READING COMPREHENSION
The happy man is the man who lives objectively,
who has free affections and wide interests, who
secures his happiness through these interests and
affections and through the fact that they in turn make
him an object of interest and affection to many others.
To be the recipient of affection is a potent cause of
happiness, but the man who demands affection is not
the man upon whom it is bestowed. The man who
receives affection is, speaking broadly, the man who
gives it. But it is useless to attempt to give it as a
calculation, in the way in which one might lend money
at interest, for a calculated affection is not genuine
and is not felt to be so by the recipient.
What then can a man do who is unhappy because
he is encased in self? So long as he continues to
think about the causes of his unhappiness, he
continues to be self-centered and therefore does not
get outside it. It must be by genuine interest, not by
simulated interests adopted merely as a medicine.
Although this difficulty is real, there is nevertheless
much that he can do if he has rightly diagnosed his
trouble. If for example, his trouble is due to a sense
of sin, conscious or unconscious, he can first
persuade his conscious mind that he has no reason
to feel sinful, and then proceed, to plant this rational
conviction in his unconscious mind, concerning
himself meanwhile with some more or less neutral
activity. If he succeeds in dispelling the sense of
sin, it is possible that genuine objective interests
will arise spontaneously. If his trouble is self-pity,
he can deal with it in the same manner after first
persuading himself that there is nothing
extraordinarily unfortunate in his circumstances.
If fear is his trouble, let him practise exercises
designed to give courage. Courage has been recognized
from time immemorial as an important virtue, and a
great part of the training of boys and young men has
been devoted to producing a type of character capable
of fearlessness in battle. But moral courage and
intellectual courage have been much less studied.
They also, however , have their technique. Admit to
yourself every day at least one painful truth, you will
Chapter 19
Reading Comprehension
find it quite useful. Teach yourself to feel that life
would still be worth living even if you were not, as of
course you are, immeasurably superior to all your
friends in virtue and in intelligence. Exercises of this
sort prolonged through several years will at last enable
you to admit facts without flinching and will, in so
doing, free you from the empire of fear over a very
large field.
Potent = convincing; having great power
Bestow = to present something as a gift to
somebody
Encase = to surround or cover something
closely, especially in order to protect
it.
Simulated = artificial, but made to look, feel etc
like the real thing.
Merely = only; simply
Nevertheless= in spite of something; however; still
Persuade = to convince somebody
Conviction = a firm opinion or belief ; the
appearance of being sincere, firmly
believed or truly meant
Dispell = to make something go away
Immemorial = of or from a time so long ago that no
one can remember it; ancient
Prolong = to make something last longer; to
extend something
Flinching = making a sudden automatic
movement because of pain, fear or
shock
1. According to the passage, calculated affection
1) appears to be false and fabricated
2) makes other person to love you
3) turns into permanent affection over a period
of time
4) leads to self-pity
5) gives a feeling of courage
2. Who according to the passage is the happy man?
1) Who is encased in self
2) Who has free affection and wide interests
3) Who is free from worldly passions
4) Who has externally centred passions
5) None of these
3. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE
in the context of the passage?
1) The happy man has wide interests.
2) Courage has been recognised as an important
virtue.
3) Unhappy man is encased in self.
4) A man who suffers from the sense of sin must
tell himself that he has no reason to be
sinful.5) Issue of intellectual courage has been
extensively studied.
4. Which of the following virtues, according to the
passage, has been recognised for long as an
important virtue?
1) Patriotism 2) Sacrifice
3) Courage 4) Self-consciousness
5) None of these
5. Which of the following words is SIMILAR in
meaning of the word ‘bestowed’ as used in the
passage?
1) Conferred 2) Accommodated
3) Trusted 4) Withdrawn
5) Directed
6. Which of the following, according to the passage,
has not been studied much?
1) Feeling of guilt and self-pity
2) The state of mind of an unhappy man
3) How to get absorbed in other interests
4) Moral and intellectual courage
5) None of these
7. What should a man do who is suffering from the
feeling of self-pity?
1) He should control his passions and emotions.
2) He should persuade himself that everything
is alright in his circumstances.
3) He should seek affection from others.
4) He should develop a feeling of fearlessness.
5) He should consult an expert to diagnose his
trouble.
8. What happens to a man who demands affection?
1) His feelings are reciprocated by others.
2) He tends to take a calculated risk.
3) He becomes a victim of a vicious circle.
4) He takes affection for granted from others.
5) None of these
Reciprocate = to give and receive something
in return; to make a mutual
exchange of something
Vicious circle = a continuing situation in which
one problem or need leads to
another and the new problem
makes the first problem worse.
9. If a man is suffering from a sense of sin,
1) he should invite opinion of others
2) he should admit his sin at once
3) he should consciously realize that he has no
reason to feel sinful
4) he should develop a fearless character
5) he should develop an internal focus of control
10. Which of the following statements is TRUE in
the context of the passage?
1) All passions stem from unhappiness.
2) The happy man lives subjectively.
3) Any virtue has a dark side also.
4) One feels happy if one receives affection.
5) Any affection is always genuine.
To stem from = to have something as its origin
or cause
11. Which of the following statements is SIMILAR
in meaning to the word ‘flinching’ as used in
the passage?
1) wincing 2) convincing 3) explaining
4) providing 5) debating
Wincing = showing pain, distress or
embarrassment by a slight
movement of the muscles in the face.
12. How can one get out of the vicious circle
mentioned in the passage?
1) By practising skills of concentration
2) By inculcating the habit of self-absorption
3) Being true to others and one’s internal
circumstances
4) Admitting to oneself that others could be right
5) None of these
To inculcate = to fix ideas, principles, etc firmly in
somebody’s mind especially by
often repeating them
13. Which of the following words is OPPOSITE in
meaning of the word ‘dispelling’ as used in the
passage?
1) giving 2) accumulating
3) projecting 4) scattering
5) receiving
14. What according to the passage is the real cause
of happiness?
1) Material rewards and incentives received
2) Critical analysis of the happy state of mind
3) Affection received from others
4) Calculated risk taken
5) None of these
15. What happens when you think about the cause
of your unhappiness?
1) You try to introspect and look critically at
yourself.
2) You realize that life can be lived in different
ways.
3) You try to practice exercise designed to give
coverage.
4) You remain a self-centered person.
5) None of these
