Question

BOYHOOD AND BALANCE
My eldest boy had just turned nine One day not long after he was on his
way to the pool on his bike when he slammed on his brakes in front of me and did a really
neat skid. He looked back and gave me his cheesy smile of satisfaction
(2) Normally that little skid would have provoked a stern warning not to wear
out your tyres." I was always taught to take care of my things and keep them in good shape
I've come to learn, though, that there is a difference between the natural course of wearing
things out and trying to make things last at any price. The difference became acute to me one bright
sunny day four years ago
(3) My then five-year-old boy had spent a normal summer afternoon playing in the park and
swimming at the neighbourhood pool At his bath time that might, I noticed he had small red spots all
over his body. Some kind of measles, I thought, and called my wife to take a look. By pure chance,
the next day he had an appointment with his paediatrician
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(4) Several tests (and long hours) later, the doctors figured my son had an illness called ITP (idiopathic
thrombocytopenic purpura), which causes your spleen to kill of your body's own blood-clotting platelets.
If it got worse, he could bleed to death internally
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Only time would tell whether it would get better on its own. You can imagine the fear that crept into our hearts.
(5) Three days into his stay at the hospital. I went to pick out a passent for him I reached for a yellow toy
convertible (he loves cars). My hand hesitated. I knew that it wouldn't last long with a five-year-old boy.
Then I thought to myself. So what if the doors break off and the wheels fall off. Ir those things happen, it will
mean he is alive and well I bought it in the hope that he would be well enough to play with it.
He was thrilled to receive it, and it helped him pass the week he spent at the hospital
(6) I saw the car the other day, sitting on a shell in his room. The wheels have fallen off, the doors are broken
and all of the chrome has worn ofl. I see it and I smile to myself My boy has been perfectly well these past four
years, and is full of vitality, Ilis mysterious illness came and went
(7) And I learned that things are things and can be replaced if necessary. If any one of my three boys 25
happens to break something or wear it out playing with it, instead of chastising him for carelessness, I now
prefer to celebrate his boyhood. The empty shell of what once was a nice car, the balding tyre of his new bike,
the lost pieces of his Monopoly game, all bear witness to the fact that there lives a healthy, happy boy
Prudence and preservation have their place, as do experimentation and curiosity. In the end,
it is my relationships with my sons and my wife that have real lasting power. I choose to celebrate our 30
lives and live with the losses.
Besides, I used to skid my tyres the same way just not in front of my dad.
Elliot Van Egmond - The Globe and Mail (Adapted)​

Answer 1

Answer:

sunny day four years ago

(3) My then five-year-old boy

Answer 2

Answer:

given below are three words and phrases .find the words which have a similar meaning in the passage 1. strict,2.energy and viger 3.scolding