Question

Read the passage and answer the following question(s).

Going to the Dogs:
A New Measure of Success
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1
I’ve been asked by more than a few about my decision to leave the stable, comfortable life of corporate America to open up a dog shelter in the heart of the city. I have to smile every time I try to explain, because I’m not sure I can ever fully describe the turning point in my life. It was more of an evolving decision that all began with the inspiration of an eighth-grade field trip to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

2
The center was small, but its heart was bigger than the entire city. I remember looking into cramped cages and meeting the soulful eyes of a fox with an injured leg, and later stopping to observe a tattered bald eagle with a wrapped wing. There were all types of wild animals—owls, raccoons, hawks, even squirrels and chipmunks. Each one had the same sad expression, it seemed, and in some romantic way I felt as if they were calling me to restore their freedom with the simple click of a lock. Finally, I couldn’t bear the torture any longer and I asked the guide what had been weighing on my mind all afternoon. “They look so sad. How could they possibly be happy living in a cage?”

3
The guide smiled as if he had been asked the same question a thousand times over, and he gently reminded me that I was in a rehabilitation center. “These animals have life-threatening injuries that might have compromised their survival if left alone in the wild. We keep them here so that they can heal, but our goal is always to send them on their way.”

4
I was enlightened and relieved, and when I looked back at the fox once last time, I saw a future that it might not have had before. This feeling stuck with me and I thought about it at night when the lights were out and all the world was sleeping. I was already a dog fanatic, but after that day I became a self-described animal addict. I watched every wildlife show on TV, read books about rehabilitation, and volunteered countless hours at local shelters.

5
College came and went, and before I knew it the working world took over. Suddenly, there was no time for my passion in life because I was just too busy running to meetings, signing contracts, and typing emails. I was working from the moment I woke up until I fell exhausted into bed at night, but I was told that this was exactly as it should be. I was “making my mark” on the world, and it took work, work, work. Soon, I became depressed and began to feel a lot like the animals I now help—lost, without any direction or purpose. The life I led, though rich and rewarding on the surface, left me feeling empty inside. I took any minute, any second I could find to escape back to the glimmer of a dream I once had when I was thirteen.

6
It finally occurred to me one night that I was a lot like that soulful fox in the cage, just waiting to be released and sent on my way—except I had the power to turn the lock for myself. I realized that I had the financial means to start my own shelter and rehabilitate hundreds of strays that roamed the city streets. I could make a difference, which meant so much more to me than “making a mark.”

7
Since that night, I’ve never looked back. People still scratch their heads when I tell them about the world I traded while standing on a cement slab in dirty jeans and a T-shirt. How could they understand that being immersed in the monotony of running a shelter, repeating the same tasks day in and day out, is so much more fulfilling than anything else I had ever experienced? How could they know the sense of joy that flows through me every time I unlock another cage and send a dog on its way to a new, forever home? I have never felt so rich in my life.

8
One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that living a life with purpose is more important than having material things. Follow your heart and you are sure to find the happiness you seek. I am living proof of it!

Activity 1 of 2
The following question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

Which sentence best suggests that others do not share the author’s viewpoint of the choices he has made?

A.
I’ve been asked by more than a few about my decision to leave the stable, comfortable life of corporate America to open up a dog shelter in the heart of the city.

B.
The guide smiled as if he had been asked the same question a thousand times over, and he gently reminded me that I was in a rehabilitation center.

C.
People still scratch their heads when I tell them about the world I traded while standing on a cement slab in dirty jeans and a T-shirt.

D.
One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that living a life with purpose is more important than having material things.

Answer 1

Answer: C

Explanation: “People still scratch their heads…” indicates others are puzzled or do not understand/share the author's choice, unlike the other sentences.