Spark Study Buddy (Explorer): Toddler table tennis wonder wows Chinese social media
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A young table tennis wonder has wowed Chinese netizens with his skills. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
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[1] A three-year-old toddler in China has taken the internet by storm. A video showing his impressive table tennis skills while playing on a home coffee table has gone viral. He showed amazing forehand and backhand techniques. Many have called him a future Olympic champion.
[2] The video was posted on October 4 by Douyin blogger Xiaowu Richang, who has over 200,000 followers. It has received a lot of attention, earning more than 3.3 million likes. The boy is seen happily playing table tennis with his family on the coffee table, excitedly yelling: “Backhand, well done, good, good, good!”
[3] Despite his young age, he shows a lot of confidence. He can easily switch to a backhand stance while playing with impressive technique and intensity. The playful match ends in a forehand smash, after which he calmly walks away.
[4] According to his profile, the toddler, nicknamed Xiaowu, is from Sichuan province in southwestern China. Inspired by his grandmother, he began learning table tennis at just eight months old. Other videos show Xiaowu practising hard in training sessions. Due to his small size, he has to stand on a small table to reach the professional table tennis table.
[5] Netizens are impressed by his natural talent, calling him a future table tennis superstar. Many call him the “future Fan Zhendong”, China’s two-time table tennis gold medallist. His extraordinary skills have captured the imagination of many on mainland social media.
[6] Fan won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics in both individual and team events. His popularity has also increased thanks to his charming and down-to-earth personality. In October, during a tennis exhibition match in Shanghai, Fan made his tennis debut alongside Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen.
[7] The duo faced tennis legend Roger Federer and Hong Kong singer Eason Chan. Despite having only a few hours of tennis training, Fan impressed the audience. He used his table tennis serve technique to hit an ace against Federer, leaving fans amazed.
Source: South China Morning Post, October 19
Questions
1. How old is Xiaowu, according to paragraph 1?
___________________________________________________
2. What is Xiaowu doing in the video mentioned in paragraph 2?
___________________________________________________
3. In paragraph 4, what does Xiaowu have to do to reach the table tennis table?
A. stand on a chair
B. use a ladder
C. stand on a small table
D. wear special shoes
4. Who does the “duo” in paragraph 7 refer to?
___________________________________________________
5. Combine these two sentences into one sentence using the word “who”.
Sentence 1: Fan Zhendong is an athlete.
Sentence 2: He won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Circle the correct prepositions. (3 marks)
Xiaowu is a three-year-old toddler living (i) (in / from) Sichuan province. He is really good (ii) (at / in) playing table tennis. He began learning the sport (iii) (at / of) just eight months old.
Answers
1. three years old
2. playing table tennis with his family
3. C
4. Fan Zhendong and Zhang Zhizhen
5. Fan Zhendong is an athlete who won two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
6. (i) in; (ii) at; (iii) at