Adults|Spoken|Intermediate|3. Healthy lifestyle

• sugary — containing sugar or tasting like sugar
• supplements — something that you add to something else to improve it or make it complete

Listen to the audio and do the exercise.

Dear Doctor

I read your newspaper column every week and, frankly, I think you’ve got it wrong. It’s not being healthy that makes us happy, it’s the other way round. If someone is happy and enjoying themselves and taking pleasure out of life, then they are going to be healthy. Recent research shows that people who feel little or no guilt about their lifestyle have less heart trouble, go to the doctor less often, and get ill less often. In other words, it’s not so much what we do as how we feel about it.

As a result, I think you should stop telling people what is bad for them, what they shouldn’t eat and where they’re going wrong with their lives. You should be encouraging people to feel good about themselves, be positive, worry less and do what they want.

Andrew C, (Newcastle)

Dear Doctor

I always find your column very interesting. Over the years you have given me very useful advice about how to live a healthy life.

However, sometimes I wonder how many people follow your advice. There must be a lot of people who smoke and drink too much, who generally have a very unhealthy lifestyle.

Surely the government can do something about these people. They are costing our health service huge amounts of money. If they looked after themselves properly, they wouldn’t need medical treatment so often.

Angela M, (Brighton)

• line — a row of people or things next to each other
• grade — a mark that a student is given for their work or for an examination
• frustrated — feeling annoyed, upset, and impatient, because you cannot control or change a situation, or achieve something
• bearable — somewhat unpleasant, but able to be accepted or dealt with
• MP3 player — an electronic device that lets you record and play music downloaded from the Internet

Andrew Man Sonya Brent Natalia

Man: I’m talking to four people about why they are stressed. Andrew, you first.
Andrew: Yes. Well, most of the time I don’t feel stressed. I like my job, and I have a good relationship. The problem I do have is that I wake up early every morning — around 5 a.m. — and I feel worried. I just worry about little things that are on my mind — nothing major, just things like what clothes I’m going to wear that day, or who I’m going to meet that day. I just lie awake worrying until it’s time to get up. So I’m not getting enough sleep.
Man: Sonya, how about you. What makes you stressed?
Sonya: Oh! Waiting in line. It just drives me crazy. If I have to line up in the post office or in the bank, or wait to buy a ticket or pay at the supermarket checkout, I just feel so stressed I want to scream. I seem to spend hours and hours just standing in line. And I think it’s getting worse because the lines are getting longer, and slower!
Man: Brent. How about you? Do you get stressed?
Brent: Oh, yes. My problem is that l have so much to do that I don’t have time to relax. At lunchtime, I go out for lunch and, like Sonya, I have to stand in line to get a table. Then, when the food comes, I have to eat very quickly so I can get back to work. And then I get kind of sick from eating too fast, and that makes me feel totally stressed totally afternoon. I’d like to take longer lunches, but there’s so much to do in the office.
Man: Finally, Natalia. How about you? You certainly look stressed. I thought being a student was an easy way of life.
Natalia: No way! Not for me, anyhow. I have to work really hard. And the reason I’m stressed is that there is real pressure on us to get good grades in every class. If we don’t get good grades, we can fail that class, and that can mean we have to leave college. So, I’m worried all the time about getting good grades.
Man: That’s awful!

Man Andrew Sonya Brent Natalia

Man: Last month, I talked to four people about stressful situations in their lives. Let’s find out what they’re doing now to cope with their stress. First, Andrew. How are you feeling now?
Andrew: Well, I still wake up early and start worrying. But now, I turn on the light and read a chapter of a book. Then I turn off the light, close my eyes, and… I go back to sleep! And I wake up feeling fine at 7:30.
Man: Good! Sonya, are you still getting frustrated standing in line?
Sonya: Not anymore! I have an MP3 player. I just put in my earphones when I’m standing in line, and listen to music. It’s great! I enjoy standing in line now. Sometimes I’m actually disappointed when I get to the front of the line if I’m listening to a good song.
Man: Now, Brent. Are you still eating too quickly and feeling sick?
Brent: Nope. My secret is sandwiches.
Man: Huh?
Brent: Well, instead of going out to eat lunch, I have lunch at my desk. I buy a sandwich and juice in the morning on my way to work. And at lunchtime, I put my feet up and eat my sandwich slowly. I feel relaxed all afternoon.
Man: Natalie, when we met before, you looked really stressed. Now you look so happy. What’s happened?
Natalia: Well, I talked to some of my classmates, and I discovered that they felt the same way. First, we asked our teachers to give us fewer tests. But they all said no. So, then we had the idea of starting a study group. We all work together now, helping one other and preparing for tests together. We find that sharing the stress makes it all bearable. We still have to work hard — but now it’s fun, not stressful!