Dancing is something that humans do when they want to have a good time. It’s a universal response to music, found in all cultures. But what’s only been discovered recently is that dancing not only makes us feel good, it’s also extremely good for our health.
Dancing, like other forms of exercise, releases hormones, such as dopamine, which make us feel relaxed and happy. And it also reduces feelings of stress or anxiety.
Dancing is also a sociable activity, which is another reason it makes us feel good.
One study compared people’s enjoyment of dancing at home in front of a video with dancing in a group in a studio.
The people dancing in a group reported feeling happier, whereas those dancing alone did not.
In another experiment, university researchers at York and Sheffield took a group of students and sent each of them into a lab where music was played for five minutes. Each had to choose from three options: to sit and listen quietly to the music, to cycle on an exercise bike while they listened, or to get up and dance. All were given cognitive tasks to perform before and after. The result showed that those who chose to dance showed much more creativity 【Q31】 when doing problem-solving tasks.
Doctor Lovatt at the University of Hertfordshire believes dance could be a very useful way to help people suffering from mental health problems. He thinks dance should be prescribed ad therapy 【Q32】 to help people overcome issues such as depression.
It’s well established that dance is a good way of encouraging adolescent girls to take exercise but what about older people? Studies have shown that there are enormous benefits for people in their sixties and beyond. One of the great things about dance is that there are no barriers to participation. Anyone can have a go, even those whose standard of fitness is quite low. 【Q33】
Dance can be especially beneficial for older adults who can’t run or do more intense workouts, or for those who don’t want to. One 2015 study found that even a gently dance workout helps to promote a healthy heart. And there’s plenty of evidence which suggests that dancing lowers the risk of falls, which could result in a broken hip, for example, by helping people to improve their balance. 【Q34】
There are some less obvious benefits of dance for older people too. One thing I hadn’t realised before researching this topic was that dance isn’t just a physical challenge. It also requires a lot of concentration because you need to remember different steps and routines. For older people, this kind of activity is especially important because it forces their brain to process things more quickly 【Q35】 and to retain more information.
Current research also shows that dance promotes a general sense of well-being in older participants, which can last up to a week after a class. Participants report feeling less tired and having greater motivation to be more active 【Q36】 and do daily activities such as gardening or walking to the shops or a park.
Ballroom or country dancing, both popular with older people, have to be done in groups. They require collaboration and often involve touching a dance partner, all of which encourages interaction on the dance floor. This helps to develop new relationships and can reduce older people’s sense of isolation 【Q37】, which is a huge problem in many countries.
I also looked at the benefits of Zumba. Fifteen million people in 180 countries now regularly take a Zumba class, an aerobic workout based on Latin American dance moves. John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin, analysed a group of women who were Zumba regulars and found that a class lasting 40 minutes burns about 370 calories. This is similar to moderately intense exercises 【Q38】 like step aerobics or kickboxing.
A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior showed that when women with obesity 【Q39】 did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks, they lost an average of 1.2 kilos and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%. More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much that they made it a habit 【Q40】 and continued to attend classes at least once a week – very unusual for an aerobic exercise programme.
Dance is never going to compete with high-intensity workouts when it comes to physical fitness gains, but its popularity is likely to keep on rising because it’s such a fun way to keep fit.
Complete the notes below.
Write ONE WORD ONLY for each answer.
听前预测：定位词为 experiment、university students；提示词为 increases，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词出现较晚，但原词出现，只要耐心听，定位难度不大。定位信息出现后， 听到一系列的排比信息，不能任选其一作为答案。答案句由“The results showed
that”引出“those who chose to dance showed much more creativity …”，其中 showed 为 suggested 的同义替换，more 对应 increases。因此答案为 creativity。注意本题答案信息离定位信息较远，个别题会出现这样的情况，听的时候要关注下一题的定位词，避免错估定位点。
听前预测：定位词为 mental illness；提示词为 of，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词被替换为 mental health problems，随后出现答案句“He thinks dance should be prescribed as therapy …”，其中 be prescribed as 对应 be used as a form of，因此答案为 therapy。最后听到的名词为 depression（抑郁症），不符合题干语义要求。
听前预测：定位词为 older people；提示词为 low levels of，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词原词出现，首先听到的是标题和前文反复提及的 benefits，然后听到 no barriers to participation，将 participation 代入题干，不符合语义要求。继续捕捉信息，随后听到 standard of fitness is quite low，其中 standards 对应题干的 levels， 因此答案为 fitness。
听前预测：定位词为 heart disease、reduces、accidents；提示词为 better、reduces，此处应填不可数名词。
题目解析：定位信息 reduces the risk of heart disease 被替换为 promote a healthy heart，随后出现答案句“… dancing lowers the risks of falls … results in a broken hip … by helping people to improve their balance.”，其中 falls、broken hip 对应 accidents， improve 对应 better，因此答案为 balance。
听前预测：提示词为 improves、function，此处应填名词或形容词。
题目解析：通过 for older people too 可判断即将出现 35 题的相关信息。耐心听，随后 because 引出答案句“… it forces their brain to process things more quickly …”，其中 forces 为 improves 的同义替换，process things more quickly 对应 making it work faster，因此答案为 brain。
听前预测：定位词为 well-being、exercise；提示词为 give people more，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词 well-being 原词出现，虽然没有听到 exercise，但符合题干语义和语法且单独出现的名词只有 motivation，随后听到的 daily activities such as gardening or walking 为 exercise 的同义表达，因此答案为 motivation。
听前预测：提示词为 lessen、feeling of，此处应填表示负面情绪的名词。
题目解析：本题没有特别明确的定位词，但是根据题干可捕捉表示负面情绪的名词，听到 reduce 可知答案即将出现，reduce 是 lessen 的同义替换，答案句为“… reduce older people’s sense of isolation, which is a huge problem in many countries.”，因此答案为 isolation。听到“I also looked at the benefits of Zumba.”可知本题已结束。
听前预测：定位词为 The University of Wisconsin、40 minutes；提示词为 many，此处应填可数名词。
题目解析：定位词原词出现，随后出现答案句“… burns about 370 calories. This is similar to moderately intense exercises …”，其中 burns 为 uses up 的同义替换，因此答案为 calories。
听前预测：定位词为 American Journal of Health Behavior、women；提示词为 suffering from，此处应填名词。
题目解析：定位词均原词出现，随后听到 women with obesity，其中 obesity 符合题干要求， 紧接着继续解释“她们平均减重 1.2 公斤，体脂率降低了 1%。”当听到 More
importantly 可知本题已结束。审题时注意预判信息，本题与下一题的定位词可能连续出现。
听前预测：提示词为 a，此处应填辅音开头的单数名词。
题目解析：本题没有明确的定位词，但通过逻辑关系依然可以定位。在 More importantly 之后出现答案句“… they made it a habit …”，因此答案为 habit。