For a long time, a little boy was wondering why his deskmate could rank 1st in the class whenever he wanted to, while he himself failed to: he only ranked 21st.
At home, he asked his Mom, "Mom, am I more 1than others? I feel I am obedient (听话的) and as careful as him, but 2I always fall behind?" Hearing the words, Mom was aware that her son began to 3the sense of self-respect, which was now being injured by the ranking system. 4at him, she went wordless, not knowing 5to explain.
In another test, the son ranked 17th, while his deskmate remained 1st. Back home he 6 the same question. Mom really wanted to inform his son that 7differs, which means that students ranking 1st are supposed to be cleverer than normal ones. 8, was this discouraging answer the one that her son was constantly 9about? Thank goodness she did not open her mouth.
How to answer her son's question? There were times when she felt an urge to equivocate (搪塞), " You are too lazy. You are not as hard working as others…" but she stopped 10imagining her son suffering from the pains of unsatisfied grades and rankings. She thought it 11to put any additional burden on his son and was trying to find out a perfect answer.
Time passing swiftly, the son 12primary school. Despite studying harder and better, he was still unable to keep up with his deskmate. To show her pride of him, Mom decided to 13him to the sea. During the trip, she managed to give an answer.
Now, the son no longer worries about his 14, and there are no boring guys who would inquire his rankings in primary school, because, 15the 1st ranking, he was admitted to Tsinghua University. Back home in winter vacation, he was invited to 16the students and parents in his high school. In the speech, he mentioned a valuable experience in his childhood, "… When my mother and I were sitting on the 17, she pointed to the front and said, ‘Do you see the sea birds struggling for food over there? When the waves come near, little birds can rise 18while "awkward" seagulls will take more time to complete the process. However, have you noticed birds that finally fly 19the endless ocean are none other than the "awkward" seagulls?'" The speech 20many mothers present to tears, including his mother.
