Every day I can watch a little girl 1 basketball from my kitchen window. One day I asked her why she practised so 2 . She said: “I would like to go to college. The only way is 3  a scholarship(奖学金). I like basketball and I want to be the 4 player in college. My dad told me: ‘If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.' ” She  5 changed her mind. I watched her through those junior high years and into senior high school.

    One day before she graduated 6 high school, I saw her sitting on the grass 7 . I asked her what was wrong. She told me her coach said she was such a 8 girl that she couldn't be a good basketball player, so she should  9 dreaming about going to college. She was heartbroken and it 10 made me feel sad. Then she smiled and told me her father said that coach was wrong. He did not understand the power of dream. Her father said to her: “If you really want to 11 the scholarship of a good college, nothing but you 12 can stop your dream.”

    The next year, she and her team went to a big game. She 13 by a coach of a famous college team and was offered a scholarship to the 14 basketball team of their college. She was about to get the college education that she had dreamed 15 and worked towards for all those years.

    “If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.” It is true.

    When I was in high school, I didn't do well in my schoolwork at first.1 I wanted to go to college. I went to talk with my favorite teacher. He told 2 that there might be no chance for me to go to college. It made me very 3 .

    But I didn't give up (放弃). I might not be able to get into 4 . But I wouldn't stop 5 . Then I found that my 6 in the past was spending too much time on science. I was not good at my schoolwork, because I wasn't working hard on all 7 .

    So during the following semesters I 8 my plan. I spent more time in studying English, math and other subjects. I worked hard by 9 to the teachers carefully in class and doing more exercises after class. Now I am studying at college.

    If you are not doing well at school at the moment, don't 10 . Forget the past years and restart (重新开始) now! I believe all your dreams can come true.

    Each of us makes mistakes(错误) from time to time. In fact, we can 1 a lot from our mistakes.

    Donnie was a 2 student and he never answered questions in class. He was afraid 3making mistakes. He never did his homework4 he didn't want to make any mistakes. Nothing changed 5Mary, a teacher, came to our 6.

    One morning, Donnie was asked to 7some questions. After a while, he was in tears because he made a mistake. Then, Mary got a box filled with 8 from the desk.

    "Look, Donnie," she said standing near 9. "I have something to show you." She10the erasers(橡皮擦), one at a time, and put them on the desk.

    "See these erasers, Donnie?" she said. "do you know 11these erasers become smaller and smaller? That's because we make mistakes. But we erase(擦掉) the mistakes and try 12. That's what you must learn."

    "Here," she said," "I'll13one eraser on your desk, so you'll remember that 14may make mistakes." Donnie looked at Mary and smiled.

    Donnie15a lot from then on. He knew that everyone might make mistakes. He should learn from them and tried again.

    I keep a two-dollar bill in my wallet that was given by my mother when I was six years old. Mother gave it to me so that1would follow me everywhere. She looked at me and said, "I want you to2this two-dollar bill for extra good luck."

    "Thanks, Mom," I replied. "I will keep it3me always."

    My mother passed away when I was 17 years old and I remembered taking out my two-dollar bill, 4it in my hand for the longest time and I knew she would be5me the rest of life.

    On my first6, I was thirty years old. As I sat in the sitting room, I noticed there were five women ahead of me. All of them were7and well dressed, which made me more nervous.

    "What makes you feel you are8for this job?" Mrs. Martin, the office manager asked me.

    "I really need this job and there is9I can't do. I know I am not as suitable as your other applicants（申请人）for the job, but please give me a10.I learn quickly and can be a very capable11of your team."

    That evening I received a call from Mrs. Martin. "Gina," she said, "you were not the most suitable applicant, 12you have so much confidence in yourself that we decided to give you a chance to prove yourself." "Thank you, Mrs. Martin. You will not regret this 13, "I said14and hung up the phone.

    I got my wallet and took out my two-dollar bill." Thanks, Mom. I am sure to15it," I said out loud so that she could hear me.

    "You're doing it all wrong," said Ryan.

    "You're nuts!" shouted Tom. "I'm the best jumper there ever was!"

    "Then why can't you touch the doorframe (门框)?"

    "It's 1, okay?"

    Tom looked straight up. The doorframe was ten feet high. 2 could jump high enough to touch it, even older kids. But Ryan had dared (激某人做某事) Tom that he couldn't do it, and so Tom had to 3.

    He muttered, "I'm the best jumper there ever was."

    It all started one day last year, a Frisbee (飞盘) was stuck in a tree. It was so 4 that nobody could get it. And Tom stood way back from the tree and got a running start. When he was going as 5 as he could run, he leapt. It was like he was in the air forever, and then he felt the Frisbee in his hand. From then on, when there was a problem that could be solved by 6, they called Tom.

    Everybody 7 Ryan loved their jumping champion(冠军). 8 Tom came along, he had been the best jumper in the class. Ever since then, Ryan had been 9 the chance to take revenge(报复).

    "Come on," he 10 Tom, "You can't jump just a little bit higher? I thought you were the best jumper!"

    Tom gritted his teeth, tensed his legs and threw his body up into the air. And he 11 fell short by at least two feet.

    "It's impossible," he said.

    "Ha! I knew it."

    "12 we work together."

    "Excuse me?"

    "Neither of us can jump high enough to touch it alone, but if we work together…" Tom 13.

    A few minutes later, Tom went down on his knee and held Ryan's foot in his hands.

    "One…two…three!" shouted Tom. On three, Ryan put all his 14 on Tom's hands, and Tom threw him up into the air. Ryan's hand hit the doorframe and fell down laughing.

    "15 did it!" he said.

    "Now it's my turn!" said Tom.

    Together, they were the best jumpers there ever were.