WHAT IS STRESS
The term stress has been defined in several different ways. sometimes the term is  applied to stimuli or events in our environment that make physical and emotional  demands on us, and sometimes it is applied to our emotional and physical reactions  to such stimuli. in this discussion, we will refer to the environmental stimuli or  events as stressors and to the emotional and physical reactions as stress.
压力这个词已经有几种不同的定义。有时候这个术语适用于我们环境中的刺激或事件，这些刺激或事件会对我们产生身体和情感方面的要求，有时也适用于我们对这种刺激的情绪和身体反应。在这个讨论中，我们将环境刺激或事件称为压力，并将情绪和身体上的反应称为压力。
Many sorts of events be stressors, including disasters, such as hurricanes or  tornadoes; major life events, such as divorce or the loss of a job; and daily hassles,  such as having to wait in line at the supermarket when you need to be somewhere else  in 10 minutes. What all this events have in common is that they interfere with or  threat our accustomed way of life. when we encounter such stressors, we must pull  together our mental and physical resources in order to deal with the challenge. How  well we succeed in doing so will determine how serious a toll the stress will take  on our mental and physical well-being.
许多事件都是压力源，包括灾难，如飓风或龙卷风; 重大生活事件，如离婚或失业; 每天都有麻烦，比如当你要在10分钟内到别的地方去却不得不在超市排队等。所有这些事件都有共同之处，就是它们干涉或威胁我们习惯的生活方式。当我们遇到这样的压力时，我们必须整合我们的精神和物质资源来应对挑战。我们如何成功地做到这一点将决定压力对我们身心健康将产生多大的影响。
Reacting to stressors
The Canadian physiologist Hans Seyle has been the most influential writer on stress.  Seyle  proposed that both humans and other animals react to any stressor in three  stages, collectively known as the general adaptation syndrome. the first stage, when  the person or animal becomes aware of the stressor is the alarm reaction. In this  stage the organism becomes highly alert and aroused, energized by a burst of  epinephrine. After the alarm reaction comes the stage of resistance , as the organism  tries to adapt to the stressful stimulus or to escape from it. If these efforts are  successful, the state of the organism returns to normal. If the organism cannot adapt  to the continuing stress, however, it enters a stage of exhaustion or collapse.
加拿大生理学家Hans Seyle在压力方面一直是最有影响力的作家。塞尔提出，人类和其他动物在三个阶段对任何压力源作出反应，统称为一般适应综合症。第一阶段，当人或动物意识到应激源时，就是警报
反应。在这个阶段，机体变得高度警觉和激起，并被一阵肾上腺素所激发。当警报反应进入抵抗阶段后，机体试图适应压力刺激或逃避压力。如果这些努力成功，机体的状态就会恢复正常。然而，如果生物体不能适应持续的压力，它就进入衰竭或崩溃的阶段。
Seyle developed his model of the general adaptation syndrome as a result of research  with rats and other animals. In rats, certain stressors, such as painful tail-pulling  consistently led to the same sorts of stress reactions in humans, however, it is  harder to predict what will be stressful to a particular person at a particular time.  subjective
person's the on depends stressful be will stimulus particular a Whether
appraisal of that stimulus. How threatening is it How well have I handled this sort  of thing in the past how well will I be able to handle it this time for one person,  being called on to give a talk in front of a class is a highly stressful stimulus  that will immediately produce such elements as a pounding heart and a dry mouth.
for another person, being called on to give a talk is not threatening at all, but  facing a deadline to complete a term paper is extremely stressful. in humans,  moreover, the specific stress reaction is likely to vary widely; some stressful  situations give rise predominantly to emotions of fear, some give ri
se to anger,  and some give rise to helplessness and depression.
由于对老鼠和其他动物的研究，Seyle开发了他的一般适应综合征模型。在老鼠身上，某些压力因素，比如痛苦的尾巴拉扯，一直导致和人类出现同样的压力反应，然而，在特定的时间很难预测什么会对某个人造成压力。一个特定的刺激是否会产生压力取决于该人对该刺激的主观评价。这有多大威胁我过去如何处理这类事情这次我能处理多好对于一个人来说，在班级面前讲话是一种高度压力的刺激，会立即产生心跳和口干等元素。对另一个人来说，讲话根本不是威胁，但是面对完成学期论文的期限是非常紧张的。此外，在人类中，特定的应激反应可能差异很大；一些压力的情况主要是恐惧情绪，一些引起愤怒，一些引起无助和沮丧。
Reading 2
COPING WITH STRESS 应对压力
It is Friday evening and two young lawyers get phone calls at home. The trial data  for an important case has been moved up. Both of the lawyers will now have to prepare  a report for the case by Monday morning. It is a threatening situation for both.  Each must do extensive research and write a complex document of some 40 pages, all  in a single weekend. furthermore, each knows that her work will be evaluated by the  firm's partners, and how well she does may greatly in fluence her future in the
  firm.
现在是星期五晚上，两位年轻律师在家接到了电话。一个重要案件的审判数据已被公布。现在两位律师都必须在星期一早上准备一份报告。这对双方都是一种威胁。每个人都必须进行广泛的研究，并在一个周末内完成大约40页的复杂文档。此外，每个人都知道她的工作将由公司的合作伙伴进行评估，而且她做得如何可能极大地影响她在公司的未来。react to翻译
One of the lawyers finds the situation extremely stressful; she feels tremendous  anxiety, experiences headaches and stomach upset, and has difficulty working. she  somehow manages to produce a report, but she is not at all happy with it. the other  lawyer, although she too feels the pressure of the situation, sees it not so much  as a threat but as a challenge-an opportunity to show how good she is. she moves  into the firm's offices for the weekend and sleeping only three hours a night,  completes a brilliant report with a clear mind and a surge of energy. as this example  helps illustrate, stress is caused not so much by events themselves as by the ways  in which people perceive and react to events.
其中一位律师认为情况极其紧张; 她感到非常焦虑，经历头痛，胃部不适，而且很难工作。
她以某种方式设法做出报告，但她对此并不满意。另一位律师虽然也感受到了这种情况的压力，但并不
认为这是一种威胁，而是一种挑战 - 一个显示她有多好的机会。她周末进入公司办公室，每晚只睡三个小时，精神清醒，精力充沛，完成了一篇精彩的报告。正如这而是由人们对事件的感知和反应的压力不是由事件本身引起的，个有力的例子说明的那样，
方式引起的。
Degree of control控制程度
An important influence on people's ability to cope with stressful situations is  the degree of control that they feel they can exercise over the situation. both  animals and humans have been found to cope better with painful or threatening stimuli  when they feel they can exercise some degree of control rather than being passive  and helpless victims. such a sense of control can help minimize the negative  consequences of stress, both psychological and physical. in one well-known  experiment, Jay Weiss administered electric shocks to pairs of rats. In each pair,  one of the two animals was given a degree of control over the situation; it could  reach through a hole in the cage and press a panel that would turn off the shock  both for itself and for its partner. Thus, the two rats received exactly the same  number of shocks, but one was passive and helpless, and the other was in control.  after a continuous 21-hour session, the animals were sacrificed and their stomachs  examined for ulcers. those rats that could exert control had much less ulceration  than their helpless partners.
人们应对压力的能力的一个重要影响是他们觉得自己可以对局势进行控制的程度。当动物和人类觉得自己可以行使某种程度的控制权，而不是被动和无助的受害者时，动物和人类都能更好地应对痛苦或威胁的刺激。这种控制感可以帮助最大限度地减少心理和生理压力的负面影响。在一个众所周知的实验中，杰伊·韦斯（Jay Weiss）对成对的老鼠进行电击。在每一对中，两只动物中的一只受到一定程度的控制，它可以通过笼子里的一个洞，并按下一个面板，可以为自己和它的伙伴关闭震动。因此，这两只老鼠受到的冲击数量完全相同，但是一只被动无助，另一只控制住了。连续21小时后，将动物处死并检查其胃部是否溃疡。那些可以控制的老鼠比他们无助的伴侣溃疡要少得多。
The ability to control painful stimuli often benefits humans, too. For example, the  loud music coming into your ears from your iPod is probably not stressful; in fact,  it's quite enjoyable. but the same music coming from your neighbor's house can be  terribly and stressful. merely knowing that one can control a noise makes it less  bothersome. That's one reason why your loud music does not bother you-you know you  can turn it off.
控制疼痛刺激的能力也经常使人类受益。例如，从你的iPod进入你的耳朵大声的音乐可能没有压力，事实上，这是相当愉快的。但是来自你邻居家的同样的音乐可能会让你非常紧张。只知道一个人能控制噪音会减少麻烦。这就是为什么你的嘈杂音乐不会打扰你 - 你知道你可以把它关掉。
Predictability可预测性
Even when you cannot control them, unpleasant events tend to be less stressful if  they are  predictable -  if you at least know when they will occur. This was  demonstrated by Weiss in another study with rats. One group of rats heard a buzzer  about 10 seconds before they would receive a shock; although the animals could not  escape the shock at least they had a chance to prepare themselves for the expected  pain. A second group of rats received no such warnings; The shocks came unpredictably.  Weiss found that the rats that were forewarned of the shocks developed fewer ulcers  than the rats that were not forewarned. This finding has parallels in human life.
is
it when traumatic less usually is example, for one, loved a of death the
anticipated than when it is unexpected. On a less tragic level, many students find  surprise quizzes to be more upsetting than scheduled quizzes that they can prepare  for.
即使你无法控制他们，如果不愉快的事件是可预测的，那么往往会减轻压力 - 如果你至少知道他们什么时候会发生。 Weiss在另外一项关于老鼠的研究中证实了这一点。一组老鼠在接到电击前约10秒钟听到蜂鸣声，虽然动物至少不能逃避震荡，但他们有机会为预期的痛苦做好准备。第二组老鼠没有收到这样的警告; 冲击变得难以预料。 Weiss发现，预先警告的老鼠发生的溃
疡比没有预先警告的老鼠要少。这一发现与人类生活相似。例如，所爱的人的死亡在预期的时候通常没有比在意想不到的时候痛苦。在不那么悲惨的水平上，许多学生发现突击测验比他们可以准备的定期测验更令人不安。
Personality factors个性因素
Are some people generally better than others at coping with stress Research suggests  that the answer is yes - that there is a certain kind of person who has a relatively  stress-resistant personality.  The leading researcher in this field has been  Suzanne Kobasa.  found that people who cope well with stress tend to have three  characteristics: They are committed to what they are doing, they feel in control  (rather than powerless), and they welcome moderate amounts of change and challenge.  In studies of people facing stressful situations, Kobasa and her associates found  that those with stress-resistant personalities- that is, those who are high in  commitment, control, and challenge-experience fewer physical illnesses than those  whose personalities are less hardly.
有些人一般比其他人更好地应付压力吗研究表明答案是肯定的 - 有某种人具有相应对抗压力
的性格。这个领域的领先研究者是Suzanne Kobasa。 Kobasa博士发现，处理压力的人倾向于有三个特点：他们致力于他们正在做的事情，他们感到可控的（而不是无能为力），他们欢迎适度的变化和挑战。
在面对压力情况的人们的研究中，Kobasa和她的同事发现那些有抗性的个性- 即那些高度承诺，控制和挑战的人 - 比那些性格不那么强壮的人经历更少的身体疾病。
Until quite recently, it was generally believed that to maintain good health people  should strive to avoid stressors in their lives. Such a strategy can be quite limiting,  however. The desire to avoid stress may also lead people to avoid potentially  beneficial changes in their lives, such as job changes or promotions. Moreover, the  attempt to avoid stress is often unrealistic. How, for example, can a person avoid  such shocks as a parents death in fact, if people do not confront a certain amount  of stress in their lives, they will end up being bored and unstimulated, which also  can be physically harmful. In the last analysis, each person needs to come to terms  with stress in his or her own way, sometimes trying to avoid it, but sometimes  accepting it or even seeking it out as a challenge to be mastered.
直到最近，人们普遍认为，要保持良好的健康，人们应该努力避免生活中的压力。然而，这样的策略可能相当有限。避免压力的愿望也可能导致人们避免潜在的有益的生活变化，如工作变动或晋升。而且，避免压力的尝试往往是不现实的。例如，一个人如何避免父母死亡这样的冲击事实上，如果人们在生活中不面对一定的压力，他们最终会感到无聊和没有受到刺激，这也会造成身体上的伤害。在最后的分析中，每个人都需要用自己的方式来应对压力，有时试图避免压力，但有时候会接受压力，甚至把压力看作是一个挑战。
Reading 3．
STRESS AND ILLNESS压力和疾病
In many stressful situations, the body's response can improve our performance –
we become more alert, and better able to take effective action. But when stress is  encountered continually, the body's reactions are more likely to be harmful than  helpful to us. As will be seen later in this unit, the production of stress-related  hormones seems to make people more susceptible to heart disease. And stress reactions  can reduce the disease-fighting effectiveness of the body's immune system, thereby  increasing susceptibility to illnesses, ranging from colds to cancer. Other diseases  that can result at least in part from stress include arthritis, asthma, migraine  headaches, and ulcers. Workers who experience the greatest amount of job pressure  have been found to be especially likely to suffer from a large number of illnesses.  Moreover, many studies have shown that people who have experienced major changes
in their lives are at an unusually high risk for a variety of illnesses.
在许多紧张的情况下，身体的反应可以改善我们的表现 - 我们变得更加警觉，并且能够更好地采取有效
行动。但是当压力持续不断，身体的反应更有可能是有害的，而不是对我们有帮助。正如本单元稍后将会看到的那样，压力相关激素的产生似乎使人们更易患心脏病。而压力反应会降低人体免疫系统的抗病能力，从而增加感染疾病的可能性，从感冒到癌症。其他可导致压力的疾病包括关节炎，哮喘，偏头痛和溃疡。发现工作压力最大的工作人员特别容易患上大量的疾病。此外，许多研究表明，那些经历过重大变化的人，患上各种疾病的风险非常高。
As an example of stress-induced illness, take the case of stomach ulcers, small  lesions in the stomach wall that afflict one out of every twenty people at some point  in their lives. Ulcers are a common disorder among people who work in occupations  that make heavy psychological demands from assembly line workers to air-traffic  controllers. In such cases, stress tends to be the culprit. Stress leads to increased  secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid normally helps to  break down foods during digestion, but in excess amounts it can eat away at the  stomach lining, producing ulcers.
以压力引起的疾病为例，以胃溃疡为例，胃壁中的小病灶在生命中某一时刻每20人中就有一人受到折磨。在人们的工作中，从从事流水线工作人员到空中交通管制员都有强烈的心理需求，他们中溃疡是一种常见的疾病。在这种情况下，压力往往是罪魁祸首。压力导致胃酸分泌增加。盐酸通常有助于在消化过程中分解食物，但是过量的话，它可以在胃里吃掉，产生溃疡。
Stress and cancer 压力与癌症
One of the least understood diseases, and partly for that reason one of the most feared, is cancer, which is the second leading cause of death in America. Medical  scientists and researchers are still trying to understand the biological mechanisms  of cell behavior that underlie the onset and development of cancer. However, studies  seem to suggest that there may be links between emotions and cancer.
最不了解的、部分由于这个原因最令人害怕的疾病之一是癌症，这是美国的第二大死亡原因。医学科学家和研究人员仍在试图了解细胞行为的生物学机制，这是癌症发病和发展的基础。然而，研究似乎表明情绪和癌症之间可能有联系。
These links involve the functioning of the body's immune system, a collection of  billions of cells that travel through the bloodstream and defend the body against  invasion by foreign agents, including bacteria and viruses, and against cells that  become cancerous. Psychological factors can influence immune functioning and the  field of research on these influences is called psychoimmunology. It is believed

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