[1] A 16-year-old boy has become Hong Kong’s latest world champion, not at the Olympic Games, but in Pokemon Go. Cheng Yip-kai, who plays under the username Yekai0904, secured the title in August at the Pokemon World Championships in the US state of Hawaii. He was the first Hongkonger to do so.
[2] He beat his Dutch opponent Martijn Versteeg 3-1, winning the US$20,000 (HK$155,760) prize. Cheng’s triumph came less than a year after another Hong Kong team won a silver medal in esports at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.
[3] The mobile game Pokemon Go pits players against one another in battles, each with a set of three Pokemon characters. Players tap on the screen to attack with different moves and gain points by knocking out their opponents.
[4] In a post-match interview, Cheng said he still “could not believe” he had won. “When I attended my first world championship last year, I met many famous players in real life and hoped I could follow in their footsteps one day,” he said. “I still have not calmed down and am very excited about the win.” He thanked his aunt for accompanying him to the United States and his Hong Kong teammates for crowdfunding HK$5,000 to pay for his trip.
[5] Organisers had sponsored his flights and hotel accommodation, which lightened the financial burden. He also said he was grateful to the audience in Hong Kong and Taiwan for staying up late to watch the finals live, despite the time difference.
[6] Players who took part in the championship could compete in four different categories – trading card game, video game, Pokemon Go and Pokemon Unite. To be invited to the tournament, players had to earn enough points by competing in local competitions around the world throughout the year.
[7] Cheng competed in his first world championship in Yokohama, Japan last year. Without funding from the government, Cheng and four others managed to represent Hong Kong through crowdfunding efforts. Among those who helped finance the trip was renowned liver expert Dr Lai Ching-lung, a professor at the University of Hong Kong and a Pokemon Go enthusiast. The team, however, was eliminated in the preliminary rounds due to a lack of experience against other international players.
Source: South China Morning Post, August 20
Questions
1. Who did Cheng Yip-kai defeat in the finals to become the world champion according to paragraph 2?___________________________________________________
2. In paragraph 3, players earn points in Pokemon Go by …
A. collecting rare Pokemon
B. completing quests
C. winning battles
D. catching the most Pokemon
3. How many Pokemon can a player use each time according to paragraph 3?
___________________________________________________
4. Which of the following can replace “knocking out” in paragraph 3?
A. defeating
B. scoring
C. gaining
D. losing
5. In paragraph 5, who paid for Cheng’s flight to Hawaii to take part in the competition?___________________________________________________
6. Below is a summary of paragraph 6. Two of the sentences have a grammar mistake. Find the mistakes and write the corrections. If there is no mistake, put an x. The first one has been done for you. (3 marks)
Example: Pokemon Go is a game where people fighting each other with Pokemon.
Correction: fight
(i) Players win points by beating their opponent.
(ii) To play in the championship, they need to earn points by playing in many competition around the world.
(iii) Those who qualify for the championship can compete in four kinds of Pokemon games! trading cards, video games, Pokemon Go, and Pokemon Unite.
Gotta catch ‘em all! Photo: Shutterstock
Answers
1. his Dutch opponent Martijn Versteeg (accept all similar answers)
2. C
3. three
4. A
5. the organisers of the championship (accept all similar answers)
6. (i) x; (ii) competitions; (iii) :
