2001级英语教育专业2班 148号　柳明

　　As everyone knows, the Athens 2004 Olympic Game has recently declared its end with the satisfactory closing ceremony. But Chinese people still live in a state of excitement for the country’s great success——32 golds, 17 silvers, and 14 bronzes in second place in the gold metal standings. Well, you may raise a question：“What on earth is the most important factor of such a success？”In my opinion, it contributes to the spirit of the Olympics, which can be expressed in the following words, that is, perseverance, confidence and humility.

　　Every time when the winners are honored with a holy ring put around their heads and the whole hall is echoed with applauses and national anthem, they are too excited to say any words. No one can deny that everything has its price. And it’s the price of sweats and tears that gets the honor in return. Every athlete has to keep the stiff upper lip and never eat their heart out before getting what they are dreaming of. It’s universally acclaimed that our life is like a competition. Indeed, it’s full of twists and turns and it’s often accompanied with ups and downs. However, it should not give one the excuse to give up the hope. On the contrary, one should go all out to overcome but not to yield to the miseries of life, for the success will not come to us easily. Therefore, perseverance means plucking up the courage and putting a bold front to reality. After all, there is no rose without a thorn.

　　Then the next equally important aspect is confidence. If you are not confident enough, you may at least lose heart and abandon yourself to despair. However, if you are iron-willed, you may get everything on its way. Undoubtedly, the athletes should have the right attitude towards their abilities and be self-confident in order to overcome themselves——the greatest enemy of success.

　　This is why we often say that confidence is the key to success.

　　But it should be identified with arrogance. To be more precise, one should be humble in face of achievement, which is the necessary character of every great man. All the athletes, even the winners, should keep on learning from others to improve themselves and endure long years of patient toil. He that’s full of himself is empty, as the proverb goes. Those who cling to their past will certainly be eliminated in modern competitive society. History is filled with the examples of such sort of man. So please keep in your mind that there is no winner forever for no one will be always on the crest of waves.

　　All in all, perseverance, confidence and humility, the true essence of the spirit of the Olympics have the significant bearing on everyone’s life for they are the mother of success. Furthermore, it’s needless to say that they are a sort of the greatest possession of human beings. Without them, you may be at the mercy of life. This is really a tragedy. So if you want to win the struggle of life, you should be armed with them. It is only by means of struggling with them that you will get the end of being winner in your life in time.