The use of ventilation shafts failed to prevent pollution in the tunnels.  10

Test 1
20
READING PASSAGE 2
You should spend about 20 minutes on 
Questions 14–26, which are based on Reading 
Passage 2 below.
Stadiums: past, present and future
A Stadiums are among the oldest forms of urban architecture: vast stadiums where the public 
could watch sporting events were at the centre of western city life as far back as the ancient 
Greek and Roman Empires, well before the construction of the great medieval cathedrals and
the grand 19th- and 20th-century railway stations which dominated urban skylines in later eras.
Today, however, stadiums are regarded with growing scepticism. Construction costs can soar 
above £1 billion, and stadiums finished for major events such as the Olympic Games or the 
FIFA World Cup have notably fallen into disuse and disrepair. 
But this need not be the case. History shows that stadiums can drive urban development and 
adapt to the culture of every age. Even today, architects and planners are finding new ways 
to adapt the mono-functional sports arenas which became emblematic of modernisation 
during the 20th century.
B The amphitheatre* of Arles in southwest France, with a capacity of 25,000 spectators,
is perhaps the best example of just how versatile stadiums can be. Built by the Romans in
90 AD, it became a fortress with four towers after the fifth century, and was then 
transformed into a village containing more than 200 houses. With the growing interest in 
conservation during the 19th century, it was converted back into an arena for the staging of 
bullfights, thereby returning the structure to its original use as a venue for public spectacles.
Another example is the imposing arena of Verona in northern Italy, with space for 30,000 
spectators, which was built 60 years before the Arles amphitheatre and 40 years before 
Rome’s famous Colosseum. It has endured the centuries and is currently considered one of 
the world’s prime sites for opera, thanks to its outstanding acoustics.
C The area in the centre of the Italian town of Lucca, known as the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, 
is yet another impressive example of an amphitheatre becoming absorbed into the fabric 
of the city. The site evolved in a similar way to Arles and was progressively filled with 
buildings from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, variously used as houses, a salt depot 
and a prison. But rather than reverting to an arena, it became a market square, designed 
by Romanticist architect Lorenzo Nottolini. Today, the ruins of the amphitheatre remain 
embedded in the various shops and residences surrounding the public square.
D There are many similarities between modern stadiums and the ancient amphitheatres 
intended for games. But some of the flexibility was lost at the beginning of the 20th century, 
as stadiums were developed using new products such as steel and reinforced concrete, and 
made use of bright lights for night-time matches.
* amphitheatre: (especially in Greek and Roman architecture) an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of 
seats for spectators, for the presentation of dramatic or sporting events
Izone.edu.vn

Reading
21
Many such stadiums are situated in suburban areas, designed for sporting use only and 
surrounded by parking lots. These factors mean that they may not be as accessible to the 
general public, require more energy to run and contribute to urban heat.
E But many of today’s most innovative architects see scope for the stadium to help improve the 
city. Among the current strategies, two seem to be having particular success: the stadium as 
an urban hub, and as a power plant.
There’s a growing trend for stadiums to be equipped with public spaces and services that 
serve a function beyond sport, such as hotels, retail outlets, conference centres, restaurants 
and bars, children’s playgrounds and green space. Creating mixed-use developments such as 
this reinforces compactness and multi-functionality, making more efficient use of land and 
helping to regenerate urban spaces. 
This opens the space up to families and a wider cross-section of society, instead of catering 
only to sportspeople and supporters. There have been many examples of this in the UK: the 
mixed-use facilities at Wembley and Old Trafford have become a blueprint for many other 
stadiums in the world.
F The phenomenon of stadiums as power stations has arisen from the idea that energy 
problems can be overcome by integrating interconnected buildings by means of a smart grid, 
which is an electricity supply network that uses digital communications technology to detect 
and react to local changes in usage, without significant energy losses. Stadiums are ideal 
for these purposes, because their canopies have a large surface area for fitting photovoltaic 
panels and rise high enough (more than 40 metres) to make use of micro wind turbines.
Freiburg Mage Solar Stadium in Germany is the first of a new wave of stadiums as power 
plants, which also includes the Amsterdam Arena and the Kaohsiung Stadium. The latter, 
inaugurated in 2009, has 8,844 photovoltaic panels producing up to 1.14 GWh of electricity 
annually. This reduces the annual output of carbon dioxide by 660 tons and supplies up 
to 80 percent of the surrounding area when the stadium is not in use. This is proof that a 
stadium can serve its city, and have a decidedly positive impact in terms of reduction of CO
2
emissions.
G Sporting arenas have always been central to the life and culture of cities. In every era, the 
stadium has acquired new value and uses: from military fortress to residential village, public 
space to theatre and most recently a field for experimentation in advanced engineering. 
The stadium of today now brings together multiple functions, thus helping cities to create a 
sustainable future.
Izone.edu.vn

Test 1
22
Questions 14–17
Reading Passage 2 has seven sections, 

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