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 our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess¹. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.

我以前常常从我家厨房的窗户看到她，她强行挤过操场上的一群男孩子，对这些男孩们来说，她显得那么矮小。学校在我家的街对面，我经常看到孩子们在下课时间打球。尽管有一大群的孩子，但我觉得她是最吸引我注意的一个。

I remember 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。看见她绕着其他孩子旁边游走的时候，我感到十分惊奇。她设法跳起投篮，球恰好越过那些孩子的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男孩总是拼命地阻止她，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 dribbling² 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 hesitation³ she said,"I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided⁴ 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.

另外一些时候，她一个人练球，我开始注意观察她的举动。她一般是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，不假思索地说:“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才能有钱去上大学。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。我将能够到大学去打篮球。我想成为最棒的球员。我父亲告诉我说，如果梦想远大，就一定可以克服艰难险阻。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场，又开始我之前见过的一遍又一遍的练习。

Well, I had to give it to her--- she was determined⁵. 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 cradled⁶ 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.

在她读高中的某一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。因此，我穿过街道，坐到她旁边的清凉的草地上，轻轻地问她发生了什么事。她轻声回答：“哦，没什么，只是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以她五英尺五英寸的身材，几乎是没有机会到一流的球队去打球的，更不用说会获得奖学金了，所以她应该放弃想上大学的梦想。

She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten⁷ 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，由于感受到了她的失望，我也觉得自己的喉咙发紧。我问她是否与她的爸爸谈过这件事。她从臂弯里抬起头，告诉我，她父亲说那些教练讲得不对。他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。她父亲说，如果她真地有心去代表一个好的大学打篮球，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心。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 recruiter⁸. 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。那所大学真地为她提供了一份全面资助的奖学金，并且她进入了美国全国大学体育协会其中一个女子甲组篮球队。她将接受到她梦想过的并为之奋斗了多年的大学教育。

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

这句话说得真好：如果梦想远大，就一定可以克服艰难险阻。