BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES
Published by Grabaword.com on 23/08/2016
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OLYMPIC MEDAL COST (0:26 - 4:04)
This report looks at the issue of funding Olympic athletes and whether spending more money always
translates into bigger medal hauls.
Focus Questions
 Where have the last 5 Olympic Games been held?
 For each Olympic medal won by Australian athletes, how much do you think it costs in government
funding?
 In the four years leading up to the Rio Olympics, the Australian government spent $340 million
dollars on Olympic athletes. Why do some governments allocate a lot of funding to Olympic athletes?
What are the funds used for? Does an increase in funding normally mean more medals won?
 Should governments be spending large sums of money on Olympic athletes?
 Some countries, even those that are very successful, don’t have any government funds going to
Olympic athletes. Where would they get money from?
 In which Olympic sports does Australia normally do well in?
Listening A
First watch the report and answer the questions below

For each Olympic medal won by Australian athletes, how much did it cost in government funding?
………………………………................................….....

Since the Sydney Olympics in 2000, what has been the highest position that Australia has finished in
the medal tally and at which Olympics? ………………………………................................….....

What was the target for Rio? ………………………………................................….....

Which country doesn’t fund its Olympic athletes? ………………………………................................…...........
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES
Published by Grabaword.com on 23/08/2016
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Listening B
Before watching the report again, try to answer the questions
1. How did the Australian athletes perform at the Rio Olympics?
a. Below expectations
b. Average
c. Above expectations
2. When it comes to the number of medals won, Australia has been in the top 10 for each Olympic
Games since Sydney 2000. T / F
3. The Australian Sports Commission was not happy with the results at the London Olympics so funding
for athletes competing in Rio was cut. T / F
4. Where did Australia finish on the medal tally at Rio? ………………………………................................….....
5. Where do American Olympic athletes get their money from? ………………………………................................….....
6. At the end of the report, some school kids are asked whether they think Olympic athletes should
receive a lot of money from the government. What is their response?
a. All agree they should
b. All agree they shouldn’t
c. Some agree they should, others say they shouldn’t
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES
Published by Grabaword.com on 23/08/2016
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Vocabulary
Match the words with the closest definition or synonym
A
B
C
D
E
add up to
as a whole, total
automatically, definitely
draw near, get closer to
familiar with, accustomed
follow, chase
goal, objective
introduce, start
obtain, take
precede, approach
result in, bring about
score, amount
lead up to (v)
lead to (v)
amount to (v)
used to seeing (adj)
Olympic medal tally
(n)
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
launch a new plan (v)
set a target (n)
overall (adj)
not necessarily (adv)
draw from (v)
catch up to (v)
pursue a job (v)
Use words from the table to complete the sentences – you may have to change the form of the word
lead up
tally
necessarily
lead
launch
draw
amount to
target
catch up
used to
overall
pursue
1. Although she didn’t win a medal, the cyclist said she was very pleased to have met her
………………………………................................…of finishing in the top ten at her first Olympics.
2. Although the swimmer admitted she wasn’t favourite to win the race, she said she had a lot of
experience to ……………………….........…on and she was confident of being able to achieve a good result.
3. Although Usain Bolt holds the world record for the 100 meter sprint, it doesn’t………………........… mean
he is the fastest runner of all time. Someone could have run faster without the time being recorded.
4. The athlete said she had felt sick with nerves in the ………………………………................................…to the final
and couldn’t believe she had won.
5. The basketball team were disappointed they had lost in the semi-finals but their coach said that
………………………………................................…the players had performed above expectations during the
competition and they should be happy with the result.
6. The cyclist had a crash at the start of the race but was able to ………………………………................................…to
the leading group before the last lap and amazingly went on to win.
7. The government ………………………………................................…a new advertising campaign to encourage
children to do more sport and exercise.
8. The man’s parents kept a ………………………………................................…of how many tennis matches he had
won and lost since he began playing competitively as a 12 year old.
9. The professional athlete had been travelling around the world competing in international competitions
since he was 16 years old and was very ………………………………................................…staying in hotel rooms.
10. The talented teenager moved to Europe with his parents to ………………………………................................…his
dream of becoming a professional racing car driver.
11. The TV station said its broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games had ………………………………..............…to
a huge increase in its viewing audience last month.
12. When questioned by a journalist about the cost of hosting the sports event, the sports minister said
the figure quoted was wrong and government spending ………………………………................................…less than
$50 million with most of the money coming from sponsorship.
BTN FEATURE STORY ACTIVITIES
Published by Grabaword.com on 23/08/2016
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Answers




around $12 million
4th
Top 5
the US
add up to
as a whole, total
automatically, definitely
draw near, get closer to
familiar with, accustomed
follow, chase
goal, objective
introduce, start
obtain, take
precede, approach
result in, bring about
score, amount
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Below expectations
T
F
Tenth
sponsorship and donations
Some agree they should, others say they
shouldn’t
amount to
overall
necessarily
catch up
used to
pursue
target
launch
draw
lead up
lead
tally
1. Although she didn’t win a medal, the cyclist said she was very pleased to have met her target of
finishing in the top ten at her first Olympics.
2. Although the swimmer admitted she wasn’t favourite to win the race, she said she had a lot of
experience to draw on and she was confident of being able to achieve a good result.
3. Although Usain Bolt holds the world record for the 100 meter sprint, it doesn’t necessarily mean he
is the fastest runner of all time. Someone could have run faster without the time being recorded.
4. The athlete said she had felt sick with nerves in the lead up to the final and couldn’t believe she had
won.
5. The basketball team were disappointed they had lost in the semi-finals but their coach said that
overall the players had performed above expectations during the competition and they should be
happy with the result.
6. The cyclist had a crash at the start of the race but was able to catch up to the leading group before
the last lap and amazingly went on to win.
7. The government launched a new advertising campaign to encourage children to do more sport and
exercise.
8. The man’s parents kept a tally of how many tennis matches he had won and lost since he began
playing competitively as a 12 year old.
9. The professional athlete had been travelling around the world competing in international competitions
since he was 16 years old and was very used to staying in hotel rooms.
10. The talented teenager moved to Europe with his parents to pursue his dream of becoming a
professional racing car driver.
11. The TV station said its broadcast coverage of the Olympic Games had led to a huge increase in its
viewing audience last month.
12. When questioned by a journalist about the cost of hosting the sports event, the sports minister said
the figure quoted was wrong and government spending amounted to less than $50 million with most
of the money coming from sponsorship.