The Changing Olympic Games
        The Olympic Games have changed a lot since they were first held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Back then,
winners got silver medals instead of gold ones. Sounds strange, doesn't it? People thought silver was better than
gold. Also, no women ran in the first Olympics, and only 14 countries took part. China was not one of them.
But those aren't the only differences.
        The Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin (顾拜旦) was the man who really wanted the Games to start
again. His idea for the modern Olympics came from the Greek Games thousands of years ago. He hoped they
would help to bring world peace.
        But it took time for the Olympics to become popular. Not many people thought they were good ideas in
1896, so they were put together poorly. Some tourists even ran in races! Today, more than 10,000 people from
about 200 countries take part.
        In the early years of the Olympics, there weren't many sports. Most events were track and field (田径),
much like in the first Greek Games. Events usually took place in the Panathenaic Stadium (雅典体育场), and
you can still see it today. Players did not wear their countries' colors in 1896. Their clothes were not like the
uniforms people wear today. In fact, players weren't even picked by their countries back then. They traveled to
the Games by themselves and had to use their own money to take part.
         New sports have been put into the Olympics over time, like badminton and table tennis. Some older games
are no longer played, like tug-of-war (拔河). It would be hard to see all the events at this year's Games. There
will be over 300!
         Swimming was different in 1896. There was a 1,200-metre race in the sea. A boat took swimmers out
into the sea and left them to swim back to land. Sometimes rough water made the race dangerous. The first
person ever to win that race was Hungarian Alfred Hajos. He seemed happy just to finish."I just wanted to live.
That's more important than winning," he said. When people or teams won events in 1896, they didn't get the
same things as now. They got olive wreaths (橄榄枝花环) to put on their heads and silver medals.

1. In the first Olympic, winners were given            .

A、gold medals and olive wreaths
B、silver and gold medals
C、olive wreaths and flowers
D、silver medals and olive wreaths

2. Baron Pierre de Coubertin wanted the Olympic Games to start again because            .

3. In the early years of the Olympics           .

A、most events were track and field
B、players wore the uniforms people wear today
C、people from about 200 countries took part
D、events usually took place in many other countries

4. ________ are no longer played in the modern Olympics.

A、Running
B、Tug-of-war
C、Table tennis
D、Swimming

5. The sentence underlined in the text really means            .

A、some events will no longer be played in this year's Games
B、there will be too many events for you to see all
C、the Olympic Games have changed a lot
D、events will take place in the Panathenaic Stadium