Lesson 1 The Day I Broke the Rules

A few years ago, I was (1)e yed by the McDonald’s (2)C n. On “Ronald Day,” I would (3)
(4) as Ronald McDonald and visit the community hospital’s sick children. Most of these young
patients were (5)s ring from (6)t l (7)I ses. Thus, I would try my best to ease their pain. And I
found it (8)t y rewarding to be able to bring some (9)l r to the kids.

(1) ____________________ (2) ____________________ (3)____________________

(4) ____________________ (5) ____________________ (6) ____________________

(7) ____________________ (8) ____________________ (9) ____________________

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One of the rules of my job was never to visit the children alone when I was dressed as
Ronald, for I might (10)f n them with my painted face and red wig. I wasn’t permitted to have any
physical (11)c t with the children either, since doing so might (12) (13) (14)g ms (15)
(16) . Though I understood the reasoning behind these rules, I also felt that sometimes nothing
could convey love, empathy, and (17)w h like a heartfelt embrace.

(10) ____________________ (11) ____________________ (12)____________________

(13) ____________________ (14) ____________________ (15) ____________________

(16) ____________________ (17) ____________________

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Once, as I was leaving the hospital after finishing my work for the day, I heard a voice coming
from a half-open door. “Ronald,” the (18)f l voice called, (19)p ting me to push open the door
and go in. I found a small boy of about five lying in bed and looking extremely weak and (20)p e.
“His name is Billy,” his parents told me, smiling. It was really heartbreaking to see such a young
boy (21)c ned to a hospital bed. I knew I had to do anything I could to (22) little Billy (23) , so I
stayed and did some magic tricks for him. A (24)s e soon came to his eyes and I asked if I could
do anything else for him. Billy replied, “Ronald, can I have a (25)h g?”

(18) ____________________ (19) ____________________ (20) ____________________

(21) ____________________ (22) ____________________ (23) ____________________

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(24) ____________________ (25) ____________________

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Although having to (26) him (27) pained me deeply, I had no choice. I told Billy that it
was against the rules and then quickly added that we could do some coloring instead. A while later,
it appeared that he was getting (28)d y, so I rose to my feet to get ready to leave. That was when he
(29)s hed out his tiny arms to hug me. I (30) (31) (32) (33)r e again, but then I saw the look
of hope in his eyes. Suddenly, I realized I no longer cared if I was caught breaking the rules. Some
things in life, (34) (35) , were more important. I picked him up and held him in my arms.

(26) ____________________ (27) ____________________ (28) ____________________

(29) ____________________ (30) ____________________ (31) ____________________

(32) ____________________ (33) ____________________ (34) ____________________

(35) ____________________

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After that, we talked and talked. He confided his worries to me. He was afraid that his little
brother would have no one to play with. Also, he was scared that his dog would go hungry because
he had hidden all its bones. It seemed that Billy knew he would never be going home. And yet, even
then, he was only thinking of others.

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When I finally stood up to leave, I gave Billy’s parents my number and told them not to
(36)h e to call me if I could be of any assistance. Two days later, I received a call from Billy’s mom
telling me her son had passed away. She wanted to thank me for (37) (38) (39) in his life, for he’d
said to her, “Mommy, I don’t mind if I can’t see Santa this year because I’ve hugged Ronald.”

(36) ____________________ (37) ____________________ (38) ____________________

(39) ____________________