Unseen Passage: Papaya

Reading Comprehension

Papaya is the healthiest fruit with a list of properties that is long and exhaustive. Papaya favours digestion as well as cures skin irritation and sunburns. You can munch on it as a salad, have it cooked or boiled or just drink it up as milk shake or juice. The most important of these virtues is the protein-digesting enzyme in the milky juice. The enzyme is similar to pepsin in its digestive action and is said to be so powerful that it can digest 200 times its own weight in protein. It assists the body in assimilating the maximum nutritional value from food to provide energy and body-building materials.

Papain in raw papaya makes up for the deficiency of gastric juice and fights excess of unhealthy mucus in the stomach, dyspepsia and intestinal irritation. The ripe fruit, if eaten regularly, corrects habitant constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhoea.

The juice, used as a cosmetic, removes freckles or brown spots due to exposure to sunlight and makes the skin smooth and delicate. A paste of papaya seeds is applied in skin diseases like those caused by ringworm. The black seeds of the papaya are highly beneficial in the treatment of cirrhosis of the liver caused by malnutrition, alcoholism, etc.

A table spoon of its juice, combined with a hint of fresh lime juice, should be taken once or twice daily for a month. The fresh juice of raw papaya mixed with honey can be applied over inflamed tonsils, for diphtheria and other throat disorders. It dissolves the membrane and prevents infection from spreading. The nutrients in papaya have also been shown to be helpful in the prevention of colon cancer. Papaya’s fibre is able to control cancer-causing toxins in the colon and keep them away from the healthy colon cells. In addition, papaya’s folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E have each been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. These nutrients provide synergistic protection for colon cells from free radical damage to their DNA. Increasing your intake of these nutrients by enjoying papaya is an especially good idea for individuals at risk of colon cancer.

Q. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the list of properties of papaya?
2. Papaya helps in digestion as well as and __________ .
3. ___________ is said to be so powerful that it can digest 200 times its own weight in protein.
4. Main advantages of papaya if eaten regularly are ___________.

Answer

1. long and exhaustive
2. cures skin irritation and sunburns
3. enzyme
4. corrects habitant constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhoea.

Q. Choose the correct alternatives:

1. The fact that papaya is a versatile fruit is evident from
   1. used as a cosmetic
   2. its ability to fight and cure so many diseases
   3. corrects habitant constipation, bleeding piles and chronic diarrhoea
   4. None of the above
2. Papaya favours ________________.
   1. digestion and cures skin irritation.
   2. makes the skin smooth and delicate.
   3. inflamed tonsils and other throat disorders.
   4. deficiency of gastric juice and fights excess of unhealthy mucus.
3. The black seeds of the papaya are highly beneficial in the treatment of
   1. colon cancer
   2. cirrhosis of the liver
   3. skin irritation and sunburns
   4. None of the above
4. Find the word from the passage which means ‘a lack or shortage’.
   1. spreading
   2. prevention
   3. deficiency
   4. mucus

Answer

1. its ability to fight and cure so many diseases
2. digestion and cures skin irritation.
3. cirrhosis of the liver
4. deficiency