Across the planet there are millions of people who engage in some type of meditation, the practice of concentrating and clearing the mind to bring the body into a state of peace, at least a semi-regular basis. For some, particularly among practitioners of Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, this is part and parcel of their religious practice.
For others, particularly in Western cultures, meditation tends to be a response to stress. With the world economy approaching meltdown and people worried about their job or their ability to keep their home, it’s a way for people to attain a state of peace of mind and well-being.
For those interested in taking up the practice, instruction in meditation for beginners can be found in literally thousands of sources.
One of the most popular styles of mediation in the West, with classes offered in most major cities, is called Transcendental Meditation. TM, as it is known among its practitioners, first came to worldwide attention when the Beatles began practicing it in 1967. For direct, guided, personal instruction in meditation for the beginner, TM may be the hallmark.
Part of the confusion about how to practice meditation effectively is due to the fact that there are literally hundreds of techniques championed by various groups and individuals. As a general principle, it might be said that all meditation techniques seek to have the practitioner attain a state of consciousness that is different to our ordinary state of awareness. They attempt to train people to clear their minds and achieve a sense of inner peace. It sounds simple enough, but of the huge number of people experiment with meditation, very few are able to maintain its practice over the long haul. In most cases, this is due to frustration over the inability to experience any dramatic, instantly recognizable effects.
This is quite a sad state of affairs, that so few these days are willing or equipped to persist in something that doesn’t provide immediate life-changing results. It reflects a culture in which demands for discipline and sustained effort are considered unnecessary or even unfair. It is no surprise therefore that many people abandon their efforts at meditation before they have a chance to bear fruit.
But for anyone who does decide to take up this worthwhile practice, please remember. You must clear your mind, relax and “take it as it comes”. Maintain the practice with a sense of discipline and devotion, and eventually benefits of inner peace and calm will be yours. The underlined part “part and parcel of” in paragraph 1 is nearest in meaning to ________.
| A．closely associated with | B．an important element of |
| C．very different to | D．usually sent from |
The goal of meditation is ________.
| A．to develop a technique | B．to practice a religion |
| C．to clear the mind | D．to carry out an experiment |
What can we infer about meditation from the passage?
| A．It has two main types. |
| B．Its benefits are not immediately obvious. |
| C．It is practiced by many famous artists. |
| D．Most people find it a very good way to relax. |
According to the writer, what has attracted many Western people to meditation practices in recent years?
| A．Their improved understanding of foreign culture. |
| B．The need to fill in their growing free time. |
| C．Migration from countries in which meditation is traditional. |
| D．Increasing employment instability. |
Who is the probable audience for this article?
| A．People interested in starting to learn meditation. |
| B．Experienced meditation practitioners. |
| C．Buddhists and Hindus. |
| D．People who are very religious. |
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将其涂黑．
It was close to dusk．We came to a large，bowl-shaped nest in which we saw the gray head of a very small sea turtle popping out about half an inch out of the sand．Then we heard a rustling in the bushes behind us．A flesh-eating bird came near．
Our young guide wanted us to be quiet and watch the bird moving towards the young turtle’s
head．
The bird got closer and closer to the opening and began pecking at the young turtle’s head, trying to pull it out of the sands．
The young life was in danger．We were worried about it．One of us asked the guide，“Aren’t
you going to do something?”
He put his finger to his lips and said，“This is the way nature works．”
But we didn’t agree with him and spoke with one voice asking him to do something．So he had to go and pull the young turtle out of his hole and put it on its way towards the sea．
What happened next，however，caught everyone by surprise Soon after the young turtle was set free，lots of baby turtles—having received a wrong signal that it was safe—went out of the nest and began moving towards the sea．
Our foolishness became clear．Not only had the baby turtles come out under the mistaken impression that it was safe to do so，but their mad dash was taking place too early．The still-clear
light of dusk allowed no hiding from meat—eating birds．Within a short period of time，dozens of
baby turtles had been eaten by those birds．Our young guide quickly took a baseball cap and filled it with baby turtles．Walking into the water．he set them free．Then he wildly waved his hat to frighten off those birds．
When it was over，the joyful cries of dozens of well—fed birds rifled the air．Two of the birds stood silently on the beach hoping to catch a final，struggling baby turtle．All that could be heard was the sound of the waves beating against the sands．
Heads down，we walked slowly along the beach in the dusk．
56．At first, the guide would not help the young turtle out of the nest because____．
A．he wouldn’t mind others’business
B．he thought the young turtle liked to dash into the sea
C．he wanted the young turtles to take their own course
D．he thought the young turtle should have come out earlier
57．In fact，the first baby turtle worked as_______．
A．a clever spy to attract the birds outside B．one to get information outside the nest
C．a leader to come out first D．a brave guard to fight against the birds
58．From the last sentence of the passage, we know that _______．
A．they were sad because the young turtles were foolish
B．they felt very tired with the still—clear light shining
C．they came to know that their rush to help did more harm than good
D．they regretted not killing the meat—eating birds
59．According to the passage，which of the following statements may be true?
A．The young turtles were doomed (注定) to be eaten by those birds．
B．All the young turtles are eaten by dozens of birds．
C．The young turtles shouldn’t come out of their nest before it was dark．
D．The young turtles gathered to frighten off the birds．
A mouse looked through a hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package；what food might it contain? He was astonished to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Running to the farmyard，the mouse shouted，warning everyone，“There is a mouse trap in the house，there is a mouse trap in the house．”The chicken，with her head high，glared at the mouse and said，“Shut up．Little Ugly．This is a great concern to you，but it has nothing to do with me：I can’t be troubled by it．”
The mouse turned to the pig and told him．“There is a mouse trap in the house．”“I am so sorry，Mr Mouse，”said the pig sympathetically，“but there is nothing I can do about it but pray；you are always in my prayers．”
The mouse turned to the cow，who said，“A mouse trap，am I in great danger，huh?”
Now the mouse had to face the farmer’s mouse trap alone．
That very night a sound was heard through the house，like that of a mouse trap catching its prey．The farmer’wife rushed to see what was caught．In the darkness，she did not see it was a big poisonous snake whose tail the trap had caught．The snake bit the farmer’s wife．The farmer rushed her to the hospital．She rerturned home with a fever．It is said that drinking fresh chicken soup will help treat fever，so the farmer took his sharp knife to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient．His wife’s sickness continued，so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock．To feed them，the farmer killed the pig．The farmer’s wife did not get well，in fact，she died，and so many people came for her funeral．The farmer had the cow killed to provide for all of them to eat．
So next time when someone is facing a problem，don’t say that it has nothing to do with you．
57．We could see from the passage that the mouse was．
A．good at cheating others B．dishonest
C．kind and warm-hearted D．foolish
58．Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A．The others help the farmer kill the cow．
B．The mouse trap was very practical．
C．The pig is more friendly than the other animals．
D．The farmer’s family had no friends at all．
59．The passage is most probably a．
A．fable(寓言) B．science fiction
C．fairy tale(神话) D．humorous story
60．What can we learn from the story?
A．Traps can always cause chain reactions．
B．It is better to be safe than to be sorry．
C．Sometimes when the least of us is threatened，we all might be at risk．
D．To keep the balance of nature is the duty of us al．
I graduated from the university with a degree of engineering．It is a good field but my heart was not in it．I wanted to be an actor or work in the entertainment industryliving a creative life．My choice of engineering was really a mistake but I realized too late．As soon as I graduated，I moved straight to Los Angeles—the home of the film and television industry!
I tried to get a job in that field．I often worked as an extra in movies and TV shows—standing in the background while actors are in the foreground．This was fun for a while，but I wanted a real acting job，where I was speaking! Sadly，in Los Angeles，there is too much competition．Every race and age is represented：old，young，black，white，Asian，and Midwestern types like me．Being an extra couldst make enough money for me to live in Los Angeles．I had to do something else for money．
After three years of trying，I gave up my dream of being an actor and started a different career．I then tried network marketing，but in the end，that failed．Seven years after graduating from college，I was still in debt，still searching for a satisfactory life．I decided to go back to engineering．
However，I was starting to get disappointed with my life．Why is life not like what I expected? I expected to have made a lot of money，gotten married，with a house and nice cars，kids，freedom，etc．Millions of people lead lives with their dreams on the shelf , existing but not really living. I wanted my life to be different，more satisfactory，more alive．I wanted a life filled with adventure，romance，friendships，Successes，and dreams realized．But America was not providing that for me．
…
Struggling in the US?
I decided to move to China．
53．What does the underlined sentence mean?
A．A lot of people are living but they are not enjoying their life．
B．A lot of people are living and their life is enjoyable．
C．A lot of people realize their dreams but live a bad life．
D．A lot of people don’t have dreams，nor do they want to live either．
54．What did the writer do before he finally decided to move to China?
A．Marketing→engineering→extra．
B．Extra→marketing→engineering．
C．Engineering→extra→marketing．
D．Extra→engineering→marketing．
55．What can we infer from the passage?
A．Life is difficult in China．
B．Life in the US is easy．
C．There is always somewhere in the world where you can enjoy life．
D．It is certain that more and more Americans will move to China．
56．How can we describe the writer’s attitude toward life?
A．Impractical． B．Passive． C．Disappointed． D．Positive．
Hawaii’s Big Island
Nickname： Hawaii’s Island of Adventure
Size： 4，028 square miles
Population： 148，677．The most heavily populated areas are Hilo on the east side and
Kailua——Kona on the west．
Temperature： Averages between 71°F and 77°F year round (expect the mercury (水银
柱)to drop at higher heights)
Highest Peak： Mauna kea，13，796 feet
Agriculture： Hawaii’s agricultural products are mainly grown and processed On the Big
Island，including coffee，macadamia nuts and papaya．
Lodging： 9，655 rooms total；Nightly rates range from$35 to$5，000．
Airports： Hilo International Airport on the east side and Kona International Airport on
the west side．
Rental Cars： All of the nationally known rental car companies have locations at Hilo
International and Kona International Airports as well as numerous resorts．In
addition，Hilo，Kona and the major resort areas are serviced by taxis．
Resources： Call(800)648—2441 to order a video poster，brochures and maps from
the Big Island Visitors Bureau．See WWW．Bigisland，org for updated
information．
Shopping： The large shopping centers are in Hilo，Kona，Waimea and the Kohala Coast.
49．The passage is intended to be read by
A．tourists B．businessmen C．students D．immigrants
50．The average population per square mile on the island is about．
A．28 B．32 C．44 D．37
51．What does the underlined part“expect the mercury(水银柱)to drop at higher heights ” mean?
A．Things are easy to lose weight at higher places．
B．Dropping things from higher places is expected．
C．Temperature is expected to be lower at higher places．
D．Temperature is expected to be higher at higher places．
52．Which is NOT mentioned as a traffic means to get around the Big Island?
A．By train． B．By air．
C．By rental car． D．By taxi．
The world’s biggest Internet search engine，Google，has proven once again to be king of the Web．Users can download“Google Wi-Fi”software and then enjoy free Wi-Fi service available in some US cities since last Tuesday．
Wi-Fi is short for“Wireless Fidelity”(无线上网)．It allows laptop computers and personal digital assistants to connect to the Internet at high speed by radio signal．
A person with a Wi-Fi enabled computer can connect to the Internet when near one of the network’s access points．The place covered by one or several access points is called a hotspot．Google has already set up two“hotspots”in the US city of San Francisco which provide a free Wi-Fi service．
The Wi—Fi technology even allows users to enjoy a free Internet phone service．
Some scientists argue that Wi-Fi may replace mobile phone networks．
Wi Fi is still limited to a few cities．where there are“hotspots”．But its capability (容量)of sending information has already done better than that of the mobile phone network，even that of 3G(Third Generation telecommunication technology)．Some scientists have started to call Wi-Fi 4G．
In addition to a high speed Internet connection，Wi-Fi has other advantages com pared to mobile phones．Wi-Fi is global．The same Wi-Fi system works in different countries around the world．Different from using cell phones，you don’t need to change computers to use Internet phones when you go to other places and most importantly，many Internet phones cost you nothing at all．
45．Wi-Fi is not available in cities without．
A．a computer B．a radio C．a hotspot D．a cell phone
46．Which of the following is NOT the advantage of Wi-Fi?
A．The high speed Internet connection．
B．Many free Internet phones．
C．Using the same computers for Internet phones when you go to other places．
D．Used in all the US cities
47．Some scientists started to call Wi-Fi 4G，because．
A．it is the product of the Google's 4th generation
B．it is more capable of sending information than the mobile phone network
C．it has been used by more than four generations
D．Wi-Fi will surely take the place of the mobile phone network
48．Which of the following is the best title?
A．Third Generation Telecommunication Technology
B．Free call Service
C．Google Launches Free Wi-Fi Service
D．Google， King of the Web