SECTION A: COMPREHENSION

QUESTION 1: READING FOR MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING

Read TEXTS A AND B below and answer the questions set.

TEXT A

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF EXTREME SPORTS:

WHY WE WANT THE THRILL

1 On 14 October 2012, more than 8 million viewers watched one event across
the world, marking the biggest televised event to date. It wasn't a presidential
election, a royal wedding, or an Olympic ceremony; but the mere sight of
extreme daredevil Felix Baumgartner risking his life by jumping from 40
kilometres above the earth. 5

2 Why such a bizarre event attracted millions of us is questionable. Why do

dangerous activities like extreme sports excite us? What motivates us to
participate in them? Why do we want the thrill? There are thousands of
explanations for why we enjoy extreme sports. Going back to our innate needs
and desires, however, the following are arguably some strong explanations of 10
our attraction to risk.

3 Ethnologists1 explain fear as an emotional and bodily response that exists for
the purpose of protecting us from danger. Naturally, fear motivates us to seek
safety so as to survive stressful, life-threatening situations. The fight-or-flight
response depicts this perfectly. For example, walking home late at night, you 15
may hear sudden movements in a bush nearby. Beyond your control, your
body reacts, alerting you that you are in danger. Pumped with adrenaline, you
find yourself ready to run for your life or turn back to fight your enemy. This
natural response makes perfect sense if a person's life is threatened as it
yields survival value. In the case of extreme sports, however, it seems 20
unnatural and irrational to actively seek out that response for no protective
purpose. Why willingly jump off a bridge if you are not being chased?

Perceiving risk positively can yield numerous (even survival) benefits for the
4 individual and the group. The more you expose yourself to a risk, the more
comfortable you become in handling the associated fear. The less time you 25
spend on coping with the fear, the more time you have to make improved
decisions. The more we take risks such as walking across high bridges, the
more positive our emotions become in handling fear and the better our
reactions to them become. Seeking out fear and risk, then, play an important
positive role in the survival of the human race. 30

Most extreme sports, whether skydiving or bungee jumping, have one very
5 significant attribute in common – they are individual sports. In contrast to the
team sports, you are on your own: your survival or death is all on you.
6 Several studies on the personalities of extreme sport participants have 35
revealed certain shared personality traits and attitudes of their participants.
For example, experienced skydivers have been found either to have or to
develop an internal locus2 of control. With an internal locus of control, you
attribute successes and failures to your own controllable actions, rather than
external, uncontrollable events. With this attitude, extreme sports participants 40
are on a mission to test themselves by pushing their limits and independence
to the maximum; but this desire is not exclusive to them.

7 Pushing ourselves past our limits and comfort zone is something each of us
does on a daily basis, whether going above and beyond on the job, or pushing
ourselves to run for five more minutes during a workout. A sense of 45
accomplishment is a major reward factor that comes into play in shaping our
identity, arguably the purpose of life itself! We enjoy being able to say, 'I did it;
I knew I could!' This 'I did it' sense of identity trickles down into other areas of
our lives to make a lasting, rewarding impact. Ask a first-timer how his/her
skydiving experience went, and you might get the response, 'It changed my 50
life.'

8 Taking unbearable risks that put you in direct contact with the face of death
helps people uncover new faiths and beliefs that might not have been so
strong otherwise. After fearful experiences that test your psychological
strength, you might become more open-minded, spiritual and accepting of 55
human mortality, vulnerability and insignificance.

9 Putting yourself at major risk can also help you to understand what truly
matters in life – usually whatever comes to mind during intense moments of
fear. A persistent need for us to make sense of life is the same reason we turn
to religion and other forms of faith. Extreme sports do something very similar 60
for us; participants might actively be seeking out those moments for a
rewarding reality check and a new appreciation of life. With the survival value
of risk and fear, an egotistical need to identity ourselves, and an ever-
encompassing need to understand life, it is no surprise, then, that we are ever-
curious about taking risks. 65

10 Attracting over 8 million people to witness Felix Baumgartner's famous jump,

it will be fascinating to find out what the next limit we push together will be.

[Adapted from www.rivercreations.com]

GLOSSARY:
1Ethnologists: those who study the characteristics of different peoples
2locus: a particular place or position where something is or happens

AND
TEXT B

[Source: www.braininjuryforum.com]

QUESTIONS: TEXT A

1.1 What point is the writer making in lines 2–5: 'It wasn't a presidential … above
the earth.'? (2)

1.2 Explain what you understand by the phrase, 'bizarre event' (line 6). (2)

1.3 Account for the use of the rhetorical questions in lines 6–8: 'Why do
dangerous … want the thrill?' (2)

1.4 Refer to paragraph 3.

Discuss the apparent contradiction in this paragraph. (3)

1.5 How does the repetition of 'more' convey the main idea of paragraph 4? (2)

1.6 Discuss the tone used in lines 33–34: 'In contrast to the team sports, you are
on your own: your survival or death is all on you.' (2)

1.7 Suggest why direct speech is used in paragraph 7. (3)

1.8 Refer to paragraph 8.

Discuss the effects of risk-taking on people. (3)

1.9 Evaluate the effectiveness of the concluding paragraph. (3)

QUESTIONS: TEXT B

1.10 Discuss the impact that the visual image is intended to have on the reader. (2)

1.11 Critically discuss how the language used in this text reinforces its message. (3)

QUESTION: TEXTS A AND B

1.12 In your opinion, is TEXT B relevant to the information provided in TEXT A?

Justify your response. (3)

TOTAL SECTION A: 30