大学英语听说教程3-Unit-6-Stress

1 Unit 6 Stress Part A Pre listening Task Questions for Discussion 1 What does stress mean 2 What causes stress to people 3 Do you sometimes feel you are under stress What makes you feel stressed 4 What should we do to deal with stress Additional Question for Discussion Do you know anything about the life of a police officer How stressful can it be Language Focus Here are some sentences and structures that you may find useful in discussing the above questions Stress is a state of worry due to pressure from too much work or study heavy responsibilities the quickened pace of life etc Stress arises from feeling overwhelmed because there just seems too much to do and not enough time to do it I feel stressed I m under stress I m under great pressure when I feel I can t live up to my parents expectations I worry a lot about my ability to compete in the job market what chances there are in the job market when I graduate how I can best use what I ve learned at college in my future job My parents and relatives lay place greater expectations on me than I can reach My teachers expect me to do more than I can handle Being unable to speak English fluently get on well with my roommates is one of my big worries Having to take tests of various kinds complete numerous assignments do a lot of reading before class puts great pressure on me The pressure of having to work against a deadline is too much for me A major change in life such as losing a job or a death in the family or ending a relationship causes great stress Stress may be caused by financial problems poor health failing a test disagreements with roommates misunderstanding between friends breaking up with one s best friend Exercise is one of the most effective ways to relieve stress Listening to traditional Chinese classical light music can ease our minds Talking to a friend helps to get whatever is worrying you off your chest Participating in social activities proves effective in relieving stress To be positive in what we do and to have a healthy attitude towards life will help us cope with harsh reality Starting a hobby can also help to relieve stress Learning to say no to extra work requests is a good way to beat stress 2 It helps to relieve stress if we look at the bright side of life view the changes in our life as challenges are realistic and accept what has happened take a break from life and do nothing for a while Part B Listening Tasks Conversation 1 Being a Police Officer Is a Stressful Job Word Bank stressful a causing sb to feel tense and anxious 充满压力的 紧张的 patrol n the act of going at regular times around an area a building etc to see if there is any trouble 巡逻 undercover a done in secret 暗中进行的 秘密的 supervise v to direct or be in charge of work workers 监督 管理 justify v to prove to be reasonable 证明 有理 presence n the state of being in a particular place 到场 routine a regular 常规的 traffic violation breaking a traffic regulation 违反交通规则 back over to reverse one s vehicle over sb 倒车撞击 jump out at to attack suddenly without warning 突然袭击 Script Interviewer Welcome to our program Sam Sam Thank you Interviewer Sam how long have you been a police officer Sam I ve been a police officer for thirty years Interviewer Thirty years And you ve had different types of assignments on the police force I guess Sam Yeah I ve done everything from patrol to undercover work to detective work and now I m supervising investigations Interviewer Sam I think most people would say that being a police officer is a very stressful job Would you agree Sam Yes it s definitely a stressful job But it depends on your assignment Interviewer So what s probably the most stressful assignment you can have Sam I d say patrol is the most stressful assignment Interviewer That s interesting In what way Sam Well I guess the biggest part of the stress is the fear factor the fear of the unknown Interviewer What do you mean Sam Sam Well in patrol work you don t know from moment to moment who you are talking to or what their reaction is going to be to justify your presence Let s say for example a patrol officer stops someone for a traffic violation It seems as though that would be a very low stress situation Interviewer Yes it is a very low stress situation 3 Sam But the truth is there are more police officers injured during a routine stop Interviewer Really Sam Really That s why all police officers are taught from the very beginning to be aware of their surroundings People back over policemen people shoot policemen people jump out at policemen different kinds of things So that s probably the most stressful time Interviewer I see Let s take a break and then we ll move on to our next topic Sam All right Exercise 1 Listen to the conversation and choose the right answers to the questions you hear 1 What s the relationship between the two speakers a Friends b A police officer and an investigator c Two police officers d A police officer and a program hostess 2 What does Sam mainly talk about a His job as a police officer b His personal life c How stressful patrol work is d How police officers are taught to deal with stress 3 What do you know about Sam a He is an experienced police officer b He will quit his present job sooner or later c He is a good supervisor d He enjoys being a police officer Exercise 2 Listen again and fill in the blanks with the missing information about Sam Sam has been a police officer for 30 years He has done everything from patrol to undercover work He has also done detective work and now he is supervising investigations Sam thinks being a police officer is a very stressful job but it depends on the assignment one has In his opinion patrol is the most stressful assignment and the biggest part of the stress is the fear of the unknown Conversation 2 Stress Reducers Word Bank manifest v to show sth plainly 表明 显示 ulcer n a sore place on the skin or inside the body which may bleed 溃疡 document v to support an opinion argument etc with recorded facts 用文件或事实证明 psychological a of the mind 心理 上 的 counseling n the provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or psychological problems 对个人或心理问题等的 咨询服务 fanatic n a person who is very enthusiastic about sth 热衷者 4 stress reducer sth that relieves pressure or tension 降低压力的事物 Script Interviewer Sam you ve talked about the police officers stressful time Now let s move on to the next topic So far as I know there s a connection between stress and illness Do you think that there s a higher percentage of illness among police officers than in the general population I mean do they get more colds or anything Is this really true Sam Yes it is and the stress level not only manifests itself in daily health whether or not you re feeling well on any given day It also manifests itself in things like ulcers heart disease police officers tend to have a higher rate of heart disease and ulcers than people in other professions Interviewer Really That s documented Sam Yes it s documented And also the divorce rate among police officers is much higher Interviewer Is there something that the police department does to help you deal with this stress Sam Yes there are several programs that most police departments have in place One is an exercise program where some part of your day is spent on some type of physical exercise They ve found that s a great stress reducer Besides there s also a psychological program with counseling for officers to help them reduce their stress And there are several discussion groups as well They ve found that sometimes just sitting around and talking about the stress with other officers helps to reduce it So those things are available Interviewer And what do you do personally to deal with the stress of your job Sam Sam Well during the baseball season I m the biggest baseball fanatic and I will either be reading about baseball or listening to baseball or watching baseball Another thing I try to do is to get some sort of exercise every day And then I work hard at keeping up my personal relationships especially my relationship with my wife Fortunately I get along very well with my wife When I come back home I can talk about my day with her and then just forget about it Exercise 1 Listen to the conversation and then you ll hear five statements based on the conversation Write T for a true statement and F for a false one 1 The conversation is mainly about how police officers can deal with stress T 2 According to Sam most police officers enjoy good health F 3 According to Sam the divorce rate among police officers is higher than that among people in other jobs T 4 Counseling is the most effective program to help police officers relieve stress F 5 Sam knows how to reduce his stress T Exercise 2 Listen again and complete the answers to the following questions 1 What do most police departments do to help reduce the stress of the police officers They provide several programs to help police officers cope with stress One is an exercise program another is a psychological program with counseling for officers And there are several discussion groups as well for officers to sit down and talk about their stress with other officers 5 2 What does Sam do to relieve his stress 1 He takes a great interest in baseball 2 He tries to get some sort of exercise every day 3 He works hard at keeping up his personal relationships especially his relationship with his wife Speaking Tasks Pair Work Debating Arguments for or against the view that feeling stressed before job interviews is good A Sample The students are going to have job interviews soon They are under great stress Are you for or against stress before job interviews Express and defend your views from the perspectives given in the card below Possible Arguments for reference From the perspective of a student positive I m not against stress before job interviews When we finish college we ll have to face intense competition in the job market We all want to give a presentation that demonstrates our abilities and potential before interviewers And that requires an alert mind to prepare it well A certain amount of stress is necessary to make us more energetic and therefore more productive From the perspective of another student negative Personally I don t think stress before a job interview is a good thing If you ve made the best of your school years to seek knowledge if you ve prepared your presentation well there is no need for you to feel stressed Stress before a job interview will have a negative effect on you Life becomes very unpleasant because you put enormous pressure on yourself You find it hard to get to sleep have no appetite for food and are not in a mood for anything interesting You become so nervous that it will interfere with your performance at the interview The best policy is relax and face the interview confidently Now use the above sample as your model and carry on similar activities with your partner Topic Is it bad to feel stressed during the final exam week Perspectives 1 From the perspective of some students positive Topic Is it good to feel stressed before a job interview Perspectives 1 From the perspective of a student positive 2 From the perspective of another student negative 6 2 From the perspective of some teachers negative Some Ideas for Reference The Argument positive 1 Stress during exam week will have a negative effect on us 2 Life becomes very unpleasant because we put enormous pressure on ourselves 3 We will find it hard to get to sleep have no appetite for food and are not in a mood for anything interesting 4 Too much stress before exams is harmful to our health 5 Feeling stressful will make us very nervous and will interfere with our performance in the exams 6 If we don t keep stress under control before exams we will become unfocused and unable to think quickly 7 It s easy to say that some stress is good but it s difficult to know how much stress is too much The Counter argument negative 1 Stress is a normal response to events that happen to all of us 2 The stress response is our body s way to protect us Some stress helps us to stay focused energetic and alert 3 Stress is a natural part of a student s life during the exam week 4 Everyone even the best students will feel stressful during the exam week 5 A certain amount of stress is useful to sharpen our concentration and help us deal with challenges 6 If we are under stress we tend to work harder and as a result accomplish more 7 Sometimes stress can stimulate us and increase our level of alertness Part C Test Your Listening Short Conversations You re going to hear five short conversations between two speakers At the end of each conversation a question will be asked about what you ve heard Listen carefully and choose the right answer to each question you hear 1 M You look so nervous Rose Are you all right W Frankly speaking I m on pins and needles I have to give a presentation to a group of important visitors this afternoon Q Why does Rose feel nervous a Because she will meet a group of very important visitors this afternoon b Because she has to deliver a report in the afternoon but it isn t ready c Because she is not feeling well d Because she is going to speak before important visitors this afternoon 2 M You look so upset Sue What s worrying you 7 W My son Jack made me extremely unhappy He seems to be playing video games all the time Whenever I talk to him he turns a deaf ear to me Q What s the woman s problem a Her son watches games all day long b Her son has a serious hearing problem c Her son enjoys watching videos a lot d Her son is addicted to video games 3 W David you don t look happy Anything wrong M Well you know my mother died three years ago And since then my father has lived in an apartment on his own and has very few friends Q What is David worrying about a He can t live with his father b His father has no friends c His mother passed away three years ago d His father is lonely 4 W Michael I don t know what has happened to Mother Her memory seems to be going I have to remind her of almost everything M Don t worry Mary She s just getting old Q What do you know about Mary a She s worried about her sick mother b She s concerned about her mother s poor memory c She s tired of reminding her mother all the time d She s going to send her mother to a nursing home 5 W I m worried about sending my son Peter to college You see nowadays many college students behave rather strangely They don t seem to be interested in their studies M Just a few Most students still concentrate on their studies Q What can you infer from the man s response a He misunderstands the woman b He fully agrees with the woman c He disagrees with the woman d He advises the woman not to worry about her son