Bobbie Rosenfeld: Olympic sprinter, coach and sports journalist

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CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Information ID: #63161 Easy Bobbie Rosenfeld: Olympic sprinter, coach and sports journalist

Read the following passage.

A. Fanny Rosenfeld was born in what is now Ukraine and came to Canada with her family as a baby. She grew up in Barrie, Ontario, and later moved to Toronto. Her nickname, Bobbie, came from her bobbed haircut. In 1923 she was working as a stenographer at a chocolate factory when she took up sports. She did well in basketball, ice hockey and softball as well as track. Her running career began at a picnic, where she was persuaded to enter a 100-yard dash and beat the Canadian champion, Rosa Grosse. She went on to set national records in five different track and field events.

B. In 1928, at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, women were allowed to compete in track and field for the first time. Rosenfeld won a silver medal in the 100 metres, finishing just 46 centimetres behind the American Betty Robinson. She won gold in the 4 x 100 metres relay, where the Canadian team set a world record of 48.4 seconds. In the 800 metres, she ran up beside her teammate Jean Thompson and let her finish fourth, while she herself came fifth. The Canadian Press called the six women on the team the Matchless Six.

C. Only a year later, in 1929, a severe attack of arthritis kept her in bed for eight months, and she needed crutches for a year after that. Once she recovered, she played hockey and softball again. However, the arthritis returned in 1931, and in 1933 she was forced to retire from competition. She did not leave sport behind. The next year she coached the Canadian women's track and field team at an international competition in London, England.

D. Rosenfeld then turned to writing. She joined The Globe and Mail in Toronto as a sports journalist, and her column made her a strong voice for women's sport. Her final column ran on December 3, 1958, although she kept working for the paper until 1966. In 1950 she was named Canada's female athlete of the half century. She died in Toronto on November 13, 1969. Today the Canadian Press honours the country's top female athlete each year with the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award.

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. She came second in an Olympic race by a gap of less than half a metre.

ABCDE

- 2. She was still a baby when her family moved to Canada.

ABCDE

- 3. She gave up her office job so that she could put more time into training.

ABCDE

- 4. She set Canadian bests in five kinds of athletics events.

ABCDE

- 5. An illness forced her to stay in bed for more than half a year.

ABCDE

- 6. Her newspaper column had more readers than any other sports column in Canada.

ABCDE

- 7. After she stopped competing, she coached Canadian athletes at a competition in England.

ABCDE

- 8. A prize given every year to Canada's leading sportswoman carries her name.

ABCDE

- 9. During one Olympic race, she allowed a teammate to finish in front of her.

A.I. Explanation:

Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: Rosenfeld won a silver medal in the 100 metres, finishing just 46 centimetres behind the American Betty Robinson.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: it says she won a silver medal in the 100 metres, just 46 centimetres behind Betty Robinson. Silver means second place, and half a metre is 50 centimetres, so the gap was smaller than that.
Tips: Change the number in your head: 46 centimetres is less than half a metre.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A has a race too, the 100-yard dash at a picnic. But she won that one, and it was not at the Olympics.
C: Paragraph C is about her arthritis and her coaching. She runs no race in it.
D: The fourth paragraph covers her newspaper work and her honours, not how close any race was.
E: The 46 centimetres between her and Betty Robinson are printed in the second sentence of Paragraph B.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: Fanny Rosenfeld was born in what is now Ukraine and came to Canada with her family as a baby.
Why this is correct: Notice that paragraph A says she was born in what is now Ukraine. She came to Canada with her family as a baby. That matches the statement that she was a baby when they moved.
Tips: Look for the paragraph about where she was born and the word 'baby'.
Why the other options are wrong:
B: Notice that paragraph B is about the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, when she was already an adult.
C: Paragraph C tells us about her illness in 1929 and her coaching after 1933, not her childhood.
D: Look at paragraph D: it describes her work as a journalist and her death in Toronto. It does not mention her family.
E: You can find her arrival in Canada in Paragraph A, in the very first sentence.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: In 1923 she was working as a stenographer at a chocolate factory when she took up sports.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says that in 1923 she was working as a stenographer at a chocolate factory when she took up sports. It never says she left this job, or that she wanted more time for sport.
Tips: A stenographer does office work. Check whether any sentence says she left that job, and why.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A mentions her factory job. But it does not say she quit it, and it gives no reason for any change.
B: Look at paragraph B: it describes her Olympic races. It says nothing about work or training time.
C: In paragraph C, the writer says she retired from competition in 1933, which is about sport, not about leaving a job.
D: Paragraph D talks about her later work at a newspaper, not her earlier job at the factory.
Correct Answer: A
Passage Reference: She went on to set national records in five different track and field events.
Why this is correct: The first paragraph says she went on to set national records in five different track and field events. National records here are Canadian bests, and track and field is athletics.
Tips: Notice that paragraph B has a 'world record'. For 'Canadian bests' find the word 'national'.
Why the other options are wrong:
B: Notice that paragraph B has a world record. But that record belongs to the relay team at the Olympics, not to five events.
C: Paragraph C is about her arthritis and the end of her career, with no records at all.
D: Look at paragraph D: it names her 1950 honour as athlete of the half century, but it lists no records.
E: Her five national records close Paragraph A, right after the story of the picnic race.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: Only a year later, in 1929, a severe attack of arthritis kept her in bed for eight months, and she needed crutches for a year after that.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says a severe attack of arthritis in 1929 kept her in bed for eight months. That matches an illness that kept her in bed. Eight months is more than half of a year, which has twelve months.
Tips: Find the illness by name, arthritis, and then the number of months.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A lists the sports she played when she was young. It does not mention being ill.
B: Look at paragraph B: it shows her racing at the Olympics in 1928, when she was healthy enough to win medals.
D: In paragraph D, the writer gives the date of her death but does not talk about any illness.
E: Eight months in bed with arthritis are reported in the first sentence of Paragraph C.
Correct Answer: E
Passage Reference: She joined The Globe and Mail in Toronto as a sports journalist, and her column made her a strong voice for women's sport.
Why this is correct: Paragraph D says her column made her a strong voice for women's sport. It does not compare her column with others or give any number of readers. So we cannot say it was the most read.
Tips: The fourth paragraph is about her column. Look for any comparison with other writers before you decide.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A is about her early life and her sports, and she is not writing anything yet.
B: In paragraph B, the writer tells the story of the 1928 Olympics. The Canadian Press gives the team a name there, but no column is mentioned.
C: Paragraph C covers her illness and coaching, with no writing at all.
D: Look at paragraph D: it is about her column, but it only says she spoke up for women's sport. It never ranks the column against others.
Correct Answer: C
Passage Reference: The next year she coached the Canadian women's track and field team at an international competition in London, England.
Why this is correct: The third paragraph says she was forced to retire from competition in 1933. The next year she coached the Canadian women's track and field team at an international competition in London, England.
Tips: Notice that paragraph B also has a Canadian team. Look for the word 'coached' and a year after 1933.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Look at paragraph A: it tells us which sports she played as a young woman, but she coaches nobody there.
B: In paragraph B, the writer describes a Canadian team at the Olympics. But there she is a runner on the team, not its coach.
D: Paragraph D is about her newspaper career and later honours. Coaching is not part of it.
E: Her coaching job in London comes in the last sentence of Paragraph C, the year after she retired.
Correct Answer: D
Passage Reference: Today the Canadian Press honours the country's top female athlete each year with the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award.
Why this is correct: The fourth paragraph says the Canadian Press honours the country's top female athlete each year with the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award. The award is the prize, and it has her name.
Tips: The Canadian Press appears twice. Find the place where it gives something every year.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: Notice that paragraph A explains where her nickname came from, but it does not mention any prize.
B: In paragraph B, the writer lists the medals she won in 1928, and the Canadian Press only names the team there. No prize carries her name.
C: Paragraph C is about her arthritis, her return to sport and her coaching job.
E: The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award, given by the Canadian Press, is the subject of the final sentence of Paragraph D.
Correct Answer: B
Passage Reference: In the 800 metres, she ran up beside her teammate Jean Thompson and let her finish fourth, while she herself came fifth.
Why this is correct: Look at paragraph B: in the 800 metres she ran up beside her teammate Jean Thompson and let her finish fourth. Rosenfeld came fifth. So she let a teammate cross the line one place ahead of her.
Tips: Look at the 800 metres and compare the places: fourth and fifth.
Why the other options are wrong:
A: The first paragraph mentions her running at a picnic, but she beats the champion there and has no teammate.
C: Notice that paragraph C is about her team as a coach, not a race she ran herself.
D: Look at paragraph D: it describes her as a writer and names her honours. It has no race.
E: The story of the 800 metres, with Jean Thompson in fourth place, is told in Paragraph B.

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