Sing Your Stress Away!
When was the last time you really sang your heart out? For most of us, the answer is likely to be at school and that's a real shame, because singing can do a lot more for us than just creating entertainment.
It's terrific for our emotional and even our physical health. If your reaction is "Not me I can't sing a note" or "I'm tone deaf", then think again. According to the experts, if you can speak, you can sing you may never do it in the Bolshoi or in the Albert Hall but if you enjoy doing it and feel better for it, who cares?
What Singing Can Do for You
1. Drive away stress.
Singing for pleasure can mean getting in touch with emotions that you've tried to bury. Singing unlocks a feeling that you've had inside for ages allowing you to feel refreshed and renewed.
2. Give you more confidence.
You may not believe it, but singing can become addictive! Many singers are hooked: they say it (singing) gives them more confidence. Maybe you've enjoyed singing in the bath or in the car, but haven't had the confidence to sing in other situations. Very often you start off in a whisper but, by the end of the weekend, you're singing your heart out.
3. Boost your energy.
Singing has clear physical benefits as well. Specialists say that singing is a very physical activity. The key to doing it well is being able to breathe properly. Most people get into bad habits and breathe shallowly from the chest. But this is the least efficient way to get oxygen surging through the body because it doesn't put enough air into the lower lungs.
If you breathe fully through your nose, expanding the lower lungs exhaling fully, not only will you see an amazing transformation in your singing, but you'll also find that you have more energy and feel healthier in general. Singing tones up the diaphragm and all the muscles around the ribs and back. It also tones up the face muscles, which is why so many singers tend to look much younger than their actual age. And if you can't bear the thought of doing aerobic exercise, then this may be just the hobby for you!
Make you happier.
Singing enables you to express yourself, it involves a sense of emotional release. It creates a chemical reaction in the body involving the pleasure-producing networks which are part of the brain and the nervous system. As a result, there's an increased release of the body's natural pleasure-giving and pain-killing chemicals. So, now you know what singing can do to you and if you are tempted, there are lots of different ways of going about it: you can either find a singing teacher, take a correspondence course or join a singing group. Many people are shy at first but they're soon singing with gusto and loving every minute of it. Now it's up to you!
B. Say how good you are at singing Discuss your ways of driving away stress, boosting your energy, making yourself feel happier
Ex. 598. Translate into English
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E. 599. Read and translate the sentences Comment on the verbals
1. When I was your age I didn't have time to worry about failing anyone. I had to succeed to survive. 2. After lunch Diana drove off to do some errands. I preferred to stay at home with Andrew, only to discover I was alone. 3. "You don't have to be sarcastic, Mai, and look, there are ways to make unusual situations work. Many ways." 4. Paul was domineering, bossy, he often felt the need to assert himself forcefully. He had made it clear who wore the trousers in their household. Emma had learned to let him have his way in most things, and he in turn, was wise enough never to interfere in her business. 5. As she continued to sew, she thought of her future. She had to work at the mill to earn a living and there was no one available to care for the child during the day. 6. And she knew that she could only rely on herself now to accomplish the tasks which would preserve her empire and her dynasty. To do that she had to live. And she thought to herself: The will to live is the strongest force in the world. 7. Without giving the landlady another glance, Emma mounted the stairs, her heart lifting. She certainly wasn't going to give Mrs. Daniel the satisfaction of seeing her reading a note from a man who was obviously not her husband.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Ex 600. Read the texts, translate them and comment on the verbals
1. Ernie told me that his job was community policing. I asked him what this involved. He explained, "You have your own special area which you have to patrol. It really means being on the beat: walking round, keeping your eyes open, making sure you know what's going on, chatting to people, basically trying to prevent crime." 2. She sounded fine and friendly, and Mary began to feel better and soon stopped crying. Martha went on talking as she finished her cleaning, but Mary looked out of the window in a bored way, and pretended not to listen.
3. Now the impulse to dream surged up again and I hungered for books, new ways of looking and seeing, it was not a matter of believing or disbelieving what I read, but of feeling something new, of being affected by something that made the world look different. 4. And to answer your question, I don't know what's going to happen. Being in love is one thing, getting married another. And there's so much to consider. 5. Being a single parent all those years had been a strain on her nerves at times, Meredith was the first to admit it. 6. She gripped the frame of her handbag tightly to stop her hands from shaking. But she could not afford to panic, not under any circumstances. So she immediately made a desperate effort to put it aside, to still her nerves.
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7. "Time," he mused. "I didn't spend enough time with Adriana to get to know her properly. Marry in haste, repent at leisure," he recalled Teddy's words after his wedding. But his dearest Teddy loved and respected him far too much to interfere in his life, tell him what to do.
Ex. 601. Read the text and retell it paying attention to the use of moods, modal verbs, non-finite forms of the verbs
The Wheel of Fortune
I wish this summer could go on and on and on and I wish I could always be this happy. It seems that whenever you are sad or just normal, you're always wishing you were happy, but when you're happy, you start worrying about when all this happiness is going to end. At least that's the way I am. Already, I'm worrying that I'm too happy, and I'm either going to have to pay for this or it's all going to end real soon.
It reminds me of the wheel of fortune that Mrs. Zollar, our teacher, talked about. She said that Shakespeare and all his buddies believed in the wheel of fortune, that your luck kind of went round and round, and when you (or your luck) were at the top, everything would go right. But that it was inevitable that the wheel had to keep spinning, and sooner or later, you'd be at the bottom of the wheel, when everything would go badly. The only thing that kept people from jumping off cliffs when they were at the bottom of the wheel was knowing that sooner or later they would be at the top again. I feel as if the gods were going to spin my wheel any minute. Oh, please, let me stay where I am for a while! I also wish everyone's wheel were at the top at the same time. Beth Ann, for instance, is at the bottom of her wheel and she's driving me crazy. She must have called me ten times today to tell me about Derek. First she said that he was a complete creep and she never wanted to see him again and she cried. Then she called back and said that she loved him so much and maybe she could call him and tell him how much she missed him, and she cried. Get the picture?
Ex. 602. Open the brackets to make the story complete Retell it
Deciding the Future
Now Mr. Rochester was becoming angry, and he looked as if he (be) about (lose) control. But I knew I still had the power (calm) him. So I took his hand and stroked it, (say), "I do love you, but there is only one thing for me (do). I must (leave) you. If I (live) with you like that, I (be) your mistress." "Jane, I want you (listen) to my story. My father loved money very much and he hated the idea (divide) the family property, so he left it all to my elder brother. I (have to) marry a rich girl. Very soon I (discover) that my bride's mother was mad and that it ran in the family. We lived for four years. She was course and stupid, and her madness also made her violent. Well, in moments of despair I intended (shoot) myself, but in the end I decided (bring) the mad woman here. Once she nearly burnt me in my bed, and the second time she visited you. She must (remind) of her own wedding day at (see) your wedding dress. I travelled all over Europe, Jane, (look) for an ideal, for a woman (love). Finally, bitter and disappointed, I returned to Thornfield on a frosty winter afternoon. And when my horse slippeed and fell on the ice, a little figure appeared and insisted (help) me. Soon I began (depend) on you for my happiness."
"Don't talk any more of the past, sir," I said, (wipe) a secret tear from my eye. "No, Jane, it was stupid of me (marry) you like that without (explain). I should (confess) everything as I do now. I promise (love) you for ever." "No, sir, it (be) wicked to do what you want. You can only (trust) in God and yourself. Live without (do) wrong, and die (hope) to go to heaven." "But you have no family (offend) (live) with me!" He was beginning (sound) desperate. I knew that what he said was true. However, in my heart I also knew I had the right (leave). He seemed (read) my thoughts. (Rush) furiously across the room, he stared fiercely into my eyes. I stared firmly back at him. He (can) (break) me in two with one hand, but he (can) not (break) my spirit. "Goodbye, my dear master!" I said. "May God (protect) you!"
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That night I only slept a little, (dream) of the red room at Gateshead. The moonlight shone into my bedroom, and suddenly I saw a white figure on the ceiling (look) down at me. It seemed (whisper) to my spirit, "Daughter, leave now before you are tempted (stay)." "Mother, I will," I answered. I woke up (find) that it was still night. I wrapped up some clothes in a parcel, and crept downstairs, (fear) lest Mr. Rochester (hear) me (leave) his house. While (go) down, I (can) (hear) my master (walk) up and down and (sigh). I could (find) heaven in this room if I (want). But I stopped (reproach) myself and went miserably out of the house.
(Walk) along on the road, I could not (help) (think) of Mr. Rochester's despair at (find) himself abandoned. I hated myself for (wound) him. I wanted desperately (be) with him, (comfort) him, but somehow I made myself (keep) (walk). When I heard a coach (pass) by, I arranged
(travel) on it as far as my money (allow). Inside the coach I cried the bitterest tears of my life.
(after Charlotte Bronte)
Ex. 603. Read and translate the sentences Find and comment on moods, modals and verbals in them
1.1 am not used to using used cars. 2. It would please me enormously to have you as my guests. 3. Only an Englishman could have asked that question. 4. He could hear the phone ringing inside, but by the time he managed to get the door opened it had stopped. "Could it have been Maggie phoning from Scotland?" he wondered. 5. "You mustn't be negative, Amy," he replied gently, but firmly. "And you must keep your strength up. Not eating is the worst thing you can do. Why don't you let me make you something? I bought all sorts of special things you've always liked. I must make sure things keep running smoothly. I can't let anything slip,not now." 6. Jake was doing everything he could to help Amy, but she had to help herself. Her doctor had told him that a positive attitude could work wonders. He wished he could make Amy understand how important it was for her to look on the bright side of things to get better. 7. She looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, doesn't she? 8. He laughed and slapped his thigh, as if it were a huge joke. 9. He looked at me as if I had invited him to a funeral. His own. 10. Miss Trunchbull looked at Miss Honey. Miss Homey met her gaze without flinching. "I am telling you the truth," she said. "You must have knocked it over without knowing it. That sort of thing is easy to do."
