Any sportsperson considers it tough to know when to retire. Do you retire when you are at your physical “peak” or do you wait until your body or your coach tells you that it’s time to go? But what’s even harder is finding the answer to the question “What am I going to do with the rest of my life?

Retirement for people in general is painful. “There’s a high risk of depression and people often find adjusting to a new way of life difficult,” says Ian Cockerill, a sports psychologist. “For sportspeople, there’s an extra pain — the loss of status, the loss of recognition, and the loss of attraction. That’s the hardest part.” Eddie Acaro, the US jockey says, “When a a jockey (职业赛马骑师) retires, he becomes just another little man.”

Some sportspeople go on playing too long. Perhaps they just can’t stand life without the “high” of playing professional sport. Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, retired three tines. He retired once from the Chicago Bulls, made a successful comeback with the bulls, and then retired again. His second comeback with an inferior team ended in failure and he retired forever at the age of 38. Jordan said, “There will never be anything I do that will fulfill me as much as competing did.”

For some people the pain of saying goodbye never leaves them. Jimmy Greaves, an ex-England international footballer, said, “I think that a lot of players would prefer to be shot once their career is over.” Many of them spend their retirement in a continual battle against depression, alcohol, or drugs.

But for the lucky few, retirement can mean a successful new career. Franz Beckenbauer is a classic example of a footballer who won everything with his club. After retiring he became a successful coach of his club and finally the president of the club. John McEnroe, the infamous (臭名昭著的) “bad boy” of tennis, is now a highly respected and highly paid TV commentator (评论员). But sadly, for most sportspeople, these cases are the exceptions.

51. The hardest thing for any sportsperson to do is to _____.

A. retire when they are physically well

B. wait until their body isn’t suitable for sports

C. play until their coach tells them to leave

D. decide what they will do after retirement

52. With the example of Michael Jordan, the author tells us some sportspeople _____.

A. cannot adapt to life after retirement

B. really make great success when they come back

C. should go on playing sport as long as they can

D. are always addicted to playing professional sport

53. What does the underlined word “comeback” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A. Repetition.                                     B. Recovery.

C. Return.                                         D. Rebirth.

54. From the passage, we know that after retirement, many sportspeople _____.

A. become very poor

B. feel depressed and drink a lot

C. would love to coach other players

D. start a career related to sport

55. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Sportspeople aren’t supposed to retire so early.

B. Most sportspeople are not successful after retirement.

C. Franz Beckenbauer is famous for playing tennis.

D. John McEnroe is an ex-England international footballer.