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.
小題1: | A.happy | B.polite | C.shy | D.honest |
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小題2: | A.live | B.afford | C.make | D.need |
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小題3: | A.athletics | B.music | C.business | D.money |
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小題5: | A.right | B.popular | C.lucky | D.wrong |
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小題6: | A.how | B.why | C.when | D.whether |
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小題7: | A.gave | B.taught | C.brought | D.asked |
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小題8: | A.accident | B.matter | C.problem | D.experience |
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小題9: | A.aim | B.idea | C.start | D.purpose |
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小題11: | A.mad | B.puzzled | C.frightened | D.shameful |
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小題12: | A.living | B.playing | C.working | D.learning |
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小題13: | A.moving | B.nodding | C.shaking | D.hanging |
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小題14: | A.answers | B.excuses | C.words | D.ways |
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小題15: | A.sadness | B.regret | C.hopelessness | D.disappointment |
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小題16: | A.direct | B.clear | C.straight | D.bare |
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小題17: | A.wanting | B.changing | C.dreaming | D.living |
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小題18: | A.wish | B.dream | C.score | D.desire |
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小題20: | A.paid | B.got | C.offered | D.presented |
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