Being aware of one’s own emotions –

Being aware of one’s own emotions – recognizing and acknowledging feelings as they happen – is at the very heart of Emotional Intelligence. And this awareness encompasses not only moods but also thoughts about those moods. People who are able to monitor their feelings as they arise are less likely to be ruled by them and are thus better able to manage their emotions.
Managing emotions does not mean suppressing them; nor does it mean giving free rein to every feeling. Psychologist Daniel Goleman, one of several authors who have popularized the notion of Emotional Intelligence, insisted that the goal is balance and that every feeling has value and significance. As Goleman said, “A life without passion would be a dull wasteland of neutrality, cut off and isolated from the richness of life itself.” Thus, we manage our emotions by expressing them in an appropriate manner. Emotions can also be managed by engaging in activities that cheer us up, soothe our hurts, or reassure us when we feel anxious.
Clearly, awareness and management of emotions are not independent. For instance, you might think that individuals who seem to experience their feelings more intensely than others would be less able to manage them. However, a critical component of awareness of emotions is the ability to assign meaning to them – to know why we are experiencing a particular feeling or mood. Psychologists have found that, among individuals who experience intense emotions, individual differences in the ability to assign meaning to those feelings predict differences in the ability to manage them. In other words, if two individuals are intensely angry, the one who is better able to understand why he or she is angry will also be better able to manage the anger.
Self-motivation refers to strong emotional self-control, which enables a person to get moving and pursue worthy goals, persist at tasks even when frustrated, and resist the temptation to act on impulse. Resisting impulsive behavior is, according to Goleman, “the root of all emotional self-control.”
Of all the attributes of Emotional Intelligence, the ability to postpone immediate gratification and to persist in working toward some greater future gain is most closely related to success – whether one is trying to build a business, get a college degree, or even stay on a diet. One researcher examined whether this trait can predict a child’s success in school. The study showed that 4-year-old children who can delay instant gratification in order to advance toward some future goal will be “far superior as students” when they graduate from high school than will 4-year-olds who are not able to resist the impulse to satisfy their immediate wishes.

Question 11: Which of the following can we infer from paragraph 1?
A. If people pay attention to their feelings, they can control their emotions better.
B. People who can manage their emotions will be controlled by them.
C. If people pay attention to their feelings, they will not be able to manage them.
D. Some people can understand their feelings better than others.
Question 12: The word “soothe” in paragraph 2 could be best replaced by ______.
A. weaken​B. worsen​C. reduce​D. relieve
Question 13: According to paragraphs 1 to 3, people should be aware of their emotions so that they can ______.
A. experience feelings more intensively​B. manage their emotions appropriately
C. stop feeling angry​D. explain their emotions to others
Question 14: From paragraph 2, we can see that Daniel Goleman ______.
A. studied how people manage their emotions
B. treated patients who had emotional problems
C. wrote about Emotional Intelligence
D. trained people to increase their Emotional Intelligence
Question 15: All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 2 about our emotions EXCEPT ______.
A. we should ignore some feelings​B. emotions are part of a satisfying life
C. every feeling is important​D. we can manage our emotions
Question 16: The word “critical” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. dynamic​B. indecisive​C. important​D. inessential
Question 17: The word “them” in paragraph 3 refers to ______.
A. individual differences​​B. intense emotions​
C. individuals​​D. psychologists
Question 18: In paragraph 3, the author explains the concept of awareness and management of emotions by ______.
A. explaining why some people are not aware of their emotions
B. comparing how two people might respond to an intense emotion
C. giving an example of why people get angry
D. describing how people learn to control their emotions
Question 19: The word “pursue” in paragraph 4 mostly means ______.
A. find out about something​B. try to achieve something
C. be involved in something​D. improve or develop something
Question 20: According to paragraph 5, children might be more successful in school if they can resist impulses because they can ______.
A. be more popular with their teachers​
B. focus on their work and not get distracted
C. easily understand new information​
D. have more friends at school