Starting a sport later in life

Part 7 – Multiple Matching

Questions 43–52

You are going to read an article in which four people talk about starting a sport later in life.

For questions 43–52, choose from the people (A–D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Which person...

43. mentions feeling physically unprepared at the beginning?

44. says another person influenced their decision to start?

45. describes becoming more confident over time?

46. mentions difficulty managing time?

47. refers to enjoying training with other people?

48. says their expectations were different from reality?

49. mentions an initial fear of embarrassment

50. says they had experience of the sport in the past?

51. refers to progress being slower than expected?

52. mentions continuing mainly for personal enjoyment?

Starting a sport later in life

A – Daniel

I decided to take up running after a colleague suggested it. At first, I could barely run for five minutes without stopping, which made me realise how unfit I actually was. I had expected it to be much easier. However, I gradually improved, and now I can run much longer distances. These days, I mainly continue because I genuinely enjoy it.

B – Sofia

Joining a tennis club was something I had considered for years, but I always felt too embarrassed to try. Everyone else seemed so experienced. Eventually, I decided to go anyway, and I was surprised by how supportive people were. Over time, I became more confident, and now I really enjoy practising with others.

C – Marcus

I used to play basketball when I was younger, so returning to it as an adult felt like a natural choice. However, I hadn’t realised how much the game had changed or how long it would take me to improve again. Progress has definitely been slower than I expected, but I still find it motivating.

D – Elena

For me, the biggest difficulty has been finding time to train regularly. Between work and family responsibilities, it’s not always easy to keep a routine. Still, I try to practise a few times a week, even if it’s only for a short time. I didn’t expect it to be so hard to organise my schedule around it.