X. Read the following passage and answer the questions.
THE OLYMPIC GAMES
ne or all kinds
Every four years people all over the world watch the Olympic Games. It is
of people to unite in peace. Some of them join together to compete for golds. Millions of
other people watch them on television.
Why do we have the Olympics? How did they begin? The first Olympic Games were in
Greece in 776 B.C. There was only one event. People ran a race the length of the stadium. The
Games lasted one day.
Slowly people added more events. The Games were only for men, and women could not even
watch them. Only Greeks competed. They came from all arts of the Greek world. The time of
the Games was a time of peace, and the government let everyone travel safely. Kings competed
against common people. The winners became national heroes.
dium for the
is every four
The first modern Games were in 1896 in Athens. The Greeks built a new
competition. Athletes from several countries competed. Then there were 0¹
years in different cities in Europe and the United States until 1952. After they were held in
Melbourne, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Montreal besides in European cities. ach year there were
athletes from more nations. The first Winter Olympics were in 1924. The athletes compete in
skiing and other winter sports.
Today there must be Olympic Games every four years. The Games must have at least fifteen
events, and they cannot last more than sixteen days. There is no age limit people of any age can
compete.
The competitors must not be professionals. They must be amateurs. The athletes compete for
gold medals. The winners are still national heroes, as they were in the early Olympic Games in
Greece.
In 1956, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted the Games. They did not com in the Game
because several countries took the Suez Canal from Egypt that year. Otheries boycotte
the Games in 1964 and 1976. In 1980, the United States and other countries ycotted the Game
in Moscow. In 1984, the Soviet Union and other countries boycotted the Games in Los Angele
How can the nations of the world solve this problem? Maybe the Games should be in Gree
every year, where they began. Then athletes from all over the world could compete without a
boycotts.
Questions
1. What was the only event in the first Olympic Games?
2. How many nations played in the first Games?
3. What is the age limit?
4. Are the competitors professionals or amateurs?
5. Where and when is the next Olympic Games?