FILE 7 TEST ANSWER KEY

GRAMMAR

1   1   I used my brother’s motorcycle.

2   I went to a party at Anita’s.

3   Can you remember the price of the car?

4   I’m a friend of your father’s.

5   My cousin is an English teacher.

6   Can you see that flower pot?

7   Nikolai is a company director.

8   This is Budapest’s most famous hotel.

2   1   such

2   so

3   so

4   such

5   such

6   So

3   1   tallest

2   sooner

3   a few

4   much

5   as

6   as long

Vocabulary

4   1   dessert

2   seafood

3   foodie

4   elaborate

5   workout

6   flexibility

7   humour

8   hilarious

5   1   ripe

2   deep

3   trunk

4   Scrambled

5   thickness

6   stir

6   1   a toasted sandwich

2   cartoonist

3   roast

4   a stride

5   grated cheese

6   ripe

Reading

     1   C

2   B

3   A

4   B

5   A

6   C

7   A

8   B

9   C

10   B

WHAT SPORT TEACHES CHILDREN

Many parents think that their (1) children can learn a lot about good values and behaviour through sport. And it is certainly true that sport can teach children about such things as teamwork, complying with the rules of how something is done, fair play, and decency towards others. However, they also find that these good values are often contradicted when children watch sports on TV. Professional sports people and coaches sometimes don’t exhibit the standards of behaviour and fair play that parents hope their children will learn and show when they are playing sports, and indeed in all other areas of life. While watching sports on TV, the chances are that children will see professional players (2) cheating, having tantrums, fighting, or abusing officials such as referees. In addition, it is highly likely that children will be aware of well-known cases of sports people being caught using drugs to improve their performance.

The danger of all this is that it could give children the idea that winning is all that counts and that the key point about sport is that you should win at all costs. Good behaviour and fair play aren’t the message that comes across. Instead, (3) it looks as if cheating and bad behaviour are perfectly reasonable ways of getting what you want. This message is reinforced by the fact that some of these sports people acquire enormous fame and wealth, making it seem that they are being handsomely rewarded either despite or because of their bad behaviour.

What can parents do about this? Well, they can regard sport on television as a good opportunity to discuss attitudes and behaviour with their children, both in sport and in life in general. They can sit down and (4) watch the sport with the child. If the child likes a particular team or player, find out what it is about that team or player that appeals to the child. If you see a player swearing at the referee, get the child’s opinion on that behaviour. Discuss whether that player’s skill is more important than their behaviour. Ask what the child thinks the player’s contribution to the team is – how should the player be behaving in that situation, is the player displaying a good attitude towards teamwork? (5) Point out that no player can win a team game on their own, and that it’s important for team members to work well together.

Another thing to focus on is what the commentators say. (6) Do they frown on bad behaviour from players, think it’s quite amusing or even seem to think it’s a positively good thing? What do the officials do about bad behaviour? If they seem to let players get away with it, parents can discuss with children whether this is right or not and what effect it has on the game. If they punish a player, perhaps by sending him off, parents can discuss with children the consequences of bad behaviour, both for that player and his teammates. And look too at the reactions of coaches and managers. Do they accept losing with good grace or scowl and show a bad attitude to it? Parents can use this to discuss attitudes to winning and losing and to (7) remind children that both are part of sport – nobody can win all the time.

However, what children can learn from watching sports is by no means all about the negatives and parents should make sure they accentuate the positives too. (8) They should emphasize to children the high reputation that well-behaved players have, not just with their teammates but also with spectators and the media. They can focus on the contribution made by such players during a game, discussing how valuable they are in the team. The message from this is that you can be the best possible player without any kind of bad behaviour. In the interviews after a game, they can point out to a child that the (9) well-behaved players don’t gloat when they win or sulk when they lose. Parents can draw attention to well-behaved sports people who achieve great fame and wealth, showing that a good attitude can lead to enormous success. And they can draw attention to how well these people conduct themselves in their personal lives and the good work they do for others when they are not playing. In other words, parents should get their children to focus on the positive role models, rather than the antics of the badly behaved but often more publicized players.

Listening

1   1   E

2   B

3   H

4   F

5   G

2   1   B

2   C

3   A

4   B

5   C