China claims team gold at World Aquatics Championships
Getting Started
1. Have you ever watched artistic swimming competitions What impressed you the most
2. Artistic swimming mixes swimming, dance, and music. Which part do you think is the most challenging
Digging in
Directions: Read the text and complete the chart below.
China claims team gold at World Aquatics Championships
Event China’s artistic swimmers claimed gold in the 1. ___________ at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships with a score of 307.8001.
Keys to victory Cultural creativity: Inspired by Black Myth: Wukong, China’s team gave a masterclass performance. Technical edge: The coaching staff raised the difficulty by almost 2. _____ compared to the debut of the Wukong-themed performance at the Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an.
Coach Zhang Xiaohuan’s opinions On rivals: NAB are formidable rivals who have great depth in artistic swimming. On rising stars: 19-year-old Xu Huiyan is growing up quickly and taking the initiative in music selection, the choreography, and the 3. _____.
China’s path forward With artistic swimming advancing at an unbelievable speed, China requires continuous hard work to keep its competitive edge.
Further exploration
As mentioned in the text, the Chinese team drew inspiration from Black Myth: Wukong for their performance. If you were to design an artistic swimming performance, what cultural theme would you choose, and why
Words and expressions
1. pay tribute to … 向……致敬
e.g. The art show pays tribute to Van Gogh by recreating his works with
modern technology.
2. claim v. 获得，赢得
e.g. The young athlete claimed two gold medals in her first international
competition.
3. guarantee v. 确保，使必然发生
e.g. Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but it greatly improves your
chances.
4. raise the bar 提高标准
e.g. The factory has raised the bar on productivity, food safety and quality.
5. keep sb. on one’s toes 使某人保持警觉
e.g. The teacher’s unexpected tests keep students on their toes throughout
the semester.
6. initiative n. 主动性，积极性
e.g. Students took the initiative in organizing campus-wide recycling and
cut waste by 40%.
Grammar
1. who引导非限制性定语从句
Their masterclass performance, based on the popular Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong, earned China 307.8001 points — 7.1818 ahead of the runner-up Russia, who competed under the name Neutral Athletes B (NAB).
2. 动词-ing形式作主语
China’s team captain Feng Yu, 25, said that winning her 10th world championship gold medal was particularly special.
3. 强调句
It is only when you have tough competition that you are able to learn and improve …
Exercises
请根据所给提示把下列句子翻译成英语。
1. 这部电影取材于真实事件，一经上映便大获成功。（based on）
________________________________________________________________________
2. 小型便利店发现其难以与价格更低的网店竞争。（compete against）________________________________________________________________________
3. 短短几十年，深圳便从小渔村发展为国际化大都市。（from … to …）________________________________________________________________________
Keys：
Directions: Read the text and complete the chart below.
1. Team Technical event
2. two points
3. artistic impression
Exercises
请根据所给提示把下列句子翻译成英语。
1. The film, based on a true story, was a huge hit when it came out.
2. Small convenience stores find it hard to compete against online stores with lower prices.
3. Shenzhen has developed from a fishing village to an international city in just a few decades.China claims team gold at World Aquatics Championships
With golden headbands paying tribute to the Monkey King, China’s artistic swimmers claimed gold in the Team Technical event at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships.
Their master class performance, based on the popular Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong, earned China 307.8001 points — 7.1818 ahead of the runner-up Russia, who competed under the name Neutral Athletes B (NAB). Spain’s lively and joyous Backstreet Boys program placed third (5.7608 points behind NAB).
China’s team captain Feng Yu, 25, said that winning her 10th world championship gold medal was particularly special. “We’ve been waiting so long to compete internationally against NAB. It is only when you have tough competition that you are able to learn and improve,” she said.
Since its debut at the Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an this June, the Wukong-themed performance has been a guaranteed victory for China. At the World Aquatics Championships, the coaching staff raised the bar further. China’s coach Zhang Xiaohuan explained, “We raised the difficulty by almost two points, primarily through challenging leg movements.”
Coach Zhang called NAB “formidable rivals who have great depth in artistic swimming. They were very connected and expressed themselves very well. We only got a slight edge this time. They will keep us on our toes.”
It was also a special day for 19-year-old Xu Huiyan, who took silver in Solo Free in the morning and team gold at night.
Coach Zhang pointed out that Xu went from earning a single bronze in Doha 2024 to claiming three golds and a silver in Singapore in just 15 months. Even so, she said, “Huiyan is only 19, and she still has a long road ahead of her. She’s an excellent athlete who takes the initiative in music selection, the choreography, and the artistic impression. I’m very glad we’ve found another excellent swimmer to lead the Chinese team.”
But as Coach Zhang pointed out, “Artistic swimming is advancing at an unbelievable speed. Everyone is improving so fast. You can never think you will stay on top for a long time; this does not exist anymore in our sport.”
