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     I can’t remember a winter being as cold as this in Pennsylvania, but I’m sure there were colder days.

     Even though the daylight hours are growing longer minute by minute, it’s easy to find an excuse not to go out unless you absolutely must, but then again I often have to push myself to accomplish things.

     People I speak to have been in all kinds of nasty moods. They say they’re “under the weather,” not feeling good about this time of year.

     As I stood outside with my two dogs yesterday, it was so cold that my nose and face felt frozen and my ears were stinging.

     Of course, that doesn’t matter to Ricky and Lucy. They have a routine they must go through to find just the fighting spot no matter how cold or hot it is.

     So I wait.

     But this time it was different. As cold as it was, I suddenly was excited thinking about how wonderful this extreme cold really was.

     Then the sun broke through the clouds and memories of summer’s extremely hot days flashed through my mind. I could remember standing in the heat of the afternoon, with sweat pouring down my brow and the hot, burning sun against my face. I reminded myself then and there that in the cold of the winter I would wish I had this heat.

     I was grateful for the extremes. Without the extremes in my life, I would never appreciate the days when things were just right. Without the extremes, life would be boring.

     It’s being pushed to one of the extremes that makes us appreciate the middle more. Health challenges remind us that we need to pay more attention to how we live. Financial extremes remind us that when things go smoothly it’s also time to save for raining days.

     I’ve come to the conclusion that all too often I find a reason not to be happy with where I am at that moment.

     Whether it’s hot or cold, good health or bad, in the money or out of it, I always want it to be different.

     I’m tired of being “Under the Weather!”

1. What is the author’s attitude towards the extremes in life?

A. Grateful.

B. Critical.

C. Negative.

D. Unconcerned.

2. That day the writer waited in the terrible cold because ______.

A. his dogs wanted to hunt

B. he wanted to face the cold bravely

C. his dogs had a routine

D. he wanted to be different

3. The underlined word “nasty” (Paragraph 4) can be replaced by ______.

A. unpleasant

B. violent

C. favorable  

D. unusual

4. At last the author drew a conclusion that ______.

A. happiness cannot be gained by complaints

B. things will be different whatever the situation is

C. happiness will fail to come to you if you can find a reason

D. he is disappointed with his present situation

5. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Follow the Routine

B. Two Extremes in Life

C. Changes should be Expected

D. Weather Information