If the Dream Is Big Enough

　　志當(dāng)存高遠(yuǎn)

　　A school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids from my window as they played basketball. One day, among the children a girl attracted me. She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys. Running circles around the other kids, she managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net with on one to stop her. Sometimes, I saw her play alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, until dark.

　　我的家與一所學(xué)校只有一街之隔，我經(jīng)常透過(guò)窗戶看學(xué)校里孩子們打籃球。一天我注意到一個(gè)小姑娘。她在一群孩子中間，身材矮小，卻在費(fèi)勁地從男孩子們中間擠過(guò)。她在別人旁邊兜來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)去，設(shè)法地跳起投籃，“嗖——”，球恰好越過(guò)那些孩子的頭頂飛入籃筐，竟無(wú)人能擋。有時(shí)候我看到她一個(gè)人在打球，一遍又一遍地練習(xí)運(yùn)球和投籃，直到天黑。

　　One day I asked her why she practiced so much. Without hesitation, she said, "I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. If I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I like basketball. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." Then she smiled and ran towards the court to go on practice.

　　有一天我問她為什么這么刻苦地練球。她不假思索地說(shuō)：“我想上大學(xué)。只有獲得獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金我才能上大學(xué)。我想只要我打得好，我就能獲得獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。我喜歡打籃球。我爸爸告訴我說(shuō)，只要主義真，鐵杵磨成針?！闭f(shuō)完她笑了笑，跑向籃球場(chǎng)繼續(xù)練球。

　　I watched her through junior high and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory. One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I went over there and sat down beside her. Quietly I asked her what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," She replied softly. "I am just too short." The coach told her that at 5'5"she would probably never get to play for a top ranked college team — much less be offered a scholarship — so she should stop dreaming about college.

　　我看著她這些年從初中升到高中。每個(gè)星期，她帶領(lǐng)的學(xué)?；@球代表隊(duì)都能夠獲勝。高中那會(huì)兒的某一天，我看見她坐在草地上，頭埋在臂彎里。我穿過(guò)街道，坐到她旁邊的清涼的草地上。我輕輕地問出什么事了?！芭?，沒什么，”她輕聲回答，“只是我太矮了。”原來(lái)籃球教練告訴她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她幾乎是沒有機(jī)會(huì)到一流的球隊(duì)去打球的——更不用說(shuō)會(huì)獲得獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金了——所以她應(yīng)該放棄想上大學(xué)的夢(mèng)想。

　　She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as 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 did not understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — her own attitude. He told her again, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."

　　她很傷心，我也覺得自己的喉嚨發(fā)緊，因?yàn)槲腋杏X到了她的失望。我問她是否與她的爸爸談過(guò)這件事。她從臂彎里抬起頭，告訴我，她爸爸說(shuō)那些教練錯(cuò)了。他們根本不懂得夢(mèng)想的力量。他告訴她，如果真的想到一個(gè)好的大學(xué)去打籃球，如果她真的想獲得獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，任何東西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她說(shuō)：“心中有目標(biāo)，風(fēng)雨不折腰?！钡诙辏?dāng)她和她的球隊(duì)去參加北加利福尼亞州冠軍賽時(shí)，她被一位大學(xué)的招生人員看中了。她真的獲得了獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，一個(gè)全面資助的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，并且進(jìn)入美國(guó)全國(guó)大學(xué)體育協(xié)會(huì)其中一隊(duì)女子甲組籃球隊(duì)。她將接受她曾夢(mèng)想并為之奮斗多年的大學(xué)教育（美文摘抄 MeiWen.com.cn）。

　　The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter, and was offered a full scholarship, to a NCAA women's basketball team. She was going to college, which she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.

　　第二年，當(dāng)她和她的球隊(duì)去參加北加利福尼亞州冠軍賽時(shí)，她被一位大學(xué)的招生人員看中，并獲得了全額獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金，進(jìn)入美國(guó)全國(guó)大學(xué)體育協(xié)會(huì)中的一個(gè)女子籃球隊(duì)。她要去上大學(xué)了，那是她多年來(lái)夢(mèng)想的，為之奮斗的目標(biāo)。

　　It's true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don't matter.

　　沒錯(cuò)：只要主義真，鐵杵磨成針。

　　Permission to Fail

　　孰能無(wú)過(guò)

　　Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a necessary part of the learning process. But all too often as parents and teachers we deny this same right to our children. We tell them that failure is something to be ashamed of, that nothing but top performance will meet with our approval.

　　我們每個(gè)人都會(huì)不時(shí)出錯(cuò)。聰明人承認(rèn)自己的錯(cuò)誤，并將其視為學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)程中的必不可少的一部分。但是我們作為老師和家長(zhǎng)，卻又常常不能接受孩子們和我們一樣有犯錯(cuò)的權(quán)利。我們告訴他們犯錯(cuò)是件丟人的事，只有最好的表現(xiàn)才能得到我們的贊賞。

　　When I see a child subject to this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie, my youngest third-grader，he was a shy, nervous perfectionist. His fear of failure kept him from classroom games that other children played with joyous abandon. He seldom answered questions — he might be wrong. Written assignments, especially math, reduced him to nail-biting frustration. He seldom finished his work because he repeatedly checked with me to be sure he hadn't made a mistake.

　　我一看見有孩子遭受這種壓力，就會(huì)想起唐尼。他是我三年級(jí)班里年齡最小的學(xué)生，他靦腆，惴惴不安，事事求全。他害怕出錯(cuò)，從不參加班里的游戲，可別人都玩得不亦樂乎。他從不回答自己沒有把握的問題。寫作業(yè)，尤其是數(shù)學(xué)作業(yè)急得他抓頭搔耳，手足無(wú)措。他為了作業(yè)不出錯(cuò)反反復(fù)復(fù)和我校對(duì)答案，所以他經(jīng)常不能完成作業(yè)。

　　I tried my best to build his self-confidence. But nothing changed until midterm, when Mary Anne, a student teacher, was assigned to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils, Donnie included, adored her. But even enthusiastic, loving Mary was baffled by this little boy who feared of making mistake.

　　我想盡辦法讓他建立自信，都無(wú)濟(jì)于事。直到期中，有一個(gè)實(shí)習(xí)教師分配到了我們班。這位年輕又漂亮的老師叫瑪麗安妮。她愛孩子，我的學(xué)生們包括唐尼也都非常喜歡她?？墒蔷瓦B這位熱情，充滿愛心的瑪麗老師也覺得這個(gè)小家伙害怕出錯(cuò)的行為難以理解。

　　Then one morning we were working math problems at the blackboard. Donnie had copied the problems with painstaking neatness and filled in answers for the first row. Pleased with his progress, I left the children with Mary Anne and went for art materials. When I returned, Donnie was in tears. He'd missed the third problem.

　　后來(lái)有一天早晨，我們?cè)诤诎迳献鰯?shù)學(xué)題。唐尼煞費(fèi)苦心工工整整地在黑板上抄寫題目，并且把第一行的答案填了出來(lái)。看到他的進(jìn)步我很高興，放心地把孩子們留給瑪麗照顧，我去拿了一趟美術(shù)用品?；貋?lái)發(fā)現(xiàn)唐尼正在哭哭啼啼，原來(lái)他把第三題落了沒抄。

　　Mary looked at me in despair. Suddenly her face brightened. From the desk we shared, she got a canister of pencils.

　　瑪麗失望地看著我。這時(shí)她眼前突然一亮，從講臺(tái)的抽屜里拿出一筒鉛筆。

　　"Look, Donnie," she said, kneeling beside him and gently lifting the tear-stained face from his arms. She placed the pencils on his desk.

　　“唐尼，你看，”瑪麗老師說(shuō)。一面蹲下身子靠近唐尼，一面輕輕地把他沾滿淚水的小臉從他胳膊上抬起來(lái)。瑪麗老師把一支支的鉛筆擺在了唐尼的課桌上。

　　"See these pencils, Donnie?" she continued. "They belong to Mrs. Lindstrom and me. See how the erasers are worn? That's because we make mistakes too, lots of them. But we erase the mistakes and try again. That' what you must learn to do, too."

　　瑪麗老師說(shuō)道：“看到這些鉛筆了嗎？唐尼，這是我和林老師的鉛筆。你知道為什么上面的橡皮磨下去許多嗎？那是因?yàn)槲覀円卜稿e(cuò)，也會(huì)犯很多錯(cuò)誤。但是我們把錯(cuò)誤擦掉再寫一次。這也正是你要學(xué)會(huì)的啊?！?/p>

　　She kissed him and stood up. "Here," she said, "I'll leave one pencil to you so you'll remember that everybody makes mistakes, even teachers." Donnie looked up with love in his eyes and just a glimmer of a smile.

　　瑪麗老師親了一下小家伙站了起來(lái)。她說(shuō)：“瞧，我給你留一支鉛筆，這樣你就會(huì)記住每個(gè)人都會(huì)犯錯(cuò)了，就連老師也一樣。”唐尼抬頭微微笑了笑，眼中帶著感激，看了看老師。

　　The pencil became Donnie's prize. That, together with Mary Anne's frequent encouragement and unfailing praise for even Donnie's small successes, gradually persuaded him that it's all right to make mistakes — s long as you erase them and try again.

　　鉛筆成了唐尼的獎(jiǎng)賞。那支鉛筆和瑪麗老師不斷的鼓勵(lì)，再加上無(wú)論多小的成績(jī)都能得到持久的表?yè)P(yáng)，漸漸地唐尼明白了犯錯(cuò)很正常，只要知錯(cuò)能改就是好孩子。

　　Full sail in spring wind

　　春風(fēng)滿帆

　　The youth have a wonderful time, brand--new life and promising future.

　　青年人擁有青春的美好時(shí)光、嶄新的生活和美好的未來(lái)。

　　Try to face life positively, believe in yourself, be yourself and control yourself. Face the reality courageously and fight the difficulties. Strive to improve all-around qualities and build healthy and perfect personalities.

　　積極地面對(duì)人生，相信自己，堅(jiān)持自己，把握自己；勇于面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)，克服困難；努力提高個(gè)人的全面素質(zhì)，塑造見去那完美的人格品質(zhì)；

　　Have the courage to pursue your dreams, inspire yourself with great ideals, and motivate yourself with high spirits. Let’s look forward to having a brilliant future!

　　敢于追逐夢(mèng)想，用崇高的理想激勵(lì)自己，用昂揚(yáng)的斗志鼓舞自己。讓我們一起憧憬錦繡前程吧！