Jenna, a popular girl from Westwood Middle School, had graduated first in her class and was ready for new_______ in high school.  

_______, high school was different. In the first week, Jenna went to tryouts for cheerleaders. She was competing against very talented girls, and she knew it would be _______ for her to be selected. Two hours later, the _______ read a list of the girls for a second tryout. Her heart _______ as the list ended without her name. Feeling _______, she walked home carrying her schoolbag full of homework. 

Arriving home, she started with math. She had always been a good math student, but now she was_______. She moved on to English and history, and was _______ to find that she didn’t have any trouble with those _______. Feeling better, she decided not to________ math for the time being. 

Later in math class, Jenna devoted herself to figuring out the problems that had given her so much________. By the end of class, she understood how to get them right. As she gathered her books, Jenna decided she’d continue to try to ________ at her new school. She wasn’t sure if she’d succeed, but she knew she had to ________. High school was just as her mom had said, “You will feel like a small fish in a big pond ________ a big fish in a small pond. The challenge is to become the ________ fish you can be.”

Late one recent night, Carol Spale picked up the phone and heard quiet sobbing on the line. It was her _______, an old lady who had lived on her own across the street for many years.

Spale runs the local “Neighborhood Services” committee, so she’s _______ to receiving calls like this. The committee is _______ to those living in North Riverside, Illinois, where being good to neighbors is taken _______ by everyone in the small village. The committee manages 90 “block captains”, each of whom _______ a street in North Riverside.

For people nearby, Spale is the _______. But why was the old lady crying? As the story goes, Spale called up the lady after _______ her garage was open later than usual. Spale became nervous when the lady called back in _______. Spale’s first thought was that she was in trouble, but it turned out to be a lot _______ than that. “She was crying because my call let her know someone is ________ her. It made her feel good now that she’s ________,” Spale said.

Three times a year, the committee has ________ where the locals come together to talk about the good­neighbor things they’ve ________. The speakers are often children, ________ by their parents to do good. At a recent gathering, one little girl, ________ how she made a card for a neighboring old gentleman she befriended, who had had a heart operation.

After completing my Ph. D. in Germany, I applied for a job at a consulting company. I spent months making ______ before getting a phone call from the company. “Unluckily, we decided to ______ the job to someone else,” the voice said. But the ______ wasn’t over. “Would you like to hear feedback (反馈) from us?”   He went on to tell me I hadn’t clearly stated my ______ for applying for the position. I quickly realized he was right. I wasn’t ______ about what I applied for. I didn’t feel ______ about the job at the consulting company, and that clearly ______ in the interview.

From then on, I decided to ______ judge each job opening to make sure it truly ______ my interest. In my applications, I stated more clearly why I wanted that ______ job. Soon my effort started to ______, as I got an offer I was excited about.

A few years later, I found myself on the other side of the interview ______. I was interviewing people for the first Ph. D. position in my lab. I was particularly looking forward to talking with one candidate; his application looked ______, but the interview went badly, which made me wonder whether he was truly interested in working with me. I called and ______ where he could improve in future interviews, for which he was grateful.

I’ve ______ several interviews in my lab, and always encourage them to ask for feedback at the end of the interview.