Listening Topic: Health – conversation about fidgeting and fitness
A. Listen to the conversation between two friends discussing a newspaper article. Then check the three main ideas discussed. (All the ideas are mentioned.)
___ Fidgeting can help you be in better shape.
___ Tapping your foot is an example of fidgeting.
___ Researchers think people may be born with a tendency to move or not move a lot.
___ The people in the study wore special sensors that measured movement.
___ The sensors took measurements every half second.
B. Listen to the conversation again. As you listen, choose the correct answer for each item. Listen again if necessary.
1 The research study was done at a clinic in ____.
a Michigan
b Missouri
c Minnesota
2 According to the study, how much more time do overweight people spend sitting still?
a at least an hour
b at least two hours
c at least three hours
3 The extra activity of a thinner person might make a difference in weight of ____.
a about 10 to 30 pounds per year
b about 10 pounds per year
c about 30 pounds per year
4 The fact that some people are born with a tendency to fidget is not discouraging to the lead researcher because ____.
a a lot of people can train to run 10 miles
b people can change this tendency
c small movements and activities can contribute to fitness
5 The people in the study wore the clothes with sensors ____.
a 10 hours a day for 20 days
b 24 hours a day for 10 days
c 24 hours a day for 20 days
6 Compared to overweight people, thin people moved ____.
a 150 minutes more
b 50 minutes more
c 100 minutes more
Answers
A
_✓_ Fidgeting can help you be in better shape.
___ Tapping your foot is an example of fidgeting.
_✓_ Researchers think people may be born with a tendency to move or not move a lot.
_✓_ The people in the study wore special sensors that measured movement.
___ The sensors took measurements every half second.
B
1 c 2 b 3 a 4 c 5 b 6 a
Audioscripts
A = Man, B = Woman
A: Hi!
B: Oh, hi! How’s it going?
A: Not bad. What are you doing?
B: I was just reading the paper while I was waiting.
A: Is there any interesting news?
B: Well, yeah I was reading about some new research on physical fitness – how even little activities like fidgeting can make you fitter.
A: Fidgeting? Really? So, if I tap my foot a lot or move around in my chair, I’ll be in better shape?
B: Yes, seriously, it’s apparently true. There was a research study … let me see where it was. Oh, yes it was at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Anyway, they found that all kinds of minor everyday activities like standing up to stretch or getting off the sofa to change the TV channel and even fidgeting could make a difference between being thin or being overweight.
A: Maybe I should throw away the remote.
B: Well maybe, because if you have a remote control, it keeps you from moving. They also found that overweight people are less likely to fidget than thin people, and that overweight people spend at least two hours more each day just sitting still. And, guess what, the extra activity of thinner people might make a difference of something like 10 to 30 pounds in weight per year.
A: Wow! I’d better start fidgeting more!
B: No, you don’t have to worry about your weight.
A: But don’t some people just fidget more? Some people seem like they’re more nervous than others, or something.
B: Yeah. That’s another really interesting point from this research: they think that people may be born with a tendency to either be fidgety or not fidgety.
A: So, either you’re born to move around a lot or you’re not? That’s kind of discouraging, isn’t it?
B: Well, you’d think so, but the lead researcher for the project says that he doesn’t feel it is. He says that the good thing is that you don’t necessarily have to go out and run ten miles. Just any little movement or activity could contribute to physical fitness.
A: OK, that’s good to remember. I’m curious, does the article explain how they did this research?
B: Yes, in fact it does. The people in the study wore special clothes that had sensors in them. The sensors took measurements every half second. There were twenty people in the study and they wore the special clothes 24 hours a day for 10 days as they went about their daily routines. They found through the sensors that thin people spent at least 150 more minutes moving in some way than the overweight people.
A: That’s so interesting. Hey, can I read the article?
B: Of course, here you go.
A: Wait, maybe I should stand up and stretch before I read it.
B: Maybe you should!
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