Stadiums are among the oldest urban buildings and have always adapted: Arles became a fortress, then a village, then a bullring, Verona is an opera venue, and Lucca's is a market square. 20th-century stadiums lost that flexibility, but today's architects turn them into mixed-use hubs and solar or wind power stations that feed the surrounding city.
Section matching (14-17) uses A, D, E and F. The summary (18-22) is in B and C. The first choose-TWO block (23-24) is in D, as the question says, and the second (25-26) is in E and F.
Matching information (sections A-G)
Questions 14-17
How to attack this block: The 'growing scepticism' about costly stadiums is in A. The Kaohsiung figures (panels, GWh, tonnes of CO2) are in F. The list of hotels, shops and playgrounds is in E. The drawbacks of 20th-century stadiums (suburban, sport-only, energy-hungry) are in D.
Question 14
Answer: ASection A, middle
Which section mentions people feeling negative about building stadiums?
Today, however, stadiums are regarded with growing scepticism. Construction costs can soar above £1 billion
Question says → Passage says
negative attitudesregarded with growing scepticism
stadium building projectsConstruction costs can soar
Why: 'Scepticism' is doubt, which is a negative attitude. A then gives the reasons: huge construction costs and stadiums left in disuse after big events.
The trap: Section D lists real disadvantages of stadiums, but that's the writer describing problems, not people's attitudes towards new building projects.
Question 15
Answer: FSection F, second half
Which section gives numbers showing one stadium is good for the environment?
has 8,844 photovoltaic panels producing up to 1.14 GWh of electricity annually. This reduces the annual output of carbon dioxide by 660 tons
Question says → Passage says
figures8,844 / 1.14 GWh / 660 tons / 80 percent
environmental benefitsreduces the annual output of carbon dioxide
a certain stadiumthe Kaohsiung Stadium
Why: 'Figures' tells you to scan for numbers. F gives Kaohsiung's panels, its electricity output and the CO2 saving, all about one stadium.
The trap: Section B is full of numbers too (25,000 and 30,000 spectators, 90 AD), but they're about capacity and dates, not the environment.
Question 16
Answer: ESection E, third sentence
Which section lists the different facilities some new stadiums offer?
such as hotels, retail outlets, conference centres, restaurants and bars, children's playgrounds and green space
Question says → Passage says
wide range of facilitiespublic spaces and services that serve a function beyond sport
examplessuch as hotels, retail outlets, conference centres
Why: 'Such as' introduces a list, and the list is the 'wide range'. It's about today's stadiums as urban hubs, which matches 'new stadiums'.
The trap: Section C mentions shops and residences in Lucca, but that's an ancient amphitheatre absorbed into a town, not a new stadium.
Question 17
Answer: DSection D
Which section describes what's wrong with stadiums from one period?
some of the flexibility was lost at the beginning of the 20th century… These factors mean that they may not be as accessible to the general public, require more energy to run and contribute to urban heat.
Question says → Passage says
a certain eraat the beginning of the 20th century
disadvantagesmay not be as accessible… require more energy… contribute to urban heat
Why: D pins down an era (the early 20th century) and then lists problems: lost flexibility, poor access, energy use and urban heat. That's 'disadvantages' of 'stadiums built during a certain era'.
The trap: A also mentions the 20th century ('mono-functional sports arenas'), but only in passing. The actual list of drawbacks is in D.
Summary completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Questions 18-22
How to attack this block: Follow Arles's history in order: its first conversion, and what spectators watched when it went back to being an arena. Verona's fame comes from its acoustics. Lucca's site stored one product and now has homes and one other kind of building.
Question 18
Answer: fortressSection B, second sentence
What did the Arles amphitheatre turn into first?
it became a fortress with four towers after the fifth century, and was then transformed into a village containing more than 200 houses
Question says → Passage says
converted first into abecame a
then into a residential areathen transformed into a village containing more than 200 houses
Why: The summary keeps the passage's order: first ___, then a residential area, then an arena. The first change was into a fortress.
The trap: 'Village' is the tempting word, but the summary already covers it with 'residential area'. The gap is the step before.
Question 19
Answer: bullfightsSection B, third sentence
What could spectators watch once Arles was an arena again?
it was converted back into an arena for the staging of bullfights
Question says → Passage says
finally into an arenaconverted back into an arena
spectators could watchfor the staging of
Why: The arena was used for staging bullfights, so that's what spectators watched. 'Watch' needs a plural noun here, so write 'bullfights' with the 's'.
The trap: 'Public spectacles' is in the same sentence, but it's two words and too general. The gap wants the specific event.
Question 20
Answer: operaSection B, last sentence
What is performed at the Verona arena today?
currently considered one of the world's prime sites for opera, thanks to its outstanding acoustics
Question says → Passage says
famous today as a venuecurrently considered one of the world's prime sites
one of the oldestbuilt 60 years before the Arles amphitheatre and 40 years before Rome's famous Colosseum
Why: 'Today' = 'currently', and 'venue' = 'site'. Opera is the thing that's performed there. 'Is performed' needs an uncountable or singular noun, and 'opera' fits.
The trap: 'Acoustics' is right next to it, but acoustics are the reason it's famous, not something you perform.
Question 21
Answer: saltSection C, second sentence
What was once stored on the Lucca site?
variously used as houses, a salt depot and a prison
Question says → Passage says
used for many purposesvariously used as
the storage ofdepot
Why: A depot is a storage building, so 'a salt depot' means salt was stored there. Write just 'salt'.
The trap: 'Prison' and 'houses' are in the same list, but you don't store either. Only the depot is about storage.
Question 22
Answer: shopsSection C, last sentence
Besides homes, what's built into the remains around Lucca's market square?
the ruins of the amphitheatre remain embedded in the various shops and residences surrounding the public square
Question says → Passage says
incorporated into the remainsthe ruins of the amphitheatre remain embedded in
homesresidences
Why: 'Residences' are the homes, so the other noun in the pair is your answer: shops. 'Incorporated into' mirrors 'embedded in'.
The trap: 'Houses' comes earlier in C, but that was the past use of the site. The summary says 'now', and the present-day pair is shops and residences.
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 23-24
How to attack this block: D says modern stadiums lost some flexibility (less versatile) and sit in suburbs surrounded by car parks (less convenient). Steel and concrete are mentioned, but nothing says they're less durable.
Question 23-24
Answer: C and D (in either order)Section D
Which two drawbacks of 20th-century stadiums does Section D mention?
some of the flexibility was lost… Many such stadiums are situated in suburban areas… These factors mean that they may not be as accessible to the general public
Question says → Passage says
less versatilesome of the flexibility was lost
less convenient locationssituated in suburban areas / surrounded by parking lots / not be as accessible to the general public
Why: D: losing flexibility is being less versatile. C: stadiums out in the suburbs, surrounded by car parks and less accessible to the public, are in less convenient places.
The trap: E is the tempting one, because steel and reinforced concrete are named. The writer only says they were new products, never that they last less well. Nothing is said about imagination (A) or space (B).
Multiple choice (choose TWO)
Questions 25-26
How to attack this block: E's mixed-use hubs bring families and a wider community back in, and F's canopies are ideal for solar panels and micro wind turbines. The stadium supplies the area with power. It doesn't help residents use less, and nothing is said about research.
Question 25-26
Answer: B and E (in either order)Sections E and F
Which two advantages of modern stadium design does the writer give?
helping to regenerate urban spaces. This opens the space up to families and a wider cross-section of society… their canopies have a large surface area for fitting photovoltaic panels and rise high enough to make use of micro wind turbines
Question says → Passage says
community life back into the cityregenerate urban spaces / opens the space up to families and a wider cross-section of society
a suitable site for… renewable power generatorsStadiums are ideal for these purposes / photovoltaic panels / micro wind turbines
Why: B: mixed-use stadiums regenerate urban areas and bring in families and the wider public, not just fans. E: the big, high canopies are ideal for solar panels and wind turbines.
The trap: D tempts because Kaohsiung 'supplies up to 80 percent of the surrounding area'. That's the stadium producing power, not residents using less of it. A is wrong too: the new facilities serve a function beyond sport.
D, not A. A is about sceptical attitudes today, while D lists what went wrong with the stadiums of the early 20th century.
Words from this passage worth keeping
scepticism(A)
doubt about whether something is worthwhile
disrepair(A)
a bad condition from not being looked after
emblematic(A)
being a typical symbol of something
versatile(B)
able to be used in many different ways
reverting(C)
going back to an earlier state
regenerate(E)
bring new life and growth to a run-down area
blueprint(E)
a model that others copy
inaugurated(F)
officially opened
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Cambridge IELTS 17, Test 1, Reading Passage 2. The passage and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
