SPORT

A. IELTS WRITING TASK 2 - SAMPLE QUESTIONS

- Some people think that hosting an international sports event is good for the country,
while some people think it is bad. Discuss both views and state your opinion.
- Some people think that physical strength is important for success in sport, while other
people think that mental strength is more important. Discuss both views and give your
own opinion.

[ Additional possible essays:

- Some people believe that sport has an important role in society. Others, however, feel
that it is nothing more than a leisure activity for some people. Discuss both these
views and give your own opinion.
- Some people think that it is more beneficial to take part in sports which are played in
teams, like football, while other people think that taking part in individual sports, like
tennis or swimming, is better. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
- Nowadays, sports is a big business with high earnings for professional sports people
and companies involved both financially and other ways. Is this a positive or negative
development for sports? ]

B. IELTS SPEAKING – SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Part 1.

- Do you like sport?

- What’s your favorite sport?
- Did you often play sport as a child?
- What do you do to keep fit?

- Do you often watch sport on TV?

- How do people in your country keep fit?
- What’s the most popular sport in your country?

Part 2.

- Describe something you do often/enjoy doing

- Describe an outdoor activity you have.
- Describe a healthy habit you have.
- Describe a sportsperson you admire.
- Describe a game or sport you enjoy playing.
- Describe something you do with your friends or family members.
- Describe a national sport or game in your country.

Part 3.

- What types of sports are popular in your country?

- What are the benefits of playing a sport?
- Why do you think sport is important?
- How can we encourage children to participate in different types of sporting activities/to
do more sports?
- Do children get enough exercise these days?
- Is there a sport that’s more popular with girls than with boys?

- Do you think the types of sport that are popular will change in the future?
- How can sports bring people from different countries closer together?
- What are the advantages of hosting different international sporting events in a
country?
- Do you think famous sportspeople are good role models for children?
- Do you agree that sports stars earn too much money?
 C. VOCABULARY
1. Material 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmFQqjMF_f0
How playing sports benefits your body ... and your brain

The victory of the underdog over the favored team. The last minute penalty shot that wins
the tournament. The high-energy training montages. Many people love to glorify
victory on the playing field, cheer for favorite teams, and play sports. But here's a
question: Should we be so obsessed with sports? Is playing sports actually as good for us as
we make it out to be, or just a fun and entertaining pastime ? What does science
have to say?

First of all, it's well accepted that exercise is good for our bodies and minds, and that's
definitely true. Exercising, especially when we're young, has all sorts of health benefits
, like strengthening our bones, clearing out bad cholesterol from our arteries, and decreasing
the risk of stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Our brains also release a number of
chemicals when we
Work out , including endorphins. These natural hormones, which control pain and
pleasure responses in the cental nervous system, can lead to feelings of , or, what's often
called, a runner's high. Increased endorphins and consistent physical activity in general can
and improve your mood and memory.

So does that mean we get just as much benefit going to the gym five days a week as we
would joining a team and competing? Well, here's where it gets interesting: because it turns
out that if you can find a sport and a team you like, studies show that there are all sorts of
benefits that go beyond the physical and mental benefits of exercise alone. Some of the most
significant are psychological benefits, both in the short and long term. Some of those come
from the
communal of being on a team, for instance, learning to trust and
depend on others, to accept help, to give help, and to work together
towards a common goal. In addition, commitment to a team and doing something fun can also
make it easier to establish a regular habit of exercise.

School sport participation has also been shown to reduce the risk of suffering from
depression for up to four years. Meanwhile, your self-esteem and confidence can get
a big boost . There are a few reasons for that. One is found in training. Just by working
and working at skills, especially with a good coach, you reinforce a growth
mindset within yourself. That's when you say, "Even if I can't do something today, I can improve
myself through practice and achieve it eventually." That mindset is useful in all walks
of life . And then there's learning through failure, one of the most
transformative, long-term benefits of playing sports. The experience of coming to terms with
defeat can build the resilience and self-awareness necessary to manage
academic, social, and physical hurdles . So even if your team isn't winning all the time,
or at all, there's a real benefit to your experience.

Now, not everyone will enjoy every sport. Perhaps one team is too competitive, or not
competitive enough. It can also take time to find a sport that plays to your strengths. That's
completely okay. But if you spend some time looking, you'll be able to find a sport that fits your
individual needs, and if you do, there are so many benefits. You'll be a part of a supportive
community, you'll be building your confidence, you'll be exercising your body, and you'll be
nurturing your mind, not to mention having fun.

- Benefits of Sports

- Team sports vs. Individual sports

2. Material 2:

A Majority of The World’s Teens Aren't Getting Enough Physical Activity

Public health experts have worked hard to remind us about the importance of exercise—for
mental as well as physical health. Research has linked physical activity to alleviating
symptoms of depression; lowering risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity;
and living longer.

But the first global country-by-country report on teenagers’ physical activity suggests
that the vast majority of the world’s teens aren’t getti ng the message. In a   study
published Nov. 21 in  Lancet Child & Adolescent Health , researchers at the World
Health Organization (WHO) analyzed the results of surveys that included 1.6 million
adolescents aged 11 to 17 years from 146 countries in 2001 and then again in 2016.
The teens answered questions about how much physical activity they got in school as
well as on their own. Overall, 81% of the adolescents did not meet the WHO
recommendations of one hour of moderate to vigorous activity a day in 2016.

“It’s not a surprise how high the rates [of inactivity] are,” says Fiona Bull, program
lead for physical activity in the department of health promotion at WHO and senior
author of the study. “What is disappointing is that the efforts that have been made
are not reaching the scale or impact that we would want, and the levels of inactivity
remain high. That’s a great concern.”

At the current rate, Bull notes, the WHO’s World Health Assembly’s  goal of reducing
teen inactivity by 15% globally by 2030 likely won’t be met. Further, while rates of
inactivity for boys dropped slightly from 2001 to 2016, the rates for girls didn’t
change. “The results point to an urgency to act, and a realization that what we are
doing is not enough,” says Bull.

Those data need to be considered in context, however, since the reason for higher
rates of inactivity may be different in different parts of the world. Overall, the
highest rates were found in high-income Asian countries; in fact, among girls, South
Korea had the highest rate of inactivity, with 97% not meeting WHO guidelines. In
those regions, Bull suspects two factors may be contributing to the lack of activity
there: one, the explosive growth of the economy which has fueled an increased use
of digital and screen-based technologies that keep children sedentary , and two, a
culture that prioritizes education over physical activity.
In other parts of the world, other factors—such as poverty, malnutrition and fewer
resources—may be driving high rates of inactivity as schools aren’t able to provide
regular physical education programs.

The greatest improvements in lowering rates of inactivity among teens from 2001 to
2016 occurred in Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, Benin, Ireland and the U.S.,
although in all of these cases, the drops were relatively small, maxing out at around
five percentage points.

The results of the study highlight the need to reassess current efforts to get
adolescents to exercise, starting with school programs, says Bull. Emphasizing the
importance of physical education in schools could help students adopt good
exercise habits that remain with them when they become adults. It’s also important
that schools offer a variety of exercise options that could appeal to a range of
individual preferences, and go beyond traditional team sports-based programs.
“The boy-girl differences in inactivity show us we need to think carefully and
innovatively about what girls and boys enjoy and want to participate in,” she says.
“The solutions are local, but this is a global problem.”

That means local communities should also prioritize physical activity by providing
resources to make both traditional and non-traditional forms of exercise affordable
and accessible, like parks, sidewalks (which have been shown to make it safer to
walk around urban areas), and bike-sharing programs. “It’s going to be a challenge
to reach the 2030 goal” says Bull. “It will require the whole community [and] whole
society to change.”

(Link to full article: https://time.com/5734685/global-teen-inactivity-study/ )

- Causes

- Can you think of any other reasons?

- Effects

- Can you think of any other effects?

- Solutions:

- Can you think of any other solutions?

2.1 Material 2.1 : The Guardian view on grassroots sport: kick the sedentary habits
Sedentary lifestyles, and their consequences for health, are not a new problem.
Falling levels of physical activity have been linked to rising levels of some illnesses,
and particularly obesity, for years. The decreasing number of people engaged in
manual labour is one of the reasons for this change. Another is the ubiquity of
screens. A third is high levels of car use, with children in particular moving around
less freely and independently outdoors than in the past.

Boosting community sports, particularly in deprived areas such as east London, was
supposed to be the long-term legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. The reality is that
cuts to local authority and schools budgets over the past decade have led to
opportunities being removed. As with obesity, low levels of physical activity are
linked to poverty, with low incomes creating barriers to participation . Research by
Sport England has shown that poorer children are less likely to take part in sports,
including swimming, than their wealthier peers.
[…]
But organised sport and leisure are only part of the overall picture. Games and
competitions are important because they bring pleasure and a sense of achievement
as well as improving health. But they are not the only way – or even the most
important way – in which people can keep in shape. Even before the pandemic,
around 25% of British adults were defined as almost completely inactive, meaning
they exerted themselves for less than 30 minutes a week. Encouraging them to take
up walking, cycling or gardening should be part of any strategy. Taking the stairs
instead of the lift or escalator may sound like boring advice. But the evidence is
overwhelming: sitti ng still for long periods is unhealthy. Muscles, including hearts,
need to be put through their paces. Increasing physical activity of all kinds, so that
our society does not slide further into immobility, should be a central aim of
pandemic recovery plans, and one that is properly resourced.
(Link to full article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/the-
guardian-view-on-grassroots-sport-kick-the-sedentary-habits )