【正文】 o runni ng races or horse ri di ng events. Instead there are petiti ons l i ke ski i ng and i ce skati ng which need snow and i ce. That’s why they’re cal ed the Wi nter O lym pi cs. It’s i n the Sum mer Ol ym pi cs that you have the runni ng races, together with swi mmi ng, sai li ng and al the team sports. P: I see. Earl ier you sai d that athl etes are i nvi ted from al over the worl d. Do you m ean the Greek worl d? O ur Greek ci ti es used to pete agai nst each other just for the honour of wi ni ng. N o other countries coul d joi n i n, nor coul d sl aves or wom en! L: N owadays any country can take part i f thei r athl etes are good enough. There are over 250 sports and each one has its own standard. Wom en are not onl y al lowed, but pl ay a very im portant role i n gym nasti cs, athl etics, team sports and … P: Pl ease wai t a m i nute! Al those events, al those countri es and even wom en taki ng part! Where are al the athl etes housed? L: For each O l ym pi cs, a speci al vi l age i s bui l t for them to l i ve i n, a m ai n recepti on buil di ng, several stadi ums for peti ti ons, and a gym nasi um as wel . P: That’s sounds very expansive. Does anyone want to host the Ol ym pi c Gam es? L: As a m atter of fact, every country wants the oportuni ty. It’s a great responsi bil i ty but al so a great honour to be chosen. There’s as m uch peti tions am ong countri es to host the O l ym pi cs as to wi n Ol ympi c m edal s. The 2020 Ol ympi cs wil l be hel d i n Beiji ng. P: O h yes! You m ust be very proud. L: Certai nly. And after that the 2020 O l ym pi cs wil l be hel d i n London. They have al ready started pl anni ng for i t. A new vil lage for the athl etes and al l the stadi ums wi l be buil t to the east of London. N ew m edal s wi l be desi gned of course and … P: Di d you say m edals? So even the oli ve wreath has been repl aced! O h dear! Do you pete for pri ze m oney too? L: N o, we don’t. It’s stil l al l about bei ng abl e to run faster, jum per hi gher and throw further. That’s the m oto of the O l ym pi cs, you know—― Swi fter, Hi gher and Stronger. ‖ P: Wel l, that’s a good news. H ow i nteresti ng! Thank you so m uch for your tim e. The story of Atl anta Atl anta was a Greek pri ncess. She was very beauti ful and coul d run faster than any m an i n Greece. But she was not al l owed to run and wi n gl ory for herself i n the O l ym pi c Gam es. She was so angry that she sai d to her farther that she woul d not m ary anyone who coul d not run faster than her. H er father sai d that she m ust m ary, so Atl anta m ade a bargai n wi th him . She sai d to him, ― These are m y rul es. When a m an says he wants to m ary m e, I wil l run agai nst him. If he cannot run as fast as m e, he wi l be ki l ed. N o one wil be pardoned. ‖ Many ki ngs and pri nces wanted to m arry Atl anta, but when they heard of her rul es they knew i t was hopel es. So m any of them sadl y went hom e, but others stayed to run the race. There was a m an cal led H i pom enes who was am azed when he heard of Atl anta’s rul es, ― Why are these m en so fooli sh?‖ hethought. ― Why wil they l et themsel ves be ki l ed because they cannot run as fast as thi s pri ncess?‖ H owever, when he saw Atl anta e out of her house to run, Hi ppom enes changed hi s mi nd. ― I wi l m ary Atl anta—or di e !― he sai d. The race started and al though the m an ran very fast, Atl anta ran faster. As Hi ppom enes watched he thought, ― H ow can I run as fast as Atl anta?‖ H e went to ask the Greek Goddess of Love for hel p. She prom i sed to hel p hi m and gave him three gol den appl es. She sai d, ― Throw an appl e i n front of Atlanta when she i s running past. When she stops to pi ck i t up, you wil l be abl e to run past her and wi n. ‖ Hi ppom enes took the appl es and went to the Ki ng. H e sai d, ― I want to m arry Atlanta. ‖ The Ki ng was sad to see another m an di e, but H ippomenes sai d, ― I wil l m arry her – or di e!‖ So the race began. Three i nspi ri ng stori es about the Ol ym pi c Gam es 1. The ki nd N orwegi an There i s a croscountry ski ng race whi ch i s part of the Wi nter Ol ym pics. In 2020 a Canadi an ski er, Sara Renner, was taki ng part i n the cross country fi nal when her l eft pol e broke. Thi s was a seri ous probl em as she needed the pol e to hel p her travel qui ckl y through the deep snow. Im m edi atel y Bjornar H akensm oen , the coach of the Norwegian team, gave her another pol e. So Renner was abl e to get a sil ver m edal . H akensm oen sai d that he had onl y behaved as any god sportsm an shoul d, but Sara sai d that H akensm oen had shown everybody the true m eaning of sport. 2. The Speci al Ol ym pi c athl ete For athlete Eri c Wi l i am s gol d m edal s are ni ce, but good sportsm anshi p i s m ore i mportant. Eric has a l ow m ental abi li ty but this does not stop hi m from taki ng apart i n the Ol ym pics. In 2020 Eri c peted i n runni ng races and the l ong jum p. H e sai d, ― I’ve been peti ng i n the Speci al Ol ym pi cs ever si nce I was at hi gh school. It’s real y a good experi ence. You get to m eet di ferent athl etes and vol unteers and m ake al ki nds of fri ends. ― John Corbett, an anizer of the Speci al O l ym pi cs sai d, ― H e al ways does hi s best and has a wonderful tim e i n the progress. H e truly appreciates al the peopl e around hi m who are trying to hel p, and he m akes that apreci ation known. ― Let’s hope Eri c wi ns more m edal s i n the next Speci al O l ym pi cs! 3. The stubborn Afri can In 1968 a Kenyan athl ete Ki p Keino peted i n the 1500 m etres runi ng race. At that tim e he was very il l and i n great pai n. Although he had reached the standard for the fi nal of the race he deci ded at fi rst not to take part. H owever, just before the race was goi ng to start he changed hi s mi nd. H e ran from hi s room and arri ved at the race track a few