We are told never to judge a book by its cover, but few of us actually follow that advice. I used to think I had a good ____1____ on people. Quiet meant cold, and confident meant arrogant (自大的). I was especially sure of this when it came to Marcus Greene, who sat behind me in chemistry class. He was the type of person who never raised his hand and rarely made eye contact. ____2____ , I assumed he thought he was too good for the rest of us. Distant. Maybe even rude.
One day in class, we were paired up for a group project. When the teacher announced our names together, I ____3____ heavily. He looked over and gave me a small nod. No smile, no greeting, just that. I rolled my eyes.
Our first meeting was in the library after school. I expected it to be ____4____ , maybe even annoying, but to my surprise, Marcus came prepared. He had notes and questions. Not only that, but he even had suggestions for how we could divide the work fairly. I asked “Are you always this ____5____ ?” He said, “Only when I care about something.”
Over the next two weeks, we worked side by side. He wasn’t the person I thought he was. He didn’t look down on others; he was just shy. He didn’t avoid people; he just didn’t know how to ____6____ . Slowly, I learned more about him. None of that arrogance I’d ____7____ to him was real. It had been nothing more than my assumption, wrapped up in his silence.
The day we presented our project, our teacher praised us for our ____8____ . I turned to Marcus and said, “I’m glad we got paired up.” He looked down, smiled faintly, and replied, “Me too.”
That was the day I realized I was wrong about him. And more importantly, it was the day I realized how easy it is to ____9____ someone when you don’t bother to look deeper. Since then, I’ve tried to listen more closely, judge more slowly, and give people the ____10____ to show me who they are.