Listening: Why Sad Songs Feel So Good

Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.

B2 | Listening from video | 10 min

Why Sad Songs Feel So Good

Watch the whole video. You can watch more than once. Then answer the questions below. (4:25)

Choose the best answer.

1. What is the main idea of the video?

____ Happy music is the best way to feel better when you are sad.____ Sad music can feel good for several reasons, though it does not work for everyone.____ Sad music helps most people feel better after listening to just one song.

2. In the breakup example, how does the sad song help the listener?

____ The singer describes feelings that the listener recognizes as their own.____ The song solves the problem that caused the sadness in the first place.____ The song helps the listener to forget the other person.

3. According to researchers, why do some people choose to listen to sad music?

____ It helps them forget the memories that they would rather avoid.____ It lets them cry quickly so that the sadness ends sooner.____ It teaches them how other people solved similar problems.____ It comforts them and makes hard feelings easier to handle.

4. In the 2014 survey, which feeling did people report most often?

____ Sadness____ Loneliness____ Nostalgia____ Comfort

True, False or Not Given? Choose Not Given if the video does not say.

5. In the sad movie example, people cry because they believe the story is happening to them.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

6. After a sad song ends, the listener can decide whether to hear it again.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

7. A study found that older listeners reacted to sad music differently from younger listeners.

____ True____ False____ Not Given

Complete each sentence with the words you hear.

ONE WORD from the video.

8. A sad song can feel like a ____ who understands you even though they say nothing.

A NUMBER from the video.

9. A 2014 survey about sad music collected answers from ____ people.

ONE WORD from the video.

10. After listening, some people reported feeling ____ rather than better.

Why Sad Songs Feel So Good

Related lessons

Business Listening: Job Interview Tips

Listening: Handling Mistakes in Presentations

Listening: Languages with no numbers and no left or right

Listening: The story of how coffee spread around the world

Listening: How the Milky Way got its shape

Listening: How the Electoral College works