Question

1 i started running a year ago. sometimes when i am running hard i forget where i am and what distance i have covered. i forget the pain in my legs and ankles. i simply am. exercise has become a big part of my life, and most days i head to the local forest or the gym and spend an hour or two working out. it lifts my mood and gives me a break from the farm. to spend too much time on a farm surrounded only by animals makes an oddity of a man. 2 ive been a serious runner for the last nine months. by serious, i mean in my own terms - that twenty - one kilometers isnt hard or out of the ordinary anymore. it started as a thought, a small want for change, in what the writer yukio mishima called the cultivation of the garden of the self. i was in australia, my old home, promoting my first novel; i had emerged from a serious illness and the idea of fitness came to me suddenly. 3 at the beginning i was slow and would soon run out of breath, but as the weeks moved by, my time on the treadmill increased, my heart grew stronger, and when i moved back to ireland i graduated to the great outdoors. 4 i remember my first five - kilometer race here last august. it was a simple course through the local forest and my only goal then was to finish. i had never before run so far, and slow as i was, i made it to the end. as i neared the finish, i found i had more fuel in the tank and sprinted to the line... 5 long - distance running is like farming, for it requires discipline, patience and preparation. you cant just decide you will run a marathon on a wednesday, just as you cant produce a herd in a day or make a cow calve before her time. 6 come rain or shine or tiredness, i have been running here for twenty minutes every day (the twenties, i call them), to keep me fit, with a longer run thrown in once a week, to build my distance. there are days when i do not want to run, as there are days i do not want to farm. i think then of the finnish long - distance runner paavo nurmi, who said, \mind is everything, muscle mere pieces of rubber. all that i am, i am because of my mind.\ 7 i think about a lot of things when im out running. i think of the cows and their upcoming births. i think of their calves and the small ailments they have. i think of the fields, which are still hopelessly wet, and of the remaining silage, and i wonder if we will have enough. i see them there in my mind, all these creatures dependent on me, on the seasons, on time. as i break my jog and enter a run, i push through the pain and pass the boy i was a year ago, who was struggling with so many things. i do not feel pity for him, just love, for i feel that i am in control now - my life has a sense of stability and order - and that i, like the animals, am safe. 8 i discovered a philosopher of running, dr. george sheehan, an american physician. his books have given me a better understanding of running, and in a way, a better understanding of the farm, too. man is an animal, he says, and it is our instinct to run, to maximize our fitness as animals. with every stride now i feel the strength coursing through my legs as i near the finish of my route; part a which statement best describes the organizational structure of paragraphs 2 through 4? 1. paragraph 2 reveals a problem that the author is experiencing, and paragraphs 3 and 4 explain how he realizes that running is the solution. 2. paragraph 2 explains some of the reasons the author enjoys running, and paragraphs 3 and 4 provide contrast by listing reasons he finds it difficult. 3. paragraph 2 explains how the author first decides to start running, and paragraphs 3 and 4 describe how he improves over time until he can complete a race. 4. paragraph 2 describes how the author feels about exercise before he begins running, and paragraphs 3 and 4 reveal how his opinions change after a year of running. part b which statement best explains how paragraphs 2 through 4 contribute to the development of the passage? 1. they reveal why the author feels attracted to long - distance running rather than to other sports. 2. they explain how the authors background as a writer is helpful to him as a beginning runner. 3. they demonstrate that running plays a larger role in the life of the author than farming or writing play. 4. they show how long - distance running grows from an idea to an important part of the authors lifestyle.

Explanation:

For Part A: Paragraph 2 starts with the author deciding to start running, and paragraphs 3 - 4 detail the improvement over time until a race - completion. For Part B: Paragraphs 2 - 4 show the development of long - distance running from an initial idea to a crucial part of the author's lifestyle.

Answer:

Part A: 3. Paragraph 2 explains how the author first decides to start running, and paragraphs 3 and 4 describe how he improves over time until he can complete a race.
Part B: 4. They show how long - distance running grows from an idea to an important part of the author's lifestyle.