When Dekalb Walcott Ш was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized (崇拜) basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the1990s. Not him.

“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr, ”he says of his father. So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. “I'm jumping up and down, saying, ‘Mom, can I go? Can I go?’”

The experience changed Dekalb's life, and he told his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. “My eyes got big the moment the alarm went off, ” the younger Dekalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday. ”

Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together-father supervising (监督)son.

“You know, it's everything for me to watch young row, ”his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.

“I received a phone call that night. And they said, ‘Well, your son was at this fire. ' I said, ‘OK, which way is this conversation going to go?'”Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.

“And they said, ‘But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him. ’”

“And the word went around, ‘Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that’s Walcott!That's Walcott up there!’So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on earth for a dad. ”

Dekalb Walcott Jr. has retired. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. “You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch (火把) down  to my son. ”

This morning, I was jogging in the park where I caught sight of a wallet on a bench. Clear, someone had left it there by an accident. I picked it up and checked the contents. Inside them, I found some money and a card with a phone number. Believing that the owner would be worrying, I immediately tried the number. A man answers it in an anxious voice. Heard that I had his wallet, he sighed with relief and told me he would return right away. Ten minute later, the man arrived. After confirming (确认) he was the owner, I handed the wallet back him. With his thumb up, he expressed his gratitude to me repeatedly. Seeing the smile in his face, I felt happy that I was able to help.

   Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that _______. "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" _______ me. I thought he was saying" We're _______ pleased you decided to join us although I _______ we had hired someone else. "Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", _______ in British English it means "fairly".

So the _______ lesson about working in other countries is to _______ the language and by that I don't just _______ the words people speak. It contains _______ language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things ________ many of the differences we see between cultures.

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while ________ may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the ________ and accepting them, like the climate, while we're getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be a（n）________. People are ________ polite; the service is better; you ask something to be done and it happens without having to ask again.________, other differences can be ________ punctuality（准时）.If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock, your guests will consider it polite to ________ exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some in the evening in Greece. I ________ not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the ________ people base their behavior on. It is simply ________ in their own country.

   Today, I was phoning at an ATM that was situated inside a gas station. The security guard who was an old man _______ reminded me that I could not use my cell phone there and that it was _______. When I came outside, he smiled at me and I had a strong wish to _______ him.

At first, I felt a little sympathetic (同情的). In my _______, he seemed like a poor, elderly man who was still working. He was _______ at first and just talked about his family in a small voice. When he talked about his _______, he was happy. He told me that she always _______ him, even though she was married herself. Then he _______ his son, who “has a heart of gold”. He also told me I had better _______ some money for my old age, and I thanked him for his ________.

________ we spoke, he opened up quite a bit. He told me about his limited income and how the family were still ________ in spite of all the difficulties. I had nothing to give except ________. I thought about ________ him money, but it didn’t feel quite right. In our conversation , it was ________ that he wanted my time, not my money. I did not want to take away his ________ by giving him money.

By the time the conversation ________, I was close to tears. Ordinary people — when given the opportunity to ________ their story — are real gems (难能可贵的人). Sometimes, time and ________ are the best gifts you can give. That thought made me ________ listening to this old man.

   Mike was 11. As his birthday was coming up，he _____ his father to buy him a bike, so that he could go to school cycling and not by _____ or relying on his father to _____ him at school, which was _____ a mile away from his home.

On his _____ , seeing a set of books wrapped nicely in his father's hand, though _____ , he thanked his father. Mike's father was _____ as he didn't have enough money to buy a bike.

After a week，when Mike was walking home from school, he saw a boy riding a bike. Mike _____ that the bike was too small for the big boy. _____，the boy ran into a post and fell on the street. Mike rushed to him and ______ him who was his schoolmate Sam.

Mike helped him stand up and provided him with water. _____ Sam was riding the bike fast, his left leg and hands were ______ injured. Mike asked him to sit in a corner and took the bike and rushed to a ______ nearby.

An ambulance （救护车）came and carried Sam to hospital. He then rushed to Sam's home and ______ his parents about the accident.

Sam and his parents thanked Mike for the ______ help. Mike in turn said, “It was all ______ just because I rode Sam's bike. ” He added, “The bike is too small for Sam to ride and that's why he was _______” Mike met Sam every day in hospital until he ______.

Sam got a new bike and he came to know that Mike didn't have the ______ to own a bike. He gave his old bike to Mike and with his parents' ______, Mike accepted the gift.