Read the following passage and answer the questions given at the end in YOUR OWN WORDS.
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 roadway 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, to a 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.

1. What is the difference between our life and the life of an animal?
The writer suggests that the difference between human life and the life of animals is that humans are conscious of the passage of time, and can have hopes and regrets about the past and future, while animals live only for and in the present moment.

2. What is the result of human anxiety?
The unfounded fear of the future of oneself and one’s descendant is the result of human anxiety.

3. How does the writer compare man to the butterflies and squirrels?
The writer compares humans to butterflies and squirrels in that they are content to enjoy the present moment and do not worry about the future like human beings do.

4. How does anxiety about future disturb our daily life?
Moments of happiness are so often spoiled by the consistent worrying and anxiety. Humans usually fret about things which they have no power to change and worry about things which usually may never happen. These baseless fears inhibit humans to completely enjoy the transient moments of daily life such as a morning breakfast, a walk to work, or a warm evening by the fireside.

5. How can we make our life tolerable?
To make life more tolerable, breaking through human obsessions with the tragedy of time may allow individuals to enjoy some fleeting moments without yearning or apprehension.

6. Explain the underlined words/phrases in the passage.

• Pine for – means to long for something that is not present.
• Attributes – means characteristics or qualities.
• Foreboding – refers to a feeling of impending doom or negative future events.
• Human obsessions – refers to a preoccupation or fixation on certain ideas or concerns.
• Untroubled by vain yearning – means not disturbed or bothered by longing for something unattainable.