A yoga master made a shocking statement that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life. Lincoln delivered a proclamation setting up Thanksgiving as an American holiday in 1863. Research throws light on a possible Hindu (印度的）origin for the American celebration of Thanksgiving.

"The holiday of Thanksgiving has a Hindu origin," says Richard Salva, author of a book on the reincarnation (转世）of Abraham Lincoln entitled Soul Journey ： From Lincoln to Lindbergh which is based on a statement by the great master of yoga, Paramhamsa Yogananda， who declared that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life, and that he was reborn as the famous pilot, Charles Lindbergh.

”During my search for signs of a past-life yoga practice," SaIva said, “I noticed that President Lincoln repeatedly chose Thursdays as national days of prayer, fasting (禁食），and thanksgiving. This was interesting, because Thursday is considered a holy day — a day for prayer, fasting, and spiritual reflection — among Hindus, who call it ‘guru day，. ”

“ Lincoln also set aside time on Thursdays to grieve for his son，Willie, who died in Washington. Clearly, Hiursdays had a spiritual significance in Lincoln's mind. ”

In his book, Richard Salva presents more than 500 connections between Lincoln₉

lindergh, and the ancient spiritual science of yoga. The connections run through every aspect

of the human condition and provide convincing evidence that Lincoln had had a Hindu past life.

More than one out of every five Americans today believes in reincarnation—yet few are

aware of how past-life pattenis affect them. Soul Journey tries to fill this gap, by offering a

substitute experience of reincarnation. Through clear and persuasive similarities between the

lives of Lincoln and Lindbergh, the book discovers how the hidden laws of fate and

reincarnation impact the events of his or her daily life. It addresses other issues, such as the

secret spiritual history of America's greatest president, including his past life as a Himalayan

yogi; the hidden clues that reveal past lives； the greatness he achieved； and the spiritual

principles behind the yoga postures that millions now practice.

63.  Based on Richard Salva's view, ______

A. Hindus started the holiday of Thanksgiving

B. the Americans copied Thanksgiving from Hindus

C. Thanksgiving had Hindus roots

D. Charles Lindbergh had been a Himalayan yogi

64.  We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______.

A. in India Thursday is a religious day

B. in India all the prayers are done on Thursday

C. Abraham Lincoln was once a famous pilot

D. Paramhamsa Yogananda once taught Lincoln yoga

65.  It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A.  the book discovers the laws of fate and reincarnation

B. yoga is closely connected with religion

C. the book gives a scientific description of Lincoln's spiritual life

D. Lincoln and Lindbergh must have influenced each other a lot

66.  When it came to the comparison between Lincoln and Lindbergh，the author held a ______

attitude.

A. neutral                  B. doubtful                 C. negative                  D. positive

A yoga master made a shocking statement that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life．Lincoln delivered a proclamation setting up Thanksgiving as an American holiday in 1863．Research throws light on a possible Hindu （印度的）origin for the American celebration of Thanksgiving．

"The holiday of Thanksgiving has a Hindu origin," says Richard Salva, author of a book on the reincarnation （转世）of Abraham Lincoln entitled Soul Journey ： From Lincoln to Lindbergh which is based on a statement by the great master of yoga, Paramhamsa Yogananda， who declared that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life, and that he was reborn as the famous pilot, Charles Lindbergh．

“During my search for signs of a past-life yoga practice,” SaIva said, “I noticed that President Lincoln repeatedly chose Thursdays as national days of prayer, fasting （禁食），and thanksgiving．This was interesting, because Thursday is considered a holy day — a day for prayer, fasting, and spiritual reflection — among Hindus, who call it‘guru day’．”

“ Lincoln also set aside time on Thursdays to grieve for his son，Willie, who died in Washington．Clearly, Thursdays had a spiritual significance in Lincoln's mind．”

In his book, Richard Salva presents more than 500 connections between Lincoln_, Lindergh, and the ancient spiritual science of yoga．The connections run through every aspect of the human condition and provide convincing evidence that Lincoln had had a Hindu past life.

More than one out of every five Americans today believes in reincarnation—yet few are aware of how past-life patterns affect them．Soul Journey tries to fill this gap, by offering a substitute experience of reincarnation．Through clear and persuasive similarities between the lives of Lincoln and Lindbergh, the book discovers how the hidden laws of fate and reincarnation impact the events of his or her daily life．It addresses other issues, such as the secret spiritual history of America's greatest president, including his past life as a Himalayan yogi; the hidden clues that reveal past lives； the greatness he achieved； and the spiritual principles behind the yoga postures that millions now practice．

54. Based on Richard Salva’s view, ______.
A. Hindus started the holiday of Thanksgiving
B. the Americans copied Thanksgiving from Hindus
C. Thanksgiving had Hindus roots
D. Charles Lindbergh had been a Himalayan yogi

55. We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______.
A. in India Thursday is a religious day
B. in India all the prayers are done on Thursday
C. Abraham Lincoln was once a famous pilot
D. Paramhamsa Yogananda once taught Lincoln yoga

56. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A. the book discovers the laws of fate and reincarnation
B. yoga is closely connected with religion
C. the book gives a scientific description of Lincoln’s spiritual life
D. Lincoln and Lindbergh must have influenced each other a lot

57.When it came to the comparison between Lincoln and Lindbergh, the author held a ______ attitude.

A. neutral        B. doubtful       C. negative       D. positive

A Smashing tradition: MIT Students Drop Piano

One of the highlights of the school year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology only lasts a few seconds but has a big influence. Residents of an MIT dormitory dropped an upright piano from their roof on 26^th April to celebrate the last day students can drop classes without having them appear on their college report.

About 200 onlookers watched as the piano crashed into a second piano，a baby grand，positioned on the ground six stories below for a better smash. People scrambled (争先恐后) for souvenir pieces-keys，hammers，strings and splinters. The tradition began in 1972 at the Baker House dormitory and has been observed irregularly until 2006 when it became an annual event.

Crafton Family Comes Back Home after 7 Years at Sea

While most of us will love to go on a vacation for a week or two on a small private sailboat，without doubt，spending seven precious years on sea is something most of us will never imagine or dare to do. However，that is what an American family has done. Tom Crafton and Kathy Crafton along with their three children have traveled across the world on their 43-foot sailboat named Nueva Vida. Over the past seven years the family had sailed 30，000 miles and visited more than 20 different countries. The family has recently come back to their homeland.

Living in the limelight（聚光灯）can be difficult but as these splendid pictures show for one bear the tourist train never stops. This arctic animal loves nothing more than an audience and will even climb out of his snowy bed to give the crowd a wave. The funny poses(姿态) of the friendly polar bear were caught on camera by Swedish photographer，Hams Strand.

64. Which of the following is true about the first incident?

A. The typical style of celebration has been kept alive every year since1972.

B. Another small piano on the ground is meant to hold the falling one.

C. The students dropped the piano in celebration of their graduation.

D. The tradition became an annual event for MIT students in 2006.

65. The writer thinks Crafton family’s seven-year sailing is          .

A. unusual               B. strange                     C. common                  D. doubtful

66. What would be the best subtitle(小标题) for the third incident?

A. The Limelight Makes Polar Bear Live Hard

B. Splendid Pictures of Polar Bear Attract Tourists

C. The Tourist Train Would Stop without Polar Bear

D. Polar Bear Says Hello to Tourists with a Friendly Wave

67. The passage is probably taken out of ______.

A. a novel                B. a magazine                C. a diary                            D. a report

A. true   B. make jokes  C. compete  D. negative  E. associated with

F. necessarily  G. ridiculously  H. after all  I. earned the reputation  J. thirst for

On March 17 the color green will spread all around the world in celebration of St Patrick’s Day. The Irish traditionally wear something green on this day, as the color is   41    Ireland. Another St Patrick’s Day tradition is for the non-Irish to    42    about the Irish.

Usually these jokes will be about Irish stupidity, their famous    43    alcohol, or their reputation for telling tall tales.

 These characteristics are all based on the most common Irish stereotypes (成见) that the Irish are hot-tempered drinkers who love to fight and will do anything to avoid a day’s work.

 The real joke, however, is that these negative Irish stereotypes still exist. These stereotypes may have gone back to the 19th century when they started, but they’re far from    44    today -– with the exception, perhaps of the drinking.

  Today, the Irish are admired for their storytelling ability, musical talent and strong education. It’s no accident that several of the greatest writers of the 20th century were Irish. Or that many of the most famous music acts of all time, such as singer Enya and rock band U2, were Irish born and bred.

So where did the    45    Irish stereotypes come from? They can be traced back to the 19th century, which was a very bad time to be Irish.

 At that time, Ireland was poverty-stricken and starving. Many Irish moved to the US to escape famine, but there they had to    46    occasionally with their fists for jobs and housing with other immigrant groups. It was on the US’ streets that the Irish    47    for street fighting.

 However, one bit of the Irish stereotype is still true, their love of drink. Drinking in Ireland is a predilection (偏好), but it’s not    48    something to criticize. It was the Irish   49    who created one of the world’s best-loved beers – Guinness.