Passage

Easy

It's essential to focus on what you control, especially when life feels difficult. This mindset is often overshadowed by the flood of information we consume daily. For instance, I spent 30 minutes this morning going down a rabbit hole after reading about Bitcoin. I ended up lost in unrelated Wikipedia pages.

Stoicism teaches us that time is our most valuable resource. While it's nice to know many things, most of the information we consume has little real value. We waste time on trivial pursuits, like reading negative news, stalking social media profiles, or watching shows just to "kill time." Why kill something so precious?

We're quick to get upset by things we can't control. Responding to every little thing we encounter is a habit. But true happiness comes from accepting that we don't control most things. Worrying about global issues like recessions, wars, or natural disasters is unproductive. Indifference to things outside our control is the key to happiness.

Happiness comes from meaningful activities: good friendships, enjoyable work, reading thought-provoking books, walking in nature, working out, or watching a great movie. For example, a recent Saturday was fulfilling because I spent time reading, writing, walking, and enjoying meals with family.

Contrast that with another day when I got caught up in negative conversations about COVID. The negativity drained me, and I accomplished nothing useful. Things are the way they are. The best we can do is focus on what matters and how we spend our time.

**Select the activity that contributes to happiness from the options given below:

Watching random TV shows

Arguing on social media

Reading thought-provoking books

Browsing the internet for news

✅ Correct Option: 3

Option 1 -> The passage criticizes watching shows "just to kill time" and questions why we waste something so precious.

Option 2 -> Social media arguments and negative conversations are shown to drain energy and accomplish nothing useful, as illustrated by the COVID discussion example.

Option 3 -> Explicitly listed as a meaningful activity that contributes to happiness, and demonstrated in the author's fulfilling Saturday.

Option 4 -> The passage warns against wasting time on trivial information consumption, like reading negative news or going down internet rabbit holes (Bitcoin/Wikipedia example).

Hence, Option 3: Reading thought-provoking books -> The passage directly identifies this as a meaningful activity that brings happiness, contrasting it with time-wasting pursuits like consuming trivial information or engaging with negativity -> correct

Question 2

Select the central idea of the passage from the options given below:

Question 3

Choose the best option to complete the sentence:**

Practicing indifference to uncontrollable things helps to achieve____

Question 4

Choose an example of wasting time based on the passage from the options given below:

**Select the activity that contributes to happiness from the options given below:

Solution

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Keyboard Shortcuts

CUET English Past Year Questions (Topic-Wise)