her now.
5. The test will be passed by Ram.
6. Why was he abused by you?
7. It has to be done by me.
8. Someone will arrest him soon.
9. A lie cannot be told by her.
10. We must accept this.

(iii) Put the words in the brackets into the ‘be-going to’ form (Present Tense)
a. You (miss) your bus.
Ans. You are going to miss your bus.
b. The man with a brick in his hand (throw) it at the dog.
c. We are wearing red clothes and the bull (attack) us.
d. I (not sleep) in this room, it is dirty.
e. Due to some technical fault, the aeroplane (crash).
f. They (make) a lot of money out of this deal.
g. I (collect) my new dress this evening.
h. I’ve reminded you once; I (not do) it again.
i. He (smuggle) this gold out of the country.
j. Look at the clouds. It (rain)
Ans.
a. You are going to miss your bus.
b. The man with a brick in his hand is going to throw it at the dog.
c. We are wearing red clothes and the bull is going to attack us.
d. I am not going to sleep in this room, it is dirty.
e. Due to some technical fault, the aeroplane is going to crash.
f. They are going to make a lot of money out of this deal.
g. I am going to collect my new dress this evening.
h. I’ve reminded you once; I am not going to do it again.
i. He is going to smuggle this gold out of the country.
j. Look at the clouds. It is going to rain.

D. PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE
Note that the words given below contain the vowel sound/i:/, long vowel sound as in beat, seat, heat, keep etc. Say these words aloud:

each weep receive police foetus
lead keep brief ravine people
sea tree siege ski quay

                                                                 (pronounced like key)

Note that the same sound has different spellings in different words.

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5
each weep receive police achieve
lead keep brief people peace
sea tree peace reason dream
mean seen green machine teen
need feed seed deed greed

Note: The same sound has different spellings in different words:

  • ea as in sea, lead, peace,ream
  • ee as in keep, tree, seen, need
  • ie as in brief, achieve
  • eo as in people
  • ei as in receive

E. CREATIVE WRITING AND EXTENDED READING

1. Write a short essay on any one of the following topics:

a. Science and Human Happiness
Ans. Sample Essay (200-250 words):
Science has dramatically transformed human life over the past century, but has it made us genuinely happier? The answer is complex and contradictory.
On one hand, science has brought enormous benefits. Medical advances have eliminated deadly diseases, extended life expectancy, and reduced suffering. Technology provides comfort, convenience, and connectivity. We live longer, healthier, more comfortable lives than our ancestors could imagine.
However, these material improvements haven’t guaranteed happiness. Modern life brings new problems, pollution, stress, anxiety, depression, and a sense of meaninglessness. We have more things but less peace. We’re connected digitally but isolated emotionally. Machines save time but we feel more rushed than ever.
The paradox is that science excels at solving material problems but cannot address spiritual needs. It can cure diseases but not loneliness. It provides entertainment but not fulfillment. It offers information but not wisdom. As Dr. Pennycuick notes, science “has been helpless” with non-material matters like understanding, compassion, and distinguishing good from evil.
True happiness requires more than scientific progress. It needs human virtues, love, compassion, purpose, meaning, connection. Science should serve human happiness, not define it. When balanced with ethical and spiritual development, science enhances life beautifully. But technology alone, without wisdom and humanity, creates comfortable misery rather than genuine joy.
The question isn’t whether science can make us happy, but whether we can use science wisely while cultivating the human qualities that actually create lasting happiness.

b. Advantages and Disadvantages of Science
Ans. Sample Essay (250-300 words):
Science stands as humanity’s most powerful tool, bringing both extraordinary benefits and serious dangers. Understanding both sides helps us use science wisely.
Advantages of Science:
Science has revolutionized healthcare, virtually eliminating diseases like smallpox and polio that once killed millions. Modern medicine extends life expectancy, reduces suffering, and enables miraculous surgeries. Communication technology connects the world instantly, families separated by oceans can see each other daily. Transportation advances let us travel safely and quickly anywhere on Earth. Agricultural science feeds billions through improved crops and farming methods. Everyday appliances provide comfort and convenience our ancestors couldn’t imagine.
Disadvantages of Science:
However, scientific progress creates serious problems. Industrial pollution poisons air, water, and soil. Climate change threatens the entire planet. Nuclear weapons can destroy civilization within hours. Automation eliminates jobs, creating unemployment and inequality. Technology addiction damages mental health, especially among youth. Social media spreads misinformation rapidly. Genetic engineering and artificial intelligence raise profound ethical questions humanity isn’t prepared to answer. The gap between technological capability and ethical wisdom grows dangerously wide.
Most troubling is science’s acceleration, creating problems faster than solutions. As Dr. Pennycuick warns, “science has pushed warfare so far forward that ethics and morals are floundering hopelessly behind.”
Conclusion:
Science itself is neither good nor evil, it’s a tool. The same nuclear physics that powers cities can destroy them. The same chemistry that creates medicines produces weapons. The challenge isn’t stopping scientific progress but ensuring it serves humanity rather than harming it. We need ethical development matching technological advancement. Without wisdom guiding power, science’s advantages transform into disadvantages, and humanity’s most brilliant achievements become its greatest threats.

c. Your Idea of Happiness
Ans. Sample Essay (200-250 words):
Happiness, to me, isn’t about wealth, fame, or material success. It’s something deeper and more lasting, a sense of contentment, purpose, and connection that comes from within.
True happiness requires certain foundations. Basic needs must be met, food, shelter, safety. Without these, survival consumes all energy. But beyond basics, material things contribute surprisingly little to lasting happiness. A bigger house or fancier car provides temporary pleasure, not genuine joy.
What truly matters are relationships. Love from family, loyalty of friends, sense of belonging in community—these create happiness that possessions never can. Feeling connected to others, knowing you’re valued and you value them, provides deep satisfaction.
Purpose gives life meaning. Contributing something valuable, whether raising children, creating art, helping others, or excelling at your work, makes you feel your existence matters. That sense of significance brings profound happiness.
Inner peace matters enormously. Freedom from excessive anxiety, acceptance of life’s imperfections, ability to find contentment in simple moments, these qualities sustain happiness through difficulties. As the poem “Character of a Happy Man” suggests, controlling your passions rather than being controlled by them creates lasting peace.
Finally, happiness involves growth, continuously learning, improving, becoming better. Stagnation breeds dissatisfaction; progress brings fulfillment.
For me, happiness isn’t a destination to reach but a way of traveling. It’s appreciating the journey, maintaining meaningful relationships, pursuing purposeful goals, and cultivating inner peace regardless of external circumstances. That’s genuine happiness, not perfect, but deeply satisfying.

2. Discuss the following topics with some of your class-fellows under the guidance of your teacher.
a. Is man really happier today than his forefathers?
b. Man today is not a master, but a slave of the machines.
Ans.
a. Is man really happier today than his forefathers?

Points to Consider FOR (Yes, we are happier):

  1. Better Health: We live longer, healthier lives with less physical suffering
  2. More Comfort: Modern conveniences, heating, cooling, transportation
  3. More Opportunities: Education, career choices, travel possibilities
  4. Less Physical Labor: Machines do hard work
  5. Better Communication: Stay connected with loved ones anywhere
  6. More Entertainment: Movies, music, games, unlimited content
  7. Greater Freedom: More social freedom, rights, equality (in many places)
  8. Scientific Knowledge: Understanding our world better reduces fear

Points to Consider AGAINST (No, we aren’t happier):

  1. More Stress: Constant pressure, competition, information overload
  2. Mental Health Crisis: Rising depression, anxiety, suicide rates
  3. Less Community: Isolation despite connectivity, weakened social bonds
  4. Environmental Anxiety: Climate change fears, pollution concerns
  5. Less Security: Job instability, economic uncertainty, terrorism threats
  6. Addiction Issues: Technology, social media addiction
  7. Loss of Meaning: Material focus leaves spiritual emptiness
  8. Comparison Culture: Social media creates constant dissatisfaction
  9. Faster Pace: No time to rest, reflect, simply be
  10. Simpler Joys Lost: Our ancestors found happiness in simple things

Discussion Questions:

  • What does “happiness” mean? Has the definition changed?
    Are we confusing comfort with happiness?
    Did our forefathers have problems we’ve forgotten about?
    Is nostalgia making the past seem better than it was?
    Can we measure happiness objectively across generations?

b. Man today is not a master, but a slave of the machines.

Points FOR (We are slaves to machines):

  1. Dependence: Can’t function without phones, internet, electricity
  2. Addiction: Compulsive checking of devices, social media scrolling
  3. Work Control: Emails follow us home, always available, no boundaries
  4. Attention Capture: Algorithms designed to keep us hooked
  5. Loss of Skills: Can’t navigate without GPS, can’t calculate without calculators
  6. Social Replacement: Machines replacing human interaction
  7. Time Consumption: Hours daily on screens, controlled by devices
  8. Thought Patterns: Mechanical thinking, reduced creativity
  9. Economic Slavery: Must buy new devices constantly, forced upgrades
  10. Surveillance: Machines monitor everything we do

Points AGAINST (We are masters of machines):

  1. Tools Only: Machines do only what we command them
  2. Choices Available: We can choose how much to use technology
  3. Problems We Created: We built machines; we can control them
  4. Power in Our Hands: Off switches exist; we can disconnect
  5. Enhanced Capabilities: Machines extend our abilities, don’t replace us
  6. Efficiency Gains: More done in less time frees us for other activities
  7. Access to Knowledge: Information at fingertips empowers us
  8. Creative Tools: Technology enables new forms of creativity
  9. Global Connection: Ability to impact and connect worldwide
  10. Medical Miracles: Machines save lives, extend capabilities

Discussion Questions:

  • Where’s the line between useful tool and enslaving addiction?
  • Can we use technology mindfully without being controlled?
  • What would happen if internet disappeared for a week?
  • Are younger generations more enslaved than older ones?
  • How can we reclaim mastery over our technology?

3. Put together your ideas on the following topic with the help of a table : Science Advantages Disadvantages
Ans. Science: Advantages and Disadvantages

Aspect Science Advantages Science Disadvantages
Health Cures diseases, extends life, reduces pain Creates anxiety about health, medical costs, new diseases
Work Machines reduce hard labor, save time Job loss, stress, always connected to work
Communication Connect with loved ones anywhere Superficial connections, less face-to-face interaction
Entertainment Endless options for enjoyment Addiction, comparison, time wasted
Food Abundant production, variety Processed foods, health issues, waste despite hunger
Transportation Fast, convenient travel Pollution, accidents, stress of traffic
Education Information easily accessible Information overload, reduced deep learning
Home Life Comfort, convenience, appliances Less family time, screen addiction
Environment Can monitor and study nature Pollution, climate change, destruction
Mental State Knowledge reduces superstitious fears Anxiety, depression, information overload
Relationships Stay in touch easily Replace real connection with virtual
Purpose More opportunities to contribute Loss of meaning, mechanical existence
Peace Less physical threat from nature More stress, constant stimulation
Spirituality Can focus on growth rather than survival Materialism replaces spiritual values

 

4. Put together your ideas on the following topic with the help of a table : Science Advantages Disadvantages

On the basis of the above ideas, sum up the topic “Science and Human Happiness”. You have to consider : how much has science added to human happiness?

Based on the table analysis:
Science’s contribution to human happiness is complex and contradictory. Materially, science has improved life dramatically, eliminating diseases, providing comfort, extending lifespans, and creating conveniences our ancestors couldn’t imagine. These improvements have reduced physical suffering significantly.
However, these material benefits haven’t guaranteed happiness. Science excels at solving physical problems but creates new psychological and social ones. We have more entertainment but less genuine joy. More communication tools but deeper loneliness. Longer lives but not necessarily more meaningful ones.
The crucial issue is that science addresses only one dimension of happiness, the material, while neglecting others: spiritual, social, emotional, ethical. As Dr. Pennycuick argues, science “has been helpless” with non-material matters that actually determine happiness: love, purpose, meaning, connection, peace.

Conclusion: Science has added enormously to human comfort and capability but contributed little to genuine happiness. Sometimes it has subtracted from happiness by creating stress, anxiety, and meaninglessness. True happiness requires balancing scientific progress with human wisdom, ethical development, and spiritual growth. Science should serve human happiness, not define it.

5. (a) With another classmate, make a chart showing what man can do and what machines can do. Later compare this chart with those made by other classmates.
(b) Divide your class into two groups. One group can prepare to speak “for” and the other “against” the topic. ‘We are happier than our forefathers.’
Ans. Comparative Charts and Debates
(a) What Man Can Do vs. What Machines Can Do
Chart Format:

Activity Man Machine Better At?
Calculate Slow, makes errors Fast, accurate Machine
Create Art Original, emotional Copies patterns Man
Feel Compassion Natural Impossible Man
Lift Heavy Objects Limited strength Enormous power Machine
Make Ethical Decisions Capable (though imperfect) Incapable Man
Remember Information Limited, forgets Perfect recall Machine
Understand Context Natural Struggles Man
Work 24/7 Needs rest Never tires Machine
Love Capable Impossible Man
Process Data Slow Extremely fast Machine
Adapt to New Situations Flexible Limited Man
Distinguish Good/Evil Capable Incapable Man

Questions for Comparison:

  • What can humans do that machines never will?
  • What do machines do better than humans?
  • Should humans focus on what they’re uniquely good at?
  • Are we developing skills machines can’t replace?

(b) Debate Topic: “We are happier than our forefathers”

FOR Team Arguments:

1. Opening Statement: Modern life offers unprecedented comfort, health, opportunity, and freedom making us objectively happier than previous generations.

2. Main Points:

  • Medical advances eliminate suffering our ancestors endured
  • Technology provides comfort, entertainment, connectivity
  • More education and opportunities available
  • Greater social freedom and equality
  • Less physical labor required
  • Access to information and global awareness

3. Rebuttals to Prepare:

  • Statistics showing mental health crisis
  • Claims about simpler, happier past
  • Arguments about stress and anxiety
  • Points about lost community and meaning

4. Closing: While acknowledging challenges, our advantages far outweigh disadvantages compared to disease, poverty, and hardship our ancestors faced daily.

AGAINST Team Arguments:

1. Opening Statement: Despite material advances, we’re less happy than our forefathers because we’ve lost essential elements of human well-being: community, purpose, simplicity, and peace.

2. Main Points:

  • Rising mental health issues (depression, anxiety, suicide)
  • Loss of community and real connection
  • Constant stress and pressure
  • Meaninglessness despite material success
  • Environmental destruction threatening future
  • Technology addiction and isolation
  • Loss of work-life balance

3. Rebuttals to Prepare:

  • Claims about medical advances (yes, but mental health worse)
  • Arguments about opportunities (yes, but more anxiety)
  • Points about comfort (yes, but not happiness)
  • Statistics about longer life (quantity not quality)

4. Closing: Our ancestors had hardships but also had strong communities, clear purposes, and simpler joys we’ve traded for material comfort that hasn’t delivered promised happiness.

 

6. See some pictures of World Wars on the Internet. What do you see about the weapons, machines etc. used in these wars ? Some of you can tell the class about the use/misuse of Science in wars.
Ans. Science in War – Research Activity

Guiding Questions for Research:

  1. World War I:
    • What new weapons appeared? (machine guns, poison gas, tanks, planes)
    • How did science change warfare?
    • What were the casualties compared to previous wars?
  2. World War II:
    • Nuclear weapons,  ultimate example of science’s destructive power
    • Advanced aircraft, submarines, radar
    • How did scientific advancement affect casualties?
  3. Modern Warfare:
    • Drones, cyber warfare, precision weapons
    • How has technology changed the nature of war?
    • Are wars more or less deadly now?

Discussion Points:

  • Ethical Questions: Should scientists work on weapons?
  • Responsibility: Who’s responsible for how inventions are used?
  • Prevention: Can science prevent wars or only make them worse?
  • The Paradox: Same science that heals also kills
  • Future Concerns: AI in warfare, autonomous weapons

Presentation Format:

Students can:

  • Show images of WWI vs. WWII vs. modern weapons
  • Compare casualty figures across eras
  • Discuss specific examples (mustard gas, atomic bomb, drones)
  • Debate whether science makes war more or less humane
  • Connect to Pennycuick’s warning: “science has pushed it so far forward that ethics and morals are floundering hopelessly behind”

 

Punjab Board Class 10 English Chapter 2 Where is Science Taking Us? Extra Question and Answers 

 

Extract-Based questions

A.
“When man first began to think, he asked himself the deepest of all questions – a question which you have undoubtedly asked yourself many times: What is the Meaning of Life? What is it all about? Where are we all going? What drives men ever forward to work and worry? And now there’s another big question-a newer question which is beginning to force itself into our notice. One that is not ages old… It is: Where is Science Taking Us?”

Q1. What is the ancient question mentioned in the extract?
Ans. The oldest question humanity asks is “What is the Meaning of Life?” This philosophical question has haunted humans since they first began thinking. It’s about purpose, direction, why we exist at all, what drives us forward through work and worry.

Q2. What is the new question that has emerged?
Ans. “Where is Science Taking Us?” represents the modern question. Unlike the ancient philosophical inquiry, this one emerged only recently with rapid technological advancement. It forces itself into our awareness because science now shapes everything about how we live.

Q3. Why does the author call the second question “newer”?
Ans. Because it hasn’t existed since man first thought—it’s a product of the modern scientific
age. The meaning of life question is timeless, thousands of years old. But questioning science’s direction only became necessary when scientific progress started transforming society dramatically.

Q4. What does “force itself into our notice” suggest?
Ans. It means we can’t ignore this question anymore. Science’s impact has become so overwhelming, so all-encompassing, that the question demands attention. It’s not optional to consider—the consequences force us to ask where all this is heading.

Q5. What is the significance of presenting these two questions together?
Ans. It connects humanity’s eternal philosophical concerns with modern practical realities. Both questions are fundamentally about direction and purpose. The juxtaposition suggests that science’s direction is now as important to our existence as understanding life’s meaning itself.

B.
“First, where is science taking us with regard to ethical and spiritual values? We know what it is doing with regard to material things, for material things are its daily business; but what is it doing with regard to non-material things? If the answer were ‘nothing at all,’ that would be bad enough; but the actual answer is ‘less than nothing.’ Here science is actually doing less than nothing.”

Q1. What is science good at according to this extract?
Ans. Science excels with material things—that’s its daily business, its specialty. Creating machines, producing goods, advancing technology, understanding physical processes. The material world is where science dominates completely and shows impressive results.

Q2. What does “less than nothing” mean?
Ans. It means science isn’t just failing to help with ethical and spiritual values—it’s actually harming them. Worse than doing nothing, science’s over-emphasis on materialism has damaged spiritual life, making people question if they’re just machines without souls.

Q3. Why does the author distinguish between material and non-material things?
Ans. Because success in one area doesn’t equal success overall. Science can build amazing machines while destroying spiritual understanding. Material achievement without ethical development creates imbalance, potentially dangerous imbalance. You need both for genuine human progress.

Q4. What problem is the author highlighting here?
Ans. Science’s one-sided focus on material success while neglecting ethics and spirituality. This imbalance threatens humanity because technological power without moral guidance becomes dangerous. We’re getting tools without wisdom to use them properly.

Q5. What does this suggest about the author’s view of science?
Ans. He’s not anti-science but concerned about its limitations and imbalances. He recognizes science’s material achievements but criticizes its failure in non-material domains. His view is nuanced—appreciating science’s strengths while warning about its blind spots.

C.
“This is the age of the machine. Machines are everywhere- in the fields, in the factory, in the home, in the street, in the city, in the country, everywhere. To fly, it is not necessary to have wings; there are machines. To swim under the sea it is not necessary to have gills, there are machines. To kill our fellow men in overwhelming numbers, there are machines.”

Q1. How does the author describe the modern age?
Ans. As completely dominated by machines invading every space—fields, factories, homes, streets, cities, countryside. Nowhere escapes mechanical presence. The repetition of “everywhere” emphasizes this total, inescapable dominance of machinery in modern life.

Q2. What capabilities do machines give humans?
Ans. Machines let humans fly without wings, explore underwater without gills. They extend human capabilities beyond biological limitations. We can do what nature never designed us for, transcending our physical constraints through technology.

Q3. What is disturbing about the last example given?
Ans. The progression moves from beneficial (flying, swimming) to horrific (killing in overwhelming numbers). It shows machines amplify both good and evil capabilities. The same technological advancement that liberates also destroys. That’s the dark side of progress.

Q4. What literary device does the author use with the repetition?
Ans. Repetition and parallel structure create emphasis. “Machines are everywhere… there are machines… there are machines” drums the point home relentlessly. The rhythm mirrors how machines have invaded relentlessly into every aspect of existence.

Q5. What is the author’s tone in this extract?
Ans. Mixed—both impressed and disturbed. He acknowledges machines’ amazing capabilities while highlighting their destructive potential. That final example about killing shifts the tone from neutral description to dark warning about technology’s dual nature.

D.
“What are the consequences of this abnormal power? Before the war, it looked as though it might be possible, for the first time in history, to provide food and clothing and shelter for the teeming population of the world – every man, woman and child. This would have been one of the greatest triumphs of science. And yet, many a time especially during the war we have seen the world crammed full of food and people hungry.”

Q1. What great possibility did science create?
Ans. For the first time ever in human history, eliminating poverty looked achievable. Science could produce enough food, clothing, shelter for everyone—every single person on Earth. That potential represents one of humanity’s greatest possible triumphs.

Q2. What paradox does the author describe?
Ans. The world has abundant food yet people starve. Production isn’t the problem—distribution is. Science creates plenty but can’t ensure fairness. The world is “crammed full” while people go hungry simultaneously. That contradiction reveals science’s limitations.

Q3. What does “abnormal power” suggest?
Ans. It means excessive, unnatural, beyond normal human scale. Machines provide power levels humanity never possessed before. “Abnormal” carries slight negative connotation—this power isn’t necessarily good just because it’s enormous.

Q4. Why does science fail to solve hunger despite producing enough food?
Ans. Because science produces goods but has no control over consequences—over distribution, economics, politics, fairness. Technical problems science solves brilliantly. Social, ethical, political problems? Science proves helpless there. That’s the gap killing people.

Q5. What is the author criticizing here?
Ans. The limitation of purely technical solutions. Science can make enough food but can’t make humans share it fairly. Production without just distribution fails humanity. The criticism targets believing technology alone solves human problems without addressing ethical dimensions.

E.
“The machine age gives us year by year more hours of leisure but it fails to teach us how to use them. It gives us mechanical habits of mind and represses the spirit of adventure – except along machine-made lines. We will need all our creative powers to think our way out of the social problems which science has created for us.”

Q1. What benefit and problem does the machine age create?
Ans. Machines save time, giving more leisure hours annually. But nobody teaches meaningful use of this time. The benefit becomes empty because we don’t know how to fill it constructively. More free time without purpose creates its own problems.

Q2. What does “mechanical habits of mind” mean?
Ans. Thinking like machines—routine, repetitive, uncreative. When surrounded by machines, we start thinking mechanically too. Our minds become programmed, following set patterns, losing flexibility and creativity. We mirror what we’re immersed in.

Q3. How does the machine age affect the “spirit of adventure”?
Ans. It suppresses adventurous thinking except within mechanical frameworks. True adventure means unpredictable exploration, creative risk-taking. Machines channel adventure into machine-defined paths only. Real spontaneity, genuine creativity—these get repressed systematically.

Q4. What irony exists in this situation?
Ans. Science creates the problems, then we need creativity to solve them—but science itself destroyed that creativity. We need what science killed to fix what science broke. That circular trap shows how technology can undermine the very qualities needed to manage it.

Q5. What warning does the author give?
Ans. We’ll need every bit of creative power to escape science’s social problems. It’s a serious challenge requiring full human capability. The warning is that mechanical thinking won’t solve problems mechanical thinking created. We need something different, something deeper.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. “Where is Science Taking Us?” was delivered as a ________.
A. lecture
B. broadcast talk
C. speech
D. debate
Ans. B. broadcast talk

2. The broadcast was delivered from ________.
A. London
B. New York
C. Australia
D. Sydney
Ans. C. Australia

3. The author is ________.
A. Dr. S.W. Pennycuick
B. Dr. Alexander Pope
C. Dr. Henry Wotton
D. Dr. William Blake
Ans. A. Dr. S.W. Pennycuick

4. According to the author, science is doing ________ regarding spiritual values.
A. something
B. nothing
C. less than nothing
D. everything
Ans. C. less than nothing

5. Petrol machines provide ________ times more power than all humans in the world.
A. five
B. ten
C. fifteen
D. twenty
Ans. B. ten

6. In the busiest countries, each individual has ________ human slaves in his machines.
A. 400
B. 500
C. 600
D. 700
Ans. C. 600

7. The machine age gives us more hours of ________ but fails to teach us how to use them.
A. work
B. leisure
C. study
D. sleep
Ans. B. leisure

8. In the 1950s, the United States had ________ million people over the age of sixty.
A. seven
B. eight
C. nine
D. ten
Ans. C. nine

9. The author predicted that in fifteen years, the elderly population in the US would reach ________ million.
A. thirty-five
B. forty
C. forty-five
D. fifty
Ans. C. forty-five

10. According to the author, science creates problems ________ than they can be solved.
A. slower
B. faster
C. equally
D. carefully
Ans. B. faster

11. The worst example of science outpacing ethics is ________.
A. pollution
B. war
C. poverty
D. disease
Ans. B. war

12. One apparent aim of science is the conquest of man’s ________.
A. mind
B. soul
C. environment
D. emotions
Ans. C. environment

13. The world needs a small advance in charity, understanding, forbearance, tolerance, justice and ________.
A. wealth
B. mercy
C. power
D. knowledge
Ans. B. mercy

14. Science cannot even help us to distinguish ________ from evil.
A. right
B. good
C. truth
D. justice
Ans. B. good

15. The author believes science might one day improve the ________ of the human brain.
A. structure
B. size
C. function
D. color
Ans. C. function

16. The human brain’s ________ is already perfect according to the author.
A. function
B. structure
C. capacity
D. power
Ans. B. structure

17. Those who fear for the future are ________ in spirit.
A. wise
B. brave
C. craven (cowardly)
D. intelligent
Ans. C. craven (cowardly)

18. The author finds life becoming more and more ________.
A. boring and dull
B. difficult and sad
C. simple and easy
D. interesting, intriguing and exciting
Ans. D. interesting, intriguing and exciting

19. The author wishes he had another ________ years.
A. fifty
B. seventy-five
C. hundred
D. hundred and fifty
Ans. C. hundred

20. The talk was delivered around the ________.
A. 1930s
B. 1940s
C. 1950s
D. 1960s
Ans. C. 1950s

21. Man is struggling in a sort of ________ circle.
A. magic
B. vicious
C. golden
D. silver
Ans. B. vicious

22. Science has been ________ in non-material things.
A. helpful
B. successful
C. helpless
D. powerful
Ans. C. helpless

23. The ultimate goal of science should be the ________ of everything that makes life worthwhile.
A. destruction
B. understanding
C. conquest
D. creation
Ans. B. understanding

24. Machines enable humans to fly without ________.
A. fear
B. effort
C. wings
D. training
Ans. C. wings

25. To swim under the sea, it is not necessary to have ________.
A. oxygen
B. gills
C. strength
D. courage
Ans. B. gills

True or False

State whether the following statements are true or false
1. The essay “Where is Science Taking Us?” was delivered as a broadcast talk from Adelaide, Australia.
2. The question “Where is Science Taking Us?” is as old as humanity itself.
3. According to the author, science is doing well regarding ethical and spiritual values.
4. Petrol machines provide ten times more power than all human beings in the world.
5. Before the war, it seemed possible to provide food, clothing and shelter for everyone.
6. Science has complete control over the consequences of its productions.
7. The machine age teaches us how to use our leisure time meaningfully.
8. Medical advances have increased the elderly population significantly.
9. Science creates problems faster than they can be solved.
10. The world needs new discoveries in nuclear physics more than advances in human virtues.
11. Science can help us distinguish good from evil.
12. The author believes science might improve the structure of the human brain.
13. The author is pessimistic about the future of humanity.
14. Those who fear the future are described as cowardly in spirit.
15. The author wishes to live another hundred years to witness future developments.
Answers
1. True
2. False (It is a newer question, not ages old)
3. False (Science is doing “less than nothing” regarding spiritual values)
4. True
5. True
6. False (Science has no control over the consequences)
7. False (It fails to teach us how to use leisure time)
8. True
9. True
10. False (The world needs advances in charity, tolerance, understanding, mercy, etc.)
11. False (It cannot help distinguish good from evil)
12. False (It might improve the function, not structure, of the brain)
13. False (He is optimistic about the future)
14. True
15. True

Fill in the Blanks

1. When man first began to think, he asked the deepest question: What is the ________ of Life?
2. Science’s material teachings have been so over-emphasized that many people wonder whether man is but a ________.
3. Machines are everywhere, in the fields, in the factory, in the home, in the ________, everywhere.
4. To fly, it is not necessary to have ________; there are machines.
5. Petrol machines alone provide ________ times more power than all human beings in the world.
6. In the busiest countries, each individual has ________ human slaves in his machines.
7. The machine age gives us more hours of ________ but fails to teach us how to use them.
8. Science produces the goods but has no control over the ________.
9. Almost every year, some modern drug adds to the average ________ of life.
10. Man is struggling in a sort of ________ circle.
11. War is the worst example; science has pushed it so far forward that ________ and morals are floundering behind.
12. One aim of science is the complete understanding and ________ of man’s environment.
13. The world needs a small advance in charity, understanding, ________, tolerance, justice and mercy.
14. Science cannot even help us to distinguish ________ from evil.
15. Science might one day improve the ________ of the human brain.
16. The human brain’s ________ is the greatest miracle of all.
17. Man might have sufficient reason and understanding to ________ war.
18. Those who fear for the future are the ________ in spirit.
19. Life is becoming more and more ________, intriguing and exciting.
20. The author wishes he had another ________ years.
Answers
1. Meaning
2. machine
3. street
4. wings
5. ten
6. six hundred / 600
7. leisure
8. consequences
9. span
10. vicious
11. ethics
12. conquest
13. forbearance
14. good
15. function
16. structure
17. abolish
18. craven / cowardly
19. interesting
20. hundred

Extra Questions

1. What is the difference between the ancient question and the modern question mentioned in the essay?
Ans: The ancient question “What is the Meaning of Life?” has been with humanity since man first began to think. The modern question “Where is Science Taking Us?” is relatively new and has emerged only in the age of rapid scientific advancement. While the first deals with existential philosophy, the second concerns the direction and consequences of scientific progress.

2. Why does the author compare machines to slaves?
Ans: The author compares machines to slaves to illustrate the enormous power they provide to humans. In busy countries, each individual has the equivalent of 600 human slaves working for them through machines. This metaphor emphasizes both the benefits and the dependence humans have developed on mechanical power.

3. What paradox does the author mention regarding food production?
Ans: The author mentions that despite science making it possible to produce enough food for the entire world population, people still go hungry. The world is “crammed full of food and people hungry” because science can produce goods but has no control over their fair distribution and consequences.

4. How has the machine age affected human creativity and adventure?
Ans: The machine age has given people mechanical habits of mind and repressed the spirit of adventure except along machine-made lines. While machines save time and labor, they limit human creativity to predetermined, mechanical patterns rather than encouraging free exploration and innovative thinking.

5. What does the author mean by saying man is caught in a “vicious circle”?
Ans: Man is caught in a vicious circle because science creates problems faster than they can be solved. Humanity is always striving to catch up with the problems created by scientific advancement but never succeeds in getting nearer to solving them completely. This creates an endless cycle of new problems and inadequate solutions.

6. Why does the author say the human brain’s structure is the greatest miracle?
Ans: The author considers the human brain’s structure the greatest miracle because it is already perfect in its design and complexity. He believes that understanding its structure will be science’s final achievement. However, its function can still be improved to increase reasoning power and understanding.

7. What is the author’s attitude toward the future?
Ans: The author has an optimistic and enthusiastic attitude toward the future. Despite acknowledging present troubles and uncertainties, he finds life becoming increasingly interesting, intriguing, and exciting. He considers those who fear the future as cowardly in spirit and wishes he could live another hundred years to witness future developments.

8. How does war exemplify the problem with scientific progress?
Ans: War exemplifies how scientific advancement has far outpaced ethical and moral development. Science has created weapons capable of killing humans in overwhelming numbers, and the technology of warfare has progressed so rapidly that ethical and moral considerations are “floundering hopelessly behind,” unable to control or prevent such destruction.

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