Lesson 1
Activity 1. In pairs. Look at the video "The Olympic Games story", you have the transcription under the activities.
Activity 2. Talk about the video with your classmate (curiosities and interesting things).
Activity 3. Press "Activity 3". Read the different texts (Olympic Games, Zeus, Events, Women, Spectators, Nastiest event, Sacred Truce) and do the Quiz in the section of activities.
"Extra Activity". You can try to do these extra activities to increase your marks.
The Olympic Games
0:24 but do you know where the story begins
0:27 well once upon a time a long long time
0:32 ago that's right come on come on yes
0:36 hurry up over here in Greece well
0:40 ancient Greece to be exact but do you
0:43 know exactly where they began right here
0:46 at the foot of the highest mountain in
0:48 Greece Mount Olympus this is where the
0:52 very first Olympic Games were held in
0:54 the ancient world now what are your
0:57 maths like can you work out how long ago
1:00 the first game took place 776 years
1:05 before the Common Era Greece was one of
1:07 the most advanced countries in the world
1:10 okay so the men did wear dresses they
1:13 called them togas and they stood around
1:14 talking about politics and philosophy
1:16 and really brainy stuff like that while
1:20 the women had to run the household and
1:22 look after the children and be bossed
1:24 around by the men but the ancient Greeks
1:27 were very clever and hardworking and
1:29 they invented some fantastically useful
1:32 and brilliant things like central
1:35 heating yes central heating toasty warm
1:38 in winter and showers very useful in
1:41 that hot sticky summer weather now the
1:45 Chinese say that they invented the
1:47 wheelbarrow but the Greeks used them to
1:49 and they invented a weapon called the
1:51 crossbow made of wood which they used in
1:55 battle and they worked out how to make a
1:57 crane very good for lifting heavy things
2:01 but let's get back to the Olympic Games
2:03 and you know where the word Olympic
2:06 comes from don't you from Mount Olympus
2:09 the ancient Greeks believed that the 12
2:12 Olympic gods lived on top of the
2:14 mountain so every year they would gather
2:16 at the foot of Mount Olympus to ask for
2:18 special favors and to say thank you very
2:21 much and give presents to the gods well
2:24 make that sacrifice is that's a better
2:27 way of saying it I don't think anyone
2:29 a dead cow a nice present to lighten the
2:33 mood bit after all that bloody
2:35 sacrificing they put on contests and
2:37 competitions which came to be known as
2:39 the Olympic Games now it's not like
2:43 today you couldn't watch the games on TV
2:45 eating pringles on the couch you had to
2:48 be there so what games do they play this
2:51 is a statue of a Greek sportsman called
2:54 disco bolus by the ancient Greek
2:56 sculptor myrus you might have tried
2:58 throwing discus yourself and if you have
3:00 you be doing exactly what the Greeks did
3:02 all those years ago at Mount Olympus
3:05 except they weren't wearing nikkor puma
3:07 gear the ancient Greeks competed in
3:10 their nude well yes they did but why
3:14 well the weather is pretty hot in Greece
3:17 and also because the Olympic Games
3:19 celebrated the achievements of the human
3:21 body and the athletes used olive oil to
3:24 keep the skin smooth and make their
3:26 bodies look sleek and muscly and who
3:29 could compete in these games no women
3:32 I'm afraid they were busy looking after
3:34 the children of course you had to be a
3:36 free man and not a slave and you had to
3:39 be able to speak Greek what sports did
3:42 they play well you know about the discus
3:45 but things like tennis hockey and
3:47 synchronized swimming hadn't been
3:49 invented back then they had chariot
3:51 racing competitions they threw the
3:53 javelin there was boxing and there was
3:56 wrestling and of course there were
3:58 running races a bit uncomfortable in the
4:01 new diving talking about running have
4:05 you heard with the marathon the very
4:07 toughest of all running races marathon
4:10 is a town in Greece about 26 miles from
4:13 Athens 490 years before the Common Era
4:16 there was a huge and fierce battle
4:19 and the messenger boy called five if
4:22 ADIZ was given the horrible job of
4:24 running all the way back to athens to
4:26 tell everyone the Greeks had won the
4:28 battle he made it all the way to athens
4:31 and managed to gasp the Greeks of one
4:35 before he dropped dead on the ground
4:37 that's why the race of 26 miles is still
4:40 called the marathon today it must have
4:44 been a dramatic moment because it's
4:46 caught the imagination of painters
4:48 throughout history look at this picture
4:50 fida Purdy's is exhausted here's an
4:54 ancient Greek sportsman looking at his
4:56 calendar and wondering when the next
4:57 Olympics will be back then they decided
5:01 to hold these games once every four
5:03 years this four year period was known by
5:06 Greeks as an Olympiad they used it in
5:09 their Diaries and calendars to measure
5:11 time so the Olympic Games were held for
5:15 over a thousand years in ancient Greece
5:17 until Emperor Theodosius put a stop to
5:20 them why because they weren't Christian
5:23 and he wanted to make Christianity the
5:25 big thing so in 393 ad they stopped now
5:34 let's spin forward more than 1,500 years
5:37 and take you from Greece all the way to
5:40 Paris in France let's meet the hero of
5:43 our story Baron Pierre de Coubertin he
5:47 was a rich French nobleman who was very
5:49 interested in education when he was a
5:52 young man he went to England to visit a
5:54 boys school called rugby it's
5:57 fantastique sass-pot mixed the boy
5:59 strong it gives them the discipline and
6:02 it makes them healthy and happy is
6:04 wonderful he wanted to go back to the
6:08 sporty days of the ancient Olympic
6:10 contests and put on a competition
6:12 between different countries but first he
6:15 had to persuade everyone to agree to his
6:17 idea have you ever tried to persuade
6:19 people to sell an idea you've got it's
6:22 hard when he told people about his plan
6:25 they said it's crazy it's hi dick eater
6:28 it was never work but he didn't give up
6:33 96 more than 1,500 years after the last
6:36 ancient Greek games the first modern
6:39 Olympic Games was held back in Greece
6:42 the country that invented the whole idea
6:48 have you got any idea why the Olympic
6:51 symbol looks like this the five rings
6:54 represent the five continents and the
6:56 colors are in all the national flags
6:58 that compete the Olympic motto is citius
7:03 Fortius altius which is Latin for faster
