The first Olympic Games were held at Olympia, ancient Greece as early as 776 B.C.. The Olympic
Games were held once every four years to honor the Greek god Zeus. Sportsmen from many nations
took part in the games. The Greek Olympics did not have as many sports programmes as the modern
Olympic Games. There were only a short race—a race of about three miles and some other matches
such as jumping, boxing, etc.
During the games all wars stopped. Soldiers were allowed to pass safely through enemy lines on
their way to the games. The last Greek Olympics were held in 388 A.D.. Then the Roman rulers
ordered the games be stopped.
A Fren chman wished to renew the ideas of excellence of body, mind and spirit (精神) shown in
the ancient Greek Olympics. He believed that the Olympic Games would bring about healthy
competition among nations, so he decided to start the Olympic Games all over again. He succeeded.
In 1896, the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Since then the Olympics have
been growing steadily (稳健地) with more and more nations and athletes taking part. They have
much more programmes than the Greek Olympics. Athletes of many nations compete in various kinds
of sports.
The Olympics have been held once every four years. They are held in a different city of the world.
But they were not held in 1916, 1940, 1944 because of the w orld wars. The Olympic flame burns
throughout the Games. It is the flame of peace.
1. According to the passage, the ancient Greek Olympic Games lasted for ______.
A. less than 1,000 years
B. more than 1,000 years
C. about 600 years
D. about 380 years
2. The ancient Greek Olympic Games were held once every four years for the purpose of ______.
A. training sportsmen
B. choosing the best athletes
C. honoring their god
D. winning peace between countries
3. Modern Olympic Games are different from ancient Olympic Games in many ways except that modern Olympic Games ______.
A. have more strict rules
B. are held in different places
C. are held e very four years
D. have more sports programmes
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