Every four years people all over the world watch the Olympic Games. It is a time for all kinds of people to unite in peace. Some of them join together to compete for gold medals. Millions of other people watch them on television. Why do we have the Olympics? How did they begin? The first Olympic Games were in Greece in 776 B.C. There was only one event. People ran a race the length of the stadium. The Games lasted one day. Slowly people added more events. The Games were only for men, and women could not even watch them. Only Greeks competed. They came from all parts of the Greek world. The time of the Games was a time of peace, and the government let everyone travel safely. Kings competed against common people. The winners became national heroes. The first modern Games were in 1896 in Athens. The Greeks built a new stadium for the competition. Athletes from several countries competed. Then there were Olympics every four years in different cities in Europe and the United States until 1952. After that they were held in Melbourne, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Montreal besides in European cities. Each year there were athletes from more nations. The first Winter Olympics were in 1924. The athletes compete in skiing and other winter sports. Today there must be Olympic Games every four years. The Games must have at least fifteen events, and they cannot last more than sixteen days. There is no age limit people of any age can compete. The competitors must not be professionals. They must be amateurs. The athletes compete for gold medals. The winners are still national heroes, as they were in the early Olympic Games in Greece. In 1956, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon boycotted the Games. They did not compete in the Games because several countries took the Suez Canal from Egypt that year. Other countries boycotted the Games in 1964 and 1976. In 1980, the United States and other countries boycotted the Games in Moscow. In 1984, the Soviet Union and other countries boycotted the Games in Los Angeles. How can the nations of the world solve this problem? Maybe the Games should be in Greece every year, where they began. Then athletes from all over the world could compete without any boycotts. Questions 1. What was the only event in the first Olympic Games? 2. How many nations played in the first Games? 3. What is the age limit? 4. Are the competitors professionals or amateurs? 5. Where and when is the next Olympic Games?