I’m Hiroshi Tanaka, an IELTS Reading expert with nine years of teaching experience. My goal is to help learners recognise keywords, understand paraphrases, and build confidence through real Cambridge passages.
Cambridge 19 Reading Test 2 Passage 2 – Athletes and Stress explores how professional sports players react to psychological pressure and physical demands. It explains how stress hormones, anxiety and mental skills affect performance, using the example of tennis star Emma Raducanu to illustrate real stress responses in competitive sport.
Cambridge 19 Reading Test 2 Passage 2
🔹 Questions 14–18 | Matching Information
Task: Identify which paragraph (A–F) contains the information.
Learn how to locate information fast with 👉 Matching Information.
14) D — reference to two chemical compounds which impact on performance
- Keywords: adrenaline, cortisol, performance
- Location: Paragraph D (opening)
- Locator: “both affect the production of adrenaline and cortisol – also known as ‘stress hormones’.”
- Explanation: The paragraph compares how adrenaline and cortisol influence athletic performance.
15) F — examples of strategies for minimising the effects of stress
- Keywords: language, psychologists, visualisation, training
- Location: Paragraph F (whole)
- Locator: “Psychologists can also help athletes … Developing psychological skills, such as visualisation …”
- Explanation: Paragraph F lists practical ways to reduce stress effects, including positive language and visualisation.
16) A — how a sportsperson accounted for their own experience of stress
- Keywords: Emma Raducanu, social media, experience
- Location: Paragraph A (end)
- Locator: “She later attributed it to ‘the accumulation of the excitement and the buzz’.”
- Explanation: Raducanu herself explained her stress response in her social media post.
17) C — study results indicating links between stress responses and performance
- Keywords: research shows, challenge state, threat state
- Location: Paragraph C (mid)
- Locator: “Research shows that challenge states lead to good performance, while threat states lead to poorer performance.”
- Explanation: Clear research evidence connects stress responses to performance quality.
18) F — mention of people who can influence how athletes perceive their stress responses
- Keywords: coaches, parents, language
- Location: Paragraph F (opening)
- Locator: “Positive stress responses can be promoted through the language that they and others – such as coaches or parents – use.”
- Explanation: Shows how others can shape an athlete’s view of stress.
🔹 Questions 19–22 | Sentence Completion (ONE WORD ONLY)
Answers follow the text order. Practise this type with 👉 Sentence Completion.
19) injury
- Keywords: demands, risk of
- Location: Paragraph B (mid)
- Locator: “potential dangers such as injury”
- Explanation: Risk of injury is one example of demands causing stress.
20) serves
- Keywords: cortisol, tennis, performance
- Location: Paragraph D (end)
- Locator: “In tennis players, cortisol has been associated with more unsuccessful serves …”
- Explanation: Cortisol reduces accuracy of tennis serves.
21) excitement
- Keywords: psychologists, positive feeling
- Location: Paragraph F (early)
- Locator: “helping them see a higher heart rate as excitement rather than nerves.”
- Explanation: Athletes can reinterpret stress as excitement.
22) visualisation / visualization
- Keywords: psychological technique, reduce stress
- Location: Paragraph F (mid)
- Locator: “Developing psychological skills, such as visualisation …”
- Explanation: Visualisation helps athletes mentally rehearse success and reduce stress responses.
🔹 Questions 23–24 | Multiple Choice (Choose Two Letters)
Answers: B and D
- B – symptoms of her performance stress
- Locator: Paragraph A (“difficulty regulating her breathing and heart rate”)
- Explanation: Physical symptoms of stress are mentioned.
- D – aspects of the tournament which increased her stress
- Locator: Paragraph C (end) – “larger audience, higher expectations, more skilful opponent.”
- Explanation: Describes factors that intensified her stress at Wimbledon.
🔹 Questions 25–26 | Multiple Choice (Choose Two Letters)
Answers: A and E
- A – factors which determine how severe anxiety may be
- Locator: Paragraph E (mid) – “The intensity … depends on the demands and resources they have.”
- Explanation: Clearly states what influences anxiety levels.
- E – harm if experienced too often
- Locator: Paragraph E (end) – “repeated episodes … can increase risk of heart disease and depression.”
- Explanation: Shows the damage caused by chronic anxiety.
Practice & Further Resources
You’ve completed Cambridge 19 Reading Test 2 Passage 2 – Athletes and Stress!
To master IELTS Reading skills, explore our:
Tips for Success
- Focus on cause-effect connections between stress and performance.
- When matching paragraphs, scan topic sentences first.
- For Sentence Completion, check grammar before choosing a word.
- Learn to recognise positive and negative stress signals in context.
New Vocabulary
Cortisol – a hormone released under stress that can reduce performance. (High cortisol levels made the tennis player more anxious.)
Adrenaline – a chemical that boosts energy and focus in stressful situations. (Adrenaline helped him react faster on court.)
Visualisation – imagining successful performance to prepare mentally. (The runner used visualisation to picture a perfect race.)
Anxiety – nervous feeling that affects mind and body under pressure. (Too much anxiety reduced her concentration.)
Challenge state – positive stress response leading to better performance. (He entered a challenge state and played his best match.)
Threat state – negative stress response causing poor performance. (Her threat state made her tense and error-prone.)
Expand your IELTS lexicon at 👉 IELTS Vocabulary in Context.
FAQ
Q1. What is the main focus of this passage?
It explains how athletes experience stress and how psychological factors influence performance.
Q2. What are ‘challenge’ and ‘threat’ states?
Challenge = positive response → better performance; Threat = negative response → weaker performance.
Q3. How can athletes reduce negative stress?
By reframing nerves as excitement and using techniques like visualisation.
Q4. Why is Emma Raducanu mentioned?
She illustrates how pressure and expectations can trigger stress in elite athletes.
External References
For authentic IELTS information and official practice materials, visit the British Council, IDP IELTS, and IELTS.org – the organisations that jointly manage the exam worldwide. To enhance your learning with structured online courses, explore expert-led IELTS Preparation Courses on Course Line, designed to improve reading, listening, writing, and speaking skills for higher band scores.
Final Thoughts
The Cambridge 19 Reading Test 2 Passage 2 – Athletes and Stress passage connects science and sport to show how our minds shape performance. Recognising stress types and applying mental techniques like visualisation can transform pressure into power. Continue with Cambridge 19 Reading Test 2 Passage 3 – An Inquiry into the Existence of the Gifted Child.
One Response