2 . A is for always getting to work on time.

B is for being extremely busy.

C is for the conscientious(勤勤恳恳的)way you do your job.

You may be all these things at the office, and more. But when it comes to getting ________, experts say, the ABCs of business should include a P, for politics, as in office politics.

Dale Carnegie suggested many years ago: Hard work alone doesn’t ________ career advancement. You have to be able to sell yourself and your ideas, both publicly and behind the scenes. Yet, despite the obvious ________ of engaging in office politics-a better job, a raise, praise-many people are still unable—or unwilling-to “play the game”.

“People take it for granted that office politics ________ some manipulative(工于心计的)behaviour,” says Deborah Comer, an assistant professor of management at Hofstra University. “ ________ politics originates from the word ‘polite’. It can mean lobbying(游说)and forming associations. It can mean being kind and helpful, or even trying to please your superior, and then expecting something ________.”

In fact, today, experts ________ office politics as proper behaviour used to pursue one’s own self-interest in the workplace. In many ________, this involves some form of socializing within the office environment-not just in large companies, but in small workplaces as well.

“The first thing people are usually ________ on is their ability to perform well on a regular basis,” says Neil P Lewis, a management psychologist. “But if two or three ________ are up for a promotion, each of whom has reasonably ________ ability, a manager is going to promote the person he or she likes best. It’s simple human ________.”

Yet, psychologists say, many employees and employers have trouble with the concept of politics in the office. ________ people, they say, have an idealistic idea of work and what it takes to succeed. Still others ________ politics with flattery(奉承). They are fearful that, if they speak up for themselves, they may ________ to be flattering their boss for favours.

Experts suggest altering this negative picture by recognizing the need for some self-promotion.

3 . Do you have a best friend at work? A person once said, “Relationships _______ more than work. Years from now, you will forget the _______ of the work you have done, but you will still _______ the people and the relationships you built.” 

We hear a lot about this and it’s true. We spend more time with our co-workers than our families. Getting along well with workmates is the _______ to our success in the job. 

Gallup, our employee engagement survey provider, has been asking us to _______ “Do you have a good friend at work?” for 30 years. He has discovered a strong _______ between having a good friend at work and performance on the job. 

I’ve worked with a lot of people over my career. The most _______ achievements, when I looked back, were made with _______ that I felt a strong social connection with. We not only worked as a team but also spent our spare time _______ with each other and caring about each other’s daily life. I do believe that our success ________ strong social connections at work. 

I’ve been through a lot with many people I would ________ my best friends at work. We’ve celebrated our ________ of the work, promotions(升职) and retirements(退休) together. We have supported each other through marriages, births, illnesses and even deaths. 

Good relationships and a sense of ________ are part of work culture that we shouldn’t ignore. ________, I have been working with amazing people over the years. Can you imagine going to a ________ every day where there is no fun or friendship?

4 . We were a group of people who took a bus to work every day. One of the _____ was a small old man who took the bus to the health centre every morning. He always _____ behind the driver. No one ever paid much _____ to him.

But one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled at others. The driver nodded. The rest of us were _____ as usual.

The next day, the old man got on the bus and said in a loud voice, “A very good _____ to you all!” Some of us looked up, _____, and said, “Good morning.” From then on he said good morning to us every day and we began to _____ to each other.

One morning he had some flowers in his hand. The driver turned around _____ and asked, “Are these for me, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name was really “Charlie”, _____ he waved the flowers and said yes. People laughed. Every morning after that Charlie always ______ a flower.

Until one morning Charlie wasn’t ______ at his usual stop. And he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that. What might have happened to him? When we came nearer to the health centre, a woman ______ the driver to wait a moment. We all held our ______ when she went to the door.

She said she knew who we were talking about. The elderly gentleman was sick. We ______ him back on Monday.

The next Monday when Charlie got on the bus, all of us who he had brought happiness to in that summer sat with a ______ in our hands.

6 . Do you listen? Do you really listen? Is there more to listening than just hearing?

Listening is, by far, one of the most important aspects of communication. So often, you pay attention to your way of speaking, your _________ , your dialect, but neglect your ability to listen.

It is my _________ that people usually change the intended purposes of much of what they hear by refusing to listen carefully. Too often, we consider listening the _________ part of conversation, although it requires us to actively focus and take part.

Listening means giving ear, paying attention, obeying, witnessing, hearing with thoughtful attention, or understanding. The most basic of all human _________ is to understand and to be understood. The only way to understand is to _________ .

Learn to be an active listener. Give off positive body language._________ a willingness to listen and socialize. Ask the right questions. Increase your _________ so that you can understand more and achieve _________ listening.

Listening means we should respond, that we should be touched, and that what we hear has a(n)_________ on us. I believe that history __________ itself only because no one is willing to listen for the first time. You were given two ears, but only one mouth, which probably means that we should listen more and that listening is twice as important as talking. Listening plays a key role in everyday __________. Good listening skills are of great importance, as listening is the fundamental __________ of all information.

Isn’t now the time to listen to those around you? Given them your entire__________. Use your born __________ to become a better listener. For me, I’m going to put into __________ what I believe in my heart and become a better listener.

7 . My family moved into a newly constructed home in Calgary 10 years ago. That year was full of promise. We _______ at the stream of incoming families during their move-in days. Hands were shaken. Couches were pulled up steps. But we saw _______ of each other as winter approached. Names were forgotten.

As the snow _______, many of the neighborhood’s kids began to learn how to ride a bike. Their mothers would be nearby, chatting. Dad wanted a place for children to play, a quiet place for parents to sit and relax, but more importantly, a _______ for everyone to leave the house and join the community. He began _______ benches.

He started knocking on doors and _______ hands. He chatted with Eric, a builder and then met with a designer. _______ began with me and my father. Within minutes there was a flock of young neighbors _______, each claiming they could help. _______ of us knew each other well, but all hands were on deck (全员出动). After a few hours, three benches formed a semi-circle on the avenue.

That afternoon marked the first of many weekend Neighbor Days. Kids ________ each other around while parents brought out food. ________ would carry on into the night. We often ________ there the following afternoon, as well as ________ afternoons and evenings in the years since.

I moved out for university four years ago, having learned to ________ value community. But I’ve never lived somewhere as social as my family neighborhood since.

There’s a saying: you must be a good neighbor to have good neighbors. My dad wasn’t thinking much about building those benches. He just wanted a place to sit on a Saturday afternoon. A place to bring the ________ together.

8 . 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.

9 . I have neighbors whose adult son has been living with them since he lost his job. He is the fifth one of ________ of his parents. He had no job but still enjoyed himself because he had a dog staying together with him.

________， his dog died in July last year. That ________ hit him deeply, which was understandable, because he had spent most of his time walking the dog; Besides, he had made friends in the neighborhood with other dog ________.

His parents didn't ________ his idea of buying another dog because they wanted him to find work. It was a(n) ________ time for him; I could see he was lonely ________ his dog. All he could do was help his mom with cooking or ________ at home.

I wanted to help him get rid of the bad feelings, so I invited him to ________ the dog with me. We also ________ in some picnic activities together. Then I thought maybe something else would help.

It was volunteering (自愿做) at the local humane society (动物保护协会), not far from where we live. It took only several ________ for us to get there by bike. At first, he refused to volunteer to love the ________ there. However, after only one week, he began to ________ me excitedly how happy he was. Now he seems to have purposes to return to school to learn zoology (动物学) and study animals in the future. I feel happy that he has ________. I am more pleased that he feels ________ and valued. And that is so important to all of us.

10 . I’ve been taking a bus to school for years. I found that most passengers keep to themselves and no one ever has a _________ with anyone else.

About a year ago, an elderly man entered and said _________ to the driver, “Good morning!” Most people looked up, surprised and _________, while the bus driver took it for granted and _________ responded with a grunt (哼声). The next day the man _________   and again he said in a loud voice, “Good morning!” to the driver. Another grunt. By the fifth day, the driver finally agreed to accept the elderly man and _________   him with a little cheerful “Good morning!” Then the man _________, “My name is Benny.” The driver told the man he was Ralph.

That was the first _________ any of us heard the driver’s name and soon people began to talk to each other and say _________ to Ralph and Benny. Soon Benny __________his cheerful “Good morning!” to the whole bus. Within a few days, his “Good morning!” was __________ by a whole bunch of “Good mornings” and the entire bus seemed to be more __________. People got to know each other.

“If a __________ is someone who makes something happen, Benny was the one who took a lead in showing friendship __________ us,” I thought.

A month ago, something __________ happened and Benny didn’t __________ in the bus. Everyone began to __________ about Benny and lots of people said he may have passed away. No one knew what to do and the bus got __________ again. So last week, I started to act like Benny and say “Good morning!” to everyone and the whole bus cheered up again. I guessed I was the leader now. __________ Benny could come back to see what he had started really __________ a lot.