波士顿马拉松赛

 　　NEW YORK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2013 Boston Marathon is the 117th version of the historical event, which was first held in 1897. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and one of six World Marathon Majors.

　　The race, which runs through 26 miles 385 yards (42.195km), is always held on the Patriot¹' Day, the third Monday of April. It attracts about 20,000 athletes around the world each year, one of the world largest marathon.

　　Through 2005, the race began at noon. As of 2013, the starting time for the elite² women was 9:32 a.m., and was 10:00 a.m. for the elite men and wave one. The wave three started on 10:40 a.m..

　　The Boston Marathon is the most widely-viewed sporting event in New England with about 500,000 spectators.

　　Two explosions occurred at the 2013 Boston Marathon, causing at least two deaths and about 100 injuries, according to reports.

1 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。