On a recent Sunday afternoon, 15 young people lay cozily on colorful rugs and throw pillows       1     (arrange) in a circle, Their eyes were closed, looking as if they were asleep. Kong Yi sat cross-legged before them and     2     (gentle)hit metal bowls in front of her,     3     (arouse)a sound that echoed long inside the quiet room.

Listening to the slowly fading sounds of singing bowls, participants reached a deeper center and a semi-conscious state,     4     they were guided into imagining that they were talking to a wise man dressed     5     white, during which they could ask questions and get answers from     6    wise man in half an hour. In the final section, they     7     (encourage) to share their inner conversations with other participants. “In that session, many people asked the meaning of life at the end but everyone got different answers from the wise man-actually     8     (they),” said Kong, who runs a studio offering healing courses incorporated with art forms like painting, music and dance.

Such spiritual, meditative experiences     9     can lower stress and anxiety and case depression     10    (become)the latest option for the country’s stressed-out younger generation seeking relaxation and inward exploration in the past three years.

Stress: Good or Bad?

Stress used to be an almost unknown word, but now that we are used to     1     (talk) about it, I have found that people are beginning to get stressed about being stressed.

In recent years, stress     2     (regard) as a cause of a wide range of medical problems, from high blood pressure     3     mental illness. But like so many other things, it is only too much stress     4     does you harm. It is time that you     5     (consider) that if there were no stress in your life, you would achieve a little. If you are stuck at home with no stress, then your level of performance will be low. Up to a certain point, the more stress you are under, the     6     (good) your performance will be. Beyond a certain point, though, further stress will only lead to exhaustion, illness and finally a breakdown. You can tell when you are over the top and on the downward slope, by asking yourself     7     number of questions. Do you, for instance, feel that too much is being expected of you, and yet find it impossible to say no? Do you find yourself getting impatient or     8     (annoy) with people over unimportant things? ... If the answer to all those questions is yes, you had better control your stress, as you probably are under more stress than is good for you.

To some extent you can control the amount of stress in your life. Doctors have worked out a chart showing how much stress is involved in     9     (variety) events. Getting married is 50, pregnancy 40, moving house 20, Christmas 12, etc. If the total stress in your life is over 150, you are twice as likely     10     (get) ill.