阅读理解

　　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(神经系统)．Now scientists have proved that how you think and feel can have an influence on the health of your body．

　　Stress(压力，紧张)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(肾上腺素)．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(关联)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．

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