by Marcus Maurice
Shearers, wool handlers, and wool pressers can be champions at the Golden Shear competition.
From March 3 to March 5 this year, fit and
well-trained sheep shearers will head to the Wairarapa
district of Masterton, New Zealand to test their skills in the Golden Shears
Championship. The first of its kind, this event is still _(1)_ as the most
prestigious sheep shearing
competition in the world.
Started in 1958 by a group of farmers, this sheep shearing contest attracted _(2)_ from the northern and southern islands of New Zealand. Its popularity was
undeniable, so the organizers decided they needed a bigger
venue and a _(3)_ name to draw more attention, and thus the Golden Shear was born. In 1961, the first
official Golden Shear was held, and so many people came that the police had to be _(4)_ for crowd control.
_(5)_ anything popular, competition
sprung up, and tons of sheep shearing contests were taking place all over New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s. Companies
sponsored shearers, and farmers started training and
fitness regimens. This would help them have an advantage _(6)_ others. In 1980, the World Shearing Championships were held for the first time, and sheep shearing had
gone big time.
Over the years, the rules to sheep shearing contests have been _(7)_ to fit the
ever-changing times. However, the one thing that has stayed the same is that
professional shearers desire to be
champions at the most
esteemed competition in the world—the Golden Shear.
1. (A) looked into(B) looked down(C) looked upon(D) looked over
2. (A) participants(B) instruments(C) monuments(D) attendants
3. (A) normal(B) visual(C) clumsy(D) catchy
4. (A) picked on(B) laid off(C) called in(D) ruled out
5. (A) Alike(B) Like (C) Likely(D) Likewise
6. (A) for(B) off (C) with (D) over
7. (A) testified(B) modified(C) falsified(D) signified