By VOA Sports Editor, Parke Brewer, Beijing, 8 August 2008 －－ The Beijing Olympics are officially under way after the colorful opening ceremony at the National Stadium, known as   “The Bird’s Nest”．

China is known for its fireworks．Throughout the ceremony were 29 so-called  “footprints” rising into the sky, to represent the 29 times the Olympic Games have been held．

The ceremony took place on a hot and muggy night．The program mixed China’s ancient history and culture with elements showing the modern face of the country．The two parts of the ceremony were titled “Brilliant Civilization” and “Glorious Era”．

Performers were dressed in some 15 thousand costumes in 47 styles．More than 25 hundred special lights were used, and the special effects were dreamlike and almost magical．

The traditional Parade of Athletes followed the 70-minute show．Each country’s athletes entered the stadium in the order set by the number of strokes in the simplified Chinese characters that spell out the names of the 205 national Olympic committees．By tradition, however, the Greek team was the first and host China entered last． Basketball superstar Yao Ming carried the Chinese flag．

Team USA was the 140th team to enter．President Bush and his wife Laura were among the capacity crowd of 91 thousand in the stadium．He is the first sitting US president to attend an Olympics outside the United States．

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge said he knew how much hosting these games meant to China．“For a long time, China has dreamed of opening its doors and inviting the

world’s athletes to Beijing for the Olympic Games．Tonight that dream comes true．Congratulations, Beijing,” he said．

Chinese president Hu Jintao then officially declared the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, saying in Mandarin: “I now declare the 29th Summer Olympics in Beijing open．”

Chinese gymnast Li Ning, who won three gold medals in Los Angeles Olympic Games, lit the Olympic cauldron．

With the Parade of Athletes taking some two hours, the entire ceremony lasted more than four hours and did not end until after midnight．

1．Where does the writer of this passage come from?

A．USA．      B．Japan．       C．Britain．        D．France．

2．What is the author’s attitude towards the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games?

A．He wanted to desalt （淡化）the opening ceremony, but it is really wonderful．

B．He wanted to criticize the Chinese government because the Beijing Summer Olympic Games cost too much money．

C．He only wanted to describe the facts．

D．He thought highly of the opening ceremony．

3．What does the underlined word “muggy” in the third paragraph mean?

A．多雨的                                   B．潮濕而悶熱的

C．乏味的                                  D．涼爽的

4．What is the best title for this passage?

A．Fireworks lit up the opening of Beijing Olympics．

B．The opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games was titled “Brilliant Civilization” and  “Glorious Era”．

C．205 national Olympic committees attended Beijing Olympic Games．

D．Chinese president Hu Jintao officially declared the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games．