There was once an ant that was very thirsty. It ran here and there looking for some water but could not find any. Then suddenly, when the ant was almost ready to die of thirst, a large drop of water fell on it. The ant drank the water, which saved its life. The water was actually a tear from a young girl who was crying. Because of her sadness, the tear had magical qualities and suddenly the ant could speak the language of human beings. The ant looked up and saw the young girl sitting in front of a huge pile of seeds. "Why are you sad?" asked the ant. "I'm the prisoner of a giant." the girl told the ant. " He won't let me go until I've made three separate heaps of grain, barley and rye out of this huge pile of seeds in which they are all mixed together." "That will take you a month!" the ant said, looking at the huge pile of seeds. "I know," the girl cried, "and if I haven't finished by tomorrow, the giant will eat me for his supper!" "Don't cry," the ant said, "my friends and I will help you." Soon thousands of ants were at work, separating the three kinds of seeds. The next morning, when the giant saw that the work had been done, he let the girl go. Thus it was one of her tears that saved her life. Why was the young girl crying? A) Because of her sadness. B) Because she saw the ant. C) Because the giant would let her go. D) Because the giant had given her an impossible job to do.
D
(Question)
Negative self talk and negative energy can affect you in many ways and cause you additional stress. Because of this, developing more positive self talk is an important way to reduce stress in your life. You can help yourself maintain a positive frame of mind which will help with positive self talkby surrounding yourself with positive energy in your life. You can get that by adding some elements to your life. Listening to music that not only has a pleasant melody, but an uplifting message, can be great for developing positive self talk. Have you ever had a song "stuck in your head" for a few hours or days, the lyrics repeating themselves in your mind? If those lyrics were positive and inspirational, that would be a good thing. It's a much better mental soundtrack to have than a running stream of complaints, criticisms of self-limiting thoughts, or even songs that had more depressing or sad lyrics. Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self help can be good resources to help you change your outlook and the things you say to yourself. Rather than bringing habitual self-defeating thoughts, you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough. One of the most important ways you can get and keep positive energy in your life is with the company you keep. Do your friends uplift you, or bring you down? Are they critical, or approving? Ideal friendships provide support when you're down, fun when you're up, wisdom when you're lost. Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights, and see your strengths even when you don't always. Pay attention to how your friends make you feel, and if they're less than supportive, start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friends. In addition, positive affirmations can certainly change your self talk from negative to positive. Now, why not begin working positive affirmations into your life in some creative ways? What does the passage mainly talk about? A) Adding some elements to your life. B) Getting positive energy from the company you keep. C) Changing your self talk with positive affirmation. D) Reducing stress by surrounding yourself with positive energy.
(Answer)
D
Ques: The moral view of violence, labeling it as bad and wrong, has done little to end it. The alternative view is to release our judgments and see violence for what it is: a form of suffering. This is a difficult change for many people. Not only are they in the habit of making knee-jerk judgments, but violent people cause harm, and therefore their suffering seems to deserve less sympathy. You hurt me, so why should I have sympathy for you? It should be the other way around. Does it take a saint to make the change from strong anger to sympathy? Turning points arrive when we can make a choice not to suffer in silence. We then strike a soul bargain that is fearful but necessary. The bargain is that redemption is possible through love.The absence of love is absolutely the problem, and love is absolutely the solution. We don't have to reach into another area to locate the magic power of love that is available to us here and now. _ The rule is constant work on the spiritual path to clear away the obstacles that prevent love from coming through us. The work is much more like working on blocked pipe system than it is like copying a saint. Hope is the emotion that keeps this dogged work even when results seem to be slow or impossible. Can I love the terrorist who harms my country? Can I love the criminal who wants to harm me? At the level of the soul I already do, and the spiritual path is a means to arrive at that level. No one is required to leap into sudden sympathy for terrorists, or even to announce publicly that our enemies deserve love. But in our souls each of us harbors the knowledge that only love is going to bring violence to an end. No matter how you and I live our outward lives, our spiritual lives must remain devoted to that vision. Which one is NOT true for moral view of violence? A) It thinks violence is bad and wrong. B) It plays an important role in ending violence. C) It is a knee-jerk judgment of people. D) It thinks violent people deserve less sympathy.
Ans: B
Tears ran down from my eyes as I saw the essay my high school English teacher had just handed back. A big F was written on top. I was hopeless. I was stupid!My face burned with shame when my classmates called me stupid. "I'm the only one who doesn't know my ABCs!"I sobbed to mum. "I'll help,"she promised. Every day I sat with her,but to me,cat looked like cta and red was reb. Frustrated,I would return to my bedroom and draw,filling the paper with houses,restaurants and offices. "When I grow up,I want my own store,"I told mum,pointing to my drawings. "That's great!"she said,"but first you have to learn to read." Later,I was diagnosed with dyslexia .So mum took me to a learning centre,where I was given reading exercises. But I still struggled. Finally,I graduated,but I was afraid of my reading skills. "I'll never get a job!"I cried to mum later again. "Don't focus on what you can't do,"she comforted."Concentrate on what you can." But what can I do?I wondered. Suddenly,I thought of the drawings I'd made as a child and my dream of having my own store. I enjoyed sales so much that over the next few years,I tried my hand at other businesses. Today,I watch over seven branches. We have 187 employees and $15 million in sales. While I'll never be what my teachers might have wanted,I am a success-on my own terms. The other day a student sent me a card,reading:You gave me so much confidence. I hope to be like you when I am big. Tears of joy filled my eyes. This was my A,I smiled. Why did the author feel so ashamed at school? A) His teacher scolded him in class. B) His teacher refused to read his essay. C) He failed to hand in his essay on time. D) His classmates looked down upon him.
D