Training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. Meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles. There are many types of meditation, but they all have the same objective: calming the mind, observing our thoughts and emotions, and centering our focus on a single object. The basic practice involves sitting with a straight back and focusing on your breath. Anyone can do it, and you feel a difference after just one session. By fixing your attention on the air moving in and out of your nose, you can slow the torrent of thoughts and clear your mental horizons. If we want to get better at reaching a state of flow, meditation is an excellent antidote to our smartphones and their notifications constantly clamoring for our attention. One of the most common mistakes among people starting to meditate is worrying about doing it 'right,' achieving absolute mental silence, or reaching 'nirvana.' The most important thing is to focus on the journey. Since the mind is a constant swirl of thoughts, ideas, and emotions, slowing down the 'centrifuge'-even for just a few seconds-can help us feel more rested and leave us with a sense of clarity. In fact, one of the things we learn in the practice of meditation is not to worry about anything that flits across our mental screen. The idea of killing our boss might flash into our mind, but we simply label it as a thought and let it pass like a cloud, without judging or rejecting it. It is only a thought one of the sixty thousand we have every day, according to some experts. Meditation generates alpha and theta brain waves. For those experienced in meditation, these waves appear right away, while it might take a half hour for a beginner to experience them. These relaxing brain waves are the ones that are activated right before we fall asleep, as we lie in the sun, or right after taking a hot bath. We all carry a spa with us everywhere we go. It's just a matter of knowing how to get in-something anyone can do, with a bit of practice.

১.

Choose the best answer from alternatives.

(a) The term 'centrifuge' in the text refers to —
(i) a physical device (ii) the swirling nature of thoughts (iii) a meditation technique (iv) a type of brain wave

(b) What does the phrase 'let it pass like a cloud' suggest?
(i) We should ignore our thoughts completely. (ii) We should accept and not judge our thoughts. (iii) Thoughts are harmful. (iv) Thoughts should be written down.

(c) What is the synonym for 'antidote' as used in the text?
(i) poison (ii) remedy (iii) result (iv) option

(d) According to the text, what happens when we fix our attention on our breath?
(i) Our thoughts become more chaotic. (ii) We become more alert. (iii) We can slow the torrent of thoughts. (iv) We stop breathing.

(e) What does the phrase 'flits across our mental screen' imply about thoughts?
(i) They are permanent. (ii) They are fleeting. (iii) They are rare. (iv) They are always important.

উত্তর

(a) (ii) the swirling nature of thoughts

(b) (ii) We should accept and not judge our thoughts.

(c) (ii) remedy

(d) (iii) We can slow the torrent of thoughts.

(e) (ii) They are fleeting.

Training the mind can get us to a place of flow more quickly. Meditation is one way to exercise our mental muscles. There are many types of meditation, but they all have the same objective: calming the mind, observing our thoughts and emotions, and centering our focus on a single object. The basic practice involves sitting with a straight back and focusing on your breath. Anyone can do it, and you feel a difference after just one session. By fixing your attention on the air moving in and out of your nose, you can slow the torrent of thoughts and clear your mental horizons. If we want to get better at reaching a state of flow, meditation is an excellent antidote to our smartphones and their notifications constantly clamoring for our attention. One of the most common mistakes among people starting to meditate is worrying about doing it 'right,' achieving absolute mental silence, or reaching 'nirvana.' The most important thing is to focus on the journey. Since the mind is a constant swirl of thoughts, ideas, and emotions, slowing down the 'centrifuge'-even for just a few seconds-can help us feel more rested and leave us with a sense of clarity. In fact, one of the things we learn in the practice of meditation is not to worry about anything that flits across our mental screen. The idea of killing our boss might flash into our mind, but we simply label it as a thought and let it pass like a cloud, without judging or rejecting it. It is only a thought one of the sixty thousand we have every day, according to some experts. Meditation generates alpha and theta brain waves. For those experienced in meditation, these waves appear right away, while it might take a half hour for a beginner to experience them. These relaxing brain waves are the ones that are activated right before we fall asleep, as we lie in the sun, or right after taking a hot bath. We all carry a spa with us everywhere we go. It's just a matter of knowing how to get in-something anyone can do, with a bit of practice.

২. Answer the following questions.
(a) Why is it important to focus on the journey rather than the outcome in meditation?
(b) What approach should be taken when intrusive thoughts arise during meditation?
(c) What does the phrase "We all carry a spa with us" imply about meditation?
(d) How does the text suggest meditation can affect emotional health?
(e) In what ways can meditation be integrated into daily life? Express your opinion.

উত্তর

(a) Focusing on the journey is important rather than the outcome in meditation as it allows individuals to embrace the process of meditation and reduces anxiety about achieving specific results.

(b) When intrusive thoughts arise, one should label them as thoughts and let them pass without judgement or attachment.

(c) This phrase implies that everyone has the potential to access relaxation and calmness through meditation, regardless of their environment.

(d) Meditation can positively affect emotional health by helping individuals observe their emotions without judgement, leading to greater emotional stability.

(e) I think meditation can be integrated into daily life through brief mindfulness moments, dedicated meditation sessions, or breathing exercises during stressful situations.

Once in water, you get oblivious of time, distance or direction. The only thought which kept me worried, was that I must make it and that I must get good weather all the way. The second half of the swim is always very difficult. And if even little waves develop, it saps the ebbing energy of the swimmer all the more. Taking a lesson from my previous swims, I kept my speed at a steady pace for I knew I would need every ounce of my energy towards the close... I felt, hungry and famished and shouted for my manager. In reply, I was told that I could not afford to waste 10 minutes in having the feed! If I have to break the record, I must swim on with all my might. But I refused .... I am sorry now for it. For if I had gone on, I might have finished the whole swim in less than 10 hours and 15 minutes creating a new world record from both sides........ After the feed I really got my teeth into the strokes.... I was squeezing my body for the last drop of energy I could get out of it.... and edged on inch by inch. The people in the motorboat were cheering me. I saw the flash on the Kent shore very clearly. I realized I was very close. I could see the record, like the proverbial carrot, dangling before my swollen eyes.... I kept pulling myself on a little more, just a little more ... the momentum was building up then I felt rocks, sharp and craggy.... Then a big rock appeared before me. And that was it ...... the shore it was the time: 4:35 a.m. GMT I had broken the world record by 15 minutes. I thanked God for fulfilling my life's ambition. Then I remembered my parents. I had not failed my country.

৩.

Read the passage and make a flow chart illustrating the swimmer's journey to breaking the world record. (One is done for you.)

Box	Content
1	Plunged into water
2	______
3	______
4	______
5	______
6	______

উত্তর

Box	Content
1	Plunged into water
2	Utilized his lesson from his previous swims
3	Kept his speed steady
4	Got his teeth into the strokes
5	Squeezed his body for energy
6	Kept pulling himself on till the glorious end

Greta Thunberg is an environmental activist. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2003. When she was eight, she started learning about climate change. The more she learned, the more baffled she became as to why so little was being done about it. At the age of 11. Greta became so sad about climate change that she temporarily stopped speaking! Greta has Asperger syndrome, a condition that affects how people socialise. But Greta views her condition as a positive, calling it her 'superpower'! She says it helps her see the world in black and white, and that there are "no grey areas when it comes to climate change." In August 2018, Greta decided to take action. Instead of going to school, she made a large sign that read Skolstrejk för Klimatet': SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE', and calmly sat down outside the Swedish parliament. Her aim? To make politicians take notice and act to stop global warming.
Greta's strike was picked up by the Swedish media, and the word started to spread. Soon enough. tens of thousands of students from around the world joined her #FridaysforFuture strikes skipping school on Fridays to protest against climate change. In March 2019, climate campaigners across the world, and inspired by Greta, came together to co-ordinate the first Global Strike for Climate. Over 1.6 million people from 125 countries took part! Since her strike began, Greta's life has become a whirlwind! She's given rousing speeches to politicians, to the EU parliament, the UK parliament, to protesters and more. She's appeared in documentaries and had loads of books and articles written about her. She's even been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in August 2019. Greta travelled on a wind and solar-powered boat from Plymouth, UK, to New York, USA the journey took 15 days. Her passionate speech "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words... We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money, and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" has drawn much attention from all over the world. Thunberg was known for changing how some people think and act about climate change. Her impact is called 'the Greta effect'. Greta has named Rosa Parks, the civil rights activist, as one of her greatest inspirations. In the 1950s, Rosa sparked a civil rights movement that improved the lives and treatment of millions of African Americans.

৪. Summarise the following text.

উত্তর

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish climate activist whose concern about inaction led her to begin a school strike outside Sweden’s parliament in 2018. Her campaign gained media attention and inspired the international Fridays for Future movement. In 2019, more than 1.6 million people in 125 countries joined a global climate strike. Greta also addressed politicians and protesters, calling for urgent action, and travelled across the Atlantic by a wind-and-solar-powered boat. Her influence on attitudes and behaviour became known as the “Greta effect”. The passage presents her as a determined campaigner inspired by earlier struggles for justice.

রাজশাহী ক্যাডেট কলেজ, রাজশাহী ২০২৬

রাজশাহী ক্যাডেট কলেজ, রাজশাহী ২০২৬ আনলক করো