SEMINAR 9 SPORTS MEDICINE, ACADEMIC READING A) THE NERVOUS SYSTEM The central nervous system controls the sensory and motor functions of the body. Diseases of this system therefore lead to loss of some of these functions. Motor loss: Weakness (loss of power), paralysis (complete loss of power), tremor (involuntary rhythmic movement), abnormal gait (unusual manner of walking). THE MOTOR SYSTEM Examination of the motor system should include assessment of the following: - muscle bulk (amount of muscle tissue) - muscle tone (amount of tension in a muscle when it is relaxed). Tone can be increased (spasticity), or decreased (flaccidity). - muscle power (strength) - coordination (the ability to use several muscles at the same time to perform complex actions) - gait (manner of walking) - reflexes - involuntary movements, e.g. a tic or a tremor Task: A doctor is giving instructions to a patient during examination of the motor system. Identify what the doctor is assessing in each case. 1. I´d like you to relax. I´m just going to move your arm up and down. 2. Can I see your hands? 3. Now, I´m going to straighten your arm out. Try to stop me. 4. Can you touch my finger with yours and then touch your nose? Good. Now do it again with your eyes closed. (adapted from Glendinning E.H., Howard R.: Professional English in Use) B) AGEING Reading comprehension Task 1 In the passage there are a number of sentences missing. Read it through and decide where the sentences below should go. a) But it is important to make a distinction between calmly relaxed and passively lazy. b) Puritanical arguments about smoking and drinking have little to support them. c) People who want a long life with an alert old age should never retire. d) But, in gaining success, individuals should not overstress themselves. e) A sense of humour, a feeling that life is fun, are strong weapons against ageing. f) Such activities as walking and gardening prolong life enormously because they are „non-intensive“ forms of all-over bodily movement. g) That does not imply a military-style masochism but the ordering of life and the imposition of a pattern on the events of the day. For adults who remain vivaciously childlike in old age, there has to be a sustained enthusiasm for some aspect of life. (1)…………………. If they are forcibly retired they should immerse themselves in some new, absorbing activity. Some people are naturally physically more active than others, and are at a considerable advantage providing their activities are not result of stress. (2)……………… The more earnest ageing exercisers display a conscious or unconscious anxiety about their health. If they take exercise too seriously it will work against them. Older individuals who take up intensive athletic activity are usually people who fear declining health. Yet it is crucial that physical exercise - as we grow old – should be extensive rather than intensive and, above all, fun. A calm temperament favours longevity. Those who are sharply aggressive, emotionally explosive or anxious are at a grave disadvantage. (3)………………………… Relaxation does not contradict the idea of passionate interest. Indeed, zest for living, eagerness to pursue chosen subjects are vital in long life. Thinking about ´the good old days´, complaining about how the world is deteriorating, criticising the younger generations, are sure signs of an early funeral. Being successful is a great life-stretcher, and can even override such life-shorteners as obesity and fondness for drink. (4)……………………… And success must always be measured in personal terms. A hill-shepherd may feel just as successful in their own way as a Nobel Laureate. In personal habits, the long-lived are generally moderate. Extremes of diet are not common. A mixed diet seems to favour longevity. (5)……………………..Many long-lived individuals enjoy nicotine and alcohol – in moderation. Most long-lived people have a sense of self-discipline. (6)……………… The person who lives long because they walk a mile a day does so because they do it everyday, as part of an organised exercise. Over and over, during my researches, it emerged that long life goes with a “twinkle in the eye”. (7)…………………………… The sour-faced puritan and the solemn bore soon begin to lose ground, leaving their more amused contemporaries to enjoy the last laugh. Finally, nothing is to be gained by a head-in-the-sand avoidance of the facts of life and death. The healthiest solution is to accept that one´s span on Earth is limited and then to live every day, in the present, and to the full. (Adapted from Desmond Morris: The Book of Ages). Dealing with unfamiliar words The writer uses a number of images to describe particular characteristics or attitudes: a) “an early funeral” b) “a great life stretcher” c) “a twinkle in the eye” d) “the sour-faced puritan” e) “a head-in-the-sand avoidance” Task 2 Choose their probable meanings from the list below and write them next to each phrase. * enthusiasm and youthful spirits * a shortened life * a refusal to face reality * a love of alcohol and food * someone who is morally very strict * a good way of living longer * ignorance and narrow-mindedness * fondness for practical jokes * shyness and nervousness C) WORD FORMATION Use the word at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. Happy is healthy Medical research has found that ……………….. has a strongly HAPPY beneficial effect on health. The healing properties of ……………. LAUGH are such that humour is now being used alongside more …………….. TRADITION courses of ………………. in some hospitals. In a London´s children´s TREAT hospital, for example, two clowns are provided for the …………….. of ENTERTAIN patients. Doctors say that these clowns are ………………. in making SUCCESS the children feel better. It seems that when we laugh, there can be a …………………... in both REDUCE blood pressure and the amount of …………….. in our muscles. TENSE Although it is ……………….. to prove it at the moment, this may also POSSIBLE mean that people who feel unhappy and who are, therefore, …………. LIKELY to laugh so much, suffer more often from physical ………………. ILL ACADEMIC READING Here are five tips to help you improve your reading: 1. Styles of reading 2. Active reading 3. A tip for speeding up your active reading 4. Words and vocabulary 1. Styles of reading There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations: Scanning: for a specific focus The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing. It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if they're going to be useful to you: · the introduction or preface of a book · the first or last paragraphs of chapters · the concluding chapter of a book. Skimming: for getting the gist of something The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine: you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to skim: · to preview a passage before you read it in detail · to refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail. Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is right for you. Detailed reading: for extracting information accurately Where you read every word, and work to learn from the text. In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general idea, but then go back to read in detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you understand all the words used. 2. Active reading When you're reading for your course, you need to make sure you're actively involved with the text. It's a waste of your time to just passively read, the way you'd read a thriller on holiday. Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding. Here are four tips for active reading. Underlining and highlighting Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colours to highlight different aspects of what you're reading. Note key words Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. Summaries Pause after you've read a section of text. Then: · put what you've read into your own words; · skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and · fill in any gaps. 3. A tip for speeding up your active reading You should learn a huge amount from your reading. If you read passively, without learning, you're wasting your time. So train your mind to learn. Survey Gather the information you need to focus on the work and set goals: · Read the title to help prepare for the subject · Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key points · Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is · Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose · Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter. They are all there to help you understand and remember. Question Help your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is engaged in learning when it is actively looking for answers to questions. Try turning the boldface headings into questions you think the section should answer. Read Read the first section with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and make up new questions if necessary. Recall After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can answer them from memory. If not, take a look back at the text. Do this as often as you need to. Review Once you have finished the whole chapter, go back over all the questions from all the headings. See you if can still answer them. If not, look back and refresh your memory. 4. Words and vocabulary When you're a graduate, people expect you to use a vocabulary which is wider than a school-leaver's. To expand your vocabulary: Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‘compact' or ‘concise'. You want one which is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around 1,500 pages is a good size). There are over 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary; most of them have different meanings, (only a small proportion are synonyms). Keep your dictionary at hand when you're studying. Look up unfamiliar words and work to understand what they mean. Improve your vocabulary by READING WIDELY. Adapted from http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/reading_skills.htm Task 3 What sort of things do you read in your own language? What do you read in English? Here are some examples of different written texts: Novel, Instructions, Textbook, Academic article, Advertisement, Local newspaper, Poem, Personal letter, Dictionary, Job advertisements, Text (SMS) message: Which category do the following texts belong to? ….................... If one note is played on the keyboard and then another note is played anywhere to the right of it, the sound of the second note is said to be higher than that of the first. A note to the left of it would produce a lower sound. In the same way men's voices are said to be lower than those of women or young boys. The technical word referring to the height or depth of sound is pitch. ….................... * IN HARD WATER AREAS REGULAR DESCALING IS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP YOUR KETTLE IN GOOD WORKING ORDER. * If your kettle switches off before it has boiled it indicates your kettle needs descaling. * Descale your kettle using * either a proprietary kettle descaler suitable for PLASTIC kettles. Follow manufacturer's instructions, * or white vinegar 1. Fill the kettle with ½ l of 8° white vinegar. 2. Leave to soak for 1 hour without boiling. 3. Empty your kettle and rinse it two or three times with clear water. or citric acid ….................... It is hoped that this study will add to our knowledge about the characteristics of different types of text, and illuminate the way for students who find themselves lost amidst the echoes of the multiple voices they hear within the same text. ….................... Dear John, How are you? Everything here's fine. I'm very happy at the moment because my football team won last week. I went to the match with my brother... Fernando, and we both enjoyed it very much. The score was 6 - 1. ….................... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven…. ….................... Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date…. NOTE:thou = you, thee =object form of thou, art = are, hath = has ….................... ….................... Below are the job openings currently available at Bethany University: The Head Baseball Coach is responsible for overseeing the activities of the team, planning and directing the training of the student athletes, and assessing students’ ability and skill level to determine appropriate team position. The Head Coach assists players in reaching their highest spiritual and athletic potential possible through athletic training, leadership skills, and Christian character development…. QUESTIONS: Why do you usually read this kind of text? What is your usual PURPOSE when you read these texts? How does your purpose influence how you read? What METHOD do you use?