Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga（瑜伽） is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999. I had plantar facilities in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis. I was desperate for exercise. Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities. I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. “Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. “Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells.” I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams. You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group. Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.
1.What would be the best title for this passage?
|
A．What’s Yoga? |
B．How I Do Yoga Poses |
|
C．The Benefits of Yoga |
D．The Varieties of Yoga |
2.According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________.
|
A．grow taller |
B．lose weight |
|
C．become flexible in thinking |
D．make more friends |
3.People feel tired after yoga because __________.
|
A．they consume energy in practicing yoga |
|
B．they respond well to yoga poses |
|
C．they spend too much time on yoga |
|
D．they force themselves into yoga poses |
4.If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
|
A．Yoga as a means to keep fit. |
B．Who may like yoga |
|
C．Popularity of yoga all over the world. |
D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
You can tell a lot about a person from the clothes they wear, but you can also tell a lot about a person simply from the handbags they carry. It's hard to believe, but you can find out a number of things about a woman's personality just by looking at the type of handbag she carries. Below you will find a number of handbag styles and colors as well as what each specific type of handbag says about the owner.
Styles:
Under-the Shoulder – handbags which are smaller and fit tightly underneath the shoulder indicate class and sophistication. A women working in an upscale office or someone of high status would choose this form of handbag.
Big and Bulky – Big, bulky and oversized bags are casual and are often associated with younger individuals. These are used for individuals who carry a number of things (binders, books etc) and require a lot of space. Down-to-earth, lower-maintenance women would carry this type of handbag.
Designer – Designer handbags often cost an arm and a leg and therefore are usually associated with high-maintenance females. Females who are confident and require top of the line accessories will settle for nothing less than a name-brand designer purse. Guys watch out for these girls, they tend to be a handful.
Cigar Box Purses – A women who carries a cigar box purse likes to be unique and stand out from the crowd. These women have minds of their own and cannot be told what to do. They are comfortable in their own skin and tend to be very independent.
Leather with Buckles and Zippers – women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers are leashing out their wild sides. These women tend to act before they think and are always ready for a good time. The extra buckles and zippers tend to signify a "bad girl" image.
Colors:
Bright Colors – Bright colored handbags like pink, purple, bright blue and green indicate that the woman is fun, friendly and approachable. Women who are out-going and sociable will tend to choose these colors. This is the type of woman who will strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
Black and Brown – women who choose black or brown handbags tend to be more formal in manners and are often mistaken as being snobby or restricted. These types of handbags are often associated with down-to-earth women, who are shy at first, but open up after a while. They tend to exude a shy confidence, which is sometimes mistaken as someone who thinks she's better than others.
The style and color of your handbag says a lot about you. Choose your handbag very carefully and remember you can choose more than one style. You may feel like being reserved one day and the center of attention another…it's natural to want different things in life.
1. Who is likely to start a conversation with a complete stranger according to the passage?
|
A．A woman with her handbag carried under the shoulder. |
|
B．A woman carrying an oversized handbag. |
|
C．A woman carrying a bright colored handbag. |
|
D．A woman who chooses a black or brown handbag. |
2.Women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers probably ______.
|
A．make careful decisions |
B．enjoy having fun |
|
C．act in bad manners |
D．become bad girls |
3.A woman who carries a cigar box purse likes to ______.
|
A．follow others’ steps |
B．live a simple life |
C．act to their own mind |
D．work with |
There was a time when I thought my dad didn’t know a thing about being a good father. I couldn’t 31 him ever saying the words “I love you.” It seems to me his only purpose in life was to say “__32_ ” to anywhere I wanted to go and anything I wanted to do, including getting a 33 . Some parents bought their kids cars when they got their driver’s licenses. Not my dad ---- he said that I’d have to get a job and buy my own.
So that is what I did. I got a job at a very nice restaurant and 34 every penny I could and 35 I had enough to buy my car, I did! The day I brought that car home, my dad was the first one I wanted to 36 to. “Look, dad, a car of my own. If you ever want a ride, I’ll only 37 you five dollars.” I offered with a smile.
“I see,” was all he said.
One day, there was something wrong with my father’s truck. So he needed a 38 to work. . The sun wasn’t even up when we left the house, 39 it was already getting warm out. It was going to be a(n) 40 day. As I dropped my dad off, I 41 him, dressed in his work clothes, getting his 42 from the trunk of my car. Watching his sun-weathered face, and even from a distance I could tell there were 43 lines than I ever remembered being there before. I realized how hard my dad works for the family. My father is a cement finisher. In that instant, it 44 to me that he actually got down on his hands and knees to sweat over hot concrete to make a living for his family. And he did this day in and day out, 45 hot it got. Never, not once, had I heard him 46 about it. To him we were “worth” it. And never once did he “charge” us for it.
When he closed the trunk, his tools set off to the side, he walked over to my window to 47 me five dollars. I rolled down the window and said “Good-bye, dad. Keep your five dollars. It’s my 48. Don’t work too hard. I love you.” His 49 met mine, then glanced away in the direction of his waiting tools, he 50 his throat and said, “Oh, and… me, too.”
|
1. |
|
|
2. |
|
|
3. |
|
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
|
|
6. |
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9. |
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
|
|
13. |
|
|
14. |
|
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
|
|
19. |
|
|
20. |
|
---Let me help you cross the street.
--- ________ ! I’m not that old.
|
A．Take your time |
B．No way |
C．Come on |
D．Go ahead |
They have held several meetings to _____ next year's production plans.
|
A．set down |
B．make out |
C．work up |
D．draw up |
Once new difficulties _________ in your work, it’s always important to use your brains．
|
A．raise |
B．arise |
C．arouse |
D．rise |
