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HERE
Every year for more than ninety years a large part of the French population
has been obsessed with a bicycle race called the Tour de France. Millions
follow with fascination as a hundred or so professional cyclists pump their
way around two and a half thousand miles of the country. There are those, of
course, for whom such protracted pedaling is a bore, but they are ( 5 )
considered somehow un-French, if not downright unpatriotic. But last year the
Great Loop, as the race is sometimes called, ended in an unusual atmosphere of
debate and bitterness.
The outcome of the event could not have been happier in its most important
aspect: it was won by a Frenchman, who took a small but decisive lead ( 10 )
on the eighteenth day and defended it all the way to Paris. But there were
complaints that commercialism was ruining the Tour de France as a sporting
event, because the racers of the competing teams were, for example, plastered
with the trade marks of their sponsors. The cyclists had complaints, too.
These days each of the teams is dominated by a single superstar, who can ( 15 )
oblige his mates to perform such tricks as slowing down cyclists of other teams.
Then there was the charge that the race was dull because the route had been
chosen for financial reasons rather than to provide the liveliest
competition. Communities generally contribute large sums of money to the
race’s sponsors for inclusion on the itinerary, in the hope that tour ( 20 )
publicity will help local business.
The loudest outcry was reserved for the revelation that eight of the racers
had been found in the medical checks to have taken illegal drugs during the
tour. Even the French left and right wing dailies, in rare harmony, joined
in bemoaning such signs of corruption. ( 25 )
Against the press criticism tour officials defend cycling as a sport
persecuted by drug surveillance. Says one of the directors, "Cycling is the
world’s most rigorous sport. That is why there is this need for relieving the
pain by the help of medicine." Other officials point out that bicycle racers,
even when sick, cannot take medicine during the race for fear of ( 30 )
flunking the drug test.
None of the tour’s veteran organizers admit to taking the criticism too
seriously. They have heard most of it before. Over the years, they recall,
contestants in the tour have been found guilty of everything from tampering
with opponents’ bicycles to hiring hooligans to manhandle the ( 35 )
competitors. But scandals have only made the tour better-known. Says another
director, "To those who say the Tour de France will die, I say there will
be a big crowd mourning at the funeral."
1. What was said of those Frenchmen who do not take an interest in the Tour de France?
2. What is the atmosphere generally like after the race?
3. What do Frenchmen think the most important aspect of the race is?
4. What, according to the text, is the task of some team members?
5. What did the organizers of the race decide to put first when choosing the route this time?
6. What happened after the race?
7. Which alternative is a racer the least likely to choose if he gets ill?
8. What was said about the race in the earlier days?
9. What, according to the text, has happened due to the scandals?
10. Which of the following means the same as protracted (line 5)?
11. If one wanted to (line 34)...tamper with another racer’s bike..., why would he do it?