I. Before listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Stress can take ten years off your life.	T / F
b.	Stress decelerates the aging of our cells	T / F
c.	Stress makes us more prone to age-related diseases.	T / F
d.	People with hectic lifestyles are more likely to live longer	T / F
e.	Our body’s system of cell reproduction gets faster because of stress.	T / F
f.	We age because of something connected with our DNA called telomeres.	T / F
g.	Having children makes you die early.	T / F
h.	We may soon be able to measure our stress levels.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	To accelerate	1 restless
b.	Prone	2 to stop
c.	Hectic	3 untimely
d.	Duress	4 identical
e.	To cease	5 inclined
f.	Prematurely	6 constant
g.	Chronic	7 coercion
h.	Equivalent	8 to hasten

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	take ten years	1 stress levels
b.	conclusion from	2 prematurely
c.	affects of	3 knowledge
d.	more likely to	4 reproduction
e.	cell	5 off your life
f.	aging	6 be able to
g.	die	7 researchers
h.	the equivalent of	8 die earlier
i.	common	9 ten years
j.	may soon	10 process

II. Listen and fill in the spaces

It’s official. Stress can __________ ten years off your life. That’s the __________ from researchers at the University of California, who have been studying the affect of stress levels on the body. They found that stress accelerates the aging of our cells, which makes us more __________ to age-related diseases. This is bad news for people with stressful jobs and hectic lifestyles as they are more likely to die earlier than less-stressed people. It’s a message for us all to slow down and take __________ easier.

The researchers discovered in their __________ that the system of cell reproduction and replacement, which of course keeps us going, becomes faster under duress. Each time a cell in our body is __________, part of our DNA, called telomeres, shorten. When these telomeres become too short, cells cease reproducing and our bodies __________ the aging process. This means longer telomeres lengthen our lives. Stress makes them shorter, and so we die prematurely. The __________ message, therefore, is to take life easy.

Research leader, Dr. Elissa Epel, compared 39 women who looked after children with __________ illnesses with a ‘__________’ group of 19 mothers of healthy children. The length of the life-giving telomeres was then __________ in their blood. The women who had the more stressful task of caring for chronically ill children aged the equivalent of ten years compared with the other women. Their stress levels caused them to age faster. It has always been common knowledge that stress kills. Now we may soon be able to __________ how dangerous our careers and lifestyles really are.

III. DISCUSSION

In pairs discuss the most effective answers to these questions. Share ideas with other group mates. Evaluate their ideas.

1. What are some of the most common causes of stress?

2. What are some early signs of stress?

3. How do you tend to react to stress?

4. How does stress affect your body and health?

5. What are some of the most stressful life events?

6. How can you help me handle my stress?

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 872

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