Star Wars Episode I was out! Five of us guys decided to drive an hour to Champaign to see the movie. The Lorraine Theatres had a widespread _______ as having the best sound system.

In two cars, we _______ to a 4:30 p. m. showing. It was a great day in May. The theatre was found on a small-town main street. Arriving at 4: 20 p. m., we _______ in the parking lot. But there weren’t other parked cars. We thought maybe the daytime _______ was slowing down since the movie had been out for a couple weeks.

Approaching the theatre, we found the doors locked. Just as we finished _______ the doors, out came the owner. He told us the theatre had _______ the 4:30 showing three days before, apologizing that he hadn’t had a chance to _______ the webpage yet because his laptop was in for repair.

He asked us where we had come from, and we told him. After minutes of small talk, I said _______, “So you are to show it anyway?” He looked at his watch, thought a bit and then _______! We paid him the ________ price, and he even let us buy snacks. It was lucky that we had correct ________ for everything because he couldn’t get into the cash register.

It struck me that it would have been ________ for him to say “Tough luck” and sent us back. Instead, he chose to start up his ________. I’ve no idea of the ________ costs, but I’d wonder if the profit of five tickets and a few snacks would be enough to ________ them. We were all grateful that we were treated so kindly by a total stranger.

Learning to Accept Defeat

Defeat can be a lot of things. Learning to accept defeat is a bitter pill to ____ but the patience you store is so __.

A few months out of college, I was____the job site indeed in the hope of finding my first job. I just needed to have financial stability away from my parents, and___ to them two degrees was worth the extra fees.

Out of the 34 jobs I ____ ,only four called me back for an interview. I was so excited to finally be given a（n） ___to show my worth and importance. I would say the interviews went __. I hit every question with a solid answer, and even made the     ___ laugh a little. I was sure I'd get four calls back. They said they would ___me of their decision after Thursday. Friday came, and I still had no calls, no e-mails.

After getting in contact with all the places, they broke the news to me of how other people were more ___or I wasn't what they were looking for. I was shocked and ____.I thought I had it all, until the door decided to slam（猛然关闭）in my face four times.

But my parents    ___ me to keep trying and not to give up. I ___ myself back up and decided to look for jobs again. Eventually, one ___ well and I got my first job after what felt like a lifetime.

Forget about all the negatives, and focus on what the positives could be. You never know what the right door is _____ you keep knocking.

This happened when I was 11. On Mother’s Day, I made a Bundt cake and _________ slices of it away. Many moms began asking me to bake them cakes straight away.

I’m interested in baking and _________ watching baking shows. So when I heard about their _________, I realized I could just _________ it. Then I started my cake business.

_________, the cakes would fall apart. So not every cake was perfectly baked the first time I _________. But I knew that it was OK to make _________ and that you just kept going until it was right. Success came after many failures. Now I’m a (an) _________ baker. I’d let my Bundt cakes cook for less than an hour before my dad would take them out of the oven and give them to me. I offer _________ like cream cheese, lemon and chocolate, and I will do special cakes on __________, too.

So far I have sold nearly 300 cakes. I donated some money I __________ to a charity, so that I could provide __________ for some families.

My friends have said that I am a great entrepreneur. I am glad that I have been able to do my business during the pandemic. I was __________ before this, and this has __________ me to do something meaningful __________ just sitting down and watching TV.