CLOZE［15 MIN.］
Decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks. Mark the correct choice for each blank on your ANSWER SHEET.
The athletic program is expected to bring publicity to the school, attract students, foster student unity, and encourage alumni giving. “The traditional American affinity for sports and___ 26___for education combined to form an unbeatable attraction. Every Saturday, educated sports heroes performed for an appreciative audience. Fanfare, combat, and hope of victory assured public identification and loyalty.” The most conspicuous function of athletic competition is to___27___the image of the institution.
We may want to question the appropriateness of this public relations function. Publicity is not___28___a good thing. If this publicity is scandalous (or even negative), the school has not benefited. There is a university on the banks of the river that sponsors a “Mississippi River Festival” every summer. The “ festival,” for the most part, consists of rock concerts. Unfortunately,___29___ these festivals have been plagued with violence, rape, drunkenness, drug dealing and usage, and automobile accidents, the publicity has to been counter to the kind the festival was designed to produce.___30___athletics, the public is finding out more about the universities than they would wish.
Does athletic fame attract students? Perhaps it does,___31___ it would be a stupid engineering student whochose Georgia Tech over M.I.T.___32___its athletic prowess. Some serious students are “turned off” by a school’s athletic record. Notre Dame,___33___has an excellent academic program, is unjustly viewed by many assimply a sports mill. Does athletic success foster student unity?
Here again, the___34___ is not clear. Often students’ enthusiasm is tepid in comparison with that of alumni and townspeople ___35___when they have difficulty in getting tickets, have to pay ahandsome price, or are relegated to seats in the end zone.Does athletic success___36___public support? Do legislators tend to reward___37___ schools with more generous appropriations? The may have done so in the past, but today, with the closer scrutiny of tax dollars, there are signs that funds will be more ___38___ for activities closer to the heart of the academic mission. What about alumni giving? Certainly alumni will contribute money for athletic purposes in the case of a few successful universities, but the overall record for alumni giving exhibits no such pattern. A careful study of “big-time” schools from1960 to 1976 yielded this conclusion: “Our statistical analysis has revealed that there is simply no relationship between success or___39___in football and basketball and increases and decreases in alumni giving.”“In the final analysis, however, the lack of any relationship between success in athletics and increased alumni giving probably matters a great deal less than the fact___40___so many people believe that such a relationship exists.”
26. A. supportB. considerationC. reverenceD. hesitation
27. A. enhanceB. enlargeC. realizeD. dim
28. A. especiallyB. necessarilyC. exclusively D. definitely
29. A. asB. whenC. so long asD. since
30. A. in view ofB. consideringC. with respect toD. judging
31. A. butB. yetC. soD. because
32. A. with regard toB. because ofC. in spite ofD. except for
33. A. whoB. asC. whichD. when
34. A. matterB. caseC. problemD. question
35. A. hardlyB. especiallyC. perhapsD. outstandingly
36. A. arouseB. ariseC. riseD. heed
37. A. poorB. importantC. prominentD. successful
38. A. valuableB. worthyC. availableD. expensive
39. A. failureB. lossC. defeatD. neglect
40. A. asB. thatC. whichD. why