Read the following text:
swimming gave jonathan confidence. he could focus on the stroke or the flip turn down the lane and not think about his troubles. he could set a pace and think about rhythm during practice. he needed to swim. he craved the water and the lanes. he didn't need to rely on others to win races, but he soon found that collecting medals and setting record times didn't matter as much as the escape. the practice became what he needed and wanted.
which of the following states a theme of this excerpt?
jonathan likes swimming.
jonathan prefers practice.
winning is not everything.
worries and troubles mount.

Winning is not everything.

One of the themes of the excerpt is that winning is not everything when practicing a sport. In this case, Jonathan loves to swim, and he realizes that, even though the races, the medals and the record times might be nice, what he really appreciates is the "escape." Swimming gives him confidence, focus and distraction. This is the reason why he is so passionate about the sport.

the two answers are

get thee back into the tempest and the night's plutonian shore

on the pallid bust of pallas just above my chamber door

let's think

what are some attributes about yourself that has changed?

have you had goals that you've been trying to reach, goals you've thrown away?

how do you view your character; what or who has changed it?

what stories do you have about people or things that have changed you?

has religion changed you? an exciting event?

do you believe life has an adventure in store? do you believe it's meaningless?

try to answer questions about yourself.