The final sentence relies on which distinction?
Governments justify spending on elite athletes by pointing to the inspiration their victories give. Medals, it is said, make the nation more active. The claim is plausible but poorly supported: studies that look for a rise in participation after major events find short-lived or negligible effects. If the aim is a more active population, money is probably better spent on local pitches, swimming pools and safe routes to school. That is not to say that elite sport has no value. Success can give pleasure and pride in its own right, and some countries may legitimately wish to pursue it. But the pride is not the same as public health, and to claim that medals will make people fitter is to offer a justification that the evidence does not support.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Between the pleasure of national success and the improvement of public health
- Step 1: The sentence says 'the pride is not the same as public health'.
- Step 2: That is the distinction used to reject the justification.
Answer
Between the pleasure of national success and the improvement of public health.
Why not the others: The contrast is between national pride and public health, not between professionals and amateurs, winners and losers, public and private spending or local and national pitches.
Practise more Sport.
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