One Bite at a Time
Stephen was on campus to register when I first met him.
One summer day ______ I was heading for the administration building, I heard someone call my name. I ______ around and saw Philip, one of my colleagues standing with another young man. As Philip introduced me to the young man, named Stephen, he reminded him that he would be taking one of my ______, Introduction to Literature. With a somewhat ______ expression, Stephen asked if my class was going to be "hard". Would he be able to pass? I ______ he was concerned about failing before the ______ day of classes. We talked about what the class would ______ and I saw Stephen's eyes getting big with _______.
Then I remembered a bit of classical dialog:
Question: "How do you eat an elephant?"
Answer: "One bite at a time."
I told him to ______ his work that way. To do his assignment, all of them, and to get them in on time. I added that most ______ students I knew made a timetable of all the assignment so they could ______ their workload.
As time went on, I learned more of Stephen's story. He had ______ in middle school. It had taken him longer to finish than most young people. Family members, including his mother, kept reminding him that he was a ______. Now, in the face of their negative-saying he had been admitted into college. He told me that before coming to our campus no one had believed he had much _______.
Stephen didn't become an "A" student. He didn't make any honor rolls. Still, he managed to ______ most of his courses by being in class every day, turning in all of his assignment on time and breaking down his studying into ______ digestible parts. By passing course after course he began to gain a measure of self-respect. He was a great singer and he was ______ the school's cross-country team.
Every time I saw him on campus, he would brighten up and say, "One bite at a time." Whenever he introduced me to his friends, he would tell them that he was ______ when he was supposed to be failing. His ______, he said, was that he was ______ what I taught him before classes ever started: "Take it one bite at a time."
1.A. after B. when C. until D. once
2.A. turned B. sat C. moved D. went
3.A. jobs B. tests C. classes D. projects
4.A. innocent B. angry C. inspired D. pained
5.A. sensed B. imagined C. heard D. admitted
6.A. gathering B. parting C. closing D. opening
7.A. change B. adjust C. cover D. produce
8.A. interest B. anger C. fear D. excitement
9.A. avoid B. continue C. present D. approach
10.A. quiet B. optimistic C. energetic D. successful
11.A. plan B. increase C. reduce D. measure
12.A. fitted B. hesitated C. struggled D. progressed
13.A. cheat B. failure C. winner D. leader
14.A. experience B. information C. potential D. honor
15.A. pass B. begin C. take D. design
16.A. full-sized B. bite-sized C. pocket-sized D. medium-sized
17.A. for B. on C. at D. of
18.A. changing B. recovering C. concentrating D. succeeding
19.A. secret B. skill C. reply D. theory
20.A. spreading B. considering C. practicing D. expressing
The flames ___________ dancing shadows on the walls.
A. committed B. squeezed
C. cast D. underwent
Fast-food restaurants are ___________ all over the town.
A. springing up B. bringing up
C. taking up D. setting up
Digging in the garden, he ___________ a piece of broken pottery that looked as if it might be Roman.
A. came out B. came across
C. came down to D. came up with
His emotional problems ___________ the day when his father walked out of the home and never came back.
A. date back to B. dated from
C. are dated from D. dated back
Never before ____________ seen anybody who can play tennis as well as Robert.
A. had she B. she had
C. has she D. she has
