Ejercicio Text 2 - Exercise 1 · Inglés PAU Extremadura Ordinaria 2022

Reading comprehension: Text 2

Trans Swimmer Revives an Old Debate in Elite Sports: What Defines a Woman?

For nearly a century, certain elite athletes have been subject to hormonal testing to compete in women's events. At the Ivy League women's swimming championships this week, many eyes in the crowd will be fixed on Lia Thomas, a star of the University of Pennsylvania team. In recent months, Thomas has made headlines not only for her speed, but also for her gender identity. In 2019, while competing on the men's team, Thomas began to medically transition, taking testosterone blockers and estrogen. Although her swim times slowed considerably, she's still a regular winner in several women's events, raising questions about the role of testosterone in athletic performance.

Some have asked for her to be separated from ordinary competition, arguing that her body went through changes during puberty that gave her an unfair advantage. But others have expressed the opinion that there's no justification for excluding transgender athletes like her.

These complicated questions over the nature of athleticism are not new in women's sports. They have come up many times over the past century, typically when an athlete deemed too masculine started to win. Sports authorities have relied on medical tests — whether anatomical, chromosomal or hormonal — to determine eligibility in women's categories, while requiring no analogous tests for men. But in the world of elite physical performance, where the limits of biology are stretched, science has never provided straight answers.

“Trans women, in general, aren't winning in all sports,” said Dr. James Barrett, the director of the Adult Gender Identity Clinic in London. “It's not obvious that there's necessarily an advantage at all.” “In the end, it's about how we think about who is a woman, right?” said Katrina Karkazis, an anthropologist at Amherst College.

Adapted from www.nytimes.com

EXERCISE 1

Answer 3 of the following 4 questions, providing evidence from the text (maximum 1 point each):

a)

According to the text, is the following statement true or false?

“Lia Thomas can't swim as fast as she did before transitioning.”

b)

Does the author say that everybody agrees that trans women should be excluded from women's competitions?

c)

According to the text, are men subjected to medical tests in order to compete in men's categories?

d)

According to the text, is the following statement true or false?

“It is clear that trans women have an advantage in all sports.”