Section B There is one passage in this section with
five unfinished statements. Read the passage carefully, and then complete each
statement in a maximum of 10 words. Remember to write the answers on the answer
sheet. Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following
passage. The cost of staging the year 2000 Olympics in
Sydney is estimated to be a staggering $960 million, but the city is preparing
to reap the financial benefits that ensue from holding such an international
event by emulating the commercial success of Los Angeles, the only city yet to
have made a demonstrable profit from the Games in 1984. At precisely 4:20 a.m.
on Friday the 24th of September 1993, it was announced that Sydney had beaten
five other competing cities around the world, and Australians everywhere, not
only Sydneysiders, were justifiably proud of the result. But, if Sydney had lost
the bid, would the taxpayers of NSW and of Australia have approved of
governments spending millions of dollars in a failed and costly
exercise There may have been some consolation in the fact that
the bid came in $1 million below the revised budget and $5 million below the
original budget of $29 million formulated in mid-1991. How ever, the final cost
was the considerable sum of $ 24 million, the bulk of which was paid for by
corporate and community contributions, merchandising, licensing, and the
proceeds of lotteries, with the NSW Government, which had originally been
willing to spend up to $10 million, contributing some $ 2 million. The Federal
Government’s grant of $ 5 million meant, in effect, that the Sydney bid was
financed by every Australian taxpayer. Prior to the announcement
of the winning city, there was considerable debate about the wisdom of taking
financial risks of this kind at a time of economic recession. Others argued that
70 percent of the facilities were already in place, and all were on
government-owned ]and, removing some potential areas of conflict which troubled
previous Olympic bidders. The former NSW Premier, Mr. Nick Greiner, went on
record as saying that the advantage of having the Games... "is not that you are
going to have $ 7.4 billion in extra gross domestic product over the next 14
years... I think the real point of the Games is the psychological change, the
catalyst of confidence.., apart from the other more obvious reasons, such as the
building of sporting facilities, tourism, and things of that nature. "
However, the dubiousness of the benefits that Melbourne, an unsuccessful
bidder for the 1988 Olympic Games, received at a time when the State of Victoria
was still in economic turmoil meant many corporate bodies were
unenthusiastic. There is no doubt that Sydney’s seductive
physical charms caused the world’s media to compare the city favorably to its
rivals Beijing, Berlin, Manchester, and Istanbul. Mr. Godfrey Santer, the
Australian Tourist Commission’s Manager of Corporate Planning Services, stated
that soon after the bid was made, intense media locus was already having a
beneficial effect on in-bound tourism. Developers and those
responsible for community development projects eagerly pointed to the
improvements taking place to the existing infrastructure of the city, the
creation of employment, and especially the building of sporting facilities, all
of which meet the needs of the community and help to attract more tourists. At
Homebush Bay $ 300 million was spent providing the twin athletic arenas and the
"high-tech" Aquatic Centre. However, perhaps the most impressive legacy was the
new attitude shown towards both industrial relations and environmental problems.
The high-profile nature of the bid; and the perception that it must proceed
smoothly Created a unique attitude of co-operation between the workforce and
employers involved in the construction of the Olympic Village at Homebush Bay.
The improvements included the lack of strikes, the breaking down of demarkation
barriers, and the completion of projects within budget and ahead of time. The bid for the Games was made during ______.