I. Vocabulary Practice

1. Make up words and collocations using the words “ache” or “pain”.

Circle the correct answer

1. She died after a long ……….. .

a) disease b) failing c) illness d) sickness

2. The doctor had three ……….. of nose-bleeding in the same day.

a) aspects b) cases c) examples d) illnesses

3. My grandmother is very old and is not …………… very good health.

a) from b) in c) on d) with

4. The teachers at the school went ………… with flu one after another.

a) down b) off c) out d) under

5. Mary is in bed with a ……….. attack of flu.

a) hard b) heavy c) large d) severe

6. To our …………., Mary’s illness proved not to be as serious as we had feared.

a) anxiety b) eyes c) judgement d) relief

7. My headaches are usually brought ………. by worry.

a) in b) on c) up d) out

8. It was a minor illness and he soon got ………… it.

a) around b) on with c) over d) up to

9. You keep sneezing. You must have caught ………. .

a) a cold b) a cough c) a headache d) an illness

10. The children were suffering from the …………. of the hot weather.

a) consequences b) effects c) products d) results

11. He had a very bad cold and couldn’t stop ……… .

a) sneezing b) snoring c) spitting d) yawning

12. My brother was ……….. ill yesterday and is now in hospital.

a) broken b) caught c) fallen d) taken

13. He wasn’t able to …. with the stresses and strains of the job.

a) beat b) reduce c) cope d) recover

14. One cause of the artist's suicide seems to have been ……. depression

a) constant b) continuing c) unending d) chronic

15. You need to …… the tension in these shoulder muscles

a) release b) free c) discharge d) let go

II. Listening

Pre-listening

1. Scientists say that being under stress is a cause of many diseases and ailments. What is your opinion?

2. Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. arrange an event/activity for a certain time

2. believe in the honesty or goodness of somebody

3. express a feeling you were not showing

4. feeling worried and tense because of the difficulties in life

5. filled completely

6. food that is needed for life, growth and good health

7. group of (informal)

8. feeling sure about your abilities

9. a promise to do something

10. in place of

11. make something smaller in size or importance

12. strong hopes or beliefs that good things will happen in the future

13. to manage and deal with something successfully

14. to solve a problem or difficulty

15. to stay in good physical condition

16. to tell the truth

17. useful piece of information

While-listening.

Choose the correct option and circle it

1. The speaker says ...

a. you should be afraid of change

b. change is a part of everyday life

2. The speaker says ...

a. you should avoid other people to reduce stress

b. talking to other people helps to reduce stress

3. The speaker says ...

a. if you have too much to do, you should reorder your day

b. if you have too much to do, you should not do as many things in one day

4. The speaker says ...

a. you should reduce exercise and eat better foods

b. you should do more exercise and eat better foods

5. The speaker says ...

a. you should relax by doing something you enjoy

b. you should play the piano like her

6. The speaker says ...

a. you shouldn’t expect others to be perfect

b. you should try to be perfect

7. The speaker says ...

a. you should try to sleep more during the day

b. you shouldn’t sleep too much at night

8. The speaker says ...

a. if you are feeling negative this will make you smile more

b. if you smile more you will feel more positive about things

After listening

You will be divided into 3 groups and discuss one of 3 issues in each group.

1. Compare the causes of stress in Ukraine with those mentioned in Hong Kong.

2. What can you recommend to reduce stress?

3. What ways of beating stress are particularly helpful for you?

After discussing in groups share the results with the whole class.

III. Reading

Before reading.

1. Match the words with their antonyms.

While-reading.Read Part A of the textand fill in the gaps with the words from the first column. You may use each word only once. In some cases you need to derive a word.

PART A. Everyone is familiar with stress. We experience it in varying forms and degrees every day. In small doses, stress can actually be 1) ….. to us. It is only when the stress becomes too great, affecting our physical or mental functioning, than it becomes a problem.

Everyone reacts to stress differently. Each of us has a different level of pressure and 2)…… that we can handle without a bad outcome. Only you can assess your level of tolerance to stressful situations. The best treatment for stress is to prevent getting into situations that are likely to overwhelm your ability to cope. This is not always possible because the stressors may often come from outside sources that are beyond your control.

Stress usually first affects the emotions and causes psychological symptoms. 3) ….. symptoms may include the following feelings:

- Anxiousness

- Nervousness

- Distraction

- Excessive worry

- 4) ….. pressure

- Changes in sleep patterns (5) …..)

As the stress level increases, or if it lasts over a longer period of time, a person may begin to experience more severe emotional or physical symptoms:

- Excessive tiredness (6)…….)

- Depression

- Thoughts of hurting yourself or others

- Headaches

- Nausea and vomiting

- Loose stool (7)…..)

- Chest pain or pressure

- Heart racing

- Dizziness or 8)…...

- 9)…... or restlessness

- Shortness of breath (breathlessness)

- Hyperventilation or choking sensation

In most cases, these symptoms are very 10)…….. and don't last very long. If they become more severe or increase in frequency and severity, seek medical help. The sooner you begin the process of treatment, the easier it will be and the quicker you find 11)……. and be back to your normal state.

The first step in the process is to try to identify the 12)….… of the stress. Sometimes this is a known source such as a deadline at work, a pile of unpaid bills, or a relationship that is not working out. It can at times be more difficult to find the source of your problem.

Often, many relatively mild stressors occurring at once can bring on the same stress as a larger problem or known source of anxiety or worry.

Some people experience 13)….. and sometimes severe stress from events that occurred in the past (a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder).

Before reading part B make up a further plan of possible actions to beat stress. Then read part B and compare given recommendations with those on your list.

PART B. If you can identify the source of your stress, remove yourself from it or address the situation. That may be all that is needed to resolve the situation and your anxiety. Even if you are only able to get away for a few seconds or minutes, the break is important and can help you on the way to a more permanent solution. This break can be accomplished by physically removing yourself from the provoking situation (such as an argument) or mentally removing yourself from the stressor (such as financial worries) through a mental distraction, often called a time-out.

The point of these actions is to allow you a moment to relax and formulate a plan for dealing with the problem at hand. Just having a plan can be a great stress reliever. It gives you a set of positive steps that you can work on to get yourself back to your baseline and out of the stressful situation.

These steps should be broken down into tasks you can accomplish easily. Working toward a goal is rewarding. It prevents the hopelessness and lost feeling that can accompany stress and make it worse.

If you are unable to determine the source of your stress, you need to seek outside help. Sometimes discussing your situation with family, friends, or a spiritual adviser can be helpful. If these routes are not successful, you should make an appointment with your doctor or a mental health counselor to help determine the source of the stress and rule out any potentially reversible medical causes of your stress.

After reading.

a) Close your book and write down in one minute 4initial symptoms of stress and 6 severe emotional and physical symptoms. Check your answer with your partner.

b) Ask your partner the following questions and present the results to the class.

1) Do you think you are often stressed? If so, why do you think you feel like that?

2) What recommendations do you think are the most important ones for you?

3) What don’t you usually do of what you are recommended?

4) Do you think our society demands too much of us all?

5) How does stress affect your daily life?

6) Do you see many people around you who are or seem stressed?

7) How often do you relax completely and have time for yourself?

IV. Speaking Tasks

Reading and speaking. Pair work. You are going to complete a stress test but before you do so you have to give your partner a stress rating from 1 (relaxed) to 10 (highly stressed).

Read your questionnaire (either Part One or Part Two in Appendix) and make a note of your answers. Work with your partner asking each other the questions in your part of the test. You should read out the questions rather than let your partner read them from your sheet. Work out the results. Comment on your results and compare them to the rating you were given at the beginning of the exercise.

THE STRESS TEST – PART ONE

Are you stressed out? Answer this quiz and find out!

1. How many hours have you slept in the last 3 days?

a) less than 15 hours

b) between 15 and 18

c) between 18 and 24

d) over 24 hours

2. When was the last time you really laughed?

a) on my last holiday

b) sometime in the last week

c) I can’t remember

d) today

3. How many times have you lost your temper in the last two days?

a) I never lose my temper

b) I’ve lost count

c) once or twice

d) I haven’t in the last couple of days but I do occasionally

4. When you get angry with someone do you

a) shout at them?

b) ignore them?

c) explain why you are angry?

d) complain to someone else?

5. How many of the following things did you do last weekend?

- saw friends or family

- did something you really enjoy

- spent some time outside

a) none of them

b) 1

c) 2

d) all 3

6. How often do you do a sport?

a) I don’t like doing sport

b) only on the beach in the summer

c) two or three times a week

d) at the weekend

THE STRESS TEST – HOW DID YOU SCORE?

So, are you stressed out? Add up you score and find out!

1. a) 3 b) 1 c) 0 d) 1

2. a) 2 b) 1 c) 3 d) 0

3. a) 2 b) 3 c) 2 d) 0

4. a) 1 b) 2 c) 0 d) 2

5. a) 3 b) 2 c) 1 d) 0

6. a) 2 b) 2 c) 0 d) 1

7. a) 1 b) 1 c) 0 d) 3

8. a) 1 b) 0 c) 1 d) 2

9. a) 3 b) 1 c) 2 d) 1

10. a) 0 b) 3 c) 1 d) 2

11. a) 3 b) 0 c) 1 d) 1

12. a) 3 b) 2 c) 1 d) 0

V. Grammar Check

Read the text below and look carefully at each line. If the line is correct, put a tick (√). If it has a word that should not be there, write this word on the line, as in the examples.