1 . “I’m going to tell you a story,” I tell my class of high school seniors. “It’s a tale about love. And heart-break. And embarrassment.”

Their eyes widen. I ________ my throat. “In sixth grade,” I begin, “I fell madly in love. His name was David. He was tall, ________, kind of a bad boy—which I found fascinating. Unfortunately he had no interest in me at all. So it was Valentine’s Day. That day as I spilled my Valentine cards onto my desk, and among many small ________, I saw an enormous one, decorated beautifully. My mind ________:‘Who could it be from?’ With trembling hands, I ________ open the envelope and out fell an image of a queen, the heading of which ________, ‘To a Queen of a Valentine.’”

I give the class a ________ look. “I turned the valentine(情人卡) over, and at the bottom I saw the ________ and almost fainted: David. Then my eyes ________ up to the writing above his signature. It said, ‘To the Ugliest Girl in Our Class.’”

“Well, it ________ Valentine’s Day for me. It shook what little ________ I had in myself for a long time after. But I ________. And now I refuse to give up this holiday of love to the meanness of one ________ boy.” I smile. “And that’s why we’re going to have a party. A party that ________ kindness instead of cruelty.”

Their eyes ________. They are willing to let me take them ________ I am going. I hand out some paper so they can make cards. “Now please write something positive and sincere to everyone in the class. Even if it’s someone you ________ know, there’s always something nice to say.”

All these years, I’ve made it a routine in each of my class. After 20 years of teaching, I________few hopes that students will ________ all of the grammar or vocabulary I taught them. But if all a student ________ of one of my classes are the valentines they received one long-ago February, to me that makes it all worthwhile.

2 . Who has the biggest effect on my life? While I have learnt from many great teachers, the greatest and the most _________ of all is my mother.

Bringing up seven children on her own is never an easy _________ for my mother. She experienced more than her share of pain and _________ in a lifetime.

One thing I remember the most of my mother is that she never lets hard times dictate (支配) her life and the future of her children. Instead, she always believes that however _________ life is, a rainbow will always appear after the _________. I grew up watching my mother work hard day and night. Being a primary school teacher, she _________ us with all the necessities. She sold snacks and cookies to ensure that we had a good education. The _________ she placed on our education ensured that all her children had university degrees.

Hard work is a great investment that never _________. She taught me the values of hard work and education to _________ my dreams. By working hard, my mother has taught me discipline and __________ management. The fact is that women should be __________ but at the same time not let the family members __________.

She also taught me to never __________. When I struggled with physical and emotional problems, she was always there to give the support and __________ I needed.

As a man, I may not __________ it well but I can see that you often put your own life after us. Unselfishness is a __________ state of motherhood. You will do everything to see the children grow and __________. For me, you have __________ taught us good habits since my childhood.

My mother is my greatest teacher, a teacher of love and __________. I cannot thank you enough for what you have taught me. You are my teacher and will always be my __________.