B1 preliminary for schools

Cambridge reading activity B1 preliminary for schools

★ Choose true or false.

My first piece of advice to people who want to start getting fit is: don’t buy an exercise
bike.
Typically, people who buy them use them for a week or so and then forget about them.
They are effective if they are used regularly but you need to be determined. Most
people will find it much easier to go for a gentle jog around the park.
As well as being easy to do, jogging is also relatively cheap compared to most other
sports. You don’t need to buy expensive clothes if you’re just going running around the
park or on the beach.
The main thing is that they’re comfortable, and that they keep you warm in the winter
and cool in the summer.
There is one piece of equipment, however, that you will have to spend time and money
on, and that’s your running shoes. Remember that you are not looking for a fashion
item, but for something that will support your feet and protect you from injury. They
can be expensive, but if they are good quality they will last you a long time. It’s always
best to get expert advice, and the best place for
it is a sports shop.
As for the actual jogging, the secret is to start gently, and not to do too much at the
beginning –especially if you haven’t had any exercise for a long time. Try a mixture of
walking and running for ten minutes about three times a week at first. Once you are
happy doing that you can then start to increase the amount you do gradually. After a
few months you should hope to be able to run at a reasonable speed for twenty
minutes three or four times a week.
It’s important that you feel comfortable with whatever you do. If you do, you’ll start to
enjoy it and will probably keep doing it. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, you’ll
probably stop after a short time and return to your bad habits. In any case, training
too hard is not very effective. Research has shown that somebody who exercises for
twice as long or twice as hard as another person doesn’t automatically become twice
as fit.

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1) Most people don’t use exercise bikes for very long.

a. True
b. False

2) Exercise bikes don’t get you fit.

a. False
b. True

3) You should keep warm at all times when you are jogging.
a. False
b. True

4) Running shoes don’t have to be fashionable.

a. True
b. False

5) You should start jogging by walking for ten minutes.

a. True
b. False

6) You should expect to feel uncomfortable when jogging.

a. False
b. True

7) You won’t necessarily be a lot fitter by running twice as fast.

a. True
b. False

7
points

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★ For each question, choose the correct answer A - B - C - D

3
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 B1 preliminary for schools
★ For each question, answer correctly.

When I was at school, I played some football and rugby. I hated rugby
because I couldn’t catch the ball, but I enjoyed football. I started out being a
terrible player and nobody wanted me to be on their team. But I started to
improve slowly and, after a few years, the other kids in the school accepted
me as a player, not a fantastic one, but one who wouldn’t do anything stupid.

When I was at university, I stopped playing sports altogether. I was

working too hard, started eating too much, and, worst of all, I started
smoking. By the time I was thirty, I was overweight and unfit.

Then one day, I was sitting in the park, smoking a cigarette. I was watching
these guys running. They looked slim, fit and healthy, and some of them
were much older than me. When I got home, I looked in the bathroom mirror
and, well, I suppose I just didn’t like what I saw. At that moment, I decided to
stop smoking and change my life. I went to a sports shop, bought myself a
pair of running shoes, shorts and a sweatshirt. That evening I went running
around the park – for ten minutes! Physically, I felt terrible. Everything was
hurting: my legs, my chest. But inside, I did feel good about it.

The next evening, I went again. I still only did ten minutes, but I didn’t feel
as I bad as I did the day before. Within a week, I was running for fifteen
minutes, then twenty, and after three weeks I ran for thirty minutes without
stopping. Quite soon, I was running longer distances and my speed and
strength were improving all the time. After six months, I was a runner!

That was five years ago. I now run eight kilometers six times a week and
love it. My proudest moment was last year, when I ran my first marathon and
finished in under three hours. I’m better now than I’ve ever been, and am so
glad that I went to sit in the park that day five years ago.

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 B1 preliminary for schools
8) Which sport did he like best at school?

9) Why did nobody want to play with him at first?

10) When did he stop playing football?

11) Where was he when he decided to change his life?

12) How long did he run for the first time?

13) How did he feel psychologically?

14) How often does he run now?

15) What did he do last year?

8
points

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16) Complete the text with the correct option.

Although doctors have been warning about the dangers of cigarettes

(1)________ over fifty years, the number of people who smoke is still very
high. These people are not (2)__________ ;
they do worry (3)________ their health; they know the risks they are
(4)_________ with their lives. They also realize how much money they are
(5) __________ on cigarettes, yet they still find it almost impossible to give
them (6) ____________.
Smoking is also much more socially unacceptable now. A lot of people are
(7)___________________ smoking in public places – I personally can’t
(8)_______________ sitting next to a smoker in a restaurant, and I just don’t
go into (9) _____________bars any more because I know what the air will
be like. But we have to remember that most smokers do want to
stop. Instead of criticising them, perhaps we should give them a (10)
__________.

1) a) from b) for c) since d) during

2) a) funny b) silly c) sensitive d) ambitious
3) a) about b) over c) with d) around
4) a) doing b) making c) having d) taking
5) a) earning b) making c) wasting d) saving
6) a) in b) up c) out d) to
7) a) again b) again c) against d) above
8) a) mind b) stand c) say d) like
9) a) crowded b) blocked c) filled d) packed
10) a) help b) ham c) hold d) hand

10
points