I watched a little girl playing basketball every day from my bedroom window. One day, I asked her why she practiced so much. She said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship(奖学金). I like basketball and I want to be the best player in college. My dad told me, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” She never changed her mind. Whenever she was in junior high school or senior high school. One day, before she graduate from senior high school, I saw her sitting on the grass sadly. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her coach said she was too short to be a good basketball player, so she should stop dreaming about going to college. She was heartbroken and it made me feel bad, too. Then she smiled and told me her father said to her, “If you really want to play for the scholarship of a good college, nothing but yourself can stop your dream.” The next year, she and her team went to a big game she was seen by a coach of a famous college team and was offered a scholarship to the women’s basketball team of their college. She was getting the college education that she had dreamed of. “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” It is true.
【小题1】What’ s the girl’s dream!

I watched a little girl playing basketball every day from my bedroom window. One day, I asked her why she practiced so much. She said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship(奖学金). I like basketball and I want to be the best player in college. My dad told me, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” She never changed her mind. Whenever she was in junior high school or senior high school. One day, before she graduate from senior high school, I saw her sitting on the grass sadly. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her coach said she was too short to be a good basketball player, so she should stop dreaming about going to college. She was heartbroken and it made me feel bad, too. Then she smiled and told me her father said to her, “If you really want to play for the scholarship of a good college, nothing but yourself can stop your dream.” The next year, she and her team went to a big game she was seen by a coach of a famous college team and was offered a scholarship to the women’s basketball team of their college. She was getting the college education that she had dreamed of. “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” It is true.

1.What’ s the girl’s dream!

A．to be a super basketball player

B．to get a scholarship

C．to go to college.

D．to play for NBA

2.How long has the little girl practiced the basketball until she was seemed by a coach of a famous college team?

A．about three years                       B．About four years

C．About five years                        D．More than six years

3.Did the girl’s family have a lot of money?

A．Yes, it did.                             B．No, it didn’t.

C．We don’t know.                       D．It isn’t mentioned(提及).

4.Why did the little girl look sad one day?

A．She failed in test.

B．She was late for training.

C．She was blamed(责备) by her coach.

D．Her coach said she was too short to be a good player.

5.Put the sentence “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count” into Chinese.

A．志存高远         B．任重道远          C．梦想成真         D．梦寐以求

Tired of bad handwriting, Richie decided to perfect his penmanship (书法) last January. Though the year progressed, his writing didn’t. “My penmanship just got worse,” he says. “I get tired of trying to write neatly.”

Like Richie, many teenagers make resolutions in the New Year. More than half of Americans say they make a New Year’s resolution – but only one-third of them keep to it, reports the University of North Carolina, US.

Demanding (追求) perfection  stops people working on their resolutions, says Chicago life coach Alison Miller.

Resolutions sometimes can be unrealistic (不现实).. Going for a goal  that’s too hard to achieve can leave a person feeling sad. “Saying ‘I’m going to look like a super-model’ is going to make you unhappy,” she says.

Sure, it’s a great idea to aim for improvement, but not all resolutions are helpful. The difference between good and bad resolutions is whether you expect too much from yourself, Miller says. For example, it’s OK to say, “I’m going to eat fewer French fries,” but striving (力争)  for a perfect body isn’t reasonable.

Timing can also damage a resolution. Kevin M., 16, says he doesn't set resolutions because 12 months is unrealistic. “It’s too long and you start putting off keeping your resolution during summer,” he says.

He’s considering a career in music, but says school is his main focus. Knowing how hard he has to work, he says he’ll “be lucky to get 30 minutes a day” of practice. But a bit is better than nothing, and making reminders can help you make progress. Miller says teenagers should write down their goals and say to themselves, “What can I do today to make my goal a reality?”

“It’s just small steps along the way. It’s not about doing it all at once,” Miller says.

1.What’s the writer’s purpose by talking Richie in the first paragraph?

A．To advise people to keep their New Year’s resolutions.

B．To show that some people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions.

C．To tell readers why Richie isn’t a good hand writer.

D．To show why New Year’s resolutions are important.

2.Many Americans stop working on their New Year’s resolutions because ______.

A．they think it is silly to make resolutions

B．they find keeping resolutions is boring

C．the time of keeping resolutions is too short

D．their choice of resolution turns out to be unrealistic

3.Which of the following statements would Miller probably agree with?

A．Teenagers should set themselves perfect goals.

B．To achieve your goals, you needn’t write them down.

C．People should try to realize their goals step by step.

D．A good resolution helps people realize their possibility.

I watched a little girl playing basketball every day from my bedroom window. One day, I asked her why she practiced so much. She said, “I want to go to college. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship(奖学金). I like basketball and I want to be the best player in college. My dad told me, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” She never changed her mind. Whenever she was in junior high school or senior high school. One day, before she graduate from senior high school, I saw her sitting on the grass sadly. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her coach said she was too short to be a good basketball player, so she should stop dreaming about going to college. She was heartbroken and it made me feel bad, too. Then she smiled and told me her father said to her, “If you really want to play for the scholarship of a good college, nothing but yourself can stop your dream.” The next year, she and her team went to a big game she was seen by a coach of a famous college team and was offered a scholarship to the women’s basketball team of their college. She was getting the college education that she had dreamed of. “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” It is true.

56. What’s the girl’s dream!

A: to be a super basketball player B: to get a scholarship

C: to go to college.　　　　　　　　　　 D: to play for NBA

57. How long has the little girl practiced the basketball until she was seemed by a coach of a famous college team?

A: about three years　 B: About four years　

C: About five years　 D: More than six years

58. Did the girl’s family have a lot of money?

A: Yes, it did.　　　 B: No, it didn’t.

C: We don’t know.　 D: It isn’t mentioned(提及).

59. Why did the little girl look sad one day?

A: She failed in test.　

B: She was late for training.

C: She was blamed(责备) by her coach.

D: Her coach said she was too short to be a good player.

60. Put the sentence “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count” into Chinese.

A. 志存高远　　 B 任重道远　 C 梦想成真　　 D梦寐以求