The modern Olympic Games, founded in 1896, began as contests between individuals, rather than among nations, with the hope of promoting world peace through sportsmanship. In the beginning, the games were open only to amateurs. An amateur is a person whose involvement in an activity---from sports to science or the arts---is purely for pleasure. Amateurs, whatever their contributions to a field, expect to receive no form of compensation ; professionals, in contrast, perform their work in order to earn a living.
From the perspective of many athletes, however, the Olympic playing field has been far from level. Restricting the Olympics to amateurs has precluded（妨碍） the participation of many who could not afford to be unpaid. Countries have always desired to send their best athletes, not their wealthiest ones, to the Olympic Games.
A slender and imprecise line separates what we call “financial support” from “earning money.” Do athletes “earn money” if they are reimbursed（补偿） for travel expenses? What if they are paid for time lost at work or if they accept free clothing from a manufacturer or if they teach sports for a living? The runner Eric Liddell was the son of poor missionaries; in 1924 the British Olympic Committee financed his trip to the Olympics, where he won a gold and a bronze medal. College scholarships and support from the United States Olympic Committee made it possible for American track stars Jesse Owens and Wilma Rudolph and speed skater Dan Jansen to train and compete. When the Soviet Union and its allies joined the games in 1952, the definition of amateur became still muddier. Their athletes did not have to balance jobs and training because as citizens in communist regimes, their government financial support was not considered payment for jobs.
In 1971 the International Olympic Committee(IOC) removed the word amateur from the rules, making it easier for athletes to find the support necessary to train and compete. In 1986 the IOC allowed professional athletes into the games.
There are those who regret the disappearance of amateurism from the Olympic Games. For them the games lost something special when they became just another way for athletes to earn money. Others say that the designation of amateurism was always questionable; they argue that all competitors receive so much financial support as to make them paid professionals. Most agree, however, that the debate over what constitutes an “amateur” will continue for a long time.
小题1: One might infer that _______________________.
A．developing Olympic-level skills in athletes is costly
B．professional athletes are mostly interested in financial rewards
C．amateurs does not expect to earn money at the sport that is played
D．amateurs have a better attitude than professionals do小题2: The statement “the Olympic playing field has been far from level” means that__________.
A．the ground the athletes played on was in bad condition
B．the poorer players were given some advantages
C．the rules did not work the same way for everyone
D．amateurs were inferior to the professionals in many ways小题3: The financial support given to athletes by the Soviet government can best be compared to ________________.
A．a gift received on a special occasion, such as a birthday
B．money received from a winning lottery ticket
C．an allowance paid to a child
D．money from charity organization小题4: One can conclude that the Olympic Organizing Committee _________________.
A．has held firm to its original vision of the Olympic games
B．has struggled with the definition of amateur over the years
C．regards itself as an organization for professional athletes only
D．did nothing but stop allowing communists to participate
