I grew up poor-living with six brothers, three sisters and my 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
a dream.
My dream was
. By the time I was sixteen, I could throw a ninety-mile-per- hour baseball and
anything that moved on the field. I was also
: my high school coach was John, who not only
me, but also taught me how to believe in myself. He
me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction(信念). One particular incident with coach John changed my life forever.
A friend
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
that would explain to him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his
in me.
“Well,”he asked,“is $ 3.5 an hour the price of a dream?”
That simple question made
to me the difference between
something right now and having a goal. I
myself in sports that summer and
the year I was drafted(选拔) by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and
a $ 20,000 contract. Later, I bought my mother the house of my dream!
| 小题1: | | A．happy | B．polite | C．shy | D．honest |
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| 小题2: | | A．bring | B．afford | C．make | D．occupy |
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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．confident |
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| 小题6: | | A．believed in | B．relied on | C．called on | D．dealt with |
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| 小题7: | | A．gave | B．taught | C．brought | D．asked |
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| 小题8: | | A．called | B．advised | C．applied | D．recommended |
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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．excited | C．frightened | D．shameful |
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| 小题12: | | A．living | B．playing | C．working | D．dreaming |
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| 小题13: | | A．moving | B．nodding | C．shaking | D．hanging |
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| 小题14: | | A．questions | B．excuses | C．words | D．ways |
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| 小题15: | | A．belief | B．pride | C．helplessness | 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．enjoying |
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| 小题18: | | A．devoted | B．engaged | C．applied | D．contributed |
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| 小题19: | | A．by | B．for | C．beyond | D．within |
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| 小题20: | | A．paid | B．found | C．offered | D．presented |
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