(D)
On May 6, 2025, a 28-year-old Chinese snooker (斯诺克) player named Zhao Xintong made sports history. He beat Welsh star Mark Williams 18-12 in the World Snooker Championship Final. This was China's first world champion in snooker ever! Before this, British players had won for 98 years, but now that long record was broken.
Zhao's path to success was full of stories. In 2023, he had to stop playing for 20 months because people said he did something wrong in a match. But in September 2024, he came back. He started from the early qualifying games (资格赛) and played nine matches. He won 111 frames (parts of a snooker game)! In one game, he even beat seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 17-7. Zhao played bravely, and his skills got much better. He could make long shots right 80% of the time and scored 18 century breaks, which is the same as Ding Junhui's record in 2016.
The final against 50-year-old Williams was very exciting. Williams was the oldest player to reach the final. Zhao was ahead 17-8, but Williams tried hard and won four frames one after another. Then, in the 30th frame, Zhao stayed calm and made an 87-point break to win the game. "It's like a dream," Zhao said. When he got the trophy (奖杯), he held the Chinese flag high.
Ding Junhui, China's snooker leader who once got second place in 2016, said, "He did what Chinese players have hoped for many years." This win is like when Yao Ming made basketball popular in China.
Zhao's story is about getting back up after falling. Even O'Sullivan said, "He's like Federer in snooker and we haven't seen all he can do yet!" This win changes snooker history. It shows that if you never give up, you can turn problems into great success.
(
D
)10. What did Zhao Xintong achieve in the World Snooker Championship?
A. Broke a 50-year record.
B. Became the youngest player.
C. Won the fastest match in history.
D. Won China's first world champion in snooker.
(
B
)11. What is the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
a. Zhao Xintong beat seven-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.
b. Zhao Xintong was stopped from playing for 20 months.
c. Zhao Xintong started from the qualifying games.
d. Zhao Xintong won the game 18-12 against Mark Williams.
A. b→a→c→d
B. b→c→a→d
C. c→b→a→d
D. c→a→b→d
(
B
)12. What can we know from what O'Sullivan said?
① Zhao's a snooker with great talent.
② Winning the championship was easy for Zhao.
③ Zhao's future achievements could be greater.
④ O'Sullivan didn't do all he could do.
A. ①②
B. ①③
C. ②④
D. ③④
(
C
)13. What is the purpose of the article?
A. To explain the latest rules of snooker to new players.
B. To compare Zhao Xintong with other snooker players.
C. To show hard work and never giving up bring success.
D. To describe China's quick rise in international sports.
