The origin of yoga are covered in the mists of time. Yoga, known as “ the supreme science of life”, is an ancient system of physical and mental practices that originated during the Indus Valley Civilization in South Asia. The basic purpose of yoga is to build harmony in the body, mind, and environment .

  Yoga is a complete system of physical , mental, social, and spiritual development. For generation, this philosophy was passed on from the master teacher to the student. The first _____________  of the practice of yoga appeared around 200 BC in Yogasutra.

  There are many benefits that individuals can gain from the practice of yoga. At the physical level, yoga can clean the body and has proven to be extremely effective for various disorders. Here are some of the benefits of yoga practice.

  Increasing flexibility(柔韧性) ----- There are positions in yoga that act upon the various joint5s in the body including those joints that we never really use.

  Massaging(按摩) all the organs of the body----- Research has shown that the yoga exercise is probably the only form of activity that messages all of the glands and organs of the body to promote good health and well-being. 

  Balance the nervous system------ Yoga is a great form of mediation that can balance the nervous system.

  Reduction of stress----- Because yoga is a slow and gentle form of exercise combined with breathing exercises, it can relax the body.

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If you want to make your body, mind and environment balanced, you can begin yoga.

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It was a hot summer day and I ran down the street hurriedly with a dollar in my sweaty hand. The closer I got to Sam & Joe’s, the more excited I was. After all, a dollar was a tidy sum for an 11-year-old boy in 1961. 

Out of breath, I pushed the door open and got a blast of cold air that instantly cooled me off. I was in a place of pure happiness. Sam & Joe’s had it all - books, candy, toys, baseball cards，puzzles and games. I went directly to the bar（水吧） and ordered a bottle of soda. There I sat, considering my next move. 

Books always came first. I picked out five copies. Next came the candy, rows and rows of it. I chose five candy bars, which brought my total to 25 cents. Then a bottle of cold orange juice, a bag of chips and a pack of Ted Williams baseball cards. After paying the clerk, I still had 5 cents.

I hurried directly to my backyard, where an apple tree patiently waited for me. There, sitting under the tree, I read my books, ate my candy and drank my orange juice.

As I sat in my own personal heaven(天堂), I started thinking about having more. That’s when a fantastic life-changing idea jumped into head: If I could get more money, I could buy more books I liked, buy anything I wanted. That’s how it all started.

(1). How did the boy feel on his way to Sam & Joe’s?  (no more than 5 words)

(2). What does “a tidy sum” mean in Paragraph 1? (no more than 5 words) 

(3). What did the boy consider doing first after he ordered soda?(no more than 5 words) 

(4). What did the boy do while reading? (no more than 5 words) 

(5). Where was the boy’s “personal heaven” ? (no more than 5 words)

    Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation (诱惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?

To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines. Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation (背诵) of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox (非常规的), and perhaps unfortunate way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention. So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

On the whole, Brooks’ story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’ attempt to translate his tale into science.

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  When Dan Shaw gets up from the sofa in his home, Cuddles is never far away. When he wants to go outside, he doesn’t take Cuddles out for a walk—Cuddles takes him for a walk Cuddles is clearly no ordinary family pet. It is a two-foot-high miniature horse and serves as the guiding eyes of Shaw, who is blind.

      When Shaw lost his sight, his wife suggested he apply for a guide dog. Shaw, an anima lover, said he couldn’t hear to part with a dog(which usually lives about eight to ten years)and get used to a new one, perhaps several times in his life.

      Then Shaw heard of a program about the tiny guide horses. He learned that the horse possess many qualities that make them an excellent choice for guiding people. They are clean friendly, smart and have great memories. They can be trained to remain calm in noisy and crowded places. Best of all, they live for25-35 years, which would enable Shaw to have the same guide companion for most or all of his life.

      Shaw immediately applied to be and was accepted as the first person to receive a guide horse. The instant he met Cuddles, he knew he was making the right choice. Then he began his training.

      Through training, Shaw and Cuddles learned to find their way on busy streets, step over curbs(便道沿儿)and find elevator buttons. Cuddles even demonstrated(显示)its ability to step in front of Shaw and block him, to prevent him from walking into a dangerous situation The little horse also expertly led Shaw through busy shopping malls. They got along without any difficulties. Now Shaw is confident that Cuddles will change his life for the better.

Speedy eaters are three times more likely to be too fat, a problem which is made even worse by the popularity of fast food and the decrease of regular dining habits, some Japanese researchers said on Wednesday.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, pay special attention to how eating styles, and not just what or how much is eaten, can affect an obesity epidemic(肥胖流行病) that is becoming more and more severe because of the speed of the Western-style diet in many parts of the world.

The World Health Organization considers around 400 million people in the world as too fat, 20 million of whom are under the age of five. The researchers are concerned that the condition raises the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes(糖尿病) and heart problems.

For their study, Hiroyasu Iso and the team at Osaka University asked more than 3000 Japanese volunteers who are 30 to 69 years old about their eating. About half of the men and a little more than half of the women said they ate until full. About 45 percent of the men and 36 percent of the women said they ate quickly.

Those who said they ate until full and ate quickly were three times more likely to be fat than people in the “not eating until full and not eating quickly” group, the researchers found.

They believe that the main causes are both the popularity of eating cheap fast food and bad habits such as watching television while eating.

To fight against the bad effect of eating quickly and being too full that can lead to obesity, parents should encourage children to eat slowly and in calm environments, the study suggested.

If you are in the market looking for a new bike, maybe you would like to consider this bicycle. The brainchild of Israeli inventor Izhar Gafni, the fully functional bike that costs just $ 10 to make, is made entirely of cardboard (硬纸板).

   Mr. Gafni came up with the idea after he heard about a working canoe that had been made of cardboard. However, when he suggested the idea to engineers, they all told him that it was impossible. Not ready to accept failure, Mr. Gafni decided to try to build one himself. However, the task turned out to be harder than he had thought. Considering that the cardboard is normally used to make just boxes, there was not much idea on how to even get started.

   While being able to get the design right, his biggest difficulty was to create a bike strong enough to carry a rider of almost any size and weight. After experimenting with several choices he found out that by using the Japanese principals of origami (折纸) he could increase the weight the cardboard can bear. Therefore, he made the bike strong enough to carry a real rider. He then had to figure out a coating that would protect the bike in all kinds of weather conditions. While getting it right took a few models, the final result is a new bike coated with a finish (抛光) that gives it the look and feel of lightweight plastic. It can carry as much as 485 pounds.

   Mr. Gafni is now working with some businessmen to get his cardboard creation into stores by late 2018. Considering that it costs only $10 to make the entire bike, he believes that the finished product could be sold for at least $80- $90, which makes it the coolest, cheapest, most eco-friendly bike in the world!

Happiness is for everyone. You don’t need to care about those people who have beautiful houses with large gardens and swimming pools or those who have nice cars and a lot of money and so on. Why? Because those who have big houses may often feel lonely and those who have cars may want to walk on the country roads at their free time.

In fact, happiness is always around you if you put your heart into it. When you are in trouble at school, your friends will help you; when you study hard at your lessons, your parents are always taking good care of your life and your health; when you get success, your friends will say congratulations to you; when you do something wrong, people around you will help to correct it. And when you do something good to others, you will feel happy, too. All these are your happiness. If you notice them, you can see that happiness is always around you.

Happiness is not the same as money. It is a feeling of your heart. When you are poor, you can also say you are very happy, because you have something else that can’t be bought with money. When you meet with difficulties, you can say loudly you are very happy, because you have more chances to challenge yourself. So you cannot always say you are poor and you have bad luck. As the saying goes, life is like a revolving door. When it closes, it also opens. If you take every chance you get, you can be a happy and lucky person.

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