1. Everyone nowadays knows the benefits of physical exercise - but scientists at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands say the key to staying slim and keeping fit is to eat less and take gentle exercise such as walking or cycling. ‘People who take intensive exercise often reward themselves by spending the rest of the day in front of the TV,’ says Professor Klaas Westertep. ‘At the same time they have to eat more to give them energy for the next work-out. To avoid weight gain, it’s better to take gentle exercise over a longer period.’ And health researcher Peter Axt believes that spending a couple of hours a day doing absolutely nothing is more effective than exercise in building immunity and prolonging life.

2. It may be good for your waistline, but the latest research suggests that it is less beneficial psychologically. A team of volunteers at Sheffield University asked to follow a diet consisting of just twenty-five percent fat (the level recommended by the World Health Organisation) reported increased feelings of depression and hostility towards others. One reason perhaps that people on low-fat diets are apparently more likely to meet a violent death!

3. Many of us already know that drinking coffee raises your blood pressure but according to the latest research, it can also make you bad-tempered. Mice who were given regular doses of caffeine by researchers were found to be unusually aggressive! On the other hand, the chemicals found in tea can reduce the risk of heart attacks, and have a beneficial effect on cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. And tea doesn’t keep you awake at night either!

4. Well, if you’re a chocolate fan there’s good news! Recent studies have revealed that chemicals found in chocolate can protect you from a variety of minor illnesses including colds, coughs, depression and even help reduce the risk of heart disease!

5. Parents worried about their children spending hours on their PlayStation may have it all wrong - it could actually be time well spent. Researchers at Manchester University found that gamers who play up co eighteen hours a week seem able to focus on what they are doing better than other people, have better co-ordination; and, far from being anti-social, ‘computer nerds’ find it easier to form friendships than children who prefer activities such as reading and watching TV. But scientists in Japan have found that gaming develops only vision and movement, but not the parts of the brain associated with learning, emotion or behaviour. ‘This might be a problem in our increasingly violent society,’ says Professor Ryuta Kawashima of theTohoku University.

6. ‘Every woman should marry - and no man’ commented one wit almost 150 years ago. But scientific evidence has tended to suggest that it’s men who find happiness through marriage more than women. It has been shown that single men are the least happy social group, while married men are the happiest. But a new study from La Trobe University in Melbourne reveals that women do benefit as well: twenty-five percent of single people were miserable, compared with only thirteen percent of married people. Among the women surveyed, those who were married with children and a job had the fewest mental health problems.

7. The feeling of being undervalued can damage your health. Research by the National Arthritis Council shows that employees who suffer constant criticism, or feel out of control at work, are much more likely to suffer from back problems. Depression, says one researcher, is actually far more likely to cause backache than heavy lifting!

2. Выберите правильный вариант в предложениях согласно содержанию текста. Предложения запишите и переведите.

1. After strenuous exercise, people are often more / less / a little bit active for the rest of the day.

2. Doing nothing for a couple of hours every day is the best way to keep fit / increase your immunity / relax.

3. A low-fat diet will make you slimmer but more aggressive / fatter and less aggressive / aggressive and slim.

4. The chemicals in coffee / tea / chocolate reduce the risk of heart disease.

5. The chemicals in coffee / chocolate / tea protect you from coughs and colds.

6. Children who play a lot of computer games have better social skills / behaviour / memory than children who don’t.

7. Single / Married / Divorced men are happier than single / married / divorced men.

8. The biggest cause of backache is depression / heavy lifting / office work.

3. Определите являются ли определения слов из текста истинными ( True ) или ложными ( False ). Исправьте ложные определения, предложения запишите и переведите.

1. Emotion is the quality of being happy.

2. Low self-esteem is a feeling of sadness that makes you think there is no hope for the future.

3. Business is the relationships between friends.

4. Criticism is saying things that show you have a bad opinion of someone

5. Happiness is something that you feel, e.g. anger, happiness, etc.

6. Behaviour is what you do; how you act.

7. Sympathy is actions or words that are intended to hurt people.

8. Self-esteem is respect for yourself.

9. Friendship is an occasion when someone shows that they do not agree with or like something

10. Bad-tempered means becoming annoyed or angry very easily.

4. Определите являются ли утверждения ниже истинными (True) или ложными (False) согласно содержанию текста. Исправьте ложные утверждения, предложения запишите и переведите.

1. Relaxing about two hours a day is better for your health than going to the gym.

2. Eating low-fat food is good for your physical and psychological health.

3. Drinking coffee is healthier for people than tea.

4. People who eat a lot of chocolate are often ill.

5. Playing computer games has as positive as well as negative effects on children.

6. Single people are the happiest and the healthiest people in the world.

7. People’s psychological problems can cause health problems.

Vocabulary