A few months after{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(return) to the U.S. from Germany, I{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(take) part in a college course in French. Since I had learned to speak German well in Germany, I thought it might be interesting{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(begin) studying another language.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}the first class, a teacher asked us to do a pronunciation exercise, in which he would say a word{#blank#}5{#/blank#}two in French, and each student would do{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(they) best to copy. When my turn came, he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(keep) having me say{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(many) words, and I finally asked him why. “I find it great{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (funny),” he explained. “In 25 years of teaching at school, it's the first time I have heard{#blank#}10{#/blank#}American speak French with a German accent.”

    Everyone likes to have friends {#blank#}1{#/blank#} are trustworthy. When what we say matches what we do, we earn trust and friendship. On {#blank#}2{#/blank#} contrary, once we break our word, nobody will ever trust us again. For example, if you are {#blank#}3{#/blank#} untrustworthy worker, you are less likely {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (get) a promotion. Therefore, the {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (important) of keeping one's word cannot be stressed too much.

    I once had the unpleasant experience of someone breaking his promise to me. Last month, everyone in my class had to gather at school {#blank#}6{#/blank#} 6:30 am for our {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(graduate) trip. My friend Ben asked me to meet him at McDonald's at six, but he never showed up. I was {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (depress) that when I called him, he told me he was already at school. I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (rush) straight there, but all my classmates still blamed me for delaying the trip. After that, I ended my{#blank#}10{#/blank#} (friend) with Ben because I don't need friends who can't keep their word.

    In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh (法老) treated the message runner like a prince if he brought good news. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}, if the exhausted runner had the misfortune to bring, his head was cut off. Shades of that spirit spread over today's conversations. Once a friend and I packed up some peanut butter and sandwiches in {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (prepare) for an outing. As we walked {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (cheerful) out of the door, a smiling neighbor looked up at the sky and said, "Oh boy, a bad day for a picnic for it's going to rain." I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (strike) him in the face in my mind not for his stupid weather report {#blank#}5{#/blank#} for his smile.

    More often than not, what makes someone angry is not the unpleasant news but the unsympathetic attitude with {#blank#}6{#/blank#} it's delivered. Everyone must give bad news from time to time, but big winners know they should share the feeling of the receiver when {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (deliver) any bad news. If my neighbor {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (tell) me of the upcoming rainstorm with {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (sympathetic), I would have appreciated his warning. Big winners, when they bear bad news, deliver bombs with the emotion the bombarded (被轰炸) person is sure {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (have).