Play Station and Sky Sports Reading Answers

Jul 5, 2025

PlayStation and Sky Sports, an IELTS Reading Answer that contains 14 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. Playing PlayStation and Sky Sports reading answers, also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. PlayStation and Sky Sports consist of questions like: Does the following statement agree with the passage? And write the correct number. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, PlayStation and Sky Sports Reading Answers discuss the growing trend of people living alone, especially among 45–64-year-olds, and the negative effects of loneliness. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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A.This week the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that more of us than ever are living alone. This won't trouble the author Colm Tibfn, who once eulogised the freedom that living alone gives him, likening his solitary existence to that of 'a cloistered nun'. This is a terrifying image, surely, and not a metaphor for a life most of us would seek to inhabit. Certainly not my friend Helen: successful, well-off, homeowner; but tired of her single life, of the near-constant awareness that she's running out of time to have children, as fast as she's running out of the energy to embark on another round of futile first dates. Nor my friend Mark, divorced dad, active in his daughter's life - but who still, at the end of the weekend, returns the child to her mother, - before driving back to his re-emptied house, where he spends the evenings with PlayStation and Sky Sports.

B.In discussing solitary lives, we should ignore the Colm Tibfns - financially independent people who realise that, for them, living alone brings more advantages than otherwise. Most people of my generation had such a stage in their lives - between university, and settling down - but we didn't want it to last forever. In any case, with property prices as they are, such self-selected solitude is not an option for much of the succeeding generation. Set aside, too, those figures pertaining to the very elderly; not because there aren't real problems faced by those (usually female) 'survivors', but because their existence is a function of the uneven impact of medical advances and lifestyle changes on the longevity of each of the genders.

C.It's not the relatively young, or the very old, who are the main drivers of this demographic change. As the ONS makes clear, the largest increase in solitary living is down to the 45-64 age group. Almost two and a half million Britons in that age category have no one with whom to share their home, an increase of more than 800,000 households since the mid-Nineties. Even allowing for the increase in total population size, that's still a noticeable change, and they don't all enjoy the experience. I suspect there are more divorced parents, like my friend Mark, poking about their fridges for a pre-packed meal for one, than there are cloistered Irish novelists.

D.This would all be fine, were this phenomenon merely to affect matters as concrete as housing. But evidence suggests a link between solitariness and poorer health outcomes (mirroring, bleakly, the evidence about the outcomes for children raised in single-parent households). One paper I read showed a significant increase in the prescription of antidepressants to the solitary, compared with cohabiting couples. Correlation doesn't prove a sociological theory, of course, but it's hard to ignore the link between living alone, and other detrimental life choices.

E.The issue demands a political response: marriage is the most important institution to act as a bulwark against loneliness, and the British Government should promote it. Instead, the government is unwinding its insidious 'couples penalty': a financial punishment for initially setting up home with a partner, and then after divorce, (probably the result of the stress brought on by all the expense), a further charge for a change to living conditions. The Centre for Social Justice discovered that the people most C penalised for living together are

- surprise - among the poorest. This must be fixed. What's more, couples who arrange to 'live apart together' shouldn't be demonised for rationally navigating the snares of the benefits system.

F.But if we acknowledge that a financial penalty can cause the poorest to avoid marriage, why assume that monetary considerations don't affect the betteroff? First, because politicians are scared to reward marriage in the tax system, and second, because our divorce laws so scar those who endure them that, I suspect, we've produced a generation with the motto 'once bitten, twice shy'. The changes to child benefit for the well-off hardly help either.

G.Not very long ago, the then Home Secretary, Michael Howard deployed a powerful phrase in defence of his criminal justice policy:

'prison works'. It's time we used a similar phrase, in defence of social justice: marriage 'works' too. It works for most people and definitely for civic society, yet we find it hard to say this, and shy away from its political implications. What started as a desire not to judge 'lifestyle choices' has bred a generation living in lonely, quiet despair. Loneliness is a much harder political issue to tackle than, say, housebuilding, but- if we believe in society at all - hardly one of lesser significance.

Questions 13-19

Reading passage 2 has seven paragraphs labelled A-G. Choose the correct heading for each from the list of headings below.

Write the correct number i- x.

List of headings

i. Middle age solitude is growing

ii. The institution of marriage needs a motto that resonates

iii. The young and the elderly are not relevant to the debate

iv. The system is clearly unfair

v. The real issue is a lack of affordable housing

vi. For many, the benefits of a single life are exaggerated

vii. The wealthy are affected by the same measures

viii. Most men would rather be single

ix. Loneliness has a range of consequences

x. Couples must work harder to make relationships work

13. Paragraph A

Answer: vi. For many, the benefits of a single life are exaggerated

Supporting statement: "This is a terrifying image... not a metaphor for a life most of us would seek to inhabit… tired of her single life… spends the evenings with PlayStation and Sky Sports."

Keywords: single life, tiring, exaggerated benefits

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, full paragraph

Explanation: The paragraph contrasts the idealised view of living alone with the real, often negative, experiences of people like Helen and Mark, implying the supposed benefits are overstated.

14. Paragraph B

Answer: iii. The young and the elderly are not relevant to the debate

Supporting statement: "Set aside... those figures pertaining to the very elderly... not the relatively young, or the very old..."

Keywords: young, elderly, not main issue

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Lines 3–6

Explanation: This paragraph explicitly excludes young adults and the elderly from the central discussion, stating they are not the key demographic for the rise in solitary living.

15. Paragraph C

Answer: i. Middle age solitude is growing

Supporting statement: "The largest increase in solitary living is down to the 45-64 age group..."

Keywords: middle age, solitary living, increase

Keyword Location: Paragraph C, Line 2

Explanation: The focus is on how people aged 45–64 are driving the growth in living alone, which identifies this group as the core of the demographic shift.

16. Paragraph D

Answer: ix. Loneliness has a range of consequences

Supporting statement: "Evidence suggests a link between solitariness and poorer health outcomes… significant increase in the prescription of antidepressants..."

Keywords: loneliness, health, antidepressants

Keyword Location: Paragraph D, Lines 1–3

Explanation: This paragraph discusses health and emotional consequences associated with living alone, showing that loneliness affects more than just living arrangements.

17. Paragraph E

Answer: iv. The system is clearly unfair

Supporting statement: "…a financial punishment for initially setting up home with a partner… people most penalised… among the poorest. This must be fixed."

Keywords: couples penalty, poorest, unfair system

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Lines 2–6

Explanation: The writer criticizes financial disincentives and penalties within the benefits system, particularly for poor couples, calling for reform.

18. Paragraph F

Answer: vii. The wealthy are affected by the same measures

Supporting statement: "…why assume that monetary considerations don't affect the better-off?... changes to child benefit for the well-off hardly help either."

Keywords: wealthy, monetary impact, child benefit

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, Lines 1–4

Explanation: The paragraph argues that even wealthier people are influenced by financial structures and policies, like child benefit changes and divorce costs.

19. Paragraph G

Answer: ii. The institution of marriage needs a motto that resonates

Supporting statement: "…'prison works'. It's time we used a similar phrase… marriage 'works' too."

Keywords: marriage, works, social justice

Keyword Location: Paragraph G, Lines 1–3

Explanation: The writer proposes a new public slogan to promote marriage, similar to the 'prison works' phrase, showing support for the value of the institution.

Questions 20-26

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in the reading passage?

In boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet, write.

YES - if the statement agrees with the views of the writer.

NO - if the statement contradicts the views of the writer.

NOT GIVEN- if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.

20. The Irish author Calm T 6ibfn has a lifestyle that most people would envy.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: "…likening his solitary existence to that of 'a cloistered nun'. This is a terrifying image, surely, and not a metaphor for a life most of us would seek to inhabit."

Keywords: terrifying image, not desirable

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Lines 2–4

Explanation: The writer directly challenges the appeal of Tibfn’s solitary lifestyle, suggesting most people would not envy it.

21. His friends Helen and Mark would like their lives to be different.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "…tired of her single life… Mark… returns… to his re-emptied house…"

Keywords: tired, re-emptied house, want change

Keyword Location: Paragraph A, Lines 4–8

Explanation: The examples of Helen and Mark illustrate dissatisfaction with their current lives, indicating a desire for change.

22. Most students accept that the benefits of being single are temporary.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "…such a stage in their lives - between university, and settling down - but we didn't want it to last forever."

Keywords: stage, didn’t want it to last

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Line 2

Explanation: The writer implies that most people viewed their single years after university as temporary, not permanent.

23. Most elderly women have not chosen to live alone.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "…those (usually female) 'survivors'… their existence is a function of the uneven impact of medical advances..."

Keywords: not by choice, longevity

Keyword Location: Paragraph B, Lines 4–6

Explanation: The elderly women living alone are described as 'survivors' due to life expectancy differences, implying it's not their choice.

24. Divorced men do not usually enjoy cooking.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: While Mark eats pre-packed meals, there's no general statement or judgment about divorced men disliking cooking.

25. Couples who try to deceive the benefits system deserve to be punished.

Answer: NO

Supporting statement: "…couples who arrange to 'live apart together' shouldn't be demonised for rationally navigating the snares of the benefits system."

Keywords: shouldn't be demonised

Keyword Location: Paragraph E, Line 6

Explanation: The writer defends couples who make such arrangements, indicating they should not be punished.

26. People who go through a divorce are afraid of marrying again.

Answer: YES

Supporting statement: "…our divorce laws so scar those who endure them… we've produced a generation with the motto 'once bitten, twice shy'."

Keywords: scarred, once bitten

Keyword Location: Paragraph F, Lines 3–4

Explanation: The writer states divorce has made people wary of remarriage, aligning with the idea of fear after divorce.

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