单项选择题

Concerned about its appeal to sponsors, the women’s professional golf tour, which in recent years has been dominated by foreign-born players, has warned its members that they must become conversant (熟悉、精通) in English by 2009 or face suspension.
"We live in a sports-entertainment environment," said Libba Galloway, the deputy commissioner of the tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association. "For an athlete to be successful today in the sports entertainment world we live in, they need to be great performers on and off the course, and being able to communicate effectively with sponsors and fans is a big part of this."
"Being a U. S.-based tour, and with the majority of our fan base, pro-am contestants, sponsors and participants being English speaking, we think it is important for our players to effectively communicate in English."
The L. P. G. A. and the other professional golf tours, unlike professional team sports, are dependent on their relationships with corporate sponsors for their financial survival.
Although Galloway insisted that "the vast majority" of the 120 international players on the L. P. G. A. circuit already spoke enough English to get by, she declined to say how many did not. There are 26 countries represented on the L. P. G. A. Tour. South Korea, with 45 golfers, has the largest contingent.
The L. P. G. A. ’s new language policy—believed to be the only such policy in a major sport--was first reported by Golfweek magazine on its Website Monday. According to Golfweek, the L. P. G. A. held a meeting with the tour’s South Korean players last week before the Safeway Classic, at which the L. P. G. A. commissioner, Carolyn Bivens, outlined the policy. Golfweek reported that many in attendance misunderstood the penalty, believing they would lose their tour cards if they did not meet the language requirement.
Even so, the magazine reported, many South Korean players interviewed supported the policy, including the Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak. "We agree we should speak ’some English," said Pak, who added that she thought fines seemed a fairer penalty than suspensions. "We play so good over all. When you win, you should give your speech in English."
She added. "Mostly what comes out is nerves. Totally different language in front of camera. You’re excited and not thinking in English."
Major League Baseball, which has a high percentage of foreign- born athletes, said it had not seen the need to establish a language guideline. Pat C0urtney, a spokesman, for M. L. B., said baseball had not considered such a policy because it wanted its players to be comfortable in interviews and wanted to respect their cultures.
"Given the diverse nature of our sport, we don’t require that players speak English," he said. "It’s all about a comfort level."
The National Hockey League, which is based in Canada where English and French are the official languages, also places no such requirements on its players, although several clubs provide players with tutors if they express a desire to learn English.
The National Basketball Association, which had 76 international players from 31 countries and territories last season, follows a similar approach to the N. H. L.
"This is not something we have contemplated," said Maureen Coyle, the N. B. A. ’s vice president for basketball communications.
The only N. B. A. players in recent years to have used an interpreter are China’s Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian. Yao, who began playing in the N. B. A. with the Houston Rockets in 2002, no longer needs an interpreter.
In fairness, comparisons between the L. P. G. A., an independent organization not affiliated (隶属) with the PGA Tour, and other sports bodies are imprecise. The L. P. G. A., much like the PGA Tour, is a group of individual players from diverse backgrounds whose success as an organization depends on its ability to attract sponsorships from companies looking to use the tour for corporate entertainment and advertisement.
Rarely are N. B. A. players called upon to play one-on-one with a corporate executive whose decision to write a sponsorship check is predicated on whether one had a good time shooting free throws with Kobe Bryant.
There is much more to it, but a large part of the economic success of a golf organization is predicated on whether a corporate entity decides to underwrite a tournament and whether a television network decides to broadcast it. All of those decisions are based on the tour’s being able to market its athletes.
The L. P. G. A. started a program in 2006 to help international players learn English and transition into American culture.
"It’s been very successful thus far." Galloway said.
From this passage we can infer that ______.