Part 6

You are going to read an article about a boxer. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (37-42). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

In defence of women’s boxing

Lucy O’Connor thinks that womens boxing is widely misunderstood

Womens boxing is a new addition to the list of sports included at the Olympic Games. But according to Lucy O ’Connor, winner of various international competitions, it’s still widely misunderstood – a situation that Lucy’s hoping to change. After graduating, Lucy took up boxing on the advice of a sports coach, who thought it would improve her general fitness. But Lucy soon set her sights on competitions and it wasn’t long before she was boxing at the National Championships, which she eventually went on to win.

As a result of her success, Lucy was accepted on to what the navy calls its ‘elite sportsman’s programme’. 37 __. Every day now starts with a run at 7 a.m., followed by a skill and technique session or a strength and conditioning circuit. Come the afternoon, there are more aerobic workouts, before Lucy gets into the ring and practises with other elite boxers.

As with all competitors, diet is a huge part of Lucy’s life. Since she first started boxing, she’s had to shed twenty-eight kilos. Losing the last six, which took her into the flyweight category, required great determination. 38 __. As she explains: ‘I don’t go out to party anymore. Thankfully, I’m married to my boxing coach, so at least I’ve got some sort of social life!’ Lucy’s husband boxed as a heavyweight himself and he’s in her corner for all her domestic competitions.

Lucy’s mum works as a buyer at a big department store, and Lucy has been testing out products for the store’s sports division. Whilst preparing for a recent international championship, Lucy wore a new titanium-based sports clothing range designed to improve circulation and aid recovery. 39 __. But how does her family react to her taking part in competitions? ‘Mum tends to admire me boxing from afar, but Dad just loves it!’

Lucy has clearly answered questions about safety concerns before and cites all the protective gear boxers strap on before a fight such as hand bandages, head guards, gum shields and much more. ‘Amateur boxing is not dangerous,’ she says definitively. ‘It’s so safety-orientated and the rules are so stringent it’s actually difficult to get hurt. We approach it more as a skill and point-scoring exercise, rather than as a fight. 40 __. ’ Boxers win points by landing the white knuckle part of their gloves on the opponent’s scoring area – essentially the upper body and head – cleanly and with sufficient force. In five years of competitive boxing, Lucy’s suffered only a few bruises and a broken thumb.

And in response to those who think it’s ‘inappropriate’ to see women boxing at the Olympics, Lucy is quick to point out that women have been competing in martial arts such as taekwondo and judo for years. 41 __.

Her biggest concern is that people confuse amateur boxing competitions with professional fights, where the focus is more on aggression and hurting your opponents. ‘Female amateur boxing is about showing skill, speed and stamina,’ she says. 42 __. ‘I find it so satisfying to be changing people’s opinion.’

A All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy.
В That’s because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle.
C Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage.
D If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake.
E Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced.
F That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really.
G What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.

Part 7

You are going to read a magazine article about students who travelled around Australia alone during their long summer vacation. For questions 43-52, choose from the students (A-D). The students may be chosen more than once.

Which student mentions …
43. a daily activity that was not enjoyable alone? __
44. a good way of keeping travel plans flexible? __
45. appreciating not having to waste time organising practical details? __
46. becoming more tolerant of other people? __
47. feeling better after keeping in touch with others? __
48. having doubts at the beginning of a trip? __
49. liking not having to agree an itinerary with others? __
50. meeting people with a similar outlook on life? __
51. missing having someone to help with decision-making? __
52. the advisability of going for the best accommodation you can afford? __

Solo travel in Australia

A Phil Morston
I remember sitting in the plane thinking to myself: ‘What have I let myself in for?’. The first few days were scary: I was all on my own on the other side of the world with nothing planned. But I soon met up with people to travel with. Of course, some you get on with, others you don’t. Some, for example, had every day planned out day in minute detail, when in practice things can change and it’s great to have the freedom to go with the flow. And that’s easy enough to do. You can take the Oz Experience bus down the west coast, jumping off whenever you want, then catching the next bus when you’re ready to move on again. Being away for a year, you do occasionally get lonely. To cheer myself up, I’d sit down and write a fortnightly email home about everything I’d been up to.

В Leila Stuart
Without doubt, you meet all sorts of people when travelling alone. I even made a friend on the plane out there. Some people are keener to make friends than others, of course, but if someone’s chosen to do the same type of trip as you, you’ve probably got lots of ideas in common. The advantages of a pre-planned tour are that you can get an agency to take care of all the arrangements, which can be time-consuming to do yourself – but it does mean that you’re tied to a predetermined itinerary, which wouldn’t suit everyone. There’s also the safety aspect in terms of the places you visit often being very remote. If you go off trekking in the wilds of a foreign country alone, it could be difficult to get help if things went wrong.

C Danny Holt
Travelling solo creates opportunities to meet people. There’s no substitute for sharing the experiences of the day with a companion, and being alone forces you to seek someone out. I’d never have met so many people if I’d been travelling with friends. There’s also the wonderful freedom to do what you like, when you like, without having to convince anybody that it’s a good idea. However, there are downsides; meal times are something I’ve never really got to grips with in all the years I’ve travelled alone. But my advice would be to give solo travel a go – it can be very liberating. Maybe try a short trip to begin with, just in case it’s not for you. Another thing is – stay in the nicest places your budget permits. Miserable hostels can really spoil a trip. And if you really are happy being anti-social, a pair of headphones can ensure the person in the next seat doesn’t bore you to death on the plane!

D Kerry Winterton
Fun as it is, travelling solo also has its low points, including occasional loneliness and the pressure that you’re under to make your own mind up about everything. I chose to travel alone because I wanted to do something different, but I did miss people from home, and sometimes fell out with other travellers I’d teamed up with along the way. But I learnt to accept that some people have different attitudes to mine; that you have to put up with irritating people in hostels and accept not having as much privacy as you’re used to at home. The best thing for me about travelling alone was that it was a brilliant experience that enhanced my independence and helped me feel more self-assured. I knew I was on my own, which made me make more effort to speak to people and by doing so I made lots of great friends.

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