Instructions: Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow it individually.

1. Punctuality is strictly availing oneself or doing something exactly at an appointed (scheduled) time. Though it is undermined in many work places, it is one of the qualities of a duty-minded and disciplined person as it reflects his/her good image about work and human beings in general. Thus, it is part of an important life skill that contributes greatly to success  in  every  aspect  of  life.  For  further  understanding, let us see the different benefits of punctuality with some substantive evidences discussed below.
2. First, being on time for a meeting, an event, a class or even a party shows that you are giving due respect to the people who are coordinating the activities and others who are taking part with you. When we see this concept in alignment with the Ethiopians’ culture of time utility in everyday life, many people always arrive ten or more minutes late to work,appointments or events. They just seem to have an  internal clock that is lagging behind. Usually when they arrive late, they request an apology under the guise of telling the old platitude ‘yehabesha ketero’ (socially accepted norm of Habesha people  to  procrastination)  or  tell  you  how  busy they were with other activities. We all Ethiopians know that there is a wrongly accepted norm with regard to punctuality. When people with high level of responsibility procrastinate, it is meant that their life and the activities that they had been engaged in are  more  important  than  others  or  late  arrival is interpreted as signs of importance,  greatness  or  business than other participants   who   strictly   respect   untardiness. In fact, degree of responsibility varies from individuals to individuals. The argument  of  the  writer  is  that  scheduling and managing time is one of the qualities required of modern managers or executives. Therefore, punctuality has to be the culture of every citizen of the country irrespective of his/her position and wealth.
3. Second, if you are always punctual, most people will naturally assume that you   are   duty-minded,   responsible and courteous. If you arrive at work on time, hand in your assignments on time, are punctual to meetings and various commitments, your boss  and  co-workers  will  think  of  you as a  diligent,  civilized  and  disciplined  person.  Whom  do you think a level-headed executive would  assign  for  a position  which  requires  a  strong  sense  of  responsibility? The answer is obvious. Mostly it is a person whom  he/she thinks is  committed  to  his/her  career  and  always  punctual for work and other important events. However, as discussed above, most of the time executives themselves are found unpunctual for meetings or other important activities. We all hold a  belief  that  executives  have  to  be  role  models in every activity they perform to the people that they are leading.  To  this  effect,  respecting  appointments  is  one  of the  requirements  expected  of  them.  It  is  always  important to remember  the  proverb  which  goes  as:  “Procrastination  is a thief of time.
4. Third, promptitude tells others that not only you are giving recognition to the  importance  of  the  meeting,  the  work  or the assignment but also you  are  conveying  a  message  that you are respecting them as individuals  or  teams  who  have their own responsibility  to  discharge  not  less  than  yours. If you always start a project or if you are always late to meetings, your tardiness tells your boss that you have less attention to the importance of the work and possibly to the overall objectives  and  policies  of  your  organization. As  far as I am concerned, if I am an official to manage  certain activities in a given organization, I will  much  rather  give added responsibilities to those who do not make me wonder if they finish tasks on time and those who do not make me feel as if they are throwing something together at the last minute. To conclude, progress, prosperity  and  civilizations have  strong  connection  with  conscious  time  management and utilization. Therefore,  the  more  we  develop  the  habit of punctuality, the better we achieve the goal we set earlier. Now, as a student, have you decided to be always punctual?