【大問3 適語補充+内容理解】
Read the following article and answer the questions as indicated.
Paragraph1 Most people gamble, even if that merely [ 21 ] calculations about crossing the road or eating an extra slice of cake. As the worldwide popularity of card games and horse-racing illustrates, gambling is entertaining. At the same time, it is rightly regarded as a serious social problem. Societies where illegal or unregulated gambling is common are often characterized by debt-related violence, prostitution, and family collapse. In one sense, building casinos seems a safe solution. Casinos are gaming palaces on a grand scale, easy to supervise and regulate. Yet questions remain: are casinos actually a good thing? Some countries, such as the Netherlands, have tried both the total liberalization and subsequent re-restriction of casinos. Their experience shows that regulating casinos is unavoidable. Banning casinos totally may not reduce gambling, but allowing them total freedom will surely bring negative consequences. So how should we proceed?
Paragraph2 Although casinos seem to bring [ 22 ] economic advantages, their track record has been mixed. To find an obvious example, we simply need to look at Macau. Since the liberalization of casino licensing in 2002, revenues in Macau reached over 45 billion dollars in 2013 before crashing over political worries. Today, even after a 10% recovery, they remain around 33 billion dollars. Similarly, the annual revenues of casino gambling in Singapore peaked at 4 billion dollars in 2013; a considerable sum, but less than 1.3% of GDP. [ 23 ]
Paragraph3 Taxes from the casino industry have become a significant source of government revenues. In the US, commercial casinos have generated annual tax revenues of over 5 billion dollars since the mid-2000s. Casinos have also provided useful tax income in Macau and the Philippines. [ 24 ]. A much-cited 1996 University of Illinois study by John Kindt found that for every dollar of gambling revenue earned in the US, the state had to spend three dollars in criminal justice and social costs. Casinos, he argued, were only economically viable if they could attract money from external sources, which usually means tourists.
Paragraph4 Employment is another area where casinos bring both advantages and disadvantages. Casinos can create thousands of full-time entry-level jobs in areas suffering from chronic unemployment and underemployment. However, the construction of casinos sometimes has negative influences on the revenues and job opportunities of other local industries, and may even destroy their development. One study found that riverboat casinos in Illinois, for instance, did not generate the anticipated tourism and economic growth, because gamblers did not stay in the riverboats long enough or eat at the local restaurants. Another study on New Jersey found that during the four years after casinos began to operate in Atlantic City, the number of retail businesses declined by one-third, and the number of restaurants fell from 243 to 146.
Paragraph5 On the other hand, many of the negative effects of casinos themselves have been exaggerated. Much gambling nowadays is done online at home, or in bars or betting shops where gaming machines are easy to install. This will not go away if casinos are abolished, and to close them may in fact worsen the problem. Communities with casinos are said to experience higher rates of crime, prostitution, bankruptcy, excessive debt burden, higher suicide rates and domestic violence including child abuse. However, such problems exist whether casinos [ 25 ] or not, and accurately measuring casinos' responsibility is not easy. Indeed, casinos sometimes gain local support. One 1999 US study found that 59% of the respondents favored casino establishments in their communities, and 77% agreed that casinos led to positive effects on their communities'
economy.
Paragraph6 Given that casinos, then, are mixed blessings, how should governments regulate them? Measures that can initially be taken include strict checks on licenses and limiting casinos in number and location. Casinos, by separating locals and tourists, for example, and charging the former significant entry fees, as in Singapore, can also grant priority to foreign visitors by allowing them in without charge. Moreover, limits can be placed on betting, and clients can be restricted in how frequently they can enter. All these help to control addiction levels in Singapore, but are not without problems of their own.
Paragraph7 As for licenses, those specifying location have proved more effective than those relating to personnel. Most US states have laws about who can establish a casino, or work there. Nevertheless, [ 26 ] location, the rumored connections between casino employees and organized crime seem to be as strong as ever. Setting limits on casino numbers and position seems more effective. With the exception of Nevada, every US state that has authorized casino gambling has placed limitations. In New Jersey, for example, casinos are limited to a single location-Atlantic City. In Colorado, casinos are limited to three small former mining towns. Midwest states often limit casinos to locations along waterways. Still, this seems to have restricted revenues: none of these states generates even one quarter of Nevada's casino income. [ 27 ]
Paragraph8 In practice, [ 28 ] customer behavior might well be the most effective strategy towards maximizing revenues whilst [ 29 ] social costs. Singapore charges about 80 dollars for each visit by citizens and monitors those who visit more than six times in a month. Yet, this seems to have been far from completely effective: according to the National Addiction Management Service, the number of people [ 30 ] addiction treatment in Singapore has doubled since 2010, when the casinos opened. Amongst a 37% increase in the total number of addicts, the sharpest increase was among those with a gambling addiction. Though Singapore has failed to stop the problem, at least it has administrative measures in place. Many countries, such as the UK and Australia, are struggling to catch up.
Paragraph9 Ultimately, it may not be the job of governments to encourage or prevent people from gambling. It is their difficult responsibility, however, to minimize the social damage it can cause. How many casinos to allow and where, whom to admit, how often, at what cost and for what stakes are important questions. [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ]
Anne・T・Uppe. Casinos High Stakes All Round. 2017.
Answer questions [ 21 ] - [ 34 ] as indicated.
21. Which of the following would best fill the gap at [ 21 ] in Paragraph1? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (21) on the mark sheet.
1 consists
2 decides
3 implies
4 supplies
22. Which of the following would best fill the gap at [ 22 ] in Paragraph? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (22) on the mark sheet.
1 ever-increasing
2 merely temporary
3 only few
4 well-distributed
23. Based on Paragraph2, by how much did Macau's casino revenues decline as a result of the 2013 crash? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (23) on the mark sheet.
1 12 billion dollars
2 15 billion dollars
3 30 billion dollars
4 33 billion dollars
24. Which of the following would best fill the gap at [ 24 ] in Paragraph3? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (24) on the mark sheet.
1 However, these gains may be an illusion
2 Nonetheless, progress has been steady
3 Scientific research supports this conclusion
4 The apparent contradiction is easily reconciled
25. Which of the following would best fill the gap at [ 25 ] in Paragraph5? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (25) on the mark sheet.
1 are built
2 can be built
3 had been built
4 would be built
26. Which of the following would best fill the gap at [ 26 ] in Paragraph? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (26) on the mark sheet.
1 due to
2 no matter for
3 regardless of
4 related to
27. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of Paragraph? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (27) on the mark sheet.
1 Limiting casino numbers has proven to be the best strategy.
2 Locating casinos on waterways is bound to limit revenues.
3 Organized crime is always a threat, wherever casinos are placed.
4 Regulating casino locations is effective, but is economically unattractive.
28, 29, 30. Place three of the words below into the most suitable of the gaps marked [ 28 ], [ 29 ], and [ 30 ] in Paragraph8. Each word may be used only once. Fill in the corresponding slots under the numbers marked (28), (29) and (30) on the mark sheet.
1 minimizing
2 prohibiting
3 regulating
4 requiring
5 suffering
-
31, 32, 33. Read the three statements below. Then, based on the article, under the corresponding number (31), (32), or (33) on the mark sheet, fill in
slot 1 if you think the author would agree with the statement, or
slot 2 if you think the author would disagree with the statement, or
slot 3 if you think the author does not express an opinion about the statement.
31. Casinos increase overall local employment.
32. Gambling problems would not exist without casinos.
33. Singapore has discriminated against locals in order to protect them.
34. The following five words (a) to (e) all appear in the text. When pronounced, which two have the same stress(アクセント) pattern? Answer by filling in the corresponding slot under the number (34) on the mark sheet.
(a) ad•van•tage
(b) ca•si•no
(c) pop•u•lar•i•ty
(d) re•spon•si•bil•i•ty
(e) rev•e•nue
1. (a) and (b)
2 (a) and (d)
3 (b) and (e)
4 (c) and (d)
5 (c) and (e)
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