When I was young, my parents ran a snack bar in our small town.
One evening in early April, my mother told me to fill in at the snack bar 1 a worker who had the flu.I told her I would mess it up, 2 I had never worked at the bar before.I 3 that instead of making money, I would end up owing it.
“You can do it,” said my mother, “ 4 , you won’t get much business until lunch.”
“But I’ll never remember the orders, and I’m no good 5 money.Please, Mom, don’t 6 me.
“Then I’ll help you,” she said.
I shrugged my shoulders.I thought my mother’s 7 was a bad one, but I 8 .
When I got to the bar the next day, I found my mother was 9 .Because the weather that day was rainy and cold, people wanted hot snacks and drinks. 10 , I was really slow at taking the orders and making change.The line of people grew, and everybody seemed 11 , I was so nervous that my hands shook, and I 12 a cup into pieces.What a mess! Then my mother came to 13 me, and she also showed me how to make 14 .If someone gave me $ 5 for something that cost $ 3.25, I handed over 15 quarters and a dollar and said, “75 cents makes four dollars, plus one dollar makes five.” Things went more 16 after that.
By the end of the day, I could remember orders, 17 the bill, and make change quickly with a smile.I was even a little 18 when the sun came out and dried up business.My mother said she was proud of me, and when she 19 that I work at the snack bar again next year, I did not even shrug.I was too busy 20 the restaurant I would open one day.
In my third year as a high school athletics coach, I gave a speech telling students and parents about the benefits of football.I gave the same 1 each year, aimin g at recruiting(招收)new team members.I talked about 2 football wasn't just for 3 athletes and how everyone could 4 from it.This year, a 5 looking couple approached me after my speech.They said their son really wanted to play football.They had tried to 6 him out of it, but he had his heart 7 on joining the team.
When they told me his name, my heart sank.Michael was five feet and ten inches tall and weighed about 108 pounds.He was a 8 boy, the constant target of other kids' jokes, and as far as I knew he had never 9 sports.I knew he would never 10 it through football practice, let 11 as a player.But we told them we could give it a try.
On the opening day of practice, Michael was the first player on the field, we did 30 minutes of warming-up 12 starting a one-mile jog around the track.I 13 my eye on Michael.At 50 yards he fell, and I helped him to his feet.“Michael,”I said,“Why don't you just 14 the mile?”He said in tears that he wanted to run with the others, so I let him go on. 15 he fell, but each time 16 himself up.
The same thing happened every day for weeks, and Michael gained strength both 17 and physically.By the last week of practice, Michael could run the mile without falling, we had 18 only one game that season, 19 the team cheered louder for Michael's run than the victory they had, Afterward, Michael approached me, and I told him how 20 I was of him.