1 . When you are living a fully-scheduled life, every minute counts. No matter how many ways you divide your ________, there’s never enough time in a day to catch up.

Six years ago, I was ________ with a care-free, stop-and-smell-the-roses type of ________. When I needed to rush out, she was taking her sweet ________ picking out a purse and a shining crown. When I needed to have a ________ lunch, she’d stop to speak to the elderly woman who looked like her grandma. Whenever my child caused me to deviate (偏离) from my main ________, I thought to myself, we don’t have time for this. ________, the two words I most commonly spoke to my little lover of life were: “________!”

Then one day, things ________. We’d just picked up my older daughter from kindergarten and were getting out of the car. Seeing her little sister not going fast enough for her liking, my older daughter said, “You are so slow.” When the older one crossed her own arms, it dawned on me that her annoyed look ________ that of mine. I saw the ________ my hurried existence was doing to both of my children.

Though my ________ to slow down was made almost three years ago, living at a slower pace still ________ great effort. My younger daughter is my living ________ of why I must keep trying. In fact, she reminded me once again the other day. When I thought my little child was going to eat the last ________ of an ice cream, she held out a spoonful of it. “I saved the last for you,” she said. At that moment, I ________I’d just got the deal of a lifetime. I gave my child a little time, and unexpectedly, ________, she reminded me that things taste ________ and love comes easier when you stop ________ through life.

Pausing to delight in the simple joys of daily life is the only way to truly live. Trust me, I learned from the world’s born ________ in joyful living.

3 . As a young boy, I knew what people said was not always what they meant or were feeling. And I knew it was possible to get others to do what I wanted if I read their real feelings and responded suitably to their needs. At the age of eleven, I sold sponge rubber door-to-door after school and quickly worked out how to tell if someone was likely to buy from me. When I knocked on a door, if someone told me to go away but their hands were open and they showed their palms, I knew it was safe to continue with my show because they weren’t angry or threatening although they may have a cold attitude. If someone told me to go away in a soft voice but used a pointed finger or closed hand, I knew it was time to leave.

As a teenager, I became a pots and pans salesperson, and my ability to read people earned me enough money to buy my first house. Selling gave me the chance to meet people and study them close and to know whether they would buy or not, simply by watching their body language.

I joined the life insurance (保险) business at the age of twenty. And I went on to break several sales records for my company, becoming the youngest person to sell over a million dollars’ worth of business in my first year. This achievement allowed me to become a member of the well-known Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). I was lucky that the skills I’d learned as a boy in watching body language while selling pots and pans could be used in this new area, and were directly related to the success I could have in any business closely connected with people.

4 . Kyle Cassidy and three other members of the Annenberg Running Group were stretching (伸展) on the grounds of the University of Pennsylvania,________ a few runners who were left behind. The Penn colleagues and other community members meet three days a week for a roughly 30-minute jog and a ________. That’s right — during some runs, one of them delivers a talk∶ topics ________ from the brain to Bitcoin (比特币).

But one day last January, it would not be their ________ run. The first evidence that something was off was the man who ________ them very quickly. Cassidy ________ why the man was so fast when another man ran by, yelling, “Help! He ________ my phone and laptop!”

At that, the group did what running clubs do: They ran, ________ the suspect down the streets of Philadelphia until he ________ into a construction site. The runners ________ . Cassidy ran ________ to the far side of the site to cut the thief off ________ the others wandered the neighborhood ________ he had thrown the phone and laptop in a backyard.

No luck. So they decided to ask people in the ________ whether they’d seen the guy. When they knocked on the door of one row house, they were in for a ________. They didn’t know the suspect was ________ behind a bush by that very house. As the owner opened the door, the ________ rushed out from behind the bush … and right into the ________ of the police, who had joined the run shortly behind the runners.

“Running is typically a________sport where you turn fat cells into heat,”Cassidy told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But sometimes it can be useful, and here was one of those ________. ”

The members of this running group are not hard-core sportsmen. But they do understand the benefit of a little exercise.

As a young boy, I was innocent. Every vacation I looked forward to two things-seeing my grandpa and hearing his wonderful stories. My grandpa was a very good storyteller. He had worked various jobs when he was young and wove ( 编 织)his adventures and misadventures into fantastic tales. These wonderful tales colored my childhood.

As I grew up, I had to admit that Grandpa's stories went on a little long, even a little boring and gradually lost their magic. However, not wanting to upset him, my brother and I would sometimes take turns sitting in the living room, listening to grandpa tell his stories.

When my grandpa was approaching 91, he suffered from serious memory-loss.It was kind of what doctors called dementia (痴呆),probably the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease. Following the doctor's directions, we moved him into a Sunrise Assisted Living Community, where he could get a better care. After that,grandpa hardly came to our house.

One weekend before my grandpa's birthday, I came to visit him. Seeing grandpa sitting in his armchair, dull-looking, I was filled with mixed feelings. I wheeled grandpa to the sunshine in the courtyard, talking to him. He couldn't express himself clearly and spoke in short bursts, but I listened to him patiently and carefully just as I used to be a little boy.

It was then that I noticed a shadow box with some old and yellowish photos in it. I picked one up, in which my brother, several boys in our neighborhood, and I were playing basketball, wearing basketball jerseys (球衣), with grandpa cheering us on ten years before.

My mind flashed back to those beautiful memories.

A bright idea for grandpa's birthday came to my mind.

7 . I was 40, with two adorable children and a caring husband. And I’m enjoying a challenging but _________ career. Although this is “success”, sometimes I feel my heart asking if this is who I truly am.

The chaos of the family kitchen was _________: the noise of the kettle, pots and dishes, and the conversation _________ while I’m making breakfast. I escaped _________ to my bedroom. Only in silence do I bear the self that is _________ from the children and wonder who that person might be.

So, I journeyed, for the first time in a decade, without my husband or kids. I went with a friend to _________ in Iceland. I hoped the consideration of walking would help me better _________ who I wanted to be. For 6 days, I was absorbed in wild scenery and real weather. The mountains in Iceland rise black and tall into the heavens against the white snow. Looking outside at wild wind and rain and knowing there’s no decision to make _________ the soul. Climbing a mountain against sheets of rain and returning to a tent for a simple meal _________ me how little I actually needed and how strong I felt __________ uncomfortable.

I found __________ in Iceland, and time to consider “the me” outside career and kids as I shared stories with strangers with no __________ past and no expected future. When I stopped talking and just listened, I was surprised at how my __________ changed—I became more generous. I learned generosity can __________ more space and more warmth __________ when there may not seem enough to go around at first glance.

I came home to __________, chaos and love. I know the answer isn’t waiting out there on the top of a mountain or inside my head, however __________ I try to hear; and it isn’t in conversations with other seeking souls. The answer is in front of me with every step on my own life’s __________.

I’m not finding myself, but I’m creating myself. I need the storm as much as I need the quietness. __________ is built under a heavy load. I’m expecting to pick up all of my loads and travel __________.

8 . Gabriela worked for a multinational company as a successful project manager in Brazil. Later she was transferred to manage a team in Sweden. She was excited about her new role but soon realized that managing her new team would be a challenge.

Despite their friendliness, Gabriela didn’t feel respected as a leader. Her new staff would question her proposals openly in meetings. When she gave them instructions on how to carry out task, they would often go about it in their own way without checking with her. When she announced her decisions on the project, they would continue giving their opinions as if it were still up for discussion.

What Gabriela was experiencing was a cultural shock in expectations. Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede uses the concept of “power distance” to describe how power is distributed in different cultures. In her previous work environment, Gabriela was used to a high power distance culture where power is respected. In such a culture, leaders make the big decisions and are not often challenged. Her Swedish team, however, were used to working in a low power distance culture where employees often work together with their bosses to find solutions and make decisions. Here, leaders act as coaches who encourage independent thought and expect to be challenged.

When Gabriela became aware of the cultural differences between her and her team, she took the initiative(主动权)to have an open conversation with them about their feelings about her leadership.

Pleased to be asked for their thoughts, Gabriela’s team openly expressed that they were not used to being told what to do. They enjoyed having more room for initiative and creative freedom. When she told her team exactly what she needed them to do, they felt that she didn’t trust them to do their job well.

With a better understanding of the reasons behind each other’s behaviour, Gabriela was able to make adjustments to her management style. Finally she effectively motivated her team to achieve their goals.