PRACTICE TEST 1 What does the speaker say about her walk in the park?

[00:01.00]Listen to a talk on a podcast about psychology.
[00:02.00]Podcast Host: Did you see that new thriller movie that came outlast week? I did and loved it. The action, the plot twists... I was totally captivated. Time just flew by. Not a single thought occurred to me that was unrelated to the movie. What I experienced is what psychologists call hard fascination. Hard fascination means intense focus and concentration. Whether it's TV programs, video games... hard fascination is all too easy to come by in this modern world.
[00:03.00]There's another type of fascination-soft fascination. There's still effortless attention, meaning that no special effort is required for you to stay focused, but there's still room for other thoughts. When I take a walk in the park and look at the flowers and trees, for example, I might be thinking in the back of my mind about my dinner plans.
[00:04.00]Now, one thing to know is hard fascination causes mental fatigue. The mind is so intensely focused that it gets tired fast What follows mental fatigue? You might find yourself easily distracted, irritable, and stressed. Soft fascination, in contrast, engages a different part of the brain-the DMN, or Default Mode Network which soothes the mind and helps combat mental fatigue. So next time you feel like your mind is on overload, turn off the TV, put down your phone. Take a walk, or simply sit and stare at the clouds.