Listening test: Marathon running

Listen to Jemma talking about her experience of running marathons and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.

source: Podcasts in English

1. Jemma
A. disliked running at school.
B. has been running on and off.
C. is a professional runner.

2. Jemma goes running
A. because she lives in the country.
B. no matter what the weather is like.
C. to be with some other people.

3. Jemma
A. has run three marathons.
B. ran the London marathon with her husband.
C. trained for a year to run the London marathon.

4. In the London marathon
A. Jemma ran over Tower Bridge.
B. Jemma’s children called out her name.
C. there’s a festive atmosphere.

5. When she participated in the London Marathon Jemma
A. couldn’t really hear the spectators shouting.
B. ran alone.
C. was about to abandon.

6. Jemma
A. hit a wall when she crossed the finish line.
B. took over four hours to complete the marathon.
C. was too tired to feel anything when she finished the race.

7. At the end Jemma says that she had never done (…) until yesterday.
A. a half marathon
B. a half marathon abroad
C. a half marathon at home

London's Cutty Sark during the marathon

We're talking about running. With me is Jemma. Hi. Jemma.
Hello
Now Jemma, you're not a professional runner but I know that you take running very seriously...
Yes. Well, when I was at school I always enjoyed running anyway and then I stopped for a few years but then in the early 1980's there was quite a big boom of ...people to encourage people to start running again, to keep fit. So that sort of promoted me back into running again, so yeah, so I've been running, I suppose, ever since, on and off, yeah.
What is it about running that you like as an exercise?
I think it's to go out in the fresh air. Whether it's cold or windy or even if it's raining, it's just nice to be out in the country. You have some time just to yourself, to go out and just have that space and that sense of freedom, just go out and run for an hour or an hour and a half, it's just lovely, it's sort of my time just for me.
...and I know you actually have done a marathon, haven't you?
I have, yes. Many years ago I have to say. In 1994 I actually did the London Marathon. That was my first and to date the only marathon I have ever done and it was a fabulous experience, I really enjoyed it.
Tell me about the training that you had to do for that.
Well, I sat on the settee at home and I watched in 1993, I watched the marathon and I said to my husband, I'd really like to do a marathon. So I applied and I was fortunate enough to be accepted so throughout that whole year I gradually increased the amount of miles I was running each week so through the year I did three half marathons, which is 13.1 miles, and that led me to being fit enough to do the London Marathon the following year.
It must have been an amazing experience. How... do you know how many people took part that year?
I can't remember that year. It was still quite early on in the the popularity of running. It's certainly much, much bigger now. But it was the biggest race I had ever run in, it was just a sea of people and I just remember running under Tower Bridge and past the Cutty Sark and there were bands playing and I had my name on my T-shirt so all the children would call out your name and give you sweets and things like that so the atmosphere was fantastic and the crowds in some places were about five or six people deep even, you know sort of fifteen years ago so it was, it was amazing I don't think I would ever forget that. It was fantastic.
So do you think all those people calling out your name, that kept you going?
Oh yes, very much so, yes, I mean it was lovely, because they would say, Go Jemma, go on, well done. And just that encouragement, when you're feeling quite tired and your legs are really feeling a bit heavy just to have people calling you by your actual name makes it much more personalized; they're not just cheering anybody, they're cheering you specifically so that made a big difference because obviously I didn't have family with me, I was just running it by myself so that was lovely, yes.
How did you feel when you crossed the finishing line?
Well, it was very emotional actually because it was such a sense of achievement and I was so proud of the time that I'd run it in.
Can you remember how fast you did it?
Oh, I was four hours twelve minutes. You never forget the time of your first marathon. So I was very pleased with that and I never hit, they have a term called hitting the wall. [Right.] where if you haven't trained properly or if you run out of energy you really find it difficult to even walk let alone run and I never felt that. I felt well throughout the whole of the run, I ran continually and didn't stop.
Fantastic. You've just done a race recently. What was that?
Yes, well, I was very pleased to have done the Lisbon Half Marathon, just yesterday and that was fantastic. I hadn't run a half marathon for quite a few months. I did, I'd done one at home in November and this was my first one actually abroad, that was lovely.
Well, fantastic Jemma and long may you keep on running.
Thank you very much.

KEY: 
1B 2B 3C 4C 5B 6B 7B

Coleen Rooney Launches McDonald's Football Mum Of The Year

Coleen Rooney, Wayne Rooney's wife, has returned to her roots in Liverpool to find some of the UK’s most dedicated and involved football mums. Visiting Mossley Hill Athletic FC Under 10’s boys team in Merseyside, Liverpool, Coleen met some of the hardworking mums who go above and beyond sacrificing their own free time for the sake of their football-mad children.

Self-study activity:
Coleen Rooney has a very broad Liverpudlian accent which, to be honest, is quite difficult to understand.
Watch the video through to get the feel of what the accent in this part of Britain is like.
Then watch the video as often as neccessary and complete the blanks in the transcript.



I’ve teamed up with McDonald’s to search the UK for the most dedicated and involved football mums. Wayne always spoke a lot about his mum and what she’d done to sacrifice her life for his football. Having kids now, my Kai is (1) ..., plays for a number of local teams. We are pretty much busy, I’d say, four nights a week and then games on a (2) ... and training on a (3) ... , so it is literally, near enough, every day. In Liverpool, that’s your typical family. Everyone is a football fan.
Julie is a mum of three, and with two football-mad sons, their entire life revolves around the (4) ...  ... .
I do a lot of jobs, raging from collecting subs, sorting out training facilities, ordering the kits, arranging friendlies, tournaments, the end of year activities, presentations. Just helping with the training, my boot is full of balls. I would say football probably takes up over (5) ... of my life at the moment. I’m pretty sure that there’s lots of mums out there like me, that as well as doing what I do, will coach a team.
There’s a lot more mums getting heavily involved in football clubs today, and it’s about time they get recognised for it.
With all of her kids’ activities, mum-of-four Joanne has little time for herself, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
We all love football in this house. Charlie’s whole life is just playing football, so obviously that’s taken over our lives. I believe the grassroots wouldn’t be the same without the (6) ...  ... . They do a lot behind the scenes that you just don’t see. There’s people who do much more than me and deserve to be recognised.
I’ve come to meet some mums with truly inspirational football stories.
So what (7) ... do you make for your children to come here?
Birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas.
I do help a lot for his team and my other son’s team as well. You’ve sort of got not much of a social life. I’m (8) ... this year and I’m going to a football tournament on my (9) ... .
From coaching, managing teams, or volunteering at the club, they give up hours of their time.
We’ve got Paul and Chris who manage, and I’m like the third ear. I feel like I’m sort of part of the coaching team.
And how do you think the role of being a football mum is much more than just bringing the kids to training and some football games?
Definitely you see a lot more mums getting involved in the actual game, with the mums acting as a (10) ... .
What’s the relationship like between all the mums at the club?
I’ve got quite a big family, it’s hard sometimes juggling them. I’ve got four children. Last week, I was struggling, I couldn’t get Charlie to football, but you just put a (11) ... out and within 5 minutes you’ve got 4 or 5 offers to take him for me.
We’re looking for football mums who are leading by example, taking an active role in keeping the grassroots game going.
Without Julie, the club would really struggle to survive. She takes a lot of the burden off the coaches in terms of what we do. She (12) ... everything for us and makes sure everything runs like clockwork.
So, whose mum deserves to be Football Mum Of The Year?
Nominate a deserving mum in the 2017 McDonald’s Football Mum Of The Year. Nominate now at mcdonalds.co.uk/awards

Key:
1 seven
2 Saturday
3 Sunday 
4 beautiful game
5 75%
6 football mums
7 sacrifices 
8 forty 
9 40th
10 coach 
11 message 
12 arranges

Listening test: Man breaks the world record for slowest marathon

Listen and complete the blanks in the sentences below with up to THREE WORDS. 0 is an example.

source: Deep English

0 Example:
We rarely hear about the weakest or slowest athletes in the world.

1 Shizo Kanakuri took over ______________________ years to finish the Olympic marathon.

2 Before going to the 1912 Olympics, Shizo had set a ______________________ time of just 2 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.

3 Shizo Kanakuri was a fast but ______________________ of 20 years of age.

4 When Kanakuri and his teammate arrived in Sweden, they had problem with ______________________ , which resulted in his teammate getting ill.

5 When Kanakuri collapsed on the marathon race, some ______________________ looked after him.

6 Out of the sixty-eight marathon runners who had taken part in the race, only ______________________ finished it.

7 When 50 years later the Swedish authorities discovered that Kanakuri was ______________________ in Japan, they invited him to finish the race.

The Olympics are a chance to honor the strongest and fastest athletes in the world, but we rarely hear about the weakest or the slowest. Shizo Kanakuri is the exception. He holds the world record for the slowest time in the Olympic marathon. He finished the race after 54 years, eight months, six days, 5 hours and 32 minutes.
Kanakuri was not a slow runner. On the contrary, before going to the 1912 Olympics, he had set a world record marathon time of just 2 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds. He was the favorite to win the marathon at the Stockholm Olympics. It was the first time for Japan or any Asian nation to participate in the Olympics. Kanakuri was one of just two athletes sent to represent his country.
Despite being the favorite, the odds were stacked against Kanakuri from the very beginning. He was fast, but an inexperienced athlete of just 20 years of age. On top of that, to get to Stockholm, he had an 18-day ship and train journey to deal with. Kanakuri ran around the ship and around each train station at every stop to get in some training time during the exhausting trip. When he finally arrived, both he and his teammate had trouble dealing with the local food. His teammate became ill, and Kanakuri had to take care of him, further cutting into his training time.
The day of the marathon was a scorcher. Twenty-seven kilometers into the race, Kanakuri collapsed from overheat and was taken care of by some local farmers. Kanakuri was not alone. Runners were dropping like flies that day, and fellow runner Francisco Lázaro even died. Sixty-eight runners from around the world entered the race, but only half crossed the finish line. Unlike the other runners who dropped out, Kanakuri never reported his failure to finish to the race officials. He was listed as missing.
Kanakuri returned to Japan, continued his training and ran in two other Olympics in Belgium and France. In his home country, he was known as the Father of Japanese Marathons, but in Sweden, he was known as the missing marathoner.
After 50 years, the Swedish authorities discovered he was alive and well in Japan. In 1967, they invited him back to finish the race. At 75 years of age, he finally crossed the finish line. He said, “It was a long trip. Along the way, I got married, had six children and ten grandchildren.”

KEY:
1 fifty-four
2 world record marathon
3 inexperienced athlete
4 the local food
5 local farmers
6 half / 34
7 alive and well

Tiger Woods on his comeback and his one regret

Golfer Tiger Woods has a timeline for his return to the game. He sat down for a one-on-one interview with Charlie Rose on Rose’s PBS programme.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.



1. When did Tiger Woods start his foundation?
2. How old is he?
3. What is Tiger's best natural talent for playing golf?
4. Who taught Tiger everything he knows about golf?
5. How was 'being Tiger Woods' a burden?
6. Which is his one regret about life?
7. Who are the people who have supported him most throghout his life?
8. What is his relationship with Elin, his ex-wife?
9. How does his tell his children dad and mom aren't together anymore?


Awkward Tiger Woods has a new timeline for his return to the game. We sat down yesterday afternoon for a rare interview, the first time he’s sat down for an-hour interview. The Tiger Woods Foundation he started with his father is celebrating a milestone. The Tiger Woods Foundation is turning 20. We spoke about his struggle to come back after a series of injuries, the fallout from controversies involving his marriage and the one decision that remains his single biggest regret.

When do you think you’ll come back?
I’m hoping to come back in December.
You are. You believe you can do that? You’ll be ready? Something will happen between withdrawing from Safeway and competing there?
More hard work.
More hard work. Here is what’s interesting about you, more than any golfer, any athlete I know. It’s not just you. It’s us. We can’t let you go. I mean, there’s is a sense that we never…
Oh, you care?
Well, yes. But there is a sense that we never understood how it was to be so brilliant on a golf course. We didn’t get how one could be so dominant in a sport. We didn’t understand how you could lose that, either. You’ve thought about that?
Of course, Charlie. You know, I miss being out there. I miss competing. I miss mixing it up with the boys and coming down the stretch.
You like being Tiger Woods?
I like beating those guys. And that’s why I practice all those hours... is to be ready to take on those guys down the stretch. And do I miss it? Absolutely, 100 percent. And to be at my age now, at 40 years old… I’m the first one to admit: I can’t do the things I used to be able to do. But most people can’t at my age, versus when they were younger. I have to find different ways to go about it.
You have to find other ways to win?
Yes, I do. But I’m naturally a tactician. Even when I was hitting the ball long and blowing over the top of bunkers, that was the strategy. And so, I used my mind, and then eventually the method I used allowed me to master my craft.
But that’s why the mind is so important. I mean, you used your mind. You learned that, you know, at… you learned that from your father, I assume.
Correct.
You learned mental toughness. You learned how to win. You still have that.
Oh, yeah. That part hasn’t left me. I know how to get it done. I just need to get into a position to get it done.
Some have said to be Tiger Woods was both a gift and a burden. How was it a burden?
Well, it’s a burden in the sense that it… the amount of obligations that I have at a tournament. The anonymity that was lost, you know, one… the… you know, if you look back, the only regret I have in life is not spending another year at Stanford, and I wish I would’ve had one more year.
That’s the only regret?
That’s the only regret, I wish I had.
Of all the things that’s happened to you?
All the things and that’s all.
Everything?
All the things I’ve learned, all the things that I’ve been through are tough, yes. They’ve been tough, but they’ve been great for me, but I wish I would’ve gone one more year at Stanford.
Would you be the golfer you are without your dad?
No.
You would not be the champion that you became.
Without my dad or my mother. There’s no way. There’s no way. No.
Because your mother stood by you and stood by him.
My mother was so supportive and so loyal, and so great as a mother that there’s no way.
She was also supportive after Thanksgiving 2009 when you had a public humiliation. Some would suggest, obviously, that that humiliation you went through publicly, your private life, exposed, has a lingering effect on your mind and your game.
I’ve heard that, too.
I know.
I look at the fact that, yeah, I’ve… I made a bunch of mistakes. But in the end, Elin is my ex-wife. She’s one of my best friends. We’ve had two beautiful kids.
How do you tell your kids why mama and daddy are not together?
It’s because daddy made some mistakes. Daddy made some mistakes. And I’d much rather hear, have them hear it from me. And so…
So, you’ve sat down and said, I regret what I did and…
No. No. I don’t. I haven’t said that. I said everybody makes mistakes, and the reason why mommy’s living in her house and daddy’s living in his house is because daddy made mistakes, and it’s okay.
You had all the tools, but the mental stuff is so important. I mean, you wanted to win, and you wanted to win. And you also didn’t just want to win. You didn’t just want to win that tournament. You wanted to beat the hell out of everybody who was there. That was the mindset that you had. You were a killer.
Winning was fun.
A killer.
Winning was fun. Beating someone’s even better.
Why is that?
I don’t know. I’ve always had that. You know, if you win a race, you know, you win a meet by a second or two, it sure feels a lot better if you win it by five or six, you know? Striking four or five guys out. But you know what? Throwing no hitters is even better.
Do you believe you’ll get 18 majors?
To be honest with you, no.
You don’t?
No.
You’ve accepted that?
I’ve accepted I’m going to get more.

…our next hour will be about the memorable dinner Tiger shared with Arnold Palmer, and you can see the full conversation tonight on my PBS programme. He is a warrior, whether he’ll be able to come back, only he knows, he believes so, but he also knows he’s got a lot of work to do.
I loved that winning is fun but beating someone is always better. He’s fierce!
That’s why he became what he was. He basically said I don’t have more ability, I don’t have more strength, I don’t have more talent. I just work harder. And that’s why he believes we’ll get him back.
It will be interesting to watch, Charlie.

Key:
1 twenty years ago 
2 forty years old
3 he's a tactician, he uses his mind in the game 
4 his dad
5 the amount of obligations, the anonimity that was lost
6 not spending another year at Stanford
7 both his dad and his mom 
8 She is one of his best friends
9 because daddy made some mistakes

Reading test: The best Dorset walks

In this week's reading test we are going to practise the heading-matching task. To do so, we are going to read part of The Guardian article 10 of the best Dorset walks.

Match each of the paragraphs below with its corresponding heading A-J. There are three headings you do not need to use.

A - A walk across farming fields and grassland
B - Be ready for rough weather
C - For lovers of the natural world
D - For those who are interested in minerals and rocks
E - It used to be a hotspot for criminals
F - Man settled in this area a long time ago
G - Many battles took place in this area
H - Not suitable if you are unfit
I - Perfect if you fancy going for a swim
J - The area inspired a famous novelist 

Brownsea Island
Located in the middle of Poole harbour, Brownsea is a dramatically located wildlife refuge with a rich history and great views of the surrounding area. The birthplace of the Scouting movement, it has plenty to divert families, with the Baden-Powell Outdoor Centre providing excursions and activities. The real star, however, is the wildlife, with red squirrels, deer, lizards, insects and birdlife all in residence. This short walk takes you through some of the best spots, but further wandering may result in its own wildlife-spotting rewards.

Burton Bradstock
This short circular walk along golden Burton Cliff takes in some spectacular clifftop views of the Jurassic coast. Hive beach below is part of the fascinating stony beach coastline around Lyme Bay. It was a key landing stage for smugglers, and folklore says that a local fisherman or smuggler could tell exactly where he was on the beach at night or in fog simply by looking at the size of the pebbles. You can enjoy the view with some fine fresh fish at the Hive Beach Café.

Corfe
There are few castles more evocative than Corfe Castle, an imposing ruin perched high on the hill, which is thought to be the inspiration for Kirrin Castle in Enid Blyton's Famous Five books. It's a formidable defensive, and the common around the castle has been shaped by human activity over thousands of years, leaving an interesting archaeological landscape. Cream teas for the tired walker await in the Bankes Arms Hotel or, for something stronger, the beer garden overlooking the castle at the Greyhound Inn is the perfect place to relax with a pint.

Godlingston Heath
The sand spit of Studland is the start point for the South West Coast Path, and is also home to some fantastic beaches, with barbecue spots and views across to Sandbanks (a short journey away on the chain ferry), Bournemouth, and the Isle of Wight. The wide open Shell Bay is a popular spot, with gently sloping waters backed by dunes, while for those who prefer slightly more freedom, the most popular naturist beach in Britain is nearby.

Marshwood
Dorset's countryside is scattered with forts, castles, gun emplacements and other fortifications. There are several recognisable ancient monuments in the county, including the two Iron Age hill forts featured in this walk. Lambert's Castle offers fine views of the surrounding area, with the coast visible on clear days. The medieval fishpond is also well worth a visit.

Melbury Downs
Inland Dorset is Thomas Hardy country, with landscapes right out of his novels. You can still visit his birthplace and his later home, Max Gate, but the essence of Hardy is found in the surrounding countryside that inspired his semi-fictional Wessex. This walk takes you through the Downs in which his novels of the Blackmore Vale are set, featuring far-reaching views and an ancient landscape. For a nearby pick me up, The Fontmell is a good, newly-refurbed country pub.

West Bexington
Following a short stretch of the South West Coast Path, this walk takes in the area around Chesil Beach, an 18-mile long "barrier beach" that shelters Weymouth from the erosion caused by the prevailing wind and waves. Fishermen are a common sight on the coastline. Further inland, the wide hedgerows offer excellent habitats for birds.

Melbury Downs, Dorset. Photograph: Alamy for The Guardian

KEY:
Brownsea Island – C
Burton Bradstock – E
Corfe – F
Godlingston Heath – I
Marshwood – G
Melbury Downs – J
West Bexington - B

I like being afraid

For some kids, the playground isn’t enough – extreme sports like snowboarding or motocross are the best ways to have fun. But are they safe?



Who ...?
A - enjoys being around people
B - enjoys the feeling of being scared
C - has been doing the sport just in the last year
D - is fully aware of the danger the sport poses
E - started doing the sport when he/she was a toddler
F - thinks the sport has an influence on personality
G – would be wasting his/her time is they weren’t doing this sport

My name is Luke Ruben Acuna, I'm 12 years old. I've been chair skating for about a year now. For all those that think that chair skating is really dangerous, it, it is. That is true, but there are certain things that us chair skaters do to not let ourselves get hurt. It's only dangerous if we let it to be dangerous.

My name John Givoni Connolly. I'm nine years old, and I, I started snowboarding when I was two. To overcome fear trying something new, I just do it.

I am Tessa Milan. I am 11 years old, and I am from Carlsbad, California. I like being scared, and sometimes when I'm like, airing on a half pipe, it makes me feel scared, so I like that feeling.

I am Charlie Gray. I am 11 years old, and I'm from Mammoth Lakes, California. Snowboarding is awesome because you're outdoors, get to be around people that you like. It's, like, the best sport ever.

My name is Verastess, and I live in Petaluma, California. Started skateboarding when I was about, like, almost one in diapers. If I didn't have skateboarding, I'll probably just lay around on the couch all day and watch TV. When I'm really scared to try something, I just think to myself, if you wanna do it really bad, you can do it.

I'm Brian Cullen. My kids are Michael. He's 8 years old. And Kylie, she's 10. Climbing for us has really brought the family together, and I love to see that. It's just really exciting to see what it's, you know, what it's done for them physically and mentally. I mean climbing is, is problem solving.

My name is Eric Ferdell. I am 11 years old. I'm from Courts Hill, and started riding about three years ago. Definitely, this sport is very dangerous. Every time you go out there, you keep it in the back of your head saying, oh, yeah well, I coud break an arm, or I could die doing this. But really, it's how much will you put into it? What I enjoy most is just the feeling you have when you're going, you know, 70 miles an hour, up to a jump, and then launch about 60 feet in the air. And, anything you can think of on a dirt bike, you can do it.

Key:
A Charlie Gray (snowboarding)
B Tessa Milan (snowboarding)
C Luke Ruben Acuna (chair skating)
D Eric Ferdell (motocross)
E John Givoni Connolly (snowboarding)
F Brian Cullen (climbing)
G Verastess (skateboarding)

Why it is hard to keep the pounds off

Rebecca Wright and her husband, Daniel Wright, have gained back a lot of the weight they lost six years ago on a TV reality show. A study of the contestants helps explain why.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.



1 How many pounds did Rebecca and her husband lose together?
2 What has happened in the last six years?
3 How healthy are Rebecca and her husband?
4 What will happen to your body if you are successful losing weight?
5 What are the people trying to lose weight fighting against?
6 What simile does Dr Hall use?
7 How do Rebecca and her husband feel when they hear how difficult it is for them to fight against their slow metabolism?
8 What have they learnt after taking part in the study?

Three. Two. Exhale. Good job.
Rebecca Wright, a personal trainer, and her husband, Daniel, first met on season eight of "The Biggest Loser." They together lost almost 250 pounds. But in the last six years, they've gained almost all the weight back.
Daniel and I have never given up since "Loser."  
We've seen some pretty big downfalls. We've put weight back on. But we've never stopped being healthy.
Wright participated in a recent study that helps explain why she and many other contestants have regained most of their weight.
Two more.
The more successful you are at losing weight, the slower your metabolism will be and the more hungry you'll be.
Dr. Kevin Hall led the study. He's a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, and he says the findings show how hard the body fights back against weight loss. 
These "Biggest Loser" folks, not only did they cut their calories, but they increased the amount of exercise that they're doing by an enormous amount. [High.]  However, despite that, their metabolic rate slowed dramatically.  [Up. Press.] On the metabolism side of things, your body is trying to slow down and resist further weight loss and actually promote weight regain. And you're fighting against that at the same time as you're fighting against an increased appetite. [Rip it across.  Yes.] So it's a little bit of a double whammy. And what happens to most people is that they can't keep up the fight against the slowing of metabolism and the increased appetite, and so they slip backwards. It's like asking someone to hold their breath. You can do it for a little while, but it is very difficult to do it for much longer than a minute or two. [One.]
So I think when you hear that you have a slower metabolism, you're a little disheartened. We're bombarded by messages that say, here are seven things you can do to boost your metabolism. I saw on the program at 4:00 PM today that, if I eat this, I'll have a faster metabolism.  It's this word that's been thrown around since I was as young as I can remember.
I have to stop at ALDI and get wraps for huevos.
So when you first hear you have a slow metabolism, you're a little disheartened, because you're like, well, does that mean I'm set what does this mean?
Like, I'm just doomed. I'm never gonna be able to lose weight. Does that mean you throw the towel in? No. You get to eat soon, mi amor.
So now we know why this happens to us and why it's hard. So now it's like, oh, 'cause someone, someone medically is saying, hey, it is hard. But the other answer is it's saying it's not impossible. There are people from the study who have maintained weight loss.  So I think the point from the study is, oh, here's why I've been yo-yoing.  So now what can I do to kind of design my life to not do that as much anymore?  And this time doing it reasonably and doing it slower, so hopefully there's not this big swing that we saw after "Biggest Loser."

Listening test: Breathwalking

Listen to a short report on breathwalking and answer the questions below by choosing the best option A, B or C.



1 What is breathwalking a combination of?
A. Meditation and walking.
B. Unconscious breathing and walking.
C. Walking, conscious breathing and meditation.

2 What is breathwalking designed to reduce?
A. Stress.
B. The working day.
C. Weight.

3 Where was breathwalking developed?
A. India.
B. The United Kingdom.
C. The United States.

4 What is Michelle Risa’s job?
A. A breathwalk instructor.
B. A business consultant.
C. A Psychotherapist.

5 When does Yogi Bhajan believe people should do to breathwalk?
A. After work.
B. In their everyday life.
C. When they are in an outdoor space.

6 What does Risa look at in people when teaching them breathwalking?
A. Smoking and eating habits.
B. The person as a whole.
C. Work and home life.

7 What does eastern spiritual philosophy teach?
A. Everything is interconnected.
B. Nothing is everything.
C. The future is promising.

Breathing and walking are two of the most natural things that we do in life. Normally, we don’t spend much time thinking about how exactly we perform these actions. Breathwalking brings together conscious breathing, walking and meditation. Instructors teach how to integrate routines of improved breathing and movement into today’s stressful lives.

Breathwalking comes out of Kundalini yoga. This was taught by the late Yogi Bhajan, who was probably best known for his range of ayurvedic teas. The technique was then developed and popularized by his pupil Gurucharan Singh Khalsa. He was the spiritual leader of the Singh community in the US, in addition to working as a psychotherapist and business consultant. Michelle Risa is a breathwalk instructor based on Park Avenue in Manhattan. She says that breathwalking is perfect for modern city life.

Yogi Bhajan basically said: “Let me give you tools. You don’t need to be a Tibetan in a cave up in the mountains and I don’t want you to leave the city, I don’t want you to leave your job. I want to give you tools that you can use easily every day, whenever you need them, to improve the quality of your life,” which is perfect for us because we basically all say: “I don’t have time! I don’t have time!” You know, and so the beauty of his yoga, as well as breathwalk, I feel, is that: that while you’re walking to work, or walking home from work, there are many ways you can place this in your life without... and overcome the obstacle, the proverbial obstacle of: “I don’t have any time. I’m too busy.”

Michelle says there are five parts to every breathwalk: Awaken, Align, Vitalize, Balance and Integrate. You learn about long breathing, short breathing, segmented breathing and ratio breathing; and how to work with your body’s meridian points – and sounds, too. Michelle says that, in addition to breathwalking on your way to work, you can also do breathing exercises at your desk. In her work as a breathwalk instructor, Michelle also looks at people’s lives: what holds them back at work and at home, at addictions like smoking and at clients’ nutrition. This follows the philosophy of Eastern spiritual teachings: everything is connected with everything. Another ancient idea, that prevention is better than a cure, is now becoming popular with big corporations, too, and so Michelle is taking breathwalking into the boardrooms. It would appear that breathwalking has a promising future ahead of it.

KEY: 
1C 2A 3C 4A 5B 6B 7A

How cities can encourage exercise

This is a very interesting video from The Economist about how changes to our everyday routines can greatly improve our health and wellbeing.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.



1 What reduction of deaths among normal-weight people can a brisk 20-minute daily walk have?
2 How many people around the world die because of inactivity?
3 Are street vendors beneficial or harmful for us?
4 What plans about the use of cars are Milan and Dublin preparing?
5 What distance should all citizens in a city travel by bike to get two thirds of the population doing the right amount of exercise they need?
6 How much is the percentage of cyclists growing in London every year?
7 How long does a quarter of British adults walk daily?

Lack of physical activity is the fourth biggest killer in the world. Some studies reckon that sitting for too long is worse to health than smoking. Even small amounts of exercise have enormous health benefits. A brisk 20-minute daily walk can reduce death among people of a normal weight by 25% and among obese people by 16%. But only one tenth of adults in Europe manage this and the problem doesn’t just affect rich countries.
Of the 3.2 million deaths a year caused by inactivity, 2.6 million are in low and middle income countries. Cities tend to be home for the most sedentary people, and therefore have higher rates of these kinds of deaths. What can they do to make their populations more active?
First, make streets more welcoming places to be. Some cities are taking steps by encouraging street vendors whose stalls make streets busier and thus less susceptible to theft and crime. Citywide speed limits of 20 miles per hour and safer intersections will make roads more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Closing areas to cars all together at certain times also incentivizes people to get out and about. In Colombia’s capital, Bogota, and the Indian city of Gwalior large areas are cordoned off every week freeing up space for pedestrians, cyclists and exercises classes.
Similar schemes have now spread to North America and Europe, and Dublin and Milan recently unveiled plans to ban cars from their city centers altogether.
Next, bring in the bikes. If all journey of less than two kilometres were done on foot and all trips of two to eight kilometres done on bikes the number of people the number of people who’d get enough exercise just by transporting themselves would rise from one fifth to two thirds, according to a study by London’s Transport Authority.
Bike-sharing gives commuters the option of cycling without having to own, maintain and lock up their own bike. Bicycle superhighways, multi-lane bike paths separate from traffic are cropping up in major cities, including London, where the number of cyclists is growing by ten percent every year.
Last, make public transport more user-friendly. A quarter of British adults currently walk for less than nine minutes a day. The short walks to public transport requires could help add up to a healthier life style. In India, areas surrounding subway stations have been designed to give pedestrians lots of wider, easier ways to get into the station. It doesn’t cost much to make this kind of change.
Doing away with our sedentary habits will save twice as many lives as eliminating obesity. Despite this, the level of inactivity continues to rise around the world.

World's longest man-made wave set to open in Wales

The world's longest man-made surf wave has been unveiled in North Wales. It is breaking in an unlikely spot: a village in the Conwy valley in Snowdonia, on the site of an old aluminium factory.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the question below about it.



1. Where does the water in the lagoon come from?
2. How many reservoirs are there at the top of the mountain?
3. How long has the Wave Garden company been working on the project?
4. How long does the wave keep running?

So if you want to surf in the Welsh’s valley, this is where you come. This is filled with (1) rain water. Now I’ll just show you where that comes from. At the top of this mountain here are (2) three reservoirs and the water shoots down these pipes and the power that generates from that goes into the local power station and then the rain water fills up this lagoon here. And it’s this pontoon under which the technology runs to create the waves.
So how is all this possible? And in the command center here it’s Steve Davis, the man who’s made it all work and here we’re gonna see it, Steve, turn on, I believe you’re going to show us how it starts.
Indeed. This is the control console. Beneath the waves is probably the most closely-guarded commercial secret of this project, which is the actual wave foil. And the WaveGarden company has spent six to seven years optimising the shape of that. So not surprisingly that’s the closely-guarded commercial secret. And all I have to do to make it move, and I’m going to move it quite slowly, it’s literally press this button. So let’s see if it works. Presto!
Such a brilliant surfing experience to have a wave every (4) 60 seconds at your fingertips in the Welsh summer, it’s just absolutely fantastic.
Yeah, it’s lovely. It’s really odd … kind of straight towards that kind of metal structure, but it is brilliant, especially up here in this setting.

Listening test: Baseball and racism

Listen to this report on baseball player Jackie Robinson and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence. 0 is an example.


0. Example:
African-Americans
A. have always been allowed to play in the major baseball leagues.
B. were excluded to play because of a racist incident.
C. weren’t allowed to play until Jacki Robinson’s time.

1. Jackie Robinson
A. left the army after the war.
B. had a racist incident at university.
C. had problems with the law while he was in the army.

2. Jackie Robinson
A. attracted the attention of a Washington team manager.
B. didn’t like the busy life of baseball players.
C. signed on a team with the Negro Leagues while still at the army.

3. In the minor league team Robinson
A. didn’t stay in the same room as his team mates.
B. had to deal with difficult situations.
C. only played the home matches.

4. In this team Robinson
A. played for three years.
B. started badly, but then got better.
C. was the first black player since 1880.

5. Robinson received the most abuse from
A. fans.
B. other players.
C. the media.

6. He retired because
A. he had been elected for a political position.
B. he lacked the motivation to keep playing.
C. his health was not good.

7. After leaving baseball Robinson
A. became a TV personality.
B. did religious work.
C. got involved in social causes.



Jackie Robinson was not the first African-American to play in the major leagues; there were a handful of black baseball players at the end of the nineteenth century. However, in 1884, a famous player named Cap Anson refused to play any team with a black player on its roster. The pressure from Anson and other white players influenced managers and team owners, and the end result was the effective exclusion of African-Americans from major league baseball for over sixty years. Separate "Negro Leagues” were created for them to play.
In college, Robinson had played football, basketball, track, and baseball, and one newspaper described his athletic prowess as "outstanding." After graduating, he served in the army, where an incident of racism derailed his military career. After refusing a bus driver's request to move to the back of the bus, Robinson was taken into custody by police and interrogated with racist questions. When he confronted the officer about this, he was charged with insubordination. Although he was acquitted, the trial prevented him from being deployed overseas – and he eventually left the military and signed on with a team in the Negro Leagues.
Robinson received a decent salary, but he became frustrated with the hectic travel schedule that prevented him from seeing his girlfriend, Rachel, who he would later marry. Robinson attracted the attention of the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who contracted him to play on a minor league team. 
There were still hurdles to overcome - Robinson was not allowed to stay at the same hotel as his teammates, and several games in which he was scheduled to play were abruptly cancelled by the local authorities.
His season got off to a mediocre start, but improved greatly after he changed to a different position in the field. The following year, he was called up to the major leagues and made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, thus becoming the first player since 1880 to openly break the colour line in baseball.
Robinson received mixed reviews from the media, but was generally accepted by the public - and black fans began flocking to the Dodgers' games. However, some of his own teammates insinuated that they would rather sit out than play alongside him. He was also taunted by members of opposing teams, and became the target for some rough physical play. Despite the abuse, Robinson’s stellar performance earned him the Rookie of the Year Award for the all-around best first-year player.
Robinson's career with the Dodgers lasted ten years, and he retired after his health began to deteriorate, later being diagnosed with diabetes. The Dodgers honoured him by retiring his uniform number, meaning no other player on the team could ever use Jackie Robinson's famous 42 - and he became the first black player to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame.
Later in life, Robinson served as a commentator and also became involved in politics and business. He worked to advance the cause of black people in sports, commerce, and industry, and also established a construction company to build houses for poor families. Both his breaking of the colour barrier and his professional success were monumental steps forward in the battle for civil rights.


KEY: 1C 2B 3B 4B 5B 6C 7C

Extensive listening: Fifa, Sepp Blatter and Me

Reporter Andrew Jennings has been investigating corruption in world football for the past 15 years. He has exposed the criminality of Fifa executives and repeatedly challenged its president to come clean.
Now with football in crisis, Andrew is once again back on the road investigating Sepp Blatter's Fifa. His reports includes an insight into an FBI investigation, puts a figure on what Qatar supposedly spent to secure the 2022 World Cup and promises fresh evidence that Sepp Blatter has known about corruption all along.

Reading test: A daily walk 'can add seven years to your life'

In this week's reading test we are going to read The Independent article A daily walk 'can add seven years to your life' to practise the insert-a-word kind of task.

Read the text and complete the gaps with one word or phrase from the list below. There are three words or phrases you do not need to use. 0 is an example.

 A daily walk 'can add seven years to your life'

Just 25 minutes of brisk walking a day can add up to seven years to your life, (0) according to health experts.
Researchers have found that moderate exercise could (1) … the risk of dying from a heart attack for someone in their fifties or sixties.

Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer, causing one death every seven seconds, and exercise has long been seen as a way to reduce the risks by (2) … obesity and diabetes.

A new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress suggested that regular exercise can increase (3) … .

A group of 69 healthy non-smokers, aged between  30 and 60, who did not (4) … regular exercise were tested as part of the study at Saarland University in Germany. Blood tests taken during six months of regular aerobic exercise, high-intensity interval training and strength training showed that an anti-ageing process had been triggered and helped repair old DNA.

“This suggests that when people exercise regularly, they (5) … be able to retard the process of ageing,” said Sanjay Sharma, professor of inherited cardiac diseases in sports cardiology at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in London.

“We may never (6) … becoming completely old, but we are likely to delay the time we become old, look younger when we’re 70 live into our nineties.

“Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It is an antidepressant, it improves cognitive function and there is now evidence that it is likely to retard the onset of dementia.”

The advice from experts is that everyone (7) … do at least 20 minutes of walking or jogging a day, given the sedentary lifestyles and changes in diet that have contributed to high death rates from heart disease. Exercise can (8) … improve brain functioning.

Exercise brings benefits at whatever age the person starts. People who start exercising at the age of 70 are less likely to go on to develop a condition that (9) … to irregular or racing heart rates in 10 per cent of people aged over 80.

“The study brings a bit more understanding of why physical activity has that effect,” said Christi Deaton, Florence Nightingale Foundation Professor of Clinical Nursing Research at Cambridge Institute of Public Health.

“It helps us understand the process of cellular ageing, as that’s (10) … drives our organ system and body ageing, and the effects physical activity can have on the cellular level.

“The more active you are, and it doesn’t matter when you start, (11) … benefit you are going to have.”

Heart attacks are mainly triggered by coronary heart disease, (12) … kills around 73,000 people in the UK every year and is the leading cause of death in both sexes. Heart disease generally affects more men than women, although from the age of 50 the chances of developing the condition are similar for both.

According to a separate study, hundreds of young people die every year from “electrical faults” in their otherwise healthy hearts triggered by intense sporting activity.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a rare happening that affects one in 50,000 athletes, (13) … most who die are men, researchers found. In the 35 year history of the London Marathon, only one woman has died compared to 13 men.

The study’s authors, from St George’s University Hospital in London, found that a large proportion of cases of SCD in sport (14) … in people with anatomically normal hearts, but with inherited faults in the heart’s electrical system that causes them to miss beats and trigger death.

according to – 0 Example
also 
although
avoid
cutting
halve
leads
life span
make
may
occurred
ought
should
take
the more
too
what
which

 

Photo: The Independent / Getty

KEY:
1 halve 2 cutting 3 life span 4 take 5 may 6 avoid 7 should 8 also 9 leads 10 what 11 the more 12 which 13 although 14 occurred

How Sporty Is Your Sport?

From baseball to dancing, here's how many calories some popular sports burn for the average American woman.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the transcript below with the missing words. The activity is suitable for intermediate students.



Kids play a lot. Adults, not so much, which makes us (1) ... how sporty are the sports that we play. Are they doing us any good health-wise?  Some sports demand a lot of cardiovascular fitness. Others need (2) ... , stamina but even just sitting, the average American woman is burning 79 calories an hour. Her (3) ... is ticking away, her lungs are expanding, blood is being (4) ... throughout her body. All of this takes energy. She can end that up by going fishing, feeding a hook and (5) ... a line are all small movements that incrementally increase the amount of energy (6) ... . And yes, golf is a sport. Walk an 18-hole (7) ... and you walk five miles. Take the cart and you're still burning calories by playing. Now, shall we dance? Whether it's ballet or that jitterbug, dancing isn't just beautiful. It’s (8) ... -bearing exercise. Fighting gravity to stay upright needs stronger bones and (9) ... . Biking, swimming and other non-(10) ...-bearing sports are easier on the joints. Some team sports demand a lot. Take coordination, time. Other sports, you can do them whenever you feel like it. But when it comes right down to it, the most helpful sport is probably the one you love to play.

Key:
1 wonder 2 strength 3 heart 4 pumped 5 casting 6 burned 7 course 8 weight 9 muscles 10 weight

Listening test: Sport in America

Listen to two radio reporters talk about the main sports in US and complete the sentences below with up to three words. 0 is an example.



0 Example:
There are four main team sports in America, Basketball, Baseball , Hockey and Football.

1 When talking about sports in US we have to be careful not to mistake ………………… with ………………… .

2 All the main sports are popular because ………………… don’t overlap and each is played at a different time of the year.

3 The NFL is played ………………… .

4 When talking about the Super Bowl the reporters say that apart from the game, fans really enjoy the ………………… , held between the second and third quarter of the match.

5 Advertisers pay extraordinary amounts of money for Super Bowl ………………… .

6 Baseball is the sport that attracts the most ………………… because the competition takes longer.

7 One of the reporters, who’s also a singer, couldn't start her ………………… in Michigan until the Stanley Cup finals were over.

8 Watching a game creates a ………………… that brings families and friends together and unites the country.

M - Let me tell you one thing that I noticed about team sports in the States: there are four main team sports. Not one but F o u r !
C – Yes, Basketball, Baseball , Hockey and Football.
M – And when you mention Football you don’t mean European Football that is soccer to Americans, do you?
C – No, soccer has grown in The States, but it still doesn’t carry the fan base it holds in the rest of the world.
M – So 4 team sports that have an incredible number of fans.
C – That’s possible because the championships are played throughout the year, so the sporting seasons don’t overlap each other much, giving each sport its own season. For example Major League Baseball runs roughly April through October, while American Football the NFL (National Football League) is played September through January.
M – …..ending with America’s biggest TV sport event.
C – Yes, the famous Super Bowl ! Everyone watches the Super Bowl game and of course the Half Time show! Friends and family gather in pubs or at home to watch. Great food is prepared. Rivalries intensify. Truthfully it’s mainly about food and breaking your friend’s balls on facebook. It’s a lot of fun.
M – Well Maybe you should tell our listeners about the The Half Time Show …
C – It’s a concert, a performance given during the break between the second and third quarter of the game. Great performances, artists like Bruce Springsteen, U2, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson… This year we saw The Black Eved Peas Usher and Slash from my personal favorite Guns and Roses.
The Super Bowl is always an exciting event. The TV commercials are famous too. Advertisers pay extraordinary amounts of money for Super Bowl air time. Last year 30 seconds of advertising time was expected to cost 2.6 million US dollars.
You know, we may say that in general football attracts more television viewers than baseball, although baseball attracts significantly more ticket sales due to its much longer schedule.
M – And there are also Basketball and Hockey, as well. (NHL) National Hockey League runs October though April and the NBA National Basketball Association November through April.
C – Hockey is more popular in the colder climates of the northern United States such as New England and in the Midwest. And our neighbors in Canada are crazy about Hockey!
M – I can tell you for sure that Hockey is very popular in Michigan, I was there a couple of years ago during the Stanley Cup finals and I was supposed to perform a live concert, because you know I’m a singer, well, that night I had to wait for the match to be over before the music could start, because everyone was glued to the TV screen!
C – Awesome!! Isn’t that what sport is about? Supporting your favorite team . Going crazy when they win or lose? Wearing those T-shirts proudly, cheering on your heroes and supporting them when they’re down. It’s a great atmosphere. It really brings family and friends together, and it even unites countries.

KEY:
1 football (with) soccer
2 the (sporting) seasons
3 September through January
4 half-time show
5 air time
6 ticket sales
7 (live) concert
8 great atmosphere

The Indian village famous for its bouncers

Famous for its wrestlers, the village of Asola-Fatehpur Beri is now making a name for itself supplying doormen to the Indian capital's upmarket bars and clubs. Life as a bouncer in the city could not be more different to the village, as one of the men told BBC News.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below. The activity is suitable for Intermediate 2 students.



1 How old is Vijay Tanwar?
2 Where's Asola-Fatehpur Ber?
3 Why didn't Vijay Tanwar become an Olympian?
4 What does the diet he follows have?
5 What food and drink has he never tried in his life?
6 What does Vija's wife never do?
7 What kind of clients do they have a great difficulty with?
8 What's Vijay's dream?

My name’s Vijay Tanwar. (1) I am 39 and I live in Asola-Fatehpur Beri (2) on  the outskirts of Delhi. This village is famous for its wrestlers. Wrestling runs in our blood. I wanted to be an Olympian but (3) my father died and that shattered my Olympic dream. I was very young and (3) had to leave school and also my wrestling career to support my family. I started a wrestling pitch here to train young boys. We follow a strict regime. We exercise daily and eat healthy. (4) Our diet has vegetables, fruits, butter and lots and lots of milk.
About ten years ago a lot of night clubs and pubs opened in Delhi, that’s where I found work as a bouncer. Then there were more clubs which needed more bouncers. I have helped more than a hundred young boys from the village to earn a living through this profession.
The two worlds I experience don’t meet. (5) I’ve never touched alcohol and meat in my life. In the clubs I see not only men but also women drinking alcohol. Young kids can be seen smoking and drinking.
I have a wife and two sons. (6) My wife doesn’t step out of the house on her own, let alone going to a nightclub. I wonder how parents allow their daughters to be out till late night.
We try to keep our cool, but sometimes people get drunk and abuse us. Some (7) people come from influential families and it gets very difficult to control them. Then we have to use force. The police also favour them. These rich people don’t know the value of hard-earned money.
Life in the village is honest and simple. These modern and educated people are out of touch with their roots.
I am a bouncer, but my passion lies in training the younger generations. (8) My dream is to see them compete at the Olympics one day.

Talking point: Mind and body

This week's talking point is mind and body. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.

• Put these health problems in order of seriousness, giving your reasons: feeling exhausted all the time / feeling that your shoulders are stiff / having high levels of cholesterol / having a bad back
• What do you have to do if you feel you are putting on a lot of weight?
• What do you have to do if you intend to run a marathon?
• What do you do to look after your body and your health?
• What advice would you give to someone who wants to give up smoking?
• What advice would you give to someone who is very stressed and wants to relax?
• What advice would you give to an elderly person who wants to get fit?
• How important is the body image to you?
• Do you know anyone who is obsessed with their body image?

To illustrate the point you can watch this video on Michael Fukumura, who went from being a government lawyer in Washington, D.C. to a yoga instructor and surfing fanatic in San Diego.


Yoga Surfer from Charles Schwab on Vimeo.


I was born in Japan, Tokyo. In Japanese culture the parents have a very strong influence on their children. Punishment was going to be by the belt, so I studied hard and I played the piano and I did all these things sort of conforming to what my parents set of expectations were.
I went into law almost like a default. I didn’t love the law, I looked up to my father and so a lot of it was about wanting to please him. After graduating from law school I went to ATF. We had a very strict dress code. It was shirt, tie, dress shoes, dress pants. My hair was very, very short. I looked like everyone else, very much fit in to the urban lifestyle of Washington DC.
At the same time I wasn’t fulfilled. I felt there was a big missing piece because I wasn’t in my heart of hearts feeling I was being of great service.
I resisted, but my wife was really adamant about leaving. First time in my entire life where I had no plan. We literally drove cross country with all our possessions and decided hey this is going to be our new life. My parents, by the way, were shocked because I didn’t even have a job, I didn’t have a place. I started surfing. It turned me deeper towards where I’d not been focused on, which is spirit. I started having right shoulder issues. I hear that yoga is good for injuries. I started doing yoga. What had been like a whisper now became like a real deep calling. All of a sudden things clicked.
The more I did it the more I just started feeling a sense of well-being. It was this realization that, wow, there is something about this place that created a… awaking if you will. So now through teaching public classes, teaching one on one, teaching in many different settings, I have a way of giving back where I feel passionate about. So my students, when I see them start to make a shift, perhaps in a relationship, perhaps even they haven’t got a job that is serving them and find something that really wakes them up and they’re passionate about just like I did. That’s really satisfying to me. From that perspective I feel I’m being of service.

How To Run: Dos & Dont's

Evolutionary biology professor Daniel Lieberman gives five tips on how he thinks you can run long distances better and injury-free.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the blanks in the transcript below.



I think there's a number of (1) ... elements to good running form. The first is not to overstride. Overstriding is when you stick your leg out in front of you and you land with your foot in front of your (2) ... and really way in front of your hip. A lot of people think that they're running hard when they do that. You know why? Because they are running hard. Because when you stick your leg out in front of you, you actually (3) ... from the time it takes for the center of mass of your body to get over your foot, you're actually losing energy. The other thing that happens when you overstride is that when you stick your foot out in front of you and make your leg stiffer and you have this, what's called an impact peak, and this shock (4) ... that ripples up your body. But when you land without an overstride, you don't have that jolt of force and you're much less likely to get injured. It's just a better way to run.
Another key element to running is to run with a pretty flat foot. I think that most good runners tend to land on the (5) ... of their foot. It just happens naturally. If you don't stick your leg out in front of you, you will not land hard on your heel. You'll land on the (6) ... of your foot or your mid foot stride, there's a general landing.
Don't lean. A lot of runners lean forward at the hips. That's another total (7) ... . Be vertical from the hips up.
If you can hear your feet, if your feet are landing really hard, if you’re thumping as we call it in my lab, then you're running poorly. That thump is the sound of the (8) ... of your body hitting the ground. Running should be light and gentle and collision-free so if you're making a lot of noise, you're running poorly.
And then finally, the most important thing is if you're learning to run properly and you haven't been doing this for a long time, listen to pain. Don't (9) ... it. Transition really slowly and gradually. Your body is not just designed for this instantly. If you transition to learning to run properly too fast, you are guaranteed to (10) ...  yourself. You have to adapt your body. I think everybody can learn to run this way, or most people can learn to run this way, but you can't do it (11) ... .

Key:
1 key 2 knee 3 decelerate 4 wave 5 ball 6 ball 7 evil 8 collision 9 overdo 10 injure 11 overnight

The firefighters' workout

A workout designed to help firefighters stay heart-healthy focuses on functional fitness exercises like stair climbing. Here’s how members of the New Brunswick, N.J., fire department stay fit.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.



1 A firefighter's day is unpredictable.
2 40 to 50% of firefighters die as a result of exposure to fumes.
3 Fire, fire, fire fitness provides training programmes for New York firefighters.
4 The gear firefighters have to carry weighs 60 to 70 kilos.
5 Functional fitness training is a new trend in American fitness craze.
6 The pales the firefighters are carrying in the exercise weigh 32 gallons.
7 The stress level for a firefighter is very high.

Living a day as a firefighter would probably blow a lot of Americans’ minds. We live together, we eat together, and now we work out together. One of the things I love about this job is that I never know what’s going to happen.

Forty to fifty per cent of firefighters that are killed in the line of duty have been of heart attacks. Trying to get that number reduced is really our mission. Fire, fire, fire fitness is a firefighter funded charity. We started out as a Facebook page just providing free workout to firefighters across the country.

The workout that we did today was a four men style workout. We took a high-rise pack or a hotel pack and one man will shoulder that and he will run upstairs. Our turn out gear weighs anywhere between sixty and seventy pounds, so having a little bit of extra weight on you when you’re doing stairs just conditions your body to utilize those muscles.

Functional fitness training is kind of the newer trend in the American fitness craze and it just works out great for our type of job because it involves full body movements, you know, there’s no bicep curl at a fire ground, you’re always depending on each other and you’re all suffering together and that camaraderie is perfect for the fire service.

And we’ll go from the staircase run over to the battling ropes, except we don’t use rope, we use inch-three quarter fire hose, and that’s basically a core gaser. It works every muscle in your body, even those you didn’t know you had.

When you’ve left that, we went over to do your traditional firebox jump but instead of using a box we use the back bumper of the fire engine. The guys can tailor that, so if they’re not very good at jumping they will just do step-ups, and that’s another great thing with the functional fitness style workout is that we can scale every exercise.

After you’ve finished your box jump, you move on to our farmer’s carry. We were using 32-gallon foam pales, so it’s really challenging your grip strength for when we’re carrying ladders or even if you’re dragging out a victim, that grip strength comes in key.

The stress level of our job is super high with some of the things we see and do, and after a grueling workout like that together we just feel better.

Key:
1T 2F 3F 4F 5T 6T 7T