I lay there buried alive under our house when the bomb hit our city. The great 1 started by the bomb came nearer and nearer to us as workers tried to 2 us. “Hurry! ” they cried to one another as the flames(火焰) came nearer. At last they reached us and 3 me and my mother out from under everything 4 the flames reached us .

    Later, as I thought of the pilot of the plane that 5 the bomb on our city, I cried, “I hate him. I hate him.” The people with marked faces from the 6 of the bomb made me cry, “I hate him.” I saw people suffering a terrible, 7  death. Again and again I cried as I saw these people, “I hate him!”

    Some time later, that man appeared in a meeting I 8 . As I looked at him, I 9 him very much. Then I listened to what he told us of his 10 the day when he dropped the bomb on our city. I heard him say, “When I flew over the city 11  we dropped the bomb, I cried, 'Oh, God ,what have I 12 '.” I could see that he found it 13 to speak of that day.

As this happened I suddenly 14 my hatred (仇恨) of him was 15. It only made me unhappy also. As I did this, it was as if a heavy load (负担)16my shoulders. Then I decided to 17 him. I did so and my life was 18.

    I now help those who suffer from 19 other people. I try to help them to 20  everyone, as I am now able to do.

    There was my mother, standing in a fuzzy (毛绒绒的) pink bunny(兔子）costume. This can't be, 1 I thought to myself. Being ten was 2 enough.

    Our class was taking a trip to a convalescent home（疗养院) that day.I had 3 to stay at home pretending I'd caught some rare disease. My mother who's a(n) 4, sent me to school anyway.

    When we got there, I 5 wished for that 6. I'd fall to the ground and be 7the humiliation (耻笑) of anyone ever knowing that I 8every day after school there, dressed as a bunny.

“Hi, Shelly!” The residents waved at me, “ Do you know them?” someone asked. “No! They 9 me for someone else. I'm Machille,” I responded. I didn't look up 10 I might make eye contact with them. Then, Mrs. Deist, our teacher, handed us tulips (郁金香) to give to the residents. I quickly went to the back of the 11. My mother just went along her way— hopping（单足跳跃）. Last year, we hopped together. 12, “I'm too old for that now”, I thought.

    I hid behind my class. “ Shelly, how about a game of Fish?” Lou asked. My class and teacher 13 and stared. “ Machille, do you know these people?” Mrs.Deist asked me.

“Um….yes！”  

    “Well you should 14 the way,” she said, smiling. So I stepped forward, handed a tulip to Rose, waved to Frank and gave Mr. Blusso a high-five.

    “My mother is in a convalescent home. I wish she could have someone like you to 15 her.” Mrs Deist said. My mother hopped over then. “This is my mom. Every day she looks after these special people who need nurses' care.” I stood straight as I 16 the information. My mother then explained a program where kids can 17 after school. The residents cheered at the18, and my class seemed excited, too.

    I realized how 19 it made me to make other people smile and feel good. I should never be 20 of that.

    I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new 1, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. 2 he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his3 .

    So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心) were sweating. I was completely4 for her kisses on both my cheeks. "I came to thank you," she said, surprising me beyond speech. 5 me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he6 me, he had began to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had 7 spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the 8I had nurtured(培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left.

    I sat, stunned (惊呆), for about half an hour, 9 what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without 10 knowing it? What I finally came to 11 was one day, several months before, when some students were 12 reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke 13 , and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, "Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the 14 one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the 15 of the room." That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, 16 more, and became happy. And it was all because he 17to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed 18 was the one who took the last seat that day.

    It taught me the most19 lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came 20 and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

    Tears clouded my eyes as I stood in our washing room, holding Brett's jeans and shirt full of burn holes.

    Tired and defeated, I 1 to the floor. The clothes were just one more thing Brett had 2. He often got almost everything in the house out of 3. Many windows in our house needed repair due to his breaking 4 to steal money when he chose to live on the street. Yet none of this could 5 the emotional damage Brett had done to our once quiet home.

    Brett came to live with us when he was 12 years old. During the next few years I had dealt with Brett as 6 as possible, but inside I was shouting, "I don't want him in my house another day, Lord! I just can't 7 him!" Having wiped my tears, I continued 8 him as before.

    When Brett was nearly 18, he landed again in Juvenile Hall (少管所). After that, my husband and I had to send Brett to a boarding school for helping 9 teens.

    At the 10  ceremony, each graduate held a white rose to give to the person who had 11 the most to him or her.

    Brett spoke 12 to his parents and then spoke to me, "You did so much. You were always there. No matter what my mom and dad, I was their 13. But you, although 14 enough by me, always 15 me such love. And I want you to know I love you for it."

    16, I stood as Brett placed the white rose in my hand and hugged me 17.

    At that moment, tears 18 in my eyes again, this time not for disappointment but for 19. Although I had struggled with silent 20 toward my stepson, Brett had seen only my actions. Love is action. We may not always have positive feelings about certain people in our lives, but we can love them.

Rebecka Peterson, a high school math teacher, is the nation's 2023 Teacher of the Year. Her first year of teaching wasn't without its 1 ，but she remembered why she was there and wanted to bear those2 thoughts in mind. So she 3 the One Good Thing blog.

It was 4 and fun, really. Every evening, she would write on her blog, 5 "one good thing she experienced that day. She gave her blog the tagline; "Every day may not be good, but there is on good thing in every day."

She encouraged her 6 to do the same in their handwritten journals. Just a few minutes a day to7 something good that happened—that would be enough, she 8 . She believes that it will make them happier and more 9 to learn.

During her eleven years in teaching, Peterson has10 that some students find math difficult. But her efforts to make it 11 made her the 2023 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. From there, she made the 12 to win the nation's 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Peterson has travelled around the country, talking to teaches about binging 13 back to Classrooms. Her goals include emphasizing the positive experiences students have not only with math but with learning 14 . She hopes her stories will attract new teachers to the profession and give 15 to current ones.

At just seven years old, Angelina Tsuboi discovered her passion for innovation. It all began with a simple game she programmed in her Los Angeles public school's Grade 2class. Today , at18, the Grade 12 student's initial curiosity has evolved into a deep-seated desire to use technology to decode (解码) real-world problems. 

In 2021, she co-developed Megaphone, one of her first apps, to tackle unanswered post-class questions and poor communication about events and announcements. Her problem-solving ability kept building from there. 

When she took online CPR classes at the start of the pandemic, she figured it couldn't be just her who was struggling with the steps. So she created an app called CPR Buddy ― a winner in the 2022 Apple Swift Challenge ― which guides users through CPR using vibrations (震动) to regulate breath. After winning the award, Angelina presented her work to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a highlight in her young career, but one she didn't lose her cool over. "There's no point putting people on a pedestal (神坛)," she says. 

The next year, Angelina built an app called Lilac, designed to assist nonEnglish-speaking single parents with resources for housing, job opportunities and translation support. She was inspired by her own experiences as a child of a single mother who immigrated to the US. 

When Angelina decided to pursue pilot training at the age of 16, she was struck by how difficult it was to find financial support, which encouraged her to create yet another app, Pilot Fast Track, which helps those longing to be pilots find scholarships for flight training. 

Looking to the future, besides applying to colleges with great labs, Angelina is exploring the field of aerospace cybersecurity and mechatronics ― combining computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. 

"There's not enough optimism in the world," she says. "I have also been in situations in my life where I've lost a lot of hope. But in the end, it is a mindset, and there are ways in any situation you're in to make it somewhat better. "