Navey Baker， 17， Mascot

納薇·貝克，17歲，吉祥物

Some girls dream of being Olympians， while others want to be competitive[競爭的] cheerleaders—but Navey Baker has always been focused on another part of sports. “In sixth grade， I got to be the mascot for my elementary school，” she says. “I absolutely loved it for that moment forward.”

Years later， she had the opportunity to wear a tiger costume for her high school in Mesa， Arizona. She saved up $1，000 to buy the suit herself; doing jobs around the house and babysitting netted[凈賺] her the cash. Shes become a crowd favorite and plans on working for a professional[職業(yè)性的] sports team one day.“Dont give up， never give up，” Navey advises.“No matter what people say， just be you and you only.”

有些女生夢想成為奧運(yùn)會選手，有些則希望當(dāng)上有競爭力的拉拉隊隊長——但納薇·貝克一直以來關(guān)注的是體育運(yùn)動的另一個地方?！白x六年級的時候，我當(dāng)上了小學(xué)的吉祥物。”她說?！拔抑缶鸵恢焙芟矚g當(dāng)吉祥物?！?/p>

幾年后，她有機(jī)會穿上老虎服為位于（美國）亞利桑那州梅薩市自己所讀的高中當(dāng)吉祥物。她自己存了一千美元買服裝;這些錢是她在家里干活和當(dāng)臨時保姆賺來的。漸漸地，大家都喜歡上了她。納薇打算有朝一日可以為專業(yè)運(yùn)動隊工作。“不要放棄，永遠(yuǎn)不要放棄。”納薇建議道?！安还軇e人怎么說，做自己，只要做自己就可以了?！?/p>

Rosalee Ramer， 16， Monster Truck注1 Driver

羅莎莉·拉默，16歲，怪獸卡車車手

Like most 16-year-old， Rosalee Ramer likes to drive， but unlike pretty much every other teen you know， Rosalee is a professional monster truck driver. “My family has been involved[使參與] with monster trucks for a long time—weve had our own since I was seven，” she says. “I really love anything on four wheels.”

Though the actual driving is tons of fun， Rosalee particularly values the people shes met through her job.“Its given me the opportunity to spend time with people with special needs and kids who love monster trucks as much as I do.” She wants to study mechatronics[機(jī)械電子學(xué)] engineering in college， which will allow her to “combine computer science and mechanical automotive[汽車的] technology.” Impressive， right？ And in case you were wondering， when shes off-duty she drives a much smaller Jeep Wrangler.

羅莎莉·拉默和大部分16歲的年輕人一樣喜歡開車，但又和你身邊的青少年很不同——她是一名職業(yè)怪獸卡車車手。“我的家人長期以來一直從事和怪獸卡車有關(guān)的事——我7歲時，家里就有了自己的怪獸卡車?！彼f?！拔艺娴暮芟矚g任何有四個輪子的東西。”

雖然駕車的過程樂趣無窮，但羅莎莉尤其珍惜工作中遇到的各種人?！八屛矣袡C(jī)會與那些有特別需要的人，以及和我一樣熱愛怪獸卡車的孩子相處。”她希望到大學(xué)修讀機(jī)械電子工程，因?yàn)檫@個專業(yè)可以讓她“把電腦科學(xué)和機(jī)械汽車技術(shù)糅合到一起”。真令人敬佩，對吧？以防你有什么疑惑，告訴你，當(dāng)她不工作的時候，她開的是一輛體積小得多的吉普牧馬人。

Madison Stewart， 20， Shark Diver

麥迪遜·斯圖爾特，20歲，鯊魚潛水員

“Everyone else was scared of them，” shark diver Madison Stewart says about why she was first drawn to the scary sea creatures. Madison has dedicated[致力] herself to protecting the Great Barrier Reef—home to many endangered[瀕臨滅絕的] sharks—and hopes to continue her work as long as she can. “Theres so much information that people just dont know，” she says. “Like the fact theyre only responsible[負(fù)有責(zé)任的] for the deaths of 12 people a year， while humans kill more than 100 million sharks in the same time.”

Shes so committed[堅定的] to her cause that she chose to become homeschooled at age 14 to devote more time to diving. “I want to see the end of certain practices in my lifetime， like shark fisheries[漁場] in the Great Barrier Reef， over-fishing， and factory farming[工廠化養(yǎng)殖]，” she says. Yes， her future is certainly in the sea： “It would be a dream to be an underwater cinematographer[電影攝影技師] or a safety diver.”

“其他人都怕它們。”鯊魚潛水員麥迪遜·斯圖爾特在談到她最初被這種嚇人的海洋生物吸引時這樣說道。大堡礁生活著很多瀕危滅絕的鯊魚——麥迪遜一直致力于大堡礁的保護(hù)工作，并希望可以一直工作到自己無法繼續(xù)為止。“人們不知道的事情太多了?！八f?！氨热缯f，每年只有12宗死亡事件和它們有關(guān);但與此同時，人類每年捕殺鯊魚的數(shù)量超過一億條?！?/p>

她對自己的事業(yè)非常熱誠，甚至在14歲時選擇在家接受教育，因?yàn)樗氚迅鄷r間放在潛水上。“我希望在有生之年看到一些行為可以消失，比如大堡礁的鯊魚場、過度捕魚和工廠化養(yǎng)殖等等?！彼f。是的，她的未來一定會在海里度過;“如果能當(dāng)一名水下攝影師或者安全潛水員，那就真是太好了。”

Mckenna Hutchison， 14， Martial Artist

麥克納·哈奇森，14歲，武林選手

Starting Jiu-Jitsu[柔術(shù)] training when she was just five years old， McKenna Hutchinsons love of martial arts has been obvious for nearly a decade. She graduated to Judo and kickboxing[跆拳道] before finally discovering Pankration注2， which is “l(fā)ike MMA注3， except it has far more extensive[廣泛的] rules to ensure the safety of its participants[參與者]—for example， there are no head strikes[攻擊].”

And just how tough is this sport？ “Pankration is the ultimate[終極的] test of skill，” she says. “Also， it shows how well I would be able to defend[防守] myself in a real self-defense[自我防護(hù)] situation.”She hopes to eventually[最后] compete professionally in the Ultimate Fighting Championship， get her black belts in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo， and open her own martial arts school. As for anyone who questions if girls should participate in combat sports[搏擊運(yùn)動]？ “Not to be cliché[陳腐的]，” she says， “but girls can do anything that guys can， and most of the time were better at it.”

麥克納·哈奇森從5歲起就開始接受柔術(shù)訓(xùn)練，她對武術(shù)的熱愛已經(jīng)持續(xù)了近十年。在完成了柔術(shù)和跆拳道的學(xué)習(xí)后，她又發(fā)現(xiàn)了古希臘式搏擊。古希臘式搏擊“類似于綜合格斗（MMA），只是有更多廣泛的規(guī)則保證參加者的安全——例如，它沒有擊打頭部的動作?！?/p>

這項體育究竟有多艱難？“古希臘式搏擊是對技術(shù)的終極檢驗(yàn)?！彼f?！傲硗猓部梢燥@示出在真正的自衛(wèi)情況下，我能夠如何保衛(wèi)自己?！彼Ｍ罱K能在終極格斗錦標(biāo)賽以職業(yè)選手的身份參加比賽，拿到柔術(shù)和柔道黑帶，并開一家屬于自己的武術(shù)學(xué)校。如果有人問起女生應(yīng)不應(yīng)該參加搏擊運(yùn)動，她會怎樣回答？“我不是要老調(diào)重彈，”她說，“但男生可以做的事情女生也可以做，很多時候我們做得更好呢。”

Jess Dawson， 18， Pastry Chef

杰斯·道森，18歲，糕點(diǎn)師

How do you spend your weekends？ A little homework， a movie， and a whole lot of hanging out？ Well， Jess Dawson is busy creating complex desserts at Grace， a Michelin注4-starred restaurant in Chicago. Jess was first hired as a pastry[油酥糕點(diǎn)] chef at age 16 （at Spiaggia， another restaurant in her hometown）， and at the very end of her first summer there， she finally picked up her paychecks—she had never had a job before and couldnt figure out[想出] where to find them.

“That night I skipped down Michigan Avenue， waving my checks in the air， telling everyone who would listen that I， Jessica Dawson， was getting paid to bake，” she says. She plans to keep working for chefs who inspire her and to focus on making delicious food. Her favorite things to make right now are French pastries： “Its not a complete Saturday morning until the smell of croissants[牛角面包] fills the kitchen.”

你的周末是怎樣過的呢？做點(diǎn)功課、看一部電影，花上大量時間和朋友外出？杰斯·道森則在“格蕾絲”（一家位于芝加哥的米其林星級餐廳）忙碌地制作復(fù)雜的甜點(diǎn)。16歲時，杰斯第一次以糕點(diǎn)師的身份受雇（于“海灘”，她家鄉(xiāng)的另一家餐廳）。在那里工作的第一個夏天結(jié)束之時，她終于拿到了薪水（支票）——她之前沒有任何工作經(jīng)歷，也不知道怎樣找到工作。

“那天晚上，我在密歇根大道上蹦蹦跳跳的，手里揮動著我的支票，我告訴所有人;我，杰斯·道森，我烤面包會有人給錢?！彼f。她打算繼續(xù)為那些給予她靈感的師傅工作，專注制作美味的食物。我現(xiàn)在最喜歡做的是法國糕點(diǎn)：“只有當(dāng)廚房里充滿了牛角面包的香氣，才算是一個完整的周六早晨?！?/p>

注2：古希臘式搏擊是古代奧林匹亞競技大會的一項技擊性項目，是一種可以同時使用拳擊與角力、其他技巧等全面性技術(shù)的一種搏斗比賽。

注3：MMA（mixed martial arts）是一種規(guī)則極為開放的競技格斗運(yùn)動，比賽允許選手使用拳擊、巴西柔術(shù)、泰拳、摔跤、空手道、截拳道等多種技術(shù)。

注4：米其林指南是法國知名輪胎制造商、米其林公司所出版的美食及旅游指南書籍的總稱，其中以評鑒餐廳及旅館、書皮為紅色的“紅色指南”最具代表性。