ENGL 305 OPEN CLOZE PRACTICE DA

Stress

Stress (0) is often called a 21st century illness but it has always been with us if perhaps with different
names. These days we regard stress (1) __________ a necessary evil of modern living. Yet stress is not
negative and without (2) __________ we would not enjoy some of the highpoints in life (3) __________ as
the anticipation before a date or the tension leading up to an important match. All these situations produce
stress but (4) __________ you can control it and not the other way around, you will feel stimulated, not
worn out. However, unlike these situations, (5) __________ are generally positive and easier to deal with,
sitting in a train that is running late, (6) __________ stuck in a traffic jam or working to a tight deadline are
much harder to manage and control and can be a significant cause of stress.
Stress is now recognized as a medical problem and as a significant factor (7) __________ causing
coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and a high cholesterol count. Patients are often unwilling to
admit to stress problems since they feel they are a form of social failure and it is important that symptoms
(8) __________ identified in order to avoid unnecessary suffering.

The Atmosphere of Earth

Would you like to (1) __________ an astronaut? To do this, you must travel at least 50 miles (80
kilometers) above the surface of the earth. But even after you have done that you are still (2) __________
the earth's atmosphere. Indeed, there are at least 300 miles of air still (3) __________ you and the true
vacuum of space.
Most of what we think of as our atmosphere is actually the troposphere, that part of the atmosphere closest
to earth. This is where (4) __________ of our weather happens, and it is the only part of the atmosphere
which has enough oxygen and warmth for humans to survive. (5) __________ part of the atmosphere is
about ten miles thick at the equator and slightly half that height at (6) __________ of the poles.
(7) __________ the troposphere is the stratosphere, which you have probably visited if you have travelled
on an international jet liner. (8) __________ there is another kind of 'jet' at this altitude. Huge rivers of air
called 'jet streams' flow through the stratosphere, and the stratosphere contains the ozone layer which
protects us (9) __________ harmful ultraviolet rays which could otherwise make life on earth extinct. After
the stratosphere is the mesosphere, and above that the ionosphere, (10) __________ is important for radio
communications (11) __________ signals can be bounced off the ionosphere to different parts of the world.
Many people think that the atmosphere is mostly oxygen, (12) __________ that is what we breathe. But in
(13) __________ oxygen makes up only about 21% of the atmosphere, and carbon dioxide, which we
breathe out, makes up less than 1%. (14) __________three quarters of the atmosphere is nitrogen, which
was expelled from inside the planet while it was still very volcanically active. We have a lot of nitrogen in
our bodies, but we do not get it directly from the atmosphere. (15) __________ we get our nitrogen from
plants which we eat.