Ralph Emerson once said that the purpose of life is not to be happy, but to be useful, to be loving, to make some difference in he world. While we appreciate such words of wisdom, we rarely try to follow them in our lives.

Most people prefer to live a good life themselves, ignoring their responsibilities for the world. This narrow perception of a good life may provide short-term benefits, but is sure to lead to long-term harm and suffering. A good life based on comfort and luxury may eventually lead to more pain be-cause we spoil our health and even our character, principles, ideals, and relationships.

What then, is the secret of a good life? A good life is a process, not a state of being : a direction, not a destination. We have to earn a good life by first serving others without any expectation in return because their happiness is the very source of our own happiness. More importantly, we must know ourselves inside out. Only when we examine ourselves deeply can we discover our abilities and recognize our limitations, and then work accordingly to create a better world.

The first requirement for a good life is having a loving heart. When we do certain right things merely as a duty, we find our job so tiresome that we'll soon burn out. However, when we do that same job out of love, we not only enjoy what we do, but also do it with an effortless feeling.

However, love alone is insufficient to lead a good life. Love sometimes blinds us to the reality. Consequently, our good intentions may not lead to good results. To achieve desired outcome, those who want to do good to others also need to equip themselves with accurate world knowledge. False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance. If love is the engine of a car knowledge is the steering wheel. If the engine lacks power, th car can't move; if the driver loses control of the steering, a road accident probably occurs. Only with love in heart and the right knowledge in mind can we lead a good life.

With love and knowledge, we go all out to create a better world by doing good to others. When we see the impact of our good work on the world we give meaning to our life and earn lasting joy and happiness.

Questions:
question_stem: What effect does the narrow perception of a good life have on us?
choices: tag: A
text: Making us simple-minded

tag: B
text: Making us snort-signted.

tag: C
text: Leading us onto a busy road.

tag: D
text: Keeping us from comfort and luxury.
answer_key: B

question_stem: According to the author, how can one gain true happiness?
choices: tag: A
text: Through maintaining good health.

tag: B
text: By going through pain and suffering.

tag: C
text: By recognizing one's abilities and limitations.

tag: D
text: Through offering help much needed by others.
answer_key: D

question_stem: According to Paragraph 4, doing certain right things with a loving heart makes one
choices: tag: A
text: less selfish

tag: B
text: less annoying

tag: C
text: more motivated

tag: D
text: more responsible
answer_key: C

question_stem: In what case may good intentions fail to lead to desired results?
choices: tag: A
text: When we have wrong knowledge of the world.

tag: B
text: When our love for the world is insufficient.

tag: C
text: When we are insensitive to dangers in life.

tag: D
text: When we stay blind to the reality.
answer_key: A

question_stem: According to Paragraph 5, life can be made truly good when
choices: tag: A
text: inspired by love and guided by knowledge

tag: B
text: directed by love and pushed by knowledge

tag: C
text: purified by love and enriched by knowledge

tag: D
text: promoted by love and defined by knowledge
answer_key: A