Recently, I heard a touching story which illustrates the 1 that words have to change a life－a power that lies right in the hands of those reading this article．
Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it．She was born with a cleft palate(先天性颚裂)and had to bear the jokes and 2 of cruel children who teased her non-stop about her 3 lip and unclear speech．She was 4 that no one, outside her family, could ever love her 5 she entered Mrs．Leonard’s class．
In the 1950’s, it was common for teachers to give their children a(n) 6 hearing test．However, in Mary’s 7 , in addition to her cleft palate, she was 8 able to hear out of one ear． 9 not to let the other children have another “ 10 ” to point out, she would 11 on the test each year．The “whisper test” was given by having a child walk to the classroom door, turn sideways, close one ear with a finger, and then 12 something which the teacher whispered．Mary turned her bad ear towards her teacher and 13 to cover her good ear．She knew that teachers would often say things like, “The sky is blue．” or “What color are your shoes?” But not on that day．Surely, God put seven words in Mrs．Leonard’s mouth that 14 Mary’s life forever．When the “Whisper test” came, Mary heard the words：“ I wish you were my little girl．”
Words from a godly teacher can 15 a heart and powerfully set the course of a life．
As my wife greeted me one evening, her voice came through the door,“Guess what?”
I always take a deep 1 on this very leading question．“What?”I asked．
“I just won a sales contest at work and the 2 is dinner for two at the new fancy restaurant down by the river-front!”
She was so 3 ．We knew the restaurant was extremely good．“See?I told you there would be a 4 for me to wear my new spring outfit,”she shyly reminded me．
“ 5 can play at that game,”I responded．“I will wear my gray suit, my Borsalino imported straw hat and a new silk tie．We will be well 6 ．”
It was early 7 and nearing dusk as the waiter took us to a table by a window, with a(n) 8 of the river．And the table was 9 set, with a smoke-gray tablecloth and bright colored napkins．
A delicious meal 10 in such an atmosphere should be remembered a long time．As it 11 , this will probably never be forgotten．
As the shadows lengthened, the 12 rocking by the riverbank, I murmured,“Why not take a walk?”
Hand in hand, we walked by the stores．People smiled and nodded．“I 13 realized there were so many 14 people as we have seen this evening, dear,”I observed．
“Probably your new straw hat or your 15 ,”she said．
After receiving many smiles, we 16 ourselves back at the restaurant, looking at ourselves in the 17 ．It was then that I saw the 18 for all the smiles．
Caught in the fly of my trousers and 19 down for all to see was a bright red 20 from the restaurant!
When I was a little girl, every Sunday my family of six would put on our best clothes and go to Sunday School and then church．The 1 in elementary school would all meet together to sing songs, and then later divide into 2 based on their ages．
One Easter Sunday, all the kids 3 with big eyes and big 4 about what the Easter Bunny(复活节小兔)had brought． 5 all of the kids shared their stories with 6 , one young boy , whom I shall call Bobby, sat 7 ．One of the teachers , noticing this, said to him, “And what did the Easter Bunny 8 you?”He replied, “My mom 9 the door by accident so the Easter Bunny couldn't get 10 because he hadn't got a key．”
This sounded like a 11 idea to all of us kids, so we kept on going with the stories．My mom knew the true story, 12 ．Bobby's mom was a single parent , and she suspected(怀疑)that they just couldn't 13 the Easter Bunny．
After Sunday School was over, everyone went off to 14 ．But my mom announced that we were going home 15 ．At home, she explained that to make Bobby feel 16 , we were going to pretend(假装)to be the Easter Bunny , make a basket of our candies for him and 17 it at church．We all donated(捐赠)some to the basket, and 18 back to church．There, mom hung the basket over the hanger(挂钩)and attached(附上)a(n) 19 ：
Dear Bobby,
I'm sorry I 20 your house last night．Happy Easter．
