"The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, 'Why did I receive an F? ' The teacher said, 'This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you' ll have to pay large stud fees. There' s no way you could ever do it.' Then the teacher added, 'if you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.'
"The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, 'Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.'
"Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, 'You can keep the F and I' ll keep my dream.'"
Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace." He added, "The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same school teacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week." When the teacher was leaving, he said, 'Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids' dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours."
Don' t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.
我的朋友蒙提·罗伯兹在圣思多罗拥有一个牧马场。他那宽敞的住宅经常被我借来举办筹募活动，募集的资金用来资助青少年冒险计划。
在上次活动中，他致辞说：“我把房子借给杰克用是有原因的。这个故事要从一个小男孩说起，他的父亲是位马术师，他从小就跟着父亲东奔西跑，求学过程并不顺利。读初中时，有一次，老师让全班同学写作文，题目是《我的梦想》。
“那晚，他一气呵成，整整写了七页，描述了他的宏图大志：拥有一个属于自己的牧马场。他仔细画了一张200亩农场的设计图，上面标有马厩、跑道等的位置，还要在农场中央建造一栋占地4000平方英尺的巨型豪宅。
“他费尽心思写完作文，第二天交给了老师。两天后文章发了下来，一个又红又大的F赫然出现在第一页，旁边还有一行字：下课后来找我。
“下课后，带着梦想的小男孩拿着作文去找老师：‘为什么给我不及格？’老师答道：‘你年龄还小，理想太不切实际了。你没钱，没背景，一无所有。盖农场是一个大工程，要花很多钱；你还要买地，买纯种马匹，雇人照料。对于你来说，这些都是不可能的。’他接着又说：‘如果你愿意重写一个现实的理想，我会重新给你打分。’
“男孩回家后，辗转反侧，思考了很久。后来又征求父亲的意见。父亲对他说：‘儿子，这个决定很重要，你要自己慎重考虑。’
“经过几天的深思熟虑后，他决定原封不动地交回原稿。他告诉老师：‘就算得大红的F，我也决不放弃梦想。’”
这时，蒙提对大家说：“我讲这个故事，是因为各位现在就坐在200亩的农场，占地4000平方英尺的豪华住宅里。我至今还保留着初中时写的那篇作文。”他顿了顿说：“有趣的是，那位老师，在两年前的夏天，带着他的30个学生来我的农场露营一周。他离开前对我说：‘蒙提，你看，说来惭愧。我做你的老师的时候，曾打击过你，这些年，我似乎对很多学生都这样做过。幸好你有毅力坚持自己的梦想。’”
不管怎样，都要追随自己的梦想，不要被别人的话所击退。
梦想有多大，舞台就有多大。不要抱怨自己一无所有，正因为一无所有，你才可以轻装上阵，记着：梦想是你唯一的行李，勇气是你必备的盘缠，带上它们，出发吧。
itinerant [i'tinrnt] adj. 巡回的；游历的；流动的
Itinerant bike repairmen can be found on almost every street.
流动的自行车修理摊几乎在每条街道都可以找到。
diagram ['dair鎚] n. 图解；简图；图表；示意图
I made a diagram to show how the eye works.
我画了一张简图说明眼睛是如何工作的。
ranch [r:nt] n. 牧场；大农场（尤指北美或澳大利亚的）
He left his Montana ranch to his spinster sister.
他把他在蒙大拿州的大牧场留给了他未婚的妹妹。
realistic [,ri'listik] adj. 现实的；实际可行的；现实主义的
Charles Dickens is the great critical realistic writer.
狄更斯是伟大的批判现实主义作家。
那晚，他一气呵成，整整写了七页，描述了他的宏图大志：拥有一个属于自己的牧马场。
你没钱，没背景，一无所有。
不管怎样，都要追随自己的梦想，不要被别人的话所击退。
He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch.
in great detail：极其详细地
Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this.
make up one' s mind：决定；下决心
曲而不折地去生活
Bend, But Don' t Break
佚名 / Anonymous
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo tree' s ability to bounce back or return to its original position, the word resilience comes to mind. When used in reference to a person this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the limits of a person' s emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to snap? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend but don' t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.
回想起童年，我最美好的回忆便是在小河边漫步，或懒懒地坐在河岸边。我可以静静地享受那份悠闲，看着流水潺潺，倾听着鸟鸣啾啾，树声萦耳。除此之外，我还喜欢看那片竹林。清风拂来，它们全都被压弯了腰；风势渐微，它们又都优雅地挺立起来，恢复之前的姿态。
每次我想到竹子从弯曲中重新挺拔身姿时，“韧性”一词便会在脑海中浮现。用这个词来描述人，即指此人轻松地从震惊、沮丧或其他心理极限的考验中恢复过来的能力。
你是否曾有过自己马上就要折断的感觉呢？是否曾有过自己已经到了崩溃边缘的感觉？感谢上帝，你历经磨难，现在才有机会去追忆那不堪回首的往事。
在那一段经历中，你也许感到交织的情绪正侵蚀着你的健康。你感到心灵麻木、脑力枯竭，甚至你正经受身体的各种不适。
人生跌宕起伏，悲欢交织。 当不幸或痛苦再一次将你带到崩溃的边缘时，切记：曲而不折。努力吧，不要让这样的困境埋没杰出的你。
resilience [ri'ziljns] n. 还原能力；弹力；韧性
She has shown great resilience to stress.
她对压力表现出了极大的适应能力。
stretch [stret] v. 伸展；拉紧；延伸
Summer is the time for growing , and all the growing things stretch up
to meet the hot sunshine.
夏天是生长发育的季节，正在发育的万物舒展开来，去迎接火热的阳光。
survive [s'vaiv] v. 比……活得长；经历……之后还存在
She survived her husband by twenty years.
她丈夫去世后，她又活了二十年。
emotion [i'mun] n. 情绪；情感
Love is a strong emotion.
爱是一种强烈的情意。
清风拂来，它们全都被压弯了腰；风势渐微，它们又都优雅地挺立起来，恢复之前的姿态。
感谢上帝，你历经磨难，现在才有机会去追忆那不堪回首的往事。
当不幸或痛苦再一次将你带到崩溃的边缘时，切记：曲而不折。
...watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.