Direction: In the following questions, you have brief passages with 5/10 questions following each passage. Read the passages carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
Passage
Let us wish nothing that will make the world poorer; nothing that will bring pain or privation to our fellowmen. We shall not dwell upon the past unhappiness, which avails us nothing and begets nothing but grief. We will not compare past and present joys, to the detriment of the present ones. We will not be discouraged if the way is all uphill, and travelling is slow, so long as we are rising. We will not make too heroic resolutions, beyond our strength to perform, lest they become but shameful memories. We will try by words and deeds to show a livelier appreciation of the good that comes our way. We will strive to cultivate more intelligently the art of giving, and to understand the truth that what we keep we lose, and what we give away remains forever ours.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(1) privation (N.) : a lack of the basic things that people need for living
(2) dwell upon (Phr.V.) : to think/talk a lot about something, especially something it would be better to forget
(3) avails (V.) : to be helpful/useful to somebody
(4) begets (V.) : to make something happen
(5) detriment (N.) : the act of causing harm/damage
(6) uphill (Adj.) : a struggle that is diffiult to win/takes a lot of effort over a long period of time
(7) lest (Conj.) : in order to prevent something from happening
(8) livelier (Adj.) : full of life and energy ; active and enthusiastic
(9) strive (V.) : to try very hard to achieve something
(10) cultivate (V.) : to develop an attitude, a way of talking/behaving, etc.