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.

   Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table, reading his book. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to copy him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read the book just like you, but I don’t understand it, and I forget what I understand as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the book do?”

The grandpa quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandpa laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned. Out of breath, he told his grandpa that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, so he went to get a bucket instead. The grandpa said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.” The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandpa the basket was empty again. Out of breath, he said, “Grandpa, it’s useless!”

“So, you think it is useless?” the grandpa said, “Look at the basket.”

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean.

“Grandson, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you’ll be changed, inside and out.”

   I was the fool at school, regarded as a special needs student. I was termed as such, obviously, because I was not interested in school and did not care for my _______.

Over time, I started to believe in my stupidity. I _______ the fact that I was in special needs classes and poured it out as anger and depression. But one activity _______ this view of myself chess.

I started to play chess with my father after school simply because I wanted to _______ him at something. My father was a _________ man, fond of physics, writing, religion…, almost every _______. He was called a walking dictionary. So, winning in chess against my father would be a _______ that I had intellectual power. On the small chessboard, I had a chance to _______ my so-called inability.

Game after game, I wanted to beat my father even more. I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to _______ my skills. One weekend, I finally checkmated(将杀) my father on a ferry ride, which made me feel ________.

Two years later, I became the second board on my school chess team, with our top board being the best high school player in the state. But before the tournament season, our top player ________ to come. There came my chance to play as top board against the best players in other states.

I was determined to show who I had become: a(n) ________ person able to win with calculation, logic and will. My most ________ game came in the final round. Our team was facing a high school which only excellent students attended. It was ________ a match between a special needs student and a smart soul. My opponent(对手) was playing well and kept ________ while I kept defending to keep my king safe. He spent long trying to break down my defenses, but could not find the final push. I ________ with more defensive moves, trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. With little ________ left, he started to make rapid moves. ________ he could make the final decision, he ran out of time. Honestly, as his clock flag fell, I jumped up out of my seat and kissed the floor out of excitement. Of course it was not the most sportsmen—like ________, but I could not control my emotions.

While holding my winner’s cup, I knew I was not ________. The inferiority complex (自卑感) had melted away, and I realized that underneath our thoughts, each person is a genius.

   I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birthday.

I had _____ to hear from my mother，my grandmother and my other relatives，but never from my father. Lying in bed，_____ of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy，I regarded my father as a（n）_____  able to do anything. _____ ，things slowly began to _____ .The more I learned，the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us _____ and，at last，I didn't even like communicating with him.

My father，in my mind，had no _____ in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother _____ I needed something. He even refused to answer my _____ when I phoned from school. I got ______ the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer ______ me.

Over time, however, I began to wonder whether my ______ was right. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always ______ beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my ______ behavior toward him.

I planned thousands of times to ______ to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday, I was so ______ by his short message. I ______ then that my father's love for me had never disappeared. I decided to send a ______ “Thank you, my dear father.”

Two days later, when I returned home, my mother told me that my father had been so ______ when he received my reply. She said he had ______ from morning till night. At that moment, I felt truly happy.