When Marine Lt. Alan Zarracina finally did the splits after months of struggling with the difficult pose in yoga class, the limber women around him applauded.
Zarracina, a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate and flight student, admits he would have a hard time explaining the scene to other Marines. Each class ends with a chant for peace. Then, instructor Nancy La Nasa hands students incense sticks as a gift for their 90 minutes of back bends, shoulder stands and other challenging positions. Zarracina has tried to drag some of his military friends to class, but they make fun of him. "It’s not necessarily considered masculine," he said.
Still, the popular classes, based on ancient Hindu practices of meditation through controlled breathing, balancing and stretching, are catching on in military circles as a way to improve flexibility, balance and concentration. A former Navy SEAL told Zarracina about the class.
The August edition of Fit Yoga, the nation’s second-largest yoga magazine with a circulation of 100,000, features a photo of two Naval aviators doing yoga poses in full combat gear aboard an aircraft carrier. "At first it seemed a little shocking—soldiers practicing such a peaceful art," writes editor Rita Trieger. Upon closer inspection, she said, she noticed "a sense of inner calm" on the aviators’ faces. "War is hell, and if yoga can help them find a little solace, that’s good," said Trieger, a longtime New York yoga instructor.
Retired Adm. Tom Steffens, who spent 34 years as a Navy SEAL and served as the director of the elite corps’ training, regularly practices yoga at his home in Norfolk, Va. "Once in a while I’ll sit in class, and everyone is a 20-something young lady with a 10-inch waist and here I am this old guy," he joked. Steffens, who said the stretching helped him eliminate the stiffness of a biceps injury after surgery, said the benefits of regular practice can be enormous. "The yoga cured all kinds of back pains," he said. "Being a SEAL, you beat up your body."
Yoga breathing exercises can help SEALs with their diving, and learning to control the body by remaining in unusual positions can help members stay in confined spaces for long periods, he said. "The ability to stay focused on something, whether on breathing or on the yoga practice, and not be drawn off course, that has a lot of connection to the military," he said. "In our SEAL basic training, there are many things that are yoga-like in nature./
Trieger seems to believe that

A:practicing yoga can provide soldiers with some sort of relief. B:doing yoga poses in full combat gear is shocking for soldiers. C:soldiers should be peaceful instead of being too masculine. D:military practices of yoga should be done with closer inspection.

When Marine Lt. Alan Zarracina finally did the splits after months of struggling with the difficult pose in yoga class, the limber women around him applauded.
Zarracina, a 24-year-old Naval Academy graduate and flight student, admits he would have a hard time explaining the scene to other Marines. Each class ends with a chant for peace. Then, instructor Nancy La Nasa hands students incense sticks as a gift for their 90 minutes of back bends, shoulder stands and other challenging positions. Zarracina has tried to drag some of his military friends to class, but they make fun of him. "It’s not necessarily considered masculine," he said.
Still, the popular classes, based on ancient Hindu practices of meditation through controlled breathing, balancing and stretching, are catching on in military circles as a way to improve flexibility, balance and concentration. A former Navy SEAL told Zarracina about the class.
The August edition of Fit Yoga, the nation’s second-largest yoga magazine with a circulation of 100,000, features a photo of two Naval aviators doing yoga poses in full combat gear aboard an aircraft carrier. "At first it seemed a little shocking—soldiers practicing such a peaceful art," writes editor Rita Trieger. Upon closer inspection, she said, she noticed "a sense of inner calm" on the aviators’ faces. "War is hell, and if yoga can help them find a little solace, that’s good," said Trieger, a longtime New York yoga instructor.
Retired Adm. Tom Steffens, who spent 34 years as a Navy SEAL and served as the director of the elite corps’ training, regularly practices yoga at his home in Norfolk, Va. "Once in a while I’ll sit in class, and everyone is a 20-something young lady with a 10-inch waist and here I am this old guy," he joked. Steffens, who said the stretching helped him eliminate the stiffness of a biceps injury after surgery, said the benefits of regular practice can be enormous. "The yoga cured all kinds of back pains," he said. "Being a SEAL, you beat up your body."
Yoga breathing exercises can help SEALs with their diving, and learning to control the body by remaining in unusual positions can help members stay in confined spaces for long periods, he said. "The ability to stay focused on something, whether on breathing or on the yoga practice, and not be drawn off course, that has a lot of connection to the military," he said. "In our SEAL basic training, there are many things that are yoga-like in nature./
According to Steffens, practicing yoga

A:helps exercisers remain young. B:is very effective in relieving back pains. C:helps exercisers realize the potentials of their bodies. D:are good for forming a habit of doing things in a regular pattern.

Passage Two
Can animals be made to work for us Some scientists think that one day animals may be trained to do a number of simple jobs that are now done by human beings. They point out that at a circus, for example, we may see elephants, monkeys, dogs and other animals doing quite skillful things. Perhaps you have seen them on the television or in a film. If you watch closely, you may notice that the trainer always gives the animal a piece of candy or a piece of fruit as a reward. The scientists say that many different animals may be trained to do a number of simple jobs if they know they will get a reward for doing them. Of course, as we know, dogs can be used to guard a house, and soldiers in both old and modem times have used geese to give warning by making a lot of noise when a stranger or an enemy comes near. But it may be possible to train animals to work in factories. In Russia, for example, pigeons which are birds with good eyesight, are being used to watch out for faults in small steel balls that are being made in one factory. When the pigeon sees a ball which looks different from others, it touches a steel plate with its beak. This tums on a light to warn people in the factory. At the same time a few seeds are given as a reward. It takes three to five weeks to train a pigeon to do this and one pigeon can inspect 3 000 to 4 000 balls an hour. Apes have been used in America in helping to make cars, and scientists believe that these large monkeys may be one day gather crops and even drive trains.

A:an honor given for doing something B:money paid for doing something C:attention paid to good conduct D:something given in return for work

Once he sets his mind on doing something, no one can stand in his way.

These are their {{U}}motives{{/U}} for doing it

A:reasons B:excuses C:answers D:plans

These are their motives for doing it（　）.

A:reasons B:excuses C:answers D:plans

A Cancer is among the top killer diseases in our society today and scientists have found out that stress helps to bring it on. It is worthwhile to consider, therefore, what the causes of stress are in our life, and whether we can do something about them. Are we underemployed, or overburdened with too many responsibilities Do we have a right balance of work and leisure in our lives Are our relationships with family, friends or fellow workers in a good state All these things can be a cause of stress, and it is best to face them honestly, and to bring our frustration into the open. People who have a row and then forget it are doing their health better than those who bottle up their feelings. If our selfexamination has brought any causes of stress to light, let us consider what we can do about them. It is possible to change jobs. We can make more leisure and fill in more fun, if we will accept a different living standard. We can improve our personal relationships by a different attitude. It is we who allow other people to make ourselves unhappy. Often the little things that disturb us are not worth an hours anger. The teaching in the Bible “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” is good advice from the health point of view as well as the religious. “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath”probably means.

A:Dont let your anger last long B:Dont get angry even though the sun is going down C:Something important that disturb us is worth an hours anger D:Watch the sunset while you are angry

I know what you’ re thinking：pizza (比萨饼) For breakfast But the truth is that you can have last night’ s leftovers in the a.m. if you want to.
I know lots of women who skip breakfast (不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it. Some say they don’ t have time. others think they’ re "saving" calories (卡路里), still others just don’ t like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you ’ re trying to lose weight. "Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all," says Katherine Brooking, R, D, who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year’ s "SELF CHALLENGE". And even pizza can be healthy if it’ s loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Re- search shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no
breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night’s leftovers, it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, "You can always eat it tomorrow," I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it you may save your- self some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.

A:eat something for breakfast B:be careful about what you eat C:heat up food before eating it D:eat calorie-controlled food

Computers and networks handle delivering the mail,so that commnucicating mail users do not have to be ________ at the same time or place.

A:present B:parent C:doing something D:do something