Monty was the son of a horse trainer. When he was in his ninth grade, he was asked to write a 1 about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
That night he wrote a seven-page paper saying that someday he'd 2 a horse ranch (牧场). He wrote about his dream in great detail and he 3 drew a picture of a 200-acre ranch with all the buildings.
He put a great deal of his 4 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”5 a note that read, “See me after class.”
The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, “Why did I receive an ‘F'?”
The teacher said, “This is an unrealistic (不现实的) dream for a young boy like you. Your family is not rich. Having a horse ranch needs a lot of 6 . You have to buy the land. You have to pay for other things. There is no7 you could ever do it.” Then the teacher added, “8 you rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I'll 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. But I think it is a very important 9for you.”
Finally, after thinking about it for several days, the boy handed in the same paper, making10 changes at all. He said to the teacher, “You can keep the ‘F'and I'll keep my dream.”
