🎬 Interactive video — script & questions
NARRATOR: Listen to a conversation between two friends, Marta and Tom, about a new sports centre near Marta's home.
SPEAKER 1: Tom, have you heard about the new sports centre they've built near my flat?
SPEAKER 2: No, I haven't. What's it like?
SPEAKER 1: It's amazing! I've already joined the swimming pool and the tennis courts. I've been there three times this week.
SPEAKER 2: Wow! I haven't done any sport since I moved house last month. I've been too busy unpacking boxes and looking for a good school for my daughter.
SPEAKER 1: Oh, right. Have you found one yet?
SPEAKER 2: Yes, we have. She's started at a school just ten minutes away. It has a great sports programme, actually — she's already tried basketball and athletics.
SPEAKER 1: That's great news. You should come to the sports centre with me sometime. They've opened a new running track, too.
SPEAKER 2: I'd love that. I haven't run properly in ages. Actually, I've never played badminton before — could we try that?
SPEAKER 1: Of course! I've played it a few times. It's easy to learn.
SPEAKER 2: Perfect. Also, I've been thinking about travelling somewhere this summer, maybe combine it with some sport — like cycling holidays.
SPEAKER 1: That sounds fantastic. Let's plan it together after our badminton game.
SPEAKER 2: Deal! Thanks for telling me about the centre — I really needed some exercise.
- What has Marta already done at the new sports centre?
- a) Joined the swimming pool and tennis courts
- b) Started a running club
- c) Signed up for badminton lessons
- d) Opened her own gym
- Why hasn't Tom done any sport recently?
- a) He has been injured
- b) He has been busy moving house and finding a school
- c) He has been on holiday
- d) He doesn't like sport
- What sports has Tom's daughter already tried at her new school?
- a) Swimming and tennis
- b) Running and cycling
- c) Basketball and athletics
- d) Badminton and football
- What has Tom never played before?
- a) Tennis
- b) Badminton
- c) Basketball
- d) Athletics
- What idea does Tom mention for the summer?
- a) Building a home gym
- b) Studying abroad
- c) A cycling holiday
- d) Moving to a new city
📖 Reading
Maria has always loved two things: travelling and sport. Last year, she found a way to combine both when she booked a "sports and stay" holiday in Portugal. The package included a small flat near the beach and free membership at a local sports centre with a swimming pool, a running track and tennis courts. She has never forgotten that trip, because it changed the way she plans her holidays now.
Before she left, Maria had already read a lot about the area, but she has since discovered that guidebooks do not tell you everything. For example, she did not know that the town had a famous cycling race every September. When she arrived, the streets were full of cyclists, and her landlady explained that people have come from all over Europe to watch the race for more than twenty years. Maria has just decided to go back next September to see it for herself.
The flat she stayed in was small but comfortable, with a balcony that looked over the sea. Maria has rented many holiday flats since then, but she says none of them has been as peaceful as that one. If she has enough money next year, she will rent the same flat again and stay for a whole month instead of two weeks.
Maria's trip also taught her something about education. While she was there, she met a woman who has taught tennis to children for fifteen years at the sports centre. The woman told Maria that many local schools now include sports lessons as part of the normal timetable, because teachers believe that regular exercise helps students study better. Maria has already suggested a similar idea to the school where she works as an English teacher, and she is waiting to hear what the head teacher thinks.
Maria has learned an important lesson from her trip: a good holiday is not only about relaxing on a beach. Sometimes, the best journeys are the ones that teach you something new about sport, education or even yourself. She has already started saving money for her next adventure, and this time she plans to try surfing as well as running.
✏️ Questions
- I ___ (never/play) tennis before, so I'm a bit nervous about the lesson tomorrow.
- My parents ___ (just/buy) a new house near the stadium where the local football team plays.
- ___ you ever (study) abroad, or have you always lived in your home country?
- She ___ (finish) her homework yet, so she can't go to swimming practice with us.
- We ___ (live) in this apartment for three years, and we love how close it is to the gym.
- How many countries ___ your brother (visit) since he started working as a travel guide?
- What is the main idea of the passage?
- a) Maria explains why she prefers beach holidays to sporty ones
- b) Maria describes a holiday that combined sport and travel and changed how she plans trips
- c) Maria compares different sports centres in Portugal
- d) Maria describes how she became a professional tennis player
- According to the passage, why did the streets fill with cyclists when Maria arrived?
- a) There was a strike in the town
- b) The town was holding its yearly cycling race
- c) The sports centre was organising a marathon
- d) Maria had booked a cycling tour by mistake
- Which sentence uses the present perfect correctly, matching the meaning in the passage?
- a) She has never forgotten that trip, because it changed the way she plans her holidays now.
- b) She has never forget that trip, because it changed the way she plans her holidays now.
- c) She never forgot that trip, because it changed the way she plans her holidays now.
- d) She has never forgetting that trip, because it changed the way she plans her holidays now.
- What does the word 'peaceful' most likely mean in paragraph 3?
- a) Noisy and crowded
- b) Calm and quiet
- c) Expensive and modern
- d) Far from the sea
- What can we infer about the woman Maria met at the sports centre?
- a) She has only recently started teaching tennis
- b) She believes sport and education are unrelated
- c) She thinks exercise can help students perform better academically
- d) She wants to stop teaching tennis at schools
- What will Maria do if she has enough money next year, according to the passage?
- a) She will build her own sports centre
- b) She will rent the same flat again and stay for a month
- c) She will stop travelling and focus on teaching
- d) She will move to Portugal permanently