Reading comprehension.
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 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, 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 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
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."
1. The underlined word "them" in Paragraph l refers to _____. [ ]
A. thoughts
B. minds
C. people
D. feelings
2. In the experiment, volunteers doing meditation for longer hours _____. [ ]
A. usually ignored the first number observed
B. were used to memorizing numbers in groups
C. were more likely to catch both of the numbers
D. paid more attention to numbers than to letters
3. What can we infer from the passage?[ ]
A. Mediators are given less pressure.
B. Mediators can manage their daily tasks better.
C. Mediators can play the piano better.
D. Mediators are good at using numbers.
4. What can be concluded from the passage? [ ]
A. Meditation improves one's health.
B. Mediators have a good sense of hearing.
C. Brain activity can be recorded.
D. Human attention can be trained.
