Part B Reading
The Magical Force of Yoga
As our knowledge of health and fitness increases, people are becoming more and more interested in not only taking care of themselves physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. As a result, many people are turning to more complete approaches to keeping healthy, including less mainstream fitness methods such as yoga.
Yoga originated in Hindu philosophy, which was developed thousands of years ago in India. Today, yoga is a system of movements and meditation that emphasizes physical control and self-cultivation.Doing yoga is an effective way of achieving the harmony of body and mind. The ideal state of yoga is reached after a person has gone through eight different stages. These include aspects of self-control,religion, postures, regulation of breath, restraint of senses, steadying of the mind, meditation and profound thought. For a practitioner of yoga,the progression through these stages is a movement from the physical toward a perfect mental state.
There are eight major schools of yoga, each varying in its area of emphasis. The type of yoga that is taught in the West is mainly a combination of exercise and meditation called Hatha Yoga. Hatha Yoga is said to have a number of positive effects, such as reducing weight,strengthening muscles and nerves, cleaning out the body, and generally improving health and prolonging life.
Recent decades have seen yoga gain widespread acceptance as a method of staying in shape, as well as a way of handling stress. At present, there is a lot of speculation and uncertainty about yoga and its effects. One thing, however, is certain: In our modern world of fastpaced lifestyles, taking time out to meditate and do some relaxing exercise cannot be a bad thing!
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Exercises
Task One Answer the following questions according to the text.
1. As our knowledge of health and fitness increases, what are people becoming more and more interested in？
2. Which country did yoga originate in?
3. How can a person reach the ideal state of yoga?
4. How many major schools of Yoga are there?
5. Which positive effects is Hatha Yoga said to have?
Task Two Match the words.
1. increase A. the state of physically healthy and strong
2. vary B. a group of things that are connected or work together
3. mentally C. to become bigger or greater in amount, number, etc.
4. profound D. a way of dealing with a problem or situation
5. fitness E. controlling sth. by means of rules
6. approach F. to be different from each other
7. prolong G. very great felt or experienced strongly(https://www.daowen.com)
8. system H. to make sth. last longer
9. harmony I. connected with or happening in the mind
10. regulation J. a state of peaceful existence and agreement
Task Three Fill in the blanks with the words given below. Change the word forms if necessary.
1. He soon_______________his attention_______________the difficult problem.
2. We have a very communicative_______________to teaching languages.
3. I’m sorry to interrupt your_______________.
4. Colors are in_______________.
5. It’s better to do_______________in bare feet.
6. It might be a good idea to join a_______________center.
7._______________I began making a list of things I had to do.
8. Her work is to_______________the children.
9. They have_______________the price by 50%.
10. They_______________their visit by two days.
Task Four Fill in the blanks with the words given below.
Task Five Order the words to make a sentence.
Task Six Translate the following sentences into English and use the given words or phrases.
