Until 1954 it was thought that no man could run one mile in less than four minutes．As years 1 , the record came closer and closer to four minutes and Roger Bannister, a young English 2 , began to believe he might 3 this almost magic barrier．
It was a cold afternoon on May 6th, 1954, when Bannister knew he had a 4 chance．Bannister had been 5 hard and was very fit, but the weather conditions were a real 6 to him．Describing the 7 later, Bannister said, “on the way to the track the wind blew strongly．As I 8 for the start I glanced at the flag．It moved 9 now．This was the moment when I made my decision．”
“The gun fried．my legs 10 to meet no resistance, as if I was 11 forward by some unknown force．The noise from the faithful 12 gave me greater strength．I felt the 13 of a lifetime had come．”
“I was driven on by a 14 of fear and pride．My body had long since used up all its energy 15 it went on running just the same．This was the critical moment when my legs were strong enough to carry me over the last few yards as they 16 could have done in previous years．When I leapt at(冲向)the 17 tape, I fell, almost 18 ．”
“I know I had done it, ever before I 19 the time．The announcement came, ‘Result of the one mile…Time, three minutes…’ the rest was 20 in the noise of excitement．”
In my third year as a high school athletics coach, I gave a speech telling students and parents about the benefits of football．I gave the same 1 each year, aimin g at recruiting(招收)new team members．I talked about 2 football wasn't just for 3 athletes and how everyone could 4 from it．This year, a 5 looking couple approached me after my speech．They said their son really wanted to play football．They had tried to 6 him out of it, but he had his heart 7 on joining the team．
When they told me his name, my heart sank．Michael was five feet and ten inches tall and weighed about 108 pounds．He was a 8 boy, the constant target of other kids' jokes, and as far as I knew he had never 9 sports．I knew he would never 10 it through football practice, let 11 as a player．But we told them we could give it a try．
On the opening day of practice, Michael was the first player on the field, we did 30 minutes of warming-up 12 starting a one-mile jog around the track．I 13 my eye on Michael．At 50 yards he fell, and I helped him to his feet．“Michael,”I said,“Why don't you just 14 the mile?”He said in tears that he wanted to run with the others, so I let him go on． 15 he fell, but each time 16 himself up．
The same thing happened every day for weeks, and Michael gained strength both 17 and physically．By the last week of practice, Michael could run the mile without falling, we had 18 only one game that season, 19 the team cheered louder for Michael's run than the victory they had, Afterward, Michael approached me, and I told him how 20 I was of him．
When I was fifteen, I announced in my English class that I was going to write my own books．Half the students sneered(冷笑), and the 1 nearly fell out of their chairs laughing．“Don't be silly, only 2 can become writers, ”the English teacher said, ”and you are getting a D this term．” I was so 3 that I burst into tears．
That night I wrote a short 4 poem about broken dreams and mailed it to the newspaper．To my 5 , they published it and sent me two dollars．I was a published and 6 writer．I showed my teacher and fellow students．They 7 ．”Just plain dumb luck．”the teacher said．I tasted 8 ．I'd sold the first thing I'd ever written．That was more than any of them had done and if it was just dumb luck, that was 9 with me．
During the next two years I sold dozens of 10 , letters, jokes and recipes．By the time I 11 from high school, with a C minus average, I had had many scrapbooks filled with my published work．I 12 mentioned my writing to my teachers, friends or my family again．They were dream killers and 13 people must choose between their friends and their dreams, they must always choose their 14 ．
I had four children at the time, and the oldest was only four．I wrote what I felt．It 15 nine months, just like a pregnant woman．I mailed it without a self addressed and stamped 16 and without making a copy of the manuseript．
A month later I received a(n) 17 , and a request to start working on another book．The worst year I earned two dollars．In my best year I earned 36, 000 dollars． 18 years I earned between five thousand and ten thousand．No, it isn't enough to live 19 , but it's still more than I'd make working part time, People ask what college I 20 , what degrees I had and what qualifications I have to be a writer．The answer is：“None．”I just write．I'm not a genius．
