In meditation(冥想),people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath.As they breathe in and out,they attend to their feelings.As thoughts go through their minds,they let them go.Breathe.Let go.Breathe.Let go.

According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre,Massachusetts,three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a marked change in how the brain allocates(分配)attention.It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world.Expert meditators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli(刺激),like facial expressions.

The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training.People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice,everything from driving to playing the piano.The study has shown that meditating is good for the brain.It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being.

In an experiment,17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day.A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period.Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters.As both groups looked for the numbers,their brain activity was recorded.

Everyone could catch the first number.But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced meditators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it,so they missed the second number.Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number,as if letting it go,which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number.This shows that attention can change with practice.

Just ask Daniel Levsion,who meditated for three months as part of the study.“I’m a much better listener,”he said.“I don’t get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying.”

1.The underlined word“them”in Paragraph 1 refers to         .

A.feelings          B.minds             C.people                D.thoughts

2.Meditators manage their daily tasks better because they         .

A.are given less pressure

B.allocate their attention better

C.have more stimuli for life

D.practice them more frequently

3.In the experiment,volunteers doing meditation for longer hours         .

A.were more likely to catch both of the numbers

B.were used to memorizing numbers in groups

C.usually ignored the first number observed

D.paid more attention to numbers than to letters

4.The study proves that         .

A.meditation improves one’s health

B.brain activity can be recorded

C.human attention can be trained

D.meditators have a good sense of hearing

Introductory Chemistry was taught at Duke University for many years by professor Bonk. One year, two guys took the class and did pretty well on all the quizzes and mid-terms. They each had a solid A. These two friends were so confident in going into the final that the weekend before finals week, despite the Chemistry final being on Monday, they decided to go to the University of Virginia to party with some friends.

They had a great time there. However, with their hangovers（宿醉）and tiredness, they overslept all day Sunday and didn’t make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they found professor Bonk after the final and explained to him how they missed the final. They told him they went up to the University of Virginia for the weekend and had planned to come back in time to study, but they had a flat tire on the way back and didn’t have a spare. So they were late getting back to campus.

Bonk thought this over and agreed that they could take the final the following day. The two guys, happy and relieved, studied that night and went in the next day at the time that Bonk had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet. He told them to begin.

They looked at the first problem which was something simple about solution（溶解）. It was worth 5 points. “Cool,” they thought, “this is going to be an easy final”. They then turned the page. They were unprepared, however, for what they saw on it. The question contained only two words: (95 points) Which tire?

1. The two guys decided to go to the University of Virginia because ________.

2.From the passage we know ________.

3. After the final, they ________.

4.From the passage we can get a lesson that ________.

In meditation(冥想) ，people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath. As they breathe in and out, they attend to their feelings. As thoughts go through their minds. they let them go. Breathe. Let go. Breathe. Let go.

According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a market change in how the brain allocates(分配) attention. It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world. Expert mediators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli(刺激), like facial expressions.

The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training. People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice. everything from driving to playing the piano. The study has shown that meditation is good for the brain, It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being.

In an experiment, 17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day. A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period. Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters. As both group looked for the numbers, their brain activity was recorded.

Everyone could catch the first number. But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced mediators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it, so they missed the second number. Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number. as if letting it go, which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number, This shows that attention can change with practice.

Just ask Daniel Levision, who meditated for three months as part of the study.” I am a much better listener,” he said. “I do not get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying.”

The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to ________.

A. feelings             B. minds               C. people               D. thoughts

Meditations manage their daily tasks better because they ________.

A. are given less pressure                    B. allocate their attention better

C. have more stimuli for life                D. practice them more frequently

In the experiment, volunteers doing meditation for longer hours ________.

A. were more likely to catch both of the members

B. were used to memorizing numbers in groups

C. usually ignored the first number observed

D. paid more attention to numbers than to letters

The study proves that ________.

A. meditation improves one’s health

B. brain activity can be recorded

C. human attention can be trained

D. mediators have a good sense of hearing

认真阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在文章中的表格中填入恰当的序号。注意：表格中的每个空格只填一个词。
A. Social background for the Development of Adult Education
B. What is the present situation?
C. The purposes in Adult Education
D. Ways of Adult Education
E. The history of Adult Education
F. What is Adult Education?
【小题1】               
Voluntary learning in organized courses by mature men and women is called adult education. Such education is offered to make people able to enlarge and interpret their experience as adults. Adults may want to study something which they missed in earlier schooling, get new skills or job training, find out about new technologicaldevelopment,seekbetter self-understanding, or develop new talents and skills.
【小题2】               
This kind of education may be in the form of self-study with proper guidance through the use of libraries, correspondence(函授)courses,or broadcasting.It may also be acquired collectively in schools and colleges, study groups, workshops, clubs, and professional associations.
【小题3】              
Modern adult education for large numbers of people started in the 18th and 19th centuries with the rise of the Industrial Revolution. Great economic and social changes were taking place: people were moving from rural areas to cities: new types of work were being created in an expanding factory system. These and other factors produced a need for further education and reeducation of adults.
【小题4】               
The earliest program of organized adult education arose in Great Britain in the 1790s, with the founding of an adult school at Nottingham and a mechanics’institute at Glasgow. The earliest adult education institution in the United States was founded by Benjamin Franklin and some friends in Philadelphia in 1727.
【小题5】               
People recognize that continued learning is necessary for most forms of employment today. For example, parts of the adult population in many countries find it necessary to take part in retraining programs at work or even to learn completely new jobs. Adult education programs are springing up constantly to meet these and other needs.

In meditation(冥想) ，people sit quietly and focus their attention on their breath. As they breathe in and out, they attend to their feelings. As thoughts go through their minds. they let them go. Breathe. Let go. Breathe. Let go.

According to a recent study at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, three months of training in this kind of meditation causes a market change in how the brain allocates(分配) attention. It appears that the ability to let go thoughts that come into mind frees the brain to attend to more rapidly changing things and events in the outside world. Expert mediators are better than other people at catching such fast-changing stimuli(刺激), like facial expressions.

The study provides evidence for changes in the workings of the brain with mental training. People can learn and improve abilities of all sorts with practice. everything from driving to playing the piano. The study has shown that meditation is good for the brain, It appears to reduce pressure and promote a sense of well-being.

In an experiment, 17 volunteers with no meditation experience in the experimental group spent three months meditating 10 to 12 hours a day. A control group also with no meditation experience meditated for 20 minutes a day over the same period. Both groups were then given the tests with two numbers in a group of letters. As both group looked for the numbers, their brain activity was recorded.

Everyone could catch the first number. But the brain recordings showed that the less experienced mediators tended to grasp the first number and hang onto it, so they missed the second number. Those with more experience gave less attention to the first number. as if letting it go, which led to an increased ability to grasp the second number, This shows that attention can change with practice.

Just ask Daniel Levision, who meditated for three months as part of the study.” I am a much better listener,” he said. “I do not get lost in my own personal reaction to what people are saying.”

48. The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 1 refers to ________.

A. feelings               B. minds               C. people                    D. thoughts

49. Meditations manage their daily tasks better because they ________.

A. are given less pressure                     B. allocate their attention better

C. have more stimuli for life                 D. practice them more frequently

50. In the experiment, volunteers doing meditation for longer hours ________.

A. were more likely to catch both of the members

B. were used to memorizing numbers in groups

C. usually ignored the first number observed

D. paid more attention to numbers than to letters

51. The study proves that ________.

A. meditation improves one’s health

B. brain activity can be recorded

C. human attention can be trained

D. mediators have a good sense of hearing