Read the passage given below.
1. Sport has rapidly become an established part of entertainment industry and the smallest detail of a sportsman’s private life is exposed by the media to public scrutiny. Top professionals are often described as ‘stars’ and large business interests exploit their skills. Considerable profits are made out of selling sports gear which is a replica of the gear used by the professionals; newspapers sell more copies if their sports coverage is good, and substantial gains can be made out of the spectators’ willingness to gamble on results. The increasing demand for new talented sportsmen serves to strengthen the popular image of professional sport as a highly glamorous occupation.
2. A handful of top professionals can afford a house in London, another in the country, and a third one on the French Riviera, as well as a Rolls Royce and a yacht in the Bahamas, but most professional players just manage to get a bare living from their sport. Outdoor life can be delightful except when the prevalent weather conditions are rain, wind, snow, fog or ice. It’s flattering to hear one’s name chanted with acclaim by thousands on the terraces, but crowds are fickle and soon forget once time takes its toll on muscle and mind. Sportsmen at the height of their professional life travel all around the world, but their own social lives are disrupted and leisure hours have to be sacrificed to hard, exhausting practice. All professional sportsmen must adhere to strict training schedules to maintain their physical fitness; their lives are devoted to keeping the body in peak condition by exhausting exercise combined with a strict regime of self-discipline and moderation in food and drink.
3. Retirement comes at an early age and the financial rewards gained will probably not
provide enough to live on for the rest of the life and the early-retired sportsman has to seek a new career. He enters the new career fifteen years later than his contemporaries and often with not enough reputation in his sport to persuade an employer to pay him a high salary. Perhaps, after all, it is better to remain a keen amateur. (355 words)
2.1. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer any four of the following
questions in 30-40 words each.
(i) In what ways do large business interests exploit sportsmen’s skills?
(ii) What is the popular image of professional sport? How does the media help to keep up this image?
(iii) What is the attitude of the crowd towards sportsmen?
(iv) What sacrifices do sportsmen make in their careers?
Answers
Answer:
1.) Top professionals are often described as ' stars ' and large business interests exploit their skills .
2.) The increasing demand for new talented sportsmen serves to strengthen the popular image of professional sport as a highly glamorous occupation . Sport has rapidly become an established part of entertainment industry and the smallest detail of a sportsman’s private life is exposed by the media to public scrutiny .
3.) It’s flattering to hear one’s name chanted with acclaim by thousands on the terraces, but crowds are fickle and soon forget once time takes its toll on muscle and mind.
4.) He enters the new career fifteen years later than his contemporaries and often with not enough reputation in his sport to persuade an employer to pay him a high salary. Perhaps, after all, it is better to remain a keen amateur.
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