AD2 – BRITANICO GOLD – READING TASK – MARCH 2021

You are going to read a magazine article about commercial sponsorship. For questions 1-5, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

Business calls the shots

1. According to the first
Many sporting organisations only began to understand how valuable paragraph, the organisers of
commercial sponsorship might be in the last decades of the twentieth sports events
century, when individual players and their agents started finding their own A) were not aware of an
sponsors. The organisers of the famous Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, incredible opportunity
for example, had been paying the sports equipment manufacturer, B) have always made money
Slazenger, to supply balls and equipment since 1902. Slazenger had from sponsorship
been getting hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of free publicity from C) banned the inclusion of
the live television coverage of the event, but the organisers of the tennis advertisements
tournament were getting nothing in return. It was only in the 1970s that D) spent a lot of money on
they realised they could be charging the company for the privilege sponsorship
instead.
Wimbledon began to put its name on a range of merchandise, which it
2. The writer mentions that
sold to fans –including clothing, towels, china and stationery. By 1992,
commercial sponsorship
this new business had an annual turnover of over £30 million. Because of
A) is creating many jobs
their increased overall income, the organisers of the tournament were
nowadays
able to donate millions to the British Lawn Tennis Association and so help
B) has been beneficial to all parts
develop the sport in the country where the tournament is held.
involved
Sporting agents believe that the injection of money and commercialism C) does not have a good effect on
into sport from various sources has helped everybody. Players have viewers
gained financially, with earnings reflecting the true value of their abilities; D) might result in a lot of work for
sports administrators have cashed in on television’s wish to broadcast administrators.
major events; businesses have gained publicity for their products and
found top sports stars willing to promote them, and lastly, the public’s
desire to see top matches and wear a range of sporting goods has been 3. A drawback of this business is
satisfied. that it might
A) be too expensive for small
But there is a downside: much is demanded of the top stars in return for
businesses.
their high earnings. Top tennis players have to play more and more events
B) uninteresting for the audience.
across the world. Three-time Wimbledon winner Boris Becker was
C) exclude older sportspeople.
referring to the top ten players when he said ‘Everyone is badly injured,
D) be exhausting for the tennis
or is having a nervous breakdown.’ Meanwhile, agents are now signing
stars.
up potential stars at even earlier ages –some are as young as ten years
old. Although this may appear harmless, the pressures they face can be
intolerable. Child stars Andrea Jaeger and Tracy Austin were both forced 4. Sponsorships might prevent
out of the game after receiving permanent injuries while still in their teens. some sportspeople from
People also say that sponsors have too much influence on the sport in A) developing professionally
return for their financial backing. A sportswear manufacturer might, say, B) earning more money
insist that a player it sponsors competes in a minor tournament in its home C) being more popular
town instead of showing his talent in a major tournament. Meanwhile, the D) staying in their countries
demands of television often influence sporting events, such as cup finals,
key matches or Olympic events are set to coincide with peak viewing
times or to avoid clashes with popular programmes. In 1994, the football 5. According to the article, people
World Cup was held in the USA because it was the country which offered are not
the organisers the best commercial opportunities, even though it had no A) influenced by advertisements
organised football league, and the game was relatively unknown there. B) happy with commercialization
C) obliged to buy overpriced
goods
But whatever the arguments, commercialization has given many sports a
D) willing to pay too much for a
higher profile. Increased public awareness of sports has, in turn, helped
product
to stimulate demand for certain products. Sometimes, of course, the
public finds that these goods are also the most expensive, so they end up
paying for the sponsorship anyway. But then, as the saying goes, ‘You
pay your money, you take your choice.’