Read the following passage and answer the questions.
The New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least most of us could compile
formidable lists of ‘do's’ and ‘don'ts’ for the year. The same old favorites recur year in
year out with monotonous regularity. We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat
less, find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the
house, be nice to people we don’t like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk
every day. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond
attainment. If we remain deep-rooted liars, it is only because we have so often
experienced the frustration that results from failure.
Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too
ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We also make the fundamental
error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish
when we slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted
to keep my resolutions to myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions; to do
physical exercise every morning and to read more every evening. An all-night party
on New Year's Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of
these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself
assiduously to the task.
The daily exercise lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the
morning before anyone had got up. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of
bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable. Nevertheless, I managed to
creep down into the living-room for two days before anyone found me out. After
jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable
positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was this that
betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the
performance. That was really unsettling but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the
family good humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, my
enthusiasm waned, the time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little
the eleven minutes fell to zero. By January 10th I was back to where I had started
from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in the morning I
would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home from work. Resisting the
hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes
glued to a book. One night however, feeling cold and lonely, I went downstairs and
sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my undoing, for I
soon got back to the old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven't
given up my resolution to do more reading, In fact, I have just bought a book entitled
‘How to Read a Thousand Words a Minute.’ Perhaps it will solve my problem, but I
just haven’t had time to read it.
1a) According to the writer, what have past experiences of New Year resolutions taught
us?
1b) Why, according to the writer, do most of us fail in our efforts for self-improvement?
1c) Why did the writer not carry out his resolutions on New Year’s day?
1d) The writer eventually failed to implement his New Year’s Resolutions because:
a) his family disturbed him.
b) his resolutions were too ambitious
c) he was looking for some convincing excuse to forget them.
1e) Give a suitable little to the passage.
1f) In a few lines write your own experience of New Year Resolutions
Answers
1a The writer offers us a lot of lessons based on previous new year resolutions. He has noticed that the new year resolutions are roughly the same each year. Also, there are hardly any chances of keeping the resolutions. So if we announce our resolutions publically, and are unable to keep them we end up making a fool of ourselves.
1b Most of us try our hand at self improvement rather unsuccessfully simply because we set extremely high goals. These goals need time and commitment. However since we are always running short of time these goals become unachievable and we tend to give up on them completely. They then get listed as new year resolutions for the next year.
1c The writer was up partying all night on New Year's eve, which is why understandably he slept very late and hence woke up even later. This disturbed his routine and left him with no time or energy to carry out his resolutions on the first day of the year.
1d The correct answer is option C. His excuse for not exercising is that it is tiresome. If he did not exhaust himself in the morning, he would have the energy to read in the evening. However his excuse for not reading in the evening is that he feels sleepy sitting in front of the television. Basically the writer is only looking for excuses to not keep his resolutions.
1e New Year Irresolution
1f I think I agree with the writer about not making over-ambitious resolutions. Instead, sticking to more achievable milestones are a better idea. My resolution this year is to make one person happy each day. It is not very difficult yet it adds joy to my life everyday.
The writer eventually failed to implement his New Year’s Resolutions because:
a) his family disturbed him.
b) his resolutions were too ambitious
c) he was looking for some convincing excuse to forget them.