Reading U4 (Dynamic)

"How I beat my negative thoughts" by Duncan Ashworth On 7 July 2012 I was in a car accident. I injured my back. (1) _ Before my accident, I was a really active person, I played tennis and I went swimming every week. I had a busy social life and a job as a lawyer. All that changed after my accident. I had to learn to walk again. (2) _ It was easy for me to slip into depression. The one thing I could still do was use my laptop. So, I started writing a diary to reflect on my feelings and what I should do to feel better. I discovered there were quite a few things I could do to cheer myself up.One of the things that really made me feel bad were my thoughts about the past and the future. I used to think, ‘If I hadn’t been in the accident, I wouldn’t be stuck in this hospital bed. If my back doesn’t get better, I’ll never walk again. Why did I drive to work that day?’ (3) _ So, I decided that every time I had a thought like that, I would instantly replace it with something positive. I also focused on the present moment rather than the past or the future.I used a meditation technique that I learned. It involved focusing on my breathing and controllingit for a few minutes, then making an assessment about how I was feeling and what thoughts were going through my mind at that moment. If I felt stressed, I would check my body to find out exactly where I felt stressed; for example, a tightness inmy chest, or a pain in my stomach, or tension inmy neck. I would then breathe slowly, focus on that part of my body and try to imagine it was relaxing and all the stress and tension was flowing out of my body. This technique helped me a lot.Another thing that helped me a lot was laughter.I watched a lot of comedy films that made me laugh.I also had a very entertaining roommate in the hospital. He was a young man called Ian and he was around my age. He had broken a lot of bones in a motorcycle accident. Despite what he was going through, he never lost his sense of humour. He made me laugh and this helped me get through those difficult first months. Another thing that helped me was being grateful. At the end of every day I made a list of ten things I was grateful for; it could be about the weather, something I achieved or just the simple pleasure of eating a bar of chocolate.(4) _.Everyone knows that exercise is good for yourwell-being, but after my accident I couldn’t workout in the gym like I used to. Instead, I did gentle exercises and stretches and practised walking very slowly. The fact that I was doing something helped improve my mood. After six months I was almost fully recovered. I went home and, eventually, backto my job. But something had changed inside me.I felt stronger as a person. I felt more able to cope with difficulties and challenges. I have no regrets about what happened to me. I believe that if I hadn’t been in that accident, I wouldn’t have learned so much about myself and about how staying positive about what life can throw at you is essential. Read the text again. 1) Match sentences A–F with gaps 1–4 in the text. There are two sentences you do not need. (USE CAPITAL LETTERS)A Even the tiniest task, like walking a few steps, seemed like climbing a mountain.B The hospital staff were amazing.C These thoughts brought my mood down.D Gratitude helped to shift my attention from what I didn’t have to what I did have.E I felt good when I achieved something.F As a result, I was in hospital for six months.1. F2. A3. C4. D2) Complete the sentences.1 At first, Duncan had negative thoughts about what happened to him that day.2 Duncan liked his roommate Ian very much because Ian made Duncan laugh .3 Duncan doesn’t regret the accident. As a result of what happened to him, he felt stronger . He also thinks it is essential to stay positive .