楊時務

The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during the break. She seemed so small as she pushed her way __1__ the crowd of boys on the playground. She __2__ from them all.

I began to notice her at other times， basketball in hand， playing __3__. She would practice dribbling （運球） and shooting over and over again， sometimes until __4__. One day I asked her __5__ she practiced so much. She looked me __6__ in the eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said， “I want to go to college. The only way I can __7__ is that I get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be __8__. My daddy told me if the dream is big enough， the facts don't count.”

Well， I had to give in to her—she was __9__. One day， I saw her sitting on the grass， head

__10__ in her arms. I walked toward her and quietly asked what was __11__. “Oh， nothing，” came a soft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at her height she would probably __12__ get to play for a top-ranked team， __13__ offered scholarship. So she __14__ stop dreaming about college.

She was __15__ and I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just did not __16__ the power of a dream. He told her __17__ she really wanted to play for a good college， if she truly wanted a scholarship， __18__ could stop her except one thing—her own attitude. He told her again， “If the dream is big enough， the facts don't count.”

The next year， as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship Game， she was seen by a college recruiter （招聘人員）. She was indeed offered a __19__. She was going to get the college education that she had __20__ and worked toward for all those years.

1. A. through? ? ? ? ? ? B. across

C. over? ? ? ? ? ? D. into

2. A. brought out? ? ? B. showed out

C. stood out? ? ? ? D. worked out

3. A. only? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. lonely

C. simply? ? ? ? ? D. alone

4. A. dark? ? ? ? ? ? B. dawn

C. midnight? ? ? ? ? D. daybreak

5. A. how? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. when

C. why? ? ? ? ? ? D. what

6. A. worriedly? ? B. shyly

C. quietly? ? ? ? ? D. directly

7. A. go? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. get

C. enter? ? ? ? ? ? D. attend

8. A. worse? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. better

C. the best? ? ? ? ? D. the worst

9. A. determined? ? ? ? B. encouraged

C. fixed? ? ? ? ? ? D. fascinated

10. A. covered? ? ? ? ? B. enclosed

C. dropped? ? ? ? ? D. buried

11. A. the affair? ? ? ? B. the wrong

C. matter? ? ? ? ? ? D. the matter

12. A. ever? ? ? ? B. even

C. once? ? ? ? ? ? D. never

13. A. far more? ? ? ? ? B. much less

C. much fewer? ? ? D. many more

14. A. should? ? ? ? ? B. must

C. can? ? ? ? ? ? D. may

15. A. overjoyed? ? ? ? ? B. moved

C. embarrassed? ? ? D. heartbroken

16. A. understand? ? ? ? B. experience

C. learn? ? ? ? ? ? D. believe

17. A. even if? ? ? ? ? ? B. as if

C. that if? ? ? ? ? D. only if

18. A. anything? ? ? ? ? B. nothing

C. something? ? ? ? D. everything

19. A. prize? ? ? ? ? ? ? B. medal

C. scholarship? ? ? ? D. position

20. A. dreamed of? ? ? ? B. accepted

C. thought of? ? ? ? D. appreciated