Passage 1

The Olympic Games should be traced back to the ancient times. The Greeks were very fond of all sports that could make the body strong. Once in four years they had a great sports game. Many thousands of people came together upon a wide plain to see the contests of skill among men and boys from all parts of Greece. The great games were running races, wrestling matches, horse races, and chariot races. There were games for boys as well as for men.
    The prize for winning a game seemed very simple: no more than a wild olive tree leave crown; but to wear one of these crowns was the greatest honor, and he went home covered with glory. Ancient athletes competed as individuals. The emphasis on individual athletic achievement through public competition was related to the Greek ideal of excellence. Sportsmen who attained this ideal, through their outstanding words or deeds, won permanent glory and fame.

It is our great honor to come here to attend the grand centennial anniversary of your university. Hereby, on behalf of all the guests from various universities in China, I wish to extend our warmest congratulations to the President and to the faculty and students. We wish your university a new day today, a new day tomorrow, and a new day everyday. University came into the world in the 11th century, as a result of the development of human civilization.
    For ten centuries universities have created tremendous knowledge and wealth to the human society. Today, we gather here in your university, to keep on pondering over the responsibility of university and exploring the way in which knowledge and talents are created, which is a gathering of great significance. Over the past one hundred years, your university has fostered a distinct tradition and become a keystone of the international intellectual community, with a well-disciplined educational philosophy and an academic ideology of pursuing pragmatic excellence .