THE custom of lighting an Olympic Flame（奥运圣火）comes from the ancient Greeks. During the Ancient Olympic Games, a sacred（神圣的）flame was lit from a site at Olympia（奥林匹亚）, and stayed lit（一直燃着）until the Games were completed. It was first introduced into the Modern Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam(阿姆斯特丹) Games. Since then, the flame has come to represent “the light of spirit（精神）, knowledge, and life.”
The Torch Relay（火炬传递）also began in the Ancient Olympics and came back into use at the 1936 Berlin Games. From the beginning, the torch was lit at Olympia in Greece and then carried by relay to the host-city of the games. The last runner carries the torch into Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony（开幕仪式）. The flame is then lit from the torch and remains lit until it stops burning during the Closing Ceremony. The Torch Relay represents the passing of Olympic customs from one generation（世代）to the next.
