双语 ● ’t Count 心中有目标，风雨不折腰
’t Count 心中有目标，风雨不折腰
◎ Cynthia Stewart
I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from my home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.
我过去常常从我家厨房的窗户看她，她强行挤过操场上的一群男孩子，显得那么矮小。学校在我家的街对面，我经常看到孩子们在休息时间打球。尽管有一大群的孩子，但对我来说，她是最吸引我注意的一个。
I remembered the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.
我记得第一次看到她打篮球的情景。当她绕着其他孩子身旁游走的时候，我感到十分惊奇。她设法跳起投篮，球恰好越过他们的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男孩总是试图阻止她，但没有人可以做得到。
I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation. She said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.
其他一些时候，她一个人练球，我开始注意观察她的举动。她一遍遍地练习运球和投篮，有时直到天黑。有一天，我问她为什么这么刻苦地练习。她直视着我的眼睛，毫不犹豫地说：“我想上大学。唯一能让我上大学的就是获得一笔奖学金。因为我喜欢打篮球，所以我决定了，只要我成为一个出色的球员，我就能获得奖学金。我想在大学里打篮球。我想成为最好的。我爸爸告诉我说，如果心中有目标，任何风雨都无法阻挡。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场，又开始了我之前见过的一遍又一遍的练习。
Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.
嘿，我真服了她——她是个有决心的人。我看着她这些年从初中升到高中。每个星期，由她带领的学校篮球队都能够获胜。
One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,” came to a soft reply. “I’m just too short.” 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—so she should stop dreaming about college.
在她读高中的最后一年，一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。我穿过街道，坐到她身旁清凉的草地上，轻声问她发生了什么事。她轻轻地回答：“哦，没什么，只是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以她5.5英尺的身材，她永远也没有机会到一流的球队去打球，更不用说获得奖学金了，所以她应该放弃上大学的梦想。
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 lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just didn’t 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.”
她很伤心，我感受到了她的失望，也觉得自己的喉咙开始发紧。我问她是否同她的爸爸谈过这件事。她从臂弯里抬起头来，告诉我，她父亲说那些教练错了。他们只是没有懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她，如果她真的有心去一所好大学打篮球，如果她真的想获得奖学金，任何东西也不能阻止她，除非她自己没有这个态度。他又一次跟她说：“如果梦想远大，就一定可以克服艰难险阻。”
The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women’s basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.
第二年，当她和她的球队去参加北加利福尼亚州冠军赛时，她被一位大学的招生人员看中了。那所大学真的为她提供了一份全额奖学金，而且，她进入了一个女子甲组篮球队。她将接受到她曾梦想并为之奋斗多年的大学教育。
It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.
这句话说得真好：如果梦想足够大，风雨不折腰。
