2017年雅思考试题库：政府拨款对象

　　Task：Some countries achieve international sporting success by providing specialized facilities that are only used to train top athletes ,instead of providing sport facilities that every can use.Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

　　Sample answer：

　　In some countries,players with athletic talent receive more support, especially in terms of the specialised facilities they used while the demand of the masses in sports is often ignored. From my perspective, the development of elite sport may bring a range of benefits in the short term, but mass sport is more closely related to the well-being of the public in the long run.

　　In the short term, it seems sensible to invest on speclialised facilities for some excellent sportsmen when considering the positive impacts brought by these top athletes. From the national level, it is these elites that bring honor in some international competitions and then shape a strong image for their own country. On a individual level, the public will be positively influenced by the sportsmanship revealed by these champions, which will contribute to the improvement of the quality of the whole nation.

　　However, in the long run, when pondering the essential reason why sports exist, we can find out that the prosperity of mass sports is of more significance and therefore more capital should be allocated to construct facilities that everybody can use. The most fundamental function of sports is to assist people to build a strong body, and in some extent, the more sports facilities there are, the more chances there are for people to take part in sports in their daily life. Another deeper reason is that people can develop a host of valuable qualities such as self-control and perseverance in this process, both of which play an key role on people’s way to achieve success.

　　So, when comparing the advantages of two sides, I believe this development is a short-sighted approach regarding to sports success. The public are the base of a nation. Only when every ordinary person benefits from the sports facilites, will the development of sports industry be more meaningful.

　　(308 words)