PET READING PART 4 CAMBRIDGE PRELIMINARY

Everybody likes to feel that they're somebody special. Sadly, many of us grow up believing that we're not special at all. We wish that we could be more attractive or better at sports. We wish we had more money or nicer clothes. Like the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, or the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, we think we're not good enough just as we are. In the film, The Tin Man wishes he had a heart. The Scarecrow wishes he had a brain, and the Lion wants courage. Eventually, each of them realizes that he already has what he wants. Nearly all parents want us to be the best we can be. They occasionally encourage us to do better by comparing us to others. They mean well, but the message we usually get is that we're not good enough. There will always be somebody out there that is better than we are. There are people around who may not be as intelligent as we are but who are better at sports. Or they may not be as handsome, but they have more money. It is unthinkable for us to be better than everybody else all the time. Like the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, we all need what we believe will make us better people. We often don't understand that we already have the very things we look for. Our parents often forget to tell us we are somebody special. They often tell us that we are good enough just the way we are. Perhaps no one told them when they were growing up, or maybe they just forgot. Either way, it's up to us to remind them sometimes that each of us, in a way, is special. What we are . . . is enough.

PET Reading Part 3