Question

of the passage. there are several questions about this passage.
author, a long - distance runner and farmer, recalls returning to the family farm
after an absence of ten years.
from the farmer’s son
i started running a year ago. sometimes when i am running hard i forget
where i am and what distance i have covered. i forget the pain in my legs and
ankles. i simply am. exercise has become a big part of my life, and most days i
head to the local forest or the gym and spend an hour or two working out. it
lifts my mood and gives me a break from the farm. to spend too much time on
a farm surrounded only by animals makes an oddity of a man.
i’ve been a serious runner for the last nine months. by serious, i mean in
my own terms — that twenty - one kilometers isn’t hard or out of the ordinary
anymore. it started as a thought, a small want for change, in what the writer
mihaly csikszentmihalyi called the cultivation of the garden of the self. i was in australia,
my old home, promoting my first novel; i had emerged from a serious illness
and the idea of fitness came to me suddenly.
at the beginning i was slow and would soon run out of breath, but as the
weeks moved by, my time on the treadmill increased, my heart grew stronger,
and when i moved back to ireland i graduated to the great outdoors.
i remember my first five - kilometer race here last august. it was a simple
course through the local forest and my only goal then was to finish. i had never
before run so far, and slow as i was, i made it to the end. as i neared the finish,
i found i had more fuel in the tank and sprinted to the line....
long - distance running is like farming, for it requires discipline, patience
and preparation. you can’t just decide you will run a marathon on a
wednesday, just as you can’t produce a herd in a day or make a cow calve
before her time.
which pair of words best expresses how the act of
running causes the author to feel?

1. calm and peaceful
2. cheerful and friendly
3. brave and adventurous
4. competitive and ambitious

part b
select two excerpts from the passage that best
support the correct answer to part a.

1. “i forget the pain in my legs and ankles. i

simply am.” (paragraph 1)

1. “that twenty - one kilometers isn’t hard or out

of the ordinary anymore” (paragraph 2)

1. “as i neared the finish, i found i had more fuel

in the tank and sprinted to the line....”
(paragraph 4)

1. “i feel that i am in control now—my life has a

sense of stability and order—and that i, like
the animals, am safe” (paragraph 7)

Explanation:

For Part A, the author describes running as clearing their mind and bringing stability, aligning with "calm and peaceful". For Part B, excerpt 1 shows running helps the author let go of physical discomfort and be present (calm), and excerpt 4 states running gives control, stability, and safety (peaceful), supporting the Part A answer.

Answer:

1. calm and peaceful; 1. "I forget the pain in my legs and ankles. I simply am." (Paragraph 1), 4. "I feel that I am in control now—my life has a sense of stability and order—and that I, like the animals, am safe" (Paragraph 7)