The Reading / Listening - Cold Weather Exercise - Level 2

Exercise is essential for our health. It lowers the risk of heart disease, helps us to maintain a healthy weight, and reduces stress. Doctors say that exercising in cold weather is good for us. Going for a jog or a swim when it's chilly outside has extra benefits for our physical and mental health. This is because the cold gives our heart a more energetic workout. A doctor from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York explained why. She said: "Your heart has to work a little bit harder to pump blood around your body…in the cold. This can help to boost your endurance over time."

The doctor said the body burns calories faster when it is cold. She said your body works harder to maintain its temperature, so you use up more calories by exercising in the cold. Physical activity in cold temperatures boosts our metabolism, which helps us lose weight. In the cold, our metabolism slows down, so we can preserve fat and keep warm. Another benefit of exercising in the cold is that being in natural light helps to reduce our stress. Many people have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). This is a type of depression caused by the short, dark days of winter.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Cold Weather Exercise - Level 0 Cold Weather Exercise - Level 1   or  Cold Weather Exercise - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.huffpost.com/entry/exercising-outside-winter-benefits_l_65cd27f2e4b0dd11b911a795
  • https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/why-end-of-winter-is-the-perfect-time-to-start-a-fitness-journey-expert-tips/ar-BB1iBuDT
  • https://www.healthday.com/health-news/exercise-and-fitness/cold-weather-running-may-be-even-healthier


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Exercise is essential
  2. It lowers the risk of
  3. helps us to maintain
  4. exercising in cold weather
  5. when it's chilly
  6. Your heart has to work
  7. pump blood around
  8. boost your
  1. outside
  2. a healthy weight
  3. your body
  4. endurance
  5. is good for us
  6. for our health
  7. a little bit harder
  8. heart disease

Paragraph 2

  1. the body burns
  2. your body works harder to
  3. physical activity in cold
  4. our metabolism slows
  5. Another benefit of
  6. natural light helps to reduce
  7. This is a type
  8. the short,
  1. our stress
  2. dark days of winter
  3. down
  4. maintain its temperature
  5. calories faster
  6. temperatures
  7. exercising in the cold
  8. of depression

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Exercise (1) ___________________ our health. It lowers the risk of heart disease, helps us to (2) ___________________ weight, and reduces stress. Doctors say that exercising in cold weather is good for us. Going for a jog or a swim when (3) ___________________ has extra benefits for our physical and mental health. This is because the cold gives our heart (4) ___________________ workout. A doctor from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York explained why. She said: "Your heart has to work a little bit harder (5) ___________________ around your body…in the cold. This can help to (6) ___________________ over time."

The doctor said the body (7) ___________________ when it is cold. She said your body works harder (8) ___________________ temperature, so you use up more calories by exercising in the cold. Physical activity in cold temperatures boosts our metabolism, which helps (9) ___________________. In the cold, our metabolism slows down, so we can preserve fat and keep warm. (10) ___________________ exercising in the cold is that being in natural light (11) ___________________ our stress. Many people have Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). This is a type of depression caused by the (12) ___________________ of winter.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Exerciseisessentialforourhealth.Itlowerstheriskofheartdisease,hel
psustomaintainahealthyweight,andreducesstress.Doctorssaythate
xercisingincoldweatherisgoodforus.Goingforajogoraswimwhenit'sc
hillyoutsidehasextrabenefitsforourphysicalandmentalhealth.Thisisb
ecausethecoldgivesourheartamoreenergeticworkout.Adoctorfromt
heHospitalforSpecialSurgeryinNewYorkexplainedwhy.Shesaid:"Yo
urhearthastoworkalittlebithardertopumpbloodaroundyourbody…int
hecold.Thiscanhelptoboostyourenduranceovertime."Thedoctorsaid
thebodyburnscaloriesfasterwhenitiscold.Shesaidyourbodyworkshar
dertomaintainitstemperature,soyouuseupmorecaloriesbyexercisin
ginthecold.Physicalactivityincoldtemperaturesboostsourmetabolis
m,whichhelpsusloseweight.Inthecold,ourmetabolismslowsdown,so
wecanpreservefatandkeepwarm.Anotherbenefitofexercisinginthec
oldisthatbeinginnaturallighthelpstoreduceourstress.Manypeopleha
veSeasonalAffectiveDisorder(S.A.D.).Thisisatypeofdepressioncaus
edbytheshort,darkdaysofwinter.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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