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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