1 . 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.
1. Why were the two major sports events reported together?| A．They were both held in developed countries. |
| B．Their results both came out at the same time. |
| C．The winners were both not expected. |
| D．They both belong to sports competitions. |
| A．a player regarded as the most valuable |
| B．a team whose players are most skilled |
| C．a player who is the most popular |
| D．a team more likely to come first |
| A．It created a big surprise. |
| B．It tried their best to play. |
| C．It acted as it was expected. |
| D．It surprisingly won third. |
