Competition in My Own World
？佚名 / Anonymous
Once my mother told me a story. In Africa， when an antelope wakes up every morning， the first thing it thinks about is， “I must be able to run faster than the fastest lion， or I will be killed.” At the same time， a lion wakes from his dream. The first thing the lion thinks about is， “I must be able to catch the slowest antelope， or I will starve to death.” So， almost at the same time， the antelope and the lion get up and start running toward the rising sun.
This is life： full of chances and challenges. Whether you are an antelope or a lion， you must go ahead when the sun rises. For students， it is just the same. If we do not study hard， sooner or later， we will fall behind the other students. At first， I did not know what the word “exam” meant. Later， I knew an exam was a kind of competition. In competitions， there are always winners and losers. As I grew up， I got to know competition well. In one’s life， there must be competitions， so people can improve.
Each time I saw children playing games， and heard their laughter， I wished I were that age again. However， I remembered my parents’words： “You must work very hard in order to have a good future.” So I picked up my pen and began to study hard again.
I was still not sure what competition really meant. One day， I was taking part in an English-speaking competition. When I went to the stage， I saw other students looking at me kindly. I suddenly knew what competition was. It is not as cruel as my teacher and parents told me. In fact， competition is the opposite： it is kind and necessary.
I learned a lot from realizing this fact. Now I understand more about the world. Competition is important for us all.
妈妈曾经给我讲过这样一个故事。在非洲，一只羚羊每天早上醒来想到的第一件事是：“我必须跑得比最快的狮子还要快，否则就会被吃掉。”与此同时，一只狮子从梦中醒来，想到的第一件事是：“我必须抓住跑得最慢的羚羊，否则就会饿死。”所以，羚羊和狮子几乎同时起床，并开始向着太阳升起的地方奔跑。