It’s 2009．You feel sick, so you go to the doctor．She checks your fever, looks at your throat, and asks what you’ve been thinking about lately． When you leave，she gives you some medicine, but also a list of thinking skills that you are supposed to practice daily． She says that the way you think is causing some of your illness．

Doctors and other scientists who study the human mind and try to explain why people behave in the way that do, called psychologists, are starting to believe it．You know that your brain is connected to every part of your body through your nervous system（神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)）．Now scientists have proved that how you think and feel can have an influence on the health of your body．

Stress（壓力，緊張） is caused whenever there is a problem or a change in your life．Of course, everybody has stress more or less; nobody’s life is perfect．In fact, stress is necessary． Without stress, we would never learn anything or grow or change．We would probably be bored to death．But too much stress can hurt you． It can weaken your body’s protection so that you are more likely to catch diseases．It can even make you more likely to have an accident．

When you feel stress, your brain sends a message to your body to produce a chemical called adrenaline（腎上腺素）．Adrenaline speeds up your breathing and your heartbeat． Today you have a different kind of stress．Problems like endless homework or troubles with your family are the kind of things you can’t fight or run away from, so you don’t use up all that adrenaline．It just stays bottled up inside you, and that’s what can do something bad to you．

What can you do about stress? First, you can try to find ways to change things so you aren’t under so much stress．You can set up a plan to finish homework or go to a doctor or a psychologist to try to work things out with your family or your friends．But sometimes you can’t change a stressful situation．Sometimes you don’t even want to． A big change might be a good change, but it will still be stressful．

The link（關(guān)聯(lián)） between your body and brain works in two ways．Your body can help your mind deal with stress．If you are under stress, you need to take especially good care of your body．It’s important to get enough sleep and eat nutritious meals．Some people take a vitamin-mineral pill every day．Another thing that you can do is daily exercise． If you go walking or do aerobic dancing or work out at the gym, you give your body a chance to burn up some of that adrenaline．Of course, a person who isn’t used to much physical activity should start slowly．Anyone with a continuing physical problem should check with a doctor before staring any exercise programs．

1． A psychologist is a person who may help you with your ______．

       A． illness and abilities                                     B． thoughts and behaviour

       C． mind and nervous system                          D． physical activity and daily exercise

2． Which of the following is true according to the passage?

       A． You shouldn’t go to the gym if you are under stress．

       B． One can do his homework to burn up adrenaline．

       C． Diseases and accidents are caused by stress．

       D． Everyone needs stress to improve himself．

3． From the last sentence of Paragraph 5 we can infer that ________．

       A． it’s difficult to change a stressful situation

       B． it’s not stressful when a good change takes place

       C． a big change will cause another stressful situation

       D． a stressful situation can’t be changed without any effort

4． What is probably the best title for this passage?

       A． The body-Brain Link                                 B． The Causes of Stress

       C． The Advice on Health                                D． The Nervous System

Lots of women don’t have breakfast and they have a lot of different excuses for that. Some say they don’t have time, some think they’re losing weight, and others just don’t like breakfast.
But the fact is that eating in the morning is very important, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all. If your pizza is added with vegetables, that’ll be better.
Breakfast is one kind of meal that one should never miss; even one is trying to lose weight.
Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from eating too much later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that those who don’t have breakfast have a bigger chance of getting fat than those who have a morning meal every day.
So if you want to lose weight, you should eat something in the morning. Anything is OK. Having only coffee or orange juice or having no breakfast does harm to your health.
I have a good idea here. I sometimes eat last night’s leftovers for breakfast. It may sound crazy, but it really works for me! I find if I tell myself, “You can eat them tomorrow.” I will put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it yourself. You may save some pre-bedtime calories. Keep it and see how healthy you will be!
【小題1】 What kind of the following food is the best breakfast?