ThefirstOlympicswereheldatOlympia,ancientGreeceasearlyas776B.C..TheOlympic
swereheldonceeveryfouryearstohonortheGreekgodZeus.Sportsmenfrommanynations
tookpartinthes.TheGreekOlympicsdidnothaveasmanysportsprogrammesasthemodern
Olympics.Therewereonlyashortrace—araceofaboutthreemilesandsomeothermatches
suchasjumping,boxing,etc.
Duringthesallwarsstopped.Soldierswereallowedtopasssafelythroughenemylineson
theirwaytothes. ThelastGreekOlympicswereheldin388A.D..ThentheRomanrulers
orderedthesbestopped.
AFrenchmanwishedtorenewtheideasofexcellenceofbody,mindandspirit(精神)shownin
theancientGreekOlympics.HebelievedthattheOlympicswouldbringabouthealthy
competitionamongnations,sohedecidedtostarttheOlympicsalloveragain.Hesucceeded.
In1896,themodernOlympicswereheldinAthens,Greece.SincethentheOlympicshave
beengrowingsteadily(稳健地)withmoreandmorenationsandathletestakingpart.Theyhave
muchmoreprogrammesthantheGreekOlympics.Athletesofmanynationscompeteinvariouskinds
ofsports.
TheOlympicshavebeenheldonceeveryfouryears.Theyareheldinadifferentcityoftheworld.
Buttheywerenotheldin1916,1940,1944becauseoftheworldwars. TheOlympicflameburns
throughoutthes.Itistheflameofpeace.
1.Accordingtothepassage,theancientGreek Olympicslastedfor______.
A.lessthan1,000years
B.morethan1,000years
C.about600years
D.about380years
2.TheancientGreekOlympicswereheldonceeveryfouryearsforthepurposeof______.
A.trainingsportsmen
B.choosingthebestathletes
C.honoringtheirgod
D.winningpeacebetweencountries
3.ModernOlympicsaredifferentfromancient OlympicsinmanywayceptthatmodernOlympics______.
A.havemorestrictrules
B.areheldindifferentplaces
C.areheldeveryfouryears
D.havemoresportsprogrammes