Ancient Greece STAAR Passage

Using the passage "The Story of Today's Olympics," which of the following expresses the main idea?

• Olympic atheletes train their entire lives to compete in the Olympic Games.

• The modern Olympics began small in 1896 and have grown into a large international event.

• Although there are many differences, the modern Olympics are based on an ancient Greek tradition.

• The Olympic Games are held every four summers and every four winters.

Which sentence from "The Story of Today's Olympics" supports the idea that the modern Olympics have expanded since their beginning?

• Each nation's citizens always watch eagery, waving their flags and singing their own national anthem.

• It wasn't until approximately 1,500 years after the ancient Greek tradition had ended that Europeans began talking about reinstating something like it.

• By the early 1900's, elite athletes from an increasing number of countries were participating in the Olympics.

• Today, making it to the Olympics is a dream and goal for many competitive athletes.

The photo at the beginning of "The Story of Today's Olympics" is included to show-

• why so many nations have joined the Olympics

• different techniques for starting a running race

• where the first Olympics Games were held

• how different the early modern Games were from today's

Based on the information in "The Story of Today's Olympics," which statement expalins why the Olympic Games have grown in size since being reinstated?

• Organizers have built bigger stadiums to hold the games.

• Technology and transportation improvements allow more people to watch the Olympics and participate in the games.

• It is the goal of many elite athletes to participate in the Olympics.

• More than 200 countries participated in the most recent summer Olympics.

How does the author organize "The Story of Today's Olympics?"

• by describing events in chornological order

• by explaining causes and effects

• by asking questions and giving answers

• by moving from one location to another

Which sentence from "The Story of Today's Olympics" states a fact?

• Each nation's citizens always watch eagerly, waving their flags, and singing their own national anthem when one of their athletes is victorious in an event.

• Most of these athletes have labored their whole lives to reach this point.

• In 1896, the first-ever international Olympic Games were held in Greece, right where it all began many centuries before.

• It is considered a great honor for a country and city to be selevted to host the games.

In the passage "Big Changes Since Ancient Greece," the author's purpose is-

• to persuade the reader that the modern Olympics are really quite different from the original Olympics.

• to inform the reader about how the Olympic Games have changed over the past century.

• to entertain the reader with a story about the athletes that competed in the ancient Olympic Games.

• to encourage the reader to learn more about how the Olympics have changed since the time of the ancient Greeks.

Which sentence from "Big Changes Since Ancient Greece" states the main idea of the selection?

• But although ancient Greek athletics inspired today's events, I argue that there are even more differences than similarities between the modern Olympics and the ancient tradition from which the idea came.

• To begin with, in the Greek games, only men competed; woment were not permitted to play sports back then.

• The events, which were marked by great intensity and little regard for safety measures, included extreme sorts of fighting, as well as horse and foot racing.

• Sports are often being added or removed according to international relevance; there were once events like motorboating and pigeon shooting, but now newer sports like synchronized swimming and speed skating have moved to the forefront.

Read theis sentence from "Big Changes Since Ancient Greece."

Today's competitors can do multiple flips in the air, run miles and miles at grueling speeds, and execute strategic team victories; they have plenty of athletic rigor to show for themselves.

In this sentence, the word strategic means-

• long-term

• extremely difficult

• carefully planned

• unlikely

Read this sentence from "Big Changes Since Ancient Greece."

In fact, the greatest appeal of today's Olmpics is its multinational involvement, whereas the ancient event sought mostly to attract nearby citizens of the Greek-city-states.

What does the phrase multinational involvement refer to in this sentence?

• the participation of many different countries

• the large number of atheletes who compete

• the spectators who watch from around the world

• the Greek citizens who attended the ancient games