It was 7:00 am in Paris,France,and the taxi company had just called a second time to say they couldn't find my house.Once again I spelt out1even a blind person could follow.I glanced2at my watch,and waited.Only two hours remained3my flight left—and it was one and a half hours4to the airport.

    Outside,heavy rains were5.My house was so far north in the city that buses6only three times a day.

    The telephone rang again."Terribly sorry,"began the man at the taxi company.Then I realized that the taxi company,flooded with calls,could only7in-city runs.I had heard this happens when the8gets bad.I9into the phone that I had a10to catch and I would meet the taxi outside my house.

    Standing in the wind-driven rain,I looked11the road.No taxi.A car went by,the driver and passenger staring at the12foreigner in the downpour.

    13a white car appeared and14to a stop.A young man threw open the door,waving to me to get in.Shaking with cold and15,I climbed in.

    In the most16French,the man said he was called Will,with whom I had spoken three times that morning.He had left his post in the office and17here in his personal car.He18again,but didn't explain why no taxi would pick me up19me straight to the airport,he refused the 2,000 franc I pressed into his hand.

    A few hours later,as the storm-delayed plane20,I opened the newspaper.On the second page my eyes caught the headline of a short article: Taxi Strike Begins This Morning in Paris.

    When I was a little girl, I remember that when my dad was repairing something, every time he asked me to 1 the hammer, just so we would have a time for a 2 with each other. I 3 saw my dad drinking or taking a night out with the boys, all he did after 4 was taking care of his family.

    I 5 and left home for college and since then, my dad had been calling me every Sunday morning, no matter what. And when several 6 later I bought a house, my dad was 7 it by himself for three days in the 80°F summer heat. All he 8 was to hold his paint brush and talk to him. But I was too 9 in those days, I did not find any time for a conversation with my dad.

    One Sunday 10 we had a telephone talk as usual, I noticed that my dad had 11 some things that we discussed 12. I was in a hurry, so our conversation was 13. Few hours later that day came a call. My father was in a hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤). 14 I bought a ticket for a flight and 15 I was thinking about all 16 occasions(场合) to have a talk with my dad.

    By the time I17 at the hospital, my father had passed away. Now it was he who did not have 18 for a conversation with me. After his death I19 much more about him, and even more about myself. All he ever asked me was my time. And now he has all my20every single day.

    When I was young, my father invited my grandmother to come from Ecuador and live with us. When I first saw her, I thought she wasn't the person I had 1 for. For the first few days we didn't speak much, beyond her 2 me that I played too many video games. I never 3attention. Then one day, she showed me a 2's multiplication table (乘法表) 4 I was playing my beloved games and told me that I couldn't play any more games until I memorized it. I was5 but had to try to understand the pattern that all these numbers followed. That was when she approached me and explained the 6 to me. Within an hour I had 7 multiplication by twos, and was about to make a break for my video games when she 8 me and told me to learn my 3's table next.9and sad, I sat back down at the kitchen table. Again, she came to the rescue, but this time we didn't stop after three; we kept going. She 10 was old and boring. I thought she was a genius （天才）who 11 everything.

    From then on she taught me a lot. Even when we walked around the streets, she would quiz me on 12 . All of our conversation included education, but in such a(n) 13 way. I began to14learning about math and the world. Over time, we developed a close relationship 15 our lesson. We shared stories with each other every day.

    16, after only a year, she moved back to Ecuador. We didn't spend as much time together as we had 17, but she often sent me letters.

    My grandmother recently passed away. She always wanted me to attend college, and I've made that 18 a reality. I owe my love of math to her 19, because she showed me that there was a 20 beyond video games, and that education was both fun and interesting. She changed my life.

    Several weeks ago, I had a dinner party. During the1 a glass of red wine was dropped on a very fancy, Persian carpet in the living room. Later, when I planned to have the carpet2, experts came out. They 3 that they could not only get out the  4, but also make every carpeted room look and smell nice.

    After spending more than 200 dollars, my 5 looked great. All of the carpets were cleaned, but there was still one slight 6— the stain was still there, and to say I was 7, actually an understatement. Committed to getting rid of the stain, I 8 another expert. This was a real expert with great 9 in this trade. When he arrived and saw the stain, he immediately explained to me how 10 it would be to deal with the stain, and he wanted me to know that before he even unloaded his 11 to start the job. My expectation at that point was low; however, I told him to put in his best 12.

    In the first scenario（背景）I expected the stain to be  13. In the second I expected little or nothing. Those made me realize that in life the fine line between 14 and disappointment can be our expectations. Disappointment will occur 15 the expectation line drawn by ourselves is placed incorrectly. 16 good things will happen if you set your expectations 17. In the carpet cleaning scenario above, the second 18 not only set my expectations appropriately by under promising, but he also over delivered by getting the stain out—a result that 19 my expectations, making me very 20. So remember: set your expectations properly.

    My eight-year-old son's soccer team in Washington DC was put together several years ago. The team has won 1 one game in the last three seasons. Yet, despite the endless 2, soccer is my son's favorite activity. He plays soccer at every 3, even at break time and at the aftercare(病后护理), and although he doesn't play as well as the best players in his school, this hasn't 4 him in the least.

    This has been repeated often, but I 5 it first-hand: soccer is about friendship as much as it is about learning to control the ball and make successful 6. Watching the children, I see that winning is a distant 7 goal for them. What they enjoy is each other's presence and the fact that they're in this game 8.

    Actually, I went through a phase of giving my son suggestions such as: Why aren't you more 9 once you have the ball? He 10 my sudden torrent(滔滔不绝) of guidance. "Mom, I play midfield or defense, not forward. And 11, soccer isn't about being aggressive. It's about 12." After hearing that, I paused and 13. How strange it is that I, who never played any sport for a single day of my life, wanted my son to be a(n) 14 footballer!

    Isn't it extraordinary that kids don't necessarily 15 their attempts to have impressive results? They love the activity for itself. Becoming an adult means a gradual 16 of that spirit. To stand out or 17, people develop a spirit of competition. How often have I become 18—professionally and personally—when things haven't gone the way I wanted? I've 19 there's much to learn from soccer-loving eight-year-olds: do your best, be passionate, enjoy yourself, and then, regardless of the 20, move on.

Strategies to Overcome Self-Doubt Once and For All

Being self-confident is not easy and not everyone can do it, but it doesn't need to be that difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Going through life can be very challenging at times. When we were young, no one told us how hard it will be in the future but here we are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it is unpleasing and can kill your confidence levels if not controlled from the beginning.

We will all experience some self-doubt, which is natural. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It happens to us during normal days or whenever we are going to start a new job, a new task, or a new relationship, anything new in life will make you self-doubt. This sort of feeling puts you into dark days when nothing seems to go right and you might feel like giving up, and that is the time to be strong.

 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Self-doubt is when you are unsure about one or more aspects of yourself. For example, when starting a new job, you might feel inexperienced or might think that you are not fit enough for the job, and this is a prime example of self-doubt.

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Low-level of self-criticism is actually good for you. It motivates you and pushes you to be better in life, to become greater than yesterday. This type of feeling will push you to work harder and faster than before and will also increase your productivity, but it should be a low level of self-criticism. You don't want to punish yourself over things that are beyond your control.

A. We needn't take it seriously.

B. It's impossible for us to deal with it.

C. One of the big problems of adult life is having self-doubt,

D. Self-doubt isn't all that bad, let us tell you why.

E. Let's explore to find ways to remove self-doubt forever.

F. It will take long for us to solve this problem.

G. There are some people mistaking self-doubt for something else.