新视界大学英语综合教程2unit2.ppt

Translation 原文 体育运动，在古代中国和希腊，都与军事 训练、舞蹈以及整个教育体系密切相关。那么， 中国对于深深根植于古希腊社会的现代奥林匹 克理想的欣然接受，又有什么值得惊讶的呢？ Digging Background information Ancient Greece is well-known for its love of sport. Young men in the ancient Greek cities spent a lot of time exercising in open areas for sporting activities, called gymnasia , plural of gymnasium ( 古希腊的运动场 ). There were a number of famous games. Of course, the Olympic Games which took place at the Temple of Zeus ( 宙斯庙 ) in Olympia ( 希 腊 南 部 奥 林 匹 亚 平 原 ), are the ones best remembered nowadays. More Digging Background information Winners in the athletic tournaments and various forms of racing were greatly honoured as can be seen in the many surviving ancient poems on the subject. Greek art also shows the importance of sport to the culture with many statues of discus throwers ( 掷铁饼者 ), charioteers ( 战车御 者 ) and athletes. The passage discusses how similar things were in ancient China. Text Digging Main idea of the passage The writer suggests that all human cultures value sport as a way of keeping fit and training for war. Just as the ancient Greeks included sporting activities in their myths and legends, used sport to train for battle, danced as a way of keeping physically fit and regarded sport as part of a good education, so did the ancient Chinese. Chinese culture has long valued sport and it is not at all surprising that China is such a keen participant in the modern Olympic movement. Text Interpreting Using rhetorical devices A writer sometimes asks a question without expecting an answer, or makes a statement or claim without stating clearly the logic. These are called rhetorical devices. Both writers and speakers use them to persuade the reader or listener of their argument, and to present it in an elegant way. Interpreting Work in pairs. Look at the sentences from the passage and answer the questions. 1 What do Greece and China have in common with each other, in both ancient and modern times? Why does the writer start the passage wit