Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions. Every four years the world watches the Olympic Games, which start when somebody from the host country carries a torch into the stadium and lights the flame in the opening ceremony. The flame continues to burn throughout the games until it is extinguished in the closing ceremony.This is a tradition that started in ancient Greece, when a fire burnt throughout...
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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Every four years the world watches the Olympic Games, which start when somebody from the host country carries a torch into the stadium and lights the flame in the opening ceremony. The flame continues to burn throughout the games until it is extinguished in the closing ceremony.
This is a tradition that started in ancient Greece, when a fire burnt throughout the ancient Olympics, but it was not introduced to the modern games until 1928. The modern world welcomed the idea of an Olympic flame with enthusiasm. In 1936, Carl Diem, a German sports official, came up with the idea of an Olympic torch relay for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Since then the torch relay has been part of the Olympic Games.
The Olympic torch is lit many months before the opening ceremony at Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics in Greece. Eleven women take part and one of them lights the torch from the sun using a special mirror. After this, there is a ceremony in the Athenian Panathmaiko Stadium, where the Athens city authorities deliver the torch to the officials of the host city.
This ceremony is then followed by the torch relay. Traditionally, runners, including athletes, celebrities and ordinary people carry the torch on a journey from Athens to the host city. The relay lasts for many months and goes through many countries. Sometimes the torch travels by boat, or by plane.
The relay ends when the torch arrives at the Olympic stadium where the Games will take place. The final carrier of the torch is often kept secret until the last moment, and is usually a famous sportsman or woman. They run around the track and towards a huge cauldron, which is usually at the top of a staircase. They use the torch to light the Olympic flame.
The torch relay represents the passing of Olympic traditions from one generation to the next. Originally, the flame represented the “endeavour for protection and struggle for victory". Since it was introduced again in 1928, it has come to represent “the light of spirit, knowledge, and life”.
Question: The word “originally” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to _______.
A. at once
B. at last
C. at first
D. at ease
