It’s well-known that meditation (冥想) has many benefits, but do you know how to practice it for a beginner?

Set a proper scene

Find a space for meditation.It should be private and quiet.Make sure the temperature is comfortable.Sit on a cushion (垫子) if the floor is uncomfortable.You may play soft music if you like.

Take a moment to loosen up.Remember that the goal of meditation is to relax.Loosen your clothing, remove your shoes and have a good stretch.Do your best to ease any muscle tension that might keep you from achieving relaxation.Make an effort to relax your facial muscles.

Focus on your breath

Sit down in the space you’ve prepared.Close your eyes and breathe.Each time you breathe in, count “one”.Each time you breathe out, count “one”.The idea is to strengthen being in the moment — the last breath doesn’t matter, and the next one doesn’t matter; only this one matters.

Feel your breath inflate (胀大) your lungs and push on your diaphragm (隔膜).Feel how sweet it is to inhale the fresh air.As you do this, your body will gradually begin to relax and all of your attention will be centered within your mind.

Return to real life

Once you feel fully centered in your mind, allow yourself to gradually drift back to real life.Move your fingers and toes and slowly wake your body up.Open your eyes and remain there for a few minutes until your senses come back, and then slowly stand up.

Even if you can’t make it fully into your mind, you still get some benefits from it.If you want to feel better, you just need to practice.Set about 10 minutes around the same time every day and repeat this exercise.

1.The text is about _________.

A.steps in practicing meditation for beginners

B.tips on how to breathe slowly

C.the benefits of practicing meditation

D.the best way to stay relaxed

2.Which of the following can best fill in the blank?

A.Forget yourself.

B.Prepare yourself for it.

C.Avoid being disturbed.

D.Pay attention to your inner self.

3.The underlined word “inhale” in the text can be replaced by “__________”.

A.look for

B.take in

C.keep away

D.think of

4.To gain greater benefits of meditation, beginners are advised to __________.

A.do some exercise in advance

B.listen to some popular music

C.practice it every day

D.spend a long time in practicing it

When Iain Douglas-Hamilton first started studying elephants in Africa,he had to invent ways of tracking the big animals. Over the course of 40 years in the field, the zoologist learned how to fly airplanes and use some high-tech means to follow their movements. He also learned how to get out of the way fast. "I learned how to climb trees very quickly," says Dr. Douglas-Hamilton, winner of the 2010 Indianapolis Prize.

As co-founder of Save the Elephants, he has also learned to be an activist, author, and politician. When Douglas-Hamilton left Tanzania, in East Africa, in 1970 to study at Oxford University in Britain, he left behind "an elephants' paradise (乐园)."But when he returned in 1972, the country's national parks looked more like a war zone. Douglas-Hamilton often found more dead elephants than living ones.

Dr. Douglas-Hamilton now lives in Kenya with his wife, Oria, who co-founded Save the Elephants. Together they have written two books, "Battle for the Elephants" and " Among the Elephants".

During the height of the ivory poaching (偷猎),Douglas-Hamilton flew in small planes, helping bring back elephants in Uganda from the edge of extinction. He's been repeatedly shot at and has survived plane crashes, floods and diseases. He fought for years for a worldwide ban on ivory sales, which finally took effect in 1989.

Douglas-Hamilton pioneered the scientific study of elephant social behavior. Among his discoveries: Elephants have a society controlled by female elephants and travel in families. In 2009, he worked to save a rare group of desert elephants in Mali from the worst dry weather in Mali's history. There have been other successes, particularly in East and Southern Africa. Douglas—Hamilton has proposed (提议) the idea of a mobile national park, where the protected land would follow elephants as they travel. No country has yet accepted it.

Even after decades of research, Douglas-Hamilton still enjoys the company of elephants. "I love to sit with them and be with them, "he says. "I have the greatest joy just to be with elephants at peace."

1.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Douglas-Hamilton's winning the Indianapolis Prize.

B. Douglas-Hamilton's devotion to protecting elephants.

C. Douglas-Hamilton's research into African animals.

D. Douglas-Hamilton's fight for a mobile national park.

2.Before Iain Douglas-Hamilton left Tanzania for Oxford University ,________.

A. ivory poaching was common

B. elephants were well protected

C. elephants often died strangely

D. the ban on ivory sales had been introduced

3.Douglas-Hamilton did the following to protect elephants EXCEPT________.

A. building mobile national parks

B. saving desert elephants in Mali

C. founding Save the Elephants

D. demanding a ban on ivory sales

4.The underlined word "it" in Para. 5 refers to the________.

A. national park B. protected land

C. idea D. elephant

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