ADVANCED READING AND WRITING

(Brief-answer Questions)

Reading – I

7. Read the following composition attentively and answer any five of the questions:

Few of us realize how much we need encouragement. Yet we must bask in the warmth of approval now and then or lose our self-confidence. All of us need to feel needed and admired. But unless we hear words of praise from someone else, how can we know that we are valued friends or co-workers?

Anyone who wants to improve his relationships with others need only show a sympathetic understanding. The way to express this understanding and to give others the feeling of importance and worthiness boils down to this: always look for something in the other person you can admire and praise and tell him about it.

We each have a mental picture of ourselves, a self-image. To find life reasonably satisfying, that self-image must be one we can live with, one we like. When we are proud of our self-image, we feel confident and free to be ourselves. We function at our best. When we are ashamed of our self-image, we attempt to hide it rather than express it. We become hostile and hard to get along with.

A miracle happens to the person whose self-esteem has been raised. He suddenly likes other people better. He is kinder and more cooperative with those around him. Praise is the polish that helps keep his image bright and sparkling.

What has this to do with your giving praise? A lot. You have the ability to perform that kind of miracle in another person. When you add to his self-esteem, you make him want to like you and to cooperate with you.

Sincerity is essential in giving praise. It lends potency to a compliment. Coming home after a hard day's work, the man who sees the faces of his children pressed against the window, watching for him, can water his soul with their silent but golden opinion.

Praise helps rub off the sharp edges of daily contact. Nowhere is this truer than in marriage. Yet it is perhaps in the home that value of praise is less appreciated than elsewhere. The spouse who is alert to say heartening thing at the right moment has learned one of the most important requirements for a happy family life.

a. Why do we need to hear words of praise from someone else?

Ans: We need to hear words of praise from someone else so that we can know that we are valued friends or co-workers

b. What does the writer say about self-image?

Ans:  The writer says about self-image that it is the mental picture of ourselves. The self-image should be developed to boost our confidence and freedom.

c. What miracle happens when one's self-esteem is raised?

Ans: The miracle that happens when one's self-esteem is raised is that he suddenly starts liking other people better, becomes kinder and cooperative.

d. Why is sincerity essential in giving praise?

Ans: Sincerity is essential in giving praise because it lends potency to a compliment.