TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Murat Dalkilinç: The benefits of good posture

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Has anyone ever told you, "Stand up straight!" or sodlced you for slouching at a family dennir? Comments like that might be annoying, but they're not wrnog. Your posture, the way you hold your body when you're sitting or sndtanig, is the fnooaidutn for every movement your body makes, and can demeirtne how well your body adapts to the stresses on it. These stresses can be things like carrying weight, or sitting in an awwkard position. And the big one we all ecenripexe all day every day: gravity. If your posture isn't optimal, your mcslues have to work hedrar to keep you upigrht and balanced. Some muscles will become tight and inflexbile. Others will be inhibited. Over time, these dysfunctional adaptations impair your body's ability to deal with the forces on it. Poor posture inflicts extra wear and tear on your joints and ligaments, increases the likelihood of accidents, and makes some organs, like your lungs, less efficient. Researchers have linked poor posture to sliooicss, tension headaches, and back pain, though it isn't the exclusive cause of any of them. Posture can even influence your eoaotminl state and your sensitivity to pain. So there are a lot of reasons to aim for good posture. But it's getting harder these days. Sitting in an awkward position for a long time can promote poor posture, and so can using computers or mobile devices, which egcnuaore you to look downward. Many studies suggest that, on avgaere, potsure is getting worse. So what does good posture look like? When you look at the spine from the front or the back, all 33 vertebrae should appear seacktd in a straight line. From the side, the spine should have three curves: one at your neck, one at your shoulders, and one at the small of your back. You aren't born with this s-shaped spine. Babies' spines just have one curve like a "c." The other ceruvs usually develop by 12-18 months as the muscles strengthen. These curves help us stay upright and absorb some of the ssetrs from activities like walking and jumping. If they are aligned properly, when you're standing up, you should be able to draw a shaigtrt line from a point just in front of your shoulders, to behind your hip, to the front of your knee, to a few inches in front of your ankle. This keeps your center of gravity directly over your base of support, which allows you to move eeitcfinfly with the least amount of fatuige and muscle sritan. If you're siinttg, your neck should be victreal, not tilted forward. Your shoulders should be relaxed with your arms close to your trunk. Your knees should be at a right angle with your feet flat on the floor. But what if your posture isn't that great? Try redesigning your environment. aujdst your screen so it's at or slightly below eyelevel. Make sure all parts of your body, like your elbows and wtsris, are supported, using ergonomic aids if you need to. Try sleeping on your side with your neck supported and with a pillow between your legs. Wear shoes with low heels and good arch suporpt, and use a haeedst for phone calls. It's also not enough to just have good posture. Keeping your muscles and joints moving is ermexlety inarpotmt. In fact, being stationary for long periods with good posture can be worse than regular movement with bad posture. When you do move, move smartly. Keep anything you're carrying close to your body. bkacakcps should be in contact with your back carried symetrically. If you sit a lot, get up and move around on occassion, and be sure to exercise. Using your muscles will keep them strong enough to support you effectively, on top of all the other bifnetes to your jniots, bones, brain and heart. And if you're really werorid, cchek with a physical therapist, because yes, you really should stand up straight.

Open Cloze

Has anyone ever told you, "Stand up straight!" or _______ you for slouching at a family ______? Comments like that might be annoying, but they're not _____. Your posture, the way you hold your body when you're sitting or ________, is the __________ for every movement your body makes, and can _________ how well your body adapts to the stresses on it. These stresses can be things like carrying weight, or sitting in an _______ position. And the big one we all __________ all day every day: gravity. If your posture isn't optimal, your _______ have to work ______ to keep you _______ and balanced. Some muscles will become tight and inflexbile. Others will be inhibited. Over time, these dysfunctional adaptations impair your body's ability to deal with the forces on it. Poor posture inflicts extra wear and tear on your joints and ligaments, increases the likelihood of accidents, and makes some organs, like your lungs, less efficient. Researchers have linked poor posture to _________, tension headaches, and back pain, though it isn't the exclusive cause of any of them. Posture can even influence your _________ state and your sensitivity to pain. So there are a lot of reasons to aim for good posture. But it's getting harder these days. Sitting in an awkward position for a long time can promote poor posture, and so can using computers or mobile devices, which _________ you to look downward. Many studies suggest that, on _______, _______ is getting worse. So what does good posture look like? When you look at the spine from the front or the back, all 33 vertebrae should appear _______ in a straight line. From the side, the spine should have three curves: one at your neck, one at your shoulders, and one at the small of your back. You aren't born with this s-shaped spine. Babies' spines just have one curve like a "c." The other ______ usually develop by 12-18 months as the muscles strengthen. These curves help us stay upright and absorb some of the ______ from activities like walking and jumping. If they are aligned properly, when you're standing up, you should be able to draw a ________ line from a point just in front of your shoulders, to behind your hip, to the front of your knee, to a few inches in front of your ankle. This keeps your center of gravity directly over your base of support, which allows you to move ___________ with the least amount of _______ and muscle ______. If you're _______, your neck should be ________, not tilted forward. Your shoulders should be relaxed with your arms close to your trunk. Your knees should be at a right angle with your feet flat on the floor. But what if your posture isn't that great? Try redesigning your environment. ______ your screen so it's at or slightly below eyelevel. Make sure all parts of your body, like your elbows and ______, are supported, using ergonomic aids if you need to. Try sleeping on your side with your neck supported and with a pillow between your legs. Wear shoes with low heels and good arch _______, and use a _______ for phone calls. It's also not enough to just have good posture. Keeping your muscles and joints moving is _________ _________. In fact, being stationary for long periods with good posture can be worse than regular movement with bad posture. When you do move, move smartly. Keep anything you're carrying close to your body. _________ should be in contact with your back carried symetrically. If you sit a lot, get up and move around on occassion, and be sure to exercise. Using your muscles will keep them strong enough to support you effectively, on top of all the other ________ to your ______, bones, brain and heart. And if you're really _______, _____ with a physical therapist, because yes, you really should stand up straight.

Solution

backpacks
wrists
average
standing
straight
harder
worried
stacked
encourage
support
experience
determine
joints
stress
scoliosis
fatigue
dinner
strain
wrong
important
check
headset
benefits
vertical
adjust
efficiently
emotional
posture
scolded
awkward
foundation
curves
upright
sitting
muscles
extremely

Original Text

Has anyone ever told you, "Stand up straight!" or scolded you for slouching at a family dinner? Comments like that might be annoying, but they're not wrong. Your posture, the way you hold your body when you're sitting or standing, is the foundation for every movement your body makes, and can determine how well your body adapts to the stresses on it. These stresses can be things like carrying weight, or sitting in an awkward position. And the big one we all experience all day every day: gravity. If your posture isn't optimal, your muscles have to work harder to keep you upright and balanced. Some muscles will become tight and inflexbile. Others will be inhibited. Over time, these dysfunctional adaptations impair your body's ability to deal with the forces on it. Poor posture inflicts extra wear and tear on your joints and ligaments, increases the likelihood of accidents, and makes some organs, like your lungs, less efficient. Researchers have linked poor posture to scoliosis, tension headaches, and back pain, though it isn't the exclusive cause of any of them. Posture can even influence your emotional state and your sensitivity to pain. So there are a lot of reasons to aim for good posture. But it's getting harder these days. Sitting in an awkward position for a long time can promote poor posture, and so can using computers or mobile devices, which encourage you to look downward. Many studies suggest that, on average, posture is getting worse. So what does good posture look like? When you look at the spine from the front or the back, all 33 vertebrae should appear stacked in a straight line. From the side, the spine should have three curves: one at your neck, one at your shoulders, and one at the small of your back. You aren't born with this s-shaped spine. Babies' spines just have one curve like a "c." The other curves usually develop by 12-18 months as the muscles strengthen. These curves help us stay upright and absorb some of the stress from activities like walking and jumping. If they are aligned properly, when you're standing up, you should be able to draw a straight line from a point just in front of your shoulders, to behind your hip, to the front of your knee, to a few inches in front of your ankle. This keeps your center of gravity directly over your base of support, which allows you to move efficiently with the least amount of fatigue and muscle strain. If you're sitting, your neck should be vertical, not tilted forward. Your shoulders should be relaxed with your arms close to your trunk. Your knees should be at a right angle with your feet flat on the floor. But what if your posture isn't that great? Try redesigning your environment. Adjust your screen so it's at or slightly below eyelevel. Make sure all parts of your body, like your elbows and wrists, are supported, using ergonomic aids if you need to. Try sleeping on your side with your neck supported and with a pillow between your legs. Wear shoes with low heels and good arch support, and use a headset for phone calls. It's also not enough to just have good posture. Keeping your muscles and joints moving is extremely important. In fact, being stationary for long periods with good posture can be worse than regular movement with bad posture. When you do move, move smartly. Keep anything you're carrying close to your body. Backpacks should be in contact with your back carried symetrically. If you sit a lot, get up and move around on occassion, and be sure to exercise. Using your muscles will keep them strong enough to support you effectively, on top of all the other benefits to your joints, bones, brain and heart. And if you're really worried, check with a physical therapist, because yes, you really should stand up straight.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
good posture	4
awkward position	2
poor posture	2
straight line	2

Important Words

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