I’d been 16 for six days and was already prepared to deal with failure. I remember when my mum   36  me up that morning, her voice wasn’t as   37  as it usually was.
I stayed in bed for a few minutes. I was   38  to leave its warmth and comfort, and didn’t want to face the problem that I’d let myself   39  for the past six months. Finally, I dragged myself out of    40 .
I finished getting ready and tried to   41 . It didn’t work, so I decided that my   42  should go with me. We had a little time, so I thought we could practice parking. I   43 , with the wheel hitting the fence. After that, the little bit of confidence I’d had was   44 . I tried two more times, but didn’t   45  much. Then we headed to the test site.
I went into a room for some paperwork. And I waited for 20 minutes—just   46  time to make myself believe that I was going to fail. Then, finally, it was my   47 . I just wanted to get it over and make sure that I had to come back next Thursday.
I stepped outside and the sky was the light blue I love. It offered me some   48  and I realized something: something between when I pulled myself off the seat and when I got outside. I had become   49  and confident.
The first thing I had to do was parking, which I did quite   50 . The confidence that came with it hit me like a wave. The rest of the test went well too and I   51  it all. As I drove back, the instructor told me I would not be coming back for a second   52  next Thursday.
Back in the building I didn’t have to say a word. My mum knew just by looking at me. Her    53  made her face softer. And I’m sure it was at least as big as the smile on my face. Her eyes, 54 , looked kind of teary. I knew she was   55  for me.

Across the street from our home was a school and I would often watch the kids as they played basketball during the break. I often noticed a small    1    playing with boys. I watched in

   2    as she ran circles around the other kids. She    3    to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could. At other times I saw her playing alone, sometimes until    4    .

       One day I asked her why she   5    so much. She looked    6    in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation（猶豫）she said “The only way I can go to   7     is to get a scholarship（獎學金）. I believe that I would get it if I were good enough at   8    . My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t   9   .” Then with a determined smile she ran towards the court. I watched her   10    those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her team to victory.

       One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head   11    in her arms. The coach（教練）told her that at 5 feet 5 inches she would   12    never get to play for a top ranked team—much less offered a scholarship—so she should   13    dreaming about college. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet. She   14    her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches just did not understand the  15    of a dream. He told her that if she truly wanted a scholarship,   16    could stop her except one thing—her own attitude.

       The next year,   17    she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college coach. She was indeed   18    a scholarship, a full one. She was going to get the college education that she had    19    and worked toward for all those years. It’s   20   : If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count

1．A．boy                      B．girl                      C．student                D．teacher

2．A．wonder                 B．shock                  C．doubt                  D．delight

3．A．a(chǎn)ttempted              B．tried                    C．failed                  D．managed

4．A．morning                B．noon                   C．dark                    D．dawn

5．A．practised               B．suffered              C．performed           D．drilled

6．A．slowly                  B．quickly                C．directly               D．quietly

7．A．work                    B．court                   C．school                 D．college

8．A．football                 B．basketball            C．my lessons          D．the exams

9．A．count                    B．delay                   C．damage               D．fail

10．A．past                    B．over                    C．through               D．beyond

11．A．buried                 B．placed                 C．hidden                 D．dropped

12．A．firmly                 B．probably              C．nearly                 D．sadly

13．A．begin                  B．stop                    C．continue              D．start

14．A．lowered               B．turned                 C．lifted                   D．moved

15．A．effect                  B．a(chǎn)dvantage            C．a(chǎn)im                     D．power

16．A．something           B．a(chǎn)nything              C．nobody               D．nothing

17．A．a(chǎn)fter                   B．before                 C．a(chǎn)s                       D．once

18．A．offered                B．handed                C．brought               D．sent

19．A．thought of           B．a(chǎn)sked for             C．dreamed of          D．referred to

20．A．possible          B．true               C．proper            D．perfect

I’d been 16 for six days and was already prepared to deal with failure. I remember when my mum   36   me up that morning, her voice wasn’t as   37   as it usually was.

I stayed in bed for a few minutes. I was   38   to leave its warmth and comfort, and didn’t want to face the problem that I’d let myself   39   for the past six months. Finally, I dragged myself out of    40  .

I finished getting ready and tried to   41  . It didn’t work, so I decided that my   42   should go with me. We had a little time, so I thought we could practice parking. I   43  , with the wheel hitting the fence. After that, the little bit of confidence I’d had was   44  . I tried two more times, but didn’t   45   much. Then we headed to the test site.

    I went into a room for some paperwork. And I waited for 20 minutes—just   46   time to make myself believe that I was going to fail. Then, finally, it was my   47  . I just wanted to get it over and make sure that I had to come back next Thursday.

    I stepped outside and the sky was the light blue I love. It offered me some   48   and I realized something: something between when I pulled myself off the seat and when I got outside. I had become   49   and confident.

    The first thing I had to do was parking, which I did quite   50  . The confidence that came with it hit me like a wave. The rest of the test went well too and I   51   it all. As I drove back, the instructor told me I would not be coming back for a second   52   next Thursday.

    Back in the building I didn’t have to say a word. My mum knew just by looking at me. Her    53   made her face softer. And I’m sure it was at least as big as the smile on my face. Her eyes, 54  , looked kind of teary. I knew she was   55   for me.