1. He knew that he possessed a trait that every good manager should have: he had the ability to keep his .......... in very stressful situations.

2. When she first started working for the company she had a hard time keeping her head above .......... . She could barely cope with the workload and with learning all the different company regulations.

3. He knew that to succeed in the job he had, one had to keep his or her nose to the .......... from the time he or she got to the door until close of business.

4. He didn't know if he could quit smoking cigarettes. He had tried to .......... the habit several times before and had always gone back to smoking within a period of a month or two.

5. Hi, Jim, it's your Dad. I hate to say it, but your mom and I have decided that we are going to stop paying for your car insurance. We are kicking away the .......... so that you learn how to make it on your own without assistance from anyone.

6. His girlfriend showing up at work with his best friend to let him know that she was breaking up with him to marry his best friend was the worst kick in the .......... he had ever experienced.

7. We need to address this problem with our products. People could get hurt. We can't afford to kick the problem into the long .......... and pretend it doesn't exist, the manager told the staff.

8. I want you to leave this assignment in plain view on your desk until it is completed. If you see it, you will complete it. If you put it in your desk, it's out of sight, out of .......... and it may be forgotten, the supervisor said.

9. He knew that as soon as his father kicked the .......... he would inherit the family farm. He wasn't sure whether it would be right to sell the farm after his father passed away and put all of the hands that worked there out on the street.

10. I don't have a specific job at a specific company in mind. When I get out of school, I am going to keep my .......... open and look for the job that pays the best, Luke told his parents over the phone.