The headline Thursday in Spain’s biggest sports newspaper, Marca, said it best: “The End”.

Crowded around televisions in bars and in living rooms across their country, Spaniards let out painful disappointment late Wednesday when their favorite national soccer team was removed from the World Cup, losing to Chile 2-0. It was one of the worst-ever performances for a reigning(卫冕的) world champion.

Spain had made history by winning titles one after another: The European Championship in 2008, the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship again in 2012. Now it is over.

“It is a shock now, because we were used to winning all the time in Spain!” said Iñigo Carmona, 19, walking aimlessly in empty Madrid streets with three of his college buddies after watching the game. “A lot of people just forget their problems watching the team. They don’t deserve the thing that we watched -- the humiliation(耻辱) we watched.”

A few dozen depressed fans, some drunk, gathered early Thursday around a fountain in front of a 19th century palace in downtown Madrid, where their country normally celebrates soccer victories. They sang patriotic(爱国的) songs almost until sunrise and joked their team — which was 5,000 miles away in Brazil.

Spain was ranked No. 1 in the world by world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and was a favorite to win the World Cup in Brazil. The team, nicknamed “La Roja” for the red uniform they wear, still has one game left to play, versus Australia on Monday. But two losses — to the Netherlands on Friday, and Chile on Wednesday — mean it’s nearly impossible for Spain to advance.

“We cannot complain we did not deserve to go out. They were better than us,” the Spanish team’s coach, Vicente del Bosque, told Spanish TV. “We were certainly inferior to our contestants here. It is not the moment to think about the future. Little by little we will make the necessary assessments.”

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1.What made the Spaniards disappointed?

A Their team lost to Chile 2-0.

B Their team lost the Netherlands.

C Their team was removed from the World Cup.

D Other teams were better than their team.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第二段…when their favorite national soccer team was removed from the World Cup可知，西班牙队在以0-2输给智利队之后惨遭淘汰，这个结果让球迷们非常失望。

2.Why did Marca say “The End” on Thursday?

A The World Cup competitions had ended.

B The Spanish Team had finished its competitions.

C The Spanish Team had ended its winning history.

D The Spanish fans felt very sad about their team.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第三段Now it is over可知，西班牙队的冠军时代已经结束。Marca报的这句话最好的诠释了西班牙队当前的处境。

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A The Spaniards had expected their team to win again.

B The Spanish Team had been the worst championship in history.

C The fans still supported their team although it had lost.

D The Spanish Team had no chance to win the Australian Team.

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据Iñigo Carmona 的话It is a shock now, because we were used to winning all the time in Spain可以判断，大家原本期望西班牙队像过去一样战无不胜的。真实希望越大，失望越大。

4.What does the writer want to say in Paragraph Five?

A There was a fountain in front of the palace.

B The Spaniards love their country very much.

C The fans were angry with their favorite team.

D The fans had a mixed feeling about their team’s lose.

解析：选D。推理判断题。第五段描述了球迷们在庆祝胜利的宫殿前为西班牙队的失利黯然神伤，在调侃的同时还没有忘了打气加油（They sang patriotic songs），由此判断，球迷的心情可谓五味杂陈。

5.What does “La Roja” most probably mean in Paragraph Six?

A Victory.

B Red.

C Best.

D Worst.

解析：选B。猜测词义题。根据red uniform可知，这个给西班牙队的绰号意为“红色”。