READING PRACTICE: LEVEL 5 ITM
INTRODUCTION: Changes are inevitable parts of human life. Transformation, changes,
hopes and challenges make our life exciting and worth living. Some changes are
unexpected while some are long expected and meant to bring something good for
us. Often changes define who we are and put us in situations we either find
very challenging or favourable.
DESCRIBING A POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE
·
READ
THE TEXT ABOUT DESCRIBING A POSITIVE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE AND ANSWER THE
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS.
1.
You
have asked me to think back
on some change I’ve made in my life, that turned out to be one for the better!
I am going to tell you what the change was and when it happened.
2.
The
change was basically that I decided I needed to get a bit fitter, and the thing that helped me do so was
joining up to do Park run. However, I’m jumping ahead. Let me explain how it
came about… A couple of years ago I started to feel like I was getting old and
losing my basic fitness. Although I walked quite a lot (as a form of transport,
as well as to enjoy the local countryside) I wasn’t really doing anything else
very much that was physical. I was never very good at sports, so I didn’t
really know where to begin. However, I’ve always liked being outdoors, so on
something of a whim I booked
an activity holiday in Northumberland, which is a beautiful rural area in the north east of
England, right by the coast. The holiday was great. We did abseiling; hill
walking; body-surfing – all sorts of
things. In addition, every morning began with a run along the sands of
the seaside. Now I’d never run before – well only if I was trying to catch a
bus, but otherwise, not at all. I wasn’t very good at it, and honestly, I
didn’t even really enjoy it all that much. However, I did have to concede that
it is a great form of exercise. You don’t really need any special equipment
(apart from decent trainers); you can do it anywhere and it’s free! What’s
more, I found out from some other holiday makers that in the UK there is a free
weekly event held nationwide in parks all over the country. It is called Park
run, and basically people gather every Saturday morning at 9.00 a.m. to run a
fixed course of 5km and get a time for doing so. I wasn’t too sure if this
would be achievable for me. I’d never run that far before. But I promised myself
I would try it ‘just once’ to see if I
could.
3. The day after I got back from my holiday I turned up to do the Park run
at my local park. I can tell you the exact day! It was 24th August 2013 – I
know this because the whole point of Park run is that if you register (which is
free) then the organisation records your time each week and you can access it
online afterwards. The first time I went I didn’t even manage to run the whole
way round, but I did finish, and I did get a great sense of achievement. Because you know your time, it
is quite addictive, you find you do want to go again the next week and see if
you can improve! My local park run is
huge, with well over 500 runners taking part every week – so even though I was
pretty slow, I found I wasn’t the slowest.
4. Since that day over two years ago, I’ve found that I’ve gone to Park run
almost every week. I have taken part in
some 70 park runs, and through doing so made new friends, maintained a certain
level of fitness, and even gained the confidence to take part in some longer
runs. I’ve done lots of 10km races now,
a few off-road runs – including one over 24km as well as taken part in obstacle
races! I would never have believed that
the small change of ‘just going once’ to Park run to ‘give it a go’ would lead
to me being such an enthusiastic member of Park run two years later. By the way, I haven’t really ever got any
faster, but I’m definitely a lot fitter.
Now I can’t imagine a Saturday morning without heading off for a run
with my 500 friends at the local park!
That first day I turned up nervously to join in with Park run was
definitely the beginning of a positive change in my life!
Taken
from
http://www.ielts-mentor.com/cue-card-sample/616-ielts-cue-card-sample-33-a-positive-change-in-your-life
for academic purposes.
·
Read the questions and write a definition, synonym or
antonym of the word or phrase.
1. What does the underlined word “think back “ in
paragraph 1 mean?
2. What does the underlined word “to get a bit fitter “ in paragraph 2 mean?
3. What does the underlined word “booked “ in
paragraph 2 mean?
4. What does the underlined word “rural area “ in paragraph
2 mean?
5. What does the underlined word “all sorts of things. “ in paragraph
2 mean?
6. What does the underlined word “great “ in
paragraph 3 mean?
·
Read the following statements and answer True or False.
7. He didn’t use to do any kind of sport. _______
8. He was worried about his age. _______
9. Cycling was part of the activities to do in Park run. _______
10. He enjoyed too much being part of Park run. _______
·
Read
the questions and choose the best answer.
11. Where is located Park run?
a. East coast b.
England c.
Doesn’t say
12. Do people need any special equipment?
a. Yes, they do b.
No, they don’t c. Doesn’t say
13. When did he decide to have positive change in his
life?
a. Saturday morning at 9
b. Four years ago
c. Long time ago
14. How often did he go to Park run?
a. Every day
b. Every Saturday
c. Weekdays
·
Answer the questions according to your comprehension.
15. According to the reading, was it easy or difficult for
him to make such a decision?
Explain?
16. Do you consider that is very important to make good
decisions when you are getting old?
17. Write at least 3 positive things this person got after
having that positive change in his life.
