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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate
Olympic success story
Many people said that the Greeks weren’t going to be ready for the 2004 Olympic Games. They predicted all sorts of problems. But they were all wrong. Everything – well, nearly everything – was ready on time and the Games were a great success.
The opening ceremony lasted four hours and it was magnificent. There was a beautiful lake in the middle of the stadium which disappeared like magic before the athletes arrived. There were nearly 10,000 athletes from 202 countries. When they were in place, the singer Bjork performed a song about mother earth while her dress turned into a huge map.
The Greeks can be proud of their Olympics which cost a huge $7.5 billion to put on. They had to build new sports stadiums and a new transport system for Athens. They also spent $1.4 billion on security because of the fear of a terrorist attack. There were over 70,000 police and soldiers present and a NATO force on standby. This huge security operation made Athens the safest city in the world during the Games. Many Greeks are unhappy about the cost of security. They say that the countries at risk, such as the US, Israel and the UK, should help pay the bill.
The other negative point about these Games was the number of athletes caught for taking drugs. There were 22 in all, more than at any other Olympic Games and many lost their medals. However, the Olympic Committee president says that this is because there were a lot more dope tests in Athens than in other Olympics. He sees it as a victory for clean sport.
The closing ceremony was also a superb show with traditional Greek dancing and music. At the end of the ceremony, a Chinese athlete took the Olympic torch which will travel around the world for the next four years until it arrives in China. The next Games will be in Beijing in 2008.
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C2 Mastery
