Reading:
Vacation Stress*
One of the greatest
benefits of a vacation should be release from the pressures and
stresses of daily life. Unfortunately, many people unwittingly forego
this benefit by taking their holiday under circumstances that continue
these pressures instead of relieving them, Because we are often
unaware of the forms that stress can take, we don't know how to
avoid it. Most people recognize the stressful nature of their jobs
and of family or community responsibilities. But how many of us
realize that our social relationships with friends and acquaintances,
even though we normally enjoy the company of others, impose on us
certain codes of behavior and responsibilities?
Another source
of stress is time. In our daily lives we are subject to schedules,
whether formal or informal. We are also bombarded by the sounds
of traffic, machinery, conversation, and music. Yet many of us perpetuate
these stresses when we go on vacation. We travel to resorts where
we must obey social rules and where we must arrange our activities
around a schedule imposed by others. We visit faraway cities where
we are assaulted by the same kinds of noise that cause us stress
at home. When we return, we are often secretly puzzled that we are
not as rested as we hope to be. Analyzing the pressures of one's
life before planning a vacation could result in a reduction of stress,
and therefore I a more relaxing holiday.
- Answer
the following questions:
(Do
not copy your answers from the reading; try to paraphrase
your answers).
- Why people
often do not avoid stress on a vacation?
- What the
author says about stress in social situations? How people perpetuate
this stress during vacations?
- What are
the author's observation on one other type of stress?
- Write a
short paragraph, describing a stressfull vacation that you or
someone you know experienced, recently or in the past.
*Source:162
course textbook, Reading Etc., page 270-271. |