The olympic games

The Olympic Games have a very long history. They began in ancient Greece where they were held in honour of Zeus, the princi­pal god of the Greeks. They lasted for five days and became a sym­bol of peace and friendship, because in keeping with the decree of that time no wars could be waged during the Games. The athletes competed in running, boxing, wrestling, horse and chariot racing, and the like. However, women were unable to compete. They couldn't even be present among the spectators during the games. The winners were presented with laurel wreaths in the temple of Zeus. There is a list of winners dating from 776 ВС. Though there were other regular sports competitions in an­cient Greece, the Greeks considered the Olympics, which took place every four years, so important that they calculated time by them. The Olympic Games were held for nearly twelve cen­turies until they were abolished in 394 AD by the Roman Em­peror Theodosius I who became Christian.

The Olympic Games were revived only at the end of the 19th century thanks to Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896 to underline the importance of precedent. The International Olympic Commit­tee, the central policy-making body of the Olympic movement, was also set up in 1896. It is composed of representatives from all the countries, which take part in the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee decides on the programme of the games, the number of the participants, and the host-city for the games. Over one hundred and fifty countries are represented in the International Olympic Committee now. Each coun­try also has its National Olympic Committee. Summer and Winter Games are held separately. There are always several cities keen to host the Games. The International Com­mittee selects the most suitable city and it starts preparations for the competitions, constructs new sports facilities, stadiums, ho­tels, press centres. Thousands of athletes, journalists, and guests come to the Games, so it takes a lot of effort to arrange every­thing. There is always an interesting cultural programme of con­certs, exhibitions, festivals etc. for every Games.

Russia joined the Olympic movement in 1952. Since then it has won a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals.

Notes

1. wage - вести

2. сhariot – колесница

3. the like – тому подобное

City and country

There are many cities and towns in Russia. The biggest cities are Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are differences in the way of life people lead there due to the city's size, its geographical location, and economical situation, but there are undoubtedly common traits that separate it from the way of life people lead in the country.

Living in a city you usually have more choices about where to work, where to study, where to shop and where to spend your free time. Cities have public transportation systems so usually even in a big city you need not spend more than an hour and a half going wherever you need to go. Sometimes buses, trams and trolleybuses may be late in coming, but once you're in, they'll take you wherever you need to go. The big­gest cities also have subway system which is more convenient since its trains' speed doesn't depend on rush-hours. Cities have many shops, big and small, cinemas, libraries, the­atres, and other places where you can pursue your interests and spend your free time. There are more different education­al institutions and workplaces, so you have more freedom in choosing your career.

In addition, living in the city you can use many conveniences even without leaving home. City apartments have central heat­ing, running hot and cold water, garbage chute, and telephone; their TV sets take more channels and it's easier to get a good Internet connection.

Living in the country in Russia has always been more difficult than the city life. You are closer to nature and can breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat home-grown food, but the country life is still devoid of many benefits of the city. The choice of jobs for coun­try people is limited and you have to go to a city or town for your professional training. The possibilities of buying what you want and choices of places to spend your free time are also limited. For all those reasons many Russian villages are dying. Only the old people stay there, and the young people from the countryside move to the cities to get an edu­cation and to look for a job.

Great Britain is a much smaller country than Russia, and all the distances inside the country are shorter. This might be one of the reasons why there are many villages where life isn't so different from the cities; indeed, many people working in big cities prefer to live outside of them, in charming villages, and go to work by train each day.

There are many big cities in USA, but there are also vast territories of the agricultural states, primarily in the Mid-west, where most people live in the countryside. However, there aren't really any villages there; small towns with shops, post offices and schools are surrounded by fields and farms standing far away and separate from each other.

Notes

1. trait - черта

2. once - если

Вариант 3