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Sport
People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy, keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unites people of different classes and nationalities.
Many people do sports on their personal initiative. They go in for skiing, skating, table width=100% tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, bodybuilding, etc. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments. Gymnastics is a part of children's daily activity in the kindergartens. Physical culture is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges.
Professional sport is also paid much attention to in our republic. There are different sporting societies clubs and complexes. The most famous of them are the Olympic complexes "Luzhniki", "Dynamo" stadium, etc. They are used for international and world competitions.
Practically all kinds of sports are popular in our republic but football; gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity.
As for me, I go in for swimming. It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been swimming for a 5 years. I get a real joy taking part in competitions or a simply swimming with my friends. Certainly, it`s a great distance between my manner of swimming and such favorites as Popov, but I do my training with great pleasure and hope to swim well as our best swimmers do.
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The Olympic Games
The Olympic Games were held on Greek land in the ancient times. The first Olympic Games took place in 776 B.C. The Olympic Games took place every four years at Olympia and were a part of a religious festival. The four-
At first, the athletes took part only in race (the sprint). Later, they threw the discus and javelin, then broad jumping and wrestling were added. The Olympic Games were held for more than 1,000 years. The Byzantine Emperor Theodosius abolished them in 394 A.D.
The Games were revived in 1896 to support understanding and friendship among nations. The first modern games were held in Athens, Greece. Young men and women come from all over the world to compete in various sports and represent their country. They live in an Olympic Vil at the site of the games.
The Olympic Games are organized and governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It sets the program of the games, chooses the city where the games are to be held, and determines the standards of games. Each country has a National Olympic Committee.
The opening ceremony of each Olympic Games is held in a major stadium. The president of the host country usually opens the games. Athletes from Greece march the first and athletes from other countries march after them around the stadium in the parade of Nations. Then, looking at the Olympic Flag, the athletes take the Olympic Oath:
We swear that we will take part in these Olympic Games in the true spirit of sportsmanship, and that we will respect the rules that govern them, for the glory of sport and the honor of our country.
The Olympic Flame is lit with a torch that is brought by a relay of ath from the ruins of ancient Olympia in Greece. When the Games are finished, the flag is lowered and the flame extinguished.