B2_BAS_10

Unit 4 Goals and Ambitions

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Unit 4A Exercise 5

Mark reaches for the sky!

Mark Chan is a hardworking student with a dream. In his free time he loves climbing and he was the first Singaporean to climb in the Youth Olympic Games. His ambition is to climb for Singapore in the next Olympics.

Mark started climbing when he was fourteen years old. His school coach thought he was so good that he introduced him to the Singapore national team. He made the team and that's when he started to push himself.

Mark studies aerospace engineering at college. He says that in Singapore the cost of living is very high, so everyone has to study hard to get a good job. His parents also push him to succeed. It's hard to find time for both school and training. He worries that he won't make the Olympics because he doesn't have enough time to train, but he wants to try.

To do it, Mark trains as much as possible. He races in every climbing competition that he can, and goes to the gym every day after class. He says it's very tiring but that he's "working hard for what I really want." Mark knows that to achieve his goal he has to give 100%. Practice makes perfect, so he often does the same climbing move many times before he gets it right. And he never gives up! Next year, he's moving to the U.K. to train with his coach.

Mark's coach, Ian Dunn, has 40 years of experience and coaches the Great Britain climbing team. He wants to push his climbers and help them succeed. He says that Mark needs to concentrate and "be more confident." He's excited that Mark is going to work with him in the U.K. He thinks Mark's future is "really bright."

Mark plans to train hard. We hope he makes it to the Olympics!

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Multiple Choice

1. Mark is confident that he will go to the Olympics.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

2. Mark studies, then trains every day.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

3. Mark plans to live in the U.K.

• True

• False

Fill in the Blanks

What two things take up most of Mark's time?

Fill in the Blanks

When did Mark first try climbing?