1 . After reading the passage below, fill in each blank with a proper word given in the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. saw               B. professional               C. schedule               D. gradually          E. field          F. marked G. host                 H. incredibly                  I. determination             J. repeated            K. cancelled

The Olympics

The Olympics are the most important international competition in terms of scale, skills, and number of athletes.

The games are divided into two parts—the Summer Games and the Winter Games. The two parts are held in such a way that there are two years in between but four years before one is     1    .

The Olympics were first celebrated in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were held every four years until 393 AD. Then, they were brought to an end by the Roman emperor. It was not until the 1890s that the world     2    the modern summer games. In 1896 the first modern Summer Olympics were held in Greece because that was where the tradition started. After that the Olympics would move to a different city every four years. In 1924, the Winter Olympics were added to the     3    . The Games were to take place in a separate, colder place. The event was     4    during World War I and World War II for reasons known to all.

Examples of modern Summer Olympic events are track and     5    events, ball games, diving, gymnastics, swimming. Typical Winter Olympic events are skating and skiing.

The Olympic records are the world ones. An Olympic gold medal carries as much weight as, or even more than, any other gold medal won at other international competitions. The skills and     6    demonstrated at the Olympics have come to stand for the peak of human physical strength and will power.

It was not until the late twentieth century that Chinese athletes began to amaze the world with their     7    performance at the Olympics. Coming out number one many times in the Olympic events, Chinese athletes have brought home one gold medal after another in swimming, diving, gymnastics, weight lifting, and a number of ball games. At the turn of the twenty-first century, the world witnessed Beijing being selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the     8    city for the 2008 Olympics. This has added a brilliant touch to the picture of modern Chinese sport history.

Though once     9    as “the Weaklings of East Asia”, the Chinese have always been looking forward to achieving the dream of becoming a sports giant. After continuous efforts for years the dream is     10    coming true, and it is understandable why the Chinese let out cries of joy the night Beijing’s bid to host the 2008 Olympics was approved!