The Reading / Listening - Flossing - Level 1

Dental hygiene keeps your teeth healthy. It can also help your brain. New research says flossing your teeth could reduce the risk of a stroke. A stroke happens when blood cannot get to the brain, or when the brain fills with blood. Around 15 million people worldwide have a stroke each year. Of these, about 5 million die. A doctor said tooth decay and gum disease affect around 3.5 billion people. They are the most common health problems.

The doctor looked into the effects of flossing on our health. His team found that flossing teeth at least once a week could lower the risk of a stroke by 44 per cent. He said flossing could reduce the risk of stroke "by reducing oral infections". He added that flossing was a cheap and easy way of caring for your teeth. He said: "Many people have said that dental care is costly. Flossing is a healthy habit." He said it was easy and cheap.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Flossing - Level 0 Flossing - Level 2   or  Flossing - Level 3

Sources
  • https://nypost.com/2025/01/30/health/good-hygiene-habit-that-could-reduce-stroke-risk-revealed/
  • https://www.health.com/flossing-as-little-as-once-a-week-may-protect-against-stroke-8781732
  • https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/health-and-families/teeth-dental-hygiene-flossing-stroke-b2690742.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. Dental
  2. It can also
  3. reduce the risk
  4. blood cannot get
  5. when the brain fills
  6. 15 million people
  7. tooth
  8. the most common
  1. decay
  2. with blood
  3. health problems
  4. help your brain
  5. hygiene
  6. to the brain
  7. worldwide
  8. of a stroke

Paragraph 2

  1. The doctor looked into the effects
  2. at least
  3. reduce the
  4. flossing was a cheap and easy
  5. caring
  6. people have said that dental
  7. Flossing is a healthy
  8. He said it was easy
  1. and cheap
  2. way
  3. for your teeth
  4. habit
  5. risk of stroke
  6. of flossing
  7. care is costly
  8. once a week

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Dental hygiene keeps your teeth healthy. It (1) ________________________________________________ your brain. New research says flossing your teeth could (2) ________________________________________________ of a stroke. A stroke happens when blood (3) ________________________________________________ the brain, or when the brain fills with blood. Around 15 million people worldwide have a (4) ________________________________________________. Of these, about 5 million die. A doctor said (5) ________________________________________________ gum disease affect around 3.5 billion people. They are the most (6) ________________________________________________.

The doctor looked into the (7) ________________________________________________ on our health. His team found that flossing teeth (8) ________________________________________________ a week could lower the risk of a stroke by 44 per cent. He said flossing could (9) ________________________________________________ of stroke "by reducing oral infections". He added that flossing was a (10) ________________________________________________ way of caring for your teeth. He said: "Many people have said (11) ________________________________________________ is costly. Flossing is (12) ________________________________________________." He said it was easy and cheap.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Dentalhygienekeepsyourteethhealthy.Itcanalsohelpyourbrain.New
researchsaysflossingyourteethcouldreducetheriskofastroke.Astrok
ehappenswhenbloodcannotgettothebrain,orwhenthebrainfillswithbl
ood.Around15millionpeopleworldwidehaveastrokeeachyear.Ofthes
e,about5milliondie.Adoctorsaidtoothdecayandgumdiseaseaffectaro
und3.5billionpeople.Theyarethemostcommonhealthproblems.Thed
octorlookedintotheeffectsofflossingonourhealth.Histeamfoundthatf
lossingteethatleastonceaweekcouldlowertheriskofastrokeby44perc
ent.Hesaidflossingcouldreducetheriskofstroke"byreducingoralinfect
ions".Headdedthatflossingwasacheapandeasywayofcaringforyourt
eeth.Hesaid:"Manypeoplehavesaidthatdentalcareiscostly.Flossingi
sahealthyhabit."Hesaiditwaseasyandcheap.

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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