Hi there, this is Fiona from IELTS with Fiona and the Members Academy.
In this week's lesson, I'm continuing the theme of Olympic events and we're going to do a reading.
It's general training, but it's passage three.
So this is also good practice if you're taking the academic test.
It's called The Story of the Fosbury Flop.
Now, if you don't know what the Fosbury Flop is, don't worry.
You'll find out as you go through the reading.
But if you've been watching the Olympics and you know something about the events, then you'll know that when people do the high jump, they jump.
By going head first, if you see what I mean.
And they try to get their back over the pole before the legs.
Whereas in the past, it used to be something called a scissor jump.
I don't know if you remember that from school.
We used to do a scissor jump.
And then that changed in 1968, when a 21-year-old university student called Dick Fosbury completely transformed the sport of high jumping.
That's our first line in this text.
He got a gold medal at the Mexico City Games, and the whole reading is about how he developed this technique.
So let's just quickly look at the questions because I always recommend that you do that first.
The first set is matching information and there are five statements that you have to match.
The second set is multiple choice and the last one is a quite straightforward gap fill.
So let's look at the matching information, and what I tell students is that when you look at the first word, this gives you a clue for the whole thing.
What do I mean by that?
Well, question 28 is looking for a suggestion, a suggestion that's the first kind of information.
We're looking for, A suggestion that Fosbury should change his way of jumping.
Now I always suggest that as you get used to the text structures you'll be able to kind of guess where the answers come.
Because if you think about a problem solution text, which I talk about very often the problem comes first, doesn't it?
The problem is, like in this example, it's an old-fashioned way of jumping.
It's not really succeeding.
So therefore, we should probably look for a suggestion that this should be changed, maybe quite early on.
The second thing we're looking for is a reference to.
Now, that just means a mention of and not.
In this example, there are three sentences which say a reference to.
So that doesn't help us so much.
Sometimes you get like a reason and then you're looking for words like because.
But this time, 29, a reference to an opportunity offered to Fosbury that made him feel honoured.
So we're looking at something where He expresses his proud feelings.
30 is a reference to the fact that Fosbury was a very influential high jumper, so that he had a big impact.
31 is interesting.
It says conflicting explanations given by Fosbury for the way that the idea for the Fosbury flop began.
So the keyword again, right at the start of the sentence is conflicting explanations.
So remember, this whole story is about how he developed this thing called the Fosbury flop, this way of jumping.
And within the text, there are conflicting explanations.
So you find the paragraph where you can see maybe two different explanations.
And finally, 32, a reference to a time when Fosbury was dissatisfied with his athletic performance.
Again, problems tend to come before the solutions, so a time when he was dissatisfied is more likely to come early on in the text.
So Some people suggest that you should actually come back and do the matching statements later within that 20 minutes, so that you read the text for the other questions first and then it's easier for you to match the sentence.
That's one way of doing it.
You know, experiment.
That's the only way we progress is by experimenting.
This whole reading shows us that that is true.
So try and see what's best for you.
I've got the answers in front of me, so I'm going to go through those matching statements first, but you don't have to do them first.
So let me just briefly go through the paragraph.
So the first one introduces him.
Remember, it says he completely transformed high jumping.
So that's tells you something about him.
Then in paragraph B, it says that he was often asked about how he developed this technique and he would often joke with the sports writers.
He told some of them he designed it because of his background in engineering and he told others that it was a complete accident where once he tripped and fell backwards.
And that's two explanations for you there.
It also says that it was simply a natural technique that evolved.
That's all in paragraph B. So I hope I've given you a little clue there to one of the answers.
In C, it goes back.
This often happens in IELTS texts.
It kind of goes back to the start.
When he was 10 or 11 he tried jumping with the scissors style and he said I was really lousy with that style.
Remember, this is a quote, so it's informal language here.
Lousy means useless, rubbish.
And he expressed this frustration to his coach and he went back to the scissors style and And as he continued to do that, he began to lift the hips up and basically he developed the flop F-L-O-P.
And that's it.
That's paragraph C. And D says, so the flop evolved not from design, but from trial and error.
And Again we've got Richard Hoffer in a sports magazine saying the same thing.
Just gradually that flop got better.
Then in paragraph E, he says he wasn't the only person to use the flop, that it was natural.
Somebody else used it as well, Debbie Brill.
And in F, It comes back to the problems of the flop by saying it's easy to go over head first.
But what happens when you land?
You could have an injury.
So then they develop the cushion to cushion your fall.
And finally, in G, he explains how he came to name the flop, where this word flop comes from.
So let's look at those statements again.
A suggestion that he should change his way of jumping.
Well, in paragraph C, he talked about the way he jumped.
He used the scissors style.
And he said I used that style until I went into high school, where my coach explained that I was never going to get anywhere with that technique.
So that's it.
Paragraph C. That is the suggestion.
Now, I've talked about this before.
When you learn suggestions in textbooks, you often hear the word should for advice.
But actually when you do the reading and the listening test, they always use a roundabout way of saying it.
They don't say it directly.
So here we can see my coach explained I was never going to get anywhere with that technique.
And that is a suggestion that he should change his way of jumping.
So you have to read between the lines there.
It's quite difficult.
29, a reference to an opportunity offered to Fosbury that made him feel honoured.
So the feelings part of it come in the final paragraph when he explains how he came to name the flop.
I am very proud that I received the naming rights.
And that really is it.
I'm very proud is the synonym for feeling honoured.
So that's simply a vocabulary issue.
And that is G. It's a kind of final thought, isn't it?
Your feelings come in at the end very often when you reflect on something.
In 30, it's looking for a reference to the fact that Fosbury was a very influential high jumper.
Well, remember when he was first introduced?
It said, he completely transformed the sport of high jumping.
That's the first line, paragraph A, and that is the answer.
Influential means he completely transformed a whole sport.
So again, you're reading between the lines.
It doesn't say he was influential, but you do have to deduce that from those statements.
31 might be easy now.
I've given you a clue.
It says conflicting explanations given by Fosbury for the way the idea for the Fosbury flop began.
So remember, conflicting means basically different, maybe opposite.
And that whole paragraph B basically gives three different reasons.
The first one, he said he designed it because he was an engineer.
The second said he accidentally discovered it when he fell.
And later interviews revealed the technique actually unfolded over many years.
It simply was a natural technique that evolved.
So those are three explanations and they differ.
So they are conflicting.
Last one we're looking for a reference to a time when Fosbury was dissatisfied with his performance.
Well, we've already seen that.
Remember when he talked about his scissors style when he was 10 or 11?
The coach said he would never get anywhere with that.
Then he taught him a different belly roll technique.
However, I was lousy with that and so on.
So it's in paragraph C where he expresses his frustration to his coach.
So that's that.
Let's move on now to the multiple choice questions.
These unfortunately don't go well. in a nice order, which I do find odd because they usually do.
Let's look at 33 and it says, when interviewed about his development of the Fosbury flop.
So, you have to go to when he was interviewed, which is in paragraph B. So it's easy to find.
What did he say about it?
So here are the options.
He always insisted that he had carefully designed it on scientific principles.
Well, we know that's not true because he gave three different reasons.
One of them was coming from his engineering background, but that wasn't the only reason.
B, he said he wanted to develop a technique by an injury he suffered while making a jump.
Well, again, a destructor.
It did say that he discovered it by accident when he fell, but that's not the answer.
C, he claimed it was inspired by an injury he suffered while making a jump.
Again, quite close, but not exactly.
And D, stated it had been done gradually without any overall plan.
So I think you've probably worked out by now.
He said it happened gradually naturally, without a plan.
And that is the answer.
33 is D. Now, 34, Fosbury achieved a sudden improvement in the height he could jump.
So remember that the paragraph about the techniques, when did he improve?
A, when he started to adapt the scissors technique.
B, when he became much more determined to win competitions.
Well, that wasn't mentioned.
C, he decided to abandon the scissors technique.
Or D, he found a new way of using the belly roll style.
Well, if you go again to that paragraph, paragraph B. So actually, yes, they do come in order.
Excuse me, they do.
I was looking at something different.
So go back to paragraph B again.
And there it says.
In his next competition, he went back to the scissors style and he adapted it.
As the bar was raised, each time I began to lift my hips up, my shoulders went back in reaction.
And at the end of the competition, I had improved, blah, blah, blah.
So, yes, he adapted that scissors technique.
So, A is the answer.
In question three.
Sorry, just want to say the distractors again says he found a new way of using the belly roll style.
Well, we know he didn't like the belly roll technique.
He said, I was lousy with that style.
So he went back to using the scissor style, but he adapted it.
Question 37.
No, sorry, 35.
When describing the way that the Fosbury's jump evolved, Richard Hoffer stressed.
So remember, we found Richard Hoffer.
It's in paragraph D, so it does go in order.
He wrote for a magazine called Sports Illustrated.
So what did he stress?
A.
Fosbury's height slowed down his progress.
B, the process was more controlled than it appeared.
C, Fosbury was not really aware of his own technique.
Or D, the process included specialist input from engineers.
So you have to focus on what Richard Hoffer wrote in paragraph D.
He says it was on-site engineering, his body and mind working together, making adjustments with only one goal getting over the bar.
Hoffa explained that, although Fosbury's arms and legs seemed to be all over the place, those movements that served to get him a centimeter higher were retained, while the others were gradually eliminated as the technique evolved.
So you can see there is a strategy here.
It seems to be all over the place, but actually he retained the movements that worked and eliminated the movements that did not work.
So, the answer is that the process was more controlled than it appeared.
That's 35B.
Finally, question 36.
So, remember...
He came up with these three reasons how he developed it.
Firstly, by accident.
Second, by engineering.
And the final one was that it was actually a very natural move.
And he defended this idea by pointing something out.
So what did he point out in paragraph E now goes in order.
A, it was achievable by younger jumpers.
Well, he doesn't mention younger jumpers.
B, it was copied successfully by other athletes.
C, it was achievable without any special training.
Or D, it was independently discovered by other athletes.
So if you remember, he says...
I believe the flop was a natural style.
I was just the first to find it.
I can say that because the Canadian jumper, Debbie Brill, was a few years younger than I was and also developed the same technique only a few years after me, without ever having seen me.
So he's saying somebody else developed it independently of him.
And why?
Because it was a natural way of jumping.
So finally, it seems to skip any questions in F and go straight to G.
So this last set of questions, gap fill, is entitled How the Fosbury Flop got its name, and you can use two words.
Now a word of caution here.
Um, i do, actually i do actually have book 17, which this is taken from, but just because i needed to write a few things, i i googled it and i found uh, it's available.
All of these things are available on the website, But as I'm reading through it, I'm finding loads of mistakes and confusing punctuation.
So if you're in the Members Academy, you will get the correct edited version.
Don't worry.
But it doesn't matter for the podcast.
So what I notice here is a very confusing hyphen issue, I think.
Because when you do gap fill answers, people get very confused.
Is a hyphen, is it one word?
Is it two words?
And so on.
So, remember here we're allowed two words.
Now, here's the gap.
When first interviewed, Fosbury called his jumping style a something.
So remember my tip, if you're looking for the name of something, look for inverted commas.
And in paragraph G, he says, I referred to it as a back layout.
Now that is two words, a back layout.
Now, unfortunately, in the version online that I found, there's no hyphen.
So that makes it three words.
But I've double checked the original book that I've got and layout has a hyphen.
So back is one word.
Layout is one word.
And that gives you two words left.
And you need both words to get the point.
Back layout.
Now, to make things slightly more confusing, when you look at the actual book, the original book, they put layout as one word, without a hyphen in the answers, at the back of the book.
So, it's all very confusing, but...
My answer is always write it exactly as you see it in the text.
And when you've got the correct text, which you will in the exam, you'll see very clearly back layout.
And you can write layout with a hyphen or without it, but you must include back.
So if you think layout is two words and you miss back, then you won't get the point.
Let me know if you've got any questions about that.
I'll put it more clearly in my daily tips so you can see it better.
So when he said that he called this flop a back layout, he noticed it was not interesting and the journalist didn't even write it down.
So the gap fill says he realised that this had not made an impression on the something.
And so remember, the journalist didn't write it down, so the answer is the journalist.
One word journalist.
I guess the vocabulary you need for that is to make an impression on something.
There's no synonym for it in the text.
It just says that the journalist didn't even write it down.
So you have to think, well, that means it didn't make an impression on the journalist.
So what did he do in his next interview?
He used a name taken from the description given to a newspaper photo.
This was the name that everyone noted.
He says the name was appropriate because his town is near a something.
So you quickly find something about his town and it says our town was on a river.
So near on a river means in terms of a town, it means near a river.
So that is answer thirty nine.
And 40, a something does a similar type of flopping movement when brought to land.
So if you live near a river, what thing do you maybe bring to land which flops around?
And he says the river was popular for fishing and when you land a fish, On the bank, it's flopping.
So you can picture the image of a fish.
Flopping is very similar to the flop that a high jumper makes.
And so question 40, gap fill 40, the answer is fish.
So that is it.
And there's some useful vocabulary in this one.
I've put like a list of collocations.
So, for example, completely transformed, accidentally discovered.
And the synonyms for this move is movement, manoeuvre, approach, technique, process.
The word evolved is quite interesting.
Important here.
And it kept evolving, meaning developing.
Then there's a trial and error process, which is quite a useful phrase when you say something.
I learned it by trial and error.
A striking coincidence and something which was potentially dangerous.
I've also added there. point about how complex the sentences are in this text.
It's general training, but honestly, it's not easy.
So just listen to this one sentence.
How many linking words can you find?
At first.
When asked about how this unorthodox manoeuvre originated, Fosbury would joke with sports writers, informing some that, because of his university background in physics and engineering, he had initially designed the flop on paper, and telling others that he had accidentally discovered this technique when he once tripped and fell backward on his takeoff.
That is one sentence.
So go and have a look at that and see if you can break it down and make it more manageable.
So, as I mentioned, this is another one of my Olympic podcasts, part of the Olympic season.
There are so many related to sports in IELTS, and if you find any more, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Remember, all of the tips are put together in my Members Academy courses.
You can go through them step by step, or you can just choose a one-off lesson, like this one, and then apply these techniques to the other readings.
Similar readings.
Thanks for listening.
Let me know if you've got any requests.
Bye for now.
Bye-bye.
