“Football is a very short-term career. Football really prepares you for almost nothing. The only thing I got out of football was the ability to work hard.” says Gales Sayers. So what do you do after your glory days on the field are over? Here’s what one of the top players, Gales Sayers did after he put down the pigskin.
Gales Sayers: #40, Chicago Bears, Running Back.  
Gales Sayers became famous in 1965. After recovering from a serious knee injury in 1968, Sayers returned to the Bears in 1969 and was awarded the George Halas Award as “the most courageous player in professional football.” At the award ceremony, he owed his prize to his friend and teammate Brian Piccolo, who was dying of cancer.
Sayers couldn’t get away from the injuries, though, and another blow to his knee put an end to his football career in 1971. His personal life was unfortunate as well, as he and his wife, Linda, split up that year. Shortly after that, Sayers started a new life and career as an assistant athletic director in the University of Kansas. By 1976 he was moving up the ladder at Southern Illinois University, becoming the first African-American athletic director at a major university.
Sayers started a computer supplies company in 1984 with his second wife, Ardie, whom he married in 1973. The couple was looking for a field with a future, and computers seemed to have it all. Seventeen years later, the company that bears his name is a national provider of technology solutions, with 10 locations and over 350 employees across the country. Just like in the old days the honors started rolling in. Sayers was listed into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship(企业家) Hall of Fame in 1999.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence “he put down the pigskin” mean?
A. Sayers ended his football career.              
B. Sayers was too tired to go on playing.
C. Sayers intended to start a new career.            
D. Sayers only wanted to rest for some time.
【小题2】 How many times was Sayers honored in his life?

Last year, on report card day, my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car, ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald's. “Jack got a laptop for getting straight A's, and Laurie got a cell-phone,” one boy said. “Oh, yeah, and Sarah got an iPod Nano, and she's only in third grade,” said another. “And how about Brian? He got $10 for each A.”
I suddenly became concerned. These payoffs might get parents through grammar school, but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar, the cell-phone, and the DVD player?       
I saw the road ahead: As the homework load increased, my income would decrease. I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes---no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic（施有机肥料的）carrots. No more organic anything!            
I started to feel surprised and nervous. Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system: soccer goals, touchdowns（橄榄球底线得分）? What about the orchestra（管弦乐队）? Would first chair pay more than second? I'd be penniless by eighth-grade graduation.
“We never paid anything for good grades,” said my neighbor across the street, whose son was recently accepted at MIT. “He just did it on his own. Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza, but that's about it.”
Don't you just hate that? We're all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation; we get negotiation. And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades, everyone in my class raised their hands and said they got ice cream cones (蛋卷),” said one third-grader.
【小题1】What's the best title for the passage?

    Last year, on report card day，my son and a group of his 13-year-old friends piled into the back seat of my car，ready for the last-day-of-school party at McDonald’s．“Jack got a laptop for getting straight A’s，and Laurie got a cell-phone，”one boy said．“Oh，yeah，and Sarah got a MP3，and she’s only in third grade，said another．“And how about Brian? He got $ 10 for each A．”

    I suddenly became concerned．These payoffs might get parents through grammar school，but what about high school and beyond? What would be left after the electric guitar，the cell-phone，and the DVD player?

    I saw the road ahead：As the homework load increased, my income would decrease．I saw my comfortable lifestyle disappear before my eyes---no more of those $5 bags of already-peeled organic carrots．No more organic anything!

    I started to feel surprised and nervous．Would every goal achieved by my two children fetch a reward? A high grade point average? A good class ranking? Would sports achievements be included in this reward system：soccer goals，touchdowns? What about the orchestra? Would first chair pay more than second? I’d be penniless by eighth-grade graduation．

    “We never paid anything for good grades，”said my neightbour across the street，whose son was recently accepted at MIT．“He just did it on his own．Maybe once in a while we went out for pizza，but that’s about it．"

    Don’t you just hate that? We’re all running around looking for the MP3 player with the most updates, and she’s spending a few dollars on pizza. She gets motivation；we get negotiation(协商)．And what about the primary grades? What do these students get? “When the teacher asked if anyone got rewards for good grades，everyone in my class raised their hand and said they got ice cream cones，”said one third grader．

51．What’s the best title for the passage?

    A．Tips on Paying Kids for Good Grades    

    B．New Trends in Paying Kids for Good Grades

    C．Don’t Pay Kids for Good Grades

    D．Good Grades Mean Good Rewards

52．What does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably mean?

    A．Taking care of the children would influence my work．

    B．I would spend less money on my children’s good grades．

    C．Reducing my children’s homework load would cost me a lot．

    D．More rewards would be needed as the children grew up．

53．It call be inferred from the passage that        ．

    A．if you pay kids for good grades，they will take it for granted

    B．if you buy children pizza as a reward，they will work harder

    C．children will not ask for rewards when they enter high school

    D．good grades won’t help kids make great progress in future

54．The author takes her neighbour as an example to show           ．

    A．pizza is the best way to motivate children

    B．rewards are not the only way to motivate children

    C．getting rewards for good grades is common

    D．it is necessary to reward children for their good grades  

55．Who are most probably interested in this passage?

    A．Parents．    B．Children．    C．Teachers．D．Businessmen．

The sun was shining as Kevin walked to the old bench（长凳） where he met Mike every afternoon after school．They were good friends and loved to play football．They didn’t have enough money to buy a real football, but Mike had made a ball out of old socks covered with a piece of plastic．It wasn’t beautiful, but it worked well．The two friends didn’t stop kicking and running until very late.

    The next afternoon, Mike and Kevin met again at the old bench．Soon the home-made ball was spinning（旋转） across the grass as the boys laughed and shouted happily．The ball was stopped by a boy wearing a nice pair of sneakers（运动鞋）．Kevin was upset when he saw it was Steven.

   The next morning, Kevin’s mother gave him an envelope（信封）．“Your uncle sent you a birthday present,” she smiled．Kevin’s eyes grew big when he saw the $100 bill．Later that day, a pair of new sneaker lay next to his chair, and in the corner, a real football.

    The next afternoon, Steven invited Kevin to play football on the field next to the library．Steven did not want Mike to join them only because Mike’s sneakers were dirty and he was not good at football．When the game was over, Kevin and Steven walked past the old bench where Mike was sitting．Steven picked up a stone and threw it at him．Kevin, holding his new football in his hands, walked on and did not look back.

    One afternoon, as Kevin walked past the old bench, he saw something lying under it．He looked closer and saw it was the home-made ball．Kevin was full of sorrow at the sight of his old home-made ball, and he let out a sad sigh（叹气）．As his sadness turned to anger, he picked up his new football and kicked it into the air．Kevin kicked it so hard that it flew past the library and over the school gate．Then Kevin walked to the bench and picked up his home-made ball．Holding it in his hands, Kevin sat down and waited.

1．The best title for this passage is ______.

      A．A Home-Made Football                  B．Playing Football

       C．Two Close Friends                D．A New Football