繪◎甜栗蘇

I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots①just over their heads and into the net.

I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand,playing alone. She would practice dribbling②and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much.

Without a moment of hesitation③, she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. Ilike basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."

I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity④team to victory. One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled⑤in her arms.

Quietly I asked what was wrong."Oh, nothing," came a soft reply. "I am just too short." The coach told her that she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college.

I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — her own attitude. He told her again, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."

The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship Game, she was seen by a college recruiter⑥. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride⑦, to a Division I, NCAA women's basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years. It's true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.

我記得第一天看到她打籃球的情景?？粗谄渌⒆优赃叾祦磙D(zhuǎn)去，我感到十分驚奇。她總是盡力地跳起投籃，球恰好越過那些孩子的頭頂飛入籃筐。

我開始注意到她有時候一個人打球。她一遍遍地練習(xí)運(yùn)球和投籃，有時直到天黑。有一天我問她為什么這么刻苦地練習(xí)。

她不假思索地說：“我想上大學(xué)。只有獲得獎學(xué)金我才能上大學(xué)。我喜歡打籃球，我想只要我打得好，我就能獲得獎學(xué)金。我要到大學(xué)去打籃球。我爸爸告訴我說，心中有目標(biāo)，風(fēng)雨不折腰?！?/p>

我看著她這些年從初中升到高中。每個星期，她帶領(lǐng)的學(xué)?；@球代表隊(duì)都能夠獲勝。高中那會兒的某一天，我看見她坐在草地上，頭埋在臂彎里。

我輕輕地問出什么事了?！芭?，沒什么，”她輕聲回答，“只是我太矮了?！痹瓉砘@球教練告訴她，她幾乎是沒有機(jī)會到一流的球隊(duì)去打球的——更不用說會獲得獎學(xué)金了——所以她應(yīng)該放棄想上大學(xué)的夢想。

我問她是否與她的爸爸談過這件事。她從臂彎里抬起頭，告訴我，她爸爸說那些教練錯了。他們根本不懂得夢想的力量。他告訴她，如果真的想到一個好的大學(xué)去打籃球，如果她真的想獲得獎學(xué)金，任何東西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她說：“心中有目標(biāo)，風(fēng)雨不折腰?！?/p>

第二年，當(dāng)她和她的球隊(duì)去參加北加利福尼亞州冠軍賽時，她被一位大學(xué)的招生人員看中了。她真的獲得了獎學(xué)金，一個全面資助的獎學(xué)金，并且進(jìn)入美國全國大學(xué)體育協(xié)會其中一隊(duì)女子甲組籃球隊(duì)。她將接受她曾夢想并為之奮斗多年的大學(xué)教育。是的，心中有目標(biāo)，風(fēng)雨不折腰。

① shoot jump shots 跳起投籃

② dribbling ['dr?bl??] n. 控球；漏泄v. 滴下；垂涎（dribble的ing形式）

③ without a moment of hesitation 沒有片刻猶豫

④ varsity 英 ['vɑ?s?t?] 美 ['vɑrs?ti]n. 大學(xué)；大學(xué)運(yùn)動代表隊(duì) adj. 大學(xué)代表隊(duì)的

⑤ cradle 英 ['kre?d(?)l] 美 ['kredl] n. 搖籃；發(fā)源地；發(fā)祥地；支船架 vt. 撫育；把……擱在支架上；把……放在搖籃內(nèi)

⑥ recruiter 英 [r?'kru?t?] 美 [r?'kr?t?] n. 招聘人員，征兵人員

⑦ a full ride全額獎學(xué)金