When I was studying at university, I tried my best to win the Beto Award (贝托奖), which was given to those who finished their schooling with the highest grades. I got very high marks one very1. I just missed 100 marks by one or two every single time. I did get a few 100 marks but the one 96 and the 97.5 marks2 me like a big hammer(锤子).
Why was I so crazy about getting3 grades? Perhaps I was a perfectionist. I was the kind of person who didn't4anything less than perfection while my classmates would be full of joy to get 85 marks. Finally, I didn't win the award. I 5 it by an inch that might as well have been a mile.
What standards (标准) do we set for6? What's the biggest and most important thing in our life? I didn't have the answer.
One day I walked out to the riverside to do exercise. Our neighbors don't7 show up to walk along the river, maybe once or twice a year. I was 8 under a tree when a woman, one of my neighbors, went out of her house. She fixed her eyes on me 9I guessed she had never seen anyone kicking(踢) his legs 6-7 feet high.
I apologized if I had10 her, for I got up early. Then the woman asked me," How high can you kick your legs?"" I said, "I have no11. "l saw a lower branch on the tree (perhaps close to 7 feet) and I 12 to kick it. I tried hard but missed.
What a shame! However, the woman didn't13 me. She just said, "Miss it or not, that is impressive(感人的). "I thought about that 14I was sitting alone in my room. I didn't feel so bad any more. And I remember her 15 for long. It is a new saying l learned from her.
Life is all about learning! We learn from our mistakes and misses. You're right in the ball park if you get close. Just keep trying!
