Meditation in Indonesian Business

  It looked like a typical business meeting. Six men, neatly dressed in white shirts and ties filed into the boardroom of a small Jakarta company and sat down at a long table. But instead of consulting files or hearing reports, they closed their eyes and began to meditate（冥想）, consulting the spirits of ancient Javanese kings. Mysticism touches almost every aspect of life in Indonesia and business is no exception. One of the meditators said his weekly meditation sessions are aimed mainly at bringing the peace of mind that makes for good decision-making. But the insight gained from mystic communication with spirits of wise kings has also helped boost the profits of his five companies.

  Mysticism and profits have come together since the 13th century introduction of Islam to Indonesia by Indian Moslem merchants. Those devout traders, called ‘Wali Ullah’ or ‘those close to God, ’ energetically spread both trade and religion by adapting their appeals to the native mysticism of Java. Legends attribute magic power of foreknowledge to the Wali Ullah. These powers were believed to be gained through meditation and fasting.

  Businessman Hadisiko said his group fasts and meditates all night every Thursday to become closer to God and to contact the spirits of the great men of the past. ‘If we want to employ someone at the managerial level, we meditate together and often the message comes that this man can’t hole onto money or he is untrustworthy. Or maybe the spirits will tell us he should be hired.’  Hadiziko hastened to add that his companies also hold modern personnel management systems and that formal qualifications are essential for a candidate even to be considered. Perspective investments also are considered through mystic meditation. ‘With the mind relaxed and open, it is easier to be objective in judging the risk of a new venture. Meditation and contact with the wisdom of the old leaders sharpens your own insight and intuition. Then you have to apply that intuition to the information you have and work hard to be successful. ’ Mystic meditation helped reverse a business slide his companies experienced in the mid-1980. Operating with normal business procedures, he lost more than $ 3 millions in that year alone. Meditation brought back his peace of mind. Putting the right persons in the right jobs and gaining confidence in his business decisions were the keys to a turning around that has brought expansion and profitability. The mysticism in Handspike’s boardroom is part of a growing movement in Indonesia called Kebatinan – the ‘search for the inner self.’

  One of his managers, Yusuf Soemado, who studied business administration at Harvard University, compared the idea of mystic management to western system of positive thinking. ‘Willpower and subconscious mind are recognized as important factors in business. Such approaches as psycho-cybernetics, Carnegie’s think and growth rates, or the power of positive thinking are western attempts to tap the same higher intelligence that we contact through meditation,’ he said.

What is the most important factor in their doing business?

A Mysticism.  B Religion.  C Meditation.  D Investment.

Whom do they consult?

A The spirits of ancient Javanese kings.  B Wali Ullah.  C Old Kings.  D Carnegie.

Why did Hadisike hasten to add ‘his companies also hold modern personnel management systems…’?

A He thought Mysticism was not so good as expected.

B To show they too focused on qualifications.

C To show they hired qualified persons.

D To show the possibility of combination of the scientific management with religion.

According to the passage, the function of the meditation is

A to gain profit from the god.  B to gain peace of mind to make decision.

C to gain foreknowledge.     D to gain objective conclusion.

What does ‘operating with normal business procedures’ refer to?

A .Adopting the western way of doing business.

B Ordinary way of doing business without meditation and fasting.

C Contact with God.

D Putting right persons in the right jobs.

Many people would interpret “The American dream” as “living like an American”—a two-story house with a white picket fence; a family with two cars; and two children.

However, the economic situation is now affecting the American way of life for 4.4 million people living in the US, according to new census (人口普查) data. “It’s going to have a long-term impact and to say it’s going to end is optimistic, ” says Cheryl Russell, former editor-in- chief of American Demographics magazine. “I’m more pessimistic that this is the new normal.”

So what is the new normal?

*Marrying later. The average age of the first marriage has increased to 28.7 for men and 26.7 for women, up from 27.5 and 25.9 respectively in 2006. At the same time, fewer people are getting married. If the marriage rate had stayed the same as in 2006, there would have been about 4 million more married people in 2010.

 *Fewer babies. There were 200,000 fewer births among women aged 20 to 34 in 2010 compared with two years before. This was despite the fact that the number of women of childbearing age had gone up by more than 1 million. “The recession(衰退) is the likely cause ,” says Kenneth Johnson, demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institue, “Economic fertility (生育能力)” because women delay …in uncertain times.

*Breaking up is harder. The number of divorces has been falling for 25 years as people wait longer or choose to live together before they get married. There were about 65,000 fewer divorces in 2010 than in 2008, a 7 percent decrease.

*Crowd living. Unemployment is forcing more people to live together. The number of households where people lived with “other relatives” climbed from 6.7 percent in 2006 to 7.2 percent in 2010.

*Going public. Private school enrollment decreased from 13.6 percent in 2006 to 12.8 percent in 2010.

*Fewer cars. The percent age of households without a car rose to 9.1 percent against 8.8 percent in 2006. The percent-age of households with two or more cars fell from 58 percent to 57.1 percent.

*Driving solo. When people are not working, they don’t carpool. The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in employment dropped greatly in all but one of the 50 largest metropolitan (大城市的) areas. That has helped push the share of people driving to work alone from 76 percent in 2006 to 76.6 percent in 2010. Ride-sharing is down a full percentage point, to 9.7 percent.

61. What is the article mainly about?

A. The interpretation of “the American dream”.

B. The significance of the current economic crisis.       

C. Changes to the American lifestyle.

D. The traditional American way of life.

62. What might Cheryl Russell agree with according to the article?

A. A traditional lifestyle is much better and healthier.

B. The new study based on the members’ financial reports.

C. The spirit of American dream will inspire Americans to get through the economic recession.

D. American lifestyles are being reshaped and will continue to change

63. What are the characteristics of the future American lifestyle?

a. Delayed marriage.

b. A lower divorce rate

c. Increased car ownership.

d. An increase in private school enrollment.

e. Having children later

A. abe           B. ace          C. bde          D. bce  

64. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The typical US family is expected to have three-story house with a big yard and two children.

B. The US birth rate rose slightly in 2010 compared with two years before.

C. A growing number of people are forced to share their homes with other relatives in the US.

D. US students prefer to go to private schools rather than pubic schools.

65. Why do more and more Americans drive solo to work in recent years, according to the passage ?

A. Because they don’t like carpool.           

B. Because more and more people are out of work.         

C. Because the share of people driving to work alone is increasing.      

D. Because the proportion of people aged 16-64 in unemployment dropped greatly.

In the second half of each year ,many powerful storms are born in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea .Of these , only about half a dozen produce the strong , circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that give them hurricane status, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.

The great storms that hit the coast start as innocent circling disturbances (扰乱) hundreds or thousands of miles out to sea . As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried westward by the trade winds（信风）When con­ditions are just right , warm , moist air flows in at the bottom of such a disturbance , moves upward through it and comes out at the top . In the process, the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat is changed into energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases , the young hurricane begins to swirl (旋转)in a counterclockwise（逆时针方向） motion.

The average life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but is contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat released by a hurricane's rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, rather than wind is the main source of death and destruction in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12-inch downpours resulting in sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea —the mountains of water moving toward the low—pressure hurricane center, the water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.

1．When does an ordinary tropical storm turn into a hurricane?

    A．When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.

    B．When it hits the coastline.

    C．When it is more than 75 miles per hour.

    D．When its wind reaches 75 miles per hour.

2．What is the worst thing about the hurricane?

    A．The destructive effect of water.            B．The heat it releases.

    C．It lasts about nine days.                        D．Strong winds.

3．The counterclockwise swirling of the hurricane is brought about by_________.

    A．the low pressure center of the storm      B．the force of waves of water

    C．the trade winds                                    D．the increasing heat

4．Which of the following about the hurricane is true?

    A．It often occurs around June.

    B．It is not so powerful as that of storm born in the Caribbean Sea.

    C．It usually lasts about nine days.

       D．It can be easily detected and prevented.