Australia's Sporting Success: reading answers and analysis
Why Australia wins so much sport: a funded network of academies where scientists measure everything, from a swimmer's turns to the proteins in an athlete's saliva. Race plans are built around target times, and although rivals copy single gadgets, nobody has copied the whole system.
The paragraph matching (1-7) jumps around and uses B twice. The classification (8-11) follows the passage from C to F. The two short answers (12-13) come from E and F, in order.
Answer key and self-check
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Answer
Questions 1-7 · Matching information (paragraphs A-F)
2 per centAlso accepted: 2% / by 2 per cent / by 2% / two per cent / 2 percent / by two per cent
Matching information (paragraphs A-F)
Questions 1-7
How to attack this block: B holds two answers: skills shared between sports and the reason for avoiding abstract research. Watch the time signals: E plans before an event, while C's analysis system reports after the race. D is the paragraph about finding what holds athletes back, including illness.
Question 1
Answer: BParagraph B, third sentence
Which paragraph mentions know-how being passed from one sport to another?
applying skills learned in one - such as building muscle strength in golfers - to others, such as swimming and squash
Question says → Passage says
exchange of expertiseapplying skills learned in one… to others
between different sportswork across a number of sports
Why: 'Expertise' is 'skills learned', and 'exchange between sports' is applying what works in golf to swimming and squash. B is the only paragraph where knowledge moves sideways from one sport to another.
The trap: Paragraph A mentions 96 sports, which grabs your eye, but that's about how many sports get funding. Nothing is shared between them there.
Question 2
Answer: CParagraph C, second half
Which paragraph explains how pictures are used to study athletes?
It collects images from digital cameras running at 50 frames a second and breaks down each part of a swimmer's performance into factors that can be analysed individually
Question says → Passage says
visual imaginga 3D analysis tool / A wire-frame model / images from digital cameras
investigationsstudying swimmers / can be analysed individually
Why: C has two imaging tools: the 3D wire-frame model of a swimmer and SWAN, which takes camera images and breaks the swim into parts. Both are about looking at a picture to investigate performance.
The trap: Paragraph D has Mason holding a sheet of SWAN data, but that's numbers on paper. The cameras and images themselves are described in C.
Question 3
Answer: BParagraph B, last sentence
Which paragraph gives a reason for keeping research focused and limited?
We can't waste our time looking at ethereal scientific questions that don't help the coach work with an athlete and improve performance
Question says → Passage says
narrowing the scopeThey all focus on one aim: winning
a reasonWe can't waste our time
Why: Fricker says the scientists ignore abstract questions and stick to what helps a coach win. Cutting out 'ethereal' questions is narrowing the scope, and 'we can't waste our time' is the reason.
The trap: Paragraph C says 'No gain is too slight to bother with', which sounds like a narrow focus. But it's about how small the improvements are, not about limiting what gets researched.
Question 4
Answer: FParagraph F
Which paragraph shows other people copying AIS inventions?
there's nothing to stop other countries copying - and many have tried
Question says → Passage says
reproducedcopying / Now everyone uses them / replicate
AIS ideascoolant-lined jackets / the 'altitude tent', developed by AIS
Why: F gives two AIS inventions, the cooling jackets and the altitude tent, and says rival countries now use both. 'Reproduced' is 'copying'.
The trap: Paragraph B has ideas moving from golf to swimming, but that's AIS reusing its own skills, not someone else reproducing them.
Question 5
Answer: DParagraph D
Which paragraph shows how things holding athletes back can be looked into?
Fricker gives the example of athletes who may be down with coughs and colds 11 or 12 times a year.
Question says → Passage says
obstacles to optimum achievementcoughs and colds / His turn times were 44 hundredths of a second behind
investigateddeveloped a test that measures how much of the immune-system protein immunoglobulin A is present
Why: D finds two things stopping athletes from doing their best: the slow turns of the third-placed swimmer and frequent illness. The saliva test is how the illness problem is investigated, and 'obstacles' is the general word for both.
The trap: Paragraph C is also about measuring, but it's about squeezing tiny gains out of good performances. D is the one that identifies something going wrong and tests for it.
Question 6
Answer: AParagraph A, second half
Which paragraph gives the big picture of how athletes are paid for and supported?
Another body, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), finances programmes of excellence in a total of 96 sports for thousands of sportsmen and women.
Question says → Passage says
fundedfinances / expensive network
support of athletesintensive coaching, training facilities and nutritional advice
Why: 'Overview' tells you to look for a general summary, which is what an opening paragraph does. A names the two bodies, the money ('finances', 'expensive') and the support on offer.
The trap: Paragraph B gives numbers of AIS staff, which feels like an overview, but it's about the science work, not funding.
Question 7
Answer: EParagraph E
Which paragraph explains how targets for a race are worked out in advance?
Well before a championship, sports scientists and coaches start to prepare the athlete by developing a 'competition model', based on what they expect will be the winning times.
Question says → Passage says
before an eventWell before a championship
performance requirementsthe winning times / hit those targets
calculatedYou design the model to make that time
Why: The competition model sets out the start, speed, stroke rate and turns needed to hit a winning time. 'Before an event' matches 'well before a championship'.
The trap: Paragraph C's SWAN system also breaks a race into parts, but it does so 'At the end of each race'. Question 7 is about planning before.
Classification (Australians only now / future / rivals too)
Questions 8-11
How to attack this block: Decide each technique by tense and by who uses it. 'Are developing' and 'will be' mean the future. 'Now everyone uses them' means rivals too. If the writer only mentions Australians using something now, it's the 'exclusively Australian' option, even if you suspect others use it in real life.
Question 8
Answer: AParagraph C, second half
Does the writer say cameras are used now only by Australians, will be used later, or are used by rivals too?
the SWAN (SWimming ANalysis) system now used in Australian national competitions. It collects images from digital cameras
Question says → Passage says
currentlynow used
exclusively used by Australiansin Australian national competitions
Why: The cameras belong to SWAN, which is 'now used' (present), and the only place the writer says it's used is Australian national competitions. Nothing suggests other countries have it, so A.
The trap: The 3D wire-frame tool earlier in C is future ('When fully developed'), so B tempts. But that tool isn't the camera system. C tempts too, since cameras are everywhere in real life, but answer from what the writer states.
Question 9
Answer: BParagraph D, middle
Which category fits the sensors?
they are developing unobtrusive sensors that will be embedded in an athlete's clothes or running shoes
Question says → Passage says
will be used in the futureare developing… will be embedded
Why: 'Are developing' and 'will be embedded' put the sensors in the future. They aren't in use yet, so B.
The trap: The sentence sits among things already in use (SWAN data, saliva tests), so a quick reader files it as present. The verb tense is the giveaway.
Question 10
Answer: AParagraph D, end
Which category fits the protein tests?
Since the tests were introduced, AIS athletes in all sports have been remarkably successful at staying healthy.
Question says → Passage says
protein testsimmune-system protein immunoglobulin A
currently used by AustraliansSince the tests were introduced, AIS athletes
Why: The saliva test for the protein IgA is already running ('since the tests were introduced') and only AIS athletes are mentioned. Present and Australian only: A.
The trap: Paragraph F says other countries copy AIS ideas, which pushes people towards C. But F names only the jackets and the altitude tent as copied, not the protein test.
Question 11
Answer: CParagraph F
Which category fits altitude tents?
Now everyone uses them. The same has happened to the 'altitude tent', developed by AIS
Question says → Passage says
used by both Australians and their rivalsNow everyone uses them / other countries copying
altitude tentsthe 'altitude tent'
Why: 'The same has happened' links the tent to the jackets that 'everyone uses'. So rivals use them as well as Australians: C.
The trap: 'Developed by AIS' makes it sound Australian only (A). Developed by AIS, yes, but now copied by everyone.
Short answers (NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER)
Questions 12-13
How to attack this block: Both answers are named things you can copy straight from the text. The first is the planning tool built before a championship, the second the improvement figure from the 1996 Olympics. Ignore the swimming numbers in D; the question is about cyclists.
Question 12
Answer: competition modelParagraph E
Also accepted: a competition model
What is created to help an athlete plan their race?
start to prepare the athlete by developing a 'competition model', based on what they expect will be the winning times
Question says → Passage says
produceddeveloping / design the model
help an athlete plan their performanceprepare the athlete
Why: The model is built before the event and all training aims at its targets, so it's the plan for the race. Two words, well inside the three-word limit.
The trap: 'Biomechanical profile' in C is also built for coaches, but it's a general tool for developing young swimmers, not a plan for a particular event.
Question 13
Answer: 2 per centParagraph F, second and third sentences
Also accepted: 2% / by 2 per cent / by 2% / two per cent / 2 percent / by two per cent
How much faster were some cyclists at the 1996 Olympics?
At the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, these sliced as much as two per cent off cyclists' and rowers' times.
Question says → Passage says
1996 Olympic GamesAtlanta Olympic Games in 1996
performance improvesliced… off cyclists' and rowers' times
Why: The jackets 'sliced' up to two per cent off times, and a lower time is a better performance. You can write it as '2%' or 'two per cent'; both count.
The trap: Paragraph D's '35 hundredths of a second' and '44 hundredths' are tempting numbers, but they're about a swimmer, not cyclists in 1996.
D. 'Obstacles' is the general word for the illness and slow turns D investigates. C's measuring is about polishing good performances, not finding problems.
A. F's copying applies only to the jackets and the altitude tent. The protein test is still an AIS-only technique.
Words from this passage worth keeping
underpinned by(A)
supported and made strong by
ethereal(B)
too abstract to be of practical use
wring(C)
get something out with a lot of effort
tweaking(C)
making small adjustments to improve something
unobtrusive(D)
not noticeable or in the way
geared towards(E)
designed or organised to achieve a particular aim
replicate(F)
copy exactly
all-encompassing(F)
covering everything
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The full Cambridge 6 Test 1 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 6, Test 1, Reading Passage 1. 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.
