Young athletes from around the world will soon get their chance at Olympic gold. The International
Olympic Committee ( IOC ) voted Thursday to host the first-ever Youth Olympics.
The Summer Games are planned to stage in August of 2010. The 12-day competition will feature
3,200 kids between the ages of 14 and 18. The Winter Games will be held in 2012 and are expected to
attract 1,000 athletes. Both games will take place every four years.
Seeing the rise in childhood fatness, IOC president Jacques Rogge said he hopes the competitions will encourage young people to get off the couch and get into shape. Rogge also admitted that the IOC is
looking to pull in a younger television audience to the Olympics.
In recent years, interest in the games among young people has fallen, with the average age of Olympic viewers on the rise. Rogge admitted that kids today are more interested in flashier( 浮华的 ) athletic
sports like the X Games, which stand for such sports as BMX freestyle, surfing, and Moto X Racing.
The Olympics have tried to keep up with the competition by adding BMX-cross cycling, ski cross,
and snowboarding to the program. And the IOC is hoping to strengthen its fame among teens by adding
skateboarding in the 2012 London Olympics.
The Youth Olympics are the IOC's latest attempt to draw the attention of young viewers. "Just as the
IOC has known, over our 100-plus years of living, how to move with the times---so we must now adapt
to meet the taste of today's young generation," he said.
1. According to the passage, the third Winter Youth Olympics will be held ______
A. in 2012
B. in 2016
C. in 2020
D. in 2018
2. The aim of the Youth Olympics is to __________.
A. encourage young people to exercise more
B. meet the needs of some schools and parents
C. develop students' sense of competition
D. stress the importance of the Olympics
3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
A. When the Winter Youth Olympics will be held.
B. Where the Summer Youth Olympics will be held.
C. How long the Summer Youth Olympics will last.
D. When the Summer Youth Olympics will be held
4. The Summer Youth Olympics are the following except___________.
A. going to be held in London in August of 2012
B. planned to stage in August of 2010
C. going to be held every four years from August of 2010
D. the IOC's latest attempt to draw the attention of young viewers