The Reading / Listening - Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 2

Did you know chimpanzees love to dance? They also like clapping, nodding their head, and tapping their feet in time with the rhythm. A study shows that chimpanzees could like music. Researchers from Japan say their study could explain how humans developed an interest in music. The researchers conducted tests on seven chimps. They played the apes six songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a real sense of rhythm and the music changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed to react to the songs more than the females.

Chimpanzees passed on a liking for music and dance to early humans around six million years ago. The researchers said our love of dancing was deep inside the earliest humans. A researcher said: "Chimpanzees dance to some extent in the same way as humans." She added: "In humans, listening to music causes rhythmic movement, suggesting a close connection between the auditory and motor areas in the brain." She believes the research could explain the development of dancing in humans and why we love melody and rhythm so much.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 0 Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 1   or  Dancing Chimpanzees - Level 3

Sources
  • https://news.sky.com/story/dancing-chimps-like-to-clap-along-and-tap-their-toes-to-music-11894515
  • https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/12/dancing-chimpanzees-may-reveal-how-humans-started-boogie
  • https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/dancing-chimps-chimpanzees-move-to-music-rhythm-kyoto-university-a9258986.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. chimpanzees love
  2. nodding their
  3. tapping their feet in time with
  4. humans developed an interest
  5. The researchers conducted
  6. They played the apes six songs
  7. chimps had a real sense
  8. the music changed their
  1. on a piano
  2. in music
  3. mood
  4. head
  5. of rhythm
  6. to dance
  7. tests
  8. the rhythm

Paragraph 2

  1. Chimpanzees passed on a
  2. around
  3. our love
  4. in the same way
  5. rhythmic
  6. a close
  7. motor areas in
  8. the development of dancing
  1. movement
  2. of dancing
  3. in humans
  4. six million years
  5. the brain
  6. as humans
  7. liking for music
  8. connection

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Did you know chimpanzees (1) ___________________? They also like clapping, nodding their head, and (2) ___________________ in time with the rhythm. A study shows that chimpanzees could like music. Researchers from Japan (3) ___________________ could explain how humans developed an interest in music. The researchers (4) ___________________ seven chimps. They played the apes six songs on a piano for six days. The researchers said the chimps had a (5) ___________________ rhythm and the music changed their mood. The male chimpanzees seemed (6) ___________________ the songs more than the females.

Chimpanzees (7) ___________________ liking for music and dance to early humans around six million years ago. The researchers said our love of dancing (8) ___________________ the earliest humans. A researcher said: "Chimpanzees dance (9) ___________________ in the same way as humans." She added: "In humans, listening to music causes rhythmic movement, (10) ___________________ connection between the auditory and (11) ___________________ the brain." She believes the research could explain the development of dancing in humans and why we love (12) ___________________ so much.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Didyouknowchimpanzeeslovetodance?Theyalsolikeclapping,noddin
gtheirhead,andtappingtheirfeetintimewiththerhythm.Astudyshows
thatchimpanzeescouldlikemusic.ResearchersfromJapansaytheirstu
dycouldexplainhowhumansdevelopedaninterestinmusic.Theresear
chersconductedtestsonsevenchimps.Theyplayedtheapessixsongso
napianoforsixdays.Theresearcherssaidthechimpshadarealsenseofr
hythmandthemusicchangedtheirmood.Themalechimpanzeesseeme
dtoreacttothesongsmorethanthefemales.Chimpanzeespassedonali
kingformusicanddancetoearlyhumansaroundsixmillionyearsago.Th
eresearcherssaidourloveofdancingwasdeepinsidetheearliesthuman
s.Aresearchersaid:"Chimpanzeesdancetosomeextentinthesamewa
yashumans."Sheadded:"Inhumans,listeningtomusiccausesrhythmi
cmovement,suggestingacloseconnectionbetweentheauditoryandm
otorareasinthebrain."Shebelievestheresearchcouldexplainthedevel
opmentofdancinginhumansandwhywelovemelodyandrhythmsomuc
h.

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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