Work and play Lesson 4 b Now read the article. Check (✔) T (true) or F (false) under “The article” in the table on page 20. Compare your opinion and the article. c In groups, discuss these questions about stress in animals and human beings. 1 Why don’t wild animals normally suffer from stress-related health problems? 2 Why do human beings often suffer from these problems? 3 What ways can you think of to reduce stress?
4 Writing, reading, and speaking a Write a short paragraph about the presence of stress in your life. Use the questions in the box to help you. Do you suffer from stress? If not, why not? If so, what are some causes of stress in your life?
The purpose and effect
stress s of
S
tress occurs frequently in animals. It is a response to urgent needs or danger . It often allows animals to survive by obtaining food, defending themselves, or escaping. In the African sav annah, the tense lions and the nervous gazelles are both feeling stress prior to crucia l action. Humans once lived in the same world of basic needs and dangers as animals. Today, we do not usually have to hunt for food, physically defend our selves, or escape, but we still face constant stressful challenges . We create many of them in our minds: the worry of failing an exam, the challenge of get ting good grades.
b Exchange paragraphs with a partner. Read your partner’s paragraph and write recommendations for lowering his / her stress. c Exchange papers again. In pairs, read and discuss the recommendations.
In tense situations – in the wilds of Africa or in a Manhattan office – stress causes the release of adrena line into the blood. The pupils of the eyes dilate for better visi on. Breathing is deeper, and the heart beats faster to send mo re oxygen and glucose to the muscles and brain. Digest ion sto ps, memory and thinking becom e sharper, and the body bec omes stronger, ready to respond. When the body has time to recover from stress the re is no problem. But long period s of stress can cause other health problems. Stressed people are more likely to become ill and have stomach problems.
Unit 2
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