I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to _________ grade six. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

One day after class, she noticed that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came to me and began to talk to me. It was just a _________ conversation. After that day, she gave me particular _________ and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling that someone believed me, and my _________ started to improve in her subject.

Months later, she moved into a house near my _________. We would walk home together after school. Her constant(不断的) support helped me, _________ in my studies, as I knew she would check my grades both in her subject and the other subjects. I finally _________ second in my class.

Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away(疏远) _________ still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we hardly spoke, but by then I had become the _________ in my class. When I left my school, I was __________ with her, as she never answered the __________ when I called her.

Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths(路) __________ again. I met her at a wedding. I could not __________ asking her, “Why did you stop talking to me?”

“You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree standing on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel __________ of you. You are your inspiration and do not need to __________ a shoulder,” she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I’ll always thank her.

Early in my teaching career, I heard countless make-believe stories for unfinished homework. Then I grew less trusting and quitted _______ any excuse. When the students at my new school didn’t finish homework, I never asked why. Instead, I just sighed loudly and recorded a zero in the grade book. I soon gained the _______ I thought I wanted.

One day, Anthony approached me. “Could I talk to you?” he asked _______. “I know you said no excuse, but I don’t want you to think I’m _______ because I often come without my homework.” He then looked up at me for the first time. “It’s just that... my dad moved out, and my mom works at night, so I have to look after my little brothers. Often, they cry a lot, and it’s hard for me to _______...”

I was about to ask why he didn’t tell me earlier when I suddenly realized why. So I changed the _______. “Would it help if you stayed after school and worked on it before you go home?”

He nodded hard.

Anthony became the first student in my after-school study session. Several days later, Terrell joined him, followed by Sandy and Randy. Before long, I had a room full of students. Their stories were not amusing, but all very _______:

·The power company _______ our lights because we couldn’t pay the bill.

·My dad says schoolwork is just a waste of time.

·We don’t have any paper in the house.

I thus discovered not all kids come from families that are _______. Not all kids have a quiet bedroom with a desk and study light. Some don’t even have home. Most importantly, I learned that “I’ll listen” __________ better than “No excuse!”

Last year, at the weekly classes of Eastside Academic Studies, I met some people with the whole responsibility for teaching and working. They cared deeply for the ________ of their students. One of them was the English teacher, Mrs. Roos, who taught me AP Language and Composition.

I was first ________ with the fact her teaching would not be cookie-cutter (俗套的) style and ________ day after day. She was smart. She did not expect to teach ________ as if we were mass-produced products required to pass a certain ________. She thought we were the individuals that were in the ________ of being built for the future we would face. She spent time in knowing us ________.

At the same time, every ________, I could see, was thoroughly investigated and analyze, so that she could give us high-quality comments and ________ proposals. In her opinion, her ________ didn’t stop at the end of the school year; it stopped at the end of her students’ ________. Thus, she did her work seriously.

Mrs. Roos was not the one to give an easy A. Yet that was the work she ________ us to do. She was looking for right ________ inside of us. Additionally, she was more than willing to present a Plan B when a student needed her help, and willing to spend time outside of the ________ class when we couldn’t finish the once-a-week ________.

Because she was absolutely ________ with her students, I thought it made her ________. However, by ________ what she liked through stories and opinions in our class conversation, she ________ us. She cared for us. I summed it up like this: She gave her best to her students and I ________ the teacher like her!