Unit 4 weather and mood

1.Read and translate the text

Hippocrates*, the father of medicine, observed in the 4^th century BC that “whoever wishes to pursue the science of medicine must first investigate the seasons of the year and occurs in them.”

People who suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) are depressed, predisposed to over-eat and need a great deal of sleep. The disorder is linked directly to the amount of light travelling through the optic nerve. The acronym first hit the headlines in the early 80s. Many SAD sufferers have been successfully treated using light therapy.

Countries in the higher altitudes (including Sweden, Finland, Alaska, Iceland) often suffer psychological and sociological problems through lack of sunlight, with high rates of suicide, depression, and alcoholism. The inhabitants of the world’s most northerly city – Tromso, Norway – have to endure two month in darkness. The result is bio-rhythmic confusion: many people can’t sleep, feel as they have jet lag, put on weight and so on.

Local winds such as le Mistral can have effect on mood. Le Mistral is a strong, dry, cold wind that blows through the Rhone Valley and the South of France to the Mediterranean. Symptoms include tiredness, headaches, insomnia, and bad temper.

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* Hippocraticus f. Hippocrates, Gk physician of the 5th c. BC

Vocabulary

Predisposed – схильний

insomnia – безсоння

bad temper – поганий настрій, характер

tiredness – втомленість

suicide –самогубство

optic nerve –оптичний нерв

confusion – суматоха

disorder – розлад

2. Answer the following questions:

1. Who is the father of medicine?

2. What did Hippocrates discover?

3. What is SAD?

4. When did this acronym appear?

5. What are SAD symptoms?

6. Have you ever suffered from the SAD?

7. What are the ways of curing SAD?

3. Say which of the statements are right and which are wrong

1. Hippocrates was the first who used the acronym SAD.

2. People who suffer from SAD are predisposed to over-eat and need a great deal of sleep.

3. The disorder is connected with the amount of sweet food a person eats during the year.

4. Seasonal Affective Disorder was discussed mostly in the early 80s.

5. SAD sufferers have been successfully treated using light therapy.

6. Countries in the lower altitudes suffer psychological and sociological problems.

7. Inhabitants of Sweden and Finland don’t suffer from SAD because they get enough light.

8. Local winds can also have effect on mood.

9. Le Mistral is a strong, wet and cold wind.

10. Symptoms of SAD are: tiredness, headaches, insomnia, and bad temper.

4. Find synonyms to the following words:

undergo, happen, self-murder, treatment.

5. Fill in the blanks, using the following words:

disorder, SAD, suicide, suffer, headaches, symptom, Hippocratic, dark moods

1. He suffers from … when it is raining.

2. Thanks God his attempt to … was unsuccessful.

3. Very often inhabitants of large cities … from noise.

4. This climate is apt to … the liver.

5. Around two million people in the United Kingdom suffer from SAD, but the good news is that shaking off those … is not as hard as it seems.

6. A minor disorder can be caused by ….

7. … oath is an oath formerly taken by doctors affirming their obligations and proper conduct.

8. He attempted to pass him without any .... of recognition.