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Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart.
鮑勃·理查茲，前撐桿跳世界冠軍隊(duì)成員，一個(gè)極其瘦弱但非常熱愛橄欖球的男孩，有一個(gè)非常感人的故事。
Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had.
每次球隊(duì)訓(xùn)練，他都全身心地投入。
But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere.
但由于他的身材不及其他孩子的一半，幾乎沒有上場的機(jī)會(huì)。
At all the games,this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.
所有比賽他都滿懷希望地坐在板凳上，卻從來沒有上過場。
This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship.
這個(gè)十幾歲的少年和父親住在一起，他們倆之間有一種特殊的關(guān)系。
Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always standing with cheering.
即使兒子總是坐在板凳上，他的父親也總會(huì)在看臺(tái)上為他歡呼。
He never missed a game.
他從沒錯(cuò)過一場比賽。
This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school.
當(dāng)升入高中時(shí)，這個(gè)年輕人仍然是班里最小的。
But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to.
他的父親一如既往地鼓勵(lì)他，同時(shí)也對他說明，如果男孩不想再踢球，他不會(huì)強(qiáng)迫他。
But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there.
但這個(gè)男孩非常喜歡踢球，并決定堅(jiān)持到底。
He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.
他決心每次訓(xùn)練都要盡全力，也許等成為老隊(duì)員時(shí)，他就會(huì)有機(jī)會(huì)上場。
All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years.
整個(gè)高中四年，他沒有錯(cuò)過一堂訓(xùn)練課，也沒錯(cuò)過一場比賽，但一直都是“冷板凳”球員。
His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him.
他善良的父親總是站在看臺(tái)上，鼓勵(lì)著他。
When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”.
當(dāng)這個(gè)年輕人升入大學(xué)時(shí)，他決定嘗試加入足球隊(duì)成為一名“替補(bǔ)隊(duì)員”。
Everyone was sure he could never make the cut,but he did.
所有的人都認(rèn)為他做不到，但他做到了。
The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.
教練同意把他留在比賽名單中，因?yàn)樵诿恳淮斡?xùn)練中，他總是全身心地投入，把全部心靈和靈魂都投入進(jìn)去，這是其他球員很難做到的。
The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.
當(dāng)聽說他沒有被球隊(duì)裁掉的消息時(shí)他激動(dòng)萬分，飛奔到最近的電話亭把這個(gè)消息告訴了父親。
His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.
父親和他一同分享著喜悅，并收到了整個(gè)賽季的所有門票。
This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game.
在大學(xué)四年，盡管從未上過場，但這個(gè)堅(jiān)持不懈的年輕運(yùn)動(dòng)員沒有錯(cuò)過一次訓(xùn)練。
It was the end of his last football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram.
在賽季末，最后一場季后賽前的訓(xùn)練課，當(dāng)他急匆匆跑進(jìn)訓(xùn)練場準(zhǔn)備參加訓(xùn)練時(shí)，教練給了他一張電報(bào)。
The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.
這個(gè)年輕人讀著電報(bào)，陷入了死一般的沉默。
Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?”
忍受著巨大的悲痛，他咕嚕著對教練說：“今天早晨我父親去世了。今天我可以不參加訓(xùn)練嗎？”
The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”
教練輕撫他的肩膀，說：“孩子，接下來的一周你都可以不用來了。甚至可以不用回來參加周六的比賽。”
Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well.
周六到了，比賽進(jìn)展得非常不順。
In the third quarter,when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear.
在第三節(jié)，當(dāng)球隊(duì)落后10分時(shí)，一個(gè)安靜的年輕人悄悄溜進(jìn)空蕩蕩的更衣室里，換上了比賽裝備。
As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.
當(dāng)他回到場邊時(shí)，教練和球員都為這個(gè)忠實(shí)的同伴這么快回來而驚訝萬分。
“Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today.” said the young man.
“教練，讓我上場吧，今天我一切都準(zhǔn)備好了。”年輕人說。
The coach pretended not to hear him.
教練假裝沒聽見。
There was no way he wanted the worst player in this close playoff game.
因?yàn)樗麤]有任何理由讓這個(gè)最差的球員參加賽季的收官之戰(zhàn)。
But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
但這個(gè)年輕人仍然堅(jiān)持要上場，最后教練也覺得對不住這個(gè)孩子，作出了讓步。
“All right.” he said.“You can go in.”
他說：“好吧，你可以上場了。”
Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes.
沒多長時(shí)間，教練、隊(duì)員以及所有的觀眾都不敢相信自己的眼睛。
This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right.
這個(gè)默默無聞的小球員，雖然在此之前從未參加過比賽，卻把一切都做得非常完美。
The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked like a star.
對方球員根本阻擋不了他，他跑動(dòng)、傳球、阻擊都像一個(gè)球星。
His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied.
他的球隊(duì)開始反擊得分，比分很快就被扳平了。
In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.
在比賽的最后幾秒，他截?cái)鄬Ψ絺髑颍㈤L途奔襲觸地得分，取得了勝利。
The fans broke loose.
球迷懸著的心落地了。
His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders.
隊(duì)友們把他扛在肩膀上。
Such cheering you never heard.
場地中一片前所未有的熱烈歡呼聲。
He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?”
他看著教練，眼里飽含著淚水，說：“你知道我父親去世了，但你知道我的父親是個(gè)盲人嗎？”
The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”
這個(gè)年輕人忍著悲傷，迫使自己微笑著說：“爸爸每場比賽都來看，但今天是他第一次能看到我真正上場比賽，我也想用我的行動(dòng)向他證明，我可以做到！”
