The Olympic Games

'The important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part.'

Baron de Coubertin

When the next Olympic Games begin, satellites will carry T.V. pictures of the opening ceremony to millions of people thousands of miles away. From their armchairs these people will be able to see their country's athletes competing in events and maybe winning a bronze, silver or even gold medal.

It is difficult to remember that the Olympic Games started in Olympia in Greece in 776 BC with only one race, a sprint, for which the prize for the winner was an olive wreath.

The idea of an international Olympic Games was conceived by a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin and the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens in 1896. Nowadays, major cities compete to host the Olympic Games, not just for the honour the Games bring, but for the vast amount of profit a host country can make.

The games have also become politically important. They can now be seen by nearly every country in the world and are therefore an ideal platform for political statements. When Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1980, many countries in the West, including Britain and the United States, boycotted the Moscow Games. In 1984 some countries decided not to send teams to the Los Angeles Games because they felt there was not enough security and that they were too commercial.

In circumstances like these, the Olympic ideal and spirit comes into question. And for athletes there is less value in winning a gold medal if the best of the world's athletes are not competing. The question is -how much longer will the Games survive if nations continue to use them as a political platform?

/Blueprint. Intermediate. /

to compete [kə m'piː t] - состязаться, соревноваться, участвовать в (спортивном) соревновании, конкурировать, соперничать

to win [wɪ n] won - победить, выиграть

to be conceived by smb [kə n'siː vd] - быть задуманным

to host [hə ust] выступать в роли хозяина, принимающей стороны

vast amount of profit [vɑ ː st ə 'maunt ə f 'prɔ fɪ t] - громадные прибыли

political statement [pə 'lɪ tɪ k(ə)l 'steɪ tmə nt] - политическое заявление

team [tiː m] - команда

security [sɪ 'kjuə rə tɪ ] - безопасность

in circumstances like this ['sɜ ː kə mstæ n(t)sɪ z] - в таких обстоятельствах

value ['væ ljuː ] - ценность; важность

to survive [sə 'vaɪ v] - пережить, выдержать, перенести, выжить

C. Which of these statements are true? Correct the false ones:

1. The first Olympic Games started in Rome.

2. The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens in 1896.

3. The Olympic Games are profitable, so major cities compete to host the Olympic Games.

4. The Games are used as a political platform.

5. For athletes there is more value in winning a gold medal if the best of the world’s athletes are not competing.