DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Yoga

[§1] One of today’s hottest fads is also one of the world’s oldest practices: the ancient art of yoga. At first, I thought yoga was just another fitness fad, like step aerobics classes or Tae Bo. But after my first class, I understood why yoga has lasted for thousands of years, and why so many people are completely into <1> this practice.

[§2] Yoga is different from other fitness activities because it is not only physical. In the correct form, <2> yoga is a practice of unification: an emotional, spiritual, and physical exercise.

[§3] Though it may seem easy to those who <3> have never practiced, yoga poses require great concentration, and they are surprisingly effective in stretching and strengthening muscles. A simple sitting pose such as staff pose, for example, requires you to tighten and lengthen stomach, back, and arm muscles as you stretch you’re <4> legs out in front of you and place your hands by your side. More difficult poses, such as brave warrior, require you to balance on one leg and hold a pose that strengthens leg, back, and stomach muscles.

[§4] While yoga tones and strengthens the body, it also tones and strengthens the mind. Many poses can be only held <5>if you are completely focused on the task, and full benefit of the poses comes only through proper breathing. Concentrated, deep breathing during yoga helps you extend more fully into the poses, thereby gaining greater benefit from the stretch. And the steady circulation of breath through your body both calms and energizes.

[§5] I am still relatively new to yoga. I have only been practicing for one year. I am addicted to yoga <6> unlike any other physical activity because it is also a spiritual practice. Through yoga, I am able to release tensions that lodge in various parts of my body: the tight shoulders, the cramped legs, the belly that is in knots. <7> The physical release is also a spiritual release: I feel calm after doing yoga, reconnected to my body, reconnected to myself, more at peace with the world. After a series of asanas (poses), I feel the universal life force within.

<7>:
A . NO CHANGE
B . knotted belly
C . knots within the belly
D . aching within the stomach area

View Answer

Answer: B

Explanation:

This choice makes the sentence parallel and is the most concise.