3 . My grandfather was a serious man. A quick look from him was enough to keep my sisters and me in line. _________ every summer I looked forward to seeing Grandpa in his farm. We enjoyed every moment of feeding and washing the animals.

Grandpa was a man who didn’t show his _________easily. There were times he caught us touching some of his personal things or exploring places that we weren’t _________ to. His quiet scolding (责备) left us _________ for the rest of our stay.

One morning I heard “clickety-clack, clickety-clack, ping”. I stopped and found where the sound _________: Grandpa in his study, typing a letter. I leaned _________ to see better when I fell through the door. For a while I _________ on the floor of the study. I stood up and went red in the face, hoping the scolding would be short.

Grandpa’s eyes shone. He called me over. I went to him _________ with my eyes looking at the floor. He asked what I was doing, and I told him that I was drawn by the _________ of the typewriter. I only wanted to get a better __________. I wasn’t going to touch anything, I __________.

The rest of the summer I stood near his elbow watching him type. How I wished to __________ the beautiful yellow keys with steel rims.

After going home, I spent the year writing poems, letters, and stories in my notebooks and __________ myself to use Grandpa’s typewriter to write novels.__________, I planned to be a writer, and writers used typewriters.

The next summer, I’d hear the sounds of typewriter keys and walk toward them, admiring the __________ of the words forming on the page. I wished he would offer me a chance to try it. But he never did.

On returning home that year, I got a parcel. I found the typewriter in the box! My serious grandfather!

4 . How to Understand the Mind of an Interviewer

Getting inside an interviewer’s head can be tricky, as their perspective will change according to personality type, professional role, and personal experience.     1    

Research the company to determine what the interviewer is looking for. Company culture (work-life balance, atmosphere, etc.) is a great indicator of what your interviewer will want to see in candidates.     2     You can look for company mission statements for a better understanding of company culture, or quotes from top-level executives (领导层), like CEOs, which often set the tone for company culture.

Look up the interviewer when possible.     3     This is the perfect chance to look up background information on the interviewer on the company’s website. Professional and social media platforms can also help you better know what to expect from an interviewer.

    4     Many interviewers determine the truthfulness of your resume (简历) this way. If you respond with answers that are inconsistent with what you wrote in your resume, many interviewers will interpret it as a red flag. Thus, remember to review the start and end dates of positions listed on your resume and try not to be annoyed at this kind of fact checking.

Identify how the interviewer’s position will influence expectations. The role of your interviewer usually has an impact on what that person expects from a candidate. An HR representative, for example, will want to know you’re a good fit with the company culture and values. A direct manager, however, would be most interested in your practical ability to do the job.

Regardless of their roles, most interviewers will want to know you’ll make their lives easier.     5    

10 . At the age of nine, I was taking swimming lessons at a pool. The day had arrived when I was to be tested to see if I could ______ to a higher level class.

Fifteen of us were to ______ swimming from one side of the pool to the other and back. I watched as my ______ , one by one, tried and failed. Then it was my turn to swim, I mean, my turn to attempt to pass the test. I was about halfway when I got ______ , so I immediately stopped and ______ the side of the pool, ending my test. Our instructor, a college student, was standing ______ me. “Why did you stop?” he yelled, in a less than ______ voice. “I got water in my nose,” I explained.

That’s when this college student ______ me one of life’s great lessons, ______ he probably never realized that. Bending down, he shouted, “So?”

“So?” The question shocked me. It had just seemed reasonable to me that the answer to pain was to remove the thing causing the ______ . My nine-year-old brain had not understood the fact that a valuable ______ is worth achieving, however difficult to get there. Recognizing that, I was ______ nothing would keep me from completing the test. In fact, I did it rather easily on my next attempt. Seeing me ______ the test, almost all the others did so as well.

Life is a journey, and the road won’t ______ be easy. We have to focus on the final destination, not the ______ along the road.