The Reading / Listening - Fatigue - Level 6

In today's increasingly hectic world, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue. Experts say there is an increase in the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical and mental disorder that makes us feel extremely tired. That tiredness does not go away even if we rest. Sleep specialist Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised by constant connectivity, high stress and inadequate sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack of energy that affects every aspect of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no cure for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and boost energy levels."

Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist in preventative medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity, offered some advice about how to deal with fatigue and a lack of sleep. He advised people to try his three-step bedtime plan. Step one is to turn the lights off because light keeps our brain active. He said blue light from phones and laptops is "particularly harmful". The second step is a good room temperature of around 19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to reduce body temperature, which helps initiate sleep." The final step is to reduce all noise. As for food, life coach Simon Alexander Ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a better night's rest. He said bananas contain chemicals that encourage sleep.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Fatigue - Level 4  or  Fatigue - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/top-tips-fight-fatigue-having-31309481
  • https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/diet-for-chronic-fatigue-gives-energy-9001654/
  • https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/self-help-tips-to-fight-fatigue/


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 :-)

Warm-ups

1. FATIGUE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about fatigue. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       hectic / tiredness / fatigue / expert / physical / mental disorder / connectivity / energy
       preventative medicine / healthcare / charity / blue light / temperature / bananas
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. GO SLOW: Students A strongly believe the world should slow down and relax; Students B strongly believe that's not necessary. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. SLEEP: How do these things affect sleep? How can we lessen their impact? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How?

Lessening Their Impact

Work

 

 

Light

 

 

Noise

 

 

Food

 

 

Temperature

 

 

Worries

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. HECTIC: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "hectic". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. TIREDNESS: Rank these with your partner. Put the things that make us most tired at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Memorizing vocabulary
  • Exercise
  • Work
  • Shopping
  • Warm weather
  • A big meal
  • Stress
  • Children

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. hectic a. Full of non-stop or crazy activity.
      2. expert b. Make a disease go away with medical treatment.
      3. condition c. A person who is very knowledgeable about or skillful in a particular area.
      4. characterised d. The state of being linked with many people.
      5. connectivity e. An illness or other medical problem.
      6. cure f. Be typical or characteristic of.
      7. symptom g. A physical or mental feature which is a sign of disease, particularly one that the patient can see or feel.

    Paragraph 2

      8. preventative h. Cause a process or action to begin.
      9. charity i. The degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object.
      10. particularly j. Designed to keep something undesirable such as illness or harm from occurring.
      11. temperature k. A person who helps other people reach their goals.
      12. initiate l. An organization set up to provide help and raise money for people in need.
      13. life coach m. Give support, confidence, or hope to someone.
      14. encourage n. To a higher degree than is usual or average.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article says we live in an increasingly tired world.     T / F
  2. A sleep disorder has greatly increased in the past decade.     T / F
  3. There is a fatigue disorder that does not go away despite sleeping.     T / F
  4. A cure for chronic fatigue syndrome was found last year.     T / F
  5. Dr Ben Kelly is a specialist in preventing medicine.     T / F
  6. Dr Ben Kelly has a three-step plan for dealing with sleeplessness.     T / F
  7. A great temperature for a room to sleep in is 19ºC.     T / F
  8. Bananas contain chemicals that can help us sleep better.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. hectic
  2. chronic
  3. disorder
  4. constant
  5. boost
  6. advice
  7. deal with
  8. initiate
  9. recommend
  10. rest
  1. manage
  2. ceaseless
  3. trigger
  4. shut-eye
  5. persistent
  6. advocate
  7. fast and furious
  8. stimulate
  9. pointers
  10. illness

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. In today's increasingly
  2. more of us are experiencing tiredness
  3. is an increase in the condition chronic
  4. Our lifestyles are characterised by constant
  5. a well-balanced diet can play
  6. a specialist in preventative
  7. blue light from phones and laptops is
  8. A cool room helps to reduce
  9. The final step
  10. help us get a better night's
  1. particularly harmful
  2. connectivity
  3. medicine
  4. fatigue syndrome
  5. rest
  6. hectic world
  7. is to reduce all noise
  8. and fatigue
  9. body temperature
  10. a significant role

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
extremely
inadequate
cure
increase
boost
constant
hectic
lack

In today's increasingly (1) _____________________ world, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue. Experts say there is an (2) _____________________ in the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical and mental disorder that makes us feel (3) _____________________ tired. That tiredness does not go away even if we rest. Sleep specialist Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised by (4) _____________________ connectivity, high stress and (5) _____________________ sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a        (6) _____________________ of energy that affects every aspect of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no    (7) _____________________ for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and                        (8) _____________________ energy levels."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
reduce
deal
chemicals
initiate
preventative
plan
coach
particularly

Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist in (9) _____________________ medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity, offered some advice about how to (10) _____________________ with fatigue and a lack of sleep. He advised people to try his three-step bedtime (11) _____________________. Step one is to turn the lights off because light keeps our brain active. He said blue light from phones and laptops is "(12) _____________________ harmful". The second step is a good room temperature of around 19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to (13) _____________________ body temperature, which helps (14) _____________________ sleep." The final step is to reduce all noise. As for food, life (15) _____________________ Simon Alexander Ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a better night's rest. He said bananas contain (16) _____________________ that encourage sleep.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  In today's increasingly hectic world, more and more of us are experiencing ______
     a.  tiredness and fatigued
     b.  tiredness end fatigue
     c.  tiredness and fatigue
     d.  tired mess and fatigue
2)  the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical ______
     a.  and mental this order
     b.  and mentally disorder
     c.  end mental disorder
     d.  and mental disorder
3)  Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised ______"
     a.  by constantly connective
     b.  by constantly connectivity
     c.  by constant connectivity
     d.  by constant connective
4)  Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack of energy that ______
     a.  effects every aspect
     b.  affects every aspect
     c.  infects every aspect
     d.  reflects every aspect
5)  play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and ______
     a.  boast energy levels
     b.  baste energy levels
     c.  boost energy levels
     d.  boots energy levels

6)  Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist in preventative medicine at the UK's ______
     a.  biggest healthy care charity
     b.  biggest healthcare charitable
     c.  biggest wealth care charitable
     d.  biggest healthcare charity
7)  some advice about how to deal with fatigue and a ______
     a.  slack of sleep
     b.  lacks of sleep
     c.  lack of sleep
     d.  lack off sleep
8)  He said blue light from phones and laptops ______
     a.  as particularly harmful
     b.  is particular harmful
     c.  is particularly charm full
     d.  is particularly harmful
9)  A cool room helps to reduce body temperature, which ______
     a.  helps imitate sleep
     b.  helps irritate sleep
     c.  helps initiate sleep
     d.  help intimate sleep
10)  He said bananas contain chemicals ______
     a.  that encourage sleep
     b.  what encourage sleep
     c.  that's encourage sleep
     d.  that encourage sleeps

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

In today's (1) ____________________, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue. Experts say there is (2) ____________________ the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical and mental disorder that makes (3) ____________________ tired. That tiredness does not go away even if we rest. Sleep specialist Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised (4) ____________________, high stress and inadequate sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack of energy that (5) ____________________ of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no cure for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a (6) ____________________ helping manage symptoms and boost energy levels."

Dr Ben Kelly, a (7) ____________________ medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity, offered some advice about how to (8) ____________________ and a lack of sleep. He advised people to try his three-step bedtime plan. Step one is to turn the lights off because light keeps our brain active. He said blue light from phones and laptops (9) ____________________. The second step is a good room temperature of around 19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to reduce body temperature, which (10) ____________________." The final step is to (11) ____________________. As for food, life coach Simon Alexander Ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a better night's rest. He said bananas contain (12) ____________________ sleep.

Comprehension questions

  1. What does the article say today's world is?
  2. What happens to chronic fatigue disorder if we rest?
  3. What constant thing are our lives characterised by?
  4. What's the job of Rohini Patil?
  5. What can a well-balanced diet help us to boost?
  6. What's Dr Ben Kelly a specialist in?
  7. What did Dr Ben Kelly advise people to try?
  8. What kind of light is it best to avoid while trying to sleep?
  9. What room temperature is conducive to a good sleep?
  10. What do bananas contain that help us get to a better night's rest?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What does the article say today's world is?
a) on its last legs
b) a ball of confusion
c) nirvana
d) increasingly hectic
2) What happens to chronic fatigue disorder if we rest?
a) it slowly gets better
b) nothing
c) it gets worse
d) it disappears
3) What constant thing are our lives characterised by?
a) hope
b) stress
c) greed
d) connectivity
4) What's the job of Rohini Patil?
a) She's a sleep expert.
b) She's an expert on fatigue.
c) She's a nutritionist.
d) She's a journalist
5) What can a well-balanced diet help us to boost?
a) our intelligence
b) our weight
c) our eyesight
d) energy levels

6) What's Dr Ben Kelly a specialist in?
a) sleeplessness
b) fatigue
c) preventative medicine
d) many things
7) What did Dr Ben Kelly advise people to try?
a) his three-step bedroom plan
b) counting sheep
c) eating bananas
d) a new, softer pillow
8) What kind of light is it best to avoid while trying to sleep?
a) neon light
b) harsh light
c) blue light
d) red light
9) What room temperature is conducive to a good sleep?
a) 18ºC
b) 19ºC
c) 20ºC
d) 21ºC
10) What do bananas contain that help us get to a better night's rest?
a) chemicals
b) starch
c) magic
d) protein

Role play

Role  A – Memorizing Vocabulary
You think memorizing vocabulary is the thing that makes us tired most. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things don't make us tired. Also, tell the others which is the least likely of these to cause tiredness (and why): exercise, a big meal or stress.

Role  B – Exercise
You think exercise is the thing that makes us tired most. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things don't make us tired. Also, tell the others which is the least likely of these to cause tiredness (and why): memorizing vocabulary, a big meal or stress.

Role  C – A Big Meal
You think a big meal is the thing that makes us tired most. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things don't make us tired. Also, tell the others which is the least likely of these to cause tiredness (and why): exercise, memorizing vocabulary or stress.

Role  D – Stress
You think stress is the thing that makes us tired most. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things don't make us tired. Also, tell the others which is the least likely of these to cause tiredness (and why): exercise, a big meal or memorizing vocabulary.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'fatigue'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'sleep'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • hectic
    • condition
    • away
    • constant
    • lack
    • cure
    • specialist
    • lack
    • keeps
    • good
    • reduce
    • contain

    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 - Fatigue

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

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'fatigue'?
    3. How often are you fatigued?
    4. How hectic is your lifestyle?
    5. What do you do when you are really, really tired?
    6. How does extreme tiredness affect you?
    7. How can we change our lives to relax more?
    8. What are the good and bad things about 'constant connectivity'?
    9. How does the food we eat affect our sleep?
    10. What do you do to boost your energy levels?

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

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'sleeplessness'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How often do you experience sleeplessness?
    5. What do you know about preventative medicine?
    6. How does light affect your sleep?
    7. How does room temperature affect your sleep?
    8. How does noise affect your sleep?
    9. Are bananas the answer?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the experts?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

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

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

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

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    In today's increasingly (1) ____ world, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue. Experts say there is an increase in the (2) ____ chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical and mental disorder that makes us feel (3) ____ tired. That tiredness does not go away even if we rest. Sleep specialist Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised (4) ____ constant connectivity, high stress and inadequate sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack of energy that affects every (5) ____ of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no cure for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and (6) ____ energy levels."

    Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist (7) ____ preventative medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity, offered some advice about how to deal (8) ____ fatigue and a lack of sleep. He advised people to try his three-step bedtime plan. Step one is to turn the lights off because light (9) ____ our brain active. He said blue light from phones and laptops is "particularly harmful". The second step is a good room temperature of around 19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to reduce body temperature, which helps (10) ____ sleep." The final step is to reduce all noise. (11) ____ for food, life coach Simon Alexander Ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a (12) ____ night's rest. He said bananas contain chemicals that encourage sleep.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     hattrick     (b)     hectic     (c)     septic     (d)     antic    
    2. (a)     conditioner     (b)     condition     (c)     conditional     (d)     conditioned    
    3. (a)     extremism     (b)     extremity     (c)     extremes     (d)     extremely    
    4. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     at     (d)     of    
    5. (a)     inspect     (b)     aspect     (c)     specter     (d)     sector    
    6. (a)     boast     (b)     blast     (c)     boost     (d)     baste    
    7. (a)     on     (b)     of     (c)     in     (d)     at    
    8. (a)     by     (b)     of     (c)     with     (d)     to    
    9. (a)     maintains     (b)     hoards     (c)     retains     (d)     keeps    
    10. (a)     intimate     (b)     imitate     (c)     iterate     (d)     initiate    
    11. (a)     As     (b)     That     (c)     Now     (d)     So    
    12. (a)     well     (b)     best     (c)     better     (d)     sleep

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. In today's increasingly tehcic world
    2. nriochc fatigue system
    3. characterised by constant veotnincicyt
    4. high stress and aetdaiuneq sleep
    5. a well-balanced diet can play a cagnfniiist role
    6. helping manage smsomypt

    Paragraph 2

    1. a specialist in vintrvepetea medicine
    2. the UK's biggest healthcare tyirahc
    3. praailytulcr harmful
    4. A cool room helps to reduce body aeperurtmet
    5. which helps etinaiti sleep
    6. iemslccha that encourage sleep

    Put the text back together

    (  1  ) In today's increasingly hectic world, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness
    (...)   connectivity, high stress and inadequate sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack
    (...)   and fatigue. Experts say there is an increase in the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical
    (...)   offered some advice about how to deal with fatigue and a lack of sleep. He advised people to try his three-
    (...)   step is to reduce all noise. As for food, life coach Simon Alexander Ong recommends
    (...)   of energy that affects every aspect of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no
    (...)   Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist in preventative medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity,
    (...)   away even if we rest. Sleep specialist Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised by constant
    (...)   and mental disorder that makes us feel extremely tired. That tiredness does not go
    (...)   cure for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and boost energy levels."
    (...)   we eat bananas to help us get a better night's rest. He said bananas contain chemicals that encourage sleep. 
    (...)   step bedtime plan. Step one is to turn the lights off because light keeps our brain active. He said blue light
    (...)   from phones and laptops is "particularly harmful". The second step is a good room temperature of around
    (...)   19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to reduce body temperature, which helps initiate sleep." The final

    Put the words in the right order

    1. tiredness   and   fatigue   .   are   More   of   us   experiencing
    2. that   disorders   make   feel   us   tired   .   Mental   extremely
    3. constant   connectivity   .   are   Our   characterised   by   lifestyles
    4. CFS   have   of   lack   a   with   People   energy   .
    5. significant   role   .   a   can   well-balanced   diet   play   A
    6. Some   how   fatigue   .   advice   to   with   deal   about
    7. light   said   particularly   phones   from   harmful   .   He   is
    8. body   cool   room   to   temperature   .   reduce   helps   A
    9. us   Bananas   night's   help   get   better   rest   .   a
    10. encourage   chemicals   bananas   sleep   .   contain   that   said   He

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    In today's increasingly hectic / septic world, more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue. Experts / Expertise say there is an increase in the condition chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). This is a physical / physique and mental disorder that makes us feel extremity / extremely tired. That tiredness does not go away even if we rest. Sleep specialist / specialism Sammy Margo said: "Our lifestyles are characterised by constant connectivity / collectivity, high stress and inadequate / adequate sleep." Nutritionist Dr Rohini Patil said people with CFS suffer from a lack of energy that affects every inspect / aspect of their day. She said eating better can help, saying: "While there is no lure / cure for CFS, a well-balanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and boast / boost energy levels."

    Dr Ben Kelly, a specialist in preventative / tentative medicine at the UK's biggest healthcare charity, offered some advice about how to deal to / with fatigue and a lack on / of sleep. He advised people to try his three-step bedtime plan. Step one is to turn the lights off because light maintains / keeps our brain active. He said blue light from phones and laptops is "particularly / particular harmful". The second / secondly step is a good room temperature of around 19ºC. He said: "A cool room helps to reduce / redact body temperature, which helps initiate / imitate sleep." The final step is to reduce all noise. As for food, life bus / coach Simon Alexander Ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a better night's rest. He said bananas contain chemicals that entourage / encourage sleep.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    _n  t_d_y's  _ncr__s_ngly  h_ct_c  w_rld,  m_r_  _nd  m_r_  _f  _s  _r_  _xp_r__nc_ng  t_r_dn_ss  _nd  f_t_g__.  _xp_rts  s_y  th_r_  _s  _n  _ncr__s_  _n  th_  c_nd_t__n  Chr_n_c  F_t_g__  Syndr_m_  (CFS).  Th_s  _s  _  phys_c_l  _nd  m_nt_l  d_s_rd_r  th_t  m_k_s  _s  f__l  _xtr_m_ly  t_r_d.  Th_t  t_r_dn_ss  d__s  n_t  g_  _w_y  _v_n  _f  w_  r_st.  Sl__p  sp_c__l_st  S_mmy  M_rg_  s__d:  "__r  l_f_styl_s  _r_  ch_r_ct_r_s_d  by  c_nst_nt  c_nn_ct_v_ty,  h_gh  str_ss  _nd  _n_d_q__t_  sl__p."  N_tr_t__n_st  Dr  R_h_n_  P_t_l  s__d  p__pl_  w_th  CFS  s_ff_r  fr_m  _  l_ck  _f  _n_rgy  th_t  _ff_cts  _v_ry  _sp_ct  _f  th__r  d_y.  Sh_  s__d  __t_ng  b_tt_r  c_n  h_lp,  s_y_ng:  "Wh_l_  th_r_  _s  n_  c_r_  f_r  CFS,  _  w_ll-b_l_nc_d  d__t  c_n  pl_y  _  s_gn_f_c_nt  r_l_  _n  h_lp_ng  m_n_g_  sympt_ms  _nd  b__st  _n_rgy  l_v_ls."

    Dr  B_n  K_lly,  _  sp_c__l_st  _n  pr_v_nt_t_v_  m_d_c_n_  _t  th_  _K's  b_gg_st  h__lthc_r_  ch_r_ty,  _ff_r_d  s_m_  _dv_c_  _b__t  h_w  t_  d__l  w_th  f_t_g__  _nd  _  l_ck  _f  sl__p.  H_  _dv_s_d  p__pl_  t_  try  h_s  thr__-st_p  b_dt_m_  pl_n.  St_p  _n_  _s  t_  t_rn  th_  l_ghts  _ff  b_c__s_  l_ght  k__ps  __r  br__n  _ct_v_.  H_  s__d  bl__  l_ght  fr_m  ph_n_s  _nd  l_pt_ps  _s  "p_rt_c_l_rly  h_rmf_l".  Th_  s_c_nd  st_p  _s  _  g__d  r__m  t_mp_r_t_r_  _f  _r__nd  19ºC.  H_  s__d:  "_  c__l  r__m  h_lps  t_  r_d_c_  b_dy  t_mp_r_t_r_,  wh_ch  h_lps  _n_t__t_  sl__p."  Th_  f_n_l  st_p  _s  t_  r_d_c_  _ll  n__s_.  _s  f_r  f__d,  l_f_  c__ch  S_m_n  _l_x_nd_r  _ng  r_c_mm_nds  w_  __t  b_n_n_s  t_  h_lp  _s  g_t  _  b_tt_r  n_ght's  r_st.  H_  s__d  b_n_n_s  c_nt__n  ch_m_c_ls  th_t  _nc__r_g_  sl__p.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    in todays increasingly hectic world more and more of us are experiencing tiredness and fatigue experts say there is an increase in the condition chronic fatigue syndrome cfs this is a physical and mental disorder that makes us feel extremely tired that tiredness does not go away even if we rest sleep specialist sammy margo said our lifestyles are characterised by constant connectivity high stress and inadequate sleep nutritionist dr rohini patil said people with cfs suffer from a lack of energy that affects every aspect of their day she said eating better can help saying while there is no cure for cfs a wellbalanced diet can play a significant role in helping manage symptoms and boost energy levels

    dr ben kelly a specialist in preventative medicine at the uks biggest healthcare charity offered some advice about how to deal with fatigue and a lack of sleep he advised people to try his threestep bedtime plan step one is to turn the lights off because light keeps our brain active he said blue light from phones and laptops is particularly harmful the second step is a good room temperature of around 19c he said a cool room helps to reduce body temperature which helps initiate sleep the final step is to reduce all noise as for food life coach simon alexander ong recommends we eat bananas to help us get a better nights rest he said bananas contain chemicals that encourage sleep

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Intoday'sincreasinglyhecticworld,moreandmoreofusareexperiencin
    gtirednessandfatigue.Expertssaythereisanincreaseintheconditionc
    hronicfatiguesyndrome(CFS).Thisisaphysicalandmentaldisorderth
    atmakesusfeelextremelytired.Thattirednessdoesnotgoawayevenif
    werest.SleepspecialistSammyMargosaid:"Ourlifestylesarecharacte
    risedbyconstantconnectivity,highstressandinadequatesleep."Nutrit
    ionistDrRohiniPatilsaidpeoplewithCFSsufferfromalackofenergythat
    affectseveryaspectoftheirday.Shesaideatingbettercanhelp,saying:"
    WhilethereisnocureforCFS,awell-balanceddietcanplayasignificantr
    oleinhelpingmanagesymptomsandboostenergylevels."DrBenKelly,
    aspecialistinpreventativemedicineattheUK'sbiggesthealthcarechari
    ty,offeredsomeadviceabouthowtodealwithfatigueandalackofsleep.
    Headvisedpeopletotryhisthree-stepbedtimeplan.Steponeistoturnth
    elightsoffbecauselightkeepsourbrainactive.Hesaidbluelightfrompho
    nesandlaptopsis"particularlyharmful".Thesecondstepisagoodroomt
    emperatureofaround19ºC.Hesaid:"Acoolroomhelpstoreducebodyte
    mperature,whichhelpsinitiatesleep."Thefinalstepistoreduceallnoise
    .Asforfood,lifecoachSimonAlexanderOngrecommendsweeatbanana
    stohelpusgetabetternight'srest.Hesaidbananascontainchemicalsth
    atencouragesleep.

    Free writing

    Write about fighting fatigue for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

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    Academic writing

    The whole world needs to slow down. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. FATIGUE: Make a poster about fatigue. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SLOWING DOWN: Write a magazine article about the whole world slowing down to relax more. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on fatigue. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to reduce it. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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