做阅读理解的时候遇到的难题，请高手指点一下是什么意思？
I grew up in the small town of Cazenovia located smack in the middle of New York state. At thirteen, I met Ruth, a girl with a personality like an unbroken mare, wild and unpredictable. We became fast friends. Ruth had a way of convincing me to do things I normally would not do. For example, when my parents were going to buy me a new bicycle, I had planned to get a regular girl's bike, the one without the top crossbar. Ruth suggested a boy's bike instead. I was scared of that horribly high top bar. I just knew I'd fall flat on my face trying to get my leg over it. Ruth convinced me I could do it, and soon a blue ten-speed boy's bike became my pride and joy.
参考答案:我在纽约州中部一个叫Cazenovia 的小城镇长大。十三岁的时候我见到鲁思. 鲁思简直象一头难以驯服的小母马，有点野，总有一些完全不可预知怪念头。很快地我们变成好朋友。她总会试图说服我做一些通常我不愿意做的事。比如，有一次，我的父母打算给我买一辆新自行车，我想要没有横杆的那种女式自行车。鲁思劝我挑一辆男式的。男式的横杆太高了，我特别害怕把腿放上去摔个嘴啃泥下来。可是她却相信我可以做到的。不久之后，我很自豪拥有一辆兰色的ten-speed男式自行车。
sorry, 水平有限，还是有不明白的地方。