What marathon training may do to the body, examined through one reporter’s preparation

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s central aim?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To compare three marathon courses
   2. To examine training’s bodily effects beyond visible performance
   3. To promote a particular medical test
   4. To explain how marathon races are organized
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To examine training’s bodily effects beyond visible performance

   It examines hidden bodily effects through testing before a marathon.

   By combining exercise with clinical evaluation, it asks what conventional measures of athletic progress may overlook—and what the body might reveal before the starting line.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “that process” refer to in the second paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The organization of the marathon
   2. The completion of medical paperwork
   3. The body’s adaptation to repeated training stress
   4. The improvement of running speed
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The body’s adaptation to repeated training stress

   The phrase refers to the body’s response to sustained training demands.

   Before running the New York City Marathon, NPR reporter Elissa Nadworny sets out to examine that process through medical testing.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article qualify the interpretation of blood work?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Blood work cannot measure internal conditions
   2. Its meaning depends on tests and medical context
   3. It is less reliable than a bone scan
   4. It only applies to professional athletes
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Its meaning depends on tests and medical context

   Results require contextual interpretation rather than isolated conclusions.

   Blood work can provide information about elements of the body’s internal state, although the meaning of any result depends on the specific tests performed and the wider medical context.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the fourth paragraph establish?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Training benefits and risks can coexist
   2. Long runs are always medically dangerous
   3. Nutrition matters more than exercise
   4. Recovery eliminates every training risk
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Training benefits and risks can coexist

   It presents training as productive yet potentially problematic when poorly managed.

   The same routine that builds capacity can also expose weaknesses when intensity, recovery, nutrition, or other factors are poorly balanced.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “Taken together” signal?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. A chronological reversal
   2. A contrast between two athletes
   3. A cumulative interpretation
   4. A rejection of medical evidence
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   A cumulative interpretation

   The phrase marks a synthesis of the tests’ combined implications.

   Taken together, these examinations shift the focus from the race itself to the demands of preparing for it.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which assumption does the article explicitly reject?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Medical tests can reveal bodily responses
   2. Marathon preparation involves repeated stress
   3. Endurance training is automatically damaging
   4. Training requires recovery between sessions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Endurance training is automatically damaging

   The article denies that endurance training is inherently harmful.

   That does not mean endurance training is inherently damaging.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why is the investigation described as “personal and broadly relevant”?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It concerns one athlete while applying to many
   2. It compares private and public races
   3. It was conducted by several reporters
   4. It addresses individual medical diagnoses
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It concerns one athlete while applying to many

   It begins with one runner’s concern but addresses a wider training question.

   She undergoes a bone scan, blood work, and a treadmill test, using several forms of assessment to investigate a question that is both personal and broadly relevant: can marathon training be bad for the body?

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronological race-day narration
   2. Problem, evidence, synthesis, and qualification
   3. Personal memoir followed by historical background
   4. Test results followed by unrelated recommendations
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Problem, evidence, synthesis, and qualification

   It moves from visible metrics to testing, interpretation, and a qualified conclusion.

   Each test offers a different perspective.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.