UNITELEVEN

VIRTUALCURES
forRealWorldPhobias
byPatriciaEdmonds
(AnextractfromaReadersDigestarticle,April2005,pp.113116)

MODULEONE
III.TEXT
Readthepassageandanswerthequestionsthatfollow: Welcome toanewkind oftherapy, where cures are computergenerated. From New York to Milan, virtual reality is being used to treat crippling phobias and soothe physical and mental anguish. The therapy has even shown promise as a treatmentforstubbornconditionslikeeatingdisordersandaddictions. InatypicalVRexperience,ahelmetblocksouttherealworldandimmersesthe patientinthesightsandsoundsofacomputergenerated3Dworld.Thehelmet positionsgogglesizetelevisionscreensclosetoeacheye;enablingthepatientto seeasingleimagewithrealismanddepth.Headphonessupplysound;joysticks and gloves let the patient manipulate the scene. This combined sensory input createstheillusionofbeinginthatvirtualworld.Thetechnologyissopromising that the [US] National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) supports 16 VR research projects.Peoplearecomingupwithmoreandmorecleverwaysofusingthis, says Dave Thomas, cochair of NIDAs virtual realityworking group. But we're justscratchingthesurface. The visionary behind this new tool was a computer scientist from Georgia Institute of Technology. In the early 1990s, Larry Hodges had an idea. He knew that the military had used VR for yearsintroducing flight simulators, for instance, to help pilots nail a landing. Maybe riding a simulated lift could help acrophobicsconquertheirfearofheights. In1993HodgesteamedwithEmoryUniversitysBarbaraRothbaum,anexpertin anxiety disorders, to develop a VR program that made fearofheights patients feeltheywereascendinginanopenliftorcrossingaropeandladderbridgeover

acanyon.Thepairwerentsurewhethertheywereonthecutting edgeorthe lunaticfringe,Rothbaumsays.Butwhentheirtestsubjectsshoweddramatically reducedfearofheightsintherealworld,VRtherapywasborn. Researchers are still learning how VR works, but the basic principle is to allow patients to develop coping responses, which then serve them in real life. With phobias,forinstance,VRexposespatientstowhattheyfearlikespidersuntil theylearntomanagetheiranxiety. Jenny Moore was a high school finalyear student in 1990 when, after years of jetting to family vacations, she suddenly found herself panicked on a flight. I promisedmyselfId nevergetonanotherplane,sherecalls.Andfor ten years, shedidnt.Toavoidflying,shechoseacollegeclosetohome,andeveninsisted onahoneymoonwithindrivingdistancewhenshemarriedin1997.Aftersheand herhusbandmovedtotheWashingtonarea,cartripswiththeirbabytoseefar away relatives were nightmares. Moore feared shed never be able to take her daughtertoDisneyWorld. Whenstandardcounselingfailed,MoorevisitedpsychologistandVRpractitioner KeithSaylorinAugust2000.Atonetime,SaylorwouldhavetakenMooreonreal planestoconfrontherfeardirectly.Butairlineflightsarecostlyandinconvenient. WithVRtherapy,though,MoorecouldbeonajetwhilesittinginSaylorsoffice. TheVRflightfeltsorealthatMoore,weeping,askedtostop.Butoverthenext month and a half, her tolerance grew, until she flew calmly even through simulatedstorms.(528words)

V.WORDPOWER
Wordsoftenconfused Usethefollowinglistofwordsforvocabularydevelopment. 1. Accept(Verb)totakeorreceive.Wedonotacceptanycreditcardsatthis shop. Except(Preposition)withtheexclusionof.Everyoneinthefamily exceptthefatherwentonaholiday.

2. Affect (Verb) to influence. The economic crisis will affect the market. Effect(Verb)tobringaboutorcausetohappen.Wecaneffectachange intheresultbytrainingthestudentsproperly. Effect (Noun) a result or consequence. The effect of this medicine is immediate. 3. Complement(Verb)tocompleteormakeperfect.Theaddoncourseyou havechosenwillcomplementyourcoresubjects. Compliment (Verb) to praise or flatter. The boss complimented his subordinatesontheirefficiency. 4. Precede (Verb) to go before. The minister car will precede the cars of other officials. Proceed (Verb) to go forward or continue. You may proceed with your experiment. 5. Allusion(Noun)anindirectreference:Thespeakermadeallusionstothe recentcalamity. Illusion (Noun) a misconception: The mirage in a desert is an optical illusionofthepresenceofwater. 6. Beside(Preposition)nextto;bythesideof:Thebankisbesidethepolice station. Besides(Adverb)also;inadditionto:Besidesthepresentproblem,Ineed totellyouaboutanewdifficultwemightfaceinthefuture. 7. Cite(Verb)toquoteasanauthorityorexample:Thearticlecitedseveral eminentscholarsinthefieldofliterature. Site(Noun)placeorlocation:Thesiteforthenewfactoryisonthe outskirtsofthecity 8. Discreet (Adjective) prudent, circumspect, or modest: She was admired forbeingdiscreetwhilehandlingdelicatemattersofthecompany. Discrete(Adjective)separateorindividuallydistinct:Eachparticleinthis mixtureisadiscreteentity.

9. Elicit(Verb)todrawout,extract,obtain.Thepolicetriedtoelicitthe actualfactsfromtheculprit. Illicit(Adjective)unlawful,illegal,dishonest.Theillicittradenearthe bordercannotbestopped. 10.Stationary(Adjective)fixedorunmoving:Thestationarytrainwashitbya movingone. Stationery (Noun) writing materials, paper, notebooks, pens, etc.: The stationeryyoupurchasedhastobedistributedtoalldepartments. Nowmakesentencesofyourownwitheachofthepairsofwordsgivenaboveto practicetheirusage.

VII.SPELLING
SpellingRule: 1. Doubling of consonants before adding suffixes for single syllable words endingin/p/,/t/,/b/,/d/,/g/,/m/and/n/ Stopstopping Hothotterhottest Robrobbed Sadsadder Bagbagged Swimswimmer Winwinning 2. Doublingintwosyllablewordsof/l/and/r/ traveltraveller(nodoublinginAmericanEnglishtraveler) preferpreferred 3. Doublingofconsonantsintwosyllablewordsonlywhenthefinalsyllableis stressed beginbeginning deferdeferring

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