Question

Read this excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. The incentive scheme that rules sumo is intricate and extraordinarily powerful. Each wrestler maintains a ranking that affects every slice of life; how much money he makes, how large an entourage he carries, how much he gets to eat, sleep, and otherwise take advantage of his success. The sixty-six highest-ranked wrestlers in Japan, comprising the makuuchi and juryo divisions, make up the sumo elite. A wrestler near the top of this elite pyramid may earn millions and is treated like royalty. Any wrestler in the top forty earns at least $170,000 a year. The seventieth-ranked wrestler in Japan, meanwhile, earns only $15,000 a year. Life isn’t very sweet outside the elite. Low-ranked wrestlers must tend to their superiors, preparing their meals and cleaning their quarters and even soaping up their hardest-to-reach body parts. So ranking is everything. A wrestler’s ranking is based on his performance in the elite tournaments that are held six times a year. Each wrestler has fifteen bouts per tournament, one per day over fifteen consecutive days. If he finishes the tournament with a winning record (eight victories or better), his ranking will rise. If he has a losing record, his ranking falls. If it falls far enough, he is booted from the elite rank entirely. The eighth victory in any tournament is therefore critical, the difference between promotion and demotion; it is roughly four times as valuable in the rankings as the typical victory. Based on the excerpt, which statement provides the best example of incentive for a sumo wrestler to cheat? Sumo wrestling is revered in a way that American sports can never be. A sumo wrestler near the top of the elite pyramid may earn millions of dollars. Sumo wrestling has fifteen bouts in each elite tournament. A sumo wrestler must participate in elite tournaments six times a year.

Answer 1

Answer:

Based on the excerpt, the statement that provides the best example of incentive for a sumo wrestler to cheat is:

B) A sumo wrestler near the top of the elite pyramid may earn millions of dollars.

Explanation:

The excerpt does not make a comparison between sumo wrestling and American sports in Japan. It simply explains that life for elite sumo wrestlers can be compared to being royalty. They make millions of dollars and are served by the low-rank wrestlers. Therefore, if they want to quickly leave their lives of low income and servitude, low-rank wrestlers may very well cheat their way up the pyramid.