节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2014-01-10
难易度:Medium
关键字:worthwhile, identify, mental illness, fatigue, darkness, worthless,
symptom
Hello again, friends.
Well, today we are talking about a serious threat faced by many people around
the world.
You might feel blue sometimes when you are sad or depressed.
Well, this is a hidden threat that casts a dark mood over those who are
suffering from it.
At the end of the first section of the reading, our author was finally able to
put a name to this blueness... or this darkness - depression.
She talked to her parents about her feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness,
and they were able to help her.
Well, let's continue with the next part of the reading today to learn more about
this illness and how to identify it.
Then we'll join Michelle in the Language Lab to learn some important words from
today's lesson.
(Music).
Depression Part 1: Naming the Darkness.
What is depression?
Depression is a mental illness that drains your energy and prevents you from
enjoying life.
It can keep you from succeeding at school or work or from connecting with
others.
At its worst, depression can even lead to suicide.
Symptoms of depression include:
Losing interest in activities you used to enjoy.
Difficulty concentrating.
Difficulty sleeping.
Changes in appetite causing weight gain or loss.
Fatigue or lack of energy.
Feeling guilty, worthless or hopeless.
Thoughts of suicide.
OK.
(Chinese).
And let's see what our teachers are doing.
Now that we have named the darkness, the author helps us understand what
depression is.
That's right.
Depression is not just an illness or sickness like a cold or the flu.
It is a mental illness, which means it affects the way that you think and also
the way you react to other people and to situations in life.
The author writes that one of the effects of depression is that it drains your
energy.
This kind of makes me think of a battery that has been completely used up.
That's right. That's a good way to put it.
If energy has been drained from something, that means that it no longer has any
power and is unable to continue working in the proper way.
And batteries in electronics are good examples.
You could say watching videos on my iPhone drains the battery very quickly.
It sure does.
And as we see in the article, it can also be used to refer to people.
You could say writing lots of reports drains my mental energy.
Or her energy was completely drained after running a marathon.
After running a marathon, I imagine I would feel very drained.
Sometimes you can say that, too.
I just feel drained after doing so many things today.
Well, depression can also drain a person's energy so that they no longer want to
do anything.
The person doesn't feel like they have any motivation or... or purpose in life.
It can also prevent a person from doing well at school or their job, which can
cause major problems with their teachers or their boss.
So the article also states that it can keep a person from connecting with
others.
Now what does that mean, Carolyn, to... to connect with others?
Well, if you are able to connect with others, then you are able to form
friendships.
You can have good relationships with your classmates or co-workers, and you
enjoy spending time with other people.
So for example, you could say it's really easy for Joe to connect with others.
He'll have plenty of new friends by the end of the week.
Or when you work on a team, it's important to be able to connect with others and
have a good relationship with your teammates.
Now depression can become a very serious mental illness.
If you've been following along in your magazine, you'll see a sentence that
states: At its worst, depression can even lead to suicide.
This is a very serious matter.
But before we continue learning about the symptoms of depression, we want to
take some time to look at that sentence with Liz in the Grammar Gym.
Hello, friends.
Welcome to the Grammar Gym.
My name is Liz.
In our lesson today, the writer says:
At its worst, depression can even lead to suicide.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Today we're looking at the phrase: at its worst.
It means that something is in its most terrible state that it can possibly be.
So in today's sentence, the writer is saying that depression can be so terrible
it can even lead to suicide.
Use this phrase "at its worst" when you want to describe what something is or
was like when it's in its most terrible form.
For example:
With no government support, the school's financial situation is at its worst.
Or: This typhoon is this season's weather at its worst.
We can also change this phrase "at its worst" to "at his or her worst" to
describe a person.
For example: The singer is known for his bad temper. He is always at his worst
right before a concert.
We can even use this phrase to talk about ourselves. For example:
I'm at my worst whenever I have to deal with stress.
If you turn to today's Grammar Tip section, you'll find more example sentences
there.
That's it for today.
This is Liz from the Grammar Gym.
See you next time.
Thanks so much, Liz.
Well, there are many symptoms that can help you identify depression, such as
losing interest in activities you used to enjoy.
That is a really big one.
If you feel like you just don't enjoy doing things that you used to like, like
playing sports, reading books, hanging out with friends, going to movies, that's
all part of it.
And it can even affect your concentration.
So if you have difficulty concentrating or sleeping, that is another sign of
depression.
Right. These are all different signs.
Speaking of interests, I am just thinking, I love to play drums.
I wonder if there would ever be a period of time where I just didn't feel like
playing drums.
Maybe that would be a sign that I was feeling a little bit depressed or
something.
So what things are you interested in or usually interested in?
And maybe you have lost an interest in that for a short period of time.
That could be a sign of depression or something.
I hope it's not too serious.
But another sign is changes in appetite that can cause weight gain or weight
loss, or even having a lack of energy.
And there are other major symptoms that involve how you feel about yourself,
such as feeling guilty, worthless, hopeless or having thoughts of suicide.
So the way that you think about yourself can also be an indicator.
And so we can see, this can become very serious if it's not addressed.
Of course we don't want anyone to be depressed,
so we hope that if you or someone you know feels this way that you will find
someone to talk about it.
That's right.
And while we've been talking about this mental illness today,
Steve and Ken actually have a very different kind of depression they want to
tell us about - the Great Depression.
Let's go to the Information Cloud and see what they have to say on this topic.
Our lesson today focuses on depression, an important and serious subject.
But why don't we talk about another depression - the Great Depression.
Contrary to what you might think, the Great Depression is not related to one's
emotional state, but it describes an economic state.
If you see the Great Depression written with the capital G and capital D,
then you need to know it is referring to the great economic depression of the
1930s.
That's right.
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that happened in
the decade before World War II.
In most countries, the Depression started in about 1929 and lasted until the
late 1930s.
It was the longest, most widespread and deepest economic depression of the 20th
century.
And it is precisely because of this that we should be careful not to use the
phrase "great depression" to describe someone's psychological state.
To avoid confusion, you can say somebody is suffering from a severe or serious
depression instead of a great depression.
(Chinese).
Well, thank you so much, Steve and Ken.
Yes, it's true, there are different kinds of depressions.
And an economic depression is one big kind of depression.
There have been many economic depressions throughout history.
But the one in the 1930s was indeed a great depression.
And here the word "great" means very big, so it was a very big depression that
impacted a lot of people.
But here we're going to enjoy something else that's great, as in wonderful, our
Editor's Summary with Linda.
So let's join her now.
Depression.
It often leaves one with feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.
But what exactly is it?
It is a form of mental illness that takes away your energy along with the joy
out of living.
Some symptoms include fatigue, difficulty concentrating and sleeping, and even
thoughts of suicide.
Thanks a lot, Linda.
Well, depression is not an easy thing to talk about.
Um, but it is, of course, important to talk about your feelings with people.
And uh, I think it's important to share your experiences as well.
Carolyn, have you or anyone you know suffered from depression?
Well, I haven't personally suffered from depression.
But I know a lot of people and it's a really difficult question to answer
because they don't want to talk about it.
But there are definitely times that some of my friends have felt very dark.
They've had a dark mood come over them, and they were depressed.
And it took a long time for them to work through it.
But the first step for them to get better was to realize what was wrong that
they had depression and it's a mental illness that could be treated.
That's right.
You know, I've also known people that were struggling with depression.
Well, I knew someone... I knew of someone, I would see him walking by every now
and then, and he always looked sad.
Sometimes I thought maybe I should say hi, but I never did.
And I found out later in life that he actually took his own life, he committed
suicide.
And I wish I had reached out and said hi or smiled or done something.
I have another friend whose mom told me later that if... that if I had not
reached out to her, she might have committed suicide.
So I did make an influence... an impact in someone's life.
I think it's important to reach out to people of all kinds.
Every kind of person in your life, you are there for that person.
You can make a difference.
Wow, Gabe. Those are really good stories.
And it is amazing that the difference of just a small smile, just smiling,
saying hello, it can really make a difference in a person's life, not just their
day.
Well, we want everyone to be happy and healthy, and that includes mentally.
That's right.
So I hope today's lesson has been helpful for you and that you will join us
again tomorrow as we continue talking about this hidden threat.
So get out, enjoy life, and we will see you tomorrow right here on Studio
Classroom.
See you then.