Hello, welcome to our English class. Today we're going to focus on Unit 2, Sports and Fitness. Lesson 3 is about Running and Fitness. Do you exercise regularly? Why? What are the advantages of exercise? You can use these phrases to help you express yourself better.
Now, please read after me: To get in shape. To strengthen one's immune system, to reduce health problems, to stay healthy. To cheer one up. To make one's heart stronger, to relieve tension. You can use the sentence structure like this: I do weekly rounds because I believe regular exercise is crucial for staying healthy.
Now, please express your thoughts. Now let's delve into our topic, running and fitness. First, we are going to read a message written by Jeremy. He wrote to the website, asking Doctor Martin about his health problems. So please read the message and figure out what Jeremy needs.
“I'm a bit fed up with getting sick all the time, and I feel awkward failing PE exams. My friend suggested I should try long - distance running. Do you think it will help? Jeremy, 16 years old.”
So based on Jeremy's message, we know he wants to know something or get some advice on running. Based on this message, can you make a prediction? Predict what Doctor Morton will write to Jeremy. Read Doctor Marton's response on page 37 to check your prediction. Underline the topic sentence of each paragraph.
To grasp the main idea and structure of the text, please use some skimming skills. To skim a text, you should read the introduction and conclusion. To get the main idea of the whole passage, you should read the topic sentence or the first sentence. To get the main idea of a paragraph, you should look out for repeated words, but skip the parts that provide details, stories, data, or other elaboration. Now please read.
“Hi, Jeremy, thanks for your question. As people often say, any exercise is better than none, but long - distance running in particular has a lot of benefits. It is a great sport for beginners. You do not need a gym membership or any special equipment. Just a pair of good running shoes will do. Keep it up. There is also no better way to know yourself and to see what you are capable of. You are also somebody who worries about getting sick.
Running will help you get fit and prevent diseases. It will give you good upper and lower body strength. Like any exercise, running increases the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain. It makes your heart stronger and allows more blood to flow around your body. It also strengthens your immune system and reduces the risk of serious health problems as well as more common illnesses like colds. Besides, anybody who is feeling down can go for a run to cheer themselves up. Even a 30 - minute run will provide relief from aches or tension that you may be suffering due to stress.
If you are new to running, here is some advice for you. It is important to warm up and cool down properly before and after running so you don't hurt yourself. A warm - up gets your blood flowing and prepares your body before you exercise. After a long run, you should jog slowly for 10 minutes, then walk for five minutes. This kind of cool - down relaxes your body after exercise. For more guidelines on running, click here. I hope this will help. Best regards, Doctor Martin.”
Well, based on our skimming, it's evident that the passage centers on the topic of long - distance running. Considering the topic sentences, we've learned there are several parts: Who it's for, the equipment needed, the benefits, and tips to avoid injuries. So by skimming the text, we grasp the main idea and structure of the passage.
Now, class, let's read the text closely. And this time, let's read for logic. Please read paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 carefully. Think about how we can organize the information in these two paragraphs to help us better retain all the information included. Now please read.
Well, have you finished reading? Let's go through the three steps. Our first step is to identify the keywords in each sub - point. For example, in paragraph 3, regarding the benefits of long - distance running, we can identify keywords for seven benefits: Fit and prevent diseases.
Give your body good upper and lower strength. Increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain, strengthen your immune system, reduce the risk of serious health problems as well as common illnesses, cheer people up, provide relief from aches or tension.
Our next step is to put the sub - points into major groups. For example, we can group those benefits into the category of physical benefits and then the mental benefits. And our third step is to establish the logic between them.
Let's start from the central topic. How will running get you fit physically? Running gives your body good upper and lower strength. And then running increases the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain, which is for circulation. Lastly, running strengthens your immune system, reducing the risk of serious health problems as well as common illnesses. That's the benefit of protecting your immune system and preventing disease. And how about mental benefits? Generally, it cheers people up. And under special circumstances, when we are under stress and tension, running provides relief. See, that's how we establish logic. Well, with this method in mind, can you analyze the internal logic in paragraph 4? Yes, the tips are actually organized like this. You warm up before you exercise to get your blood flowing and prepare your body. And after a long run, you jog slowly for 10 minutes and then walk for five minutes. So to sum up, using logic to organize all the support in one paragraph helps us to express ourselves in a more coherent way.