Answer — Exercise 7

The writer would agree with 1, 5 and 8:

• 1 → people who are physically fit are, on average, happier. In fact, the British health service has recently experimented with giving people suffering from mild depression a course of exercise ...
• 5 → It’s simply out of boredom – something which sport can often replace ... showing children the importance of rules and moral choices.
• 8 → what we remember are things like Usain Bolt smashing the world 100-metre record in Beijing

The writer would disagree with 2–4 and 6–7:

• 2 → non-competitive games ... are dull and pointless for children ... life is simply not like that. Competitive sport teaches us to cope with losing and disappointments.
• 3 → these aren’t necessarily all bad things – reading in particular brings many benefits
• 4 → Playing sports helps to build relationships and teaches the importance of supporting each other whether you win or lose.
• 6 → the rules are the sport and you know if everyone starts cheating, the game falls apart and stops being fun. ... cheats are looked down on or excluded.
• 7 → No-one looks back at the end of their life and says, ‘I should’ve worked more. I could’ve bought a better car’ or ‘I’ll never forget that time my kids watched TV’. ... we’re more likely to think ‘I should’ve played with my kids more’ and ‘I wish I’d done more sport’.