The first half-time of the football match was full of excitement. The two teams, Vernon Park looked worried and Steelhouse were talking excitedly. It was 1-1,but Steelhouse were on their way. They had Del, who got a goal. The second half started with Del playing back in defence. Del drifted back, back and back. This meant that Del was there to stop Vernon Park scoring. But Steelhouse didn’t score either. Now, there was ten minutes left of the game. Something had to happen. Then a Vernon defender kicked a high ball downfield. The ball skidded off a Steelhouse knee. Corner! “Back, lads!” yelled Harry. “Five minutes left! Get ready for the corner.” Del got into position and glanced up again, No Dad! The kick was taken just as Del’s Dad walked to the edge of the field. The ball came hard and low across the goal mouth. It hit the side of someone’s heel and jumped up to Del’s hand. PENALTY!!!!!!!!!!! The ref was pointing at the penalty spot and the whole field were shouting. “YOU DUCK EGG, DEL!” Cropper was face to face with him. He looked ready to hit him. “It hit me—right? I’m not superman!” said Del as he walked away with his back to everyone. “Give me strength!!” roared Harry. In went the penalty. 2-1 to Vernon Park. “Five more minutes”, thought Del, as he got back to the center, “Then it’s over, no more football for me.” Just then his Dad came over and patted Del on the shoulder. “ Don’t worry, son. Never mind…. It wasn’t your fault. Show them what you can do!” As Del walked back to the middle, the eyes of all his teammates arrowed into him. He could almost felt their angry thoughts. This was why he wasn’t going to play again. Ever. Then as he came up to the center circle, Spanner ran over to him. Poor Spanner! There’d no winner’s medal for him today after all. But he wasn’t angry with Del. “It wasn’t your fault, Del!” he said loyally. “You’ll show them, won’t you? Look, their keeper is off his line again!” Del took a look. Spanner was right. The Vernon keeper had run out cheering when they scored the penalty. He was still way out, joking with the defender—the idiot! Now, with three minutes remaining, there was no time for skills or tricks like before. The laughter of the crowd got around in Del’s head. Suddenly, he was angry. Yes, he’d show them. “Touch it to me, Span!” he said. Spanner kicked off. Del took the ball and he was away. Five steps inside the Vernon half, he smashed the ball over the keeper’s head…. …and into the back of the net! 2-2! The teams kicked off again. And before the Vernon team had finished arguing, Spanner sent Del his first straight pass of the evening. With the ball under perfect control, Del turned left and then right, past four defenders. Then he fooled the goal-keeper into diving the wrong way and ran neatly past him. Del could easily have put the ball into the open net. But he didn’t, he stopped. The defenders of the other team, Vernon Park, all ran at Del, desperately. Spanner was charging up alone on the other side like a mad horse. Del carefully side-footed the ball right across the face of the goal. Spanner couldn’t miss from less than a meter out. The stadium exploded with yells of disbelief. Spanner was surrounded and followed by the excited Steelhouse team as he ran around the pitch waving his arms and shouting. The last minute crawled round as Del took the ball and kept it under his control until the whistle went. 3-2 to Steelhouse. The whole Steelhouse team went mad, cheering and shouting. Del stood in the center circle, his heart thundering with excitement. This is special, he thought. 1. Which of the following statements is true about penalty ? A. You will get a penalty if you touch the ball with your hand. B. When you get a penalty, it means that you get a corner. C. If you get a penalty, the whole football court will be angry. D. You will often get a penalty at the end of a football game. 2. We can learn from the story that _______. A. Del couldn’t have performed well in the first half B. It was Del’s fault that Steelhouse got a penalty C. When it was 2-1 to Vernon, Del was not worried at all D. Not all his teammates blamed Del for the penalty 3. Del decided to “show them what I can do” because (of) _______. A. his dad’s comfort B. his teammate’s trust C. the jeers of the crowd D. all of the above 4. Del scored ____ goals in the first and the second halves of the game. A. 2 B. 1 C. 3 D. 0 5. The fourth paragraph from bottom (Paragraph 20) mainly describes _______. A. how Del scored his goal B. how Del helped his team mate to score the goal C. how Del showed off his skills D. how Del prevented the other team scoring the goal 6. The best title of the story can be _______. A. Half Time B. A Great defender C. An amazing turn-around D. Friendship in game