UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, is a special _______ of the United Nations (UN) devoted to aiding national efforts to improve the health, nutrition, education, and general welfare of children.

UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide relief to children in countries harmed by World War II. After 1950, it directed its efforts toward general programmes for the improvement of children’s welfare, _______ in less-developed countries and in various emergency situations. The organization’s broader mission was _______ in the name it adopted in 1953, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Prize for _______ in 1965. It is headquartered in New York City.

UNICEF has concentrated much of its effort in areas where even a(n) _______ amount of money can have a great impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and treatment of disease. _______ this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization (免疫) programmes for childhood diseases and programmes to prevent the _______ of HIV/AIDS. _______ , it provides funding for health services, educational facilities, and other welfare services. Since 1996 UNICEF programmes have been guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989), which affirms the _______ of all children to “the enjoyment of the highest standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and recovery of health.”

For example, UNICEF promotes girls’ education — ensuring that they complete primary education as a ________ — because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children. It also believes that no child should suffer or die from a ________ illness. “We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people ________ it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity,” said a staff member in UNICEF.

UNICEF was created with a distinct ________ in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. Its activities are financed by both government and ________ contributions. It advocates for measures to give children the best ________ in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

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 _________ 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_________ despite hospitalizations and days __________ from school.

The robots “transport” children right into the classroom in real time. They can __________ the robots right from their __________ 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. It’s great technology that really gives children the feeling of control, when their world is maybe __________ control.

“Every time I can help a child in need, I feel __________ Graham is smiling down.” 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.”

Kim Stemple was a special-education teacher. In 2012, she found herself in a Boston hospital being______for one of several diseases she had been diagnosed (诊断) with. The normally energetic Stemple was naturally getting very______. And then a friend gave her a medal.

Before she got too______to exercise, Stemple had been a marathon runner. The medal came from a______partner who had just______a half marathon in Las Vegas and hoped the medal would act as a kind of____. It worked like magic.After Stemple hung the medal on the wall, other____said they wanted medals too. That got Stemple______.“A medal is a simple way to give a_______message,” she told others. And so was born her charity, We Finish Together, which______medals from strangers — runners, dancers, swimmers, singers, and even spelling bee winners — and gives them to all sorts of people______.

People who have received the medals have______hospital patients, people from homeless shelters, etc. Part of the process involves the______owner writing a personalized note on the ribbon (绶带).“This helps them______with someone,”says Stemple.“If they receive a medal, they know someone______.”

Can a simple medal______make a difference? Yes, says Joan Musarra, who suffers from a serious lung disease.“When I______my package containing my new______and the notes of positive, warm thoughts, I was very______,”she wrote to Stemple. “At that moment, I was sitting on my sofa breathing through an oxygen cannula (氧气管) because my lungs were so weak. It______so much to me to feel that I am not alone.”