I grew up poor－living with my wonderful mother. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I was
and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still
to have a dream.
My dream was
. By the time I was sixteen, I had started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and
anything that moved on the football field. I was also
: My high school coach was John, who not only believed in me, but also taught me
to believe in myself. He
me the difference between having a dream and remaining true to that dream. One particular
_ with Coach John changed my life forever.
A friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket-money for a new bike, new clothes and the
of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to
up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell John I wouldn’t be playing.
When I told John, he was as
as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work,” He said. “Your
days are limited. You can’t afford to waste them.” I stood before him with my head
, trying to think of the
to explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his
in me.
“How much are you going to make at this job?” He asked. “3.5 dollars an hour,” I replied.
“Well,” he asked, “is $3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”
That simple question made
for me the difference between
something right now and having a
. I devoted myself to sports that summer and
the year I was chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was
a $20,000 contract. My baseball scholarship got me through university and in 1984 I signed with Denver Broncos for $1.7 million and bought my mother the house of her dreams.
| 小题1: | | A．happy | B．polite | C．shy | D．honest |
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| 小题2: | | A．live | B．afford | C．make | D．need |
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| 小题3: | | A．athletics | B．music | C．business | D．money |
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| 小题5: | | A．right | B．popular | C．lucky | D．wrong |
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| 小题6: | | A．how | B．why | C．when | D．whether |
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| 小题7: | | A．gave | B．taught | C．brought | D．asked |
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| 小题8: | | A．accident | B．matter | C．problem | D．experience |
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| 小题9: | | A．aim | B．idea | C．start | D．purpose |
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| 小题11: | | A．mad | B．puzzled | C．frightened | D．shameful |
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| 小题12: | | A．living | B．playing | C．working | D．learning |
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| 小题13: | | A．moving | B．nodding | C．shaking | D．hanging |
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| 小题14: | | A．answers | B．excuses | C．words | D．ways |
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| 小题15: | | A．sadness | B．regret | C．hopelessness | D．disappointment |
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| 小题16: | | A．direct | B．clear | C．straight | D．bare |
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| 小题17: | | A．wanting | B．changing | C．dreaming | D．living |
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| 小题18: | | A．wish | B．dream | C．score | D．desire |
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| 小题20: | | A．paid | B．got | C．offered | D．presented |
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