C1 English Reading – Short Story & Vocabulary Quiz
Amara started a personal pilgrimage to a monastery high in the mountains. The journey was a stunning one, through winding paths and old forests. For many months, her life had been full of inner turmoil and constant chaos. This made every decision hard after her brother left suddenly. She wanted tranquility, but peace felt difficult in her city life. This mountain trek was her final hope.
The climb was a considerable challenge. Days passed in a routine of walking, eating simple food, and thinking quietly. The eerie silence of the high mountains, broken only by the wind, felt strange at first. But slowly, it became calming. She often thought about her family. They had shown rejection when she first mentioned this unusual voyage. Most people thought her trip was unremarkable, preferring mundane daily life.
When she reached the monastery, its resplendent stone walls looked grand against the sky. The monks’ simple practices were very different from the extravagance of her old life. She joined their daily routines. She found a quiet strength in their way of living. The stirring sunrises from the mountain peaks each morning gave her a tantalizing feeling of inner peace.
After two weeks, Eleanor walked down the mountain. The chaos in her mind had gone. Deep tranquility had taken its place. The world had not changed, but how she saw it had. Her pilgrimage was not just a trip to a place. It was a trip inside herself. She learned that peace is not a place you go, but a way you think. She returned home, now calm and certain about her future.