Sports Science in Australia Reading Answers

Dec 14, 2025

The answers for "Sports Science in Australia Reading Answers" include 13 questions and are part of the assessment framework for the IELTS General Reading test. Candidates are allotted 20 minutes to complete the reading responses concerning "Sports Science in Australia Reading Answers." This portion of the IELTS reading exam consists of various question formats, including writing no more than two words and completing the flow chart.

The answers for "Sports Science in Australia Reading Answers" offer a comprehensive overview of Human movement and sport science graduates now have expanding career opportunities beyond traditional PE teaching, especially in the fast-growing sports industry and community health sectors. As sport becomes a major business and governments shift focus toward preventive health, these graduates play an increasingly vital and unique role in society. For additional practice with similar reading assessments, candidates can refer to the IELTS Reading Practice Test section.

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Sports Science in Australia Reading Answers

The professional career paths available to graduates from courses relating to human movement and sport science are as diverse as the graduate’s imagination. However, undergraduate courses with this type of content, in Australia as well as in most other Western countries, were originally designed as preparation programmes for Physical Education (PE) teachers.

The initial programmes commenced soon after the conclusion of World War II in the mid-1940s. One of the primary motives for these initiatives was the fact that, during the war effort, so many of the men who were assessed for military duty had been declared unfit. The government saw the solution in the providing of Physical Education programmes in schools, delivered by better prepared and specifically educated PE teachers.

Later, in the 1970s and early 1980s, the numbers of Australians graduating with a PE degree obliged institutions delivering this qualification to identify new employment opportunities for their graduates, resulting in the first appearance of degrees catering for recreation professionals. In many instances, this diversity of programme delivery merely led to degrees, delivered by physical educators, as a side-line activity to the production of PE teachers.

Whilst the need to produce Physical Education teachers remains a significant social need, and most developed societies demand the availability of quality leisure programmes for their citizens, the career options of graduates within this domain are still developing. The most evident growth domains are in the area of the professional delivery of sport, and the role of a physical educator in community health.

The sports industry is developing at an unprecedented rate of growth. From a business perspective, sport is now seen as an area with the potential for high returns. It is quite significant that the businessman Rupert Murdoch broadened his business base from media to sport, having purchased an American baseball team and an Australian Rugby League competition, as well as seeing opportunities to invest in an English football club. No business person of such international stature would see fit to invest in sport unless he was satisfied that this was a sound business venture with ideal revenue-generating capacities.

These developments have confirmed sport as a business with professional management structures, marketing processes, and development strategies. These changes have indicated new and developing career paths for graduates of human movement science, sport sciences, recreation science and related degrees. Graduates can now visualise career paths extending into such diverse domains as sport management, sport marketing, event and facility management, government policy development and analysis, sport journalism, sport psychology, and sport or athletic coaching.

Business leaders will only continue their investment in sport if they receive returns for their money. Such returns will only be forthcoming if astute, enthusiastic and properly educated professionals are delivering the programmes that earn appropriate financial returns. The successful universities of the 21st century will be those that have responded to this challenge by delivering such degrees.

A second professional growth area for this group of graduates is associated with community health. The increasing demand for government expenditure in support of health objectives is reaching the stage where most governments are simply unable to function in a manner that is satisfying their communities. One of the primary reasons for this problem is the unhelpful emphasis on treatment in health care programmes. Governments have traditionally given their senior health official the title of “Minister for Health”, when in fact the role has functioned as “Minister for Sickness” — as in “the Construction of Hospitals”. Sooner or later this emphasis simply has to change. If the change is not brought about for philosophical reasons, it will occur naturally, because insufficient funding will be available to address the ever-increasing costs of medical support.

Graduates of human movement, exercise, sport and health science have the potential to become major players in community health education programmes. They have the skills, knowledge and understanding to initiate activity for the elderly that reduce medical dependency, to improve cardio-vascular disease, to reduce medical dependency upon diabetes, to improve workplace health leading to increased productivity, to initiate and promote programmes of activity for the disadvantaged groups in society. This is the graduate of the future, called upon to maintain an active lifestyle for the unemployed and maintain the focus from medical dependency to healthy lifestyles in the decades ahead.

The career paths of these graduates are clearly diverse. Their contribution is not evident in other professions. The contribution that these graduates can make to society is unique. The recognition of this contribution is at an unprecedented high, and all indications are that it will continue to grow.

Questions 1-5

Complete the flow chart below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

The history of sports and physical science in Australia

A lot of people identified as being 1………………….

Answer: unfit

Supporting statement: “…so many of the men who were assessed for military duty had been declared unfit.”

Keywords: [men assessed, military duty, unfit]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 2

Explanation: During WWII assessments, many men were found unfit for service, which motivated the introduction of stronger physical education programs.

Introduction of PE to 2………………

Answer: schools

Supporting statement: “The government saw the solution in the providing of Physical Education programmes in schools…”

Keywords: [Physical Education programmes, schools]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 4

Explanation: The government introduced PE programmes into schools to improve national fitness after WWII evaluations.

Special training programmes for 3………………

Answer: PE teachers

Supporting statement: “…delivered by better prepared and specifically educated PE teachers.”

Keywords: [special training, PE teachers]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 2, line 5

Explanation: Specialised training programs were designed specifically to educate and prepare Physical Education teachers.

4…………………. of PE graduates

Answer: oversupply

Supporting statement: “...the numbers of Australians graduating with a PE degree obliged institutions... to identify new employment opportunities…”

(Oversupply is the implied meaning)

Keywords: [numbers graduating, identify new opportunities]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, lines 1–2

Explanation: Institutions faced an oversupply of PE graduates and therefore were required to search for alternative career directions for them.

Identification of alternative 5……………….

Answer: employment opportunities

Supporting statement: “…obliged institutions… to identify new employment opportunities for their graduates…”

Keywords: [identify, employment opportunities]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 3, line 2

Explanation: Institutions had to look for alternative work areas for graduates due to the increasing number of PE degree holders.

Diversification of course delivery

Questions 6-13

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 6-13 on your answer sheet, write -

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

6. Sport is generally regarded as a profitable area for investment.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “From a business perspective, sport is now seen as an area with the potential for high returns.”

Keywords: [sport, business, high returns]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 5, line 1

Explanation: The passage clearly states that sport is viewed as a profitable business field, confirming the statement.

7. Rupert Murdoch has a personal as well as a business interest in sport.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Explanation: The passage says he invested in sport for business purposes only; personal motivations are never mentioned.

8. The range of career opportunities available to sport graduates is increasing.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “These changes have indicated new and developing career paths…”

Keywords: [career paths, developing, sport graduates]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 6, line 1

Explanation: The passage confirms that career opportunities in this field are expanding, supporting the statement.

9. The interests of business and the interests of universities are linked.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Business leaders will only continue their investment… The successful universities… will be those that have responded to this challenge…”

Keywords: [investment, universities, linked interest]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 7

Explanation: The text shows a clear connection between business expectations and how universities design their degrees.

10. Governments have been focusing too much attention on preventative medicine.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “One of the primary reasons… is the unhelpful emphasis on treatment…”

Keywords: [focus on treatment, not prevention]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 8

Explanation: The passage states the opposite: governments focus too much on treatment, not on preventive medicine.

11. It is inevitable that government priorities for health spending will change.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting statement: “Sooner or later this emphasis simply has to change… If not for philosophical reasons, then because funding will be insufficient.”

Keywords: [inevitable change, insufficient funding]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 8

Explanation: The passage states change is inevitable due to unsustainable costs.

12. Existing degree courses are unsuitable for careers in community health.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting statement: “Graduates… have the skills, knowledge and understanding to become major players in community health education programmes.”

Keywords: [skills, suitable degrees, community health]

Keyword Location: Paragraph 9

Explanation: The passage states these degrees are suitable, contradicting the statement.

13. Funding for sport science and related degrees has been increased considerably.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Supporting statement: Nowhere in the passage is funding for sport science degrees discussed.

Keywords: [funding, degrees, not mentioned]

Keyword Location: Entire passage

Explanation: The passage does not reference government or institutional funding changes for these degrees.

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*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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