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Read the Passage and Then Answer the Questions That Follow

question 20

Multiple Choice

Read the passage and then answer the questions that follow.
According to sports writer Ian Stafford, the British hold the record for winning the world's oddest competitions . In one of these bizarre events, contestants contort their faces and are judged on their ugliness. One competitor removed half his dentures and reversed the other half, rolled his eyes, and tucked his nose into his mustache and upper lip to achieve prize-winning ugliness. Another of these eccentric contests is snail racing. Opponents in this case are, of course, snails, which are placed in the center of a thirteen-inch cloth circle. The first to reach the edge of the circle wins. The race often takes four to five minutes, although the all-time champion (owned and trained by an English seven-year-old) finished the course in two minutes. Toe wrestling, bog snorkeling, worm charming ⎯ the British have emerged as unconquered rivals in all of these so-called sports. Perhaps you think that sports writer Ian Stafford should win first prize in the Biggest Liar in the World Competition. No, every one of these outlandish games exists. You can check them all out on the Internet.
What synonym refers to the subject of this passage (in italics) ?

Definitions:

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

A prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true due to positive feedback between belief and behavior.

Perceptual Defense

The process by which individuals protect themselves from being emotionally disturbed or threatened by denying or distorting reality.

Stereotyping

The act of categorizing individuals or groups into certain characteristics or behaviors without acknowledging individual differences.

Halo Effect

A cognitive bias in which an individual's overall positive or negative impression of a person, brand, or product influences their feelings and thoughts about that entity's specific traits.