READING COMPREHENSION-11

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:

If we were to believe the latest reports from medical laboratories, immortality is within human reach. By the next century, the possibility of living up to 5,000 years might well become reality. Does this mean that it’s time to celebrate the conquest of the final frontier of science? Certainly not. There can be nothing more dismal than the possibility of living indefinitely. What makes life so fascinating is its transient nature. It’s the knowledge that death can come calling at anytime and anywhere which gives such poignancy to our lives. This finds expression in Wallace Steven’s wonderful lines: “Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her, / Alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams / And our desires”. The idea that death is the key to life is also the foundation of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy of being.

Leaving aside these philosophical considerations, the predictions of immortality are at best based on dubious science. The scientific fraternity rarely takes seriously the prophets of immortality, who say that one can turn back the biological clock or at least keep it constant. But even if we were to assume for a moment that the majority of humans will live beyond 5,000 years, that would spell disaster for mankind.

On the basis of your reading of the passage, complete the following statements with suitable words and phrases:

Q1.Man will hopefully live up to 5,000 years in _________________________.

Q2. What makes life fascinating is____________________________________.

Q3.What gives poignancy to our lives?

Q4.Explain: Conquest of the final frontier of science.

Q5.Find a word from the passage which means the same as ‘temporary’.

Answers:

1. the next century.

2. its transient nature

3. The knowledge that death can come calling at anytime and anywhere gives poignancy to our lives.

4. Immortality or to live up to 5,000 years.

5. Transient.