Fair Games Reading Answers

Dec 5, 2022

Fair Games Reading Answers has 14 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Fair Games Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: true/false/not given, and choose the correct option. Candidates are required to write true/false/not given on the basis of the information and cue provided and complete the summary using no more than two words for each answer. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided. To be proficient in the reading section, the IELTS Reading practice papers are a great way to prepare.

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Reading Passage Question

For seventeen days every four years the world is briefly arrested by the captivating, dizzying spectacle of athleticism, ambition, pride and celebration on display at the Summer Olympic Games. After the last weary spectators and competitors have returned home, however, host cities are often left awash in high debts and costly infrastructure maintenance. The staggering expenses involved in a successful Olympic bid are often assumed to be easily mitigated by tourist revenues and an increase in local employment, but more often than not host cities are short changed and their taxpayers for generations to come are left settling the debt.

Olympic extravagances begin with the application process. Bidding alone will set most cities back about $20 million, and while officially bidding only takes two years (for cities that make the shortlist), most cities can expect to exhaust a decade working on their bid from the moment it is initiated to the announcement of voting results from International Olympic Committee members. Aside from the financial costs of the bid alone, the process ties up real estate in prized urban locations until the outcome is known. This can cost local economies millions of dollars of lost revenue from private developers who could have made use of the land, and can also mean that particular urban quarters lose their vitality due to the vacant lots. All of this can be for nothing if a bidding city does not appease the whims of IOC members – private connections and opinions on government conduct often hold sway (Chicago’s 2012 bid is thought to have been undercut by tensions over U.S. foreign policy).

Bidding costs do not compare, however, to the exorbitant bills that come with hosting the Olympic Games themselves. As is typical with large-scale, one-off projects, budgeting for the Olympics is a notoriously formidable task. Los Angelinos have only recently finished paying off their budget-breaking 1984 Olympics; Montreal is still in debt for its 1976 Games (to add insult to injury, Canada is the only host country to have failed to win a single gold medal during its own Olympics). The tradition of runaway expenses has persisted in recent years. London Olympics managers have admitted that their 2012 costs may increase ten times over their initial projections, leaving tax payers 20 billion pounds in the red.

Hosting the Olympics is often understood to be an excellent way to update a city’s sporting infrastructure. The extensive demands of Olympic sports include aquatic complexes, equestrian circuits, shooting ranges, beach volleyball courts, and, of course, an 80,000 seat athletic stadium. Yet these demands are typically only necessary to accommodate a brief influx of athletes from around the world. Despite the enthusiasm many populations initially have for the development of world-class sporting complexes in their home towns, these complexes typically fall into disuse after the Olympic fervour has waned. Even Australia, home to one of the world’s most sportive populations, has left its taxpayers footing a $32 million-a-year bill for the maintenance of vacant facilities.

Another major concern is that when civic infrastructure developments are undertaken in preparation for hosting the Olympics, these benefits accrue to a single metropolitan centre (with the exception of some outlying areas that may get some revamped sports facilities). In countries with an expansive land mass, this means vast swathes of the population miss out entirely. Furthermore, since the International Olympic Committee favours prosperous “global” centres (the United Kingdom was told, after three failed bids from its provincial cities, that only London stood any real chance at winning), the improvement of public transport, roads and communication links tends to concentrate in places already well-equipped with world-class infrastructures. Perpetually by-passing minor cities creates a cycle of disenfranchisement: these cities never get an injection of capital, they fail to become first-rate candidates, and they are constantly passed over in favour of more secure choices.

Finally, there is no guarantee that an Olympics will be a popular success. The “feel good” factor that most proponents of Olympic bids extol (and that was no doubt driving the 90 to 100 per cent approval rates of Parisians and Londoners for their cities’ respective 2012 bids) can be an elusive phenomenon, and one that is tied to that nation’s standing on the medal tables. This ephemeral thrill cannot compare to the years of disruptive construction projects and security fears that go into preparing for an Olympic Games, nor the decades of debt repayment that follow (Greece’s preparation for Athens 2004 famously deterred tourists from visiting the country due to widespread unease about congestion and disruption).

There are feasible alternatives to the bloat, extravagance and wasteful spending that comes with a modern Olympic Games. One option is to designate a permanent host city that would be re-designed or built from scratch especially for the task. Another is to extend the duration of the Olympics so that it becomes a festival of several months. Local businesses would enjoy the extra spending and congestion would ease substantially as competitors and spectators come and go according to their specific interests. Neither the “Olympic City” nor the extended length options really get to the heart of the issue, however. Stripping away ritual and decorum in favour of concentrating on athletic rivalry would be preferable.

Failing that, the Olympics could simply be scrapped altogether. International competition could still be maintained through world championships in each discipline. Most of these events are already held on non-Olympic years anyway – the International Association of Athletics Federations, for example, has run a biennial World Athletics Championship since 1983 after members decided that using the Olympics for their championship was no longer sufficient. Events of this nature keep world-class competition alive without requiring Olympic-sized expenses.

Solution and Explanation

Question 14-18:
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-K, below.
Write the correct letter, A-K, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.

Bids to become a host city
Personal relationship and Political tensions
Cost estimates for the Olympic Games
Purpose- Built sporting venues
Urban developments associated with the Olympics

often help smaller cities to develop basic infrastructure
tend to occur in areas where they are least needed.
Require profitable companies to be out of business
Are often never used once the Game is over
Can take up to ten years to complete
Also satisfy the needs of local citizens for first-rate sports facilities
Is usually only successful when it is from a capital city
Are closely related to how people feel emotionally about the Olympics
Are known for being very inaccurate
Often underlie the decisions of International Olympic Committee members.
Are holding back efforts to reform the Olympics.

Question 14:

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: “Bidding alone will set most cities back about $20 million, and while officially bidding only takes two years, most cities can expect to exhaust a decade working on their bid from the moment it is initiated to the announcement of coting results from International Olympics Committee members.”
Keywords: Bidding, a decade
Keyword Location: Para 2, line 1
Explanation: As per the passage, it takes a decade to complete a bid regarding the Olympic games. It is a very time-consuming process, and the bid for the hosting cities of the Olympic game takes a decade. A decade means 10 years. Hence, E is the correct answer.

Question 15:

Answer: J
Supporting Sentence: “All of this can be for nothing if a bidding city does not appease the whims of IOC members – private connections and opinions on government conduct often hold sway (Chicago’s 2012 bid is thought to have been undercut by tensions over U.S. foreign policy). ”
Keywords: private connection, opinion on government
Keyword Location: Para 2, last line
Explanation: The author mentions that private connections and opinions on government conduct often hold sway. This means that the decisions of the members are often underlined. The decisions of the Olympic games largely depends on the political and personal relation of the International Olympic Committee members.

Question 16:

Answer: I
Supporting Sentence: London Olympics managers have admitted that their 2012 costs may increase ten times over their initial projections, leaving taxpayers 20 billion pounds in the red. ”
Keywords: runway, expenses
Keyword Location: Para 3, last line
Explanation: The passage says that the cost may increase 10times over the initial projections. This means that the estimation of the cost of the Olympic games is considered to be very inaccurate.

Question 17:

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: “Despite the enthusiasm many populations initially have for the development of world-class sporting complexes in their home towns, these complexes typically fall into disuse after the Olympic fervor has waned. ”
Keywords: disuse, after the Olympic
Keyword Location: para 4, line 4
Explanation: The author states that world class sporting complexes are built but they fall into disuse after Olympics. The hosting cities and the development which has taken place due to the Olympics are not reused after they are once used for the Games.

Question 18:

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: “Another major concern is that when civic infrastructure developments are undertaken in preparation for hosting the Olympics, these benefits accrue to a single metropolitan center (with the exception of some outlying areas that may get some revamped sports facilities).”
Keywords: development, single metropolitan center
Keyword Location: para 5, line 1
Explanation: The development of civic infrastructure for the Olympics takes place in areas where it is least needed. The author mentions that these benifits single metropolitan city.

Question 19-25:
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 19-25 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statements contradict the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

Question 19. Residents of host cities have little use for the full range of Olympics facilities.

Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: “Perpetually by-passing minor cities creates a cycle of disenfranchisement: these cities never get an injection of capital, they fail to become first-rate candidates, and they are constantly passed over in favor of more secure choices. ”
Keywords: never get, fail to
Keyword Location: Para 5, last line
Explanation: The author states that these cities never get injection of capital and fail to become first rate candidates. This means that the residents of the hosting cities get very little access to the Olympics facilities. Hence, the statement is True.

Question 20. Australians have still not paid for the construction of Olympics sports facilities.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: No relevant information was found in the paragraph.

Question 21. People far beyond the host city can expect to benefit from improved infrastructure.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting Sentence: “Furthermore, since the International Olympic Committee favors prosperous “global” centers (the United Kingdom was told, after three failed bids from its provincial cities, that only London stood any real chance at winning), the improvement of public transport, roads and communication links tends to concentrate in places already well-equipped with world-class infrastructures”
Keywords: improvement, with world-class infrastructure
Keyword Location: Para 5, line 5
Explanation: The author mentions that it is hard for other cities to get benifts. Also, citizens of the far away places from the hosting cities do not get any kind of benefits from the developed infrastructure due to the Olympics. Hence, the statement is false.

Question 22. It is difficult for small cities to win an Olympic bid.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Statement: “This can cost local economies millions of dollars of lost revenue from private developers who could have made use of the land, and can also mean that particular urban quarters lose their vitality due to the vacant lots.”
Keywords: millions of dollars
Keyword Location: Para 2, line 5
Explanation: The author states that it is very difficult for the small cities to bid for the Olympics. It may require millions of dollars of lost revenue from the private developers, and affect the urban quarters who would lose the vitality because of the vacant lots. The statement also says the same. Hence, it is true.

Question 23. When a city makes an Olympic bid, a majority of its citizens usually want it to win.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: No relevant information was found in the paragraph.

Question 24. Whether or not people enjoy hosting the Olympics in their city depends on how athletes from their country perform in Olympics events.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Statement: “these demands are typically only necessary to accommodate a brief influx of athletes from around the world”
Keywords: the influx of athletes
Keyword Location: Para 4, line 2
Explanation: It’s true that the hosting city will enjoy the development of the facilities of the Olympics, which will depend on the performance of the athletes who will come to play.

Question 25. Fewer people than normal visited Greece during the run-up to the Athens Olympics.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting Statement: “Greece’s preparation for Athens 2004 famously deterred tourists from visiting the country due to widespread unease about congestion and disruption”
Keywords: Greece
Keyword Location: Para 6, last line
Explanation: When the Olympics was supposed to be held in 2004 in Greece, it largely reduced the tourists, for the uneasiness of congestion and disruption. The question is in sync with the supporting sentence. Hence it is True.

Question 26 and 27:
Choose a letter, A-E
Write the correct letters in boxes 26 ad 27 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following does the author propose as alternatives to the current Olympics?

The Olympics should be canceled in favor of individual competitions for Each sport
The Olympics should focus on ceremony rather than competition.
The Olympics should be held in the same city every time.
The Olympics should be held over a month rather than seventeen days.
The Olympics should be made smaller by getting rid of unnecessary and unpopular sports.

Question 26:

Answer: C
Supporting Statement: “One option is to designate a permanent host city that would be re-designed or built from scratch, especially for the task”
Keywords: permanent
Keyword Location: Para 7 line 2
Explanation: A way to correct the Olympics is to set a permanent host city, that would be repaired every 4 years before the Olympics.

Question 27:

Answer: A
Supporting Statement: “the Olympics could simply be scrapped altogether. International competition could still be maintained through world championships in each discipline”
Keywords: Para 8, line 1
Keyword Location: Last para, line 2
Explanation: Another way of correcting the Olympics is that the Olympics can be stopped in every sport. That is, the Olympics can be stopped.

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