“We will take part in the Olympic Games in fair competition for the honour of our country and for the glory of sport”.
(From the Olympic Oath).
The Olympic Games have a very long history. They began more than two thousand years ago in Greece. The Greeks were fond of music, plays, and all kinds of physical exercises. The famous Games at Olympia took place every four years and all the cities in Greece sent their athlete to take part in them. The strongest athletes came together to run, jump, wrestle, throw the discus, box. There were also chariot races. The Games were very popular, and thousands of Greeks used to watch them.
It became a tradition even to stop wars for the time of the Olympic Games, and the people lived in peace.
The competitions lasted five days. The winners in each kind of sport or art got on olive wreath which was the highest honour. When the champions came back home, the people used to greet them with flowers. The Greeks often put statues of their champions in the city square, because they brought glory to their native city.
For a long time, from 394 till 1896, there were no Olympic Games. Since 1896 the best athletes of the world have met again every four years, as it was in Greece, long, long ago. The Games have always been as exciting as they were in ancient Olympia.
The capitals of many countries have been Olympic cities — Athens, Paris, London, Berlin, Helsinki, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico, Montreal and some others.
In the summer of 1980 Moscow became the 17th city in modern times to host the Olympic Games. The most famous athletes of different countries carried the Olympic Flame from Greece to Moscow. Moscow made the 22nd Olympic Games a bright, beautiful and exciting festival of sport. Hundreds of sport grounds, sports complexes, swimming pools and stadiums were ready for friendly competitions among the finest athletes of the world.
Vocabulary
The Olympic Games are always a great festival of sport, youth and beauty.
oath — клятва
Greece — Греция
an athlete — спортсмен
to wrestle — бороться
to throw the discus — метать диск
chariotraces — соревнования колесниц
an olive wreath — оливковыйвенок
Athens — Афины
Paris — Париж
Berlin — Берлин
Montreal — Монреаль
tohost — принимать
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