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(46) A hundred years ago, when sport was confined largely to games played in the backyard or on the farm, one could hardly have imagined the attention that it has come to receive in the twentieth century. Today, the importance of sport in society is clearly demonstrated by the fact that even the CBS news can be preempted for the final of a tennis match. A survey conducted in the late 1980s revealed that fully 81 percent of all adults follow some organized sport, mostly on television. And the phenomenon of weekend “sports widows”-women abandoned by their husbands for weekend sports on television-is entering its third generation.
Sport is defined sociologically as competitive physical activity that is performed under established rules. Like all social institutions, sport serves numerous functions. First, it provides society with a vast array of leisure-time activities for all segments of the population. (47) Although it is an overstatement to say that modern society is a leisure society, there has been a significant increase in the amount of nonwork time that most people have available. Furthermore, recreational activity has become increasingly necessary in a society in which the vast majority of jobs provide little or no physical activity. Second, sport provides an outlet for energies that, if not diverted, could cause serious strain on the social order. (48) For both fan and participant, sport permits the expression of emotions (such as anger and frustration) in ways that are acceptable to, even encouraged by, society. Finally, sport provides society with role models. Athletes at all levels, but especially famous athletes, provide examples of conduct and employment of skills that others can emulate.
Although sports promote many positive aspects of a society, conflict theorists are quick to point out that they also reflect society’s inequalities. Like most other social institutions, sports are characterized by inequalities of class, race and gender. For example, certain sports-such as boxing, which is often associated with urban poverty-are distinctly lower class in origin and participation. (49) In general, members of the lower and working classes have tended to participate in sports like baseball and basketball: games that require little more than a field, a ball, and some players.
Although sport is sometimes considered exempt from racial inequality, sociological evidence has shown this not to be the case. (50) Although it is true that nonwhites in American society have enjoyed greater opportunities for high incomes in professional sports than in other occupations, it is also true that virtually all managers and owners of sports team are white. There are few nonwhite sportscasters, administrators, umpires, or referees. Furthermore, nonwhites are all but absent (even as players) from all professional sports except baseball, basketball, boxing and football.
参考译文：
46. 100年前，运动仅仅限于那些在后院或者农场中举行的活动，那时恐怕没有人会想到它在20世纪的今天所受到的关注程度。
47. 虽然说现代社会是一个休闲社会有些言过其实，但是大多数人的确比以前拥有了更多的非工作时间。
48. 无论是运动迷还是参与者，运动都能使他们以社会能接受或者鼓励的方式表达他们的感情（如愤怒和挫折感）。
49. 一般来说，下层劳动人民倾向于参与棒球和篮球这样的运动，因为这类运动只需要一块场地、一个球和几名球员就足够了。
50. 虽然和美国社会的其他职业相比，职业运动中有色人种获取高收入的机会大一些，但是几乎所有运动队的经理和老板都是白人。
