6 . If you ever have a chance to go to Finland, you’ll probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.

Take the taxi drivers for example. You can go anywhere on a journey, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and that you will pay the taxi driver later. He will agree without any anxiety but just accept your words in good faith (诚意).

The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also provide outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals, and the most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card (住房卡) to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to wine and dine free of charge.

Finnish workers are paid by the hour. If you work in Finland and have agreed with the boss on the hourly rate (费用), then you just say how many hours you have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

With so many loopholes（漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a country to those who love to take “small advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business, not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms, workers always give the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith and always have an attitude of “right is right” and “wrong is wrong” in everything they do, so living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.

What we regard as “foolish” is actually the Finnish people’s way of life.

7 . Dad was not only my best friend, but my compass (指南针). While he was alive, he _________ me with his actions and advice. He taught me one important _______, “Believe in yourself.”

If there was one phrase my dad _______ liked to hear, it was “I can’t.” He never got to finish high school and took two jobs to support his large family, _______ he never complained. Through education and years of hard work, my dad became an excellent journalist.

When I was in high school, I had a _______ time with math. He tried to help me, but I _______ struggled. So my math teacher suggested I meet with him at 7:00 each morning before school for _______ help. I told Dad, “That’s crazy! I’m tired! I can’t do that!” He replied, “You are doing it. I’ll send you to school.” Every morning at 6:45, we’d leave the house. Despite working 12 hours every day, Dad never once _______ driving me to school.

After months of _______, I was facing the final exam. I was so ________. On the day of the final, my dad hugged me and said, “Luke, ________ yourself. You can do it.” His words made me realize I needed to trust in my ability and in the hours of study I’d put in. When I got my grade proudly, the first person I called was my father. He cried, “Yes! You deserved it!”

Even now, whenever I ________ that a task is too much for me, I think back to that exam. No matter how ________ something is, if you’re willing to work, you can succeed. I’m forever ________ to Dad for that lesson.