Challenges, interests and decisions.

The first wealth is health” Emerson

DISCUSSION POINTS
As a group, discuss your answers to the following questions:
a. What health-related challenges do young people from countries all over the world face in
everyday life?
b. What kind of knowledge and skills must adolescents gain in order to take care of their own
health?

READING
1.You are going to read a text about young people’s individual responsibility to promote
healthy lifestyles. Try to imagine what the text will tell you about the major health hazards
and healthy choices.
Vocabulary
multitude, n — a great number of persons or things
ample, adj — of adequate or more than adequate extent, size, or amount
addicted, n — devoted or given up to a practice or habit or to something habit-forming, as a
narcotic, cigarettes, etc.
commitment ,n — a pledge or promise; obligation
Explanatory Notes:
Emphysema – a diseased condition in which the lungs become swollen with air, causing
difficulty in breathing and often preventing the proper action of the heart.
Ulcer – a sore place appearing on the skin inside or outside the body which may bleed or
produce poisonous matter: a stomach ulcer/ mouth ulcers.

2. Read the text and state whether your predictions were true.
It’s Up to You and Me!
Are you careful about the choices you make? What does to lead a healthy active life mean?
Do you love what you are doing? How do you feel about your life today? Ask yourself these
questions honestly as you read on and state what factors can influence your health. Young
people face a multitude of health-related challenges: unsafe neighbourhoods, violence,
family problems, and chronic, untreated health conditions. Medicines can stop pain and help
people recover from their illnesses. However, they can also become harmful if they are used
improperly. Using substances that are against the law or are not supposed to be taken into the
human body is drug abuse. Drug abuse, also called substance abuse or chemical abuse, is a
disorder that is characterized by a destructive pattern of using a substance that leads to
significant problems or distress. Drug abuse is a very dangerous phenomenon and damages
the people’s body and mind. Despite the ample and conclusive evidence that smoking
cigarettes regularly can cause such diseases as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, certain types
of cancer, ulcer, heart disease, and although the majority of young people can realize the
dangers of this harmful habit, many teenagers continue to smoke. It is well – known that
most heavy smokers lead shorter lives than nonsmokers, and yet a great number of young
people all over the world begin smoking each year. Teenagers can also become addicted to
alcohol, moreover, they can become alcoholics much more quickly than adults. In this age of
AIDS, there are many social, personal and emotional consequences for the people who have
it or the virus that causes it (HIV). Unfortunately, teenagers can also get the AIDS virus,
that’s why it is imperative that they should learn how to make thoughtful, healthful decisions
which may prevent them from getting AIDS. Health involves every area of your life. Taking
care of your health by making wise choices is your responsibility. Today, more than ever,
teenagers should take control of their health. It’s up to them to be responsible for their own
life style. This simple commitment is the first step toward a long and healthy life. No one
else can make this commitment for them. They are the only ones who can shape their
behaviour in ways that affect their health.
3. Explain the following in your own words.
unsafe neighbourhoods-
untreated health conditions-
conclusive evidence-
harmful habit-
heavy smokers-

4.In the text, find words which mean the same as

a. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, etc.
b. to regain the strength or control of (oneself)
c. the effect, result, or outcome of something occurring earlier.

5.In your own words, explain the dangers of smoking and drug abuse. Discuss what the
author means when he says that drug abuse “damages the people’s body and mind.”
SPEAKING
1.Study the information in the Info Box for a few minutes. Then answer the questions that
follow.

INFO BOX

We all have a mental picture of who we are, how we look, what we are good at, and what
our strengths and weaknesses are. This mental picture (our self-image) contributes to our
self esteem. Self esteem is our opinion of ourselves. Low self-esteem, or a negative
estimate of one’s worth, is characterized by submissiveness, passivity, helplessness,
timidity, self-doubting, self-punishing, and a feeling of inferiority. People with low self-
esteem are hit harder by failure in any endeavour. On the contrary, when someone sees
themselves in a positive way, they display good self-esteem. A positive estimate of one’s
worth is characterized by self-confidence, independence, assertiveness and self-respect. A
positive self-image gives young people the power and confidence to take on life’s
challenges and to overcome difficulties in the life long run. They accept their strengths and
can easily identify their areas of development.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?________

a. Healthy self-esteem will enable you to be happier and live to your full potential.
 b. Start building your self-esteem now.
c. Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself.
d. Everyone is special by being different.
2. Why is it important to help your friends and family develop a positive self-image when
their selfesteem is low? Give 2-3 reasons to justify your answers.
2. Good health is something you can choose to strive for. Study the information you can
find in the boxes below and explain how various aspects of health can affect each other.

Social health Personal Health

-Relates to how we see ourselves as individuals, as -Relates to how we see ourselves
male or female, and how we interact with other as a person, how our ego
people. develops, what we hope to
-Includes the pursuit of harmony in one’s family. achieve, and how we define
success for ourselves.
-Includes finding self-fulfilment
in unique ways.
Emotional Health Mental Health
- Includes ways of expressing our - Encourages creative,
emotions in a healthy way. Includes HEALTH stimulating mental activities.
the degree to which one feels - Relates to how we get
positive and enthusiastic about information, knowing where to
oneself and life. get information we need and
how to use the information we
receive.
Physical Health Spiritual Health
- Physical health is the overall -Involves seeking meaning and purpose of human
soundness of the body. existence.
-Encourages activities which -Involves developing a strong sense of personal
contribute to a high level of values and ethics.
wellness, including medical selfcare
and appropriate use of the medical
system.
- Discourages the use of tobacco,
drugs and excessive alcohol
consumption.

GRAMMAR

Forming the plural of compound nouns is generally done by adding an 's' (or -es)
to the principal word. Thus, you must first locate the most significant word in the
compound noun (this principal word is also called the head noun). This head
noun, or most significant word, gives us information about what the compound
refers to.
Here are some examples of how plural compound nouns can be created once you
identify the head:
 Compound noun head plural
sister-in-law sister sisters-in-law
blackberry berry blackberries
bus driver driver bus drivers
haircut cut haircuts
swimming pool pool swimming pools

There is a different situation when the compound nouns end with '-ful' (e.g.
mouthful, truckful, or handful). In this case, the noun may have two possible
plurals and the -s can be added to either the head noun or to -ful, as long as one is
consistent in use.
Examples:
 Add plural form to the head noun:
mouthful, truckful, spoonsful, handful, cupsful
 Add plural form to '-ful’:
mouthfuls, truckful, spoonfuls, handfuls, cupfuls
In the case of a compound made up of a noun and a preposition, (such as passer-
by), the nouns are the part that received the ‘s’ in order to make it plural.
Examples:
 passer-by — passers-by
Finally, there are some cases where none of the elements is a noun, as in “grown-
ups” or “check-outs.” In these cases, the plural is formed by adding 's' to the last
word. For example, the compound noun “check-outs” is made up of the noun
“check” and the preposition 'out'. The plural of “check-outs” is formed by adding
's' to 'out'.
Examples:
 grown-up — grown-ups
 check-in — check-out

Exercise. Complete with the right plural of the compound nouns:

1. The elderly spend most of their time looking at the passers-by/ passer-bys.
2. Does this hotel allow early checks-in/check-ins/ checks-in=check-ins.
3. The association planted some apple trees/ apples tree/ apple trees=apples tree.
4. The relationship between women and their mothers-in law/ mother-in laws/ mothers-in
law= mother-in laws is often fraught.
5. Are there any shoes shop/ shoe shops/ shoes shop= shoe shops nearby?
6. Take two spoonfuls/ spoonsful / spoonfuls= spoonsful of honey before you go to bed.
7. I have two pensfriend/ penfriends/ pensfriend=penfriends in the UK.
8. Get off after two bus stops/ buses stop/ bus stops= buses stop.
9. She bought two tools box/ tool boxes/ tools box=tool boxes.
10. They are good-for- nothings/goods-for- nothing/ good-for- nothings=goods-for- nothing
who never take responsibilty for their lives.
WRITING
Developing a Healthy Personality
Imagine that the UN has recently decided to allocate $10 million for the development of
health education programmes in Moldova. With so many areas in need of funding, they need
your help in deciding how the funding should be divided up. Pick one issue dealing with
personal health care and write an intent letter to the UN, illustrating why they should
allocate funds for your cause. Letters to the UN should be one full page in length and include
substantial background knowledge. Letters need to include the who, what, where, why,
when, and how of the importance of the development of a mature and healthy personality in
the teen years.
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