公元前776，处于运动生涯顶峰的运动员们，从千百个希腊城邦蜂拥至奥林匹亚，他们奔跑、跳跃、摔跤、拳击、投掷，争夺宙斯的眷顾。参赛条件是：必须是希腊人，男性，而且还要……
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This is Olympia.It began like the many other religious sanctuaries across Greece. But starting in 776 BC, events would take place in this very arena that would give mortals a shot at immortality, and unite the Greeks in the process.
这是奥林匹亚，起初，它和希腊各地的宗教神庙没什么区别，但从公元前776年开始，就在这个运动场里举行的活动，可以让凡人追求不朽，同时也能团结所有的希腊人。
★★ religious sanctuary 宗教圣地
★★ arena n.竞技场
★★ mortal n.凡人
★ shot n.尝试，努力
★★ immortality n.不朽的名声
Athletes at the peak of performance flocked here from hundreds of Greek city-states to run, jump, wrestle, box, throw, and compete for the favor of Zeus, the Olympics.
处于运动生涯顶峰的运动员们，从千百个希腊城邦蜂拥而至，他们奔跑、跳跃、摔跤、拳击、投掷，争夺宙斯的眷顾，这就是奥林匹克运动会。
★ peak n.顶峰
★ flock vi.群集
The ancient Greeks absolutely delighted in beauty and they delighted in the beauty of the physical form, they saw men’s bodies as absolutely as beautiful in a different way as women’s bodies. They oiled themselves with olive oil partly to help get a nice tan but also for the combat sports to make it less easy for their opponents to get a grip on them.
古希腊人肯定喜欢美，喜欢身体的美，他们认为男性的身体也绝对和女性的身体一样美丽，只是形式不同。他们在身上涂橄榄油，一方面是为了肤色好看，但也是为了在竞技中不让对手容易抓住自己。
★ delight v.使高兴，使快乐
★ combat n.格斗，比赛
★ opponent n.对手
★ grip n.紧握，抓牢
Compared to the hundreds of Olympic events today, Greek competitions were limited to skills useful in combat, running, wrestling, boxing. And while today three teams make it to the podium for bronze, silver and gold, in ancient Greece, one guy is the winner and everybody else is the loser. There’s no second place, there’s no third place. So there’s a whole different ethos, a competitive ethos which runs right through all of Greek life all the time, where they’re striving to be the best.
今天的奥林匹克运动会有几百个项目，但当年的竞赛都局限于战斗技能，跑步、摔跤、拳击。今天我们有三支队伍登上领奖台，获得金银铜牌，但在古希腊，只有一个胜者，其他都是输家，没有亚军，也没有季军，因此风气完全不一样，这种竞争的风气时刻存在于希腊生活的各个方面，人人都努力做到最好。
★ combat n.战斗
★★★ podium n.领奖台
★★★ ethos n.风气
★ competitive a.竞争的
★★ strive vi.努力，力求
The Greeks had a word for this competitive ethos, agon, as in agony, and it wasn’t confined to the Olympics. Agon is really just an ancient predecessor of somebody telling you now that noting worthwhile comes easy. In lofty pursuits like philosophy or government or literature or whatever it might be, if we’re forced to do our very best in the pursuit of the standard of excellence that’s going to make us better.
希腊人有一个词形容这种竞争风气，agon，也就是剧痛的词源，它不仅限于奥林匹克运动会，agon 在古代的含义实际上是告诉人们有价值的东西都来之不易。在更高层次的追求中，比如哲学、政府、文学等等，如果我们使出全力，追求卓越的标准，那就会使自己更好。
★ competitive a.竞争的
★★★ ethos n.风气
★★ agony n.极大的痛苦
★ confine vt.局限于
★★ predecessor n.原先的东西
★★ lofty a.崇高的，高尚的
★ pursuit n.追求
★ philosophy n.哲学
★ literature n.文学
When it came to putting agon on display, the Olympics weren’t the only game in town. So-called Panhellenic Festivals were held at four different religious sanctuaries across Greece, in Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and Isthmia, alternating annually between each one, which is why the Olympics are only held every four years.
展示 agon 的场合并不仅限于奥林匹克运动会，还有一个称为泛希腊运动会，在希腊的四个宗教圣地轮流举行，分别是奥林匹亚、德尔斐、尼米亚和伊斯特米亚，每年轮到一次，所以奥林匹克运动会是四年一次。
★ display n.展示
★★ religious sanctuary 宗教圣地
★★ alternate vi.轮流
★ annually ad.每年
注：一星词汇为四级难度，二星词汇为六级、考研难度，三星词汇为雅思、托福及以上难度，大家根据自己的考试要求选择性学习。
