運動有助於大腦。BBC新聞評論 (Exercise helps the brain: BBC News Review)

he's a review from BBC Learning English Hello, and welcome to news Review the program where we show you how to use the language from the latest news stories in your everyday English.

Hi, I'm nail.

Joining me is Katherine.

Hello, Katherine.

Hello, Neo.

So what's our story today?

Okay, today stories and exercise story.

Now we all know that exercise is good for the body.

But today we're going to find out how exercise is also good for the mind.

Okay, interesting stuff.

Let's find out more from this BBC Radio Four news report.

The study says moderate exercise several times a week is the best way for the over fifties to keep their brains in good working order.

Australian researchers say combining aerobic activity such a swimming, cycling or jogging with muscle strengthening exercises is most effective.

They support the idea that taking up exercise at any age is worthwhile.

Okay, so everybody knows that exercise is good for the body.

It keeps your body working well to keep your body healthy.

But Australian scientists have done some research which shows that exercise can also keep the brain and the mind working well and healthy on If you keep your mind working.

Well, your brain healthy.

It means that older people will have less chance of developed developing diseases of the brain.

This means that memory loss will be less on in particular.

Condition called dementia will happen less if you take exercise as you get older.

Okay.

Well, you've been looking at all the news website to find the words and expressions people need to understand and to be able to use to talk about this story.

What have you found?

Okay, so we have shop, keep something at bay on day stint.

So that 1st 1 they're sharp.

Okay, So if we go to BBC news website, the headline is exercise keeps the mind sharp in over fifties.

Study finds sharp meaning mentally quick and intelligent.

On Catherine.

I don't think I'm very sharp because, as you know, I often get confused.

I thought that sharp was used to describe a knife you're right near.

And you're clearly not very sharp in your mind.

Because if you were, you would know that the word shop often describes the way people think.

If you have a sharp mind, you have a lot of intelligence, and you can cut away unnecessary information and you can cut away.

You can cut straight to the most important point of it of a situation.

You can find the solution very quickly.

So a sharp mind means one that cuts away all the unimportant stuff.

It means you're intelligent.

Any a really quick thinker.

Okay, well, we can use sharp.

Not just with mind.

We can also use it with wit, for example.

Yeah.

If you have a sharp wit, it means you're really quick thinking and quick talking often quite funny and comic.

And the things that you say we could talk about a sharp intellect.

If you have a sharp intellect, it means that you're quite academic.

You can understand complex problems and situations very easily.

And you're good.

A study in academia.

Okay, well, we do need to be careful off opposites here because there's a direct opposite of sharp, which is well for a knife.

Yeah, if you have a shop, if your knife isn't sharp, it's blunt.

Yeah, but we don't use blunt to describe someone who is the opposite off.

I'd like to, but no, you can't.

Not usually.

No.

You can't say that.

The opposite of a sharp mind is a blunt mind.

We don't usually say a lot.

Okay, Okay.

Moving on to your next headline.

Okay, so now we're looking at the Daily Express.

Exercise keeps dementia at bay.

Running and walking significantly boosts brainpower.

So keep something at bay is to prevent something from happening.

Quite a strange little expression, but very common.

It is very common.

You can its use in everyday English, We have say in this headline, but you'll hear it all over the place.

And the origin of this one's quite interesting.

It's actually an animal idiom, right?

Yeah.

So going back to days when people did a lot of hunting with dogs, use a dog to help you catch and hunt another animal.

The dogs are excited.

They can smell the animal embarking.

They're making lots of noise.

Another word for barking in a dog is bay.

And if a dog is baying, it's howling and it's on the lead.

You're holding it back.

It wants to go.

It wants to attack.

It wants to run.

If you keep the dog at bay, you make it.

Stay away from the thing it wants to cut.

It's not something you want to be on the other side of.

No, no, no, not at all.

So if you keep something at bay, you mean that the thing that wants to get you all course some damage or difficult?

You You stay away from it.

You make it stay away from you.

So can you give me an example?

Well, I actually have a bit of what you call it.

Hay fever, hay fever.

Yeah, that time of year, it's all for the pollen.

And I'm sneezing and sniffing And I take an anti histamine tablets every day to keep my hay fever at bay.

Ah, yeah.

In the winter I get cold.

You dio eso to try and keep the colds at bay.

I take something called Econ Atia.

Yes.

And it helps to stop this horrible thing happening.

That's right.

Yeah, talking of horrible things.

You have another example?

Yeah.

So the boss hey, wanted me to do this project.

He's after years.

You todo does.

You know what?

I haven't done it.

You have it.

So how are you going to keep him at bay?

While I kept him at bay, I dumped a big load of papers on my desk, and I said I got some stuff for you to look at.

Yeah, And then I left.

I think I think that will keep him at bay for a while.

I hope you're right.

OK, moving on to our last headline.

Okay, so let's go to the Yorkshire Post.

Stints off exercise can boost brain power in over fifties.

Say experts.

So stints, limited periods of time spent doing an activity?

Yes.

Yeah, very colloquial.

It is common.

And the important thing about this one is that the time It's a limited amount of time doing a particular activity, but it can be a very short time, or it can actually be quite a long time.

So you can have a stint in s stint in as a presenter.

Could be a fight minute stint in a studio.

Or you could have a long stint.

Yeah, working somewhere.

I believe you have a stint working in Japan, didn't you?

I did.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I had a stint working in Japan.

Had a had a longest stint working in the Czech Republic.

Right.

So you have a stint?

Yeah, you can do.

It's terroristic.

Yeah.

How long was a Czech Republic job.

Three years, right?

So not short at all.

No, no, no.

Yes, it's It's relative, isn't it?

Absolutely.

My life is quite long.

That's true hope.

Hopefully on this stint is a relatively short period of time.

Yes.

Now, stint can be followed by either a verb i n g So you can have a stint working somewhere or you can have it.

You can have a stent at something.

Yeah, Yeah.

Or a stint as something even had a stint as a deep sea diver for exactly Didn't know.

Can you tell?

Actually.

Okay, Well, before we recap on the vocabulary we have looked at today, we, of course, have our Facebook challenge.

Now we've been talking about exercise, and there's a verb we use to mean start doing exercise.

And we asked, is it a take up B?

Take on or C take over?

And how was our response?

Very good response.

A very few people said takeover.

We had quite a few people saying Take on.

But actually, when you start doing the sport or activity, you take it up so well done annoyed him.

But you nab.

Come here.

Omar Ibrahim and nose Natsu Maru, who also had take up well, they obviously all have a sharp mind.

Yes, can you please now recap the vocab I can.

We had shock, which means mentally quick and intelligent.

Keep something at bay, meaning prevent something from happening on stint, which means limited period of time spent doing an activity Well, if you would like to test yourself on today's vocabulary, there's a quiz you can take on our website BBC Learning english dot com, where you can find all sorts of other videos and activities to help you improve your English.

Thanks for joining us and good bye bye.

He's a review from BBC Learning English.