CONTROL OF EMOTIONS

An emotion may be pleasant or unpleasant. It is the response of a person to the situation in which he finds himself - fear, anger, admiration at seeing something beautiful and so on. But these same emotions may be re­sponses to situations related to other people. We may expe­rience the emotion of fear when we hear the scream of a frightened person, or anger when somebody insults our friend.

Emotions show the automatic instinctive response, but we can't say that they are necessary for our behaviour in all situations. Some situations require a highly co-ordinated type of behaviour and emotional responses in such cases will do more harm than good. Thus, a boxer may fight with energy and determination if he is an­gry, but he will be less able to make the co­ordinated movements and may box worse than usual. However, there are situations demanding a simple re­sponse, such as an escape from a dangerous animal. Under the stress of emotion you will deal with this situation more efficiently, and later you are likely to won­der how quickly you have climbed a tree.

An adult person should possess such kind of character that is influenced by emotions only to a certain extent. As a child gets older, he learns to control his instinctive reac­tions. As a result, emotional behaviour becomes less common. If the child’s parents are strict, he easily understands that his emotional storm does little to change the situation.  

The mechanism of controlling emotions is normally psy­chological. It is a way of behaviour picked up by the child as he grows up so that he may be able to adapt himself to the requirements of the society and his family environ­ment. The point of this control is not, of course, to do away with all emotions but to limit their intensity. Emotional control may also become necessary when a person suffers from a neurotic illness.

Both pleasant and unpleasant emotions guide us in our life. We are intelligent creatures and are able to decide our future. We can avoid certain conditions, and we can even change our environment. Feelings are a great help in modelling our behaviour and directing us in our activities.

Exercise 1.

Переведите названия эмоций и разделите их на три столбика (положительные, отрицательные, прочие)

admiration,   anger,   joy,   anxiety,   fear,   hate,   shame, enthusiasm, pride, joy, love, envy, despair, excitement.

Exercise 2.

Выпишите все предложения с модальными глаголами и переведите их на русский (8 штук)

Exercise 3.

Вставьте пропуски:

1. An emotion may be pleasant or ...
2. It is the response of a person to the … in which he finds himself.
3. But these same emotions may be … to situations related to other people.
4. We may …the emotion of fear when we hear the … of a frightened person, or anger when somebody insults our friend.
5. Emotions show the … instinctive response, but we can't say that they are … for our behaviour in all situations.
6. Some situations require a highly … type of behaviour and emotional responses in such cases will do more harm than ...
7. Under the stress of … you will deal with this situation more …
8. An adult person should possess such kind of character that is … by emotions only to a certain extent.
9. As a child gets older, he learns to … his instinctive reac­tions.
10. The … of controlling emotions is normally psy­chological.
11. The … of this control is not, of course, to do away with all … but to limit their intensity.

Exercise 4.

Найдите перевод слов на английский в тексте: