It’s worth thinking about the incentive a wrestler might have to throw a match. Maybe he accepts a bribe (which would obviously
not be recorded in the data). Or perhaps some other arrangement is made between the two wrestlers. Keep in mind that the pool of elite sumo wrestlers is extraordinarily tight-knit. Each of the sixty-six elite wrestlers fights fifteen of the others in a tournament every two months. Furthermore, each wrestler belongs to a stable that is typically managed by a former sumo champion, so even the rival stables have close ties. Which of the following claims is best supported by the evidence in this excerpt?
a.The offering of a bribe is a guaranteed enticement for a champion sumo wrestler to purposely lose a match in a tournament.
b.The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.
c.Because sumo wrestlers have strong social ties, it is a dishonor to throw a match in a tournament.
d.There is great pressure for sumo wrestlers to cheat in order to beat wrestlers from rival stables.
The correct answer is b.The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive
for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.
If people all know each other, there are various reasons why one could lose a match on purpose for his friend.
Answer: The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.
In this excerpt, the author tells us that sumo wrestlers have extremely close relationships. The pool of elite sumo wrestlers is extraordinarily tight-knit. Moreover, each wrestler belongs to a stable, and stables often have rivalries between them. Therefore, the author argues that the close relationship between sumo wrestlers might be an incentive for a wrestler to throw a match he does not need to win.
