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 fascitis(足底筋膜炎) 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(拯救) 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(静修), 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.

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

According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________.

A. grow taller                                          B. lose weight             

C. become flexible in thinking             D. make more friends

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

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. Different yoga poses.

C. Popularity of yoga all over the world.         D. Encouraging people to do yoga.

 

 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska--The 2004 winner of Alaska’s famous 1,000-mile sled-dog race, the Iditarod, won again at age 53 to become the oldest champion in 2013, a year after his son became the youngest winner.

Mitch Seavey got his dogs to the finishing line first in 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes and 56 seconds. His son, Dallas Seavey, now 26, ended up ranking fourth, behind the older competitor, 43-year-old Aliy Zirkle, who followed four-time champion Jeff King, now 57.

Mitch Seavey, who lives in Seward, Alaska, operates a seasonal sled-dog touring business. The race was Mitch Seavey’s 20th Iditarod.

This year’s contest was marked by unusual conditions and unseasonable rain in the northern part of the trail, and conditions that Seavey said helped his team. “It seems like the tougher it is, the better we can do.”

He also thought highly of Zirkle, a New England immigrant(移民)who now lives in Two Rivers, Alaska. “She’s a great musher(赶狗拉雪橇的人), and she’s going to win the Iditarod sometime, and probably more than once. We just had a little more energy, I think.” Zirkle, one of the most popular mushers, was greeted by shouts of  “Aliy, Ally” from the fans as she drove her dog team approaching the finishing line on Nome’s Front Street. “I am pretty happy to be here,” she said. “I was going for it.”

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is one of the few major U. S. sports events in which men and women compete on an equal footing. The name “Iditarod” dates from a local Athabascan term meaning “a far, distant place”. Youthful mushers in the race may have some physical advantages--they can do some things more easily. But more importantly, winning the race needs the experience in dog race.

The year’s event started on Saturday, March 2 with a ceremonial nm in Anchorage. Of the 66 mushers who started the race, 10 had dropped out of competition as of Tuesday night. For his victory, Mitch Seavey will take home $50,400 and a new truck.

1.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A. Mitch Seavey is the oldest competitor in the sled-dog race in 2013.

B. Mitch Seavey, who operates a touring business, is a New England immigrant.

C. Mitch Seavey won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 2004 and 2013.

D. Mitch Seavey managed to help his son become the youngest winner in 2012.

2.On which day did Mitch Seavey probably win the champion in the 2013 Iditarod?

A. On Saturday, March 2.               B. On Monday, March 11.

C. On Saturday, March 9.               D. On Tuesday, March 13.

3. Who ranked the 2nd place in the 2013 Iditarod according to the passage?

A. Aliy Zirkle.     B. Dallas Seavey.

C. Mitch Seavey.     D. Jeff King.

4. According to the passage, we can learn that ________.

A. the sled-dog race is the most important sports event in the US

B. experience also has a major influence on the result of the race besides age

C. men and women can’t compete in the sled-dog race together at the same time

D. all the athletes in the sled-dog race are limited by age to win the sled-dog race

 

 

Yoga(瑜伽)is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. After a long time of practice yoga, you no longer just practice it — you love it.

Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned(有弹性的), and more flexible as you move from one pose to another. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. “Rather than building muscles, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of KISS Guide to Yoga. “Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism(新陈代谢), and it also helps to control weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat around the cells disappear, thus losing weight.”

I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need an increase in energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative(恢复体力的)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(使消除)stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis court, in the dentist’s chair, and when I’m stuck in traffic.

You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, but 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 poses by letting go of the tension.

64. What will be talked about if this passage continues?

A. Yoga is becoming part of your spiritual life.

B. Yoga is becoming popular all over the world.

C. The disadvantages of yoga.

D. Encouraging people to do yoga.

65. According to the second paragraph, yoga can help people ___.

   A. grow tall                  B. lose weight C. be flexible in thinking         D. make friends

66. Why does a person feel tired after yoga?

A. Because when practicing yoga, people will consume a lot of energy.

B. Because he or she surrenders to the poses by letting go of the tension.

C. Because yoga doesn’t benefit all the people.

D. Because he or she doesn’t do yoga poses naturally.

67. What would be the best title for this passage?

   A. What’s yoga?                                                        B. How do I do yoga poses?

   C. The benefits of yoga.                                     C. The varieties of yoga.

 

 

The key to learning English well is to overcome your shyness and fear , said taxi driver Zhang, who is attending the English training program run by the West Lake Taxi Company. “Out teacher Mrs.Yang encourages us many times to open our mouths and speak English out loudly in her class ,” said Zhang.

 Chen Zhong, another fluent(流利的) English speaker, shared his opinion. “I didn’t think English was important to us at the beginning since many foreign passengers could speak some Chinese to me. But when I did speak some English, the foreigners were always pleased and said I was the first taxi driver they had met who could speak English.

  Chen said he found studying English extremely interesting. The 160 minutes’ study per week was simply not enough for him. He bought books , tapes and VCDs to learn English on his own.. “Though it cost me a lot of time and energy , I did find it is useful in the long term” he said.

  The reward of learning English is more than Chen has expected. Now he has made several foreign friends who book his taxi when they need. Some foreign passengers even give him tips (小费when he communicates with them in English.

  To facilitate their studies, the company developed a bilingual(双语的) tape which includes the most frequently used sentences for taxi drivers and the names of major streets and buildings in Shenzhen.

  “It has helped me out, ” said Chen. “Once I failed to express ‘Chinese Folk Culture Villages’ in English when I was asked to go there by a foreigner, I played the tape and got its meaning.”

59. What difficulty did Mr.Zhang have learning English at first?

A. He had no time to study English

B. His company didn’t allow them to study English

C. He had no courage to speak out.

D. He had no chance to speak English.

60. Which of the following is NOT the benefit Chen gets from learning English?

A. He gets some good advice on learning English from foreigners.

B. He earns more money from some regular foreign customers.

C. He has to spend both money and effort learning English.

D. He gets great fun and encouragement in learning English.

61. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. the company is the first to encourage its drivers to learn English

B. all the drivers have made money after learning English

C. the company has developed and English tape for its drivers

D. the tape is welcomed by the drivers learning English

62. What is the probable meaning of the underlined word “facilitate” in the fifth paragraph?

A. To make easy   B. To increase     C. To encourage   D. To check

 

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