In 490 BC there was a big war between the Persians (波斯人) and the Greeks (希腊人). Persia was a huge country, much bigger than Greece. It wanted to take control of Athens in Greece. The Greek soldiers waited on top of the hill while the Persian army waited on the plain of Marathon below. There were 48,000 Persian soldiers and only 10,000 Greek soldiers.

    The Greeks sent a messenger, Pheidippides, to Sparta (斯巴达) to get help. He ran for two days over the mountains to ask the Spartans. But the Spartans would not fight until there was a full moon. Pheidippides returned to Marathon alone.

    The Greeks could not wait and attacked the Persian army. The Greeks ran towards the enemy. Persian arrows flew through the air. The Greeks won; 6,400 Persians were killed but only 192 Greeks died. The Persians ran to their ships and tried to escape. They tried to go to Athens to catch the Greek women, children and old people waiting there.

    Pheidippides now had another job. He ran 40 kilometres to Athens to tell the Greeks that they had won and to tell them that the Persians were coming. He arrived at the city gates very tired. “Rejoice, we conquer!” he shouted. Then he died.

    From this great event, the first marathon race of the modern Olympic Games was run in 1896. It was won by a Greek runner, Spiridon Louis. And, like Pheidippides a long time before, he also carried messages. He was a postman.

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1.1.Greece was much _______ than Persia.

A bigger

B smaller

C richer

D stronger

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段中的“Persia was a huge country, much bigger than Greece.”波斯是一个大国，比希腊大得多。即希腊比波斯小得多。故选B。

2.2.How long did it take Pheidippides to get to Sparta?

A Two days.

B A week.

C 12 days.

D Half a year.

解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第二段中的“He ran for two days over the mountains to ask the Spartans.”可知，他跑了两天，翻山越岭去向斯巴达人求助。故选A。

3.3.How many Persian soldiers survived?

A 48,000.

B 41,600.

C 10,000.

D 9,808.

解析：选B。数字计算题。根据第一段中的“There were 48,000 Persian soldiers and only 10,000 Greek soldiers.”有48000名波斯士兵，而只有10000名希腊士兵；以及第三段中的“6,400 Persians were killed but only 192 Greeks died”6400名波斯士兵被杀，但只有192名希腊士兵死亡。由此可计算出有41600名波斯士兵幸存下来。故选B。

4.4.Which word can take the place of the underlined word “conquer” in Para. 4?

A Lose.

B Fail.

C Win.

D Pass.

解析：选C。词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的前一句“He ran 40 kilometres to Athens to tell the Greeks that they had won”他跑了40公里到雅典去告诉希腊人他们赢了，由此可知他所说的那句话中的conquer表示“赢，胜利”的意思。故选C。

5.5.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A How a postman saved Greece.

B How Persians lost a big war.

C How Greeks celebrated their success.

D How the marathon race was born.

解析：选D。主旨大意题。根据最后一段中的“From this great event, the first marathon race of the modern Olympic Games was run in 1896.”从这件伟大的事件开始，现代奥运会的第一场马拉松比赛于1896年举行。由此可知，本文主要讲述马拉松比赛是如何诞生的。故选D。