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Lesson 13
What's Wrong with Them?
Text A
I'm forty and married with two children. My trouble is that I haven't got enough to do. The kids are at school all day and the house is empty. So I eat chocolates, mostly. I've put on a lot of weight , but I can't give them up. I try as hard as I can but I just can't stop eating.
Doctor Bruce writes : I think Mrs Allen would be happier if she found a job, or if she got out of the house more and made some interesting friends. If she did that, I think the weight problem would be solved.
I'm sixteen. My trouble is my spotty skin. I've used all the creams on the market, but none of them do any good. And now I've met a marvellous girl. But I'm afraid to ask her to go out with me.
Doctor Bruce writes: Most teenagers suffer from this, of course, at some time or other. And it makes them very shy and self-conscious. 'What will other people think of me, if they see me like this?' they wonder. And it's a pity, because if they didn't worry so much, the skin trouble would soon disappear. Tom should learn a relaxation technique, yoga for example. Then I think he'd solve the problem very quickly.
My problem is time. I haven't enough of it. I sleep badly, and I wake up tired. I get indigestion every day and now I'm beginning to get bad headaches and pains in my chest. And don't tell me to take a holiday, doctor. I haven't got time.
Doctor Bruce writes ; If Mr Tyler had more common sense ,he'd find the time to have a holiday, or change his job. If he thought for a minute, he'd see that he can't go on like this. He should rest more. Then he'd work better. But that's the silly thing about men like him. They only believe they're ill when they're almost dead.
Text B
Dear Doctor :
I am forty-seven years old, male, and of average height and weight. My health generally seems quite good except for one problem. I wake up every morning feeling tired-so tired that I can hardly get out of bed.
All day at work I fight this tired feeling, just dragging myself around. When I get home from work around 5. 30, I have a good dinner with my family and then sit dow n to read the newspaper. But before I have finished reading the front page, I fall asleep in my chair and often sleep until 8. 30 or 9. 00 p.m.
When I wake up from this nap, I feel wonderful. I'm full of energy and ready to do a day's work. But at that hour there is nothing to do but watch television, which I do until after midnight.
Even at midnight I still do not feel sleepy, but I know I ought to get a good night's rest, so I take a sleeping pill and go to bed. It's often two o'clock in the morning before the pill puts me to sleep. Just a few hours after that I have to drag myself out of bed again to go to work. All day I feel too tired to work. I just drag myself around until it's time to go home.
Do you think there might be something wrong with my blood?
J. T. L.
When this letter appeared in the DEAR DOCTOR column of a newspaper, the doctor's reply zeras printed belozo it. Here is mhat the doctor answered :
Dear Mr L. :
I don't think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap after dinner.
If you didn't sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn't nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day.
You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity-a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get. together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at `your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good night's rest without taking a pill.
If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so,get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a leeping pill.
Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a warm drink. Eat a sandwich or a cookie. Then go back to bed. Even if you get only a few hour's sleep that night, you will feel better, in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.
The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and to avoid taking pills.
Additional Information
Yesterday's drizzle did not dampen Beijingers' enthusiasm in events marking the first national dental care day.
People of all ages crowded around medical experts who answered questions about dental care, and about toothbrushes and toothpaste.
A girl in her 20's approached the consulting desk set by the Oral Medical College of the Beijing University of Medical Sciences at the Xidan crossroad. She wanted to know if there was anything wrong with her teeth.
The girl dreamed about losing all her teeth , and , worse yet , her teeth ached when she awoke every morning.
After examining her mouth, a consultant said her teeth looked all right. Sometimes,however, tension makes peoples' teeth ache. Relax, she was told. And if that does not help, get a thorough dental examination.
Young parents wanted to know how to keep their children's teeth healthy.
One by one , the doctors answered their questions and outlined the best solutions for them.
More than 500 medical specialists from 18 districts and suburban counties across the municipality as well as over 200 teachers and students from the Oral Medical College of the beijing University of Medical Sciences took part in the sidewalk consultations.
And about 47 consulting stations were set up in major streets and the four big department stores at downtown Xidan, Wangfujing, Dongsi and the Dong'an Market.
In addition to offering suggestions, the medical workers also brought with them some simple medical equipment for fast dental checks and toothpaste and toothbrushes for sale.
Posters and propaganda blackboards were also set up in most primary and middle schools in beijing.
"I never thought there would be so much scientific knowledge on tooth brushing," said a middle-aged man. "National Dental Care day has taught me how important it is to take care of my teeth and how to do it," he said. According to information from the National Dental Diseases Prevention Group , similar activities were conducted yesterday in most of the country's provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
"A massive campaign to teach people how to care for their own teeth is the best way for China to deal with dental diseases in the face of a shortage of dental medical workers," Chen Minzhang, Minister of Public Health said on Tuesday at a symposium on dental care in beijing Stomatological Hospital.
At present, almost half of the population is suffering from dental caries (cavities).
While the figure is even higher among children, 80 per cent of urban children have dental caries and 60 per cent are so afflicted in rural areas.
In some cities, the rate with children may reach as high as more than 90 per cent.
The minister also pointed out that dental care should be taught in primary and middle schools and the vast rural areas in order to raise the whole nation's dental care standards.
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