The Beautiful Game Reading Answers

Dec 21, 2022

The Beautiful Game Reading Answers has 12 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. The Beautiful Game Reading Answers discusses the game of football. The Beautiful Game Reading Answers comprises three types of questions- choose the correct statements, complete the summary and choose the correct letter. IELTS reading passage has seven paragraphs, candidates are required to choose the correct statements based on their reading. Candidates are required to complete the summary of the IELTS Reading passage using words from the given list of words for each answer. Candidates are required to choose the correct letter to answer which paragraph contains the given information. Candidates can undertake IELTS Reading practice papers to practise more on different topics.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Beautiful Game Reading Answers

Every nation has a sport to represent it. In the U.S., there is baseball; in New Zealand, rugby. In the UK, football is the national sporting obsession. While many UK teams have gained international recognition, Manchester United is among those most well-known on a global scale. Yet while most people, regardless of their sporting preference or nationality, have some passing knowledge of Manchester United, fewer can claim knowledge of the origins of the team. Manchester United came into being in 1902 as a result of the bankruptcy of the team formerly known as Newton Heath. Newton Heath began life as Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) club, and as the name suggests, the original team was composed of railway workers. Despite turning professional in 1885 and becoming the founding member of the Football Lions in 1889, Newton Heath – nicknamed the ‘Heathens’ – was constantly troubled by financial difficulties.
Salvation came in the form of a local brewer, John Henry Davis, who agreed to invest in the team on the condition of being given some interest in running it. After consideration of the alternatives titles of Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic, the club was christened Manchester United in April 1902. United’s first manager, though officially titled Secretary, was Ernest Mangnall, who was appointed in September 1903, but it was not until the season of 1905/1906 that United experienced its first taste of success. His side reached the quarterfinals of the F.A Cup and were runners up in the second division.
In 1907, United claimed the championship for the first time and won the first-ever Charity Shield trophy in 1908. In the following year, United claimed the F.A. Cup trophy after beating Bristol City. Manchester United moved to its new stadium, Old Trafford, in early 1910. The move to the stadium, owned by the John Henry Davis brewery (a Manchester beer-making company), was proven to be fortunate as on the 17th of February, 1910, two days before the team’s first scheduled game, the previous stadium Banks Street, was destroyed in a fire. The new stadium had a capacity for a crowd of 80,000 spectators, and despite losing to their first visiting team Liverpool, Manchester United were once again league champions at the end of the first full season playing from Old Trafford.
The following years were to be less of a success. From 1912 to the onset of the First World War, no significant victories were achieved. During the war, the football league was suspended, and only regional competitions took place. 1919 saw the return of Manchester United to league football with only two of the original members in the team.
Although Britain has a long and proud history of football adoration, contemporary football supporters from the UK have gained a negative reputation for outbursts of violence against rival supporters, earning the label ‘football hooligan’. The football hooliganism phenomenon has attracted the attention of a number of researchers and psychologists who have offered theories relating to its causes. It is generally agreed that a combination of factors may initiate this type of anti-social behaviour and that it is unrealistic to contend that all such behaviour stems from a particular psychological make-up or belongs to a specific age or class. Experts do, however, believe that rampaging hooligan behaviour can instill a sense of belonging and ‘community’ in participants who feel that they can strongly identify with their group, regardless of the fact that the group’s behaviour is negative.
Analysts also argue that the motivations for outbursts of violence experienced in an international setting are even more complex. Whilst alcohol and xenophobia no doubt play a part they say, some psychologists hold that policing tactics, to a large degree, dictate the level of disturbance likely to occur. Evidence supports the view that confrontational policing is much more likely to escalate than calm any incidences of trouble. The media’s actions have also been criticized due to the belief by some that messages given in newspaper reporting may also exacerbate the existing problem of football hooliganism.
Critics say that certain headlines used by tabloid newspapers may glorify acts of violence, and at least, the prolific news reports which are published in the UK about this issue cause perpetrators to receive undue attention and acknowledgment for their actions. Whilst few disagree that football hooliganism is a significant social problem, many researchers hold that sensationalist media reporting may also be creating undue panic since the problem is often presented as much more widespread than is the reality. Extreme cases of hooliganism from British fans have reduced significantly over recent years, and while it may take some considerable time for the negative reputation they have earned to subside, it is also true that a large proportion of supporters have no involvement in violence and simply share a love of the game.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Questions 1-3:
Choose THREE letters from the list A-G.
Write your answers in boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet.(NB Your answers may be given in any order)

Which THREE of the following statements are true of Newton Heath?

Newton Heath football club was established in 1902.
It was the only Lancashire-based club at the time.
It developed from a club with a similar name
It ceased being an amateur team in 1885.
It was the most famous British football club of the period.
The club experienced economic hitches.
Its name changed one more time before becoming Manchester United.

Question 1:

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: Newton Heath began life as Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) club and as the name suggests, the original team was composed of railway workers.
Keyword: similar name, club, Newton Health
Key Location: Section A, 7th line
Explanation: As stated in the first paragraph's seventh line, Newton Heath was once known as the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) club. Additionally, the first team was made up of railroad workers, as the name would imply.

Question 2:

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: Despite turning professional in 1885 and becoming the founding member of the Football Lions in 1889, Newton Heath – nicknamed the ‘Heathens’…
Keyword: turning professional, amateur, Newton Health
Key Location: Section A, last line
Explanation: According to the facts in the last line of section A, Newton Heath, also known as the "Heathens". It continued to play professionally even after turning pro in 1885 and joining the Football Lions as a founding member in 1889.

Question 3:

Answer: F
Supporting sentence: Despite turning professional in 1885 and becoming the founding member of the Football Lions in 1889, Newton Heath – nicknamed the ‘Heathens’ – was constantly troubled by financial difficulties.
Keyword: troubled, financial difficulties, economic hitches
Key Location: Section A, last line
Explanation: In spite of being successful in 1885 and sometimes referred to as the "Heathens," Newton Heath experienced recurrent financial difficulties. Even after joining the Football Lions as one of their founding members in 1889.

Questions 4-7:

Complete the summary with the list of words A-K below.

Write the correct letter A-K in boxes 4-7 on your answer sheet.

List of words:

A	Isolation
B	Policing
C	Anger
D	Occupation
E	Belief
F	Prove
G	Class
H	Intelligence
I	Excitement
J	Unity
K	Doubt

According to expert opinion, there is little 4.doubt (K) that football hooliganism occurs as a result of a number of issues and does not necessarily correlate with age, psychological profile or 5.class (G). External triggers such as newspaper reports and antagonistic 6.policing (B) can be attributed to escalation of the problem in certain situations. Some psychologists believe that such behaviour and membership of trouble-making groups can give certain individuals a sense of 7.unity (J) that may otherwise be missing in their lives.

Question 4:

Answer: K (Doubt)
Supporting sentence: It is generally agreed that a combination of factors may initiate this type of anti-social behaviour.
Keyword: generally agreed, issues, hooliganism
Key Location: Section E, 3rd line
Explanation: Section E's third line clearly states, "It is commonly agreed," implying that there is little doubt that football hooliganism is driven by a multitude of difficulties.

Question 5:

Answer: G (Class)
Supporting sentence: that it is unrealistic to contend that all such behaviour stems from a particular psychological make-up or belongs to a specific age or class.
Keyword: psychological make-up, age, correlate
Key Location: Section E, 3rd line
Explanation: In the summary, two of the three dimensions that are typically connected with this behaviour—psychological profile and age—are mentioned.

Question 6:

Answer: B (Policing)
Supporting sentence: Evidence supports the view that confrontational policing is much more likely to escalate than calm any incidences of trouble.
Keyword: external trigger, escalate, trouble
Key Location: Section F, 3rd line
Explanation: The executive summary discusses outside factors that contribute to football hooliganism. For instance, newspaper articles exacerbate the issue rather than properly addressing it. Confrontational policing is another example of an outside factor that caused a problem to worsen rather than get under control. It is described in Section F.

Question 7:

Answer: J (Unity)
Supporting sentence: Experts do however believe that rampaging hooligan behaviour can instil a sense of belonging and ‘community’ in participants who feel that they can strongly identify with their group, regardless of the fact that the group’s behaviour is negative.
Keyword: behaviour, community, sense of belonging
Key Location: Section E, last line
Explanation: As stated in the last sentence of Section E, the members' rowdy behaviour offered them a sense of belonging and helped them to identify firmly with their group. It creates a sense of belonging, which in some ways represents a form of unity, favouring the same team, and identifying as a member of that team.

Questions 8-12:

Reading Passage has 7 paragraphs A-G
Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 8-12 on your answer sheet.
NB Each paragraph may be used more than once.

Details about stipulations made to offer financial assistance to the club.

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: John Henry Davis, who agreed to invest in the team on condition of being given some interest in running it.
Keyword: financial assistance, invest, stipulations.
Key Location: Section B, 1st line
Explanation: The first line of Section B describes in full how Davis agreed to fund the club, altered the club's name, and prevented it from going bankrupt.

Reasons for disruption of national competitions.

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: During the war the football league was suspended and only regional competitions took place.
Keyword: national competitions, football league, suspended
Key Location: Section D, 3rd line
Explanation: The suspension of the football league due to the First World War is the subject of Section D. Thus, World War One is the cause of the interruption of national tournaments.

Information about why the problem of violence at football matches may be perceived by the general public to be larger than it is.

Answer: G
Supporting sentence: sensationalist media reporting may also be creating undue panic since the problem is often presented as much more widespread than is the reality.
Keyword: widespread, problem of violence, panic, general public
Key Location: Section G, 2nd line
Explanation: Section G's second line discusses how sensational media needlessly exaggerates the reality of football-related violence, which fuels fear. The statement refers to this overstatement, which leads the general public to believe the issue is much worse than it actually is.

Deliberations about the Manchester United name.

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: After consideration of the alternatives titles of Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic, the club was christened Manchester United in April 1902.
Keyword: deliberations, alternatives, name
Key Location: Section B, 2nd line
Explanation: The second line of section B states that John Davis was considering giving Newton Heath another name when he invested in the squad. Manchester United was decided upon after a few other titles were explored.

A reference to a new competition.

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: In 1907, United claimed the championship for the first time and won the first ever Charity Shield trophy in 1908.
Keyword: new competition, “first ever”
Key Location: Section C, 1st line
Explanation: According to the first line in section C, United won the title for the first time in 1907 and the Charity Shield trophy for the inaugural time in 1908.

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