Birdsong is good for our mental health. It is one of nature's most beautiful sounds. Noise from traffic is not good for our mental health. It can increase our stress. A study found that traffic noise reduces the benefits of hearing birdsong. A researcher said towns needed more green spaces and lower speed limits.
Many people took part in the study. They listened to natural sounds and traffic noise. They then answered questions about how they felt. A researcher said listening to traffic noise reduced people's feelings of well-being. The researcher said we need more outdoor spaces to help people who are stressed.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Birdsong and Traffic - Level 1, Birdsong and Traffic - Level 2 or Birdsong and Traffic - Level 3
Sources- https://academic.oup.com/condor/article/128/2/1/8487786
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/mood-boosting-benefits-of-birdsong-drowned-out-by-traffic-noise-study-finds
- https://phys.org/news/2026-08-traffic-noise-birdsong-stress-relieving.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 :-)