He was an untidy and dirty-looking ten-year-old boy． His fifth grade classmates had never seen anyone as
(1) dressed and uncultured as Marco． This was his first day of elementary school in an attractive New England town of rich families． Marco's parents were fruit pickers and his classmates
(2) him with disbelief for the first part of the day． Even though they whispered and talked about his clothes， he didn't seem to notice．
Then
(3) a short vacation and the kickball game． Marco started the first inning （局，回合）with a home run， making him get a bit of
(4) from his clothing judges． Next up to kick was Richard，the least
(5) and most stupid child in the class． After his second strike，Marco came up to Richard and said quietly， "
(6) them， kid． You can do it！" Richard kicked a home run and at that moment， something began to
(7) in Marco's class． Over the next few months，Marco was able to teach the class many new things． Things such as how to
(8) when fruit was ripe （成熟的）， how to call a wild turkey and，especially，how to
(9) other people．
By the time Marco's parents finished their work in the area，the
(10) was preparing to celebrate Christmas． While other students brought the teacher fancy scarves and flowers，Marco
(11) to the teacher's desk with a special gift． It was a
(12) that he delivered into the teacher's hands which was beautiful and
(13) ． "I polished it up special，" he said．
Years later， the teacher still had Marco's rock on her desk． At the beginning of each school year， she would tell her class about the gentle boy who taught her and her class not to judge a book by its
(14) ． And that it's what's on the inside of others that truly
(15) ．