From Olympia to Athens 1896: Spanish B2 Reading
Read how the ancient Olympic festival ended and how an international congress chose Athens to host the first modern Games.
De Olimpia a Atenas: el regreso de los Juegos
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776 . . . 393.
, . 23 1894, 1896. .
. .
6 15 1896. 241 14 43 . .
. . . .
, . .
¿ ? ¿ ? ¿ ?
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About this article
What you'll learn
historical chronology, sports vocabulary, imperfect and preterite contrast, passive forms and correction with no...sino
The article compares ancient Olympia with Athens 1896, explains the 1894 Paris decision and describes athletes, venues and prizes at the first modern Games.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
comparten un nombre, pero no son la misma competición
newshare a name, but are not the same competition
Compartir un nombre indicates a similarity; pero introduces the contrast.
Useful for comparing related historical institutions.
Después de más de mil quinientos años
newafter more than fifteen hundred years
Después de introduces the time that separates two events.
Useful for moving through a long chronology.
Del mismo congreso nació
newthe same congress gave rise to
Nacer de can figuratively describe the origin of an institution or idea.
Useful in historical explanations.
no recibieron medallas de oro, sino una medalla de plata
newdid not receive gold medals, but a silver medal
No...sino corrects an expectation and replaces it with accurate information.
Useful for precise contrasts.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Written records
registros escritos
written records
Registros escritos are documents that preserve information in writing.
Common vocabulary in historical texts.
Worship
culto
worship or cult
Culto refers here to religious practices devoted to a deity.
Helps distinguish the ancient festival from a purely sporting event.
Congress
congreso
congress or formal meeting
A congreso is a formal meeting where participants discuss shared questions.
Useful in political and institutional history.
Common rules
reglas comunes
shared rules
Reglas comunes are rules accepted for use by different participants.
Useful when discussing coordination between countries or groups.
Olive branch
rama de olivo
olive branch
Rama de olivo means a branch from an olive tree.
Names part of the prize awarded in Athens in 1896.
won
ganó
won
«Ganó» is the third-person singular preterite of «ganar»; here it states that Spyridon Louis won the first modern Olympic marathon.
Useful for reporting the winner of a past competition.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
Imperfect for a repeated past event
se celebraba cada cuatro años
was held every four years
The imperfect celebraba presents a repeated practice in the past, while se leaves the organiser unstated.
Useful for describing historical customs.
Preterite for one completed meeting
se reunió en la Sorbona de París
met at the Sorbonne in Paris
Se reunió is preterite because it presents one completed historical event.
Useful for narrating dated events.
Earlier past with había sido
Había sido construido por primera vez
had first been built
Había sido construido places the original construction before the later renovation.
Useful for ordering two past events.
Correction with no...sino
no recibieron medallas de oro, sino una medalla de plata
not gold medals, but a silver medal
After a negative statement, sino replaces the rejected option with the correct one.
Useful for correcting a mistaken assumption.
Conditional for an imagined change
¿Qué regla deportiva cambiarías tú?
Which sports rule would you change?
Cambiarías presents a hypothetical choice addressed to tú.
Useful for discussing possible changes.
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