Reading Passage 1: How tennis rackets have changed
In 2016, the British professional tennis player Andy Murray was ranked as the world’s number one. It was an incredible achievement by any standard – made even more remarkable by the fact that he did this during a period considered to be one of the strongest in the sport’s history, competing against the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, to name just a few. Yet five years previously, he had been regarded as a talented outsider who entered but never won the major tournaments.
Of the changes that account for this transformation, one was visible and widely publicised: in 2011, Murray invited former number one player Ivan Lendl onto his coaching team – a valuable addition that had a visible impact on the player’s playing style. Another change was so subtle as to pass more or less unnoticed. Like many players, Murray has long preferred a racket that consists of two types of string: one for the mains (verticals) and another for the crosses (horizontals). While he continued to use natural string in the crosses, in 2012 he switched to a synthetic string for the mains. A small change, perhaps, but its importance should not be underestimated.
The modification that Murray made is just one of a number of options available to players looking to tweak their rackets in order to improve their games. ‘Touring professionals have their rackets customised to their specific needs,’ says Colin Triplow, a UK-based professional racket stringer. ‘It’s a highly important part of performance maximisation.’ Consequently, the specific rackets used by the world’s elite are not actually readily available to the public; rather, each racket is individually made to suit the player who uses it. Take the US professional tennis players Mike and Bob Bryan, for example: ‘We’re very particular with our racket specifications,’ they say. ‘All our rackets are sent from our manufacturer to Tampa, Florida, where our frames go through a . . . thorough customisation process.’ They explain how they have adjusted not only racket length, but even experimented with different kinds of paint. The rackets they use now weigh more than the average model and also have a denser string pattern (i.e. more crosses and mains).
The primary reason for these modifications is simple: as the line between winning and losing becomes thinner and thinner, even these slight changes become more and more important. As a result, players and their teams are becoming increasingly creative with the modifications to their rackets as they look to maximise their competitive advantage.
Racket modifications mainly date back to the 1970s, when the amateur German tennis player Werner Fischer started playing with the so-called spaghetti-strung racket. It created a string bed that generated so much topspin that it was quickly banned by the International Tennis Federation. Today it is, in many ways, an aspect of the game that is equal in significance to nutrition or training.
At one time, all tennis rackets were strung with natural gut made from the outer layer of sheep or cow intestines. This all changed in the early 1990s with the development of synthetic strings. However, much of the serving power of US professional player Pete Sampras was attributed to the addition of four to five lead weights onto his frames. Similarly, the professional Portuguese player Gonçalo Oliveira replaced the original grips of his rackets with something thinner because they had previously felt uncomfortable to hold.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
- People had expected Andy Murray to become the world’s top tennis player for at least five years before 2016.
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Đáp án: FALSE
Giải thích: Bài đọc nói rằng 5 năm trước đó (2011), anh ấy vẫn bị coi là “người ngoài cuộc tài năng… chưa bao giờ thắng giải lớn” (regarded as a talented outsider who entered but never won). Điều này trái ngược với việc mọi người “kỳ vọng anh ấy đứng đầu”. - The change that Andy Murray made to his rackets attracted a lot of attention.
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Đáp án: FALSE
Giải thích: Đoạn 2 nói thay đổi này “so subtle as to pass more or less unnoticed” (quá tinh tế đến mức gần như không ai nhận ra). Trái ngược với “attracted a lot of attention”. - Most of the world’s top players take a professional racket stringer on tour with them.
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Đáp án: NOT GIVEN
Giải thích: Bài đọc có nhắc đến Colin Triplow là một “professional racket stringer” và nói về việc tùy chỉnh vợt, nhưng không có thông tin nào nói rằng hầu hết các vận động viên đều mang người căng vợt đi theo trong các chuyến lưu đấu (take… on tour). - Mike and Bob Bryan use rackets that are light in comparison to the majority of rackets.
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Đáp án: FALSE
Giải thích: Đoạn 3 nói: “The rackets they use now weigh more than the average model” (Vợt họ dùng nặng hơn mẫu trung bình). Trái ngược với “light”. - Werner Fischer played with a spaghetti-strung racket that he designed himself.
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Đáp án: NOT GIVEN
Giải thích: Đoạn 5 nói Werner Fischer “started playing with the so-called spaghetti-strung racket”. Không có thông tin xác nhận liệu ông ấy có tự thiết kế (designed himself) nó hay không. - The weather can affect how professional players adjust the strings on their rackets.
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Đáp án: TRUE
Giải thích: (Lưu ý: Đoạn văn về thời tiết và độ ẩm ảnh hưởng đến dây ruột tự nhiên thường xuất hiện ở đoạn cuối trong bài thi gốc, nhưng đoạn trích này ngầm hiểu ở phần nói về “natural gut”). Trong bài thi đầy đủ, có thông tin về việc dây tự nhiên bị ảnh hưởng bởi độ ẩm/thời tiết. Dựa trên key Cambridge: TRUE. - It was believed that the change Pete Sampras made to his rackets contributed to his strong serve.
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Đáp án: TRUE
Giải thích: Đoạn cuối: “…much of the serving power of US professional player Pete Sampras was attributed to the addition of four to five lead weights…” (Sức mạnh cú giao bóng… được cho là nhờ vào việc thêm chì).
Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
The tennis racket and how it has changed
- Mike and Bob Bryan made changes to the types of (8) used on their racket frames.
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Đáp án: paint
Vị trí: “…experimented with different kinds of paint.” - Players were not allowed to use the spaghetti-strung racket because of the amount of (9) it created.
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Đáp án: topspin
Vị trí: “…generated so much topspin that it was quickly banned…” - Changes to rackets can be regarded as being as important as players’ diets or the (10) they do.
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Đáp án: training
Vị trí: “…equal in significance to nutrition or training.” - All rackets used to have natural strings made from the (11) of animals.
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Đáp án: intestines
Vị trí: “…made from the outer layer of sheep or cow intestines.” - Pete Sampras had metal (12) put into the frames of his rackets.
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Đáp án: weights
Vị trí: “…addition of four to five lead weights onto his frames.” (Lead is a metal). - Gonçalo Oliveira changed the (13) on his racket handles.
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Đáp án: grips
Vị trí: “…replaced the original grips of his rackets…”