1 . I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest _________ of the students’ work. In Simon’s case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. _________ he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his _________.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心)were _________. I was completely _________ for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. _________ me, Simon had become a different person. She talked of how he _________ me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had _________ spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the _________ I had nurtured(培养)in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat, stunned(惊呆), for about half an hour, __________ what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without __________ knowing it? What I finally came to __________ was one day, several months before, when some students were __________ reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke __________, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon’s the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the __________ of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, __________ more, and became happy. And it was all because __________ to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed __________ was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most __________ lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I’m thankful that it came early and positively. A small kindness can indeed __________.