Complete the passage below using the correct form of the

verb in brackets (present perfect or simple past)

The Olympic Games

The original Olympic Games (1.begin) ___________________ around 800 BC in

Ancient Greece, and (2. continue) ___________________until they (3be)

___________________abolished by the Roman Emperor Theodosius in AD 393. The

first modern Olympics (4.take place) ___________________in Athens in 1896, and

since then, more than a dozen different countries (5.stage)

___________________the Summer Olympics. The cities of Athens, Paris, London,

Berlin and Los Angeles (6.stage) ___________________the Olympics twice.

In 1956, Australia (7. become) ___________________the first country outside

Europe and

America to stage the Olympics, while Mexico (8.be) ___________________the first

Latin American country to stage the Olympics, in 1968.

Many of the greatest athletes in the world (9. take part) ___________________in

the Olympic Games, but no one (10. equal) ___________________the achievements

of the great Finnish athlete, Paavo Nurmi, who between 1920 and 1928 (11.win)

___________________nine gold and three silver medals.

The Olympic Games (12.see) ___________________many tragedies and triumphs.

For example, in the marathon of 1908, the little Italian, Dorando Pietri

(13collapse) ___________________five times in the last part of the race, but

(14.come) ___________________first - only to be disqualified because spectators

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(15. help) ___________________him over the finishing line. And in 1936, the

famous black American

athlete Jesse Owens (16. break) ___________________six world records

in a single day!

From the first modern Olympics in Athens, when only fourteen

countries (17participate) _______________, the Olympics (18grow)

___________________to include over 140 countries. Gold, silver and bronze

medals (19go) ___________________to over 8,000 men and women.

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