I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch（大农场，大牧场） in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to（追溯到） a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant（巡回的，流动的） horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”
 
That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram（图表，图解） of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.”

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”

“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（种马，大头钉） 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 4,000-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 schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out（野营） 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（进取心，气概） not to give up on yours.’

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

点击收听单词发音  

1 ranch     

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。

The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 jack     

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。

He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 itinerant     

adj.巡回的；流动的

参考例句：

He is starting itinerant performance all over the world.他正在世界各地巡回演出。

There is a general debate nowadays about the problem of itinerant workers.目前，针对流动工人的问题展开了普遍的争论。

4 detailed     

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。

A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 fireplace     

n.壁炉，炉灶

参考例句：

The fireplace smokes badly.这壁炉冒烟太多。

I think we should wall up the fireplace.我想应该封住壁炉。

6 gumption     

n.才干

参考例句：

With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干，他将大有作为。

Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑，