A. They admit their mistakes.       

B. They are open to criticism.

C. They are willing to learn.                   

D. They’re in charge of their emotions.

E. They apologize when needed.     

F. They are generous with compliments. 

We all see and hear about extraordinary people around us and wonder why can’t we be more like them? Sometimes we chuck that notion as absurd and unachievable. I would say not so fast. It’s not the big things that make someone extraordinary. It’s the small things. Things over a period of time have the power to radically change your life. They become extraordinary by making a difference in someone’s life. Here are some of the things extraordinary people do every day:

1. __________

Just because you’re the boss, it doesn’t mean you are right every time. It doesn’t mean you have the best ideas. Learn to back up your ideas or decisions with reason. Use logic to explain things, not authority. By doing this your decisions might invite criticism, but you will also get an opportunity to improve.

2. __________

My friend’s boss made a huge mistake by tying up with an event management company. The whole purpose of the tie-up was to promote his company but it failed miserably. Instead of defending his idea and carrying on as if nothing happened, he apologized to the team for not including them in the decision making. It’s OK to admit you were wrong. You will not only gain the respect of your team mates, you will also gain credibility.

3.__________

Remember the time, say in school or at work when you worked really hard but got nothing in return. Not even a thank you. It hurts when your efforts are not recognized. So every chance you get to praise someone, do it. A simple “That was some great work, keep it up,” can go a long way in making the employee feel great about themselves. A compliment can have a positive impact on their lives. Your team/family will love you for it.

4. __________

We all make mistakes, but what makes a person big is when he is ready to apologize. Don’t try to hide behind excuses: “I didn’t mean to say it, it just happened.” “I was irritated with such and such person so…” No. Don’t try to shift blame. Just come right out and say you’re sorry.

5. __________

Sometimes it is very important to stay mum. Especially when you’re angry or irritated or bitter, you don’t want to end up saying things you didn’t really mean to. So they take their time, they process their emotions, think back to what happened, and then come to a decision about how to tackle it. Before you say anything, consider other’s feelings. Never be rash with words or actions.

完形填空（共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分） 

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

I moved to a new neighborhood two months ago. In the house with a large  1  across the road lived a taxi driver, a single parent with two school-aged children. At the end of the day, he would  2  his taxi on the road. I  3  why he did not park it in the garage.

Then one day I learnt that he had another car in his garage. In the afternoon he would come home  4  work, leave his taxi and go out for his  5  affairs in his other car, not in his taxi. I felt it was 6  .

I was curious to see his personal car but did not make it until I 7  to be outside one evening two weeks  8 , when the garage door was 9 and he drove out in his “own” car: a Rolls-Royce（劳斯莱斯）! It shook me completely  10  I realized what that meant. You see, he was a taxi driver. But  11 inside, he saw himself as something else: a Rolls-Royce owner and a（n）  12  . He drove others in his taxi but himself and his children in his Rolls-Royce. The world looked at his taxi and  13  him a taxi driver. But for him, a taxi was just something he drove for a living. Rolls-Royce was something he drove for a (n）14.

We go to bed every night and  15  every morning as parents or children, not as bankers, CEOs or professors. We go for a  16 as close friends or go for a vacation as a 17  . We love life as it is. Yet often, we base our entire happiness and success on how high we  18  the social ladder—how much bigger and better a  19  we have. And we ignore our Rolls-Royce, by keeping it dusty in our garage. We should focus more on  20 we are than what we do!

1.                A．window        B．garage          C．door D．yard

2.                A．park           B．stop           C．check    D．repair

3.                A．knew          B．understood      C．asked    D．wondered

4.                A．for            B．out of          C．without   D．from

5.                A．business        B．national         C．personal  D．public

6.                A．wasteful        B．useful          C．wonderful D．plentiful

7.                A．appeared       B．intended        C．expected D．happened

8.                A．later           B．more           C．ago  D．before

9.                A．broken         B．fine            C．shut D．open

10.               A．once          B．before         C．when D．until

11.               A．far            B．deep          C．long  D．little

12.               A．driver          B．engineer       C．father D．son

13.               A．called          B．made          C．elected   D．turned

14.               A．experience     B．earning         C．life   D．position

15.               A．stay up         B．wake up        C．stay home D．go home

16.               A．competition     B．performance    C．debate    D．party

17.               A．family          B．company       C．team D．whole

18.               A．build          B．climb          C．stand D．lay

19.               A．garden         B．garage         C．car   D．taxi

20.               A．who           B．what           C．which D．where

When I was about 6 years old I lived in Kenya. There was a lot of      and there were always street children on the roads asking for money. There was such a big divide between those children and me and I grew up very aware of being so     .

We had a wonderful and very kind driver, John, who had been working with my     for decades. He used to take us to and from school. One day while we were stopped in traffic a young street child, probably no more than 10 years old,     with a friendly greeting, “Hi, John!”

He      the car and shook John’s hand,. John then gave him a little bit of money and waved him off with a smile before we carried on our way to school.

I had watched the whole incident completely     . John had a large family himself and had to work very hard to make ends     .I knew that he didn’t have any spare money. So, of course, at that age I couldn’t understand why he would be giving money to the child.

“Who was that?” I asked. “My friend,” he replied. “I see him every morning on my way to work and I give him a little bit of money.”        Unable to comprehend, I asked, “Why do you have to give him money every morning?” John replied, “So he can use it to buy some food.”

It was probably at that     that I understood what kindness really was. A person who was in a difficult situation himself still found some money to      for a child who needed it. Even at the age of 6 that had such a great impact on me. I didn’t have any money, but I wanted to      too. So when my grandfather gave us a chocolate bar after dinner every Friday, I would          mine up so I could give it to John to give to his friend.

1.A.kindness   B.violence     C.poverty     D.excitement

2.A.fortunate   B.intelligent   C.guilty       D.unfair

3.A.college    B.company    C.family       D.team

4.A.passed by  B.got in       C.got back     D.called out

5.A.stopped    B.approached   C.examined    D.followed

6.A.annoyed   B.surprised     C.satisfied     D.touched

7.A.meet      B.leave        C.move       D.turn

8.A.Even      B.Merely       C.Yet        D.Still

9.A.sight      B.degree       C.spot        D.moment

10.A.spare      B.spend       C.supply      D.raise

11.A.belong     B.contribute   C.change      D.interfere

12.A.keep      B.divide       C.save        D.add

I moved to a new neighborhood two months ago. In the house with a large    36    across the road lived a taxi driver, a single parent with two school-age children. At the end of the day, he would    37    his taxi on the road. I    38    why he did not park it in the garage.

Then one day I learnt that he had another car in his garage. In the afternoon he would come home from    39   , leave his taxi and go out for his    40    affairs in his other car, not in his taxi. I felt it was    41   .

I was curious to see his personal car but did not make it until I    42    to be outside one evening two weeks    43   , when the garage door was    44    and he drove out in his “own” car: a Rolls-Royce （劳斯莱斯）! It shook me completely    45    I realized what that meant. You see, he was a taxi driver. But    46    inside, he saw himself as something else: A Rolls-Royce owner and a （an）   47   . He drove others in his taxi but himself and his children in his Rolls-Royce. The world looked at his taxi and    48    him a taxi driver. But for him, a taxi was just something he drove for a living. Rolls-Royce was something he drove or a （an）    49   .

We go to bed every night and wake up every morning as parents or children, not as bankers, CEOs or professors. We go for a    50    as close friends or go for a vacation as a    51   . We love life as it is. Yet often, we base our entire happiness and success on how high we    52   the social ladder―how much bigger and better a    53    we have. And we    54  our Rolls-Royce, by keeping it dusty in our garage. We should focus more on    55    we are than what we do!