四级辅导：英语四级阅读（4）

　　While explaining stress management to an audience， the lecturer raised a glass of water and asked How heavy is this glass of water？ Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

　　The lecturer replied， The absolute weight doesnt matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute， thats not a problem. If I hold it for an hour， Ill have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day， youll have to call an ambulance. In each case， its the same weight， but the longer I hold it， the heavier it becomes.

　　He continued， And thats the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time， sooner or later， as the burden becomes increasingly heavy， we wont be able to carry on.

　　As with the glass of water， you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When were refreshed， we can carry on with the burden.

　　So， before you return home tonight， put the burden of work down. Dont carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens youre carrying now， let them down for a moment if you can.

　　Here are 5 simple ways to increase your peace of mind：

　　1. Do your most daunting task first thing in the morning.

　　Its tempting to start your day with easy tasks. Dont. Pushing a daunting task back is like holding a glass of water in an outstretched arm. At first nothing happens， but if you do it for hours or even days， you will soon feel the stress. Do the most annoying task first thing in the morning， and enjoy increased productivity and peace of mind for the rest of the day.

　　2. Let go of things you dont control.

　　You make plans to go outside with friends. But at the last minute， it starts raining. Whats your reaction？

　　Some people get upset and angry， and find the nearest person and start complaining to them. Its not FAIR that its raining. This _always_ happens to me！

　　Thats not going to accomplish anything - the rain wont stop just because you throw a tantrum. The rain doesnt care. So make the best of the situation. What I do in such situation is go for a quick walk in the park （because rain has its own awesomeness）， or just lie in bed reading a good Terry Pratchett book， listening to the rain beating on my window.

　　Make the most of what you do control， and dont worry about what you dont.

　　3. Dont worry about what others are thinking.

　　I used to be very self-conscious about my dancing. I would rarely go out with my friends， and even if I did， I wouldnt dance， instead just standing awkwardly by the side， because I was worried of what others would think.

　　Then， one day in high school， I decided that enough was enough. So the next time I went out with my friends， I just went to the dance floor， and danced like nobody was watching. And the funny thing was - nobody cared. In fact， people only liked me MORE， because I was having fun.

　　Dont worry about what others are thinking of you - most likely theyre too busy wondering what others are thinking of them.

　　4. List 3 things you love about your situation right now.

　　I first shared this technique with the Positivity Blog readers in my post The Plague of Happiness Ever After （its got a dragon and everything in it， read it！）

　　Just list 3 simple things about any part of your life that you love. Like 3 simple things I love about the room Im in right now， or 3 simple things I love about this week， or anything else.

　　This is a great technique if youre ever bored while stuck in traffic， or waiting in the grocery store checkout lane. You can immediately transform boredom into happiness and peace of mind！

　　5. Walk to a window， look outside， and take a single deep breath.

　　I got this technique from the Zen master Mary Jaksch. Just walk to a window， look outside， and then take a single deep breath， focusing only on that breath and nothing else in the whole world. This technique sounds extremely simple， but you wont believe how much it can instantaneously increase your peace of mind.

　　And because this is the last tip， you can try it immediately when you finish reading this blog post. Just walk to a window， look outside， and take a single deep breath， focusing on the air going in and out of your lungs， and nothing else.

　　「内容简介」

　　这篇文章以一个讲师解释压力管理的例子开篇，由此引出释放压力的五个小方法。

　　接下来文章一一讲述了这五个简单方法，将艰巨的任务放在早晨；放开你不能控制的事情；不要过分在意别人的看法；列出你喜爱的三件事情和走向窗外，深呼吸。

　　最后，文章也鼓励读者试一试深呼吸，体验这种平静的时刻。

　　「词汇短语讲解」

　　①absolute weight 绝对重量，实重

　　②carry on with sth. 继续进行某事

　　③throw a tantrum 发脾气

　　④go for a walk 去散步

　　go for 去找；努力获取；被认为；主张；拥护

　　go in for 赞成；参加；从事，爱好

　　⑤be self-conscious about 对感到难为情的

　　⑥instantaneously 副词，即刻地，马上地

　　「快速阅读支招」

　　这篇文章难度不大，条理清晰，虽然文章篇幅有点儿长，但在快速阅读时我们可以先抓住文章主题句，了解整篇文章大致要讲的是stress management，即压力管理，接下来就是看清五个小标题，如果出现细节题，再根据题目去相应的标题下面找内容即可。