Exercises to the text Body Language

Discuss the following questions in pairs.

• Do you always tell the truth?

• How do you feel if you tell a lie? Can you lie well?

• What kind of expressions, gestures or body postures might reveal that someone is lying?

Read paragraphs 1-2 of the article and answer the questions.

a) Which shows what we really feel - a person's words or their body language?

b) Can people control their body language when they are speaking?

c) What kind of people does the article suggest can become very good at lying with body language?

d) What does the term 'non-verbal leakage' mean?

Read the rest of the article (paragraphs 3-8) and answer the questions.

a) What four things do people do when they are lying?

b) What are the reasons that lie behind each of these actions?

c) Does the writer imply that it is easy to tell when a person is lying?

d) If you see someone scratching their face, how do you know if they have a genuine reason for doing so?

e) What message do people convey when they 'shrug their shoulders'?

f) How should your interpretation of body language change if someone is temporarily not talking?

4 Read the article again and find words and phrases in the article which mean the following:

a) movements with the hands or arms (paragraph 1);

b) highly skilled (paragraph 2);

c) hide something, especially an emotion (paragraph 2);

d) saying something intimate in a quiet way (paragraph 3);

e) move in a quick, irregular way (paragraph 3);

f) a strong feeling that is difficult to resist (paragraph 4);

g) passing quickly; not lasting long (paragraph 4);

h) prevent something from being noticed (paragraph 4);

i) an action showing you do not know something or do not understand (paragraph 5);

j) confused; not able to understand (paragraph 5);

k) twist the body due to feeling of shame, discomfort or nervousness (paragraph 6);

1) in a state of extreme anger or unrest (paragraph 7);

5. Do you know any more words and phrases connected with 'truth and lies'? Categorize them as follows:

nouns	verbs	adjectives
deception	deceive	deceitful

Discuss the following questions.

• Do you agree with the points made in the article?

• Do you think they apply to people all over the world, regardless of culture or race?

• Do you have any personal experience of interpreting body language?

The Power of Colour.

Colour therapy works on the premise that each colour has its own energy and that we absorb this through our light-sensitive cells. The aim is to create a balance and a free-low of this energy. Obviously, no two people respond to colour in the same way, so this is a highly subjective practice, but there are some general rules. The most calming colours are the cool ones - blues, greens and violets - so the theory is that if we are aiming for peace and tranquility, we should avoid red walls (far too energizing for a stressed-out soul) and stick to the more gentle side of the spectrum.

'Violet,' explains colour therapist Catherine Cumming, 'is a tranquil colour that promotes inspiration and contemplation. Green is a balancing colour, neither hot nor cold, and is particularly effective in the city, where there are few green fields, but blue is the most calming of all. Being in a blue environment makes you breathe out and really slows you down. It is a perfect colour for bedrooms and promotes good, cozy dreams.'

So if we want to create that Zen-like haven, should we paint our house in blocks of blue, green and violet? No. 'Too much of a single colour,' explains Cumming, 'can in fact have a negative effect. Too much deep blue, for example, can slow us down so much that it makes us melancholy [so that's where the term ‘the blues' comes from], so all colours must be balanced by their complementary colour.' This means that a violet room must contain some intellectually stimulating yellow, while a blue room needs a splash (just a splash, mind - too much will lead to confusion rather than calm) of orange, the colour of joy and physical activity.

Interior designer Tricia Guild agrees that a home should be primarily decorated in colours from the cool end of the spectrum, but she still has room for punches of hot shades, such as red and magenta.

The secret of making these bold colours work as part of a calming colour scheme, argues Guild, is white, 'the classic colour of simplicity', which not only functions as a cool colour in its own right but also, she says, 'gives other colours room to breathe, to stop competing, to be themselves'.

Colour therapy is increasingly used to improve office working conditions, too, according to Theo Gimbel, president of the International Association for Colour Therapy. "There is no doubt that colours are very powerful and can reduce or raise stress levels,' he says. 'Bright reds and oranges raise blood pressure and make people work faster, but increased output will inevitably be outweighed by exhaustion and errors, as employers have discovered to their cost in the past.' According to Gimbel, the effects of colour have been proved scientifically. He recommends an office colour scheme that is mainly blue to promote calm, with pastel oranges to encourage creative productivity.

Well, what are you waiting for? Painting walls is, after all, a relaxing activity!