奥运知识—奥林匹克运动简史一

Part 1 Background Information on Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动简史

　　Olympic English (1) 奥运风情 （1）

　　Part 1 Background Information on Olympic Games 奥林匹克运动简史

　　The Brief History of the Ancient Olympic Games:

　　According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles (the Roman Hercules), a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus, won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters (210 yards). This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history. The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. At ancient Olympic Games, women were not allowed to compete, even to be the spectators.There were fewer events, and only free men who spoke¹ Greek could compete, instead of athletes from any country. Also, the games were always held at Olympia instead of moving around to different sites every time.

　　In 393 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian², abolished the Games because of their great influences.

　　The Brief History of the Ancient Olympic Games:

　　Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival³. Coubertin is now known as le Rénovateur. Coubertin was a French aristocrat⁴ born on January 1, 1863. He was only seven years old when France was overrun by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Some believe that Coubertin attributed the defeat of France not to its military skills but rather to the French soldiers’ lack of vigor⁵. After examining the education of the German, British, and American children, Coubertin decided⁶ that it was exercise, more specifically sports, that made a well-rounded and vigorous person.

　　However Coubertin’s attempt to get France interested in sports was not met with enthusiasm. Still, Coubertin persisted. In 1892, Coubertin constructed an international committee to organize the Games. Two years later, this committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

4 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

5 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。