Everybody likes a winner， and there are always people ready to cheer for a good winner. But who has ever heard a song for the man who comes in second？ So this is in praise of the almost winner， the nearly champion(冠军)， the next to the biggest， the second best. This is the song of Mister Two.
You hear unflattering(不讨好人的) names for Mister Two. “Alsoran”， they call him， and “runnerup”， names that make you think of a fellow who couldn’t quite make it. Don’t let that fool you. Ask the winner of any race how good a man Mister Two is. He will tell you it’s Mister Two who made him run so fast， Mister Two is always threat
ening to overtake and pass him.
Ask the salesman who won the contest and what kept him looking for extra order. Ask the directors of the big company why they keep changing their product， seeking the new equipment， the added advantage. What drives them？ What keeps them going？ It’s the salesman with nearly as many orders. It is the company with the product almost as good. It’s Mister Two.
In this country， we’re proud of the quality of our champions. Our big men come very big. Our fast men run very fast. Our wise men are the wisest and our greatest men are the greatest that a country could hope to be blessed with. And why is that？ It is Mis
ter Two that makes the race always open and everybody can run. So this is for you， Mister Two. This is your song. This is for all the days you tried for first， a
nd came in second. It’s for the nights when you wonder if you ought to go on trying， since nobody seems to notice. . .
We notice， Mister Two. We know the score. Winner or not， you’re a natural champion. There couldn’t be a race without you， Mister Two.
48. People usually call Mister Two unflattering names to him.
A. praise B. encourage C. laugh at 
D. respect
49. According to the author， Mister Two is mentioned in connection with the following except .
A. business B. sports C. greatness D. failure
50. It is implied in this story that .
A. Mister Two is as important as the winner B. every leader needs someone to help him
C. the second today must be the first tomorrow D. second place is always praised
51. The person who wins needs to understand that .
A. winning is everything B. being Mister Two is wonderful
C. without Mister Two he would do better
D. without strong competition he wouldn’t have worked so hard
