Complete the sentences using the prepositions of place

11) There was a list of names ..... the notice-board. Our names were ….. the top of the list.

12) Is Alex ….. this photograph? I can’t find him.

13) It’s a very small village ….. the south of England. You probably won’t find it ….. your map.

14) I prefer to sit ….. the front of the car.

15) I love to look up at the stars ….. the sky at night.

16) My sister was seriously ill and she had to stay ..... bed for two weeks.

17) I'm hungry. What's ..... the menu?

18) There is a nice portrait of my aunt ..... the wall ..... the living room.

19) Why didn’t the bus-driver stop ….. the bus-stop ..... the end of the High Street?

20) The office was ..... the tenth floor ..... the right , but the lift didn't work.

II. HOME PEADING

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Olympic Games Then and Now

THE ORIGIN OF THE OLYMPICS

The Achaeans in Homer's text were warriors by trade and athletes by accident of their physi­cal conditioning as combatants. But, as Greece became more settled and the warrior life declined, exercise for physical fitness was introduced, and gymnasiums, stadiums, and training facilities were built by Greek city-states. During the colo­nization period of 750 to 550 BC, the aristocrat­ic ideals of physical fitness and intellectual prowess were adopted by all classes. This relatively settled period ushered in the era of organized, all-inclusive athletic and musical competitions in which both mind and body were tested. These competitions were open to all that could afford training, and even to those who could not, since a city-state would sponsor an athlete so that he might bring glory to his hometown. Numerous local music and athletic festivals in honor of a patron god or goddess provided ample opportu­nities for athletes or musicians to prove their prowess and bring honor to their community.

Despite our knowledge of these competitions, not much is really known about the origins of the Olym­pic games or why they were the most prestigious. Pausanias said that the games trace their origins back before recorded history when Cronos wrestled Zeus at Olympia. Several myths tell of the founding of the games by ancient he­roes. And, of course, Strabo tells of an Eleans myth that says Zeus founded the games.

One difference between the ancient and mod­ern Olympic Games is that the ancient games were played within the context of a religious fes­tival. The Games were held in honor of Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, and a sacrifice of 100 oxen was made to the god on the middle day of the festival. Athletes prayed to the gods for victory, and made gifts of animals, produce, or small cakes, in thanks for their successes.

According to legend, the altar of Zeus stood on a spot struck by a thunderbolt, which had been hurled by the god from his throne high atop Mount Olympus, where the gods as­sembled. Some coins from Elis had a thunderbolt design on the reverse, in honor of this legend.

 

OLYMPICS REBIRTH

The idea of the Olympic Games absolutely captivated the modern 19th century nation-states. In symbolic terms, these Games were the celebration of modem societies, which faced the new era with optimism and faith for the future. It was also the reassurance of the heritage of the Greek classical culture. The atmosphere of these days proves the effort put in identifying the two cultures, classical and modem

"In order to purify the notion of ri­valry and to transform it into noble con­test, the representatives of all the nations chose one method: the creation of competitions at regular periodical intervals at which representatives of all countries and all sports would be invited under the aegis of the same au­thority, which would impact to them a halo of grandeur and glory, that is the patronage of classical antiquity. To do this was to revive the Olympic Games: the name imposed itself: it was not even possible to find another." - Baron Pierre de Coubertin, 1896

The text illustrates what the 19th century believed about the revival of the Olympic Games. Still, it says nothing about the first attempts of the Greeks to revive the Olympic Games, long before Baron De Coubertin was born. Many years later, in 1896, the First International Olympic Games took place in Athens, the first Olym­pic city. The choice of Athens was a symbolical act of recognition of the Hellenic contribution to Western cul­ture and civilization.

In the 19th century, the social for­mation of national states was ideally right for the acceptance of the Olym­pic Ideas in a new national context.

INNOVATING SPIRIT

Many people contributed to the realization of the Olympic Games.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin may be the famous person behind the ac­tual revival of the modern Olympic Games as we know them today; but if we read back in recent history we will discover that two attempts were made, primarily by a Greek named Evangelis Zappas and later on by an English doctor named William Pen­ny Brooks.

Zappas organized four venues un­der a different name that we know to­day as "the Olympic Games". He had named the venue as "Olympia" but they had been terminated by 1859. Research in Greece, Germany and the United Stales have found and record­ed the effort of Evangelis Zappas and recognized his input and efforts in the revival of the Games in 1896.

William Brooks wrote an article that was published in a Greek newspaper in 1881 that proposed the staging of the International Olympic Games in Athens. Brooks admired the Greeks, he was a known "philhellen" that organized "Olympic Games" in his area. Match Welock in England created an "Olympic Company" and an extracurricular educa­tional program under the name "Olympic Class".

The Baron Coubertin visited William Brooks in England where the latter expressed his ideas on the Olympic Games. The Baron forwarded the ideas at the "Sorbonne Convention" where he spoke on the "study of the principles of athleticism"

At this convention, Greece was represented by a world renowned novelist, Demetricos Vikellas who acted on his behalf and managed to alter the pre-agreed staging of the first Olympic Games in Paris 1900, to Athens, four years earlier.

Baron Coubertin recognized Demetrios Vikellas as the person who proposed that the first Games should be held in Athens. This decision as we will see is considered to be a milestone for the successful continuation of the Games.

 

1. Who helped poor athletes take part in the games?

2. What is the difference between ancient and mod­ern Olympic Games?

3. Where and when did the first mod­ern Olympic Games take place?

4. What was Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s contribution into the revival of the Games?

5. What decision is considered to be a milestone for the continuation of the Games?

 

 

III. ANNOTATION

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Colored Rings

Baron Pierre de Coubertin conceived the main symbol of the International Olympic Committee, the colored rings. Ac­cording to Coubertin every one of the five rings symbolized the five continents. The conjunction of the five rings symbolized the conjunction of the continents during the athletic events and represents the ideal of peace and brotherhood of the whole planet.

The top three circles, from left to right, are blue, black and red. The bottom two circles, from left to right are yellow and green.

The five rings and their colors represent the 5 continents of the world:

Blue represents Europe, black represents Africa, red represents America, yellow represents Asia, green represents Oceania.

Another reason de Coubertin chose these colors was that every country in the world uses at least one of those colors on their official flag.

 

IV. ORAL TOPICS

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THE OLYMPIC GAMES

The Olympic Games, an international festival of sports, originated in Ancient Greece in 776 B. C. They were held at a four-year interval (called Olympiad) for nearly 12 centuries until 393 A. D. In 393 A. D. the Roman Emperor Theodosius banned the Games as a disturbance to Roman peace and they haven't been revived for nearly 1,500 years.

The ceremonies of the ancient Olympic Games included contests in oratory, poetry, music and art, as well as in athletic skills like wrestling, long jumping, running, discus and javelin throwing. Later, the programme was expanded to include boxing and chariot races.

To be a victor in the ancient Olympic Games was a great honour. The victors were traditionally crowned with olive leaves from a sacred tree.

The 1st Games of the modern cycle were held in 1896 in Athens owing, to the efforts of the French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin. 311 athletes representing 13 countries competed 9 sports. The Olympic stadium where athletes had competed in antiquity was specially reconstructed for the Games. In 1920 (in Antwerp) the Olympic flag with five interlaced rings of blue, yellow, black, green and red colours on a white background - symbol of the unity of the five continents - was hoisted for the first time, and the first Olympic Oath-taking ceremony was also introduced.

The motto adopted by the International Olympic Committee - "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger) - made its appearance at the Antwerp Games too.

Helsinki was the host of the 15th Olympic Games with the 55-yearold Nurmi as torch-bearer at the opening ceremony. There was hardly anyone at that time who could even suspect that these Olympics were to become a turning point in the entire Olympic movement. But so it proved Soviet athletes appeared for the first time in the Olympic arena. The debutants amazed the world with their athletic ability. Competing with the best athletes from 69 countries, the Soviet athletes won 22 gold 30 silver and 19 bronze medals, scoring in the unofficial team standing as many medals as the USA team which had dominated at all the preceding Olympics.

Though very important, sports results are not the only thing that counts. As a result, the Olympic Games have become a true international festival of peace and friendship.

SPORT IN GREAT BRITAIN

The British are a sporting nation. Like everyone else they love football in fact, they invented it. Most British towns and cities have a football team. Every year, each team plays in the Football Association competition. The two best teams play in the Cup final at Wembley Stadium in London. Some fans pay up to £ 250 for a ticket for the Cup Final. It is one of the biggest sporting events of the year.

Tennis is another popular game in Britain. Every summer, in June, the biggest international tennis tournament takes place at Wimbledon, a suburb of London. There are strawberries and cream for sale, and everyone hopes the rain will stay away.

The British play many sports that are unknown in most other countries, for example: cricket, squash and netball.

Cricket is a typically British sport which foreigners have difficulty in understanding. The game looks slow, but it can be exciting if you understand what's going on. There are two teams of eleven players: one man (the "bowler") throws the ball, and the "batsman" hits it with his bat.

Cricket is a very long game. Matches last from one to five days. Squash is another British invention. It is a form of tennis. There are two players and they use rackets similar to tennis rackets and a small, black rubber ball. They play indoors. It is a very fast and tiring sport!

Netball is similar to basketball. There are seven players (usually girls or women) in each team and the object of the game is the same as in basketball: to throw the ball through a net at the top of a three-metre post.

Swimming is very popular in Britain and there are many public swimming baths.

Many British people who live near the sea, a lake or a river enjoy sailing. If you are really enthusiastic, and rich enough to buy your own boat, you can take part in one of the annual sailing races or "regattas" at Cowes, near Portsmouth, for example, or at Henley on the river Thames.

Golf is becoming increasingly popular. Athletics is growing all the time. Winter sports such as skiing are generally impossible in Britain (except in Scotland) owing to the unsuitable climate, but more and more people spend winter holidays on the Continent in order to take part in them.

Sport in British schools is compulsory and schoolchildren spend at least one afternoon a week playing sport. These are some of the sports played in most British secondary schools. In winter boys play football (or "soccer" as it is colloquially called) or rugby and go cross-country running, while girls play netball or hockey. Some boys' schools also teach rowing. In summer boys play cricket, do athletics or go swimming, while girls play rounders (a British version of baseball), do athletics or go swimming. Tennis is also played in summer in some schools by boys and girls.