One day, I went to my favorite café for lunch. I ______ a hamburger and went to the outdoor seats. While waiting for my meal, a homeless man on a bicycle stopped to ask if there was a grocery store nearby. After I gave him ______, seeing me wearing a SCU T-shirt, he asked if I had ______ from Santa Clara University. I told him, yes. Little did I know that this _____ response would lead to a 90-minute conversation. The man, Michael, told me he was very intelligent. ______, drug use had ruined both his formal education and his pursuit of ______ in his work. He switched from one topic to another, ______ the fact that I was ready for my lunch.

He clearly had more of a ______ to talk than I did. I made every ______ to give him my full attention, never _______ our talk would go on and on.... Eventually, I did eat my meal, bite by bite between ______ in our conversation. Michael was a bit strange. ______ his interests and viewpoints, we had little in ______, but he was fascinated with talking with, as he ______ it, “intelligent people.” I have to admit, I wish our conversation had been ______ to ten or fifteen minutes, but when Michael finally ______ off, he thanked me for listening so ______ to him as well as for my ______ to talk with him for so long. It was then that I ______ that, just maybe, that was my purpose in life for today… to be there, in that place, at that time, to ______ that conversation.

Honest Thanks

I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the note card into the ______, sealed it and stuck the stamps on it, but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox... I ______.

The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via Facebook ______. She had inspired me to live a different life—for example, by ______ more.

Her volunteer efforts weren’t ______—she wasn’t building wells in Uganda, but instead she was doing small, local good deeds, such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do, too. She made me ______ I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her example positively influenced my life. I could have easily sent her an e-mail, ______ that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank you. That’s why I ended up ______ the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox, unable to place the envelope inside. What was ______ me? Why was this so ______ to do? I guessed l felt strange because it wasn’t like she was my best friend. I just knew her. “People don’t ______ do this,” I thought to myself. However, after thinking it over, I still felt a(n) ______ to let her know how grateful I was. Finally, I put the envelope into the mailbox.

Weeks later I received her reply. She was ______ a tough time and my letter meant the world to her. She didn’t know she had such a(n) ______ on others. Not only did this letter make her happy, but her response to it increased my ______ of happiness. I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating gratitude is a great skill to practice. Life is too short not to do it.

Some people believe that in order to reach their goals and dreams, they have to learn to be competitive. I_______the opinion. Learning to _______others is the best way to achieve a better life.

For one thing, becoming more cooperative(合作的) will help _______one’s chance of success. In today’s world, few _______can be made through a single person’s _______．As the old saying goes, two heads are _______than one.Many people working together are more likely to solve a problem or think of an idea than one person working_______．If you learn to work at ease with your co­workers, everything will be done smoothly and finished _______．But if you insist on being a strong _______ in the workplace, you will receive little help or advice from others. Few people will be ________ to exchange ideas with you.

For another, a ________ working environment will benefit the whole organization. Everyone is working for the ________ of the organization. ________ they are trying to help each other，better understanding will be achieved. All members of the organization will focus on how to work together to ________ their   tasks.________， if somebody regards others as competitors, disagreements may arise among workers. ________，people’s attention to their jobs is drawn away. Everybody wants to put themselves higher than the other ________. Negative thoughts will eat up some workers’ souls(心灵)．In the end, nothing will be ________ .

In conclusion, learning to work with others and be more cooperative will ________ the success not only at the ________ level，but also at the organizational level. A warm atmosphere will be enjoyed by each member of the group, who will have a positive outlook on life.