Twelve years ago, I decided to change my job from an English as a Second Language teacher to simply working at a department store childcare room, basically for better hours and benefits. My _________ were preschoolers. To my surprise, many of these 2-4 years old children _________ no English at all because shoppers at the store were families of employees at an international company with headquarters nearby. How _________ I found myself teaching English to preschoolers! Two experiences were unforgettably _________ for me—they came from a couple of little girls.

One child was about 3 years old when she turned up in the playroom. She was _________, having recently come from Mexico and speaking only Spanish. However, I knew some Spanish, so we _________ time playing together while she listened to English-speaking children around her. Eventually she _________ a local preschool and became _________ in English. One day she came to the playroom and _________ said to me, “Teacher, remember when I called you ‘maestra’?” Her bright eyes were filled with __________!

The other child was also 3 years old when she came to the __________ that was filled with blocks, crayons and paper, tea sets, etc. She had no __________ in the town because her family had just moved from another state. She went to preschool later on, also, and showed her great __________ in speaking English! Then one day...after a long time away... she came into the playroom and said to me, “Let’s play blocks!” All our play was __________ with pleasure and learning and we played together cheerfully. From these children I learned to let extreme discomfort and the massive need for __________ become a springboard for joy and growth.

Cruz Genet, 11, and Anthony Skop-ick, 10, couldn’t agree. Were the birds out on the ice ducks or geese? So on a _______January evening last year,the two friends ventured onto the _______ pond near their homes, to get a better look. First they tossed a rock onto the ice to _______ it. Then they stepped on it._______the ice would hold their weight,Anthony took a few steps,then...FOOMP. He crashed through the_______frozen surface.“There was no sound, no crack,” he recalled.“I just fell through instantly.“Cruz_______to help his panicked friend. FOOMP-he_______into the pond too.

The boys were up to their necks in icy water and quickly losing feeling in their limbs. Any chance of their_______themselves was slipping away. Cruz was sure he was going to die. Anthony’s older sister had seen the boys fall through the ice and started screaming for help.

John Lavin, a _______driving nearby on his way to the grocery store, heard her. He quickly ________.Seeing the boys, he grabbed a nearby buoy(救生圈), ________off his shoes, and ran into the slushy(融雪的)water, chopping his way through the ice with his free________.

Lavin made his way to Cruz and Anthony and hauled(拉)them back to land.They were taken to the hospital,where doctors discovered that their five-minute________in the water had lowered their body________nearly ten degrees.

Fortunately, the boys have fully recovered,though they are still a little awestruck by their ________neighbour.“Just to think,”says Cruz,“if he wasn’t there, I could have died.”

Leslie Morissette’s son, Graham, was 6 years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia (白血病). Throughout Graham’s _______ in the hospital, Graham connected with everyone he met, from _______ patients to younger children. “He would lend other sick children his toys or act silly to make them laugh. ” Morissette said. “Graham’s special spirit is what kept me going. He gave me the energy and the _______ to fight with him.” In 1997, when he was 8 years old, Graham passed away.

_______ by how Graham lived his life caring about others, Morissette _______ the nonprofit Grahamtastic Connection in his honor. The organization provides free technology—including computers, iPads, and robots—to children _______ cancer and other serious illnesses.

One of the major goal of Morissette’s work is to _______ kids to their classrooms, which really helps them continue their education despite hospitalizations and days _______ from school.

The robots “transport” children right into the classroom in real time. They can _______ the robots right from their hospital bed or home. If a child is unable to attend school, they can ________ log on to their tablet or laptop and call in to the robot. They can ________ up and down the school paths. They can go to lunch with their ________. The real magic happens between classes, when they’re walking down the hallway with their friends, by robot, ________ their weekend and their favorite foods and other things.

Morissette said, “I believe that Graham’s ________ lives on in the work that I do. And I’m ________ and privileged to be able to do it in his honor.”