Comprehension Practice
We look before and after, wrote Shelley, and pine for what is not. It is said that this is what distinguishes us from the animals and that they, unlike us, live always for and in the movement and have neither hopes nor regrets. Whether it is so or not I do not know yet it is undoubtedly one of our distinguishing mental attributes: we are actually conscious of our life in time and not merely of our life at the moment of experiencing it. And as a result we find many grounds for melancholy and foreboding. Some of us prostrate ourselves on the road way in Trafalgar Square or in front of the American Embassy because we are fearful that our lives, or more disinterestedly those of our descendants will be cut short by nuclear war. If only as" squirrels or butterflies are supposed to do, we could let the future look after itself and be content to enjoy the pleasures of the morning breakfast, the brisk walk to the office through autumnal mist or winter fog, the mid-day sunshine that sometimes floods through windows, the warm, peaceful winter evenings by the fireside at home. Yet all occasions for contentment are so often spoiled for us, to a greater or lesser degree by our individual temperaments, by this strange human capacity for foreboding and regret - regret for things which we cannot undo and foreboding for things which may never happen at all. Indeed, were it not for the fact that over breaking through our human obsessions with the tragedy of time, so enabling us to enjoy at any rate some fleeting moments untroubled by vain yearning or apprehension, our life would not be intolerable at all. As it is, we contrive, every one of us, to spoil it to a remarkable degree.
Questions & Answers
1. 1. What is the difference between our life and the life of an animal?
The difference is that animals live always for and in the movement and have neither hopes nor regrets. Humans, conversely, are conscious of our life in time and not merely of our life at the moment of experiencing it.
2. What is the result of human anxiety?
The result of human anxiety is finding many grounds for melancholy and foreboding.
3. How does the writer compare man to the butterflies and squirrels?
The writer compares man by suggesting that if only humans could let the future look after itself, like squirrels or butterflies are supposed to do, we could be content to enjoy the pleasures of the morning and immediate moments.
4. How does anxiety about future disturb our daily life?
Anxiety disturbs our daily life because the human capacity for foreboding and regret spoils all occasions for contentment. This includes regret for things we cannot undo and foreboding for things which may never happen at all.
5. How can we make our life tolerable?
We can make our life tolerable by breaking through our human obsessions with the tragedy of time, thus enabling us to enjoy some fleeting moments untroubled by vain yearning or apprehension.