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Immagine del redattoreDavid MacFarlane

Reading Practice - B1 - Grammar Focus - Linking verbs


Look at the sentences about a football club called Wickton City.

Read the text to decide if each sentence is TRUE or FALSE.

If it is TRUE, mark T. If it is FALSE, mark F.

  1. Tony’s dream was to be a football coach.

  2. Tony is doing his second job since going back to Wickton.

  3. One part of Tony’s job takes up the most time.

  4. A few teenagers on the ‘Football Skills’ courses are offered jobs with Wickton City.

  5. Equipment on the courses is provided free for everyone.

  6. The aim of the Saturday club is for young people to practise playing matches.

  7. The number of different football teams for young people in Wickton has increased recently.

  8. In the past young people in Wickton were fans of teams from outside the area.

  9. Tony thinks the club may have to close in the future.

  10. The fact that most of the Wickton City players are from the area is positive.


 

Wickton City Football Club

Tony Connor has been Wickton City’s youth officer for 18 months. At the age of 16 he went from Wickton to Ipswich Town to train to be a professional footballer. This had always been his ambition but he had to return home because he was injured and that’s where he’s stayed. He was then a football coach for over 7 years. Now, as youth officer, he has three parts to his job - to run the mini-soccer centre on a Saturday morning, to teach football to local teenagers, and to help look after the football club’s Academy for players who are training in order to play in the first team. He says ‘Everything I do is important but I spend longer teaching local teenagers than I do on the other parts of the job.’

He wants teenagers to get football qualifications, therefore he’s developed a programme to help them. ‘These ‘Football Skills’ courses are for young people who have no qualifications. We obviously can’t give them jobs at the end but, by doing our courses, I hope they’ll find a job in the future and a few of them might actually work for a football club. There’s no charge for most of the courses we run. We usually charge a small fee for the equipment but we sometimes provide that free as well.’ On Saturday mornings, the mini-soccer centre offers opportunities for local children at the club. ‘There are no competitions. They don’t win or lose. They come in order to have a chance to train at the football club.’

In addition, for the first time in the club’s history, there are now three children’s teams. ‘Since last year, we’ve got under-twelves, under-fourteens, under-sixteens, and also the Academy teams, which contain the best players in the town.’

As well as forming football stars of the future, the club is also trying to encourage younger fans. ‘We hope to attract more of the young kids here, to make them feel part of the club, in order to save them travelling miles to Manchester United or Liverpool every week.’

Tony says the club went through a bad period. ‘A few years ago we nearly lost our team altogether as the club had very little money so we’re making sure that doesn’t happen again. For about fifteen years, the club couldn’t get well-known players since the money wasn’t available. Therefore a lot of local players have played in the first team over the last two years and that’s helped the level of football in the area. So that’s a good thing.’

 

GRAMMAR FOCUS - LINKING WORDS

 

Answer these questions about the text. Begin your answers with because, (in order) to or so (that). Look back at the text if you need to.

  1. Why did Tony go to Ipswich Town? To train to be a professional footballer.

  2. Why did he return home?

  3. Why do players train at the Academy?

  4. Why has Tony developed a programme for teenagers?

  5. Why do children come to the mini-soccer centre?

  6. Why does the club want to attract more young fans?

  7. Why did the club nearly lose its team?

  8. Why couldn’t the club get well-known players in the first team?

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