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3.
The manager rejected my plans. I’ve got to change them.
4.
He hung the clothes out to dry hours ago. They are still wet.
5.
We can broil ish on the grill tonight. We can cook it in the oven.
6.
The members complained loudly about the heat. They remained to give
their opinions about the project.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the passage again. Answer the question.
Describe the kinds of clothes thrift stores sell.
SPIRITUALITY AND MEDITATION
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Many of us have extremely busy lives. In our free time,
we seek to get away from
our hurried lifestyle. How can we do this without adding another time-consuming
activity? In this excerpt, taken from the book
Save Your Brain: 5 Things You Must
Do to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp
, by Paul David Nussbaum, the author
argues that spirituality and meditation offer great ways to relax.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____ 1.
engagement
a. a short period
of time when you are able
to stop doing something dificult
____ 2.
introspection
b. the act or state of being involved in
something
____ 3.
relaxation
c. an examination of one’s own thoughts
and feelings
____ 4.
chaotic
d. time spent resting
____ 5.
foster
e. to produce something
____ 6.
generate
f. to help (something) grow or develop
____ 7. respite
g.
giving speciic attention to
____ 8. addressing
h. state of confusion and disorder
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C.
Reading strategy
This excerpt is about finding
balance
in your life. Circle the three words in the
following sentences that have similar meanings to this idea of
balance
.
Spirituality can help us to generate a more pleasing sense of balance and
homeostasis (a stable state of equilibrium/mental or emotional balance).
Meditation can help you to slow down and turn inward for balance and
symmetry.
II. READ
Read the excerpt. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to
look them up.
Spirituality
When I talk about spirituality, I’m not necessarily addressing
religion, but rather engagement in deep introspection or meditation as part of
the human condition.
Spirituality has many meanings, and it may mean something different to
you than me. This section refers to spirituality as one means of turning inward to
foster a peaceful existence and to remove oneself from the hurried society.
Sometimes spirituality takes the form of engaging in prayer,
meditation, and
other relaxation procedures.
Spirituality provides all
of us techniques to slow down, turn inward, reduce
the negative physiological effects of chronic stress on our brain and body, and
help us to generate a more pleasing sense of balance and homeostasis (a
stable state of equilibrium/mental or emotional balance). Consider these
additional tips and ideas for you to express formal and informal spirituality in
your daily life:
•
Visit your favorite setting two to three times a week. This might be a
community park, lake, beach, mountain base, river, or anywhere you feel at
peace. Enjoy the beauty of your environment—taking
in the beauty of your
surrounding can also be considered spiritual.
•
Get outside or simply remove your body and mind from the tasks that are
in front of you. Everything else will be waiting for you when you return.
•
Sometimes music helps when you retreat to your spiritual place. I like to
download sounds of the ocean and waves and listen to soothing music
while I pray or meditate.
Engaging in spirituality is a great way to stop, r
elect, meditate, and relax
to take a respite from our hurried lifestyle. While that is easily said and
understood, it is also very dificult to change behavior. In order for you to
achieve success with the spiritual domain as part
of the brain health lifestyle,
you must irst identify stress in your life, where you experience stress in your
body, and how you deal with stress now.
Meditation
Meditation can help you to slow down and turn inward for balance
and symmetry. Your brain can adapt to a chaotic world, but it will function more
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III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Mark the sentences T (True) or F (False).
_____ 1.
The author is talking about spirituality in religion.
_____ 2.
The author is talking about spirituality as a way of turning inward to
develop a peaceful existence.
_____ 3.
Spirituality can take the form of prayer, meditation, or other forms of
relaxation.
_____ 4.
The author suggests you visit an amusement park to enjoy the
beauty of the environment.
_____ 5.
The author suggests you visit a lake or park to enjoy the beauty of
the environment.
_____ 6.
Engaging in spirituality is a way to take a break from a hurried lifestyle.
_____ 7.
It is very easy to change behavior.
_____ 8.
Your brain functions very eficiently in a chaotic world.
_____ 9.
Meditation can help you slow down and give you balance.
_____ 10. In the last paragraph, the author is suggesting that you engage in
meditation on a daily basis.
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Understanding from context
Read the sentences. Before you look up words in the dictionary, use the context
of each sentence to help you match the boldface words and idioms with the
definitions that follow.
_____ 1.
This section refers to spirituality as one means of
turning inward
to
foster a peaceful existence and to remove oneself from the hurried
society.
_____ 2.
Meditation can help you to slow down and turn inward for balance
and
symmetry
.
eficiently over a longer period of time if you provide moments of inward
r
election and rest. Meditation offers one technique to achieve such inner
peace, and Western cultures are now more accepting of meditation and yoga.
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