ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

A Twenty-five years ago, children in London walked to school and played in parks and
playing fields after school and at the weekend. Today they are usually driven to school
by parents anxious about safety and spend hours glued to television screens or computer
games. Meanwhile, community playing fields are being sold off to property developers
at an alarming rate. ‘This change in lifestyle has, sadly, meant greater restrictions on
children,’ says Neil Armstrong, Professor of Health and Exercise Sciences at the
University of Exeter. ‘If children continue to be this inactive, they’ll be storing up big
problems for the future.’
B In 1985, Professor Armstrong headed a five-year research project into children’s
fitness. The results, published in 1990, were alarming. The survey, which monitored
700 11-16-year-olds, found that 48 per cent of girls and 41 per cent of boys already
exceeded safe cholesterol levels set for children by the American Heart Foundation.
Armstrong adds, “heart is a muscle and need exercise, or it loses its strength.” It also
found that 13 per cent of boys and 10 per cent of girls were overweight. More
disturbingly, the survey found that over a four-day period, half the girls and one-third
of the boys did less exercise than the equivalent of a brisk 10-minute walk. High levels
of cholesterol, excess body fat and inactivity are believed to increase the risk of
coronary heart disease.
C Physical education is under pressure in the UK – most schools devote little more than
100 minutes a week to it in curriculum time, which is less than many other European
countries. Three European countries are giving children a head start in PE, France,
Austria and Switzerland – offer at least two hours in primary and secondary schools.
These findings, from the European Union of Physical Education Associations,
prompted specialists in children’s physiology to call on European governments to give
youngsters a daily PE programme. The survey shows that the UK ranks 13th out of the
25 countries, with Ireland bottom, averaging under an hour a week for PE. From age
six to 18，British children received, on average, 106 minutes of PE a week. Professor
Armstrong, who presented the findings at the meeting, noted that since the introduction
of the national curriculum there had been a marked fall in the time devoted to PE in UK
schools, with only a minority of pupils getting two hours a week.
D As a former junior football international, Professor Armstrong is a passionate
advocate for sport. Although the Government has poured millions into beefing up sport
in the community, there is less commitment to it as part of the crammed school
curriculum. This means that many children never acquire the necessary skills to thrive
in team games. If they are no good at them, they lose interest and establish an inactive
pattern of behaviour. When this is coupled with a poor diet, it will lead inevitably to
weight gain. Seventy per cent of British children give up all sport when they leave
school, compared with only 20 per cent of French teenagers. Professor Armstrong
believes that there is far too great an emphasis on team games at school. “We need to
look at the time devoted to PE and balance it between individual and pair activities,
such as aerobics and badminton, as well as team sports. “He added that children need
to have the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of individual, partner and team
sports.
E The good news, however, is that a few small companies and children’s activity groups
have reacted positively and creatively to the problem. Take That, shouts Gloria Thomas,
striking a disco pose astride her mini-space hopper. Take That, echo a flock of toddlers,
adopting outrageous postures astride their space hoppers. ‘Michael Jackson, she shouts,
and they all do a spoof fan-crazed shriek. During the wild and chaotic hopper race across
the studio floor, commands like this are issued and responded to with untrammelled
glee. The sight of 15 bouncing seven-year-olds who seem about to launch into orbit at
every bounce brings tears to the eyes. Uncoordinated, loud, excited and emotional,
children provide raw comedy.
F Any cardiovascular exercise is a good option, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be
high intensity. It can be anything that gets your heart rate up: such as walking the dog,
swimming, miming, skipping, hiking. “Even walking through the grocery store can be
exercise,” Samis-Smith said. What they don’t know is that they’re at a Fit Kids class,
and that the fun is a disguise for the serious exercise plan they’re covertly being taken
through. Fit Kids trains parents to run fitness classes for children. ‘Ninety per cent of
children don’t like team sports,’ says company director, Gillian Gale.
G A Prevention survey found that children whose parents keep in shape are much more
likely to have healthy body weights themselves. “There’s nothing worse than telling a
child what he needs to do and not doing it yourself,” says Elizabeth Ward, R.D., a
Boston nutritional consultant and author of Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids . “Set a good
example and get your nutritional house in order first.” In the 1930s and ’40s, kids
expended 800 calories a day just walking, carrying water, and doing other chores, notes
Fima Lifshitz, M.D., a paediatric endocrinologist in Santa Barbara. “Now, kids in obese
families are expending only 200 calories a day in physical activity,” says Lifshitz,
“incorporate more movement in your family’s life: park farther away from the stores at
the mall, take stairs instead of the elevator, and walk to nearby friends’ houses instead
of driving”.
Questions 1-4
The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-G.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter A-G, in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
1 Health and living condition of children. Locate
2 Health organization monitored physical activity
3 Comparison of exercise time between UK and other countries Locate
4 Wrong approach for school activity Locate
Questions 5-8
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading
Passage? In boxes 5-8 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
5 According to American Heart Foundation, cholesterol levels of boys are
higher than girls’.
6 British children generally do less exercise than some other European
countries. Locate
7 Skipping becomes more and more popular in schools of UK.
8 According to Healthy Kids, the first task is for parents to encourage their
children to keep the same healthy body weight Locate
Questions 9-13
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.
9. According to paragraph A, what does Professor Neil Armstrong concern
about?
A Spending more time on TV affect academic level
B Parents have less time stay with their children
C Future health of British children
D Increasing speed of property’s development
10. What does Armstrong indicate in Paragraph B?
A We need to take a 10 minute walk everyday
B We should do more activity to exercise heart
C Girls’ situation is better than boys
D Exercise can cure many disease Locate
11. What is aim of Fit Kids’ training?
A Make profit by running several sessions
B Only concentrate on one activity for each child
C To guide parents how to organize activities for children
D Spread the idea that team sport is better
12. What did Lifshitz suggest in the end of this passage?
A Create opportunities to exercise your body
B Taking elevator saves your time
C Kids should spend more than 200 calories each day
D We should never drive but walk
13. What is main idea of this passage?
A health of the children who are overweight is at risk in the future
B Children in UK need proper exercises
C Government mistaken approach for children
D Parents play the most important role in children’s activity
WRITING

Write about the following topic:

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, child obesity has been increasing in
many countries around the world.
What problems are associated with this issue and what are some possible
solutions?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.