Раздел 2. ЗАДАНИЯ ПО ЧТЕНИЮ
1.A long route
2.Games among Olympic Gods
3.A renewed tradition
4.A bit of history
5.Sexual discrimination
6.A sight like no other
7.In honour of sportsmen
8.The main motivation
A.Today’s Olympic Games are very different from the first ones, which were held every fourth summer in ancient Greece 2,800 years ago. At that time all wars were stopped for a period of the Games. Women couldn’t play; they weren’t even allowed to watch. Athletes competed without any clothes on! The early events were footraces. Later, wrestling, javelin, discus, jumping and other events were added. Athletes became stars in those days, too. There were no TV commercials, but winners’ images often appeared on coins or as statues after their victories. In 394, a Roman Emperor ended the ancient Olympics and they weren’t renewed until many centuries later.
B.In 1896, a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin began working to bring back the Olympics. He hoped that the Games would help to promote peace among nations. Two years later, the first modern Olympics took place. Of course, they were held in Greece to symbolize the continuation of the centuries-old tradition. The Olympics have changed with the times. The first events for women were held in 1900. Many sports have been added. This year, for the first time, women competed in the same number of team sports as men.
C.One of the most famous Olympic traditions is the lighting of the Olympic flame. Australian athlete Cathy Freeman carried the Olympic torch up a white stairway, walking through water to light the flame on stage. Freeman is an Aborigine, which means her ancestors were the first people to inhabit Australia. She was the last of six Australian women to carry the torch at the end of its four-month journey to the Olympic Stadium. These women carried the torch to its final destination to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s participation in the Games.
D.Smoke, fire, music, dancing, horses and marching bands amazed fans as they cheered teams from all over the world at the opening ceremony. The closing ceremony was even more spectacular — with giant shrimp on bicycles, shiny robots on stilts, a Frankenstein kangaroo and a huge inflatable eyeball. Fireworks — the biggest the world had ever seen — lit up the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
E.The Olympic Games aren’t just about winning. The real thrill is competing against the best players on earth. In other words, ‘Every athlete wants to face an opponent who’s having the performance of a lifetime. That is when you truly find that you are the best.’
F.In old times women were neither allowed to take part in the Olympic Games or even to watch them at the stadium. For violating of these rules women could be severely punished and even executed. There was a single exception, when a woman coached her son and accompanied him to the stadium in men’s clothes. She wasn’t punished only because her son showed fine results in many sport events.
G.During the Games poets recited their poems; singers sang hymns, dancers danced and orators pronounced speeches. Beautiful strong athletic bodies inspired artists and sculptors. They painted wall pictures and made statues of marble and bronze.