She seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. I watched ___16___ as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just ____17____ their heads and into the net. The boys always ___18___ to stop her ___19___ no one could. I noticed that she ___20___ practice 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 ___21___ she said, “I want to go to ___22___. The only way I can go is to get a scholarship by playing basketball. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the ___23___ . My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don’t ___24___ .”

I watched her growing up. One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head ___25___ in her arms. I walked to her and quietly asked what was wrong. “Oh, ___26___ .” came a soft reply. “I am just too ___27___ .” The coach told her that at 5’5” she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team— ___28___ offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreaming about college. She was ___29___ and I felt my own throat tighten as I ___30___ her disappointment. A moment later, she ___31___ her head from her hands and told me that her father said those ___32___ were wrong. They just did not understand the ___33___ of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to live her dream, nothing could stop her except one thing — her own ___34___ . He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.”

Eventually, she succeeded. She was indeed offered a scholarship and got the college education that she had dreamed of and worked ___35___ for all those years.

It’s true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don’t count.

16. A. in anxiety      B. in wonder           C. in doubt            D. in sympathy

17. A. above           B. through             C. on                  D. over

18. A. appealed        B. managed             C. failed              D. competed

19. A. but             B. moreover            C. however             D. nevertheless

20. A. could           B. would               C. might               D. should

21. A. silence         B. hesitation          C. sadness             D. sympathy

22. A. college         B. team                C. match               D. tournament

23. A. capable         B. skillful            C. best                D. fortunate

24. A. count           B. do                  C. work                D. help

25. A. burying         B. to be buried        C. buried              D. to bury

26. A. anything        B. something           C. nothing             D. everything

27. A. short           B. thin                C. weak                D. small

28. A. much more       B. much less           C. much better         D. much worse

29. A. ashamed         B. heartbroken         C. confused            D. terrified

30. A. witnessed       B. recognized          C. sensed              D. analyzed

31. A. lifted          B. nodded              C. shook               D. bowed

32. A. players         B. words               C. statements          D. coaches

33. A. energy          B. power               C. force               D. strength

34. A. desire          B. attitude            C. character           D. conscience

35. A. at              B. in                  C. towards             D. on