音频下载[点击右键另存为][00:00.54]Passage 55. Stress and Relaxation

[00:06.33]It is commonly believed that only rich middle-aged businessmen suffer from stress.

[00:12.69]In fact anyone may become ill as a result of stress

[00:17.71]if they experience a lot of worry over a long period

[00:21.55]and their health is not especially good.

[00:24.39]Stress can be a friend or an enemy:

[00:28.11]it can warn you that you are under too much pressure and should change your way of life.

[00:33.69]It can kill you if you don’t notice the warning signals.

[00:38.07]Doctors agree that it is probably the biggest single cause of illness in the Western world.

[00:45.07]When we are very frightened and worried

[00:48.24]our bodies produce certain chemicals to help us fight what is troubling us.

[00:53.50]Unfortunately, these chemicals produce the energy needed to run away fast from an object of fear,

[01:01.48]and in modern life that’s often impossible.

[01:05.53]If we don’t use up these chemicals, or if we produce too many of them,

[01:11.33]they may actually harm us.

[01:13.62]The parts of the body that are most affected by stress are the stomach, heart,skin, head and back.

[01:22.16]Stress can cause car accidents, heart attacks, and alcoholism, and may even drive people to suicide.

[01:30.91]Our living and working conditions may put us under stress.

[01:36.16]Overcrowding in large cities, traffic jams, competition for jobs, worry about the future,

[01:43.82]any big changes in our lives, may cause stress.

[01:48.20]Some British doctors have pointed out that

[01:51.92]one of Britain’s worst waves of influenza happened soon after the new coins came into use.

[01:58.81]Also if you have changed jobs or moved house in recent months

[02:04.50]you are more likely to fall ill than if you haven’t.

[02:08.44]And more people commit suicide in times of inflation.

[02:12.27]As with all illnesses, prevention is better than cure.

[02:17.41]If you find you can’t relax, it is a sign of danger.

[02:21.79]“When you’re taking work home, when you can’t enjoy an evening with friends,

[02:27.25]when you haven’t time for outdoor exercise

[02:30.43]—that is the time to stop and ask yourself whether your present life really suits you.”

[02:36.56]Says one family doctor.

[02:38.63]“Then it’s time to join a relaxation class,

[02:43.17]or take up dancing, painting or gardening.”