Ⅰ. Reading (B级)
In the modern Olympic Games the longest running race is called the Marathon. It gets its name from a town in Greece called Marathon,which is 26 miles from Athens, the capital city of Greece. This is the story of why the Marathon race is included in the Olympic Games.
Once there was an ancient Greek soldier called Phidippides. He ran so fast that he was often sent on long journeys with important messages. One day the leaders of Athens realized that their city was going to be attacked. They sent their army to the small town of Marathon, where they fought their enemies. It was a very long and hard battle, but at last the army from Athens won. They were very happy. However, they knew that the people of Athens would be wondering what had happened. So they asked Phidppides to go to Athens and tell them the good news.
Phidppides set off. He was very tired after all the fighting but _______________. As he got near Athens he began to slow down. His head was bursting and he could hardly breathe. As he got to the centre of the city, he fell to the ground. All the people rushed up to him. Phidippides opened his mouth. “Athens is saved”, he cried. Then he fell down dead. His story became so famous that it is remembered by the Marathon race of 26 miles, which is the distance from Marathon to Athens.
1、What is the best title of the passage? （within10 words）
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2、Which sentence has the close meaning with the sentence below?
But they realized their people couldn’t have known the result of the battle.
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3、Fill in the blank with proper words or expressions to complete the sentence. (within 10 words)
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4、How did the race of Marathon get its name? (within 15 words)
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