(A)
“Congratulations!” That was the first word that Steven saw
when he opened the envelope that his dad handed to him. He
knew that he would win the essay contest. Overly excited, he
shouted, “Hooray!” At that moment, two tickets to Ace
Amusement Park, the prize, slipped out of the envelope. He
picked them up and read the letter thoroughly while sitting on
the stairs in front of his house. “Wait a minute! That’s not my
name!” (a) he said, puzzled. The letter was addressed to his
classmate Stephanie, who had also participated in the contest.
(B)
Once Steven had heard his dad’s words, tears started to fill
up in his eyes. “I was foolish,” Steven said regretfully. He
took the letter and the prize to school and handed them to
Stephanie. He congratulated her wholeheartedly and she was
thrilled. On the way home after school, his steps were light
and full of joy. That night, his dad was very pleased to hear
what he had done at school. “(b) I am so proud of you,
Steven,” he said. Then, without a word, he handed Steven
two Ace Amusement Park tickets and winked.
(C)
“If I don’t tell Stephanie, perhaps she will never know,”
Steven thought for a moment. He remembered that the winner
would only be notified by mail. As long as he kept quiet,
nobody would know. So he decided to sleep on it. The next
morning, he felt miserable and his dad recognized it right
away. “What’s wrong, (c) Son?” asked his dad. Steven was
hesitant at first but soon disclosed his secret. After listening
attentively to the end, his dad advised him to do the right thing.
(D)
Reading on, Steven realized the letter had been delivered
mistakenly. “Unfortunately,” it should have gone to Stephanie,
who was the real winner. (d) He looked at the tickets and then
the letter. He had really wanted those tickets. He had planned
to go there with his younger sister. Steven was his sister’s
hero, and he had bragged to her that he would win the contest.
However, if she found out that her hero hadn’t won, she would
be terribly disappointed, and (e) he would feel ashamed.
* brag: 허풍 떨다