Once when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, I was chosen to take part in an English speech contest on behalf¹ of my school. My whole class thought I would win for certain, so did myself. My teacher even joked with me: "We are counting on you." But I soon realized how wrong we were. Instead of winning, I lost by a very small number of votes.

It was a chilly² spring afternoon. When I returned home from school, mother met me at the door as usual. But I was not so ex-cited to see her. She didn't seem to notice my dull mood, and asked me how my day was. "Great! Just great!" was my answer. Tears filled my eyes, and words got stuck under my tongue. All my lowest feelings prevented me from acting³ cheerful. I walked up the stairs without another word and locked myself in my room. After having myself heavily laid down in my bed, tears streamed down my cheeks, and I recalled⁴ my day while observing the ceiling.

Everything went smooth and sail until the result of the speech context⁵ was announced. I was shocked! Could it be true? I had prepared for weeks for this contest, and now I had nothing in return. For the rest of the day, I tried to concentrate on the lessons, but found it impossible. I was detached⁶ from my books. I was afraid of meeting Mother's expectant eyes. I wanted this con-test to be a gift for her.

Should I be open and honest with her? I dared not open my mouth. After all, she had spent all her spare time helping⁷ me in the past few weeks. What should I do? How should I react? I was deeply buried in these thoughts. Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. I opened it and found Mother standing⁸ outside. I let her in. "Your teacher called this afternoon, I have already known everything. ""Oh, no!" I thought. I looked up at her pale face. She was actually smiling. "I'm sorry. You must be disappointed. "I murmured in my lowest voice. "Disappointed? Not the least, "she seemed rather surprised by my apology." You have the courage to go on that stage and try your best. For this I am very proud of you, and so is your teacher. She said you were excellent on the stage.” “She did?” It was my turn to be surprised. “Yes. And she asked me to tell you ‘Failure is the mother of success’. Be confi-dent! It's only a contest. We can try again next time. Remember, experience is a good way of learning⁹.” I listened quietly. Every word remained in my mind. If I take every failure as an experi-ence, and if I learn something from them, failure doesn't have to be a bad thing. “Thank you.” I said. “What for?” “For being such an understanding mother.” We both smiled.

After so many years, I still feel thankful to my mother. She taught me how to face failure. Now I am no longer afraid of los-ing. I also learned¹⁰ that there is no easy road in life. And I realized how much Mother loved me and with Mother's support, I will be ready to handle any circumstances and face any pressure in the future.

That day will be my most valuable memory and I shall never forget it.

指导教师：徐敏