I've spent most of my career as a traveling salesman. There's nothing _______ than eating meals in a coffee shop. One year，my five-year-old daughter Jeanine gave me a（n）________.It was a soft toy penguin with a hand-painted card ___________ "I Love My Dad！"Tears came to my eyes ________ and，I gave it a special place on my desk.

Soon I had to leave on _________ business trip. This time when I was _________，I put the penguin in my suitcase. After that day，Jeanine __________ helped me with the penguin. Many years have _________ since then. And that little penguin has kept me ________ for hundreds of thousands of miles all across America and over to Europe. We have also made many friends along the way.

Late one night，after leaving my hotel，I _________ that the penguin was missing. Frantically（紧张慌乱地），I __________ the hotel. The clerk laughed，saying it hadn't been __________.But half an hour later，he called back to say that my penguin had been ___________.It was already ___________，but I still drove several hours to get my little friend，arriving near midnight.

It was waiting at the front desk. In the lobby，___________ business travelers looked at us-I thought with some ___________ that I had such a lovely friend. Someone came out to shake my hand. Another man told me that he had even ___________ to deliver it to me the very next day，which would have saved me the trip.

Jeanine is in college now and I don't travel as much anymore. The penguin spends most of its time sitting on my __________ — a reminder（提醒人的事物）that _________ is the best traveling companion. All those years on the road，it was the one thing I never left home __________.

   I have been teaching the tenth-grade English for four years. Needless to say，I love my subject and promise to one day pass my love of literature on to my future students. Well，I must admit，I have made more than a difference. I have changed the way students perceive（感知）literature and have even inspired some to become English teachers.

One student in particular is named John. I met him last year when he was a student in my English class. He sat in the back often，saying very little. However，I sensed that he was taking in all that I taught. John was never absent nor was he late. He seemed very mature for his age.

As the year progressed，we read lots of poetry and various stories about different cultures and real-life experiences. I have always wanted literature to speak to my students so that they could find related connections which would finally give them that motivation（动力）to read，write and interpret. While reading and writing poetry，John wrote some beautiful poetry that spoke of his experiences in America.

On the last day of school，students were asked to write a brief autobiographical essay and to dedicate（献给）it to someone he or she thought was significant in his or her life. John dedicated his essay to me and used clip art that decorated the dedication with roses.

He stated in the essay that "Some people you meet in life are flowers，but then there are those who are roses. Ms. Hopkins，I just want you to know that you are a rose in my life and I have enjoyed every minute of being in your class. You have shown me that I have a purpose in life and that I am a poet. I will never forget you." Tears streamed down my eyes. I had had a particularly hard personal life that year but somehow that letter made it worth the struggle.

Making a significant contribution to someone's life is something money could never buy. Teaching allows teachers to make a positive difference in the life of students.

I tried a new lifestyle. I gave up the Internet, but even didn’t watch TV. I thought I would feel very boring. However, I had very different day. I wrote two article that morning. In the past, I always want to write one, but I didn’t have time. While I was separated from the Net and TV, I could devote me to writing. I once read an article, that said that every morning the writer spent two hours write without the Net. At that time, I thought of she was too strict. After I tried the method myself, I found it real worthwhile.