An interview Pausanias, who was a Greek writer about 2,000 years ago, has come on a magical journey on March 18th,2007 to find out about the present-day Olympic Games. He is now interview Li Yan, a volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Games. P: My name is Pausanias. I lived in what you call “Ancient Greet“ and I used to write about the Olympic Games a long time ago. Ive come to your time to find out about the present-day Olympic Games because I know that in 2004 they were held in my hometown. May I ask you some questions about the modern Olympic? L: Good heavens! Have you really come from so long ago? But of course you can ask any questions you like. What would you like to know? P : How often do you hold your Games? L: Every four years. There are two main sets of Games-the Winter and the Summer Olympic, and both are held every four years on a regular basis. The Winter Olympic are usually held two years before the Summer Games. Only athletes who have reached the agreed standard for their event will be admitted as competitors. They may come from anywhere in the world. P: Winter Games? How can the runners enjoy competing in winter? And what about the horses? L: Oh no! There are no running races or horse riding events. Instead there are competitions like skiing and ice skating which need snow and ice. Thats why they are called the Winter Olympics. Its in the Summer Olympics that you have the running races, together with swimming, sailing and all the team sports. P: I see. Earlier you said that athletes are invited from all over the world. Do you mean the Greek world? Our Greek cities used to compete against each other just for the honour of winning. No other countries could join in, nor could slaves or women！L: Nowadays any country can take part if their athletes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Women are not only allowed, but play a very important role in gymnastics, athletics, team sports andP: Please wait a minute! All those events, all those countries and even women taking part! Where are all the athletes housed? L: For each Olympics, a special village is built for them to live in,a main reception building, several stadiums for competitions, and a gymnasium as well. P: That sounds very expensive. Does anyone want to host the Olympic Games? L: As a matter of fact, every country wants opportunity Its a great responsibility but also a great honour to be chosen. Theres as much competition among countries to host the Olympic as to win Olympic medals. The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing, China. Did you know that? P: Oh yes! You must be very proud. L: Certainly. And after that, the 2012 Olympics will be held in London. They have already started planning for it. A new village foe the athletes and all the stadiums will be built to the east of London .New medals will be designed of course andP: Did you say medals? So even the olive wreath has been replaced! Oh daer! Do you compete for prize money too? L: No, we dont. Its still all about being able to run faster, jump higher and throw further. Thats the motto of the Olympics, you know-“Swifter, Higher and Stronger.“ P: Well, thats good news. How interesting! Thank you so much for your time. 单元练习hopeless adj. foolish adj. pain n. one after another deserve vi. & vt. ancient adj. compete vi. competitor n. take part in medal n. stand for Greece n. Greek adj. magical adj. volunteer n. charge vt. & vi. in charge physical adj. fine vt. poster n. advertise vt. & vi. glory n. bargain vi. homeland n. regular adj. basis n. athlete n. admit vt. & vi. slave n. nowadays adv. gymnastics n.(pl) stadium n. gymnasium (gym) n. as well host n. responsibility n. replace vt. motto n. swift adj. 夏季奥运会北京鸟巢届次举办城市举办国年份备注1 雅典 希腊1896 2 巴黎 法国1900 3 圣路易斯美国1904 4 伦敦 英国1908 5 斯德哥尔摩瑞典1912 6 柏林 德国1916 因第一次世界大战未办7 安特卫普比利时1920 8 巴黎 法国1924 9 阿姆斯特丹荷兰192810 洛杉矶美国 1932 11 柏林德国1936 12 赫尔辛基芬兰1940 因第二次世界大战未办13 伦敦英国1944 因第二次世界大战未办14 伦敦英国1948 15 赫尔辛基芬兰1952 16 墨尔本澳大利亚195617 罗马意大利1960 18 东京日本1964 19 墨西哥城墨西哥1968 20 慕尼黑原西德（今德国）1972 21 蒙特利尔加拿大1976 22 莫斯科原苏联（今俄罗斯）1980 23 洛杉矶美国1984 24 汉城韩国1988 25 巴塞罗那西班牙1992 26 亚特兰大美国199627 悉尼澳大利亚2000 28 雅典希腊2004 29 北京中国2008 30 伦敦英国2012 冬季第一届奥林匹克运动会届次举办国举办城市年份第 1 届 法国夏蒙尼1924 第 2 届 瑞士圣莫里茨1928 第 3 届 美国普莱西德湖1932 第 4 届 德国加米施 (帕滕基兴 ) 1936 第 5 届 瑞士圣莫里茨1948 第 6 届 挪威奥斯陆1952 第 7 届 意大利科蒂纳丹佩佐1956 第 8 届 美国斯阔谷1960 第 9 届 奥地利因斯布鲁克1964 第 10 届 法国格勒诺布尔1968 第 11 届 日本札幌1972 第 12 届 奥地利因斯布鲁克1976 第 13 届 美国普莱西德湖1980 第 14 届 南斯拉夫萨拉热窝1984 第 15 届 加拿大卡尔加里1988 第 16 届 法国阿尔贝维尔1992 第 17 届 挪威利勒哈默尔1994 第 18 届 日本长野 1998 第 19 届 美国盐湖城2002 第 20 届 意大利都灵2006 第 21 届 加拿大 温哥华2010 第 22 届 俄罗斯索契2014 奥林匹克运动会最早起源于古希腊（公元前776 年） ，因举办地在奥林匹亚而得名。19 世纪末由法国的 顾拜旦男爵 创立了真正意义上的现代奥林匹克运动会。从 1896 年开始奥林匹克运动会每四年举办一次（曾在两次世界大战中中断过三次，分别是在公元1916 、1940和1944 年） ，会期不超过16 天。由于1924 年开始设立了冬季奥林匹克运动会，因此奥林匹克运动会习惯上又称为“ 夏季奥林匹克运动会” 。奥林匹克运动会现在已经成为了和平与友谊的象征。