美文故事：只要梦想够大，就无惧现实

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[00:02.35]21 If the Dream Is Big Enough, the Facts Don't Count	梦想够大，就无惧现实
[00:09.00](By Cynthia-Stewart Copier)	（译 / 周佳）
[00:12.12]I used to watch her from my kitchen window and laugh. 以前，我常常透过厨房的窗户看着她，边看边笑：
[00:16.98]She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. 操场上，她在一群男孩中间挤来挤去，显得那样瘦小。
[00:22.19]A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.	尽管孩子们非常多，但在我眼里，她却是最突出的那一个。
[00:27.37]I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. 我还记得第一天看见她打篮球的情景。
[00:31.88]I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. 她在其他孩子中间灵活穿梭，看得我目瞪口呆。
[00:36.71]She managed to shoot jump shot just over their heads and into the net. 然后，她设法完成了一个跳投，让球飞过那些孩子的头，命中篮筐。
[00:42.02]The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.	那些男孩总是竭力拦截她，却没人能拦得住 她。
[00:46.29]I began to notice her at other times, on that same blacktop , basketball in hand, playing alone. 我开始注意到，在其他时候，也是在那片柏油操场上，她手里拿着球，一个人在那里玩。
[00:53.30]She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again; sometimes until dark. 她总是一遍又一遍地练习运球和投篮，有时会一直练到天黑。
[00:59.44]One day I asked her why she practiced so much. 有一天，我问她为什么要这么苦练。
[01:03.00]Without a moment of hesitation she said, "I want to go to college. 她不假思索地说：“我想上大学。
[01:07.36]My dad wasn't able to go to college and he has talked to me about going for as long as I can remember. 我爸爸没能圆他的大学梦，从我记事起，他就一直跟我说，今后一定要上大学。
[01:14.50]The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. 但我只有拿到奖学金，才能上大学。
[01:18.63]I like basketball. 我喜欢打篮球，
[01:20.14]I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. 所以我下定决心，只要我打得够好，就一定能拿到奖学金。
[01:24.51]I am going to play college basketball. 上了大学后，我要去打大学篮球联赛。
[01:27.28]I want to be the best. 我要做最棒的球员。
[01:29.00]My daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."爸爸告诉过我，只要梦想够大，就不惧怕现实。”
[01:34.24]Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.	说完她莞尔一笑，转身朝球场跑去，一遍遍地重复着我之前看过许多次的动作。
[01:40.27]Well, I had to give it up to her  - she was determined. 是的，我必须为她鼓掌――她的确意志坚定。
[01:44.99]I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. 我看着她从初中升入了高中。
[01:49.00]Every week, she led her varsity team to victory. 每个星期，她都带领着她们学校的篮球队打球，而且场场必胜。
[01:52.46]It was always a thrill to watch her play.	看她打球总是那么精彩刺激、畅快淋漓。
[01:55.21]One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. 在她上高中的某一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在胳膊里。
[02:00.93]I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her.我穿过马路，在她身边冰凉的草地上坐了下来。 
[02:05.73]Quietly I asked what was wrong. 我轻声问她出了什么事。
[02:08.87]"Oh, nothing," came a soft reply. “哦，没什么，”她柔声回答，
[02:12.00]"I am just too short." “只是我太矮了。”
[02:14.55]The coach told her that at 5'5", she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team - much less offered a scholarship - 原来，教练告诉她，就凭她5.5英尺(编注：约1.68米)的身高，她很可能根本没有机会去一流的球队打球--更不用说靠打球拿到奖学金了，
[02:23.18]so she should stop dreaming about college.	所以她应该放弃上大学的梦想。
[02:26.49]She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. 她伤心不已。我感受到她的失落，觉得自己的喉咙也一阵发紧。
[02:32.98]I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet.	我问她是否和她的爸爸说过这件事。
[02:36.36]She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. 她抬起头，告诉我，她父亲说那些教练错了，
[02:42.49]They just did not understand the power of a dream. 他们根本不知道梦想的力量有多大。
[02:46.35]He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, 他告诉她，如果她真想上好大学、进校队，如果她真想得到奖学金，
[02:53.67]that nothing could stop her except one thing - her own attitude. 那么除了她自己的态度以外，其他任何事情都不能阻止她。
[02:58.27]He told her again, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."	她的父亲再一次告诉她：“只要梦想够大，就不惧怕现实。”
[03:03.56]The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, 第二年，她随球队参加北加利福尼亚州锦标赛时，
[03:09.39]she was seen by a college recruiter who was there looking at the opposing team. 一位大学招生人员在那里观看对手球队的比赛，结果却一眼看中了她。
[03:14.65]She was indeed offered a scholarship; a full ride to a Division I, NCAA women's basketball team. 这所大学的确给她提供了全额奖学金，可以进入NCAA (美国全国大学体育协会)女子篮球队第一组打比赛。
[03:22.40]She accepted. 她接受了。
[03:23.62]She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years. 她就要去上大学了，这么多年来，这一直是她的梦想，也是她努力的方向。
[03:30.27]And that little girl had more playing time as a freshman and sophomore than any other woman did in the history of that university.	上大学后，她如愿进入篮球队，头两年里，她花在打篮球上的时间比那所大学历史上所有女生花的时间都多。
[03:38.80]Late one night, during her junior year of college her father called. 大三的一天深夜，她的父亲打电话给她：
[03:44.84]"I'm sick, Honey. “我病了，宝贝。
[03:46.46]I have cancer. 是癌症。
[03:47.83]No, don't quit school and come home. 不，千万不要退学回家。
[03:50.59]Everything will be okay. 一切都会好起来的。
[03:52.39]I love you."	我爱你。”
[03:53.56]He died six weeks later - her hero, her dad. 六个星期后，他――她的英雄、她的父亲离开了人世。
[03:57.45]She did leave school those last few days to support her mother and care for her father. 在父亲生命最后的日子里，她还是请假离校了，回家帮助母亲、照顾父亲。
[04:02.60]Late one night, during those final hours before his death, he called for her in the darkness.	一天深夜，父亲在弥留之际的那几个小时里，在黑暗中把她叫到了床 前。
[04:08.61]As she came to his side, he reached for her hand and struggled to speak. 当她来到父亲身边时，他伸出手，握住她的手，挣扎着和她说话。
[04:13.96]"Rachel, keep dreaming. “雷切尔，坚持你的梦想。
[04:17.00]Don't let your dream die with me. 不要让你的梦想随我一同逝去。
[04:19.52]Promise me," he pleaded. 答应我，”他恳求着，
[04:21.48]"Promise me."	“答应我。”
[04:22.72]In those last few precious moments together she replied, "I promise, Daddy."	与父亲相守的时间已经所剩无几，在那宝贵的最后时刻，她向父亲承诺：“我答应你，爸爸。”
[04:29.17]Those years to follow were hard on her. 接下来的日子对她来说异常艰辛。
[04:31.97]She was torn between school and her family, knowing her mother was left alone with a new baby and three other children to raise. 她知道现在就剩母亲一人，而母亲要独自抚养一个新生儿和其余三个孩子，这让她在学校和家庭之间左右为难。
[04:40.30]The grief she felt over the loss of her father was always there, hidden in that place she kept inside, 丧父之痛也并未消失，而是深藏在她心底的某个角落， 
[04:47.87]waiting to raise its head at some unsuspecting moment and bring her again to her knees .	等待着在某个她始料未及的时刻探出头来，再次将她击垮。
[04:52.95]Everything seemed harder. 一切似乎都变得越来越难。
[04:55.14]She struggled daily with fear, doubt and frustration . 她每天都在与内心的恐惧、疑惑和挫败斗争。
[04:59.54]A severe learning disability had forced her to go to school year-round for three years just to keep up with requirements. 她学习很吃力，为了达到学业要求从而顺利毕业，她不得不一年到头都去学校上课，坚持了整整三年。
[05:07.94]The testing facility on campus couldn't believe she had made it through even one semester. 学校考试部门的人都不敢相信她能顺利完成哪怕一个学期的学业。
[05:13.62]Every time she wanted to quit, she remembered her father's words, "Rachel, keep dreaming. 每一次当她想要放弃的时候，她就会想起父亲最后的叮嘱：“雷切尔，坚持你的梦想。
[05:20.54]Don't let your dream die. 不要让你的梦想逐渐消失。
[05:22.69]If the dream is big enough, you can do anything! I believe in you." And of course, she would remember the promise she made to him.	只要梦想够大，就能做到一切！我相信你。”当然，她也不会忘记自己对父亲的承诺。
[05:31.66]She kept her promise and completed her degree. 她信守了自己的承诺，取得了学位，
[05:35.27]It took her six years, but she did not give up. 尽管这花了她整整六年的时间，但她没有放弃过。
[05:38.59]She can still be found sometimes as the sun is setting, bouncing a basketball. 现在，我有时仍能看见她在夕阳下打篮球的身影。
[05:44.00]And often I hear her tell others, "If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."	我还时常听到她对别人说：“只要梦想够大，就不惧怕现实。”

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美文故事：只要梦想够大，就无惧现实