Let's Talk about Stress!

Rich People Even Have

Better Stress Than Poor

The lives of rich people seem to be getting better and better. Rich people generally have better homes and better jobs than poor people. Now, a new study finds that the rich may even have better stress than poor people.

Stress is the way the brain reacts to demand or threat. It makes the body release hormones that increase one’s heart rate and blood pressure. In modern times, stress can help a person give a perfect presentation at work or win a sporting event. This is short-term stress that leads to success in achieving a goal.

These stressors add to what experts call chronic stress. According to the Brookings Institution’s new survey, many poor people in the United States are facing this kind of stress. The APA website notes that chronic stress can affect a person’s mental and physical health. When people deal with these chronic stressors every day, their fight-or-flight response is stuck in the “on” position.

Poor people often experience stressful conditions beyond their control. If one thing goes wrong in their day─like a flat tire or suffering from flu─their lives may go out of control. This can create a huge amount of chronic stress. This is because poor people often do not have time, energy or resources to plan and successfully complete long-term goals.

Rich people also have stress and face difficulties. But their situations are very different. Rich people’s stress is often linked to career advancement. It is short-term stress that helps lead them to a long-term goal. Of course, rich people can have terrible things happen to them. But they are usually better prepared.

Rich people usually have better life insurance policies. They also have access to support that poor people often don’t. Without doubt, they usually have better doctors and medical care than poor people.

The Brookings survey found that the Americans most at risk are generally uneducated, lower-income white people. The rates of suicide and addiction to drugs are on the rise among this group. The lives of poor people seem to be getting worse and worse.

[改寫自VOA HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/rich-people-haver-better-stress-than-poor/3329623.html]

[題目]

1. Why poor people tend to suffer from chronic stress?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2. Why rich people tend to suffer from “better” stress than poor people?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

[答案]

1. This is because poor people often do not have time, energy or resources to plan and successfully complete long-term goals. They often experience stressful conditions beyond their control.

2. Rich people usually have better life insurance policies. They also have access to support that poor people often don’t. In this way, they tend to suffer from short-term stress rather than chronic stress.