Stress and Fear

Lesson objectives

• Introduce a new topic
• Read the text and find out more about fear
• Boost vocabulary (adjectives to describe feelings)

Answer the questions

1 How do you think most people react in a life or death disaster situation? a They panic and become hysterical. b They act coolly and calmly. c They 'freeze' and can't do anything.

2 What do you do when you are on a plane and the flight attendant starts to explain the safety procedures? a I don't listen. I've heard it so many times! b I listen but I don't take it very seriously. c I pay attention and also read the safety information in the seat pocket.

3 What would you do if you were in a hotel on the 5th floor and the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night? a I would pick up essential things like my passport and mobile and find the quickest way down to the lobby. b I would follow the emergency instructions on the back of the door, which I had read when I arrived. c I wouldn't pay any attention. I would think it was probably a fire drill.

How to get out alive/ how humans behave when the worst thing happens…

• We always think ‘It will never happen to me’ but disasters can strike any time anywhere – from hotel fires to train crashes to terrorist attacks. How would you cope if the unthinkable happened? According to experts, people caught up in disasters tend to fall into three categories. About 10% to 15% remain calm and act quickly and efficiently. Another 15% completely panic, crying and screaming and obstructing the evacuation. But the vast majority (70%) of people do very little. They are 'stunned and confused: says British psychologist John Leach.
• Why is this? Research suggests that under great stress our minds take much longer to process information. So, in a crisis many people 'freeze‘ just at the moment when they need to act quickly. It also seems that a person's personality is not a good guide to how they might react – a normally decisive person may not act at all quickly in a crisis and vice versa. 'Most people go their entire lives without a disaster’, says Michael Lindell, a professor at Texas A&M University. 'So when something bad happens they are so shocked they just think, "This can't possibly be happening to me," instead of taking action.

A

• WHEN THE PLANE hit the World Trade Center on 11th September 2001, Elia Zedeno was working on the 73rd floor. She heard an explosion and felt the building actually move, as if it might fall over. Zedeno first shouted out, 'What's happening?' You might expect that her next instinct was to run. But she had the opposite reaction. What I really wanted was for someone to scream back, "Everything is OK! Don't worry.'" Luckily, at least one of Zedeno's colleagues responded differently. He screamed, 'Get out of the building!' she remembers now. Years later, she still thinks about that command. 'My question is what would I have done if that person had said nothing?‘
• Even then Zedeno still did not immediately run. First she reached for her bag, and then she started walking in circles. 'I was looking for something to take with me. I remember I took my book. Then I kept looking around for other stuff to take. I felt as if I was in a trance: When she finally left, she went slowly. ‘it's strange because the sound of the explosion and the way the building shook should have made me go faster. But Zedeno made it to safety. Experts have estimated that at least another 130 people would have got out of the World Trade Center alive if they had tried to leave the building sooner.

Answer the questions

• 1 Where was Elia on 11th September 2001? 2 How did she react when the plane hit the World Trade Center? 3 What saved her life? 4 How quickly did she leave?
• 5.how could more lives have been saved?
• Read the whole article and, mark the sentences true (T) or false (F), 1 Elia Zedena's first instinct was to run. 2 If her colleague hadn't shouted, she might not have reacted how she did. 3 She took her time to leave because she didn't know where the exit was. 4 Some people who died in the WTC could have survived

VOCABULARY/ Match the adjectives with the situations: Confused, disappointed, glad, grateful, homesick, lonely, nervous, offended, relieved, shocked.

• How would you feel if...? 1 two people gave you completely opposite advice 2 the police told you that your flat had been burgled 3 a friend helped you a lot with a problem 4 you thought you had lost your passport but then you found it 5 you didn't get a present you were hoping to get 6 you went to study abroad and were missing your family 7 you moved to a new town and didn't have any friends 8 you were about to talk in public for the first time 9 your friend tells you she has just passed her driving test 10 a very good friend didn't invite you to his party

Match the strong adjectives with their definitions: astonished, delighted, desperate, devastated, exhausted furious, miserable, stunned, terrified, thrilled

• 1 very surprised and unable to move or react 2 extremely upset and shocked 3 very pleased 4 really tired 5 very excited 6 extremely scared 7 really angry 8 very surprised 9 with little hope, and ready to do anything to improve the situation 10 very unhappy

Complete the sentences with: terrified, devastated (2), freeze, stunned, desperate, grateful, thrilled, relieved.

• 1. She  saw  someone  outside  the  window  and ____________.
• 2. I am ____________ and  saddened  by this  news .
• 3. I'm ____________ for your kindness.
• 4. He was ________  to   see  Jeannie  reach  the other  side  of the  river   safely .
• 5. She  adored  her  elder   brother , and she was ___________when he  died .
• 6. Thousands of  people  have  left   their  ____________  villages  and  fled  to the  mountains .
• 7. The  situation  is ____________ - we have no  food , very little  water  and no  medical   supplies .
• 8. We were ___________ to hear our first grandchild had been born.
• 9. She's _____________  (that)  her  mother  might  find  out her  secret .

Answers

• 1. froze
• 2. stunned
• 3. grateful
• 4. relieved
• 5. devastated
• 6. devastated
• 7. desperate
• 8. thrilled
• 9. terrified

Respond the questions

1. How do most people react in a life or death disaster situation?

2. What does ‘stunned’ mean?

3. Why do people freeze in worst situations?

4. Make a situation to explain the word ‘relieved’.

5. When do people feel offended?

6. What does ‘devastated ’ mean?

7. What adjective do we use when you are extremely happy and excited?

Practice

• Make up your own sentences using presented vocabulary in written form to the chat window

Choose a question and answer in written form.

• 1. What are some negative consequences of stress?
• 2. Do you think people today are more stressed than in the past? Why?
• 3. What could companies do to make work more relaxing for their employees?
• 4. Is it always a good thing to be relaxed? Can you think of any occasions when it might be a bad thing to be too relaxed?

How effective do you think each of these methods of relaxation would be? Which three methods would you recommend people to relieve stress?

Reflection

• What have you learnt from the lesson?
• What is left unclear?
• What did you like the most about the lesson?