It’s worth thinking about the incentive a wrestler might have to throw a match. maybe he accepts a bribe (which would obviously not be recorded in the data). or perhaps some other arrangement is made between the two wrestlers. keep in mind that the pool of elite sumo wrestlers is extraordinarily tight-knit. each of the sixty-six elite wrestlers fights fifteen of the others in a tournament every two months. furthermore, each wrestler belongs to a stable that is typically managed by a former sumo champion, so even the rival stables have close ties.

which of the following claims is best supported by the evidence in this excerpt?
a. the offering of a bribe is a guaranteed enticement for a champion sumo wrestler to purposely lose a match in a tournament.
b. the close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.
c. because sumo wrestlers have strong social ties, it is a dishonor to throw a match in a tournament.
d. there is great pressure for sumo wrestlers to cheat in order to beat wrestlers from rival stables.

The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.

In this excerpt, the author tells us that sumo wrestlers have extremely close relationships. The pool of elite sumo wrestlers is extraordinarily tight-knit. Moreover, each wrestler belongs to a stable, and stables often have rivalries between them. Therefore, the author argues that the close relationship between sumo wrestlers might be an incentive for a wrestler to throw a match he does not need to win.

active voice: my father cut the tree.

passive voice: the tree was cut by my father.

active voice: people buy newspapers every day.

passive voice: newspapers are bought (by people) every day.

active voice: people have been using movies as political propaganda since world war ii.

passive voice: movies have been used as political propaganda since world war ii.

active voice: donna gave me my birthday present.

passive voice: i was given my birthday present (by donna). / my birthday present was given to me (by donna).

active voice: mom will leave the keys on the counter.

passive voice: the keys will be left (by mom) on the counter.

the words in parentheses are the agent of the passive voice and can be omitted when obvious, generic, or simply unnecessary.

1.c

2.b

3.c

4.b

5.c

6.c

7.d

8.b

9.b

10.d

11.c

12.d

13.b

14.d

15.b

16.a

17.c

18.b

19.d

20.b

21.a

22.b

23.c

24.b

25.c

26.d

27.c

28.d

29.d

30.a

31.c

32.b

33.a

34.d

35.c

36.a

37.b

38.a

39.d

40.c

41.e

42.a

43.c

44.b

45.d

46.b

47.e

48.c

49.d

50.a

51.b

52.a

53.d

54.c