【内容提示】
你喜欢某门学科，比如英语吧。你参加了你们县或你们市组织的该学科奥林匹克比赛，但是失败了。你非常懊丧。正在这时，你收到一封朋友的来信，信中用“失败是成功之母”之类的话给你鼓劲。在该同学的鼓励和帮助下你第二次参加了比赛并获得一等奖。
【作文示范】
Thank You, My Friend
I have a good friend. He is a handsome boy and his eyes shine with wisdom①.
I have known him since Senior One. We are both interested in English. Once both of us entered for an English contest②. How eagerly I expected to get a prize! On hearing that I had failed in the contest, I could hardly hold back my tears. “What a pity!” I murmured to myself over and over again. I felt that the world had become cold and everyone seemed to be laughing at me.
I love English and have gone all out to study it since my first day in the junior middle school. I have even dreamed of entering a foreign language institute. So I felt very sad.
Just at this time, I received a short letter in English, saying, “Failure is the mother of success. Cheer up! Don＇t lose confidence③. Keep on your study and you will succeed!” I knew it was from the good friend of mine.
These words encouraged me GREatly. I forgot all my sadness. From then on, I studied English even harder. In the next English contest, I got the first prize. Of course, he was delighted with my success.
I am very lucky to have such a good friend. I＇m thankful to him for his help.
（选自《英语画刊》高中版1996年第4期）
【词语解释】
①wisdom [＇wizd+m] n．智慧；明智
②contest [＇k&ntest] n．比赛；竞赛
③confidence [＇k&nfid+ns] n．信心；自信
【写法指要】
作者由失败到成功走过一段曲折的路。有过失败的人才知道胜利的价值。作者把自己的成功归功于自己一位好朋友的鼓励。所以，他对自己的朋友十分感激并写了此文。文章由失败、挫折写到鼓励、帮助，再到获奖，顺理成章
