De Coubertin and his team scratched their heads but nobody came up with what they were looking for. Then Michel Breal, a friend of de Coubertin's, made a suggestion: Why not organise a race based on the story of marathon from ancient Greek history? That was it!

The planners of the Modern Olympics had found the big event to put at the centre of their new Games.

Questions

1 What is the familiar meaning of 'to scratch one's head'?

a) to think hard

b) to make up one's mind

2 What phrase means 'to show the important achievements of'?

a) to reflect the glory of

b) to come up with

The battle of Marathon

The year was 490 B.C. and King Darius of Persia was waging full scale war against Greece in an attempt to extend the Persian Empire across Greek lands. Darius' armies had already made great advances, and now the Persian and the Greek armies were fighting a vicious battle at the town of Marathon.

Although outnumbered by Persian soldiers, the Greek army was victorious and Pheidippedes, a Greek soldier, was sent from Marathon to Athens to spread the news that the Persians had been defeated. Pheidippedes ran the entire distance of over 20 miles without stopping, but on arriving in Athens he just had time to pass on his news before dropping down dead with exhaustion. The story of Pheidippides passed into legend, and centuries later became the inspiration for the marathon race thought up by Baron de Coubertin and Michel Breal as the star event of the first Modern Olympiad.

Questions

3 What verb in the text means 'to make larger'?

a) to spread

b) to extend

4 What does the adjective 'vicious' mean?

a) cruel and aggressive

b) small and elegant

The modern event

The Olympic marathon is the ultimate test of an athlete's stamina. The length of the first Olympic marathons was not fixed, varying at about 24 miles according to the route decided by the race's planners. The marathon distance for the 1908 London Games was 26 miles 385 yards. For the next Olympiad, the distance was changed to 24.98 miles and it changed again in 1920 to 26.56 miles. For the first seven Modern Olympic Games, there were six different distances for the marathon runners to cover. The organisers of the 1924 Olympics decided that the marathon distance should be fixed at 26 miles 385 yards. The Olympic men's marathon is the last athletics event of the Games and the exciting finish is always in front of thousands of cheering spectators inside the Olympic stadium of the host country.

Questions

5 What is stamina?

a) the ability to put up with something difficult for a long time

b) the ability to know when you are beaten

Olympic Fact File

Choose the correct word or phrase to make these statements true.

1 The marathon was included in the first Modern Olympics because it was a (dramatic / simple) event.

2 It was a (cousin / friend) of Baron de Coubertin who had the idea of the first marathon.

3 The battle of Marathon was a battle between the Greeks and the (Russians / Persians).

4 It was a (sailor / soldier) who ran non-stop from Marathon to Athens with the news of a Greek victory.

5 The Olympic marathon was set at a distance of 26 miles 385 yards in (1908 / 1924).

Answers

1.a, 2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. a

dramatic / friend / Persians / soldier / 1924