READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE 1

You are going to read part of an article in which four people talk about the sports lessons they had at school. For each question choose from the people A D. The people may be chosen more than once.

A Diane Townson
Looking back, I did enjoy sports lessons at school, even though I think most schools assume sports are basically for boys, and girls don't get encouraged very much to do well at sports. That attitude really annoys me, because the whole point of sports at school is to help kids develop the right attitudes, and it doesn't matter really how good you are. If you can't run as fast as an Olympic athlete that doesn't matter - what matters is that you run as fast as you can. Schools are highly competitive environments and sports can teach children the importance of teamwork. Almost everything else at school is about individual efforts, but sports are about working together towards a common goal. Sports at school give children who are not high achievers a chance to excel at something. Finally, national sports, like cricket in England, benefit because they are part of the school curriculum.

C Roger Das
There are obvious benefits in having good sports classes at school. Children stay fit and learn the importance of fair play. Schools can introduce children to sports they would never meet otherwise. For instance, I grew up in a big city, and we hardly ever travelled to the countryside as a family. At school we had a climbing wall in the gym, and we learnt rock climbing in sports class. When I moved to Europe, I took up rock climbing and was surprised at how good I was at it. Schools should offer a wide range of sports from the most popular ones, like football and basketball, to the less popular ones, like table tennis and climbing. Unfortunately, sports are often regarded as a sort of optional extra by schools and this is also reflected in the children's attitude to them.

B Colin Campbell
My own memories of sports lessons at school aren't particularly good, but that's mainly because of the type of school I went to. It was very traditional, with old-fashioned ways of teaching and didn't really think sports mattered at all. The school rarely organised sports events and never invested in sports equipment. There was very little emphasis on the importance of a healthy diet and the benefits of keeping fit and exercising properly. I believe that issues like obesity, anorexia, nutritional value of food, etc. should be included in sports lessons at school. Children should be encouraged to take part in competitive sports. Being competitive is part of human nature and doing sports can provide an excellent outlet for this aggressiveness. Winning at sports can build up your self-esteem and confidence. On the other hand, since you can't expect to win every time, sports can teach you how to be humble and realistic.

D Helen Smith
The main point about sports is that they encourage peaceful competition. I think that's the basis of the Olympic spirit of Classical Greece, which nowadays is more important than ever before. Sports can teach you how to discipline yourself, how to remain focused on what you're doing and how to apply yourself to an aim. I don't think sports are really about the sort of aggression and rage that you see sometimes in football matches, for instance. I certainly think teachers should discourage any form or aggression during sports classes. On top of that, we need to be more sensitive towards the feelings of children who are not fit or good at sports. Taking part in a sports lesson can be a major source of embarrassment and a traumatic experience for the less athletic children.

Which of the people 1. thinks sports encourage cooperation? 2. 3. believes that experience of losing is important? thinks one benefit of sports is learning to concentrate?

4. compares school subjects to sports?

5. 7. 8. 9.

thinks that sports help maintain national traditions? thinks sports help students who are not very successful academically? thinks sports can teach objectivity and justice? believes that mankind is aggressive by nature?

6. believes the Olympic spirit is essential today?

10. thinks schools should teach unusual sports? 11. believes most schools dont take sports seriously? 12. thinks males and females are not treated equally? 13. believes diet and health should be taught with sports? 14. thinks sports can make some children feel uncomfortable?

EXERCISE 2
Some sentences have been removed from the text. Put them back in the right place.
LEARNING TO DRIVE IN THE UK The minimum age for a UK provisional licence is 17. You will need this before you can start taking lessons. Any car that you drive before passing your test (15) _________________________________.
(16)

______________________________________ - car-owning friends and family members often turn unusually quiet on the subject. But if you do persuade a driver to teach you, they must be 21 or older and have held a full EC licence for at least three years. There are books available on how to teach a new driver. At first, (17)______________________________________, avoid driving in heavy traffic. Instead, find a secluded, open space.
(18)

______________________________________, it is by far the best route to your licence. You won't need to worry about damaging the car (the school will be fully insured), and trained, experienced instructors tend to be calmer, better teachers. The cars are usually fitted with dual controls, so your instructor can take charge of the brakes and clutch if need be. Before your test Before you take your test, (19)______________________________________. But after you've passed, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. So don't panic: you are almost certainly capable of learning to drive safely and smoothly. Practice some driving theory questions by trying the Driving Standards Agency's online Mock Test and see how well you would do. (20) ______________________________________, you may be surprised to learn that you don't know all the rules of the road. When did you last look at the Highway Code?

A. IF YOU CAN AFFORD A PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR B. IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL TEACH YOU FOR FREE C. EVEN IF YOU'RE AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER D. BEFORE YOU BECOME CONFIDENT WITH STEERING, GEARS AND CLUTCH E. IT CAN APPEAR THE MOST NERVE-RACKING EXPERIENCE OF YOUR LIFE F. MUST DISPLAY L-PLATES FRONT AND REAR.

EXERCISE 3
You are going to read part of an article about an Arctic explorer. For questions 18 , choose the answer (A , B , C or D ) which you think fits best according to the text.

Alone to the North Pole

So you think youre a hero for battling into work in the snow last week? Try spending 60 days trudging over ice and snow in temperatures as low as -45C, and with nothing to keep you company except the odd polar bear. Thats what awaits Christina Franco, a photographer from Notting Hill, west London, when she sets out on March 1 to become the first woman to reach the geographic North Pole solo and on foot. This is no small achievement. Only a few people have ever walked to the North Pole unassisted, and if Christina Franco succeeds, she will have earned a place in the history books and met one of the few remaining challenges of exploration left to women. Her 480-mile journey will begin in northern Canada, dragging a sledge that weighs as much as she does. At the end of each days walking or skiing, she will pitch her tent in sub-zero temperatures, get into a sleeping bag filled with ice, and attempt to sleep to the unsettling background sounds of howling wind and cracking ice, which may or may not signal the approach of one of those polar bears. Ill carry a pistol to scare any bears away, says Franco, 42. The bears that far north wont have had contact with humans, fortunately, so they wont associate me with food, but they will be curious and thats dangerous. If it uses a paw to see what you are, it could damage your tent or your arm. I imagine Ill have quite a few sleepless nights. Many of the early polar explorers suffered from disease and injuries, and while modern technology (lightweight materials, satellite phones, planes on stand-by to carry out rescue missions) has lessened the dangers, it can never make such an inhospitable landscape anything approaching safe. It can take just five minutes for any uncovered skin to become frostbitten and, once the sun has risen, Franco will only be able to remove her sunglasses inside her tent, otherwise the intensity of the sunlight reflecting off the snow would cause snow blindness. Just to heighten the danger, the cold will slow down her brain functions, so it will be more difficult to make split-second decisions in the event of a

sudden crisis. She will use about 8,000 calories a day, losing nearly half a kilogram every 24 hours. The problem is the human body can only take on about 5,500 calories a day, she says. So you have to fatten up before you set off or youll run out of energy. Franco is currently trying to put on 19 kilos. She may complain about not fitting into any of her dresses, but when Franco weighs herself in front of me and finds shes lost one kilo rather than gained two, as shed expected, shes very upset. I hope my scales are wrong because, if not, Ive lost weight, she says, reaching for one of many bars of chocolate lying around her kitchen. Born in Italy, Franco moved to New York and then to London. She has become well known locally, thanks to a training routine that involves dragging a tractor tyre around the streets, fastened by a rope around her waist. When I meet her she is about to head out along the canal near her home. I get a lot of comments, she says, laughing. Cars stop and people take pictures. They think its really funny. Occasionally people sit on it when Im not looking, or pull on it, to make it more difficult. Franco, who hopes her walk will raise money to fund research into motor neurone disease, has long been fascinated by exploring. I remember, as a child, learning about the Italian Arctic explorer Umberto Nobile, she explains. There are certain things that catch your imagination. The idea of people getting into frozen sleeping bags. It was remarkable to me, the idea of pushing the body like that and you didnt just die. These things get hold of you and, if one day the opportunity comes your way, you cant help yourself. Now, when I think how horrible its going to be, I know Ive only got myself to blame! And if she gets there, will she celebrate? Yes, my mums going to come in the plane to pick me up. Shes very worried and she hates the cold,

but shes going to conquer her fears to come

and celebrate with me . . . if I make it.

1 What does the writer say about the history of exploration? A Walking to the North Pole used to be considered easier than other journeys. B No woman has ever completed the journey to the geographic North Pole. C Female explorers have already done most of the worlds difficult journeys. D Christina is already an important historical figure for her previous journeys. 2 Unsettling (line 12) means A comforting. B worrying. C exciting D surprising. 3 What does Christina say about the danger from polar bears? A They could injure her without meaning to. B If they are hungry, they might attack her. C In that part of the Arctic they are harmless. D She will have to shoot any that attack her. 4 Which of these is a real risk to Christina during her walk? A She wont be able to think very quickly in emergencies. B Sunlight reflected by the snow could quickly burn her skin. C She will need to protect her eyes, even during the night. D If shes ill or has an accident, there will be no medical care. 5 Why, when she is talking to the writer, does Christina want to eat chocolate? A She feels that she has little energy at the moment. B Shes just found out her weight has gone down. C She knows that her weight is actually going up. D She always eats chocolate when shes upset. 6 Some people are amused when they A realise that she trains next to a canal. B hear the funny remarks she often makes. C learn that she intends to walk to the North Pole. D see her pulling a heavy object behind her. 7 She decided to walk to the North Pole when she A managed to survive a night in freezing conditions. B was at last able to do something she felt she had to do. C realised she was ill and she needed to pay for treatment. D first heard about a famous explorer from her country. 8 What impression do we get of Christinas attitude towards the walk? A She now regrets deciding to go. B She wants to do it, but not alone. C She knows how tough it will be. D Shes sure she will reach the Pole.