IELTS Reading 練習 電子競技的崛起（含題目+詳解）

The Rise of Esports

In 1972 a small group of computer-science students at Stanford University held what is now generally regarded as the first competitive video-game tournament — a contest of Spacewar! with a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone magazine as the prize. Half a century later, the descendants of that informal contest fill stadiums and pay seven-figure salaries. Esports, the umbrella term for organised competitive video gaming, is one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories of the past decade.

The shift from amateur curiosity to professional industry came earliest in South Korea. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government invested heavily in nationwide broadband, and the strategy game StarCraft, released by the American studio Blizzard the following year, became a cultural phenomenon. By 2000, dedicated cable channels broadcast StarCraft matches around the clock, top players signed contracts with sponsors such as Samsung and SK Telecom, and the country had effectively invented the modern professional gaming league.

The Western industry caught up more slowly, accelerating only after the launch of the streaming platform Twitch in 2011. Twitch made it possible for amateur players to broadcast directly to a global audience without the gatekeeping of traditional broadcasters, and the resulting attention drew sponsorship money into Western teams. League of Legends, released by Riot Games in 2009, has hosted an annual world championship since 2011; its 2018 final filled the 40,000-seat Incheon stadium and drew a peak online concurrent audience of nearly 100 million.

Esports earnings have followed the audience. The total prize money awarded across all professional events rose from under fifteen million US dollars in 2010 to more than 220 million in 2023. Salaries at the top of the industry now rival those of mid-tier traditional athletes, although career length is typically much shorter — most professional gamers retire by their late twenties.

Whether esports should count as "sport" in the same sense as football or athletics remains contested. They lack the obvious physical exertion, but the same is true of chess, which the International Olympic Committee recognises. The IOC itself launched its first official Olympic Esports Series in 2023, suggesting that the question is being settled in practice if not in principle.

1. The 1972 Stanford Spacewar! tournament awarded a magazine subscription as its prize.
2. South Korea's investment in broadband followed a major economic crisis.
3. Twitch was created specifically by professional esports leagues.
4. League of Legends's 2018 world championship final was held in Seoul.

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1. According to the passage, what helped Western esports grow rapidly after 2011?

- A. the introduction of new gaming consoles - B. the launch of the Twitch streaming platform - C. the South Korean government's foreign investment - D. the closure of traditional broadcasters

1. The writer suggests that the question of whether esports counts as sport is:

- A. clearly answered in favour of "yes" - B. clearly answered in favour of "no" - C. being settled in practice rather than in principle - D. of no real interest to most fans

Complete the summary below using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage.

After 1997, South Korea's national investment in (7) ______ combined with the popularity of StarCraft to create the world's first professional gaming league. Total prize money at professional events rose from under fifteen million US dollars in 2010 to more than (8) ______ in 2023. Most professional gamers retire by their late (9) ______.

1. TRUE Supporting sentence: "a contest of Spacewar! with a one-year subscription to Rolling Stone magazine as the prize". Direct paraphrase.

2. TRUE Supporting sentence: "After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean government invested heavily in nationwide broadband". "After ... financial crisis" matches "followed a major economic crisis".

3. NOT GIVEN The passage says Twitch's 2011 launch helped the Western industry but does not say who founded Twitch or why. Don't infer — choose NOT GIVEN.

4. NOT GIVEN The passage says the final was held in "the 40,000-seat Incheon stadium". Incheon is not Seoul (it is a separate city). Don't assume the answer is TRUE just because both are South Korean. NOT GIVEN.

5. B — the launch of the Twitch streaming platform Supporting sentence: "The Western industry caught up more slowly, accelerating only after the launch of the streaming platform Twitch in 2011". Direct paraphrase.

6. C — being settled in practice rather than in principle Supporting sentence: "the question is being settled in practice if not in principle". Direct paraphrase.

7. broadband Supporting sentence: "the South Korean government invested heavily in nationwide broadband". Single-word answer.

8. 220 million Supporting sentence: "rose from under fifteen million US dollars in 2010 to more than 220 million in 2023". Two-word phrase from the text.

9. twenties Supporting sentence: "most professional gamers retire by their late twenties". Single-word answer; the question supplies "late".