The Olympics Through the Years

The first modern Olympics was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. At【小题1】opening ceremony(典礼), King Georgios I and a crowd of 60,000 onlookers welcomed 280 athletes,【小题2】would compete in 43 events, including track and field, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, cycling, tennis and so on. The【小题3】(office)symbol(象征)of the modern Games is five interlocking(紧密相连的)colored【小题4】(ring), representing(代表)the continents(大陆)of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia. The Olympic flag, featuring(以……为特色)this symbol on a white background,【小题5】(fly) for the first time at the Antwerp Games in 1920.

The Olympics【小题6】(true )took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the VIII Games were held in Paris. Some 3,000 athletes from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a【小题7】(close)ceremony. The Winter Olympics was first held that year, such events as figure skating, ice hockey, and the biathlon【小题8】(include). Eighty years later, when the 2004 Summer Olympics returned【小题9】Athens for the first time in over a century, nearly 11,000 athletes from 201 countries competed. In a gesture that joined both ancient and modern Olympic traditions, the shotput(铅球)【小题10】(compete)that year was held at the site of the classical Games in Olympia.

The Olympic Games are the   【小题1】(big) sports meeting in the world, 【小题2】include two kinds, the Summer and the Winter Olympics. Both of them 【小题3】(hold) every four years. All countries can take part 【小题4】 their athletes have reached the agreed standards for the games. Women are not only allowed 【小题5】(compete) in the games but play a very important role. A special village is built for the competitors to live in, where there is a main reception building, several 【小题6】(stadium) for competitions, a gymnasium as well as seats for those who watch the games. It’s a great honor 【小题7】(host) the Olympic Games. The olive wreath 【小题8】(replace) by medals. But it’s still about 【小题9】(be) able to run faster, jump higher and throw 【小题10】(far).

Lai Xuanzhi graduated from Wuhan Sports University, majoring in basketball. In 2010, the new graduate 【小题1】 (employ) as a PE teacher at a village school. Back then, it was challenging for him. Lacking facilities and funds, the school wasn’t set up 【小题2】 (hold) ordinary PE courses, such as basketball, soccer and track and field, so the 【小题3】 (ambition) young teacher had to shift his focus to something that was cheaper and easier to organize.

He discovered rope-jumping. With it, he led the students from a village school to participate in many highly competitive international competitions. The very beginning was 【小题4】 first World Inter-School Rope Competition, which took place in Dubai in 2015. Lai’s team skipped through, winning 27 of the total of 28 gold 【小题5】 (medal). Lai watched the teens standing on the podium (领奖台) singing the national anthem with tears 【小题6】 (run) down their faces. It was at that moment 【小题7】 Lai came to realize that for students who are educated in a village school, rope-jumping could not only be part of physical education but also provide access 【小题8】 more opportunities.

Now, Lai’s jump-rope team has over 200 members. “Children are the future of the country and the hope of the nation,” Lai says. “I hope the effort I 【小题9】 (put) into physical education can help them to gain a much 【小题10】 (bright) future.”