CEPT Practice C1 level short reading about a review of a new book

 

William Skidelsky reviews David Papineau’s new book, in which sport meets philosophy.

David Papineau is an eminent philosopher and a passionate lover of sport. For much of his life, he has kept the two spheres separate, fearing that to mix them would produce a double negative in his readers’ appreciation of his work: philosophy robbed of its seriousness and sport of its excitement. Then, in 2012, a colleague invited him to contribute to a lecture series titled ‘Philosophy and Sport’, organised to coincide with that year’s Olympics. ‘I couldn’t really refuse’, Papineau recalls. ‘I had an extensive knowledge of both philosophy and sport. If I wasn’t going to say yes, who would?’

The reviewer suggests that Papineau

A was in two minds whether to take on the lectures on sport and philosophy.

B thought no one was better qualified than him to combine sport and philosophy.

C was disappointed with previous attempts to unite sport and philosophy.

D thought that philosophy was of greater value to people’s lives than sport.

c

h

e

c

k

y

o

u

r

a

n

s

w

e

r

The correct answer is letter B.