The Reading / Listening - Broken Hearts - Level 0

Broken hearts are real. They are caused by the stress of losing someone you love. Doctors think they have a cure. Researchers conducted tests on 76 heartbroken people. The people all had weekly counselling and did lots of exercise. Doctors were surprised at how counselling "improved heart function and patients' fitness".

Thousands of people have a broken heart. It can double the risk of dying early. People can get chest pain, shortness of breath, and tiredness. The illness makes the heart bigger and rounder. The research shows the importance of the brain-heart relationship. It said mental and physical therapy can help people.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Broken Hearts - Level 1 Broken Hearts - Level 2   or  Broken Hearts - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/30/exercise-therapy-mend-broken-heart-syndrome-takotsubo-study
  • https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/you-can-die-broken-heart-35814047
  • https://ca.news.yahoo.com/officially-mend-broken-heart-according-151252367.html


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

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Broken hearts
  2. caused by the stress of losing
  3. Doctors think they have
  4. Researchers conducted
  5. 76 heartbroken
  6. The people all had weekly
  7. Doctors were
  8. improved heart
  1. surprised
  2. a cure
  3. people
  4. function
  5. are real
  6. tests
  7. counselling
  8. someone you love

Paragraph 2

  1. Thousands
  2. It can double the risk
  3. People can get chest
  4. shortness
  5. The illness makes the heart bigger
  6. The research shows the
  7. the brain-heart
  8. physical therapy can
  1. of breath
  2. relationship
  3. of dying early
  4. and rounder
  5. pain
  6. of people
  7. help people
  8. importance

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Broken (1) _________________________________________________. They are caused by the (2) _________________________________________________ someone you love. Doctors think they (3) _________________________________________________. Researchers conducted tests on 76 heartbroken people. The people (4) _________________________________________________ counselling and did lots of exercise. Doctors (5) _________________________________________________ how counselling "improved heart function (6) _________________________________________________".

(7) _________________________________________________ have a broken heart. It can double the risk (8) _________________________________________________. People can get chest pain, shortness (9) _________________________________________________ tiredness. The illness makes the heart (10) _________________________________________________. The research shows the (11) _________________________________________________ brain-heart relationship. It said mental and physical therapy (12) _________________________________________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Brokenheartsarereal.Theyarecausedbythestressoflosingsomeoney
oulove.Doctorsthinktheyhaveacure.Researchersconductedtestson7
6heartbrokenpeople.Thepeopleallhadweeklycounsellinganddidlots
ofexercise.Doctorsweresurprisedathowcounselling"improvedheartf
unctionandpatients'fitness".Thousandsofpeoplehaveabrokenheart.
Itcandoubletheriskofdyingearly.Peoplecangetchestpain,shortnesso
fbreath,andtiredness.Theillnessmakestheheartbiggerandrounder.T
heresearchshowstheimportanceofthebrain-heartrelationship.Itsai
dmentalandphysicaltherapycanhelppeople.

Student survey

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

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

Discussion — Write your own questions

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

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

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

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

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

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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