05 06 natural sciences u3b

Module

3B

Be a Sport!

Activities
1Discuss with your classmates: What kind of
addictions can you name?

Health

Sports: Drugs can be Dangerous

Our 17-year-old son dreams of a professional
football career. He dedicates every waking hour
to getting stronger and, it appears to us, simply
becoming more massive. Neither my husband
nor I are very big people and we are increasingly
worried that some of his increase in size and
strength is a result of drugs. He denies using drugs,
but we know that the gym where he goes has a
reputation of dispensing steroids. Please explain
the pros and cons of these drugs. How common is
their use? Should we be concerned about our son’s
health?

March 23

Response:

Many athletes are convinced, and probably for a
good reason, that the drug you have named can
help improve their performance. In some cases,
medical experts agree. But the medical community
warns that these drugs can be dangerous, especially
when taken without medical supervision and in
large doses and varied combinations often used by
athletes and body builders.

Selma,
San Diego, California.

Baseball Addict
Addicted to Baseball
According to Kevin Quirk,
recovered sportsaholic and
the author of the self-help
paperback Not Now, Honey,
I’m Watching the Game,
my husband is addicted
to baseball. This means
that five or six times a year
I accompany him to the
ballpark, though I care nothing
about the San Francisco
Giants and understand few subtleties of the game. I turned
to Quirk’s book for help to make Ed feel bad about his
passion for baseball.
Ed doesn’t collect pennants and programs and display
them in a sports memorabilia room. He didn’t name his

kids after players and dress them in tiny Giants uniforms.
He doesn’t paint his face in team colours. These are
actual behaviours sports addicts admitted to in a survey

conducted by Quirk, who was, for a time, as extreme as any
of them. He once had a heated argument with his wife over
his sports habit while having a look at the living room TV
set to keep up with the game.
Quirk says that although the majority of sports addicts are
men, women are by no means immune to the condition.
He describes a pregnant woman who decided to go to the
game though her contractions were only ten minutes apart.
Quirk’s book presents many theories as to why people
become obsessed with sports. He thinks boys get involved
with sports as a way to bond with fathers. He also thinks
men use sports as an escape, a way of shutting out worries
or making up for what’s missing in their lives.
Ed didn’t buy Quirk’s explanations for why he spends so
much time watching baseball and he says he is not a
baseball addict. Maybe he just loves the game and I just
don’t. There’s no point in going deeper into the subject.
Mary Roach, contributing editor at Health magazine.
Adapted from: www.medicinenet.com

English Toolkit 1 - Natural Sciences

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

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Module

3B
aAccording to Kevin Quirk’s book, Mary’s
husband is...
…addicted to baseball.
…not addicted to baseball.
b The pregnant woman...
...went to the game.
…decided not to go to the game.
cSelma’s son…
…doesn’t like practising sports.
…practises sports all day long.
d Doctors say…
…steroids are not really dangerous.
.…steroids are very dangerous.
e Mary thinks...
…Ed is definitely a baseball addict.
…perhaps Ed just loves sports.

3‘Your best friend is an addict. He tells you his secret’.
What can you do to help him? Give him two pieces of
advice using should and shouldn’t.

4Find information about addictions. Choose one and organise
a campaign at school to inform your classmates about it.

English Toolkit 1 - Natural Sciences

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

2Tick (3) the right option to complete the ideas.