1.Read the passage given below. I have found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing.
Nelson Mandela said: “There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling
for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
I am sure your experiences in school… in applying to college… in picking your
major…in doing what you want to do with life, people have told you to make
sure you’ve something to “fall back on”.
But if I am going to fall, I don’t want to fall back on anything, except my faith.
I want to fall forward. At least I figure that way I will see what I am about to hit.
Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I
didn’t either, because 1,001 was the light bulb.
Fall forward.
Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. You have got to take risks.
And I am sure you’ve probably heard that before. But I want to talk about why
it is so important.
You will fail at some point in life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass
yourself. There is no doubt about it. That’s not a traditional message for a
graduation ceremony.
But, hey, I am telling you- embrace it. Because it is inevitable.
And I should know; in the acting business you fail all the time.
Early in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. A perfect role
for me, I thought- except for the fact that I can’t sing. So, I start to sing and
they are not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting
into it. The director cuts me off saying I will be hearing from him.
I assumed I didn’t get the job.
But the next part of the audition, the acting part, he called me back, though I
didn’t get that too.
But here’s the thing. I didn’t quit. I didn’t fall back.
I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition,
and the next one. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and failed and
failed.
But it didn’t matter because if you try long enough you’ll catch your break.
And I did catch a break.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer the questions that
follow. (1x5=5)
I. The speaker will fall back only on his
a) savings
b) faith
c) relations
d) physical strength
II. Which of the following does not mean the same as ‘fall forward’ here?
a) try again
b) another attempt
c) retry
d) fall on the ground
III. What are the two things that the listeners would have heard before,
according to the speaker?
1.making sure that one has something to fall back on.
2.one has got to take risks.
3.always settle for what one has
4.every failure is one step close to success.
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 3 and 4
d) 1 and 3
IV. What is the Literary Device used in the paragraph “I walked out of there
to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition, and the next one.
I prayed, and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and failed and failed.”
a) parallelism
b) hyperbole
c) repetition
d) irony
V. What do you understand about the profession of the speaker from the
passage?
a) singer
b) writer
c) poet
d) actor