Marathon

Marathon.

马拉松。

What is a marathon? These runners are taking part in a marathon. A marathon is a race that's 42 kilometers long, 26 miles. Marathons are held in many big cities.

什么是马拉松？ 这些跑步运动员正在参加马拉松比赛。 马拉松是一项全长42公里（也就是26英里）的赛跑项目。 许多大城市都会举办马拉松赛事。

How Marathons Began In 490 BC, the ancient Greeks won a battle at a place called Marathon. They sent a runner from Marathon to the city of Athens with the news that they had won. He ran 42 kilometres. This is how the Marathon got its name.

马拉松的起源 公元前490年，古希腊人在一个叫马拉松的地方打赢了一场战役。 他们派了一名跑步者从马拉松跑到雅典城，传递他们获胜的消息。 他跑了42公里，马拉松运动就是这么得名的。

The first marathon race was held at the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. It was won by a Greek postman called Spiridon Louis. In 1897, the American city of Boston held the first marathon that anybody could enter. The Boston Marathon is still run today.

第一场马拉松比赛于1896年在雅典奥运会上举办。 冠军是一位名叫斯皮里宗·路易斯的希腊邮递员。 1897年，美国波士顿举办了第一场向所有人开放报名的马拉松比赛。 波士顿马拉松至今仍在举办。

Starting the race. Nowadays thousands of runners race in marathons. They can't all cross the start line at the same time. The fastest runners start at the front and the other runners start further back.

比赛开赛。如今有数千名跑者参加马拉松，他们没办法全部 同时跨过起跑线。跑得最快的跑者站在最前面出发， 其他跑者在后面的位置出发。

on the way. Marathon runners often pass famous buildings or cross famous bridges. They can't stop to look.

比赛途中。 马拉松跑者们经常会路过著名的建筑 或是驶过知名的桥梁。 但他们不能停下来观赏。