完形填空

　　Small moments sometimes last a very long time．And a few words though they mean 　　1　　 at the time to the people who say them－can have great power．

　　I recently heard a story from Malcolm Dalkoff, who has been a professional 　　2　　 for the last 24 years, mostly in advertising．

　　As a boy, Dalkoff was terribly shy and 　　3　　．He had few friends and no self－confidence(自信)．Then one day, his high－school English teacher, Ruth Brauch, asked the class to write their own chapter that would 　　4　　 the last chapter of the novel since they had been reading To Kill a Mockingbird．Dalkoff wrote his chapter and turned it in．Today he cannot recall anything 　　5　　 about the chapter he wrote, or what 　　6　　 Mrs．Brauch gave him．　　7　　 , what he does remember is the four words in the paper："This is good writing．"

　　Four words．They 　　8　　 his life．

　　" 　　9　　 I read those words, I had no idea of who I was or what I was going to be," he said．"After reading her 　　10　　, I went home and wrote a short story, 　　11　　 I had always dreamed of doing but never 　　12　　 I could do．"

　　　　13　　 the rest of that year in school, he wrote many short stories and always brought them to Mrs．Brauch for 　　14　　．She was encouraging, tough and honest．"She was just what I needed," Dalkoff said．

　　Later he was 　　15　　 as a co－editor of his high－school newspaper．His 　　16　　 grew; his knowledge broadened; he 　　17　　 on a successful life with great achievements．Dalkoff 　　18　　 that none of this would have happened if that woman had not written those four words．

　　For his 30th high－school reunion, Dalkoff went back and visited Mrs．Brauch, who had retired．He told her what great 　　19　　 the four words had had upon his life and because she had given him the confidence to be a writer, he had been able to 　　20　　 that confidence on to the woman who would become his wife, who became a writer herself．