What's one of the best ways to get refreshed? Exercise. I find, that I am a different person after I've exercised. What I mean by this is that I feel very positive, focused, and inspired when I have pushed myself physically. Mind you, it isn't just going to the gym that does it. Walks in the country are the very best for me. I think it's because, not only do I get all the physical benefits of exercise, but being in nature reminds me deeply of what's real and what's good. You could say that it's a scientifically proven huge dose of medicine. However, when I don't have the time to walk in the country, I'll go to the gym. The one I go to is just a few blocks away. It's one of those places that you can go to any time of the day or night. Each member has his or her own entry card that opens the locked doors automatically. This sounds very fancy, but it's actually just a safety precaution, so only members enter the gym at night. And because there are no staff members in the gym, the cards guarantee that members can work out safely, and alone. I've only worked out at night once, as I prefer to do so during the day. I usually go there mid-morning. Generally, there are elderly people working out when I get there, and an occasional younger person. I often wonder what the non-retired people are doing there in the morning. Do they work a night shift*? Are they unemployed? Perhaps they are in college. Or maybe, like me, they are a stay-at-home-parent-blogger. But my imagination isn't enough to keep me walking uphill on the treadmill*, or lifting weights. I need something to help me. Music works best for me, dance music, in particular. My problem is that I'm fussy about what I listen to. I like a huge variety of modern hits, music from the eighties, jazz, and Motown. However, because I really pay attention to words, I get tired of songs if I have heard them ten or twenty times. The music and the beat* really keep me going in my workout, but the words, often, put me off*. Some modern songs have great beats, but the words are either appalling or cliches. "Baby, it'll be alright in the night, hold me tight, our love is right, let's fly a kite, here's my sandwich, take a bite...." you know what I mean; a good piece of music can very quickly become annoying because of the childish* lyrics*. If only my ears didn't care about words. But that's how I am; I'm into* words, and I listen to everything. So, recently, after seeing the movie Tron, I bought the soundtrack. No words. Just a lot of great techo beats and rhythmns. For now, that is doing the trick*. I hope I don't get tired of it. I need to go to a music shop and look for instrumental versions of dance hits. Hopefully, I'll find some good music with no words, if not, I'll have to develop a sense of humor about modern music's silly lyrics. Related vocabulary: night shift, treadmill, the beat, to put someone off. 1. He prefers to work at night, so he has the night shift in the hospital. 2. A treadmill is the walking machine that can vary speed and gradient. It offers a really good, custom workout. 3. The rhythm of a piece of music is what we call the beat. 4. While I was eating lunch, he blew his nose really hard. It totally put me off my food. I couldn't eat anything after that because I was so disgusted. Join me on FACEBOOK at Anna from A Cup of English, or email questions and comments to [email protected] or [email protected] Tweet //

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.