B
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 what happened 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
) 4. 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.
D. Won China’s first world snooker champion.
(
B
) 5. What is the correct order of Zhao Xintong’s experiences according to the passage?
a. Beat Ronnie O’Sullivan.
b. Stopped playing for 20 months.
c. Started from qualifying games.
d. Won the game against Mark Williams.
A. b→a→c→d
B. b→c→a→d
C. c→b→a→d
D. c→a→b→d
(
B
) 6. What can we know from what O’Sullivan said?
① Zhao is a talented snooker player.
② Winning 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
(
A
) 7. Which of the following sayings matches Zhao’s success story?
A. Never say never.
B. All roads lead to Rome.
C. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
D. Actions speak louder than words.
(
B
) 8. What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To explain the rules of snooker.
B. To introduce Zhao Xintong’s inspiring story.
C. To show the development of snooker in China.
D. To compare Zhao Xintong with other snooker players.