Skim the article. Then check the statement you think will be the main idea.

Certain foods cause stress and depression.  Certain foods affect the way we feel

   We often eatto calm down or cheer up when we’re feeling stressed or depressed. Now new research suggests there’s a reason: Food changes our brain chemistry. These changes powerfully influence our moods. But can certain foods really make us feel better? Nutrition experts say yes. But what should we eat and what should we avoid? Here are the foods that work the best, as well as those that can make a bad day worse.

To Outsmart Stress

What’s good? Recent research suggests that foodss that are high in carbvohydrates, such as bread, rice, and pasta, can help you calm down. Researchers say that carbohydrates cause the brain to release a chemical called serotonin. Serotonin makes you feel better.

What’s bad? many people drink coffee when they feel stress. The heat is soothing and the caffeine in coffee might help you think more clearly. But if you drink too much, you may become even more anxious and irritable.

To Soothe the Blues

What’s good? Introduce more lean meat, chicken, seafood, and whole grains into your diet. These foods have a lot of selenium. Selenium is a mineral that helps people feel more relaxed and happy. You can also try eatiang a Brazil nut every day. One Brazil nut contains a lot of selenium.

What’s Bad? When they’re feeling low, many people turn to comfort foods – or foods that make them feel happy or secure. These often include things like sweet desserts. A chocolate bar may make you feel better at first, but within an hour you may feel worse than you did before.

Read the article. The sentences below are false. Correct each sentence to make it true.

1. We often eat when we feel calm.

2. You should drink coffee to relieve stress.

3. Foods like chicken and seafood are high in carbohydrates.

4. Carbohydrates cause the brain to release selenium.

5. Serotonin makes you feel more anxious and irritable.

6. People usually eat comfort foods when they’re feeling happy.

7. You shouldn’t eat more than one Brazil nut a day.

*. Chocolate will make you feel better.

Some people leave work until the lastminute, a lot of us can’t stop gossiping, and others always arrive to events late. These aren’t serious problems, but they are bad habits that can cause trouble. Habits like these waste your time and, in some cases, might even affect your relationships. What can you do about them? Ready this advice to end your bad habits for good!

I Can Do It Tomorrow

1. PROBLEM Do you leave projects until the very last minute and then stay up all night to finish them?

2. SOLUTION: People often put things off because they seem overwhelming. Try dividing the project into smaller steps. After you finish each task, reward yourself with a snack or a call to a friend.

Guess What I Just Heard

3. PROBLEM: Do you try not to talk about other people, but can’t help yourself? Do you often feel bad after you’ve done it?

4. SOLUTION: First, don’t listen to gossip. If someone tells you a secret, just say, “Really? I haven’t heard that.” Then think of some other news to offer – about yourself.

Never On Time

5. PROBLEM: Are you always late? Do your friends invite you to events a half hor early?

6. SOLUTION: Set an alarm clock. For example, if a movie starts at 8:00 and it takes 20 minutes to get to the theater, you have to leave at 7:40. Set the alarm to go off at the time you need to leave.

A Read the article. Then check the best description of the article.

1. The article starts with a description and then gives advice.

2. The article starts with a description and then gives facts.

3. The article gives the writer’s opinion.

B. Where do these sentences belong? Write the number of the paragraph where each sentence could go.

a. You can also ask a friend to come to lyour home before the event.

b. Ask yourself:”How would I feel if someone told my secrets?”

c. Do you ever make up excuses to explain your unfinished work?

d. Are you ever so late that the people you’re meeting leave?

e. You can also ask aa friend to call you to ask about your progress.

The phone fired off sparks, thefuel exploded and the man was incinerated, which is why Australian gas stations prohibit the use of cellular phones on their forecourts.

True? Well the first part isn’t, but the second is.

Neither HP manufacturers nor oil refiners seem to have found any proof that chatting while filling the tank can be explosive, though the cost may ignite tempers. But that hasn’t stopped the ban on HP use at gas stations Down Under.

The unfortunate, infamous and mythical Indonesian motorist takes his place in folklore along with the Australian family who took their elderly Indonesian relative on a car trip from Perth to Sydney.

This is one long journey across some very arid and empty country.

Along the way the visitor passed away. The flummoxed family wrapped their kin’s corpse in a sheet and tied it on the roof. They then headed for the nearest police station, more than 1,000 kilometers distant through searing heat.

Eventually they arrived and rushed inside to report the tragedy.

But when they came out ther car had been stolen! Neither vehicle nor relative has been seen since.

How do I … and just about every other Australian – know this story? Well a policeman’s cousin told it to me. Or was it his neighbor? Anyway, I’m sure the source was authentic. Mind you, the journey may have been from Adelaide to Darwin, though it could have been the other way around, and the deceased may have come from Malaysia.

What it does prove is that urban myths aren’t confined to Indonesia, though this country does seem to manufacture more than most with Australia running a close second.

The story of the South American venomous spider under the toilet seatin a jakarta restaurant is well known – but may have been made up by a rival eatery. Everyone knows it’s true, even if the restaurant’s name keeps getting changed. They got the “facts” from a waitress who saw the bite on the corpse. Sorry, her niece.

Also widely circulated is the yarn about the Indonesian worker who tumbled into a huge vat in a cool drink factory. His body wasn’t discovered for several days and by then thousands of bottles have been consumed round the archipelago. Funny this, but the same tragedy happened in Australia – except that the dissolved employee was woking in a brewery. Of course.

It’s astonishing how many are prepared to pass on weird SMS messages from unknown people, and by doingso give the stories unwarraanted authority.

Unfortunately not all are a giggle; rumors about church and mosque descrations, terrorist targetsw adn bomb lications have the potential to cause serious panic. If you haven’t had a few of these recently then your cell phone isn’t working or you’ve run out of credit.

Aphrodisiact always featurein urban legends, probably because reputable medicine manufacturers have to keep their claims in the realm of the proven. The latest Australian myth suggests a diet of crushed emu eggshells can lift a limp libido, but the scientific community remains unaroused. However, emu farmers are reaping profits.

Why do so many of us prefer the implaausible to the plalusible? Professional journalists spend most of thjeir time checking the accuracy of reports only to have them tossed aside in favor of the fantastic. Word of mouth is more potent than truth.

Supertitious neighbors say that in the trees outside my gate lurk spirits ready to punce on the unsuspecting at nightfall. Which is why everyone is indoors at dusk except the incredulous Westerner.

Modern men don’t believe such old Javanese tales. I’m more concerned with the power blackouts. I’ve been told these have nothing to do with the wet season or poor line maintenance.

The problem is space aliens sucking electricity out of the transformer on the corner to feed their death rays. A colleague whispered me about this, and he should know. Hiss father-in-law has a good friend whose aunt works in PLN.

(Duncan Graham, Jakarta Post)

I have to admit it’s pretty hard to compete with kids these days in terms of the latest gadgets and technology. I’m not really a technology freak, but I know enough to do a few tricks with my computer, which I mostly use to impress some of my colleaguess who are less up-to-date on technology.

My first computer did not have a Windows operating system. It was my brother’s old Macintosh Performa, with the on/off switch on the back of the monitor. Hence, you’ll understand my confusion when I got acquainted with a PC, which has so many different buttons to turn on so many different things. There were also so many mouse buttons to click on (three buttons are too many when you’re used to the Mac’s one)

But that wass in the past. Now, the user-friendly concept of the Macintosh, which used to inspire so much worship, has been vanquished (or some say it is at least in peril). The secrets of user-friendliness have veen absorbed by PC’s around the world. And my understanding of computers has grown, so that I now see how they bring the concept of “creative work” to another level.

I remember fondly the golden age of PCs. During those times of the day – such as three in the afternoon, when several parts of my body, like my ha;f-dead brain and my almost-closed eyes, do not function properly, I could give them a well-deserved rest by playing Solitaire. (By the way, Wes Cherry, the inventor of the game, claimed thathe was to blame for the economic recession in America).

But the comfort did not stop there.

Today, like most employees, I enjoy the enormous so-called benefits of having an Internet-connected PC in my little cramped cubicle. Just a quick look behind me – to make sure the boss isn’t around – and I can Alt-Tab to jump from the Microsoft Excell spreadsheet of the department’s weekly progress report to the Google – or Yahoo, if you prefer – home page. And of course, I don’t go to lthe corner of the 9-by-10-meter office to share the good news that the boss isn’t here. Instead I’ll have a Yahoo Messenger chat with my colleague who’s sitting right next to me.

Once we’re all confident the situation won’t hamper our technologically-advanced activities, we can exchange E-mailss with lots of >>>>>s, forwarded by a friend of a friend of a friends of a friend. And who knows, I might find out the E mail addresss of a charming girl from another department that I’ve been dying to know – but too shy to ask – from the long list of addresses in a forwarded E-mail. The joy of getting her E-mail address is more or less equal to the joy I would feel if I could get her phone number – the one she keeps secret from troublesome guys like me. Wny? I can make a good impression by sending her another forwarded E-mail that I think is the best out of my collection. Maybe the one with the cute cat pictures. Or the one about how we should be thankful each day, and we should share our gratitude with 15 other people. Ormaybe she’ll thank me for letting her know that somewhere an African nobleman with an incurable illness is eager to share his fortune. Yes, one of those will impress her.

Speaking ofemail addresses, and friends, I just remembered that it’s been five minutes since I last opened Friendster. Gotta check it now. but oh darn, the boss has returned, I got a warning on Messenger from a colleague who’s sitting right behind me. Better maximize the Power Point!

( David Togotorop, Jakarta Post, May 21, 2006)

Found among the entreaties to enhance certain physical shortcomings, there are tempting offers to provide a similar upgrade of my educational credeentials, to finally secure thatdoctorateI have always wanted through doing virtually nothing.

Tempting, for sure, but just like lunches., there is no such thing as a free degree. So I diligently hit the ‘delete” button, as my opportunity for a Ph.D in whatever subject. I choose vanishes with it.

But the one thingthe Internet diploma peddling-con artists understand is that an education is worth its weight in gold, and then some. It is the foundation for us to start our way up the corporate ladder, our foot in the door for the job of our dreams.

That’s why the TV images of public order officers laying waste to SMP 56 junior high school in South Jakarta – at the center of a disputed land swap deal – on the first day of Idul Fitri were so disturbing to me. Books were torn and tossed about, desks carted out in gleeful triumph, all done with blissful ignorance by the hired henchmen.

Of course, the administration has justified the move, sayingthe students will be given free tuition at their new schools, which, unfortunately, are a long trip across town from the present location.

So, the students will be going the distance for their educations, while the school property is designated to become a private business college, developed by a firm of business tycoon Abdul Latief.

At least we can be thankful thata towering new mall will not be gracing its premises, although that, of course, could change. Who knows, the city administration may one day include “retail therapy” under health services, and thus get the green light to take a few hospitals and convert them into health centers.

“If only some of those office buildings along Sudirman became education centers, and we had an education triangle for better human resources,” quipped one colleague.

I am sure Governor Sutiyoso will use his TV talk show, The Bang Yos Show, on Lativi (owned by none other than the aforesaid Abdul) to offer an explanation on why the kids have to make the move.

But I would venture that the interests of getting an education should take priority in the capital of a country which consistently ranks at or near the bottom in region-wide surveys of the sector.

For Bang Yos, as you well know, education is not just about learning the ABCs and stuff, but also the smarts and civilities that we need in being part of that much trumpeted social contract, what we need in taking two steps forward to create a better society.

That is why we really can’t blame those public order officers with their batons at hand. For, with the limited educational opportunities available to them, they probably know no better.

And I guess for the students of SMP 56, their education will have to be worth its “wait”in gold.

(Broto Dharma, Jakarta Post, November 28, 2004

We were so youngand naive, vowing to stay together no matter what. Then, I told you to find another man. Remember how shocked you were, and how you asked. “What is wrong with me?”

I could never reply honestly – like I said, it would have been too painful for both of us.

Now I can tell you the truth: I heard rumors that your father had been a member of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and I knew then that stayingwith you would have been equivalent to a death sentence. Not only for me, but for my civil servant father and my siblings in their careers

“There are so many girls. Are you blind?” my mother moaned.

My second girlfriend also had problems. I heard thather father had been fired from his job because he was a fluent speaker of the language of a communist country in Eastern Europe. You see, he had been a sailor when he was young. Later, I knew both of you were victims of slander, but bythen itwas too late.

Until Soeharto’s fall in 1998, treatment of alleged PKI members, their families, even their grandchildren, was horrendous and unrelenting – they were parish in their own country, nearly all doors closed to them.

Today, in the month of September, is a good time to confess and sface up to what we – individually and as a society – have done. This is our country’s “anti-communism’ month, in which, for more than 30 years, we zealously denounced the “reds”.

Every Sept 3, we were required to lower our flags to half-staff and watch athe tedious government film, tellingits version of the events of that fateful day in 1985, when the PKI allegedly tried to overthrow the government.

Of course, in this country, where important government documents can disappear without a trace, and “semua bisa diatur” (everything can be taken care of), it’s still a mystery what really transpired.

I was just a kid in 1965, living with my family in a small plantation town in Norht Sumatra, but we all witnessed the bloodbath. “The PKI can go to hell,” my elementary school teacher said.

I would see swollen corpses clogging the river, youths (where are they now?) dragging aalleged PKI members through the streets, past their horrified wives and children.

Now, I admit that I hated some of them; they had threatened to kill my father because he was a Catholic schoolteacher. And their children had also taunted us. Butwhen the shoe was on the other foot, we joined in trampling all over them.

Revenge is sweet.

“You’re PKI!’ was magic, the ultimate put-down. Many of the alleged PKI families moved away, desperate to start anew (we got their toys, and the belongings they had to leave behind). But the long arm of Soeharto’s internal security system kept track of them like some Orwellian nightmare made real.

I was thankful I had been on the “right” side when I was assigned to the the presidential palace for a foreign media organization and had to be “screened” many years later.

I was interrogated by an Army captain, who smisled broadly when I gave the required, desired answers. PKI? Eliminate the bastards from the face of the earth. Soeharto? A hero for being able to overcome the PKI threat and for all his selfless hard work.

Political opponents” Why, aren’t they one and the same with PKI?

I passed with flying colors, although he insisnuated I could now work as a spsy forforeighn power.

“Nothing can change my love for my country.” I sniffed back, itching to get my salary raise for making the grade.

So, that is my story. I didn’t want a red in my bed, or in my family, because of the problems it would bring with it. in my defense, I was not alone; we all did it, all of us too afraid and craven and self-interested to stand aup and say, “Enough”.

I apoligize to you, even as I hope you will not read this article. And I hope yougot the man that you deserved, who loved and cared for you for who you were, not the vicious, discriminatory label put on you.

Kornelius Purba, Jakarta Post, September 04, 2003)

Practises: almost anything

This classic classroom game is guaranteed to wake up the doziest class.

It can be used for anything from learning the alphabet to revising irregular verbs. There are many variations dependent only on the teacher’s imagination.

The basic idea is that the teacher covers the whiteboard randomly with words or letters. If, for example, you are teaching the alphabet, you might cover the board haphazardly with all the vowels and some of the more problematical consonants. It’s a good idea to repeat some of the letters, perhaps in upper and lower case.

The class is divided into two teams. One team is given a blue whiteboard marker. The other team is given a red marker. The teams line up on either side of the board with the front students holding the markers. The teacher calls out a letter and the front students try to locate it and draw a ring round it. Change students every call or every three calls etc. The team with the most number of rings at the end wins.

Some possible topics (can be mixed):

• alphabet
• numbers
• dates
• times
• irregular verbs (eg write “v1″ and call out “v2″ or vice versa)
• prepositions

 Objective: lesson revision If you tutor a student one on one then this game is perfect for revision of your previous lessons, as well as finding out how much the student may already know. It’s a form of Naughts and Crosses or as the Americans would call it – Tick Tack Toe. Before your lesson write down as many questions that you can think of to ask your student and number them 1 to whatever. What is the simple past tense word for Run? What is an Abstract noun? etc… Ask your student to draw the nine squared naughts and crosses grid by overlaping two horizontal and two vertical lines. | | | | ——-|——-|——- | | | | ——-|——-|——- | | | | Let’s say, you thought of 60 questions to ask your student. Ask your student to write down on a piece of paper the numbers 1 to 60. The student first chooses a number from their list of numbers. Let’s say for example, the student chooses number 3, then question number 3 on your question list is the question you will ask them. Note: after the student chooses a number they have to mark it off their list, so that, that question can only be asked once. You ask the student the question. If they get it right then they get to place their naught or cross, whichever symbol they choose, in whichever square they like on the grid. But, if the student gets it wrong then the teacher places their symbol in whichever square they like. If the student gives an incorrect answer then don’t forget to tell them the correct answer afterwards. The game goes on like this until the winner gets three symbols in a row. | | X | | ——-|——-|——- | X | | | ——-|——-|——- | | X | | This game is great for the teacher because it gives them an idea of how much the student has retained from previous lessons, and also, what they already know. My student likes playing this game because she beats this teacher – a lot! Contributed by: Tom

Practises: listening, speaking

The teacher tells a story about an animal, but repeatedly asks the students to guess what, why, where, what next etc. Example:

Each time the students “guess” something, there is another question. In reality there is no original story. It is the students who unknowingly invent it.

Of course, the “story” could be about other subjects too, and used at other levels

Practises: listening, speaking

The teacher tells a story about an animal, but repeatedly asks the students to guess what, why, where, what next etc. Example:

Each time the students “guess” something, there is another question. In reality there is no original story. It is the students who unknowingly invent it.

Of course, the “story” could be about other subjects too, and used at other levels

(www.englishclub.com