It was the day of the big cross-country run. Students from seven different primary schools in and around the small town were warming up and walking the route (路线) through thick evergreen forest.

翻译：那天是大型越野赛跑的日子。来自小镇及其周围七所不同小学的学生们正在热身，正在步行穿过茂密的常绿森林。

I looked around and finally spotted David, who was standing by himself off to the side by a fence. He was small for ten years old. His usual big toothy smile was absent today. I walked over and asked him why he wasn’t with the other children. He hesitated and then said he had decided not to run.

翻译：我环顾四周，最后发现了大卫，他独自站在篱笆旁边。相对于十岁年龄他身材比较瘦小。今天他露齿的笑容不见了。我走过去并问他为什么不和其他孩子在一起。他犹豫了一下，然后说他已经决定不跑了。

What was wrong? He had worked so hard for this event!

翻译：出了什么问题？他为这次比赛已经付出了那么的努力了！

I quickly searched the crowd for the school’s coach and asked him what had happened. “I was afraid that kids from other schools would laugh at him,” he explained uncomfortably. “I gave him the choice to run or not, and let him decide.”

翻译：我迅速地在人群中寻找学校的教练，并问他发生了什么事。“我担心其他学校的孩子会嘲笑他，”他不舒服地解释道。“我给了他是否参加赛跑的选择，让他来决定。”

I bit back my frustration (懊恼). I knew the coach meant well — he thought he was doing the right thing. After making sure that David could run if he wanted, I turned to find him coming towards me, his small body rocking from side to side as he swung his feet forward.

翻译：我强忍住我沮丧的情绪。我知道教练也是好意——他认为他做的是对的。在确保大卫如果想参加赛跑就可以跑之后，我转过身来，发现他正朝我走过来，他瘦小身体左右摇晃，他的脚向前摆动。

David had a brain disease which prevented him from walking or running like other children, but at school his classmates thought of him as a regular kid. He always participated to the best of his ability in whatever they were doing. That was why none of the children thought it unusual that David had decided to join the cross-country team. It just took him longer — that’s all. David had not missed a single practice, and although he always finished his run long after the other children, he did always finish. As a special education teacher at the school, I was familiar with the challenges David faced and was proud of his strong determination.

翻译：大卫患有一种脑部疾病，这使他无法像其他孩子一样走路或跑步，但在学校里，他的同学们认为他是一个正常的孩子。他总是尽其所能参与他们所做的任何事情。这就是为什么没有一个孩子认为大卫决定加入越野赛队是不正常的。他花了更长的时间，仅此而已。大卫没有错过任何一次训练，虽然他总是在其他孩子完成比赛很久之后才完成比赛，但他总是完成了比赛。作为学校的一名特殊教育的教师，我很熟悉大卫所面临的挑战，并为他坚定的决心感到自豪。