Questions 47 to 56 are based on the following passage.
The Olympic games (often referred to simply as The Olympics or The Games) is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The (47) Olympic Games began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and was celebrated until AD 393. There are many myths and (48) of the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. The most popular one describes that Hercules was the creator of the Olympic Games, and built the Olympic stadium and surrounding buildings to (49) his father Zeus. The date of the Olympic Games’ beginning based on the count years in Olympiads is reconstructed as 776 BC, although scholars’ opinions differ between dates as early as 884 BC and as late as 704 BC. From then on, the games became much more important throughout ancient Greece, (50) their peak in the sixth and seventh century BC.
Interest in (51) the Olympic Games was first shown by the Greek poet and news paper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. The international Olympic committee was founded in 1894 with the (52) of a French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coubertin. The first of the IOC’s Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. Participants in the Olympic Games have increased to include (53) from nearly all nations worldwide. With the (54) of satellite ’communications and global telecast of the events, the Olympics are (55) gaining supporters. The most recent Summer Olympic in 2008 in Beijing (56) 302 events in 28 sports.
A) comprised B) memory C) modern D) renew
E) consist F) initiative G) deterioration H) improvement
I) consistently J) original K) reviving L) legends
M) reaching N) athletes O) commemorate
