Examen FP Grado Superior 2012 - Green Gyms

We all know what a gym is: every month you pay money, you exercise indoors with machines, usually on your own. You become fitter …but then often, especially by this time of the year, you abandon the whole thing! A Green Gym is different: it is free. In a Green Gym, a group of people work together outdoors, in a green space, to improve the environment, to increase biodiversity.

Green Gyms work in parks and forests, in abandoned and forgotten spaces, in schools and in prisons. In London, residents and visitors can participate in Green Gym activities most days of the week. For tourists, this is a great way to meet real Londoners and to discover the city in a different way.

The Green Gym was the idea of an English doctor, William Bird. About 12 years ago, Dr. Bird realised the benefits of working outdoors for his patients. It helped combat excess weight, diabetes and depression, for example. Working outside is stimulating and is good for stress levels. The colour green has a calming effect. Activity in nature reduces stress and diminishes blood pressure. Working with other people, growing and creating things is also good for people’s confidence.

The Green Gym idea certainly came at the right time. Physical inactivity costs the UK economy billions of pounds a year. Obesity figures are the highest in the European Union; nearly a quarter of British adults are officially obese. Mental health problems affect one in four people at some point in their lives.

A Green Gym group consists of a variety of individuals who come for different reasons: to lose weight, to learn new skills, to meet new people and to make a difference. Green Gyms are forming all over the country, and the concept is being exported to other countries like Australia.

 (adapted article from SPEAK UP 312)

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Read the instructions for each question carefully before answering (Total score: 10 points)

1. Answer the following questions. Give complete answers. (1 point each = 2 points)

• a) What are two differences between a Green Gym and a conventional gym?
• b) Which physical health problem is very important in the UK? How can the Green Gym idea help?

2. Underline the best option (0.5 points each = 1 point)

a) People can join a Green Gym to…

• 1. increase stress levels
• 2. to get a job as a gardener.
• 3. to exercise in a different way.

b) The Green Gym idea…

• 1. can improve health problems which are seriously affecting the UK.
• 2. can increase the number of tourists visiting London.
• 3. both 1 and 2.

3. Are the following sentences true or false? Underline the correct option (0.5 points each = 1 point)

• a) Both people and the environment benefit from a Green Gym experience. True False
• b) Dr. Bird found his patients became healthier if they worked outdoors. True False

4. Find a word or phrase in the text which means: (0.5 points each = 1 point)

• a) not remembered: 
• b) to become thinner:

5. Choose one of the following topics and write a text 60-80 words long (5 points)

• a) What can you do in your daily life to protect the environment?
• b) Do you have a healthy lifestyle?

ANSWER KEY

 

1. Possible answers:
a) You have to pay to go to a conventional gym but Green Gyms are free.
b) In a conventional gym you exercise indoors with machines but in a Green Gym you exercise outdoors.
c) In a Green gym you improve the environment but in a conventional gym, you don’t
Obesity is an important health problem in the UK and Green Gyms can help people lose weight.

2.
a) 3. to exercise in a different way.
b) 1. can improve health problems which are seriously affecting the UK.

3.
a) Both people and the environment benefit from a Green Gym experience. True
b) Dr. Bird found his patients became healthier if they worked outdoors. True

4.
a) not remembered = forgotten b) to become thinner = to lose weight


+EXÁMENES RESUELTOS