6 . Two world championships were decided this weekend on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In England, the Rugby World Cup was decided. In New York, the baseball season saw its final match. More than 80,000 audiences watched New Zealand win the Rugby championship 34-17 over Australia. The match was held on Saturday at the famous Twickenham Stadium near London.

It was the second world title for New Zealand. Fans call the team “All Blacks” because of their black uniforms. A day later, the baseball World Series came to a close with a win by the Kansas City Royals over the New York Mets.

In the World Series, the first team to win four games claims victory. The Royals won four of the first five games played with the Mets. Kansas City last won in 1985.

The Rugby World Cup opened on September 18, when England defeated Fiji. Forty-eight matches and six weeks later, New Zealand won the title. Going into the tournament, the All Blacks were ranked No.1 in the world.

Every tournament like this has a “favorite”, or the team expected to win. The tournament also has an “underdog” , or the team less likely to win. But the underdog often becomes a favorite. This year in the Rugby World Cup, the “underdog” team was Japan.

Coming into the tournament, Japan was ranked 13th in the world. But after an inspiring showing in the group stage of the tournament, Japan moved up three places to 10th. Aside from the championship game itself, the match that created the biggest surprise came when Japan defeated world No.3 South Africa 34-32.The Associated Press called it “the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history”.

South Africa was a two-time World Cup champion. Japan had only ever won one match in the World Cup before that game.

You must     1     common sports such as football and ping pong, whose purpose is exercising your body and mind, as well as     2     walls. These common sports     3     all around the world since their origins. However, there are people     4     rather unusual sports like sandboarding just for the adventure, whereas other sports are even regarded as a performance art. So, can you imagine combining the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt with the thrill of outdoor extreme activities? Extreme ironing can be this weird sport that     5     in mid-air, underwater, on a ski slope or in a forest. You may wonder whether it is merely invented to seek attention     6    .

There is a particular amusing event called wife-carrying that     7     for its long history. The inspiration came from an event that once a Finnish man     8     a lady and carried her away. This sporting tradition     9     several hundred years ago and its modern version which is     10     two dry obstacles and a wet obstacle into a running course of 254 meters for the heavy lifting contestants.

Tree-climbing class takes root in Hubei

Recently, a tree-climbing class has grown popular among students at the Sport Institute of Hubei University．

At a class on Monday, Lu Junpei showed 16 students some of     1     most important techniques．After     2     (put) on a helmet, fastening straps and tying rope knots, Lu spent less than eight minutes reaching the top of a 25-meter tree     3     (easy) ．

Student Zhu Jinhan climbed up the trunk and then     4     the help of ropes, he jumped to a neighbouring tree,     5     won bursts of applause(掌声)．

“I     6     (grow) up in an area with a lot of mountains and trees and I liked climbing trees when I was a kid,” said Zhu．Tree climbing is not only a sport, but a way to help others, Zhu said, who is also a member of the Enshi Blue Sky Rescue Team．

Because more and more students are showing interest, the school plans to add     7    (many) seats to the class to allow more students     8     (learn) and practice．

Hubei University is one of the first     9     (university) in China to include courses on tree climbing．Teachers and students at the university won two golds     10     two silvers at the Hong Kong Tree Climbing Championship in 2017．

10 . My boys have been on different sports teams for as long as I can remember.     1     Team sports aren’t all about physical benefits(益处). They are a great way for kids to explore and develop lifelong skills. Here are some ways kids can benefit from team sports.

    2    

This is an important lesson to learn from sports and carry into the future. Good coaches teach athletes to lose with dignity(尊严)，and that there’s always a lesson to learn from each loss and failure.     3     But what makes me most proud is when I see my boys shake the hands of opponents(对手)after every game, no matter what the results are.

Team sports teach kids hard work pays off.

Nothing worth having comes easy. Talent(天赋)plays a role in the early years, but as athletes grow, it’s the hard workers that rise to the top.     4    , but mastering a skill can only be reached with special focus and hard work. Accordingly, hard work creates confidence, which in turn benefits kids’ sports.

Team sports teach collaboration(合作).

Each person on the team has their own skills and characters. Coaches usually put players in different places to show their ability.     5    . It also teaches them to work toward something that cannot be done alone.