To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happend tomorrow, the present moment is where you are always!
Without question, many of us have mastered the neurotic art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things all at once. We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments, so much that we end up anxious, frustrated, depressed, and hopeless. On the flip side, we also postpone our gratification, ourstated priorities, and our happiness, often convincing ourselves that "someday" will be better than today. Unfortunately, the same mental dynamics that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that "someday" never actually arrives. John Lennon once said, "life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans." When we're busy making "other plans", our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away and dying, our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away. In short, we miss out on life.
Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn't. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future we won't have enough money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever.
To combat fear, the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present. Mark Twain said, "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." I don't think I can say it any better. Practice keeping your attention on the here and now. Your efforts will pay great dividends.
The purpose of this passage is to tell readers ________
从文章的大意分析中可知，文章的中心思想在于告诉 我们应该学会把握现在，生活在现在。C 项的说法与此一致。D 项说 法与文章意思悖离，不对。A 项和 B 项文章未提到，故也不对。
It implies that ________.
文章第三段第三句指出，事实上，没有人能保证他或 她明天将活着。作者在这一段的主要论题是告诉人们不必为未来担 心，所以这句话暗示我们为未来担心恐惧是没必要的。B 项说法正确。 文章最后一段虽然指出了战胜恐惧的最佳策略，但并非说许多人知道怎样战胜恐惧，故 A 项不对。从文章第二段第三句可知，我们未感恩 地生活，指望日后会更好，但我们并没获得更好的幸福，故 C 项不对。 D 项说法与文章意思不符，也不对。
"Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal" suggests that ________.
这句话出现在第三段第一句，意思是很多人的生活好 像在为将来的“正式”生活做准备。作者在这里是承接上一段的内容。 上一段作者指出很多人总是忙着为将来的生活做计划，而未把握现 在，结果错过了生活可见，C 项符合此意，作者暗示的是很多人的生 活好像在为将来的生活做准备，并不是说这些人相信这一点，故 B 项 不对。A 项误解该句话的含义，故不对。
"Dividends" in the last paragraph means ________.
dividends 本意是“投入股份得到的回报”，这里指 “努力得到的结果”B 项符合此意。
Why are some people depressed and anxious day and night?
从文章第二段可知，因为过去的麻烦和未来的担心控 制了他们现在的生活，所以他们变得忧虑。B 项正确。A 项、C 项和 D 项文章均未提到。