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Innovation in Learning

A A GENERAL ENGLISH

Worry more, live longer

Lesson code: EGAP-CK4B-CM84-S UPPER INTERMEDIATE +

1 Warm-up
What situations cause you stress? Do you consider stress as positive or negative?

2 Medical words and expressions

Match the expressions on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. the immune system a. a branch of medicine for or relating to old people

2. geriatric medicine b. a disease caused when blood containing oxygen is prevented
from reaching the heart
3. the ageing process c. a disease in which a person's joints become painful, swollen
and stiff
4. arthritis d. a disease in which cells in the body grow in an uncontrolled
way, destroying normal cells and often leading to death
5. cancer e. a medical operation
6. heart disease f. cells and tissues which make the body able to protect itself
against infection
7. exhaustion g. the process of getting older
8. surgery h. the speed with which a person's heart beats
9. heart rate i. the state of being extremely tired

3 Check the answers

Decide if the following statements are true or false and read the text quickly to check your answers:

1. Most people believe that stress is bad for you.

2. Research shows that people who have less stressful lives live longer.
3. Studies suggest that stress can help to prevent cancer.
4. People who are stressed tend to have worse memories.
5. All types of stress are bad for your health.
6. Most people know when they feel stress.
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Worry more, live longer
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

Worry more, live longer

Stress may not be the one-way ticket to an early grave that most of us assume. In
fact, it could benefit the immune system and even prevent cancers.
By Kate Hilpern

1 Dr Marios Kyriazis, a GP and expert in geriatric
medicine, is among a growing number of health
professionals claiming that stress isn't the
one-way road to illness and an early grave that
most of us assume. In fact, if it's relatively
short-term, it appears that stress can benefit the
immune system and ageing process. In addition,
it can prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's,
arthritis and certain cancers.
2 "We tend to blame stress for everything from
exhaustion to bad moods to heart disease, but it's
all a myth. Contrary to popular belief, stress is
vital for survival. I advise people to seek out stress
because it can make you live longer. It's people
who have routine, uncomplicated, unchallenging
lives that tend to be harder hit by ill-health,"
explains Kyriazis, who is president of the British
Longevity Society and author of the book
Anti-Ageing Medicines.
3 It's the degree of stress that is important.
"Research indicates that mild and moderate stress
benefits the body by increasing the production of
special proteins that nourish brain cells," he says.
4 In particular, short-term stress benefits your
memory and can even protect against diseases
such as Alzheimer's, says Kyriazis. Some
research also suggests stress may help to prevent
breast cancer. Meanwhile, another study found
that people who experience moderate levels of
10 Dr John MacLeod, a GP and reader at Bristol
stress before surgery had a better recovery than
those with high or low levels.
5 Research by Texas University even revealed that
people who spent most of their lives in
undemanding jobs had a 43 per cent risk of dying
prematurely - indicating that a regular amount of
pressure at work could keep the doctors away.
6 "If you think about it, all this is entirely logical. If
your body is stressed, it is stimulated and
therefore continually has its immune system
tested and provoked, which strengthens it," says
Kyriazis.
7 The general advice on recognising good stress
from bad is asking yourself whether you feel a
sense of accomplishment or excitement either
during or afterwards. An overwhelming feeling, on
the other hand, generally points to bad stress. If
stress continues longer than 24 hours, it can also
start to spoil the good benefits of stress.
8 Anne Phillips, a health psychologist, is sceptical,
though, about whether people are really aware
that they are stressed. "When we get people to do
calculations under a time pressure, some
participants say they found it really stressful and
yet we don't find much of a reaction. Others say
they felt relatively unstressed and yet their heart
rate was up by 20 beats a minute."
9 It wouldn't be fair to ignore the studies that
suggest short-term stress can precipitate severe
illness and even sudden death. Increases in the
number of victims of heart attacks were recorded
after earthquakes hit California, Greece and Japan
and during military conflicts.
University, is certainly unconvinced there is a
proven link with stress. One of his studies - of
5,600 men in 27 workplaces in Scotland - found a
lower rate of heart disease and death overall in
those most likely to say their lives were stressful.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
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Worry more, live longer
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

4 Checking understanding
Answer the following questions:

1. What typical negative effects do people blame stress for?

2. What are the possible benefits of stress mentioned in the article?
3. Who are more likely to suffer from health problems, according to Dr Kyriazis?
4. How can somebody recognize good stress from bad stress?
5. What evidence mentioned in the article contradicts the idea that short-term stress is healthy?

5 Find the words

Read the text again and find the words which mean:

1. dying young (phrase, SUBTITLE)

2. necessary, extremely important (adjective, P2)
3. too soon, before the natural expected time (adverb, P5)
4. very large or intense (adjective, P7)
5. destroy, reduce the good effects of something (verb, P7)

6 Phrases in the text

Match the words on the left with expressions on the right to form appropriate phrases:

1. prevent an illness (= to suddenly cause an illness to start)

2. blame brain cells (= to provide brain cells with what they need to grow and stay healthy)
3. nourish diseases (= to stop diseases from happening)
4. precipitate stress (= to say that stress is responsible)

7 Grammar - Emphatic structures

Study the following examples (1-2) from the text and decide how they differ from the sentences (a-b):

1. It's the degree of stress that is important.

2. It's people who have routine, uncomplicated, unchallenging lives that tend to be harder hit by ill-health.

a. The degree of stress is important.

b. People who have routine, uncomplicated, unchallenging lives tend to be harder hit by ill-health.
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Worry more, live longer
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

Rewrite the following sentences emphasizing the noun or phrase in bold:

1. The neighbours brought the boy to the hospital and saved his life.

2. Heart disease is often caused by high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

3. Paolo's main problem is lack of exercise.

4. Rising unemployment might have serious economic and social consequences.

5. Tom broke a window, not a table.

6. Eric's doctor didn't advise him to take the day off work.

8 Linking words and phrases

Look at the following sentences from the article and the underlined expressions in the table on the
next page.

Stress may not be the one-way ticket to an early grave that most of us assume. In fact, it could benefit
the immune system and even prevent cancers.
In addition, it can prevent diseases such as Alzheimer's, arthritis and certain cancers.
Contrary to popular belief, stress is vital for survival.
In particular, short-term stress benefits your memory and can even protect against diseases such as
Alzheimer's.
An overwhelming feeling, on the other hand, generally points to bad stress.
Anne Phillips, a health psychologist, is sceptical, though, about whether people are really aware that they
are stressed.
LE

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Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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Worry more, live longer
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

Talking in general: generally

Saying that something is the opposite of in fact contrary to popular belief
what is considered to be true:
Making a contrast with what was said on the other hand though
before:
Giving an additional point: in addition
Giving an example: in particular

Add the following expressions to the table above:

actually for instance furthermore however on the whole overall

Now complete the following text with suitable words and phrases:

The health benefits of green tea

1 2
, green tea is not made from a different plant than traditional tea. , it is
made from the same plant as normal, black tea, but the leaves are preserved by steaming them.
The health benefits of green tea have been known to the Chinese since ancient times. It has been
used to treat a variety of illnesses and conditions, including infections, headaches and depression.
3 4
, many people believe these medical benefits are a myth. Recently, ,
there has been increasing scientific evidence which proves that green tea is indeed very healthy.
5
, it has been found to have a high level of anti-oxidants, substances which help the body
6
fight illness. , there is research indicating that the drink lowers total cholesterol levels.
7
, researchers from the University of Purdue in the USA, concluded that a compound
8
in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. , the FDA (the US Food and Drug
Administration) stated that there was little credible evidence to support the claim that green tea can prevent
cancers.
9
, we can say that if only half of the reported medical benefits are true, drinking green tea
is very healthy, and it is recommended that humans drink as many as 3-4 cups of it a day.

9 Talking point
Which serious illnesses are common in your country? What are the typical reasons for this -
lifestyle/climate/pollution etc.?
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Worry more, live longer - Key
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

2- Medical words and expressions

Some medical terms featured in this lesson, especially the names of certain diseases and biological substances,
will need to be translated into the students' own languages. Write the translations on the board where necessary.
In a multi-lingual class, the students should make use of their bilingual dictionaries.

1. f 2. a 3. g 4. c 5. d 6. b 7. i 8. e 9. h

3- Check the answers

1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F 6. F

4- Checking understanding

1. illness, exhaustion, bad moods, heart disease, early death

2. It can strengthen the immune system, prolong the ageing process, benefit memory and protect
against certain diseases such as Alzheimer's, arthritis and some types of cancer such as breast
cancer. It can also help patients recover from surgery.
3. people who have routine, uncomplicated and unchallenging lives with undemanding jobs
4. Good stress produces a sense of accomplishment or excitement either during or afterwards. Bad
stress produces an overwhelming feeling and occurs when stress continues longer than 24 hours.
5. increases in the number of victims of heart attacks as a result of earthquakes and military conflicts

5- Find the words

1. an early grave 2. vital 3. prematurely

4. overwhelming 5. spoil

6- Phrases in the text

1. prevent - diseases (= to stop diseases from happening)

2. blame - stress (= to say that stress is responsible)
3. nourish - brain cells (= to provide brain cells with what they need to grow and stay healthy)
4. precipitate - an illness (= to suddenly cause an illness to start)

Have the students ask and answer questions about the text using the collocations, e.g. "What can prevent
diseases?" "Moderate stress."

7- Grammar - Emphatic structures

In 1 and 2, the writer wants to draw attention to particular parts of the sentences ('the degree of stress' and
'people who have routine, uncomplicated, unchallenging lives'.) These particular types of emphatic structure are
known as cleft sentences. Point out their structure: 'It is/was etc. + emphasized noun or phrase + that + verb'

1. It was the neighbours who/that brought the boy to the hospital and saved his life.
2. It's high levels of cholesterol in the blood that often cause heart disease.
3. It's lack of exercise that is Paolo's main problem.
4. It's rising unemployment that might have serious economic and social consequences.
5. It was a window that Tom broke, not a table.
6. It wasn't Eric's doctor who/that advised him to take the day off work.
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Worry more, live longer - Key
Innovation in Learning

A A A A GENERAL ENGLISH

8- Linking words and phrases

Point out the way the different structures are used in developing an argument. `In particular' is used to introduce
the most important example. `Furthermore' is used in more formal contexts.

1. Talking in general: generally; on the whole; overall

2. Saying that something is the opposite of what is considered to be true: in fact; contrary to popular
belief; actually
3. Making a contrast with what was said before: on the other hand; though; however
4. Giving an additional point: in addition; furthermore
5. Giving an example: in particular; for instance

1. Contrary to popular belief

2. In fact/Actually
3. However
4. though
5. For instance/In particular
6. In addition/Furthermore
7. In addition/Furthermore
8. However
9. Overall

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Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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