Beijing Olympics

A. Comprehension
Read the following passage about the Beijing Olympics and complete the
exercises below.

The Olympic Games, an international sporting competition, is held every

four years. More than 200 countries come together to honor and learn
from one another in this extraordinary and spectacular event.

In 2008, the 29th Olympic Games was hosted by Beijing. The Beijing
Olympic adopted three main concepts, namely “People’s Olympic”,
“High-Tech Olympics” and “Green Olympics”.

To fully reflect the idea of People’s Olympics, more than 300 cultural
activities involving about 20,000 artists around the global were
organized. It was an opportunity to advance cultural exchanges between
people from all parts of the world.

A lot new technologies were presented during this grand sporting event
to show how it was a High-Tech Olympics. The Beijing Olympic Games
served as a window to reveal to other people the city’s innovative
technology and strength.

To make the Beijing Olympics a Green Olympics, environmentally friendly

technologies were widely applied in designing and building the Olympic
Games’ facilities. The government had encouraged citizens to be “green”
and promoted environmental protection among the general public.

“One World One Dream” was the slogan of the Beijing Olympic Games. It
reflected the values of the Olympic spirit, namely Unity, Friendship,
Progress, Harmony, Participation and Dreams. We are all able to share
the same glories and dreams brought by the Olympics.
Part A
According to the passage above, circle the best answer.

1. How often is the Olympic Games held?

A. every six months
B. every one year
C. every two years
D. every four years

2. Which one of the following is NOT a main concept of the Beijing

Olympics?
A. involving everyone
B. advanced technology
C. environmentally friendly
D. ancient traditions

3. What is the idea of People’s Olympics

A. involvement of everyone
B. technological achievements
C. environmental protection
D. competitions

4. What does “One World One Dream” reflect?

A. Glory
B. Dreams
C. The Olympic spirit
D. Culture

5. What does the writer think of the Olympic Games in general?

A. The writer criticizes it
B. The writer appreciates it
C. The writer thinks that it is not important
D. The writer hates it
Part B
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What makes the Olympic Games international?

2. What are the values of the Olympic spirit?
3. What has been done to promote the idea of People’s Olympics?
4. How did Beijing reflect the idea of Green Olympics?
5. What is the true meaning of “One World One Dream”?
Part C
MC Cloze

Your friend Sally is a reporter for the school newsletter. She has written a
passage describing the National Stadium in Beijing, but in some places, she
was not sure which word to use. Help Sally decide which word to use by
circling the correct answer.

The National Stadium in Beijing (1) _____ the “Bird’s Nest” by a lot of
people. It served as the main venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It is
located (2)_____ the Olympic park, covering an area of 258,000 square
meters. It is 69 meters (3)_____ and provides 91,000 seats during the
Olympic Games. (4) _____ events like the opening and closing ceremonies
of the Beijing Olympics (5) _____ inside it. It took more than four years to
construct the National Stadium.

Although it looks like it has a lot of holes in it, the National Stadium is
actually enclosed by two protective layers. It (6)_____ several purposes,
such as to protect the stadium from rain and wind. The inner layer offers
(7)_____ sound transmission in the stadium, and makes all the
announcements and music more easily and clearly heard. It (8)_____ the
equipment inside. This special layer helps light (9)_____ the stadium and
provides a more comfortable environment (10)_____ the competitions.
1 a. call 6. a. serves
b. is calling b. provides
c. is called c. coordinates
d. has called d. organises

2 a. in 7. a. lower
b. on b. higher
c. into c. better
d. of d. poorer

3 a. top 8. a. supporting
b. high b. supports
c. height c. support
d. above d. had supported

4 a. Boring 9. a. up
b. Unfortunate b. down
c. Important c. forward
d. Lucky d. backward

5 a. held 10. a. to
b. were holding b. for
c. holds c. into
d. were held d. along
Part D
Proofreading
Sally has found a passage about interesting sporting facts, but it has a lot
mistakes. Proofreading the following passage and make corrections where
appropriate. There is one mistake in every line.

There is many amazing sporting facts, which not many people know about.

Here are some: among ball games, squash balls travel very fastly. They

can move as a pistol bullet at 42 metres per a second, but golf

balls travel at a speed more double of that, at 90 metres a second! On the

other hand, we measure athletes’ fit by their maximum oxygen use. The

more oxygen they can use, more energy is produced. A top athlete normally

use twice as much oxygen to produce energy then normal people. But not

all sports require energy from athletes: equestrianism is a Olympic sport,

and the only one, in which athletes play for an animal.