The Reading / Listening - Broken Hearts - Level 1

Broken hearts are real. They are caused by emotional or physical stress. It is usually because of losing someone you love. Doctors think they have a cure for it. Researchers conducted a 12-week test on 76 heartbroken people. The people all had weekly counselling. They also did exercise, like aerobics, cycling and swimming. The British Heart Foundation was surprised by how much counselling "improved heart function and patients' fitness".

Hundreds of thousands of people have broken heart syndrome. It can double the risk of dying early. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, and tiredness. The illness makes the heart rounder, like an octopus. "Takotsubo" is a Japanese word. It means a round pot used to catch an octopus. 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 0 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. They are caused by emotional
  3. losing someone
  4. Doctors think they have a
  5. Researchers conducted
  6. The people all had weekly
  7. aerobics,
  8. improved heart
  1. cure for it
  2. counselling
  3. or physical stress
  4. a 12-week test
  5. cycling and swimming
  6. are real
  7. function
  8. you love

Paragraph 2

  1. Hundreds of
  2. It can double the risk
  3. chest
  4. shortness
  5. The illness makes the heart
  6. a round pot used
  7. the brain-
  8. mental and physical
  1. of breath
  2. therapy
  3. of dying early
  4. heart relationship
  5. thousands of people
  6. rounder
  7. pain
  8. to catch an octopus

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Broken (1) _________________________________________________. They are caused by emotional or physical stress. It is usually because (2) _________________________________________________ you love. Doctors think they have a cure for it. Researchers conducted a 12-week test on 76 heartbroken people. The people (3) _________________________________________________ counselling. They (4) _________________________________________________, like aerobics, cycling and swimming. The British Heart Foundation was (5) _________________________________________________ much counselling "improved heart function (6) _________________________________________________".

(7) _________________________________________________ of people have broken heart syndrome. It can (8) _________________________________________________ of dying early. Symptoms include chest pain, (9) _________________________________________________, and tiredness. The illness makes the heart rounder, (10) _________________________________________________. "Takotsubo" is a Japanese word. It means a round (11) _________________________________________________ catch an octopus. The research shows the importance of the brain-heart relationship. It said (12) _________________________________________________ therapy can help people.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Brokenheartsarereal.Theyarecausedbyemotionalorphysicalstress.I
tisusuallybecauseoflosingsomeoneyoulove.Doctorsthinktheyhavea
cureforit.Researchersconducteda12-weekteston76heartbrokenp
eople.Thepeopleallhadweeklycounselling.Theyalsodidexercise,like
aerobics,cyclingandswimming.TheBritishHeartFoundationwassurpr
isedbyhowmuchcounselling"improvedheartfunctionandpatients'fitn
ess".Hundredsofthousandsofpeoplehavebrokenheartsyndrome.Itc
andoubletheriskofdyingearly.Symptomsincludechestpain,shortnes
sofbreath,andtiredness.Theillnessmakestheheartrounder,likeanoct
opus."Takotsubo"isaJapaneseword.Itmeansaroundpotusedtocatch
anoctopus.Theresearchshowstheimportanceofthebrain-heartrela
tionship.Itsaidmentalandphysicaltherapycanhelppeople.

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.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You