In the old days, the Olympic Games were religious（宗教的）activities. Greece held the first Olympic Games in the eighth century B.C. The Games lasted just for one day and there were only races. Only men could be in the races. Women had no right（权利）to take part in the Olympic Games until 1912.

The Olympic Games were stopped in the fourth century. Then they started again in Athens in 1896. This was the beginning（开始）of the modern Olympics. Since then, the Olympics Games have been held every four years. The Olympic rings are a symbol of the Olympic Games. There are five rings, and they stand for the five parts of the world. The colors of the rings are blue, yellow, black, green and red. You can find at least one of these colors in the flag of each country in the world.

The IOC（国际奥委会）makes rules for the games, so all the athletes have the same chance to win. Winning in the Olympics is a great honor. An athlete who wins at the Olympics is the best in the world. “Faster, higher, stronger”is the motto of the Olympics.

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1     When the Beijing Olympics begin this August，the world will be watching．The games have become a huge international event．People will come from around the world to watch 10,500 athletes from 205 countries and districts compete（竞争）to take home the gold．

2     The first recorded Olympics，in 776 B．C．，were an important religious（宗教的）festival．Olympic sports have changed a lot in the last few thousand years．The ancient games began with just one 192-meter race．In later years，the games grew to include a total of six sports．Most of the ancient Olympic sports tested skills soldiers needed．

3    Even the modern Olympics were once far smaller than they are today．The first of the modern games，in 1896，only had 241 athletes from 14 countries．Moreover（此外），the early modern Olympics were not an independent（独立的）event．Until l 908 the Olympics were part of the world’s fair!

4     At the first modern Olympics，there were 43 events from ten sports．Many of the sports from the early modern games are no longer part of the Olympics，such as golf and tug of war（拔河）．There has always been a lot of disagreement over changing Olympic sports．

5     The number of Olympic sports has constantly increased throughout history．At the Beijing games，athletes will compete in 302 events from 28 sports．Despite（尽管）all the changes over the years，some ancient sports are still part of the modern games．These include running，boxing and wrestling．

1．How many countries and districts will take part in the Beijing Olympics?

2．What did the ancient Olympics begin with?

3．What do Paragraph 3 and 4 mainly tell us about?

4．At least how many gold medals will the athletes compete for in the coming Olympics?

5．What ancient sports are still parts of the modern games?