ENGLISH TEST 1º BACHILLERATO FEBRUARY 2010

IES SANTA ANA

Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL
I Imagine a world-famous football league that is so poorly managed that it has to sell its best players to foreign leagues in
order to survive. This is the situation in Brazil, a country where football is part of the nation’s soul. Brazil’s football is in
deep financial trouble. The only way Brazilian clubs have made money lately is by selling their top players to foreign teams –
849 of them since 2004 alone. As a result, skilled athletes are one of Brazil’s leading exports. The football players who have
remained in the country earn little and usually perform in empty arenas.
II But there is one exception. In São Paulo’s Pacaembu Stadium, 35,000 fans are on their feet. They are pounding samba
drums and cheering for Corinthians, their beloved team. Above them, in the director’s box, sits the man who has made it his
goal to save the team: Kia Joorabchian, an Iranian-born British citizen. Since Joorabchian took control of Corinthians in
January 2005, attendance at games has tripled and money is pouring in, in larger and larger amounts.
III However, not long ago Corinthians were in a desperate situation. Despite millions of loyal fans, the club was attracting
fewer than 10,000 people at most games and was more than $20 million in debt. But then Joorabchian invested $14 million
to bring three top players back home to Brazil. The investment has already paid off. In 2006, Corinthians won Brazil’s
professional football league championship for the first time in six years. Yet Joorabchian has produced more than just a
trophy. He has also established a new business model that could rescue professional football in Brazil from sinking under
corruption, violence, mismanagement and a loss of talent to European and Asian clubs.
IV Ironically, Joorabchian, who is a banker, was not even interested in football. He arrived in Brazil in 2004 looking for an
investment. He watched Corinthians and fell in love. “You pick a company because you believe it’s undervalued,” he says.
“We believe Brazilian football as a whole is undervalued.” Today, like his club’s most enthusiastic fans, Joorabchian admits
that Corinthians is his life.

1 Answer the questions according to the information 3 Find words or expressions in the text that mean:
(2 points)
in the text. ( 3 points) 1. from a different
1. What is the financial situation of most Brazilian country (paragraph I) ................................
football clubs? 2. supporters (paragraph III)................................
.................................................................................... 3. owing money (paragraph III) ..............................
........................................................
………………….. 4. choose (paragraph IV) ...................................
....................................................................................
........................................................
…………………..
4 Finish this sentence without changing the
meaning from the text. (2 points)
2. According to Joorabchian, when should a business
Attendance at games has increasedbecause...................
person invest in a certain business?
...........................................................................................
....................................................................................
................................................................
…………………..
....................................................................................
........................................................
…………………..

2 Choose the correct answer. (3 points)

1. It is ironic that Brazil’s football is in trouble because it 2. Today the Corinthians club … .
is … . a. gets about 35,000 spectators at its games
a. well-managed b. makes the same amount of profits every year
b. world-famous c. exports its players abroad
c. a big country

3. Joorabchian’s investment has paid off because … .

a. he himself has earned $14 million
b. Corinthians have won several championships
c. there is now hope for other professional teams in
 Brazil

Listening

Listen to four people talking about their sports: answer the questions below:

1 a) What sport is he talking about?

b) Did his team win the match?

c) When did it start raining?

d) Who was the best player?

2 a) What sport is she talking about?

b) What happened when she was 8 years old?

c) Who does she usually play with?

d) Why hasn’t she taken part in an international competition?

3 a) What sport is he talking about?

b) What happened when she was 8 years old?

c) Who does she usually play with?

d) Why hasn’t she taken part in an international competition

4 a) What sport is she talking about?

b) What do many people think of this sport?

c) What do they have to do with the ball?

d) Is it an easy sport?