A Special Birthday Party

I teach a bilingual kindergarten class. One Monday I noticed that two of my students, Juan and Cynthia, had a shared _________ on Friday of that week. I told both their moms that they could bring in _________ to celebrate their children’s birthdays.

I wondered whether either _________ to bring in a birthday treat for the kids. On Thursday, I asked Juan and Cynthia about it, but they didn’t know anything about their parents’ plans. Both children, however, were very _________ about having a birthday party the next day in class. As I was tired after work, I decided to _________ it until the next day.

The next morning my first _________ was: What should I do about the cakes? It would be terrible if there was nothing for the kids to _________ at the party. The thought worried me as I approached the Mexican bakery on my drive to school.

The shop had four large pieces of cake for a dollar each. The only thing was, I was _________ on cash. I needed the five dollars in my purse to _________ until payday. However, I decided the __________ was the most important.

The school day went well. After story time, I told the students, “Today we are celebrating the double birthdays of Juan and Cynthia.”

I brought out the cake and lit the candles, and then we sang “Happy Birthday”. Cynthia and Juan smiled happily. After the candles were blown out, I cut each of the four pieces of cake into five little pieces. It was just __________ , all 20 of my students had come to class that day.

At the end, Juan said to me, “Miss Jones, I __________ had a birthday party before! ” As I watched him walk away, still __________ , tears came to my eyes. When Cynthia came up moments later, I asked her if she’d ever had a birthday party before.

“No,” she said, “But I loved my birthday today! Thank you, Miss Jones. ”

I later learned, after talking with their parents, that our simple celebration had, __________ , been both Cynthia’s and Juan’s first birthday party. I had to __________ the last couple of days of that month on the one dollar—but it was certainly worth it!

Les Brown is one of the world’s greatest _______. He is also a thought leader on self-improvement and goal-setting.

However, Les found it _______ to learn knowledge when he was a student. During his school days, he was thought as “_______ to learn well” by the teachers and placed _______ from 6th grade to 5th grade. To make things worse, he had a twin brother who was rather _______ and talented, so Les was _______ by his classmates.

One day a teacher asked him to _______ a problem on the blackboard, but Les _______ and said that he couldn’t. “Of course you can,” the teacher replied _______. “Young man, come here and solve this problem for me.” “But I can’t,” insisted Les. “I’m a ________ boy.” The rest of the class burst (爆发) into ________ . At that point, the teacher stepped out from behind his desk and looked Les straight in the eye. “Don’t ever say that again,” he told him firmly. “Someone else’s ________ of you does not have to become your reality.”

Les never forgot those ________, and spent the rest of his life facing challenges, ________ and following his goals. Time and time again, thanks to the teacher’s powerful words, Les has been a famous speaker all over the world. Do remember: you have ________ within you.

It was my first day of high school, and I was late.My next class, German, scared me.I just could not speak that ___.As the bell rang, I ran to the classroom.

At the door, a hand reached out and   __ mine firmly.I looked up.A man with large glasses smiled.He ___himself as Tony, which means teacher in German.__, his warm smile and ___ words eased my fears.That year, I ___ his classes a great deal because I learned ____just German.

I admit I only speak a little German.___ I try to live out the life lessons I learned from Tony.

Every day Tony stood   __ his classroom before and after class to give his “hand hug”.After school his room was always filled with students and he would __ to and chat with them—__   those not in his class.He taught me that every person is __ your time.

One time, I was rejected by my friends.Tony told me, “Linda, life gives you __.But learning its lessons will turn those ashes to jewels.” Therefore, I learned to look at my troubles     __   and not to fear any difficulty.

In my senior year, I __ president of one of the school’s clubs, so I was very__.Many times I didn’t even have time to buy lunch.He served me by giving me his food as well as advice.He ____ out what he taught us to do: ___ others.

The author William Arthur Ward __: “The mediocre（平庸的） teacher tells.The good teacher explains.The superior teacher demonstrates.The great teacher __.” Thank you Tony, for inspiring me.