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Unit10

TextA

Pre-readingActivities

1.Beforeyoulistentothepassage,quicklynotedownyourresponsestothequestions

below.Don'tthinktoomuchbeforeyourespond—yourfirstideasarethebestones.

A)Onascaleofonetoten,wheretenisthemostnervousyou'veeverfeltinyourlife,

hownervousdoyoufee：rightnow?

B)Onascaleofonetoten,wheretenisthemostexhaustedyou'veeverfeltinyour

life,howtireddoyoufeelrightnow?

C)Whatarethethreebiggestproblemsthatareworryingyoutoday?Writedown

one-word"titles'*foreachofthesethreeproblems.

Nowlistentothepassage,andgoontothenextquestionsafterwards.

2.Afterhearingthepassage,doyoufeelmoreorlessnervousthanyoudidbefore?

Moreorlesstired?Moreorlessworriedaboutyourproblems?

3.Howdoyouusuallybehavewhenyou'reworriedornervousaboutsomething?

PlainTalkAboutHandlingStress

LouisE.Kopolow,M.D.

Youneedstressinyourlife!Doesthatsurpriseyou?Perhapsso,butitisquitetrue.

Withoutstress,lifewouldbedullandunexciting.Stressaddsflavor,challenge,and

opportunitytolife.Toomuchstress,however,canseriouslyaffectyourphysicaland

mentalwell-being.Amajorchallengeinthestress-filledworldoftodayistolearn

howtocopewithstresssothatitdoesn'tbecomeoverwhelming.

Whatkindsofthingscancausetoomuchstressinourlives?Weoftenthinkofmajor

crisessuchasnaturaldisasters,war,anddeathasmainsourcesofstress.Theseare,of

course,stressfulevents.However,accordingtopsychologistWayneWeiten,ona

day-to-daybasis,it'sthesmallthingsthatcausestress:waitinginline,havingcar

trouble,gettingstuckinatrafficjam,havingtoomanythingstodoinalimitedtime.

Interestingly,stressisuniqueandpersonaltoeachofus.Sopersonal,infact,thal

whatmayberelaxingtoonepersonmaybestressfultoanother.Forexample,if

you'reanexecutivewholikestokeepbusyallthetime,"takingiteasy"atthebeach

onabeautifuldaymayfeelextremelyfrustrating,non-productive,andupsetting.You

maybeemotionallydistressedfrom"doingnothing0.

HansSclye,M.D.,arecognizedexpertinthefield,hasdefinedstressasa

"non-specificresponseofthebodytoademand.nForthebusyexecutive,thedemand

thatcausesstressmightbetorelax.Formostofus,ifsademandtoactthatcauses

stress.Ifwefeeloverwhelmedbypressuretodotoomuch,wemaynotbeableto

functionatall.Inthiscase,thestressthatcanbegoodforusbecomesdistress,orbad

stress.Whenstressbecomesprolongedorparticularlyfrustrating,itcanbecome

harmful,causingphysicalillness.

ReactingToStress

Thebodyrespondstostressfuleventsbygoingthroughthreestages:(1)alarm,(2)

resistanceand(3)exhaustion.Let'staketheexampleofatypicalcommuterin

rush-hourtraffic.Ifacarsuddenlypullsoutinfrontofhim,hisinitialalarmreaction

mayincludefearofanaccident,angeratthedriverwhocommittedtheaction,and

generalfrustration.Hisbodymayrespondinthealarmstagebyreleasingchemicals

intothebloodstreamwhichcausehisfacetoflush,perspirationtoform,hisstomach

tohaveasinkingfeeling,andhisarmsandlegstotighten.Thenextstageisresistance,

inwhichthebodyrepairsdamagecausedbythestress.Ifthestressofdriving

continueswithrepeatedclosecallsortrafficjams,however,hisbodydoesn'thave

timetomakerepairs.Hemaybecomesoconditionedtoexpectpotentialproblems

whenhedrivesthathetightensupatthebeginningofeachcommutingday.Thethird

stage,exhaustion,occursifthestresscontinuesoveralongperiodoftime,andthe

bodydepletesitsresourcesforfightingstress.Theresultmaybeillness:insomnia,

headaches,backaches,ulcers,highbloodpressure-evenheartdisease.

Whileyoucan'tlivecompletelyfreeofstressanddistress,youcanpreventsome

distressaswellasminimizeitsimpact.Byrecognizingtheearlysignsofdistressand

Ihendoingsomethingaboutthem,youcanimprovethequalityofyourlifeand

perhapsevenlivelonger.

HelpingYourself

Whenstressdoesoccur,it'simportantiorecognizeanddealwithit.Herearesome

suggestionsforhandlingstress.Asyoubegintounderstandmoreabouthowstress

affectsyouasanindividual,you'llcomeupwithyourownwaystoeasethetension.

Tryphysicalactivity.Whenyou'renervous,angryorupset,releasethepressure

throughexerciseorphysicalactivity.Running,walking,playingtennisorworkingin

yourgardenarejustsomeoftheactivitiesyoumighttry.Physicalexercisewill

relievethetension,relaxyouandturnthefrownsintosmiles.Remember,yourbody

andyourmindworktogether.

Shareyourstress.Ithelpstotalktosomeoneaboutyourconcernsandworries.

Perhapsafriend,familymember,teacherorcounselorcanhelpyouseeyourproblem

inadifferentlight.Ifyoufeelyourproblemisserious,youmightseekprofessional

helpfromapsychologist,psychiatrist,socialworkerormentalhealthcounselor.

Knowingwhentoaskforhelpmayhelpyouavoidmoreseriousproblemslater.

Knowyourlimits.Ifaproblemisbeyondyourcontrolandcan'tbechangedatthe

moment,don'tfightthesituation.Learntoacceptwhatis-fornow-untilatime

whenyoucanchangeit.

Takecareofyourself.You'respecial.Getenoughrestandeatwell.Ifyou'reirritable

andtensefromlackofsleeporifyouaren'teatingcorrectly,you'llhavelessabilityto

dealwithstressfulsituations.Ifstressrepeatedlykeepsyoufromsleeping,youshould

askyourdoctorforhelp.

Maketimeforfun.Scheduletimeforbothworkandrecreation.Playcanbejustas

importanttoyourwell-beingaswork;youneedabreakfromyourdailyroutinetojust

relaxandhavefun.

Beaparticipant.Onewaytokeepfromgettingbored,sad,andlonelyistogo

somewherewherethingsarehappening.Sittingalonecanmakeyoufeelfrustrated.

Insteadoffeelingsorryforyourself,getinvolvedandbecomeaparticipant.Offer

yourservicesinvolunteerorganizations.Helpyourselfbyhelpingotherpeople.Get

involvedintheworldandthepeoplearoundyou,andyou'llfindthey'llbeattractedto

you.You'llbeonyourwaytomakingnewfriendsandenjoyingnewactivities.

Checkoffyourtasks.Tryingtotakecareofeverythingatoncecanseem

overwhelming,and,asaresult,youmaynotaccomplishanything.Instead,makealist

ofwhattasksyouhavetodo,thendooneatatime,checkthemoffasthey're

completed.Giveprioritytothemostimportantonesanddothosefirst.

Mustyoualwaysberight?Dootherpeopleupsetyou—particularlywhentheydon't

dothingsyourway?Trycooperationinsteadofconfrontation;it'sbetterthanfighting

andalwaysbeing"right."Alittlegiveandtakeonbothsideswillreducethestrain

andmakeyoubothfeelmorecomfortable.

It*sOKtocry.Agoodcrycanbeahealthywaytobringrelieftoyouranxiety,andit

mightevenpreventaheadacheorotherphysicalconsequences.Takesomedeep

breaths;theyalsoreleasetension.

Createaquietscene.Youcan'talwaysrunaway,butyoucan"dreamtheimpossible

dream."Aquietcountryscenepaintedmentally(oroncanvas!)canletyouescape

fromastressfulsituation.Changethescenebyreadingagoodbookorplaying

beautifulmusictocreateasenseofpeace.

Avoidself-medication.Althoughyoucanuseprescriptionorover-the-counter

medicationstorelievestresstemporarily,theydon'teliminatetheconditionsthat

causedthestressinthefirstplace.Medications,infact,maybehabit-formingandcan

alsoreduceyourefficiency,thuscreatingmorestressthantheytakeaway.They

shouldbetakenonlyontheadviceofyourdoctor.

TheArtofRelaxation

Thebeststrategyforavoidingstressistolearnhowtorelax.Unfortunatelymany

peopletrytorelaxatthesamepacethattheyleadtherestoftheirlives.Forawhile,

tuneoutyourworriesabouttime,productivity,and"doingright".You'llfind

satisfactioninjustbeing,withoutstriving.Findactivitiesthatgiveyoupleasureand

thataregoodforyourmentalandphysicalwell-being.Forgetaboutalwayswinning.

Focusonrelaxation,enjoyment,andhealth.Whatevermethodworksforyou,begood

toyourself.Ifyoudon'tletstressgetoutofhand,youcanactuallymakeitworkfor

youinsteadofagainstyou.

(1296words)

NewWords

stress

n.forceorpressurecausedbydifficultiesinlife壓力；緊張

well-being

n.thestateofbeinghealthy,happy,orprosperous安康；安樂(lè)；幸福

*overwhelming

a.irresistiblebyforceofnumbers,influence,amount,etc.壓倒的，勢(shì)不可擋的；無(wú)

法抵抗的

stressful

a.緊張的；壓力重的

distress

vt.subjecttopressure,stress,orstrain;makeunhappy使緊張；使苦惱；使痛苦

n.（精神上的）痛苦；苦惱

*prolong

vt.makelonger;extend延長(zhǎng)；延伸

resistance

n.anactofresisting;desiretoopposesth.抵抗;反抗；抵制；抗拒

resistant

a.havingorshowingresistance抵抗的；反抗的

rush-hour

a.交通高峰時(shí)間的

initial

a.occurringatthebeginning;firstorearliest開(kāi)頭的；最初的

bloodstream

n.thebloodasitflowsthroughthebody（體內(nèi)的）血流

*flush

vi.turnredbecauseofarushofbloodtotheskin;blush（因皮膚充血而）變紅；臉

紅

closecall

n.anarrowescapefromdangeroranaccident僥幸脫險(xiǎn)，死里逃生

condition

vt.accustom;train使習(xí)慣；訓(xùn)練

deplete

vt.useuporexhaust用光；耗盡

insomnia

n.inabilitytosleep;sleeplessness失眠癥;失眠

relieve

vt.easeorreduce（pain,anxietyortrouble）解除或減輕（痛苦等）

socialworker

n.apersonwhodoesworkdirectedtowardthebettennentofsocialconditionsina

community社會(huì)福利工作者

irritable

a.easilymadeangry;impatient易怒的：急躁的

*irritate

vt.makeimpatientorangry使急躁；激怒

tense

a.nervous,anxiousandunabletorelax（心理或神經(jīng)）緊張的，不安的

repeatedly

ad.againandagain一再，再三；反復(fù)地

volunteer

n.apersonwhoentersanyserviceofhisownchoice:apersonwhoserveswithout

pay志愿者

a.oformadeupofvolunteers志愿（者）的

confrontation

n.anopenordirectclash;angryopposition沖突；對(duì)抗

giveandtake

n.willingnesstobemutuallytolerantandforgivingv/ithinarelationship互諒互it

anxiety

n.uneasythoughtsorfearsaboutwhatmayhappen;troubled,worried,oruneasy

feeling焦慮；憂慮

self-medication

n.theactoftakingmedicineswithouttheadviceofadoctor自我藥療

over-the-counter

a.(ofmedicine)thatcanbesoldandboughtwithoutadoctor'sprescription(藥)無(wú)

醫(yī)生處方也可合法出售的

habit-forming

a.(esp.ofmedicine,adrug,etc.)thatcanbecomei