2 . Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921,the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s, the main crop, potatoes, were affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

What do the five Olympic signs on the flag represent?     1     is widely believed that the five-riing Olympic symbol was created by Frenchman Pierre De Coubertin in 1913. As the founder of the modern Olympic Games, he wanted     2    (celebrate) the 20the anniversary(周年纪念) of the Games and chose a design of five rings,     3     represented the five continents(洲) taking part in the Games. The rings     4    (become) the official Olympic symbol at the 1920 Games in Belgium.

Pierre de Coubertin thought that the five interlocking rings meant the five continents     5    (compete) in the Games and the meeting of their athletes at the Olympic games.     6    (actual) every part of the modern Olympic symbol and flag shows the main purpose of the Games in a particular way. The Olympic flag, with its familiar rings, is used as     7     international symbol of peace, unity and     8    (agree). The white background of the flag stands     9     peace and truth.

At the end of each Olympic Games, the mayor(市长) of the hosting city passes the Olympic fag to the mayor of the city where the next Olympics     10    (hold) for years later. The flag remains there until the next Olympics.