Reading Comprehension
Directions: Read the following passage. Choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D for each question.

     One period of our lives when superior results are demanded of us is, strangely enough, childhood. Despite being young we are expected to achieve good grades, stay out of trouble, make friends at school, do well on tests, perform chores at home and so on. It’s not easy.
     The good news is that being likeable can help a child perform better. Likeable children enjoy many advantages, including the ability to cope more easily with stresses of social interaction and growing up.
     In her book Understanding Child Stress, Dr. Carolyn Leonard states that children who are likeable, optimistic, and personable fare well and are able to gain support from others. This leads to resilience and focus; a child who has adequate emotional armor can continue down the path to success. Much research shows that resilience, the ability to recover from or adjust early to misfortune and sustained life stress, has enabled children to succeed in school, avoid drug abuse, and develop a healthy self-concept.
     Why does a likeable child more easily navigate stress and do better in his or her life? Because likeability helps create what’s known as a positive feedback loop. The positive feelings you invoke in other people are returned to you, creating constant encouragement and an antidote to the daily strains of life.
     This feedback loop continues into adulthood. To return once again to the example of teaching, learning becomes easier with a likeable personality. Michael Delucchi of the University of Hawaii reviewed dozens of studies to determine if likeable teachers received good ratings because of their likeability or because they in fact taught well. Delucchi found that “Students who perceive a teacher as likeable, in contrast to those who do not, may be more attentive to the information that the teacher delivers and they’ll work harder on assignments, and they’ll be more receptive to grading and they will learn more.”
     You may have noticed this pattern in your own life when you try to give some advice. The more positive your relationship with that person, the more he or she seems to listen, and the more you feel certain that that person has heard you and intends to act on your words.