Once, my mother told me a story. When an antelope wakes up every morning, the first thing it thinks about is, “I must be able to run _______ than the fastest lion, or I will be killed.” And the first thing the lion thinks about is, “I must be able to _______ the slowest antelope, or I will be hungry.”

Life is full of _______. Whether you are an antelope or a lion, you must go ahead. For us students, it is just the same. If we don’t study hard, sooner or later, we will fall behind other students. _______, I didn’t know what the word “exam” meant. Later, I knew an exam was a kind of competition. In competitions, there were _______ winners and losers. As I grew up, I got to know competitions well. In one’s life, there must be competitions, so people could try their _______.

Each time I saw kids playing games and heard their laughter, I wished I were that age again. But I remembered my parents’ words, “You _______ work very hard for a good future.” So I picked up my pen and began to study hard again. _______, I was not sure what competition really meant. One day, I took part in an English-speaking competition. When I went to the stage, I saw other students _______ me kindly. Suddenly I knew what competition was. It is not as cruel (残酷) as my teacher and parents told me. In fact, sometimes it could be _______. I learned a lot from realizing this fact. Now I know more about competitions.