B2 Name:

Class:
2ND EDITION First for
Schools

UNIT 5: SKILLS TEST A

DICTATION 3 What does Megan think she will gain from studying abroad?
A new friends and teammates
You are going to listen to a recording about the benefits B an understanding of different approaches to sport
of sport and exercise. Listen to the whole recording once. C a higher standard of competition
Then you will hear the recording again with pauses for you 4 What does Megan enjoy most about her course?
to write down what you hear. Make sure you spell the words
A finding out about human behaviour
correctly.
B the wide range of subjects she can study

C how much she can learn about the human body
 5 According to Megan, what is true of the majority of
graduates from her course?

A They become successful athletes.
 B They are highly regarded scientists.

 C They work in jobs connected to sport.

6 Megan wants to work in sports psychology because
 A she understands and likes people.
 B she enjoys hard physical work.
C she dislikes seeing athletes do badly.

7 What does Megan advise would-be students of sports
 science?
A Try as many different sports as you can before you start.

B Have realistic expectations of your own sporting ability.
 C Expect to do a lot of research around the subject.

 14


Task 2
10
For questions 8–10, choose the answer (A, B or C) which fits
best according to what you heard in Task 1.

LISTENING
8 What is the best summary of the interview?
A an explanation of the development of sports science
B an outline of a specific college course
You are going to listen to an interview with Megan Corbett,
who is studying sports science. C an attempt to promote Sandford College
9 Which statement best describes the purpose of the
Task 1 Sandford College sports science course?
A to train students for a career in the sports industry
For questions 1–7, choose the answer (A, B or C) which fits
best according to what you hear. B to teach students how sport affects people’s bodies and
behaviour
1 What does Megan say about the course?
C to improve students’ sporting ability
A Many people incorrectly think it is just for athletes.
10 Which is the best description of the course?
B It gave her the opportunity to do different sports.
A A four-year course which includes a year abroad and is
C She thinks people often get the name of the course assessed by continuous assessment.
wrong.
B A three-year course which includes a year abroad and is
2 Megan chose to do the course because assessed by a final exam.
A she hoped to be able to work as part of a team. C A four-year course with one year’s work experience,
B she wanted to study with professional athletes. assessed by continuous assessment.
C she was interested in how sportspeople think and 6
behave.

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 B2 Name:
Class:
2ND EDITION First for
Schools

UNIT 5: SKILLS TEST A

READING
Task 1
Read the article and choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
11 The writer begins the article by
A explaining that competition isn’t healthy.
B challenging the belief that sport is always a good thing.
C stating why it’s good for countries to compete against each other.
D saying how good sport is for individuals.
12 What does ‘all this’ refer to in line 17?
A the salaries of top sports people
B the impact of major financial worries on sports
C the general influence of money in the world of sport
D the ways in which doing sport is no longer a healthy option
13 What does Tim Dixon say about the transfer fee for Trevor Francis?
A People couldn’t understand why the player needed the money.
B People had difficulty comprehending the amount of money involved.
C People were amazed that a sportsperson could have such a high value.
D People thought it was a fair price to pay for talent.
14 How does Louise Morgan justify high salaries for sportspeople?
A They work harder than other people.
B They only have short careers.
C They have little time with their families.
D They do jobs as valuable as any professional.
15 What is Nick’s main concern?
A Lots of sports stadiums are empty these days.
B Major sports events are extremely expensive to hold.
C Sports people are not good as role models
D Sporting achievements are not always remembered afterwards.
16 What is the writer’s conclusion about the amount of money in sport?
A It has hidden benefits for fans.
B It should be controlled more strictly.
C It is impossible to change it now
D It takes advantage of those who like sport.

12

Task 2
Read the article again and answer the questions in your own words.
17 Explain what the writer means by the following words and phrases:
A backed up his argument (line 50)
B readily pay huge amounts (line 60)
C a flip side (line 66)
18 What is Nick’s argument for why top sports stars should be paid well?

Total: 50

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 B2
2ND EDITION First for
Schools
UNIT 5: SKILLS TEST A
The price of sport
Sport is based on performance and competition. It’s a
great way for individuals, teams and countries to meet
and compete against each other. Sport is healthy and
wholesome, right? Wrong! The sports industry is now
5 very heavily dependent on money. Recent estimates
set the value of sports sponsorship at over sixty billion
US dollars while the top three sports brands in the
world make more than fifty billion US dollars each year.
Coupled with this, top sports stars can receive salaries
10 of over fifty million US dollars, and that sum is believed
to be increased by millions more when endorsements
and advertising fees are taken into account. There’s no
getting away from the fact that we are talking about a
very big business and there are genuine concerns that
15 money is damaging the basic principles that originally
lay at the heart of sport.
What is the public’s view on all this? Is it acceptable
and morally right that sports people can make such
huge amounts of money just because they have a skill
20 that makes them entertaining and exciting to watch?
Does anyone actually need to earn that much money?
Tim Dixon, a sixty-four-year-old market trader from
London, and a big football fan, has grave doubts about
it. ‘I remember the first footballer who was transferred
25 for a fee of over £1,000,000 – Trevor Francis back in
1979. People found it difficult to accept that anyone
could be worth that much money. But now clubs think
nothing of transfer fees of up to £100 million. Frankly,
the money would be better spent on helping the
30 homeless, supporting charities and generally making
the world a nicer place to live in.’
Louise Morgan, an ex-sports champion herself, has
a different opinion. ‘Athletes work incredibly hard.
They train for five or six hours every day and miss out
35 on a normal family life because their sport takes over
everything. Why shouldn’t they be rewarded highly
Name:
Class:
for their work, like other top-level and hard-working
professionals?’ She also makes the point that as the
career of many athletes is relatively short; for it to last
40 them into old age, they need to make a lot of money
quickly.
Nick, who runs a sports shop, was concerned about
other issues. ‘Everyone knows about the massive
expenditure involved in holding major sports events
45 and how even wealthy countries can get into financial
problems as a result, but I’ve seen disused stadiums
that are slowly becoming ruins. It’s such a shame as
they cost millions to build, but more importantly, what
happened in them is often inspirational – I feel it can
50 get forgotten.’ He backed up his argument by claiming
that famous sports stars are role models for many
young people – that sport, like films or music, is an
industry where people struggle to work their way to the
top, so they deserve to be paid well to reflect this. As an
55 aside, he highlighted the injustice of a large difference
in wages for male and female sports stars, as they all
provide similar inspiration for others.
In all this debate, one thing stands out – there’s likely
to be a lot of money in sports for a long time to come.
60 It’s clear why companies readily pay huge amounts
to sponsor sport, as the benefits to them are obvious.
Football teams play in strips decorated with the name
and logo of a company, and millions of people watch
them. It’s an obvious strategy, and however many
65 controls there may be in place, it could be seen as overly
influential. There’s a flip side, however. Getting into
a top-level sporting event can cost a lot, which seems
unfair, but people would probably be paying even
more if it weren’t for commercial sponsorship. That’s
70 something often ignored. And underlying all this is the
point that people love watching sport. If they didn’t,
the money would dry up.
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