常春藤解析英語 19 Quieting the Mind身心平靜

by Marcus Maurice

Meditation is an exercise in quieting the mind. Meditation can help restore mental balance leading to a feeling of happiness and contentment.

Think of the brain as a faucet where the water is constantly flowing. The flowing "water" is our thoughts about such things as the never-ending list of tasks that we have to do, should do, didn't do, and might do. Stopping the flow of these thoughts and slowing down the mind is the goal of meditation. By turning off the faucet, a person who practices meditation can attain clearer thinking, improved health, and a greater understanding of their own goals.

When one first sits down to meditate, it may seem as though one's mind is racing at 100 miles a minute. One thinks of the report that needs to be turned in, the dishes that haven't been done, and the countless other problems in life that unconsciously stream in. This is because when meditating, one finally realizes how active the mind actually is. The focus must then be taken away from these thoughts and centered instead on breathing in deeply through the nostrils and out through the mouth. Although it seems simple to "just breathe," in reality, it is easier said than done. Blocking out external thoughts takes a great deal of effort. By sitting in an upright position with legs folded and thumbs just barely touching the index fingers, meditation can bring relaxation and inner peace. All thoughts of the things that should, could, and would be fade away as the mind is quieted.

1. What can be achieved via meditation?

(A) Thoughts can be sped up.

(B) A person can easily fall asleep.

(C) The body can move faster.

(D) Peace and calm can be achieved.

2. Why might people find meditation difficult?

(A) Opening up your heart isn't easy.

(B) Thoughts are constantly coming in.

(C) There are too many people looking at you.

(D) It's a time to unwind and relax.

3. Just breathing may seem like an easy task, but _____.

(A) it is harder to achieve than one might think

(B) only a small percentage of the population can do it

(C) it takes up to 10 minutes to accomplish

(D) one must fold their legs and touch their thumbs to do it properly

精解字詞詞組

1.restore vt. 恢復(fù);修復(fù)

例： My father used to restore antique furniture in his spare time.

(我父親以前會利用空閑時間修復(fù)古董家具。)

2.slow down (...)/slow (...) down　　減慢(……)速度

speed up (...)　　加快(……)速度

例： Ever since his heart attack, my father has had to slow his life down.

(自從爸爸心臟病發(fā)作后，他就必須將生活步調(diào)放慢。)

例： Our factory will speed up production to meet consumer demands.

(我們工廠將加速生產(chǎn)以滿足消費者的需求。)

3.race vi. 加快

例： When Mike saw Laura at the party, his heartbeat raced wildly with love.

(麥克在派對上看見勞拉時，他的心里因愛意而小鹿亂撞。)

4.turn in...　　呈交∕繳交……

= hand in...

例： I have to turn in a report on that novel by Friday.

(我必須在周五前繳交那本小說的報告。)

5.stream in　　涌入

例： As freelance work streamed in, Ms. Jiu decided to start her own business.

(因外稿的工作接踵而來，所以朱小姐決定自己創(chuàng)業(yè)。)

6.be centered on...　　集中于……

center on...　　以……為中心

例： Angela doesn't have much free time because her life centers on her work.

(安杰拉的生活以工作為主，所以沒有太多空閑時間。)

7.breathe in/out　　吸氣∕呼氣

例： Am I supposed to breathe in through my nose or my mouth?

(我應(yīng)該從鼻子還是用嘴巴吸氣?)

8.block out...　　阻擋……

例： The little girl tried to block out the bad memories of the accident.

(那名小女孩試圖斷絕那次意外的不愉快回憶。)

9.take effort　　努力，竭力

例： It takes effort to become successful in the fashion industry.

(要在時尚界成功需要費盡心力。)

10.fold vt. 折迭

例： Alice folds her blankets as soon as she gets out of bed.

(艾莉絲一起床就會將毯子折好。)

11.fade away　漸漸消逝

例： The boy's memories of his late father are slowly fading away.

(那男孩對已故父親的記憶漸漸消逝。)

12.unwind vi. 放松

例： Ed took a short vacation to Hawaii to unwind from his stressful job.

(艾德從工作壓力中解放，到夏威夷度了一個短暫的假期。)

單字小鋪

1. quiet vt. 使平靜

2. meditation n. 冥想

3. contentment n. 滿足

4. faucet n. 水龍頭

5. never-ending a. 永無止盡的

6. meditate vi. 冥想，打坐

7. countless a. 無數(shù)的

8. unconsciously adv. 無意識地

9. nostril n. 鼻孔

10. external a. 外部的

11. upright a. 筆直的

12. barely adv. 幾乎不

13. index finger n. 食指

14. relaxation n. 放松

15. via prep. 透過，經(jīng)由

16. properly adv. 適當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

詞組小鋪

1. turn off/on...　　關(guān)閉∕打開(水、電器開關(guān)等)

2. in reality　　事實上

3. a great deal of + 不可數(shù)名詞　　很多……

4. fall asleep　　入睡

5. open up...　　打開……

6. a small/large percentage of...　　一小部分∕很大部分的……

中文翻譯&標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案

冥想是讓心靈平靜的一種活動。冥想有助于恢復(fù)一個人的精神平衡，進而達到幸福與滿足。

把大腦想成一個水流不斷的水龍頭。這些流動的『水』就是我們的思維，永無休止地想著我們必須達成、應(yīng)該達成、尚未完成和可能完成的事項清單。冥想的目的在于停止這些想法流竄，放慢心靈的步調(diào)。藉由關(guān)閉這個水龍頭，冥想者可以獲得更清晰的思緒、更健康的身體，也更了解自己的目標(biāo)。

當(dāng)一個人剛坐下來冥想時，他們的心靈就像是每分鐘跑一百英里一樣。他們看到自己要交的報告、要洗的碗盤，生活中其它數(shù)不清的問題也無意識地涌入。這是因為在冥想時，他們終于了解自己的心靈有多活躍。注意力必須脫離這些想法，而專注于從鼻孔深深吸氣，從嘴巴吐氣。『單純呼吸』看似簡單，事實上，說的卻比做的容易。阻絕外界思緒需要花費很大的力氣。藉由雙腳交迭、大拇指幾乎碰到食指，并挺胸坐直，冥想可以帶來放松和內(nèi)心的平靜。所有應(yīng)該、可能及將會發(fā)生的事情，這些想法在內(nèi)心平靜的時候都會慢慢消逝。

1. 透過冥想可以達到什么境界?

(A) 加速思緒。

(B) 人們?nèi)菀走M入夢鄉(xiāng)。

(C) 身體可以更快速移動。

(D) 可達成平和與寧靜。

題解：綜觀全文，冥想可以讓心情放松、思緒清晰，進而帶來內(nèi)心的平靜，因此應(yīng)選 (D)。

2. 為何人們可能覺得冥想很困難?

(A) 敞開心胸并不容易。

(B) 思緒會不斷涌入。

(C) 會太多人看著你。

(D) 這是一段放松的時刻。

題解：根據(jù)本文第二段，當(dāng)一個人坐下來冥想時，生活上的問題會無意識地不斷涌入，接近 (B) 的說法，故選之。

3. 單純呼吸看似簡單，但 _____。

(A) 比想象中還難以達成

(B) 只有一小部分人知道什么時候要做

(C) 須花費十分鐘之久來做

(D) 需要雙腳交迭、拇指相碰才能做得標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

題解：根據(jù)本文第三段，雖然單純呼吸看似簡單，事實上知易行難，故選 (A)。

標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案：

1. (D)　2. (B)　3. (A)