我一直都认为书是智慧之源，读书不仅仅是要读故事，要从中找到你需要吸收改进的加强自己。潜移默化的能量永远都不可小觑。废话不多，进入正题。

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 recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all. 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. 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. 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.

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 a soft reply. “I am 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. 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 did not 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.” 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. It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.

1．muscle: 常用作名词，肌肉，力量。也可用作动词，解释为：force one’s way ，联想名词含义可知动词意为强行（作某事）； through：这词很常用，与不同的动词构成了很多不同的短语。通过，穿过的含义，与across某种层面上意思相近。Across 主要是横行通过，街道之类，through有从竖立物中穿行而过的含义，也有历经艰难通过的含义。

2. recess: a break between classes at school，也就是课间休息

3. a sea of：sea 大家都知道用作名词，大海，这里构成一个词组，表示一堆，一群。很形象，人头攒动，犹如海浪翻滚。英文中很多类似组成的形容词组，a group of，a host of。

4．In wonder：惊奇的，吃惊的

5．Manage to do sth：很常用的词组，表示成功（做成某事）

6．Jump shots：跳投。英语中很多类似组合，拆开来就比容易理解，也会发现他们的词造的也很巧妙。Shot：动词shoot，shot 作名词，这里是投篮的意思。

7．Over and over again: 重复的动作，一再（做什么）

8．She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said：这句话表达的很直白，与汉语思维蛮像，翻译出来就是，她直视我的眼睛然后不加思索的说。without a moment of hesitation：一刻都不犹豫。句型可以记下来，以后用的着。

9．if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count：可从字面上理解意思，梦想足够大，事实不计算不考虑。引申义：有了梦想，就可以不计较一切困苦。译文：心中有梦想，风雨不折腰。

10. recap: recapitulate 的缩写形式，重复做

11．Much less：这里表示更不用说，与前面形成递进关系。

12．I felt my own throat tighten：throat tighten：喉咙勒紧。隐含意思：感到紧张难受。英文中会经常用肢体呈现的情绪表达方式来表明一种情绪，跟中文互通的。

13．Recruiter：招聘人员，录取人员。动词 recuit: to enlist (men) for military service，即军事上的征兵，后来意义扩大，引申为，各行各业招收人员。

PS: 女孩父亲的话下划线标示出来了，我们多读几遍仔细想想。