Passage One
Kids often ask Scout Bassett, of Palm Desert, California, if she wishes she had two normal legs. Bassett, 18, answers, “No. I have never known anything different, and it would seem weird to me. Besides, if it weren’t for the missing leg, I wouldn’t have the opportunities I have”
Scout has faced big challenges. When she was months old, she suffered from terrible burns. Her right leg was especially damaged, and doctors cut it off above the knee. When she was 14, she got a high-tech leg made for sports and put it to the test right away in a race for disabled athletes. “I remember being terrified because this was my first time,” she says. ”But my doctor said, ‘you have to start somewhere.’”
Scout was waiting nervously for the race to start when athlete Sarah Reinertsen came up and said,”I’ve been doing this for a while. Let me give you some tips.” Reinertsen, who lost her leg when she was seven, is the first disabled woman to have finished the Ironman triathlon(铁人三项) in Hawaii. She works with an organization to help support people like Scout.
Reinertsen’s encouragement changed the teenager’s life. She lost that first race, but gained the confidence that she needed to compete. If Sarah could do it, she could too. Training hard, she now runs competitively and also finds time to share her story with school groups.
“Sometimes people look at someone like me or at Sarah and think they have nothing in common with us. I tell them that even if you aren’t physically challenged, everybody has challenges of some kind---maybe with family, or homework, or friends.” “No matter what it is, you can overcome that obstacle,” she says. “Everything you need is inside your heart. Take small steps. As time goes by, the steps will get bigger and you will reach your dream.”

What does the doctor mean by saying “You have to start somewhere”(para.2)