The Reading / Listening - Blood Pressure - Level 6

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the leading preventable cause of heart disease. It affects an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include meditating for 45 minutes each day to reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "body and mind" goals should be adopted in conjunction with established advice, like cutting down on salt, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is a bit…fluffy, but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the evidence is accumulating."

Hypertension is often referred to as the "silent killer" because it rarely presents symptoms. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. It kills approximately 10 million people every year. Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide struggle with it. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us need to take a step back and…decompress and just relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can help to lower blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful alertness". The association reports that many studies show that "quieting the brain" benefits the cardiovascular system.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Blood Pressure - Level 4  or  Blood Pressure - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/health-66807432
  • https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/meditation-and-a-relaxation-technique-to-lower-blood-pressure
  • https://nypost.com/2023/09/15/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure-without-medication-experts/


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. MEDITATION: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about meditation. 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?
       blood pressure / hypertension / heart disease / meditating / body / mind / goals /
       silent / symptoms / risk / stroke / struggle / relax / awareness / decompress / brain
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. STRESS: Students A strongly believe we should all have lessons on how to deal with stress; Students B strongly believe this is unnecessary. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. STRESSFUL: How stressful are these things? How can we deal with them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

qqqqqqq

qqqqqqq

Money

 

 

Studying

 

 

Family

 

 

Work

 

 

Social media

 

 

Friends

 

 
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. PRESSURE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "pressure". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. RELAX: Rank these with your partner. Put the best ways to relax at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • Meditating
  • Listening to music
  • Reading
  • Taking a bath
  • Being with friends
  • Hiking
  • Taking a nap
  • Watching movies

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. hypertension a. Silly; lacking depth or seriousness.
      2. adopted b. Gathering together or acquire an increasing number or quantity of.
      3. in conjunction with c. Abnormally high blood pressure.
      4. established d. Chose to take up, follow, or use.
      5. fluffy e. Having existed or done something for a long time and therefore recognized and generally accepted.
      6. evidence f. The available body of facts or information showing whether a belief or proposition is true.
      7. accumulating g. Together with

    Paragraph 2

       8. referred to h. Calm down and relax.
       9. symptom i. Have difficulty handling or coping with.
       10. stroke j. About; roughly.
       11. approximately k. Mentioned or alluded to.
       12. struggle l. A group of people organized for a joint purpose.
       13. decompress m. A physical or mental feature which is a sign of disease, particularly one the patient can see or feel.
       14. association n. A sudden disabling attack or loss of consciousness caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain.

 

Before reading / listening

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

  1. Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension.     T / F
  2. A guideline said 45 seconds of daily meditation reduces blood pressure.   T / F
  3. A guideline says meditating means people can have more salt.     T / F
  4. An author said evidence that meditation helps blood pressure is growing. T / F
  5. People say high blood pressure is a silent killer.     T / F
  6. High blood pressure kills 100 million people every year.     T / F
  7. Around 30% of people around the world have high blood pressure.     T / F
  8. Studies show that keeping the brain active helps blood pressure.     T / F

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

  1. leading
  2. adopted
  3. limiting
  4. evidence
  5. accumulating
  6. symptoms
  7. decompress
  8. struggle
  9. awareness
  10. benefits
  1. embraced
  2. consciousness
  3. growing
  4. signs
  5. grapple
  6. main
  7. aids
  8. calm down
  9. proof
  10. restricting

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

  1. High blood pressure,
  2. the leading preventable
  3. in conjunction
  4. these things make such
  5. the evidence
  6. Hypertension is often referred
  7. heart disease, heart failure,
  8. 30 percent of people worldwide
  9. All of us need to take
  10. quieting the brain benefits
  1. an important contribution
  2. a step back
  3. cause of heart disease
  4. and stroke
  5. with established advice
  6. struggle with it
  7. also known as hypertension
  8. the cardiovascular system
  9. to as the "silent killer"
  10. is accumulating

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
fluffy
affects
conjunction
effects
leading
evidence
limiting
meditating

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the (1) _____________________ preventable cause of heart disease. It (2) _____________________ an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include (3) _____________________ for 45 minutes each day to reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "body and mind" goals should be adopted in (4) _____________________ with established advice, like cutting down on salt, (5) _____________________ alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is a bit…(6) _____________________, but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the (7) _____________________ of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the (8) _____________________ is accumulating."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
half
back
alertness
silent
benefits
struggle
risk
lower

Hypertension is often referred to as the "(9) _____________________ killer" because it rarely presents symptoms. High blood pressure increases the (10) _____________________ of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. It kills approximately 10 million people every year. Nearly (11) _____________________ of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide (12) _____________________ with it. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us need to take a step (13) _____________________ and…decompress and just relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can help to (14) _____________________ blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful (15) _____________________". The association reports that many studies show that "quieting the brain" (16) _____________________ the cardiovascular system.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the ______
     a.  leading preventable because
     b.  leading preventable cause
     c.  leading preventable case
     d.  leading preventable causal
2)  New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension ______
     a.  (ISH) include meditating
     b.  (ISH) include mediating
     c.  (ISH) include meditate in
     d.  (ISH) include meditate thing
3)  "body and mind" goals should be adopted in conjunction ______
     a.  with established odd vice
     b.  with established add vice
     c.  with established advise
     d.  with established advice
4)  cutting down on salt, limiting alcohol intake, ______
     a.  and exercise sin regularly
     b.  and exercising regular
     c.  and exercising regularly
     d.  end exercising regularly
5)  the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the ______
     a.  evidences accumulating
     b.  evidences accumulating
     c.  evidence is accumulating
     d.  evidence is accumulate in

6)  Hypertension is often referred to as ______
     a.  the "silence killer"
     b.  the "silent killer"
     c.  the "silent killers"
     d.  the "silently killer"
7)  High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, heart ______
     a.  failure, and strike
     b.  failure, and struck
     c.  failure, and stroke
     d.  failure, and stricken
8)  Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide ______
     a.  struggles with it
     b.  struggle without
     c.  struggles wither
     d.  struggle with it
9)  All of us need to take a step ______
     a.  back and to compress
     b.  back and decompress
     c.  back and deep compress
     d.  back and de-compost
10)  lower blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" ______
     a.  or "restful alertness"
     b.  or "rest fully alertness"
     c.  or "rest full of alertness"
     d.  or "rests full alert mess"

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

High blood pressure, (1) ____________________ hypertension, is the leading preventable cause of heart disease. It (2) ____________________ 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include meditating for 45 minutes each day to reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "(3) ____________________" goals should be adopted in conjunction with established advice, like (4) ____________________ salt, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is (5) ____________________, but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the (6) ____________________."

Hypertension is (7) ____________________ as the "silent killer" because it rarely presents symptoms. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, heart (8) ____________________. It kills approximately 10 million people every year. Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide (9) ____________________. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us need to take a step back and… (10) ____________________ relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can (11) ____________________ blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful alertness". The association reports that many studies show that "(12) ____________________" benefits the cardiovascular system.

Comprehension questions

  1. What's another name for high blood pressure?
  2. How many people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure?
  3. What is recommended along with limiting salt and alcohol, and exercising?
  4. What did a doctor say meditating sounded like?
  5. What did the doctor say is accumulating?
  6. Why is high blood pressure often called the "silent killer"?
  7. How many people does high blood pressure kill every year?
  8. What does a doctor say we should do after taking a step back?
  9. What does a heart association recommend besides "restful alertness"?
  10. What might "quieting the brain" benefit?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What's another name for high blood pressure?
a) hyper-stress
b) hypotension
c) hypo-pressure
d) hypertension
2) How many people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure?
a) 1.2 billion
b) 1.3 billion
c) 1.4 billion
d) 1.5 billion
3) What is recommended along with limiting salt and alcohol, and exercising?
a) fruit and vegetables
b) napping and sleeping
c) music and movies
d) mind and body goals
4) What did a doctor say meditating sounded like?
a) marshmallow
b) angels singing
c) a bit fluffy
d) humming
5) What did the doctor say is accumulating?
a) stress
b) pressure
c) blood pressure pills
d) evidence

6) Why is high blood pressure often called the "silent killer"?
a) No one hears it.
b) It leaves no trace.
c) It rarely presents symptoms.
d) It suddenly appears.
7) How many people does high blood pressure kill every year?
a) approximately 10 million
b) precisely 10 million
c) just over 10 million
d) slightly fewer than 10 million
8) What does a doctor say we should do after taking a step back?
a) take two steps forward
b) sit down
c) decompress and relax
d) take a nap
9) What does a heart association recommend besides "restful alertness"?
a) conscious awareness
b) thoughtful awareness
c) conscious consciousness
d) thoughtful thoughts
10) What might "quieting the brain" benefit?
a) the cardiovascular system
b) studying for exams
c) other people
d) headaches

Role play

Role  A – Meditating
You think meditating is the best way to relax. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): reading, hiking or watching movies.

Role  B – Reading
You think reading is the best way to relax. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): meditating, hiking or watching movies.

Role  C – Hiking
You think hiking is the best way to relax. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): reading, meditating or watching movies.

Role  D – Watching Movies
You think watching movies is the best way to relax. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their ways. Also, tell the others which is the least effective of these (and why): reading, hiking or meditating.

After reading / listening

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

'meditation'

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

    • and 'blood pressure'.

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

    • • 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:

    • known
    • affects
    • 45
    • cutting
    • fluffy
    • effects
    • referred
    • increases
    • struggle
    • step
    • lower
    • studies

    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 - Blood Pressure

    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 'meditation'?
    3. What do you know about high blood pressure?
    4. How worried are you about high blood pressure?
    5. Why might meditation be good for high blood pressure?
    6. What do you think of meditation?
    7. How might 45 minutes of daily meditation help us?
    8. What do you need to do to lead a healthier lifestyle?
    9. What kinds of stress are there in your life?
    10. Why might meditating sound a bit 'fluffy'?

    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 'blood pressure'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. Why do you think more hasn't been done to treat hypertension?
    5. What are the differences between heart attacks and strokes?
    6. What thinks do you do to 'decompress' and relax?
    7. What do you think 'thoughtful awareness' is?
    8. What do you think 'restful alertness' is?
    9. What can we do to 'quieten the brain'?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the researchers?

    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)

    High blood pressure, also (1) ____ as hypertension, is the leading preventable cause of heart disease. It (2) ____ an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include meditating for 45 minutes each day (3) ____ reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "body and mind" goals should be adopted in conjunction with established advice, like cutting down (4) ____ salt, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is a (5) ____ …fluffy, but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the evidence is (6) ____."

    Hypertension is often referred to as the "silent killer" because it (7) ____ presents symptoms. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. It kills (8) ____ 10 million people every year. Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide (9) ____ with it. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us need to take a (10) ____ back and…decompress and just relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can help to (11) ____ blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful alertness." The association reports that many studies show that "(12) ____ the brain" benefits the cardiovascular system.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     known     (b)     knows     (c)     knowing     (d)     know    
    2. (a)     effects     (b)     infects     (c)     affects     (d)     reflects    
    3. (a)     for     (b)     by     (c)     to     (d)     at    
    4. (a)     at     (b)     of     (c)     by     (d)     on    
    5. (a)     bit     (b)     some     (c)     tiny     (d)     lint    
    6. (a)     accumulates     (b)     accumulating     (c)     accumulation     (d)     accumulate    
    7. (a)     raring     (b)     rarity     (c)     rare     (d)     rarely    
    8. (a)     approximates     (b)     approximately     (c)     approximate     (d)     approximated    
    9. (a)     attack     (b)     endure     (c)     struggle     (d)     afflict    
    10. (a)     ladder     (b)     walk     (c)     stage     (d)     step    
    11. (a)     lowly     (b)     lows     (c)     low     (d)     lower    
    12. (a)     quiets     (b)     quieting     (c)     quieten     (d)     quite

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. also known as rpheyneitson
    2. the leading trlvnebapee cause of heart disease
    3. in tcninojnouc with established advice
    4. It all sounds like it is a bit luyfff
    5. make such an important ontriitnoucb
    6. the evidence is clcaiuaunmgt

    Paragraph 2

    1. it rarely presents msstmpoy
    2. It kills petalyaoxpirm 10 million
    3. people worldwide sretgulg with it
    4. dercmpesso and just relax
    5. teginqui the brain
    6. the iraouvcdaslrac system

    Put the text back together

    (...)   10 million people every year. Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide
    (...)   to lower blood pressure through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful alertness". The association
    (...)   risk of heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. It kills approximately
    (...)   Hypertension is often referred to as the "silent killer" because it rarely presents symptoms. High blood pressure increases the
    (...)   back and…decompress and just relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can help
    (...)   day to reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "body and mind" goals should be adopted in conjunction
    (  1  ) High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the leading preventable cause
    (...)   struggle with it. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us need to take a step
    (...)   from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include meditating for 45 minutes each
    (...)   reports that many studies show that "quieting the brain" benefits the cardiovascular system.
    (...)   with established advice, like cutting down on salt, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author
    (...)   Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is a bit…fluffy, but these things make such an important contribution
    (...)   of heart disease. It affects an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines
    (...)   to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the evidence is accumulating."

    Put the words in the right order

    1. It's   cause   heart   the   disease   .   of   leading   preventable
    2. estimated   an   worldwide   .   1.3   billion   It   affects   people
    3. with   adopted   Goals   in   established   conjunction   are   advice   .
    4. a   all   It   bit   sounds   it's   like   fluffy   .
    5. These   make   important   contribution   .   things   an   such
    6. of   pressure   disease   .   increases   High   heart   blood   risks
    7. kills   people   approximately   10   It   year   .   million   every
    8. There's   for   much   do   can   people   themselves   .   so
    9. all   to   take   a   We   need   back   .   step
    10. benefits   the   system   .   cardiovascular   Quieting   the   brain

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    High blood pressure, also known / knowing as hypertension, is the leading preventable cause of heart disease. It affects / effects an estimated 1.3 billion people worldwide. New guidelines from the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) include / inclusive meditating for 45 minutes whole / each day to reduce blood pressure. The ISH says "body and mind / mend" goals should be enlisted / adopted in conjunction with established advise / advice, like cutting down on / in salt, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. Study author Dr Bryan Williams told the BBC: "It all sounds like it is a bit…fluffy / fluff, but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, and the evidence is accumulation / accumulating."

    Hypertension is often referred by / to as the "silent killer" because it rarely presents / gifts symptoms. High blood pressure increases the risqué / risk of heart disease, heart failure, and strike / stroke. It kills approximately 10 million people every year. Nearly half of Americans and 30 percent of people worldwide struggle at / with it. Dr Williams said: "There's so much people can do for themselves. All of us needy / need to take a step back and…decompress / compost and just relax." The American Heart Association also says meditating can help to lower blood pressure thorough / through "thoughtful awareness" or "restful alerts / alertness." The association reports that many studies show that "quieting / quitting the brain" benefits the cardiovascular system.

    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)

    H_gh  bl__d  pr_ss_r_,  _ls_  kn_wn  _s  hyp_rt_ns__n,  _s  th_  l__d_ng  pr_v_nt_bl_  c__s_  _f  h__rt  d_s__s_.  _t  _ff_cts  _n  _st_m_t_d  1.3  b_ll__n  p__pl_  w_rldw_d_.  N_w  g__d_l_n_s  fr_m  th_  _nt_rn_t__n_l  S_c__ty  _f  Hyp_rt_ns__n  (_SH)  _ncl_d_  m_d_t_t_ng  f_r  45  m_n_t_s  __ch  d_y  t_  r_d_c_  bl__d  pr_ss_r_.  Th_  _SH  s_ys  "b_dy  _nd  m_nd"  g__ls  sh__ld  b_  _d_pt_d  _n  c_nj_nct__n  w_th  _st_bl_sh_d  _dv_c_,  l_k_  c_tt_ng  d_wn  _n  s_lt,  l_m_t_ng  _lc_h_l  _nt_k_,  _nd  _x_rc_s_ng  r_g_l_rly.  St_dy  __th_r  Dr  Bry_n  W_ll__ms  t_ld  th_  BBC:  "_t  _ll  s__nds  l_k_  _t  _s  _  b_t…fl_ffy,  b_t  th_s_  th_ngs  m_k_  s_ch  _n  _mp_rt_nt  c_ntr_b_t__n  t_  r_d_c_ng  th_  _ff_cts  _f  str_ss  _n  th_  c_rd__v_sc_l_r  syst_m,  _nd  th_  _v_d_nc_  _s  _cc_m_l_t_ng."

    Hyp_rt_ns__n  _s  _ft_n  r_f_rr_d  t_  _s  th_  "s_l_nt  k_ll_r"  b_c__s_  _t  r_r_ly  pr_s_nts  sympt_ms.  H_gh  bl__d  pr_ss_r_  _ncr__s_s  th_  r_sk  _f  h__rt  d_s__s_,  h__rt  f__l_r_,  _nd  str_k_.  _t  k_lls  _ppr_x_m_t_ly  10  m_ll__n  p__pl_  _v_ry  y__r.  N__rly  h_lf  _f  _m_r_c_ns  _nd  30  p_rc_nt  _f  p__pl_  w_rldw_d_  str_ggl_  w_th  _t.  Dr  W_ll__ms  s__d:  "Th_r_'s  s_  m_ch  p__pl_  c_n  d_  f_r  th_ms_lv_s.  _ll  _f  _s  n__d  t_  t_k_  _  st_p  b_ck  _nd…d_c_mpr_ss  _nd  j_st  r_l_x."  Th_  _m_r_c_n  H__rt  _ss_c__t__n  _ls_  s_ys  m_d_t_t_ng  c_n  h_lp  t_  l_w_r  bl__d  pr_ss_r_  thr__gh  "th__ghtf_l  _w_r_n_ss"  _r  "r_stf_l  _l_rtn_ss."  Th_  _ss_c__t__n  r_p_rts  th_t  m_ny  st_d__s  sh_w  th_t  "q___t_ng  th_  br__n"  b_n_f_ts  th_  c_rd__v_sc_l_r  syst_m.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    high blood pressure also known as hypertension is the leading preventable cause of heart disease it affects an estimated 13 billion people worldwide new guidelines from the international society of hypertension ish include meditating for 45 minutes each day to reduce blood pressure the ish says body and mind goals should be adopted in conjunction with established advice like cutting down on salt limiting alcohol intake and exercising regularly study author dr bryan williams told the bbc it all sounds like it is a bitfluffy but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system and the evidence is accumulating

    hypertension is often referred to as the silent killer because it rarely presents symptoms high blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease heart failure and stroke it kills approximately 10 million people every year nearly half of americans and 30 percent of people worldwide struggle with it dr williams said theres so much people can do for themselves all of us need to take a step back and decompress and just relax the american heart association also says meditating can help to lower blood pressure through thoughtful awareness or restful alertness the association reports that many studies show that quieting the brain benefits the cardiovascular system

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Highbloodpressure,alsoknownashypertension,istheleadingprevent
    ablecauseofheartdisease.Itaffectsanestimated1.3billionpeopleworl
    dwide.NewguidelinesfromtheInternationalSocietyofHypertension(I
    SH)includemeditatingfor45minuteseachdaytoreducebloodpressure
    .TheISHsays"bodyandmind"goalsshouldbeadoptedinconjunctionwit
    hestablishedadvice,likecuttingdownonsalt,limitingalcoholintake,an
    dexercisingregularly.StudyauthorDrBryanWilliamstoldtheBBC:"Ital
    lsoundslikeitisabit…fluffy,butthesethingsmakesuchanimportantcon
    tributiontoreducingtheeffectsofstressonthecardiovascularsystem,a
    ndtheevidenceisaccumulating."Hypertensionisoftenreferredtoasthe
    "silentkiller"becauseitrarelypresentssymptoms.Highbloodpressurei
    ncreasestheriskofheartdisease,heartfailure,andstroke.Itkillsapprox
    imately10millionpeopleeveryyear.NearlyhalfofAmericansand30per
    centofpeopleworldwidestrugglewithit.DrWilliamssaid:"There'ssomu
    chpeoplecandoforthemselves.Allofusneedtotakeastepbackand…dec
    ompressandjustrelax."TheAmericanHeartAssociationalsosaysmedit
    atingcanhelptolowerbloodpressurethrough"thoughtfulawareness"o
    r"restfulalertness".Theassociationreportsthatmanystudiesshowtha
    t"quietingthebrain"benefitsthecardiovascularsystem.

    Free writing

    Write about high blood pressure for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Food makers should use almost no salt in their products. Discuss.

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    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. MEDITATION: Make a poster about meditation. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. SALT: Write a magazine article about food manufacturers halving the salt they put in their food. 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 meditation. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to reduce high blood pressure. 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

    $US 9.99

    Answers

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

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