Barbara Ann Scott: from Ottawa rinks to Olympic gold

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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #63159 Easy Barbara Ann Scott: from Ottawa rinks to Olympic gold

Read the following passage.

A. Barbara Ann Scott was born in Ottawa on May 9, 1928. She began skating at a very young age at the city's Minto Skating Club, and she was only eleven when she won her first Canadian junior title. Two years later, at thirteen, she became the first woman to land a double lutz jump in a competition. In 1944, when she was 15, she won the first of five Canadian senior titles in a row. From 1945 she also held the North American title.

B. Her biggest year before the Olympics was 1947. In a span of six weeks she was crowned Canadian, North American, European and world champion, and she was the first North American to win the European and world titles. When she returned home, Ottawa held a parade for her and gave her a yellow convertible car. However, Avery Brundage, an American who was then a vice-president of the IOC, the body that runs the Olympics, warned that keeping the gift could cost her amateur status and her place at the Games. She gave the car back.

C. At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the 19-year-old became the first Canadian to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Hockey and figure skating shared the outdoor rink, and the ice was rutted from the hockey games and watery because of unusually warm weather. She skated her compulsory figures without a mistake and built a clear lead. For her free skate, she changed her program so that her jumps landed on cleaner ice. She followed her Olympic win with a second straight world title, and once again she was given a car.

D. Scott turned professional soon after the Olympics and skated in ice shows, including the Ice Capades, until 1955, the year she married the publicist Tom King. A Toronto company made a Barbara Ann Scott doll, sold through the Eaton's catalogue, and it stayed popular long after her Olympic win. Later in life she became a skilled rider in equestrian sport and owned a beauty salon. She carried the Olympic torch before the 1988 and 2010 Winter Games, and she was one of the Olympic flag bearers at the opening of the 2010 Games in Vancouver. She was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991, and she died in 2012 at the age of 84.

E. Not given in any of the above paragraphs.

Decide which paragraph, A to D, has the information given in each statement below. Select E if the information is not given in any of the paragraphs.

ABCDE

- 1. When the Winter Games came to Vancouver, she was among the people holding up the Olympic flag.

ABCDE

- 2. For many years she was sorry that she had to give back the car from her home city.

ABCDE

- 3. She was the youngest woman taking part in her Olympic event that year.

ABCDE

- 4. During the Olympics, she adjusted her routine so her jumps would come down on better ice.

ABCDE

- 5. When she was a young teenager, she performed a jump in competition that no woman had managed before.

ABCDE

- 6. An Olympic official from abroad told her that accepting a present might keep her out of the Games.

ABCDE

- 7. After her years in ice shows were over, she became good at riding horses.

ABCDE

- 8. Within less than two months, she won four important championships.

ABCDE

- 9. The second car she received following her Olympic victory was paid for by the city of Ottawa.

A.I. Explanation:

Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: She carried the Olympic torch before the 1988 and 2010 Winter Games, and she was one of the Olympic flag bearers at the opening of the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says she was one of the Olympic flag bearers when the 2010 Games opened in Vancouver, which matches the statement.
Tips: Several paragraphs talk about the Olympics, so look for the one that names Vancouver and a flag.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Paragraph A covers her childhood club and her first junior and senior titles. That was long before she had any role at an Olympic ceremony.
B: Paragraph B names the Olympics only in the warning about the car. There is no flag and no Vancouver there.
C: Paragraph C tells how she won gold at the 1948 Games in St. Moritz, and nobody carries a flag in it.
E: The flag appears near the end of Paragraph D, which links it to the opening of the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: She gave the car back.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B tells us why she returned the car: an Olympic official warned her about her amateur status. It says nothing about how she felt afterwards, so we do not know if she was sorry.
Tips: A reason is not the same as a feeling. Look for any word that shows she was sorry.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Paragraph A is about her early training and titles in Ottawa. There is no gift of a car at that stage of her life.
B: The second paragraph gives a reason for returning the car, the warning from Brundage. But it never describes her feelings about losing it.
C: Look at paragraph C: it mentions a second car after the Olympics. But it does not look back at the first car or at any regret.
D: Notice that paragraph D moves on to her ice shows, the doll and her later life. The car from Ottawa is not discussed again.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the 19-year-old became the first Canadian to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C tells us she was 19 at the 1948 Games. It never gives the ages of the other women in the event, so the passage does not compare her with them.
Tips: An age alone does not tell you who was youngest. Check whether the other skaters are ever mentioned.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A gives her age for early titles, at eleven and 15, and those were Canadian events, not the Olympics.
B: Look at paragraph B: it lists her 1947 championships and the car, and it gives no ages at all.
C: Notice that paragraph C states her own age at St. Moritz, but no other skater is named or compared with her.
D: In paragraph D, the writer gives her age only at her death, 84, and says nothing about the women she skated against.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: For her free skate, she changed her program so that her jumps landed on cleaner ice.
Why this is correct: Paragraph C talks about her free skate at the 1948 Olympics. She changed her program so that her jumps landed on cleaner ice. Changing a program is adjusting a routine.
Tips: The word 'jump' appears twice in the passage. Track which one is about a change made at the Olympics.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Look at paragraph A: it does mention a jump, the double lutz at thirteen. But that was a first for women, not a change of plan because of bad ice.
B: Notice that paragraph B is about the 1947 titles and the returned car. It says nothing about how she skated her routine.
D: The fourth paragraph mentions the Olympics only for torches and flags in 1988 and 2010. By then she was no longer competing.
E: Her change of program appears in Paragraph C, right after the description of the damaged Olympic rink.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Two years later, at thirteen, she became the first woman to land a double lutz jump in a competition.
Why this is correct: Paragraph A says that at thirteen she became the first woman to land a double lutz jump in a competition. Thirteen is a young teenager, and being the first woman means no woman had done it before.
Tips: Two paragraphs mention being 'the first'. Look for the one that also gives her age as a teenager.
Why the other options are wrong:
B: In paragraph B, the writer says she was the first North American to win the European and world titles. That is a first in winning, not in jumping.
C: Notice that paragraph C speaks of her jumps at the Olympics when she was 19. It says she was the first Canadian to win gold. It does not say she was the first woman to land a jump.
D: The fourth paragraph describes her adult life in ice shows and later hobbies, far from her early teens.
E: Her age of thirteen and the double lutz are both in Paragraph A, in the sentence after her junior title.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: However, Avery Brundage, an American who was then a vice-president of the IOC, the body that runs the Olympics, warned that keeping the gift could cost her amateur status and her place at the Games.
Why this is correct: Paragraph B names Avery Brundage, an American who was a vice-president of the IOC. He warned that keeping the gift could cost her place at the Games. He was from abroad, and the car was the present.
Tips: Two cars appear in the passage. Find the one linked to a warning from an American.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Look at paragraph A: it deals with her junior and senior titles in Canada. No official and no gift appear in it.
C: Notice that paragraph C also mentions a car, but that one came after the Olympics, and nobody warned her about it.
D: The fourth paragraph is about her professional career, the doll and her honours. Nothing there threatened her place at the Games.
E: Brundage and his warning are named in Paragraph B, between the parade and the return of the car.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Later in life she became a skilled rider in equestrian sport and owned a beauty salon.
Why this is correct: The fourth paragraph says that later in life she became a skilled rider in equestrian sport. Equestrian sport means sport on horseback, and this came after she left the ice shows in 1955.
Tips: If you do not know 'equestrian', notice the word 'rider' next to it.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A describes how she started skating as a small child. There are no other sports in it.
B: In paragraph B, the writer tells about her 1947 championships and a parade, and no horses or riding appear.
C: Look at paragraph C: it mentions hockey sharing the Olympic rink, but it is about skating, not riding.
E: Her riding is in Paragraph D, which calls it equestrian sport and places it later in her life.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: In a span of six weeks she was crowned Canadian, North American, European and world champion, and she was the first North American to win the European and world titles.
Why this is correct: The second paragraph is about 1947. In a span of six weeks, she was crowned Canadian, North American, European and world champion. Six weeks is less than two months, and that makes four titles.
Tips: Count the titles in each paragraph and look for a short time period.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Look at paragraph A: it lists titles she won over several years, from her junior win to her North American title. These are not four titles within weeks.
C: In paragraph C, the writer names two wins in 1948, the Olympic gold and a world title, which is fewer than four.
D: Notice that paragraph D starts after she turned professional, and it lists honours such as the Order of Canada rather than championships.
E: The four titles and the six weeks are both in the second sentence of Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: She followed her Olympic win with a second straight world title, and once again she was given a car.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says that once again she was given a car after her Olympic win. It does not say who gave or paid for this second car. Only the first car, in Paragraph B, is linked to Ottawa.
Tips: Ottawa gave the first car. Check whether the passage names the giver of the second one.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Look at paragraph A: it names Ottawa as her birthplace and home club, but it mentions no car at all.
B: Notice that paragraph B says Ottawa gave her the first car in 1947, which she returned. It does not cover a second car.
C: The third paragraph reports that she received another car, but it leaves out who gave it or paid for it.
D: Look at paragraph D: it is about ice shows, the doll made in Toronto and her later honours, not about cars.

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