【明報專訊】Emily studied at a prestigious (有名望的) primary school. An excellent student who always did her best, she felt very nervous as the coming exam would very much determine which secondary school she would go to. That's why she burnt the candle at both ends (勞累過度).

Time flied and the terrible exam finally ended. And soon came the results of the secondary school admission. With her hands shaking, Emily received the result slip from Miss Ng.

"Well done, Emily. It's a school with quite a good reputation," the class teacher Miss Ng showed Emily some encouragement, but awkwardly. Fearing that she couldn't swallow the truth, she didn't dare look at the slip until she sat down.

Her tears flew down her cheeks. It's a rather ordinary school. Sadder news: even the laziest Mary got an offer from one of the top schools! That saddened Emily further.

Emily didn't want to give up. So she and her mom visited those elite schools one by one — but no one considered her.

Emily started her new school year reluctantly (不情願地). Her mom would like to dump all her old school uniforms but Emily kept one thing — the school badge — which she brought to her new school everyday. And that made others angry.

"Oh she really thinks she's the chosen one, with that rotten piece of cloth," her classmates babbled on about Emily and her old school badge.

"She even stapled it on her school bag." "Disgusting."

One day Emily saw Mary on the street. Seeing Mary wear an elite school uniform, Emily was so envious.

But wait. Mary was crying. "How come! It was such a prestigious school!" Emily was curious. She stepped forward and asked Mary what had happened.

"I couldn't handle the homework or understand the lessons," Mary sobbed, "I was just lucky to get in this school."

"You shouldn't think so! It's a precious opportunity I worked so hard but failed to get," Emily comforted Mary. She didn't even know how she had got the courage to do so.

"You too, Emily. It's you who're always talented, not the badge," Mary pointed at Emily's school bag and smiled. "I believe you'll shine wherever you go!"

Finally, Emily realised that it was her who needed comfort. She threw the badge away and continued to work hard from then on.

■Food for thought

Sometimes we feel regretful because something doesn't happen as we wish. But one of life's lessons is to learn to let things go, as long as you've tried hard.

■Glossary

trophy (adj) 炫耀的；招搖的

swallow (v) 全盤接受

sadden (v) 使難過

dump (v) 扔掉

[Smarties' Power English 第247期]