Jared's P5 English Compo

Draft 1 32marks-All by his effort

 
But this kind of result is really hardly comes by, he has been consistently at 23-28 region this year..The standard are so high..all I could do is find him model compos to read..And whether luck would be with him or not..really up to the exam day's performance

Title     :  Pride Comes Before a Fall         

                     

Theme/Topic : A Competition   

         “Welcome to the Annual Sports meet!” the judge boomed over the microphone. It was the day of the yearly competition and I was eager to get on the track soon. Our team of runners all headed to the changing room to get ready for the one hundred metre sprint. I was not going for that race. As I relaxed in the room, I eyed my partner,Tim, who would join me during the eight hundred metre run. Unlike me, he was doing intensive warm-ups, still doing last minute practices. He had been training for many hours daily. Ha! I thought. His effort will be wasted! I have always been winning this race, and he always got in last place. I flashed him a smirk and plopped onto the couch. He ignored me and still did his practicing. Ever since the last competition, I had assumed that I would just win every race, even without practicing. I was good enough, after all.

         I watched as the different running races carried on at the observing window in the changing room. The team’s performance had improved, but not quite well. I quickly calculated that for the team to win the running competition, I would have to get first place. That should be no problem for me, I thought.

         Just as I thought that I was about to fall asleep, the speaker announced, “Now, we shall invite the runners for the eight hundred metre race! I quickly tied my shoelaces of my worn out shoes. I had not bothered to replace them as I knew that I could with any competition, no matter what footwear I wore. I stood up and strutted proudly to the track. It was my time to shine! “See you on the podium!”I called to Tim. He still ignored me. Who cares, anyway? I waited for the crack of the air rifle...

         Boom! I dashed out of the starting line like an arrow from a bow. Arms pumping at ninety degree angles, I looked over my shoulder. To my satisfaction, the competitors were all far away, in the cloud of dust I had left. I was the only one so far who could sprint the entire eight hundred metres anyway. I sprinted faster and faster, until the all was a blur around me, ignoring my coach’s advice on conserving energy for the last one hundred metres.

         Just as I was nearing the four hundred metres mark,  I felt my lungs get heavy. I was running out of stamina! I pushed myself on, but to no avail as my legs were also starting to be overcome with fatigue. Panic coursed through my veins as the other runners zoomed past me. I was now the last! I deeply regretted not training hard for the next few months.

        Just when I thought the race could not get any worse, it did. I was starting to feel a cramp in my right leg! I started running awkwardly, and I slowed down to a jog. However, my worn out shoes could not take it any more…

         Rip! I watched in horror as my shoelace ripped into half! The longer end got caught under my foot and I felt my blood leave my face as the ground rose up to greet me…

         Crash! I landed on my face with a dull thud! My lips were bloody and I felt that I could no longer continue the race. I limped to the side of the track in dismay, looking at Tim, who had saved his energy to sprint the last one hundred metres and had broken the finishing ribbon. I could not imagine the humiliation and criticism I would get when I got back to the changing room! The rest of the team had heard me jeering at Tim earlier on. In return, they were sure to jeer at me later on.

         When finally returned to the changing room, everyone stared at me, then burst into peals of laughter. Tim had made our group win, not me. During the victory ceremony, the coach chided me for not training, while I sat alone, apart from the rest, watching Tim hold the trophy high above his head. When he returned, I was even ostracised out of his congratulating team.

         Through this incident, I learnt never to be complacent again. It was because of Tim’s effort that he won. Because of my hubris, I fell, not only from the podium, but also on the track. The irony was too much for me to bear. With the determination from my failure, I started training much harder than before, hoping that I could win the next competition.