Passage 3Sydney 2000 Olympics　　The cost of staging the year 2000 Olympics in Sydney was estimated to be a staggering $960 million, but the city was preparing to reap the financial benefits that ensued 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 am on Friday the 24th of September 1993, it was announced that Sydney had beaten four 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. However, 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 per cent of the facilities were already in place, and all were on government-owned land, 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 focus 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 cooperation 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 demarcation barriers, and the completion of projects within budget and ahead of time.　　The Secretary of the NSW Labor Council, Mr. Michael Easson, was quoted as saying… “What we’ve achieved should become the model for the rest of the building industry…great cooperation, good management, improvement in relations between employers and employees, and a feeling of optimism …”. The lasting benefits will be first-rate sporting facilities at Homebush Bay and an industrial relations model which should impact on the rest of the building industry.　　Improved negotiations and cooperation over the bid between the Greenpeace environmental group and the State Government also saw a new respect develop on both sides. Suddenly, environmentalists were no longer regarded as being radically opposed to all development and neither was the State Government perceived as inconsiderate towards environmental concerns.　　The success of Sydney’s bid laid to rest much of the opposition to the gamble. Nonetheless, most economists agree that it would be wise when considering future risks of this kind to bear well in mind the financial consequences of failure.　　Answer the questions below.　　Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.　　Write your answers in boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet.　　1. How many cities were competing in 1993 for the right to hold the 2000 Games?　　2. What was the cost of the revised budget for the Sydney bid?　　3. As a result of the Federal Government’s $5 million grant, who also contributed towards the bid?　　4. What phrase of three words in the text describes the State of Victoria when Melbourne bid for the Games?　　5. How many achievements does the Secretary of the NSW Labor Council mention in his industrial relations model?

发布日期：2022-07-09

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