Performance Enhancing Drugs: Reading Practice 3 (discussion)

By | December 9, 2017

Athletes use performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) such as steroids for various purposes. Some may use them for improved physical performance or alertness, while others like bodybuilders and celebrities may use them to increase muscle mass and for appearance purposes.

The use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports has been a controversial issue. With the pressure to out-perform themselves and one another (to maintain not only the adoration of their fans but also keep those large paychecks coming), athletes are often desperate to enhance their performance and gain an edge. The question is, should PEDs be accepted in sports?

Proponents of accepting performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports argue that their harmful health effects have been overstated, that health risks are an athlete’s decision to make, that using drugs is part of the evolution of sports much like improved training techniques and new technologies, and that efforts to keep athletes from using PEDs are overzealous, unproductive, unfairly administered, and bound to fail.

Opponents argue that PEDs are harmful and potentially fatal, and that athletes who use them are cheaters who gain an unfair advantage, violate the spirit of competition, and send the wrong message to children. They say PED users unfairly diminish the historic achievements of clean athletes, and that efforts to stop PED use in sports should remain strong.

1. The text mainly discusses … .
A. whether PEDs should be legalized or not
B. why PEDs should be consumed by athletes
C. whether PEDs should be allowed in sports
D. how PEDs affect athletes’ performance
E. the fact that PEDs can really harm health

2. We can conclude that athletes use PEDs because … .
A. they desperately want to beat their opponents
B. they don’t want to feel the pain in the game
C. they believe PEDs are safe enough to consume
D. they want to makke their fans happy
E. they want to get more and more money

3. The word some refers to … .
A. purposes
B. steroids
C. drugs
D. athletes
E. bodybuilders

4. From paragraph 2 we can conclude that the pressure to win that athletes experience comes from … .
A. their own ego to be number one
B. their fanatic fans who adore them
C. their desire to maintain income
D. their need to satisfy their ego
E. their family, friends, and fans

5. Those who support believe that PEDs … .
A. do not affect ahtletes’ health
B. can be used and consumed moderately
C. are not harmful for health at all
D. are not as harmful as people think
E. should not be used in sports

6. The proponents believe that ahtletes should be allowed to use PEDs because they believe that banning them is … .
A. fair
B. useless
C. not right
D. careless
E. proper

7. Those who oppose the use of PEDs in sports believe that athletes … .
A. have stopped using them
B. respect the spirit of competition
C. do not have health problems
D. have the right to use them
E. should play a fair game

8. The word violate in the last paragraph means … .
A. disobey
B. offend
C. ignore
D. follow
E. overlook

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