[00:27.19]THE OLYMPIC GAMES
[00:31.63]Every four years athletes from all over the world
[00:38.71]take part in the Olympic Games.
[00:44.04]Both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games are held every four years.
[00:52.09]The Winter Olympic Games are held every four years
[00:59.17]before the Summer Olympic Games.
[01:04.03]The ancient Olympic Games began around the year 776 BC in Greece.
[01:13.27]Many of the sports were the same as they are now.
[01:19.33]Some of the games in which the young men competed were:
[01:25.89]running,jumping and wrestling.
[01:31.25]Women were not allowed to take part in the games.
[01:37.59]After about the year 393 AD the Olympic Games stopped.
[01:44.75]For centuries there were no Olympic Games.
[01:50.92]But they were not forgotten.
[01:55.28]The first Olympic Games in modern times happened in 1896.
[02:03.14]They were held in Greece-the country in which the Games were born.
[02:10.51]In the Games there were 311 competitors from just 13 countries.
[02:19.36]After that more and more countries joined in the Games.
[02:26.42]In 2000,over 10,000 athletes from 227 countries went to Sydney,Australia
[02:37.88]for the 27th Olympic Games!
[02:43.03]There are 300 different events in the Games.
[02:49.09]Horse-riding.
[02:52.56]hammer throw and shooting are some of the more unusual events.
[02:59.72]The Olympic motto is "Faster,Higher,Stronger".
[03:07.45]It means that every athlete should try to run faster,
[03:14.09]jump higher and throw further.
[03:19.52]They do their best to win medals.
[03:24.25]In the 1984 Olympic Games,
[03:29.71]Carl LEWIS from the USA won four gold medals in track and field
[03:37.44]and became one of the best sportsmen in the 20th century.
[03:44.10]In Sydney the Chinese team got 28 gold medals,
[03:51.26]ranking third of all the competing countries.
[03:57.14]Many of the Chinese medals were won in diving and gymnsties
[04:04.40]and also in events such as weight lifting and shooting.
[04:10.75]Following the history-making success in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,
[04:18.12]China won another great competition in 2001 which was not for a medal.
[04:26.45]It was the competition between countries to host the Olympic Games.
[04:33.21]In 2008,the 29th Olympie Games will be held in Beijing.
[04:41.68]To make it the best ever Games,
[04:46.82]the capital city will make several big changes.
[04:52.78]New buildings and sports venues will be built.
[04:58.95]More trees will be planted and new roads will be built.
[05:05.82]The people of Beijing,and of the whole country,
[05:11.67]will be preparing to light the Olympic torch to welcome athletes and sports fans
[05:18.93]from all over the world.

[06:55.29]part 2
[08:37.67]post reading part
[09:07.03]YAO MING
[09:13.98]Born: Sept.12,1980 in Shanghai,China
[09:20.95]Hight:2.26m (7.5feet)
[09:28.40]Weight:134kg
[09:34.67]Position: Centre
[09:38.93]Club:the Houston Rockets
[09:44.67]In his last season with the Shanghai Sharks,
[09:49.95]Chinese superstar basketball player Yao Ming scored 32.4 points per game.
[09:58.60]Now the big man from China is hepling the Houston Rockets in the NBA.
[10:06.35]Yao Ming has more than just size:
[10:11.63]he also has great skill and speed and he is a team player,
[10:18.68]Yao Ming is the son of two great basketball players
[10:24.85]and learnt how to play one of the world's most popular games when he was young.
[10:31.90]Now,as one of the stars in the NBA,
[10:37.57]Yao Ming is working hard to live his dream
[10:42.82]and show the world that Chinese basketball players love this game too!
[11:23.57]he also has great skill and speed and he is a team player,
[11:53.85]Yao Ming is working hard to live his dream
[12:22.48]show the world that Chinese basketball players love this game too.