The Price of a Dream
I grew up poor, living with my wonderful mother. We had little money but plenty of love and attention. I was
36 and energetic. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still
37 a dream.My dream was to be a sportsman.
38 I was sixteen, I had started playing baseball. I could throw a ninety-mile-per-hour fastball and hit anything that moved on the football field. I was also
39 . My high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis, who not only believed in me, but taught me
40 to believe in myself. He
41 me the difference between having a dream and realizing the dream. One particular
42 with Coach Jarvis changed my life forever.
It was the summer between my junior and senior years, and a friend recommended (推荐) me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket—money for a new bike and new clothes, and the
43 of savings for a house for my mother. Then I realized I would have to
44 summer baseball to deal with the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn’t be playing.
When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as
45 as I expected him to be. “You have your whole life to work,” he said. “Your playing days are limited. You can’t
46 to waste them.” I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the
47 that would explain
48 him why my dream of buying my mom a house and having money in my pocket was worth facing his
49 in me. “How much are you going to make at this job, son?” he asked. “Three twenty-five an hour,” I replied.
“Well,” he asked, “is $3.25 an hour the
50 of a dream?”
That simple question made it
51 to me the difference between
52 something right now and following a dream. I
53 myself to sports that summer, and within the year I was
54 by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, and was
55 a $20,000 contract. In 2000, 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3: | A.By the time | B.The time | C.At one time | D.At a time |
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小题4: | A.right | B.popular | C.lucky | D.confident |
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小题5: | A.how | B.why | C.when | D.whether |
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小题6: | A.gave | B.taught | C.brought | D.asked |
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小题7: | A.accident | B.matter | C.problem | D.experience |
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小题8: | A.aim | B.idea | C.start | D.purpose |
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小题9: | A.keep up | B.put up | C.give up | D.pick up |
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小题10: | A.mad | B.happy | C.frightened | D.shameful |
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小题11: | A.adopt | B.afford | C.affect | D.effect |
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小题12: | A.answers | B.excuses | C.words | D.ways |
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小题14: | A.sadness | B.regret | C.hopelessness | D.disappointment |
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小题15: | A.source | B.prize | C.price | D.allowance |
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小题16: | A.direct | B.clear | C.clean | D.straight |
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小题17: | A.wanting | B.changing | C.dreaming | D.choosing |
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小题18: | A.provided | B.devoted | C.headed | D.imagined |
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小题19: | A.worked | B.mentioned | C.fired | D.hired |
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小题20: | A.paid | B.got | C.offered | D.signed |
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