雅思閱讀強(qiáng)化講義

雅思閱讀強(qiáng)化講義（在編）

IELTSReadingPre-test

Passage1

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

ZuluBeadwork

TheSouthAfricanprovinceofKwaZulu-Natal,morecommonlyreferredtoastheZulu

Kingdom,isnamedaftertheZulupeoplewhohaveinhabitedtheareasincethelate1400s.

KwaZulutranslatestomean"PlaceofHeaven.”"Natal”wasthenamethePortugueseexplorers

gavethisregionwhentheyarrivedin1497.Atthattime,onlyafewZuluclansoccupiedthe

area.Bythelate1700s,theAmaZuluclan,meaning"PeopleofHeaven/1constituteda

significantnation.TodaytheZuluclanrepresentsthelargestethnicgroupinSouthAfrica,with

atleast11millionpeopleinthekingdom.TheZulupeopleareknownaroundtheworldfor

theirelaborateglassbeadwork,whichtheywearnotonlyintheirtraditionalcostumesbutas

partoftheireverydayapparel.ItispossibletolearnmuchaboutthecultureoftheZuluclan

throughtheirbeadwork.

TheglassbeadtradeintheprovinceofKwaZulu-Natalisbelievedtobeafairlyrecentindustry.

In1824,anEnglishmannamedHenryFrancisFynnbroughtglassbeadstotheregiontosellto

theAfricanpeople.ThoughtheBritisharenotconsideredthefirsttointroduceglassbeads,

theywereamainsourcethroughwhichtheZulupeoplecouldaccessthemerchandisethey

needed.GlassbeadshadalreadybeenmanufacturedbytheEgyptianscenturiesearlieraround

thesametimewhenglasswasdiscovered.SomeresearchpointstotheideathatEgyptianstried

tofoolSouthAfricanswithglassbypassingitoffasjewelssimilarinvaluetogoldorivory.

PhoenicianmarinersbroughtcargoesofthesebeadstoAfricaalongwithotherwares.Before

theEuropeansarrived,manyArabtradersbroughtglassbeadsdowntothesoutherncountries

viacamelback.Duringcolonization\theEuropeansfacilitatedandmonopolizedtheglassbead

market,andtheZulunationbecameevenmorecloselytiedtothisartform.

TheZulupeoplewerenotfooledintobelievingthatglassbeadswerepreciousstonesbut,rather,

usedthebeadstoestablishcertaincodesandritualsintheirsociety.IntheAfricantradition,

kingswereknowntowearbeadedregaliasoheavythattheyrequiredthehelpofattendantsto

getoutoftheirthrones.Zulubeadworkisinvolvedineveryrealmofsociety,fromreligionand

politicstofamilyandmarriage.AmongtheZuluwomen,thecraftofbeadworkisusedasan

educationaltoolaswellasasourceofrecreationandfashion.Personaladornmentitems

includejewelry,skirts,neckbands,andaprons.Besidesclothingandaccessories,thereare

manyotherbeadedobjectsintheZuluculture,suchasbead-coveredgourds,whicharecarried

aroundbywomenwhoarehavingfertilityproblems.Mostimportantly,however,Zulu

beadworkisasourceofcommunication.IntheZulutradition,beadsareapartofthelanguage

withcertainwordsandsymbolsthatcanbeeasilyread.Afinishedproductisconsideredby

manyartistsandcollectorstobeextremelypoetic.

ThecodebehindZulubeadworkisrelativelybasicandextremelyresistanttochange.Asimple

triangleisthegeometricshapeusedinalmostallbeadeditems.Atrianglewiththeapex

pointingdownwardsignifiesanunmarriedman,whileonewiththetippointingupwardisworn

byanunmamedwoman.Marriedwomenwearitemswithtwotrianglesthatformadiamond

shape,andmarriedmensignifytheirmaritalstatuswithtwotrianglesthatformanhourglass

shape.Colorsarealsosignificant,thoughslightlymorecomplicatedsinceeachcolorcanhavea

negativeandapositivemeaning.Educatedbytheiroldersisters,youngZulugirlsquicklylearn

howtosendtheappropriatemessagestoacourtingmale.Similarly,maleslearnhowto

interpretthemessagesandhowtowearcertainbeadsthatexpresstheirinterestinmarriage.

Thecodesofthebeadsaresostrongthatculturalanalystsfearthatthebeadworktraditioncould

preventtheZulupeoplefromprogressingtechnologicallyandeconomically.Socioeconomic

datashowsthatthemoreacultureresistschangethemoreriskthereisinavaluesystemfalling

apart.ThoughtraditionalbeadworkstillholdsaseriousplaceinZuluculture,thedecorativeart

formisoftenmodifiedfortourists,withpopularitemssuchasthebeadedfertilitydoll.

卜卜Matching

Ouestions1?3

MatcheachdefinitioninListAwiththetermitdefinesinListB.

WritethecorrectletterA-Einboxes1-3onyouranswersheet.Therearemoretermsthan

definitions,soyouwillnotusethemall.

ListADefinitions

1ItmeansPlaceofHeaven.

ItisthePortuguesenameforsouthern

2

Africa.

3ItmeansPeopleofHeaven.

ListBTerms

APhoenician

BPhoenician

CAmaZulu

DExplorer

EKwaZulu

卜卜Short-AnswerQuestions

Ouestions4?6

Answerthequestionsbelow.

WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.

Writeyouranswersisboxes4-6onyouranswersheet.

4WhichcountrydoestheZuluclanresidein?

5WhendidthePortuguesearriveinKwaZulu-Natal?

6HowmanymembersoftheZuluKingdomarethere?

True-False-NotGivenQuestions

Questions7?11

Dothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthepassage?

Inboxes7-11onyouranswersheet,write

TRUEifthestatementistrueaccordingtothepassage

FALSEifthestatementcontradictsthepassage

NOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationaboutthisinthepassage

7TheBritishwerethefirstpeopletosellglassbeadsinAfrica.

8HenryFrancesFlynnmadealotofmoneysellingglassbeadstotheZulupeople.

9TheZulupeoplebelievedthatglassbeadswerepreciousstones.

10TheZulupeopleuseglassbeadsinmanyaspectsoftheirdailylives.

11Zuluwomenbelievethatbead-coveredgourdscanhelpthemhavebabies.

LabelingaDiagram

Labelthediagrambelow.Chooseoneortwowordsfromthereadingpassageforeachanswer.

Writeyouranswersinboxes12-15onyouranswersheet.

ZuluBeadworkCode

12131415

Passage2

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

ChoosingHeadings

Questions1?5

ThefollowingreadingpassagehasfivesectionsA-E.

Choosethecorrectheadingforeachsectionfromthelistofheadings.

Writethecorrectnumberi-viiiinboxes1-5onyouranswersheet.Therearemoreheadings

thansections,soyouwillnotusethemall.

1SectionA

2SectionB

3SectionC

4SectionD

5SectionE

iColorblindness'indifferentcountries

iiDiagnosingcolorblindness

iiiWhatiscolorblindness?

ivCuringcolorblindness

vUnsolvedmyths

viAnimalsandcolorblindness

viiDevelopingtheabilitytoseecolor

viiiColorblindnessandthesexes

Colorblindness

AMythsrelatedtothecausesandsymptomsof"colorblindness”aboundthroughouttheworld.

Thetermitselfismisleading,sinceitisextremelyrareforanyonetohaveacompletelackof

colorperception.Bylookingintothemythsrelatedtocolorblindness,onecanlearnmany

factsaboutthestructureandgeneticsothehumaneye.Itisamyththatcolorblindpeoplesee

theworldasifitwereablackandwhitemovie.Thereareveryfewcasesofcomplete

colorblindness.Thosewhohaveacompletelackofcolorperceptionarereferredtoas

monochromatics,andusuallyhaveaseriousproblemwiththeiroverallvisionaswellasan

inabilitytoseecolors.Thefactisthatinmostcasesofcolorblindness,thereareonlycertain

shadesthatapersoncannotdistinguishbetween.Thesepeoplearesaidtobedichromatic.They

maynotbeabletotellthedifferencebetweenredandgreen,ororangeandyellow.Aperson

withnormalcolorvisionhaswhatiscalledtrichromaticvision.Thedifferencebetweenthe

threelevelsofcolorperceptionhavetodowiththeconesinthehumaneye.Anormalhuman

eyehasthreeconeslocatedinsidetheretina:theredcone,thegreencone,andtheyellowcone.

Eachconecontainsaspecificpigmentwhosefunctionistoabsorbthelightofthesecolorsand

thecombinationsofthem.Peoplewithtrichromaticvisionhaveallthreeconesinworking

order.Whenoneofthethreeconesdoesnotfunctionproperly,dichromaticvisionoccurs.

BSomepeoplebelievethatonlymencanbecolorblind.Thisisalsoamyth,thoughitisnot

completelyuntrue.Inanaveragepopulation,8%ofmalesexhibitsomeformofcolorblindness,

whileonly0.5%ofwomendo.Whiletheremaybesometruthtotheideathatmoremenhave

troublematchingtheirclothingthanwomen,thereasonthatcolorvisiondeficiencyis

predominantinmaleshasnothingtodowithfashion.Thefactisthatthegeneforcolor

blindnessislocatedontheXchromosome,whichmenonlyhaveoneof.FemaleshavetwoX

chromosomes,andifonecarriesthedefectivegene,theotheronenaturallycompensates.

Therefore,theonlywayforafemaletoinheritcolorblindnessisforbothofherX

chromosomestocarrythedefectivegene.Thisiswhytheincidenceofcolordeficiencyis

sometimesmoreprevalentinextremelysmallsocietiesthathavealimitedgenepool.

CItistruethatallbabiesareborncolorblind.Ababy'sconesdonotbegintodifferentiate

betweenmanydifferentcolorsuntilheisapproximatelyfourmonthsold.Thisiswhymanyof

themodemtoysforveryyoungbabiesconsistofblackandwhitepatternsorprimarycolors,

ratherthantraditionalsoftpastels.However,somecurrentresearchpointstotheimportanceof

developinganinfant'scolorvisualsystem.In2004,JapaneseresearcherYoichiSugitaofthe

NeuroscienceResearchInstituteperformedanexperimentthatwouldsuggestthatcolorvision

deficiencyisn*tentirelygenetic.Inhisexperiment,hesubjectedagroupofbabymonkeysto

monochromaticlightingforoneyear.Helatercomparedtheirvisiontonormalmonkeywho

hadexperiencedthecolorfulworldoutdoors.Itwasfoundthatthetestmonkeyswereunableto

performthecolor-matchingtasksthatthenormalmonkeyscould.Nevertheless,mostcasesof

colorblindnessareattributedtogeneticfactorsthatarepresentatbirth.

DPartofthereasontherearesomanyinconsistenciesrelatedtocolorblindness,or"color

visiondeficiency"asitiscalledinthemedicalworld,isthatitisdifficulttoknowexactly

whichcolorseachhumancansee.Childrenaretaughtfromaveryyoungagethatanappleis

red.Namingcolorsallowschildrentoassociateacertainshadewithacertainname,regardless

ofacolorvisiondeficiency.Someonewhonevertakesacolortestcangothroughlifethinking

thatwhattheyseeasrediscalledgreen.Childrenaregenerallytestedforcolorblindnessat

aboutfouryearsofage.TheIshiharaTestisthemostcommon,thoughitishighlycriticized*

becauseitrequiresthatchildrenhavetheabilitytorecognizenumerals.IntheIshiharaTest,a

numbermadeupofcoloreddotsishiddeninsideaseriesofdotsofadifferentshade.Those

withnormalvisioncandistinguishthenumberfromthebackground,whilethosewithcolor

visiondeficiencywillonlyseethedots.

EWhilemanyofthemythsrelatedtocolorblindnesshavebeenbustedbymodernscience,

therearestillafewremainingbeliefsthatrequiremoreresearchinordertobelabeledas

folklore.Forexample,thereisalong-standingbeliefthatcolorblindnesscanaidmilitary

soldiersbecauseitgivesthemtheabilitytoseethroughcamouflage.Anotherbeliefisthat

everyonebecomescolorblindinanemergencysituation.Thebasisofthisideaisthata

catastrophiceventcanoverwhelmthebrain,causingittoutilizeonlythosereceptorsneededto

performvitaltasks.Ingeneral,identifyingcolorisnotconsideredanessentialtaskinalifeor

deathsituation.

卜卜Multiple-ChoiceQuestions

Ouestions6?8

Choosethecorrectletter,A,B,C,orD.Writeyouranswersinboxes6-8onyourAnswerSheet.

6Peoplewhoseecolornormallyarecalled

Amonochromatic.

Bdichromatic.

Ctichromatic.

Dcolorblind.

7Childrenusuallybegintoseeavarietyofcolorsbytheageof

Aonemonth.

Bfourmonths.

Coneyear.

Dfouryears.

8ChildrenwhotaketheIshiharaTestmustbeableto

Adistinguishletters.

Bwritetheirnames.

Creadnumbers.

Dnamecolors.

卜卜CompletingaSummery

Questions9?12

Completethesummaryusingwordsfromtheboxbelow.

Writeyouranswersinboxes9-12onyourAnswerSheetTherearemoreanswersthanspaces,

soyouwillnotusethemall.

Itisacommon9thatonlymensufferfromcolorblindness.Onaverage

10thantenpercentofmenhavethisproblem.Womenhavetwo

11Forthisreasonitis12forawomantosuffer

fromcolorblindness.

mythalittleless

Xchromosomesdefectivegenes

factslightlymore

exactlylesslikely

moreprobable

Passage3

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

AntarcticPenguins

ThoughpenguinsareassumedtobenativetotheSouthPole,onlyfouroftheseventeenspecies

haveevolvedthesurvivaladaptationsnecessarytoliveandbreedintheAntarcticyearround.

ThephysicalfeaturesoftheAdelie,Chinstrap,Gentoo,andEmperorpenguinsequipthemto

withstandtheharshestlivingconditionsintheworld.Besidesthesefourspecies,therearea

numberofothers,includingtheyellowfeatheredMacaronipenguinandtheKingpenguinthat

visittheAntarcticregularlybutmigratetowarmerwaterstobreed.Penguinsthatlivein

Antarcticayearroundhaveathermoregulationsystemandasurvivalsensethatallowsthemto

livecomfortablybothontheiceandinthewater.

Inthedarkdaysofwinter,whentheAntarcticseesvirtuallynosunlight,thepenguinsthat

remainontheicesheetsleepmostoftheday.Toretainheat,penguinshuddleincommunities

ofupto6,000oftheirownspecies.Whenit'stimetocreateanest,mostpenguinsbuildupa

pileofrocksontopoftheicetoplacetheireggs.TheEmperorpenguin,however,doesn't

botherwithanestatall.ThefemaleEmperorlaysjustoneeggandgivesittothemaleto

protectwhileshegoesoffforweekstofeed.Themalebalancestheeggontopofhisfeet,

coveringitwithasmallfoldofskincalledabroodpatch.Inthehuddle,themalepenguins

rotateregularlysothatnoneofthepenguinshavetostayontheoutsideofthecircleexposedto

thewindandcoldforlongperiodsoftime.Whenit'stimetotakeaturnontheouteredgeof

thepack,thepenguinstucktheirfeathersinandshiver.Themovementprovidesenough

warmthuntiltheycanheadbackintotheinnercoreandrestinthewarmth.Inordertoreduce

thecoldoftheice,penguinsoftenputtheirweightontheirheelsandtails.Antarcticpenguins

alsohavecomplexnasalpassagesthatprevent80percentoftheirheatfromleavingthebody.

Whenthesunisout,theblackdorsalplumageattractsitsraysandpenguinscanstaywarm

enoughtowaddleorslideaboutalone.

Antarcticpenguinsspendabout75percentoftheirlivesinthewater.Anumberofsurvival

adaptationsallowthemtoswimthroughwaterascoldas-2degreesCelsius.Inordertostay

warminthesetemperatures,penguinshavetokeepmoving.Thoughpenguinsdon'tflyinthe

air,theyareoftensaidtoflythroughwater.Insteadofstoppingeachtimetheycomeupforair,

theyuseatechniquecalled"porpoising,"inwhichtheyleapupfbraquickbreathwhileswiftly

movingforward:Unlikemostbirdsthathavehollowbonesforflight,penguinshaveevolved

hardsolidbonesthatkeepthemlowinthewater.Antarcticpenguinsalsohaveuniquefeathers

thatworksimilarlytoawaterproofdivingsuit.Tuftsofdowntrapalayerofairwithinthe

feathers,preventingthewaterfrompenetratingthepenguin'sskin.Thepres-isureofadeepdive

releasesthisair,andapenguinhastorearrangethefeathersthroughaprocesscalled

"preening."Penguinsalsohaveanamazingcirculatorysystem,whichinextremelycoldwaters

divertsbloodfromtheflippersandlegstotheheart.

WhiletheharshclimateoftheAntarcticdoesn'tthreatenthesurvivalofAntarcticpenguins,

overheatingcanbeaconcern,andtherefore,globalwarmingisathreattothem.Temperate

specieshavecertainphysicalfeaturessuchasfewerfeathersandlessblubbertokeepthemcool

onahotday.Africanpenguinshavebaldpatchesontheirlegsandfacewhereexcessheatcan

bereleased.Thebloodvesselsinthepenguin'sskindilatewhenthebodybeginstooverheat,

andtheheatrisestothesurfaceofthebody.Penguinswhoarebuiltforcoldwintersofthe

Antarctichaveothersurvivaltechniquesforawarmday,suchasmovingtoshadedareas,or

holdingtheirfinsoutawayfromtheirbodies.

卜卜ClassifyingInformation

Ouestions1?5

Classifythefollowingfactsasapplyingto

AAntarcticpenguins

BTemperature-areapenguins

Writetheappropriateletter,AorB,inboxesi-5onyouranswersheet.

Xstandinlargegroupstokeepwarm

2spendaboutthreequartersofitstimeinthewater

3havefeathersthatkeepcoldwaterawayfromitsskin

4haveareasofskinwithoutfeathers

5havelessblubber.

卜卜CompletingSentences

Ouestions6?9

Completeeachofthefollowingsentenceswithinformationfromthereadingpassage.Write

youranswersinboxes6-9onyourAnswerSheet.WriteNOMORETHANTHREEwords

foreachanswer.

6Mostpenguinsusetobuildtheirnests.

7Whilethemaleemperorpenguintakescareoftheegg,thefemalegoesaway

to

8Aisapieceofskinthatthemaleemperorpenguinusestoprotectthe

egg.

9Penguinsprotecttheirfeetfromthecoldoftheicebystandingontheir

卜卜ChoosingAnswersfromaList

Questions10-13

Thearticlementionsmanyfactsaboutpenguins.

Whichfourofthefollowingfeaturesarethingsthatenablethemtosurviveinverycoldwater?

WritetheappropriatelettersA-Hinboxes10-13onyourAnswerSheet.

ATheymovethroughthewaterveryquickly.

BTheyholdtheirflippersawayfromtheirbodies.CTheychooseshadyareas.

CWhennecessary,theirbloodmovesawayfromtheflippersandtowardtheheart.

DTheybreathewhilestillmoving.

EThebloodvesselsintheirskindilate.

FTheywaddleandslide.

GTheirfeathersholdinalayerofairneartheskin.

IELTSReadingTests

ReadingPassage1

Questions1-7

ThereadingpassagehassevenparagraphsA-G.

Choosethecorrectheadingfbreachparagraphfromthelistofheadingsbelow.

Writethecorrectnumberi-xbyeachquestion.

ListofHeadings

i.Howadvertisingreachedthemajorityofconsumers

ii.Anuncertainfuture

iii.Noteveryonewantstoseeadvertisements

iv.Changingpreferencesintelevisionprogrammes

v.Therisingcostoftelevisionadvertising

vi.Advertisers1difficultiesarenothingnew-butthey'regettingworse

vii.Usingconsumerstodotheadvertising

viii.Moretelevisionstations,butfewerpeoplewatcheachone

ix.Howadvertisersplantheirspending

x,Strongsalesdon'trequiremostofthespendingonadvertisingtogotoTV

ParagraphA

ParagraphB

ParagraphC

ParagraphD

ParagraphE

ParagraphF

ParagraphG

TheCrisisinAdvertising

AAdvertisershaveknownforalongtimethathalfthemoneytheyspentwaswasted:their

problemwasthattheydidn*tknowwhichhalf.Butnowthey'refeeingbiggerchallengesthan

everbefore,andasaresult,they'reprobablywastingevenmoreoftheiradvertisingbudget.

BForyears,themainmediausedforadvertisingintheUSAwerenewspapers-nowaffected

byafallinthenumberofreaders-magazines,television,radio,cinemaandoutdoor(thatis,

postersonbillboardsinthestreet).ThesehavenowbeenjoinedbytheInternet.Themost

effectivemediumwastelevision:whentherewereonlytwoorthreechannelsineachcountry,

TVcommercialswereseenbymaybe90%ofconsumers,andadvertisersfrombankstoairlines

tocarmanufacturersspentvastamountsontelevisionadvertising.

CNow,though,withthegrowthofsatelliteandcableTV,thenumberofchannelshas

multiplied,soaudiencesaremuchsmallerthaninthepast.Becauseofthis,andthepopularity

oftheInternet,advertisersmayfindtheyarereachingnomorethanathirdofthepublic.

DAnotherproblemforadvertisersisachangeinattitudes.AstheaverageAmericansees

around3,000advertisementsofvarioussortseveryday,thefindingsofsomerecentsurveysare

hardlysurprising:twothirdsofAmericanswouldliketoavoidadvertisingaltogether-

particularlyonTV.Consumersarebuyingpersonalvideorecorders,notleastbecausethey

makeitpossibletoseeTVprogrammeswithoutwatchingthecommercials.

ETodealwiththesechallenges,companiesarechangingtheirapproachtomarketing.Procter

&Gamble,manufacturerofmanyofthehouseholdgoodsfoundinmillionsofhomes,isthe

world'sbiggestadvertiser,spending$4billionayear.Inthe1990s,90percentofthatwas

spentonTVcommercials,butnowthepercentageismuchlower,andsalesremainstrong.In

2003,thecompanylaunchedanonprescriptionmedicine,Prilosec.Onlyaboutaquarterofthe

marketingbudgetwasspentonTV,whiletherestwenttootherformsofmarketing,andmany

intheadvertisingindustryexpectedthelaunchtofailasaresult.Instead,theproductsoldvery

well.

FSomecompaniesareexperimentingwithdifferentwaysofreachingconsumers,suchas

'viral'marketing,anelectronicversionofword-of-mouthadvertising.Procter&Gamble-

whichhelpedtolaunchTVsoapoperasasanewwaytomarketgoodsinthe1940s-isonce

againlookingforfreshapproachestoadvertising.In2001,itstartedanambitiousprogramme

involvingseveralhundredthousandUSteenagers.Itusesthemtodiscussideasaboutnew

productsandtoencouragetheirfriendstobuytheitems.Inreturn,theteenagersgettohear

aboutandusenewthingsbeforemostotherpeople.

GIt'shardtopredictwhatadvertisingwillbelikeinafewyears*time,butit'ssuretobefar

morevariedthanitwasinthelastcentury.Ithasalwaysbeenthejoboftheadvertising

industrytobeinventive.Nowitisn*tjustaquestionofinventingnewads-advertisersare

havingtoinventnewwaysofpersuadingconsumerstobuy.

Questions8-13

Dothefollowingstatementsreflecttheclaimsofthewriterinthereadingpassage?Write

YESifthestatementreflectstheclaimsofthewriter

NOifthestatementcontradictstheclaimsofthewriter

NOTGIVENifitisimpossibletosaywhatthewriterthinksaboutthis

8.Thepercentageofspendingonadvertisingthatiswastedisfalling.

9.Internetadvertisingleadstohighersalesthannewspaperadvertising.

10.Changesinthenumberoftelevisionstationsavailablehaveaffectedadvertisers.

11.Mostpeoplebelievethatthequalityofadvertisinghasbecomeworse.

12.AnumberofpeopleweresurprisedbythelevelofsalesofPrilosec.

13.Advertisingislikelytoreturntowhatitwasinthe20thcentury.

ReadingPassage2

AreviewofNigelTownson*sTheBritishatPlay

AnestimatedthreemillionBritonstakepartinsomesortofsportingactivityeveryweek.

Globally,aroundfourbillionpeople-overhalftheworld'sentirepopulation-watchatleast

partofmajoreventsliketheOlympicGames.Sportisbigbusiness.Infact,itistheUK's11th

largestindustry,employingover400,000people.

Butthesefiguresdon*tgettotheheartofthesocialpowerandsignificanceofsportinthe

modernworld.ItisapowerfulsocialforceinBritain,asinmanyothercultures.Friendsand

colleaguesregularlydiscusssport,anditisoneofrelativelyfewtopicsthatareacceptable

wheninitiatingsocialinteractionwithstrangers.Expressionsfromsporthavepassedinto

generaluse:wetalkabout'teamplayers'insituationsthathavenothingtodowithsport,and

theword'goal；meaninganobjective,probablyevolvedfromitsmeaninginsport.

Whyissportsoimportantinsociety?TheBritishatPlay-aSocialHistoryofBritishSport

from1600tothePresent,byNigelTownson,setsouttoanswerthatquestionbyexaminingthe

connectionsbetweensportandsocialclass,gender,violence,commercialism,raceandeven

oursenseofnationalidentity.

TheBritishatPlayexplainsthesecomplexissuessimplyandstraightforwardly.Forexample,it

highlightsthewayinwhichsportcontributestothecreationof'ingroups1,mostnotablythe

supportersofparticularfootballteams.Suchinformalassociationsdefinethemselvesbytheir

loyaltytotheirowngroupandoppositiontoothers,the'outgroups1,andinanextremeform,

thisoppositionleadstothephenomenonoffootballhooliganism.Theauthorhandlestheissue

well,showingwhatiswrongwiththewell-knownstereotypesofsoccerhooligans.Heargues

thatmediacoverageoffanbehaviourhelpstocreateaclimateinwhichhooliganismoccurs.

Andwhentroubledoesbreakout,themediasensationalisesandexaggeratesit,withtheresult

thatanatmosphereofpanicbuildsupinthecountry.

SeveralofthetopicsrelatetosocialchangesinBritaininrecentdecades.Womenareentering

fieldsofactivitywhichwouldhavebeenclosedtothemjustagenerationago-asfootball

commentators,producersofsportsprogrammesforradioandtelevision,editorsofsports

magazines.Thisgreatervisibilityofwomenhighlightstheweakeningofthetraditionalview

thatsportismainlyformen.

Theworldwidehealth-and-fitnessboomhastosomeextentbeendrivenbyourgrowingwishto

havea'perfect'bodyshape.Andthatdesirehasbeenencouraged,ifnotcreated,bythe

emphasisinsportonimagesof'ideal'maleandfemalebodies.

SportfitsinwellwiththeglobalTVworldofbeautifulandperfectlymuscledyoungpeople,

exercisingorplayingsports,dressedinthelatestfashionable