1. [Multiple choice]

The person who wrote the letter which prompted this reply considers the only swimming stroke worth learning to do is

(He suggested freestyle as the only stroke worth learning to swim. Freestyle means the swimming style in a competition is unregulated – it could be any of the strokes mentioned in the question – or the sidestroke, the front crawl or dog paddle. Almost invariably competitors choose to swim the front crawl, as it is a fast stroke. For this reason, the term freestyle is often used to mean the front crawl.)

Answers for Quiz [1].

• 1. the breaststroke.
• 2. the sidestroke.
• 3. the backstroke.
• 4. the butterfly.
• 5. none of the above.
  (correct)

2. [Multiple choice]

The original letter was published

Answers for Quiz [2].

• 1. in August.
• 2. on a Thursday.
• 3. on September the fifth.
• 4. on a Monday.
• 5. in September. (correct)

3. [Multiple choice]

Joy Flynn is

(- although she could be any of them! She merely writes explaining a point she understands which the writer of a letter has clearly been unaware of. She does not mention how or why she knows this information.)

Answers for Quiz [3].

• 1. a swimmer.
• 2. a swimming instructor.
• 3. a non-swimmer.
• 4. a strong swimmer.
• 5. neither a swimmer nor an instructor.
• 6. a member of a team of life-savers on a beach.
• 7. none of these. (correct)

4. [Multiple choice]

Joy Flynn maintains that if Stephen Mallinson had been better informed about trying to rescue people at sea he

(There is no suggestion that the man who wrote the original letter had been involved in any form of rescue at sea. Notice the use of the 3rd conditional in this question!)

Answers for Quiz [4].

• 1. would not have written his letter.
• 2. would not have suggested certain swimming strokes were useless. (correct)
• 3. would have been grateful he was rescued by someone who could swim several styles of swimming stroke.
• 4. would have enrolled on swimming classes at his local pool.

5. [Multiple choice]

When would the backstroke be used in a sea rescue?

Answers for Quiz [5].

• 1. when pulling the victim back to shore. (correct)
• 2. when trying to reach a person in difficulty some distance away from the shore.
• 3. when swimming in rough seas.
• 4. if you’d lost your goggles.

6. [Multiple choice]

Which stroke is used for the sake of speed?

(Freestyle usually means front crawl, and is often used instead of the term ‘front crawl’.)

Answers for Quiz [6].

• 1. Dog paddle
• 2. Backstroke
• 3. Freestyle (front crawl) (correct)
• 4. Breaststroke
• 5. Butterfly

7. [Multiple choice]

Which stroke is at its most useful when a swimmer needs to spend time swimming round a person being rescued at sea?

Answers for Quiz [7].

• 1. Backstroke
• 2. Breaststroke
  (correct)
• 3. Sidestroke
• 4. The crawl
• 5. The butterfly

8. [Multiple choice]

How would a swimmer rise above waves?

Answers for Quiz [8].

• 1. by borrowing a surfboard.
• 2. by doing the backstroke.
• 3. by swimming backwards.
• 4. by doing the butterfly. (correct)
• 5. by doing the back crawl.

9. [Multiple choice]

What is the word Joy Flynn used meaning ‘dragged?

Answers for Quiz [9].

• 1. moved
• 2. pulled
• 3. hauled (correct)
• 4. rescued
• 5. carried

10. [Multiple choice]

This letter is in response to

(At the start of the recording there is a reference to a ‘letter’. When writing to a newspaper as a reader you always refer to the letter or article which has prompted your letter, and you also give the date of that letter or article. It is also a requirement that you give your full name and your address. This means you must identify yourself – you can’t just write in and say anything you like without saying who you are! However, you can ask for this information to be ‘withheld’ if it is sensitive or rather private. In this case the editor puts ‘Name and address withheld’.)

Answers for Quiz [10].

• 1. an article written by a journalist.
• 2. a reader who has written in to the editor. (correct)
• 3. a column which has expressed an editorial stand on a matter.