Is going on holiday of any benefit? New research shows that going on holiday makes you not only feel good while you’re there but also gain the health benefits for months.
Jetting off to destinations such as the Maldives cuts your blood pressure, helps you sleep better and bounce back from stress. The benefits last at least a fortnight longer than the vacation and can be felt for months in some cases where it is claimed. Experts say workers should always take their holiday entitlement (权利) each year, but as ‘many as one in three don’t.
The study compared key health markers in holidaymakers visiting Thailand, Peru or the Maldives, with those in people who stayed at home and continued working. The average blood pressure of those on holiday dropped by six percent while the workers saw their blood pressure rise by two percent over the same period. The sleep quality of holidaymakers improved by 17 percent while that of the non—holidaymakers deteriorated by 14 percent.
The study also found the ability of vacationers to recover from stress, known as the stress-resilience test, improved by 29 percent. There was a 71 percent fall in stress-resilience scores among workers. Tests showed fallen blood glucose (葡萄糖) levels, reduced risk of diabetes (糖尿病), trimmer waistlines and improved mood and energy levels, with the effects sustained for at least two weeks after returning home.
The Holiday Health Experiment was conducted by tour operator Kuoni and Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity.
1. According to the passage, how many people go on holiday?| A．One third. | B．Two thirds. |
| C．17 percent. | D．A quarter. |
| A．The further you go, the better you get the benefits. |
| B．Most people like to stay at home during the holiday. |
| C．The result of the study is mostly based on the description from the people involved. |
| D．Holidaymakers are more likely to be healthier than non-holidaymakers. |
| A．we have to go on holiday as much as possible |
| B．you’ll certainly get depressed if you don’t go on holiday |
| C．we had better go on holiday for the benefits of our health |
| D．it is best to go to foreign countries like Maldives |
| A．A Holiday Health Experiment |
| B．Health Benefits from Holiday |
| C．Health Problems of Having Holiday |
| D．Key Health Markers m Holidaymakers |
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From nail-biting to too much hand-washing,overeating and internet addiction(上瘾)，OCD is widespread in almost every workplace and countless homes.“It is a relatively common form of anxiety,”says Dr.Mootee.“The main feature of OCD is the repetition of unwanted obsersive(过度的) thoughts such as worries that doors are left unlocked,gas or electrical appliances are left on.”In order to fight against the anxiety and distress caused by these obsessions,an OCD sufferer performs some form of repetitive act such as hand-washing,checking door locks and gas or electrical appliances.
Dr.Mootee says that repetitive washing,particularly of the hands,is the most common type of OCD.She has treated many patients who wash their hands up to 30 times a day.The technique Mootee uses to treat people with OCD is called cognitive-behavioral therapy(认知行为疗法).“It is based on the general idea that people have the ability to change the way they think and behave,”says Mootee.
But when does a habit become a problem?“It’s personal,”says Mootee.“Everyone has something unusual,but if you can’t put up with it,then it’s a problem and you need to do something to change it.”Mootee says many people resist going for treatment because they fear they are “crazy”.But as people become more knowledgeable about these problems they will go and get help.The only way to cure is to conquer.
1. If a person suffers from OCD,he is likely to keep doing any of the following EXCEPT______.
| A．chewing pens | B．hurting himself |
| C．sucking fingers | D．biting nails |
| A．reduces his/her anxiety by taking drugs |
| B．gets into unwanted habits to relieve stress |
| C．has unwanted thoughts about habits |
| D．has unwanted thoughts because of illness |
| A．everyone has something different |
| B．people can put up with their problems |
| C．people can change their way of thinking and action |
| D．people tend to repeat their obsessive actions |
| A．has to be an extraordinary person |
| B．must cure his illness by himself |
| C．must overcome many physical illnesses |
| D．should have a right attitude towards the problem |
【推荐2】If you want to lose weight, you should choose your lunch companions wisely. A study found that co-workers who ate together tended to pick similarly healthy foods.
The researchers said their findings offered policymakers new strategies against fatness. “We found individuals tend to mirror the food choices of others in their social circles,” said Dr. Levy, lead author of the research. “People may change their behaviour to strengthen the relationship in their social circle.”
Co-workers may give each other permission to pick unhealthy foods, the researchers said, or place pressure to make a healthier choice. Levy added, “The effect was a bit stronger for healthy foods.”
Employees at a hospital could pay using ID cards, allowing the researchers to collect data on what, when and where to buy. They worked out social relationships by looking at how long apart two people bought food, how often they ate and whether they visited a different cafe at the same time. They surveyed over 1,000 employees to ask them about the names of dining partners.
“Considering other shared characteristics, co-workers were influencing each other's habits, rather than friendships formed between people with similar lifestyles,” Levy said.
The researchers said their findings could be widely used for public health interventions. It showed that interventions to improve healthy eating in a particular group may have a wider impact in individuals with social connections to that group.
Levy said, “To work out whether people with similar lifestyles and food preferences were more likely to become friends and eat together, we controlled common characteristics and analyzed the data from different angles, consistently finding the results were the same.”
1. What is the study mainly about?| A．How people choose lunch companions wisely. |
| B．How social circles affect people's food preference. |
| C．How policymakers offer new strategies against fatness. |
| D．How researchers give co-workers permission to pick foods. |
| A．By analyzing data. | B．By visiting cafes. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By interviewing experts. |
| A．public health guidelines | B．food processing standards |
| C．personal career suggestions | D．social service requirements |
| A．Buying food at the same cafe. | B．Picking food at the same time. |
| C．Using ID cards to pay in hospital. | D．Copying each other's food choices. |
【推荐3】Is your doctor telling you the truth? Possibly not, according to a new survey in Health Affairs of nearly 1,900 doctors around the country.
The researchers found that 55% of the doctors said that in the last year they had been more positive about a patient s prognosis (预判) than his medical history. And 10% said they had told their patients something that wasn’t true. About a third of the doctors said they did not completely agree that they should disclose medical errors to their patients, and 40% said they didn’t feel the need to disclose financial ties to drug companies.
Really? The study’s lead author, Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a medicine professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the Mongan Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, was surprised to learn how dishonest her colleagues were. “Some of the numbers were larger than I expected they might be,” she says.
Why the white lies? In some cases, Iezzoni says it was for self- protection. Nearly 20% of the doctors admitted that they didn’t disclose a medical error to their patients because they were afraid of being punished for improper treatment. In other cases, it may have been for the patient’s benefit. Some might spare an anxious patient from hearing about the slightly abnormal results of a lab test, for example, if it has no negative effect on the patient’s health.
“After all doctors are human too,” says Iezzoni. “ They don’t want to upset their patients, they don’t want their patients to look unhappy or burst into tears. But they also need to be professionals; so they need to tell themselves that if there is a difficult truth they need to tell their patients, they need to work out a way of communicating that effectively.”
That’s important for doctors to appreciate, because as well-intentioned as their lies may be, other studies consistently show that patients prefer the truth, and would rather hear unpleasant news than remain ignorant about an awful medical condition. Being fully informed is a way that patients can prepare for whatever might occur. Therefore, it is necessary for doctors to learn to express themselves.
1. About the new survey in Health Affairs, we can learn that .| A．10% of the doctors admitted that they had lied to their patients |
| B．about half of the doctors were unwilling to disclose medical errors |
| C．40% of the doctors preferred to work in drug companies |
| D．about 30% of the doctors were positive on predicting the patients’ disease |
| A．were trying to defend themselves | B．wanted to prove they were professionals |
| C．knew little about the patients’ situations | D．wanted the patients to spend more money |
| A．report some medical errors | B．talk about the needs of patients |
| C．persuade doctors to improve skills | D．discuss the doctor-patient relationship |
