Once upon a time, my father and I got lost in a forest in France. I must have been about twelve or thirteen. Anyway, it was before the time when most people ______ a mobile phone. It was in the Loire Valley. About half an hour, my dad ______ the truth. “Oh, it seems that we’re lost.” We walked around and around in circles, trying to find the path, ______ with no luck. I could tell my dad was starting to ______, even as he was trying to hide it from me. We had been in the forest for hours then and both knew my mom would be in a state of absolute ______. At school, I had just been told the story of the hikers who had died in the wilderness and I found it easy to ______ that would be our fate too. “If we keep going in a ______ line we’ll get out of here,” my dad said.

And he was right. ______ we heard the sound of cars and ______ a main road. We were eleven miles from the village where we had ______, but at least we had signposts. And I often think of that strategy, when I am totally ______ — literally or metaphorically (比喻). I thought of it when I was in the middle of a ______, when my heart beat rapidly with ______ and didn’t know how I could carry on living. Walking one foot in front of the other, in the same ______, will always get you further than running around in circles. It’s about the ______ to keep walking forward.

When I was eight I was helping Dad fix up old furniture in the factory. He gave me a cent for every nail I ________ out of old boards.

I got my first ________ job. at a local restaurant in town at l6. My main responsibilities were ________ tables and washing dishes. Every day after school I would head to the ________ and work until ten, even on Sundays.

At that age it was difficult going to work and ________ my classmates run off to swim or play. I didn't necessarily like work, but I loved what working allowed me to have. Because of my ________ I was always the one buying when my classmates and I went to the local McDonald's. This made me ________.

Word that I was trustworthy and hard—working got around town. A local clothing store ________ me credit(赊账). I immediately ________ a $68 sports coat and a 22 pair of shoes. I was ________ only 65 cents an hour, and I   ________ owed the storekeeper $ 90! So I leaned early the ________ of easy credit. I paid it off as soon as I could.

My first job taught me self-control, responsibility and brought me a ________ of personal satisfaction few of my ________ had experienced. As my father once told me, “If you ________ responsibility, there are not many things in life you can't have.” How right he was.