“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.

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.

2.  How many times was Sayers honored in his life?

A. Only once as a football star.                              

B. Only once as a businessman.

C. Twice in all.                                               

D. We are not quite sure.

3.  Sayers started his new career mainly because of _______ .

A. the first knee injury in l 968                                     

B. his unfortunate personal life

C. another more serious knee injury                         

D. a friend’s being deadly ill

4. What can be learned from this passage?

A. Football players are not successful all the time.

B. A successful businessman should be a ball player first.

C. A retired football player can easily make money.

D. Whatever you do, working hard is the most important.

Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family,and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck. I’m not going to say luck, talent, and circumstances don’t come into play because they do. Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence, and that’s just the reality of how life is.

However, to succeed in life, one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical. And,in addition to that, in order to get really good at something, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practicing. To become great at certain things, it’ll require even more time,time that most people won’t put in.

This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.

When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success,you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It’s sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent,but thinking that way does you no good,and there’s a huge chance that you’re wrong anyway.

Whatever you do, if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out, almost to the point of addiction, and over a long period of time. If you’re not willing to put in the time and work, don’t expect to receive any rewards. Consistent, hard work won’t guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.

1.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.

A.the reasons for success           B.the meaning of success

C.the standards of success          D.the importance of success

2.In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “that “refers to ______.

A.being good at something         B.setting a practical goal

C.putting in more time            D.succeeding in life

3.What is the main theme of the passage?

A.Having a goal is vital to success.

B.Being good is different from being great.

C.One cannot succeed without time and practice.     

D.Luck,talent and family help to achieve success.

“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?

In my living room, there is a plaque (匾) that advises me to “Bloom (开花) where you are planted.” It reminds me of Dorothy. I got to know Dorothy in the early 1980s, when I was teaching Early Childhood Development through a program with Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. The job responsibilities required occasional visits to the classroom of each teacher in the program. Dorothy stands out in my memory as one who “bloomed” in her remote area.

Dorothy taught in a school In Harlan County, Kentucky, Appalachian Mountain area. To get to her school from the town of Harlan, I followed a road winding around the mountain. In the eight-mile journey, I crossed the same railroad track five times, giving the possibility of getting caught by the same train five times. Rather than feeling excited by this drive through the mountains, I found it depressing. The poverty level was shocking and the small shabby houses gave me the greatest feeling of hopelessness.

From the moment of my arrival at the little school, all gloom (忧郁) disappeared. Upon arriving at Dorothy’s classroom. I was greeted with smiling faces and treated like a queen. The children had been prepared to show me their latest projects. Dorothy told me with a big smile that they were serving poke greens salad and cornbread for “dinner” (lunch). In case you don’t know, poke greens are a weed-type plant that grows wild, especially on poor ground.

Dorothy never ran out of reports of exciting activities of her students. Her enthusiasm never cooled down. When it came time to sit for the testing and interviewing required to receive her Child Development Associate Certification, Dorothy was ready. She came to the assessment and passed in all areas. Afterward, she invited me to the one-and-only steak house in the area to celebrate her victory, as if she had received her Ph. D. degree. After the meal, she placed a little box containing an old pen in my hand. She said it was a family heirloom (传家宝), but to me it is a treasured symbol of appreciation and pride that cannot be matched with things. (360 words)

1.“Early Childhood Development” in Paragraph 1 refers to __________.

A．a program directed by Dorothy

B．a course given by the author

C．an activity held by the students

D．an organization sponsored by Union college

2. In the journey, the author was most disappointed at seeing __________.

A．the long track                          B．the poor houses

C．the same train                          D．the winding road

3.Upon arriving at the classroom, the author was cheered up by __________.

A．a warm welcome                        B．the sight of poke greens

C．Dorothy’s latest projects                 D．a big dinner made for her

4.What can we know about Dorothy from the last paragraph?

A. She was invited to a celebration at a restaurant.

B. She got a pen as a gift from the author.

C. She passed the required assessment.

D. She received her Ph. D. degree.

5.What does the author mainly intend to tell us?

A．Whatever you do, you must do it carefully.

B．Whoever you are, you deserve equal treatment.

C．However poor you are, you have the right to education,

D．Wherever you are, you can accomplish your achievement.

“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.

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.

 How many times was Sayers honored in his life?

A. Only once as a football star.                      

B. Only once as a businessman.

C. Twice in all.                                        

D. We are not quite sure.

 Sayers started his new career mainly because of _______ .

A. the first knee injury in l 968                         

B. his unfortunate personal life

C. another more serious knee injury                  

D. a friend’s being deadly ill

What can be learned from this passage?

A. Football players are not successful all the time.

B. A successful businessman should be a ball player first.

C. A retired football player can easily make money.

D. Whatever you do, working hard is the most important.