It is not a secret that these are turbulent times that put everyone on edge all the time and it makes people angry with their families, co-workers, friends and relatives, frustrated (沮丧的)and highly annoyed just for the noise of the neighbors or the music coming from the opposite house. Anger and negative energy have a strong influence on everyone’s life, even when they don’t realize it.
Being in a calm state of mind is simply wonderful. Results of this can be seen when parents no longer shout at their children over any small thing and when one can keep him cool when bad things happen and doesn’t let the situation become worse by his negative influence.
Also results can be seen on a larger scale. In 1993 a very interesting scientific experiment called The US Transcendental Meditation experiment was conducted in Washington. A company called TM got 4,000 calm and relaxed people to simply sit and meditate (冥想) in a central Washington convention center. The results of this experiment showed that during those particular 8 weeks, violent crimes, such as murder, rape, assaults, clearly decreased by as much as 23%.
This is evident proof that meditation can change the state of mind, bring back peace of mind and collective meditation is contagious (蔓延的), just as anything done collectively is contagious. For example, a person has the urge to become aggressive (while in normal circumstances that person is very calm and normal), just because he is sitting at a stadium watching a football game and everyone around is shouting and is aggressive.
Isn’t increasing the quality of life worth spending 20 minutes of time on meditation? Yes, very few people follow through with a meditation method that should be a joy to do. Many start and leave it after only a few sessions.
So if collective meditation has proven that meditation works, that it calms people down and that it brings their levels of stress down, why not employ it in everyday life?
【小题1】The underlined word “turbulent” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “     ”.

 (10·全国Ⅱ E篇)

How words came into being is unknown.All we assume is that some early men invented cortain sounds,in one way or another,to express thoughts and feelings,actions and things,so that they could talk with each other.Later they agreed upon certain signs,called letters,which could be put together to show those sounds,and which could be written down.Those sounds,whether spoken or written in letters,are called words.

The power of words,then,lies in their associations-the things they bring up to our minds.Words become filled with meaning for us by experience;and the longer we live,the more certain words bring back to us the happy and sad events of our past;and the more we read and learn,the more the number of words that mean something to us increases.

Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which have powerful effects on our minds and feelings.This clever use of words is what we call literary style.Above all,the real poet is a master of words.He can express his meaning in words which sing like music,and which by their position and association can move men to tears.We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use then correctly,or they will make our speech silly and common.

58.We learn from the text that language might have begun with(    )

A．expressions    B．actions    C．signs    D．sounds

59.What is mainly discussed in Faragraph 2?

A．The ……of new words      B．The importance of old words

C．The relation of human experience with words  

D．The gradual change and development of words

60.In the last paragraph,what does the anthor suggest that we should do?

A．Use words skilfully    B．Make musical speeches  

C．Learn poems by heart   D．Associate with listeners

Recently, a professor of philosophy in the United States has written a book called Money and the Meaning of Life．He has discovered that how we deal with money in our day-to-day life has more meaning than we usually think．One of the exercises he asked his students to do is to keep a record of every penny they spend for a week．From the way they spend their money, they can see what they really value in life．
He says our relation with others often become clearly defined when money enters the picture．You might have wonderful friendship with somebody and you think that you are very good friends．But you’ll know him only when you ask to lend you some money．If he does, it brings something to the relationship that seems stranger than ever before．Or it can suddenly weaken the relationship if he doesn’t．This person may say that he has a certain feeling, but if it is not carried out in the money world, there is something less real about it．
Since money is important to us, we consider those who possess a lot of it to be very important．The author interviewed some millionaires in researching his book．
Answer: The most surprising thing is why people give me so much respect．I’m nothing．I don’t know much．All I am is rich．
People just have an idea of making more and more money, but what is it for? How much do I need for any given purposes in my life? In this book, the professor uncovered an important need in modern society; to bring back the idea that money is an instrument rather than the end．Money plays an important role in the modern world, but expecting money to give happiness may be missing the meaning of life．
【小题1】According to the first paragraph, people haven’t realized __________．

One day I decided to quit．I quitted my job, my relationship, my spirituality. I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the   36   to have one last talk with God． "Can you give me one good   37   not to quit?" His answer surprised me．

As the United States nears the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, President Obama announced Sunday night that the al Qaeda（基地组织） leader and mastermind of that horrific day, Osama bin Laden, has been killed.
CNN reports that a senior government official confirmed that bin Laden was shot by a small team of U.S. soldiers while in a mansion with family members outside Islamabad（伊斯兰堡）. His body is now in American custody（拘押） and is being handled according to Islamic customs. Three other adult men were killed in the firefight, including a son of bin Laden's, who was a senior member of the terrorist organization.
"Justice has been done," the president announced, saying that the operation he ordered after receiving intelligence information is "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda."
The immediate reactions ranged from cautious to ecstatic. Crowds cheered outside the White House. But officials said a "worldwide caution" would be set for Americans in case of al Qaeda retaliation（报复）.
Will bin Laden's death be the justice Americans have sought for nearly a decade?
Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93, said it does bring comfort.
"This is important news for us, and for the world. It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones. It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil," Felt said.
President Obama says this victory does not close the book.
"His death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain cautious," he noted.
【小题1】The underlined word “ecstatic” most probably means _________.