If the line is too short, lengthen it. I get this inspiration from my own experience.
      I was once top of the class. I enjoyed the teachers' favor. I was used to the classmates' adoration1 and of course I took everything for granted.  But all this changed when a new comer came into my life and became a member of our class.
　　I had to admit that she was a very pretty girl. And it was certain that she quickly became popular with my teachers and classmates.  But I never considered her as anything2, which was soon to prove completely wrong.
　　I guessed what really infuriated3 me was when she beat me by getting first place in the monthly examination. Watching her standing on the stage so victoriously4 and talking about her experience of studying in such a proud voice, I couldn't bear it any more. It should have been I that was standing there, not she.
　　However, what happened next made me even angrier. After speech, she walked straight up to me and said,“I'm just a little lucky this time. You are still the best. And I hope you'll give me some help in the future.”What an arrogant5 girl! I felt sick and left without saying a word. Then came the voice,“It's not your fault. She is just jealous of your success. ”
　　Since then I never offered any help whenever she needed it and completely broke contact with her. On top of that I asked all my friends to ignore6 her just as I did.
　　It was not long before my head teacher found out. One day he asked me to go to his office after class. I guessed what would happen and prepared a perfect defense. Much to my surprise, he didn't say anything. Instead he drew a line on a piece of paper and asked, “Tell me! How can you make this line shorter?” Although puzzled, I still gave him my answer —erase it. He shook his head with a smile, drawing another line beside the first one, which was much longer. Then he looked at me for a while and said,“You're a clever student. Think for yourself and I hope you can understand.”
　　With the teacher's words in my mind, I left the office. All of a sudden I realized my foolish mistake. The teacher was using a simple example to tell me all of this：As an ordinary person we often meet “lines” which are longer than ours. At this time most of us think of how to erase others' lines to keep ours the longest. However, it's really useless. You can erase one line but can you erase all the lines longer than yours? Even if you can do this, what will you get finally? Nothing. Although you're the longest, you are at a standstill7. So don't do such silly things out of envy. The best way is to make every effort to lengthen our own lines. In this case we'll make rapid progress in the competition of society and life.
　　I'll always bear these words in mind: if the line is too short, lengthen it.

1. adoration   n． 崇拜， 爱慕
2． 可我从不把她当回事儿。
3． infuriate   v．  激怒
4． victoriously   adv． 获胜地， 胜利地
5． arrogant   adj． 傲慢的， 自大的
6． on top of．．．另外
   ignore   v． 不理睬，忽视
7． at a standstill   停止，停顿