Step, stand, stairs: New study suggests movement pace may matter for longevity

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What question has traditionally framed discussions of movement and health?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. How quickly can people complete a mile?
   2. How many steps does a person take daily?
   3. Which exercise improves longevity most?
   4. Why do people avoid numerical goals?
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   How many steps does a person take daily?

   The opening identifies daily step quantity as the conventional framing question.

   For years, discussions of movement and health have often revolved around a deceptively simple question: How many steps does a person take in a day?

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the reported finding add to the subject?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A financial dimension
   2. A genetic explanation
   3. A more nuanced dimension
   4. A universal medical standard
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A more nuanced dimension

   The report adds a more refined perspective to a topic often reduced to numbers.

   The finding adds a more nuanced dimension to a subject frequently reduced to a numerical target.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What remains important alongside pace?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The amount of movement
   2. A specific ideal pace
   3. A universal benchmark
   4. The location of activity
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The amount of movement

   The recording explicitly retains movement amount as an important consideration.

   The amount of movement remains important, while pace emerges as another possible factor for researchers examining how everyday activity relates to living longer.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can a single daily total conceal?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether people own fitness devices
   2. Differences in how activity is performed
   3. The source of the study’s funding
   4. Which researchers collected the data
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Differences in how activity is performed

   A total may hide meaningful variation in how the activity occurs.

   A daily goal can make movement easy to quantify, yet a single total may conceal meaningful differences in how activity is performed.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the recording say pace may provide to researchers?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A replacement for all health measures
   2. Different information about the same behavior
   3. Proof of a causal mechanism
   4. A universal exercise prescription
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Different information about the same behavior

   Pace may offer another kind of information about everyday movement behavior.

   The two dimensions may therefore provide different kinds of information about the same general behavior.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Who might particularly benefit from broader movement conversations?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. People who find conventional targets difficult
   2. Only professional athletes
   3. Researchers studying elite performance
   4. People already exceeding every goal
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   People who find conventional targets difficult

   The recording highlights people who struggle to attain conventional step targets.

   That possibility could broaden future conversations about everyday movement, particularly for people who find conventional step targets difficult to attain.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the report not establish?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. That movement relates to longevity
   2. That pace may matter
   3. A specific ideal pace
   4. That step counts remain relevant
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A specific ideal pace

   It explicitly withholds both a specific ideal pace and a replacement benchmark.

   The supplied report does not identify a specific ideal pace or replace existing movement goals with a new universal benchmark.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the recording’s final stated development?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Pace replaces step counts entirely.
   2. Researchers stop studying everyday activity.
   3. Pace joins existing research questions about activity and health.
   4. A universal pace benchmark is introduced.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Pace joins existing research questions about activity and health.

   The conclusion says pace has become an additional research question.

   For now, the study adds pace to the questions researchers ask about activity and long-term health.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.