Passage B
A Well-Balanced Life
A well-balanced life is necessary to live in today's world. Without a well-balanced life a person can neither function properly nor develop into a well-rounded individual. Without some sort of balance in life people tend to be unfulfilled and unhappy.

Robert Frost (1874~1963)

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. He moved to New England at the age of eleven and became interested in reading and writing poetry during his high school years in the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts. His first professional poem, "The Butterfly," was published on November 8, 1894, in the New York newspaper The Independent. By the nineteen-twenties, he was the most celebrated poet in America, and with each new book-including New Hampshire (1923), A Further Range (1936), Steeple Bush (1947), and In the Clearing (1962)-his fame and honors (including four Pulitzer Prizes) increased.
Walt Whitman (1819~1892)

Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in Long Island, New York. He attended grammar school in Brooklyn and took his first job with the Long Island Patriot. Between 1841 and the summer of 1859, Whitman held editorial positions on seven different newspapers. During the spring of 1855, at his own expense, Walt Whitman published the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Today it is considered a masterpiece of world literature and Whitman is recognized as America's national poet.

　　 I've experienced great stress in my study and work. And I've tried every means to adjust myself and relieve my stress. Finally I found a way out in my leisure time. Leisure time is very important and necessary for me. Without it I am sure I would go insane. I spend most of my extra time reading, listening to music, talking to my real life friends, or talking on the Internet with people I meet. I really enjoy going out into a quiet place and reading poetry or books by Walt Whitman and Robert Frost. If I did not make time for all of this I would not be able to handle everything else in life. Along with reading to relax, listening to music is very important to me. If I feel sad, I listen to slow songs, while if I am happy I like listening to fast songs. Music is the universal language and it can express different feelings. It can relate to the soul, or in fact I think it is the soul of feelings.

　　 My real life friends and my Internet friends are also part of my leisure and social time. Friends have always been important to me. They are the backbone in everything I do. The good friends that I have are always there for me in every situation I am in. Without them I would not have led a healthy, balanced life. Not so long ago I went through a short time of depression. I fell behind in all my work and stopped talking to my friends. After a week of acting this way, one of my good friends pulled me aside and invited me to go for a walk with her. We talked about what was going on in my life and she helped me to figure out what I wanted to do. I do not know what would have happened if she had not been there.

　　 Many things add to having a well-balanced life. Stress can be a very dangerous and tiresome experience. It can lead to depression and unhappiness. But when it happens, you can do something other than wait, like talking to your friends or listening to music. Then you may not think you should have been so stressed and depressed.

　　 A well-balanced life is important to maintain. Without some sort of balance it is hard to get by in everyday life. And the creative use of leisure time plays a vital role.