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IELTS Reading Passage – Activities for children
Activities For Children
- In London, children walked to school around twenty-five years ago, and played in parks and playing fields after school and on weekends. Today, most children are sent to school by parents worried for their security, and they spend countless hours stuck to televisions and computers. Meanwhile, community recreational fields have been sold at an alarming rate to real development developers. Neil Armstrong, Professor of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Exeter says, ‘Unfortunately, this change in lifestyle has culminated in additional constraints on children.’ If children persist to be so inactive, they will be building up future problems.
- In 1985, Professor Armstrong conducted a five-year study on the physical strength of adolescents. The results were frightening, and it was published in 1990. The research study of 700 11- to 16-year-olds discovered that 48% of girls and 41% of boys had already surpassed the American Heart Foundation’s recommended maximum cholesterol levels for minors. Armstrong continues, “the heart is a muscle that requires workout or it loses strength.” Additionally, 13 percent of males and 10 percent of girls were found to be overweight. More disturbingly, the survey disclosed that over a four-day period, half of the girls and one-third of the boys participated in less physical activity than an energetic 10-minute walk. The possibility of coronary heart disease is thought to be increased by high cholesterol levels, excess body obesity, and inactivity.
- Physical education is under pressure in the UK – most schools save little more than 100 minutes a week to it in curriculum time, which is less than many other European countries. Three European nations – France, Austria, and Switzerland – deliver at least two hours of physical education in elementary and intermediate organisations. These discoveries from the European Union of Physical Education Associations inspired children’s physiologists to urge European governments to provide children with a daily physical education curriculum. The United Kingdom ranks 13 out of 25 countries, with the lowest average PE time per week in Ireland, the survey reveals. British students received 106 minutes per week of physical education, from age 6 to 18. Professor Armstrong, who presented the findings at the meeting, reported that since the introduction of the national educational program there has been a significant decline in the amount of time devoted to physical education in UK schools, with only a minority of students receiving two hours per week.
- Professor Armstrong, as a former junior football international, is a passionate advocate for the sport. Despite the fact the government has poured millions of dollars into promoting the sport in the community, it has received less attention as part of the overcrowded school curriculum. It indicates that many children never acquire the skills essential for success in team sports. They lose interest and establish an inactive pattern of behaviour, if they are no good at them. When coupled with a diet that is insufficient, this inevitably leads to weight gain. Seventy percent of British students give up sporting activities upon leaving school, whereas only twenty percent of French students do so. There is far too great an emphasis on team games at school, professor Armstrong believes. “All of us have to determine the amount of time allocated for PE and strike a balance among team sports and individual and pair activities like aerobics and badminton.” He also pointed out the need of providing youngsters with the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sports for both independent and team play.
- However, some organisations for children have responded productively and imaginatively to the issue, and that’s fantastic news. Gloria Thomas shouts, ‘Take That’, striking a disco pose astride her mini-space hopper. A flock of toddlers on space hoppers responds with a resounding “Take That!” while adopting hilarious poses. she shouts, ‘Michael Jackson’, and they all do a spoof fan-crazed shriek. Throughout the chaotic and tumultuous hopper race through the studio floor, these instructions are issued and greeted with unbridled joy in return. The image of fifteen seven-year-olds who appear to be launching into space with each leap brings tears to one’s eyes. Uncoordinated, boisterous, and emotionally charged, children give natural comedy.
- Any cardiovascular workout is advantageous; it doesn’t necessarily have to be intense. It can be anything that increases your pulse rate, including walking the dog, swimming, jogging, jumping, and hiking. Samis-Smith said, “Even walking through the grocery store can be exercise.” They are unaware that they have been attending a Fit Kids class and that the excitement is a cover for an intense fitness program. Fit Kids advises parents on how to run fitness courses for children. Gillian Gale, company director says, ‘Ninety per cent of children don’t like team sports.’
- According to a Prevention survey, children whose parents preserve a healthy weight are considerably more likely to have a healthy weight themselves. Elizabeth Ward, R.D., a Boston nutritional consultant and author of Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids, says, “There’s nothing worse than telling a child what he needs to do and not doing it yourself.” “Set a good nutritional example and get your nutritional house organised first.” Fima Lifshitz, M.D., a paediatric endocrinologist in Santa Barbara notes, ‘In the 1930s and 1940s, children burned 800 calories per day by walking, transporting water, and performing other activities.’ According to Lifshitz, “now, kids in obese families are consuming only 200 calories per day through exercise activity.” To combat this trend, Lifshitz suggests raising the amount of exercise in the family’s daily life by doing things like parking a greater distance from organisations at the mall, using the stairs instead of the lift, and walking to neighbouring friends’ homes instead of driving.
Activities for children IELTS Reading Questions
Questions 1-4
Answer the question from True/ False or Not Given.
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts with the information
NOT GIVEN there is no information on this
- According to the American Heart Foundation, cholesterol levels of boys are higher than girls’.
- British children generally do less exercise than some other European countries.
- Skipping becomes more and more popular in schools in the UK.
- According to Healthy Kids, the first task is for parents to encourage their children to keep the same healthy body weight.
Recommend IELTS Reading True/ False or Not Given questions to score well.
Questions 5-9
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D
5. According to paragraph A, what does Professor Neil Armstrong concern about?
- Spending more time on TV affect the academic level
- Parents have less time to stay with their children
- The future health of British children
- Increasing speed of property’s development
6. What does Armstrong indicate in Paragraph B?
- We need to take a 10-minute walk every day.
- We should do more activity to exercise our heart.
- Girls’ situations are better than boys.
- Exercise can cure many diseases.
7. What is the aim of Fit Kids’ training?
- Make profit by running several sessions.
- Only concentrate on one activity for each child.
- To guide parents on how to organise activities for children.
- Spread the idea that team sport is better.
8. What did Lifshitz suggest at the end of this passage?
- Create opportunities to exercise your body.
- Taking the elevator saves your time.
- Kids should consume more than 200 calories each day.
- We should never drive but walk.
9. What is the main idea of this passage?
- health of the children who are overweight is at risk in the future
- children in the UK need proper exercises
- government mistaken approach for children
- parents play the most important role in children’s activity
Refer IELTS Reading Multiple Choice Questions to score well.
Questions 10-13
The reading Passage has seven paragraphs, A–G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
10. wrong approach for school activity.
11. comparison of exercise time between the UK and other countries.
12. health organisations monitored physical activity.
13. Health and living conditions of children.
Activities for children reading answers with explanations
1. Not Given
2. True
3. Not Given
4. False
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. A
9. B
10. Paragraph D
11. Paragraph C
12. Paragraph B
13. Paragraph A
