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Exercise 1
Read the article about Jenny Talbot, a young mountain bike rider, and then answer the following
questions.
Jenny Talbot: mountain bike rider
Mountain bike rider Jenny Talbot recently won her first mountain bike race, and is planning to
become a professional rider soon. She and her brother enjoyed exercising from a young age with
their parents, and the family often went cycling at weekends, but it was hearing a teacher at school
talking about the sport that made Jenny want to try mountain biking herself. She persuaded her
parents to get her a suitable bike. There were fields at the back of her house where she could
have gone riding. However, they were too flat to be worth considering, so instead, every weekend
she went to a valley popular with local riders. Its steep sides took an hour to walk up, but only
10 minutes to come down! Whenever she felt tired, the other riders would tell her to never give up.
Later on, she discovered various tracks with different conditions, including a 15-kilometre forest
track with jumps and tight turns.
Jenny enjoyed various sports, including playing football for the school. She swam regularly at a
local pool and was asked to join her regional swimming team, which she seriously thought about.
She wasn’t completely sure as it would take up lots of time, and she was really into her mountain
biking. As her parents always said you should choose what makes you happy, she turned down the
offer and continued riding whenever she could.
She used her bike a lot over the next couple of years and eventually needed an upgrade. She
spent eight months doing jobs for her family to get enough money for a proper downhill bike. She
was then able to buy the expensive bike and kit that she needed to take her riding to another level.
Shortly after getting her new bike, she heard about a race taking place nearby. Although she was
worried that she might be the youngest competitor there, she still entered. A few days before the
race, she received a letter with race information, including a list of the other riders. She recognised
one of the names – top mountain biker Helen Foxton, who Jenny had read about in a magazine.
Jenny found her details online and emailed her to see if she had any tips for the race. Helen
replied, explaining how it was important to enjoy every race, and said she would look out for Jenny
on the day.
On the race morning, Jenny arrived early with her parents. It had been very rainy over the previous
few days, which made the route muddy, but this wasn’t a problem, and the spectators enjoyed
watching the race in sunny conditions. Jenny was amazed to come 17th out of 30 riders. All the
finishers were given a certificate, and the first 10 received helmets and sunglasses. Helen, who
came first, won a cash prize. Jenny was also presented with a medal for being the youngest rider.
Jenny met up with Helen, who explained how useful it was to vary the places where you practise.
Jenny also picked up a leaflet about a training weekend that, by chance, Helen was involved in,
called ‘Biking for All’. Helen was running a popular session called ‘Competitive Skills’, and another
top rider was leading one called ‘Safe Mountain Biking’, aimed at new riders, so Jenny decided to
go to the former. She went on the course and really enjoyed it. She says the things she was taught,
such as how important it is to learn from mistakes, have played a big part in getting her to her
current position, and will support her in her future career.
© UCLES 2020 0510/12/F/M/20
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1 Who introduced Jenny to mountain biking?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
2 Where did Jenny prefer to practise mountain biking at first?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
3 Which team was Jenny a member of at school?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
4 How long did it take Jenny to save up money for a better bike?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
5 Where did Jenny get the information she needed to contact Helen Foxton?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
6 What was the weather like when Jenny was competing in the race?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
7 What things did Jenny get to take home with her after the race? Give two details.
..........................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................... [2]
8 Which part of the cycling training course did Helen teach?
.................................................................................................................................................... [1]
[Total: 9]
© UCLES 2020 0510/12/F/M/20 [Turn over
