THE NATIVES WERE ANGRY WHEN FOREIGNERS CAME TO THEIR COUNTRY AND TOOK...

Câu 9: The natives were angry when foreigners came to their country and took over their land.

A. locals B. members C. tourists D. migrants

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct

answer to each of the questions.

Less than a year ago marketing director, David Smith, 33 was behaving like a secret agent. He used to

secretly tape all his conversations, he refused to sign his name and he would ask his secretary to check all

his emails. Anything he wrote was photocopied and kept as “evidence”. But David isn’t mad, or even mildly

eccentric. He suffers from ‘responsibility OCD’, one of more common form of obsessive compulsive

disorder, or OCD, as it is usually known.

OCD is now recognized as the second most prevalent mental-health problem, after depression – and

the number of reported cases is soaring. Experts estimate that 2% - 3% of the population suffer from the full-

blown syndrome, with as many as one in five suffering from a milder form.

OCD sufferers are tortured by obsessional thoughts, such as worrying that their hands are

contaminated by germs. The terrible anxiety is only relieved by performing a particular set of behaviors.

Unfortunately, any sense of relief is short-lived, which is why the behavior must be repeated again and

again. OCD sufferers know their behavior is irrational, yet feel powerless to stop.

Common treatments are either antidepressants or behavioral therapy with a psychologist, but only 60%

of patients show some improvement. However, a new treatment from America is bringing fresh hope to

sufferers.

One of the OCD gurus and neuropsychiatrists, Jeffrey Schwartz, has designed the Four Steps program

which employs meditation techniques with the aim of teaching sufferers to manage their symptoms by

themselves. “The goal is to learn to override false brain messages”, explains Schwartz.

There are different theories about what causes the disorder. Most experts recognize a genetic element

that can be triggered by a stressful event. Schwartz believes that the OCD ‘worry circuit’ is a direct result of

faulty brain chemistry. ‘When someone experiences an OCD thought, one part of the brain knows quite

clearly that the hand are not dirty’, explains Schwartz ‘Some part of the brain is standing apart from the

symptoms, reflecting on the sheer bizarreness of it all. The objective is to harness this impartial spectator so

that patients can use this healthy part of their brain to resist the compulsions.’ David Smith is delighted with

the results of Schwartz’s treatment. ‘Now I can sign cheques without a problem’, he says brightly. ‘And I

don’t photocopy them either. OCD used to feel like a huge stigma, but I don’t feel handicapped by it any

more. You just deal with it.’