principlesThe word Yoga is derived from the ancient Sanskrit word yuj, meaning “unite,”

“connect,” or “yoke together.” The word appears in the four Vedas, which were composed

between the mid-second and the mid-first millennium BCE. The Rigveda, the Yajurveda,

the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda contain precepts, hymns, chants, and rituals from

ancient India. Together, they form the basis of various spiritual practices. Yuj is referred

to as a series of austere rituals—chants and physical gestures—intended to prepare

the mind and body for the rigorous pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.

Which word is closest in meaning to

precepts as it is used in paragraph 2?

The word Yoga is derived from the ancient Sanskrit word yuj, meaning “unite,”

“connect,” or “yoke together.” The word appears in the four Vedas, which were composed

between the mid-second and the mid-first millennium BCE. The Rigveda, the Yajurveda,

the Samaveda, and the Atharvaveda contain precepts, hymns, chants, and rituals from

ancient India. Together, they form the basis of various spiritual practices. Yuj is referred

to as a series of austere rituals—chants and physical gestures—intended to prepare

the mind and body for the rigorous pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.

What does austere most likely mean

as it is used in paragraph 2?

The Vedas do not describe these rituals in detail. It was not until the second

century that the first systematic presentation of Yoga was written. In his Yoga Sutras,

the redoubtable Patanjali maps out in practical detail the “eight-limbed path” to Samadhi,

or enlightenment. The path that has come to dominate all forms of Yoga is meditation

through beneficent physical poses, or asanas. Held indefinitely, an asana is a state

of perfect stillness in which consciousness is reduced to a single breath: slow, deep,

continuous, and circular.

What does redoubtable most likely

mean as it is used in paragraph 3?

The Vedas do not describe these rituals in detail. It was not until the second

century that the first systematic presentation of Yoga was written. In his Yoga Sutras,

the redoubtable Patanjali maps out in practical detail the “eight-limbed path” to Samadhi,

or enlightenment. The path that has come to dominate all forms of Yoga is meditation

through beneficent physical poses, or asanas. Held indefinitely, an asana is a state

of perfect stillness in which consciousness is reduced to a single breath: slow, deep,

continuous, and circular.

Which word means the opposite of

beneficent in paragraph 3?

immoderate, lacking in self-control

to talk a great deal in a foolish or

aimless fashion

to free from entanglements or

difficulties; to remove with effort

resulting from a lack of attention,

unintentional, accidental

a gap, opening, break

a leader who exploits popular

prejudices in order to gain power

to increase in greatness, power,

or wealth; to build up or intensify

untidy, dirty, careless

Synonym:

stringent admission requirements

Synonym:

the reporter’s scathing exposé

Synonym:

suspected of peculating

Synonym:

words that reverberate

Synonym:

nebulous in form

Synonym:

tried to avoid dissension

Antonym:

a person incapable of perfidy

Antonym:

a very punctilious bureaucrat

Antonym:

jokes that resulted in umbrage

Antonym:

bombastic political oratory

Antonym:

the transient beauty of autumn

Antonym:

cajoled them into cooperating