It was a Saturday last year, and my husband, David, and I were taking our dog, Joey, for his evening walk. We were on our way home, heading towards a bridge, when I heard a cry ahead.
As we approached, I saw a figure sitting down on the ground, uncomfortably close to the wall. It was a young man, clearly in distress, crying and shouting, his whole body shaking. I froze, suddenly aware of the gravity of the situation. The bridge ran over a high-speed train track and was a well-known suicide spot. A local family had lost their teenager in that exact place a few weeks earlier.
David and I exchanged glances. There was no one around. I knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if his death was reported the next day and I’d done nothing.
I inched towards the young man and Joey instinctively glued to my side. I asked him if I could sit down, and then lowered myself on to the ground opposite him, while Joey sandwiched himself between us. I tried a few gentle questions: “What’s your name? How old are you? What do you do?” His answers were simple. “Tommy. 23. Computer. ”
“Are you OK?” I asked. “No, I’m not” he shouted back. He muttered something about a betrayal, not knowing what to do. His emotions were swinging wildly—tears one moment and fierce anger the next. I was desperate to make a connection, asking him where he went to college and feigning(装作) delight as I told him my son had studied there, too. I even found myself recounting the story of Neil Layboum, who had talked a man down from Waterloo Bridge in London 10 years ago.
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I kept talking, trying to alter his mood.
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When the train passed, I let out a sigh.
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“Mr. Peterson, you won’t believe what I just saw!” With Billy Dean Dickinson’s wide-eyed expression, I knew he was about to tell one of his wild stories. The kid’s eleven, the sixth in the Dickinson family of eight, and his imagination is as big as the guy who wrote Star Wars.
He bounded up my porch (门廊) steps and said, “I’m walking home from the store when this little blue car speeds around the corner. I have to sidestep it to avoid getting run over. Then I see it in his backseat.” Billy Dean’s eyes widened. “My jaw dropped, and yours would too, Mr. Peterson, if you saw it. A two-headed cow! Two heads right next to each other, sticking out the window as big as you please.”
Some folks here thought Billy Dean was God’s weirdest (奇怪的) creation. Billy Dean was seven when he insisted he didn’t take his little sister’s candy. He claimed a chocolate-loving ninja (忍者) did it. When his dad pointed out the chocolate on his mouth, the kid’s eyes got wider. Then he turned on the tears, crying, “I was really scared, Daddy. Why’d that ninja smash the chocolate bar on my face?”
Last year, my wife Ellie overheard Billy Dean telling his friends his real dad is a spy who needs to stay hidden. Ellie was upset, but later she felt sorry for him. With five older brothers and two younger sisters, there’s not enough attention to go around.
Now he paced in front of me, talking about calling news reporters to check it out, thinking the newspaper would pay big for such a weird story. I took a sip of my tea and said, “A two-headed cow in the backseat of a little blue car, huh? Well, I’ll hand it to you, boy; at least you’re original.”
“Oh, no!” Billy Dean said, “How come nobody believes me anymore?”
“Well, Son, if you’re going to make up stories, you should make them more believable...”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Right then a little blue car sped around the corner—its backseat filled with the craziest two-headed cow I’ve ever seen.
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I sat there, thinking about the lesson I’d learned right on my porch.
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My family and I were taking a well-deserved vacation to Disneyland. I had never been there before and was eagerly anticipating experiencing the magic.
There was another reason that this trip was special. My father was a workaholic who worked long hours. I longed to spend time with him. I wanted to be able to sit down with my father, who I loved more than life, and just talk. It always seemed like there was never time.
The day finally arrived when I was allowed to pack my clothes. I chose only my favourite outfits. I threw in my autograph book and then muscled the suitcase zipper around the overflow of clothes. I set my suitcase on my comforter and smiled. I was ready.
I didn’t get any sleep that night. I lay in my bed and stared out the window. I knew that my father’s work was going to be left at home, finally.
After a brief breakfast we hit the open road. It was all smooth sailing for the first couple of hours until I unexpectedly felt a sharp stop. We coasted to the side of the road, and my dad said something was wrong with the engine. We were in the middle of four lanes of traffic, so he decided the easiest thing to do would be to signal someone to stop and get a ride into town.
An hour later, my dad was still waving his hands at each and every passing car but it wasn’t doing any good. Not a single person would stop to assist my helpless family. Finally, Father gave up and decided to walk into town. I was certain it was a very long distance. I pleaded with him to stay and try again, but he was deaf to my pleading. He just said that he wouldn’t let anything ruin this trip for me. My heart ached as he put on his coat and began to walk away from our car. My dad has a back problem, and he was too stubborn to admit that he wasn’t in any condition to even walk a couple of miles.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Then I saw a man out of the window, who was a truck driver.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After reaching the town, we expressed our thanks again.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Two things changed my life: my mother and a white plastic bike basket. I have thought long and hard about it and it’s true. I would have been a different person if my mom hadn’t turned a silly bicycle accessory (配饰) into a life lesson I carry with me today.
My mother and father were united in their way of raising children, but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out. Managing the family budget must have been a very hard task, but she made it look effortless. If we complained about not having what another kid did, we’d hear something like, “I don’t care what so-and-so got for his birthday, you are not getting a TV in your room, a car for your birthday, a lavish sweet 16 party.” We had to earn our allowance by doing chores around the house. I can still remember how long it took to polish the legs of our coffee table. My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house. Like the two little girls growing up at the White House, we made our own beds. We had to keep track of our belongings, and if something was lost, it was not replaced.
It was summer and, one day, my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed — and there it was in the window. White, shiny, plastic and decorated with flowers, the basket winked at me and I knew — I knew — I had to have it.
“It’s beautiful,” my mother said when I pointed it out to her, “What a neat basket.”
I tried to hold off at first, and I played it cool for a short while. But then I guess I couldn’t pretend to ignore it any longer: “Mom, please can I please, please get it? I’ll do extra chores for as long as you say. I’ll do anything, but I need that basket. I love that basket.”
I was desperate.
“You know,” she said, gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believed was the coolest thing ever. “If you save up you could buy this yourself.”
“By the time I make enough it’ll be gone!”
“Maybe Roger here could hold it for you,” she smiled at Roger, the bike guy.
“Mom. Someone else will buy it.”
“There might be another way,” she said.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My mother bought the beautiful basket but hid it, and I was determined to make enough money.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________However, the unthinkable happened — a neighborhood girl appeared with the exact same basket.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Laura Stevens was nine years old. But every single time her mother and her father went out，they insisted that Mrs. Thomas stay with her. Laura didn't like Mrs. Thomas. She wouldn't let her stay up late to watch television, she wouldn't let her eat more than three cookies, and she even made Laura play games with her! "I'm not a baby”. Laura pleaded with her parents. "I'm nine years old. I don't need a baby-sitter. And if you make me have one, I'm going to go to my room and stay there forever”.
“Laura, "scolded her mother, "you're acting just like a baby. That's why you need a baby-sitter.” Laura sighed. But if she didn't complain, she wondered, would she still have to have a sitter? But no matter what Laura did, every time her parents went out they insisted Mrs. Thomas stay with her. And every time Mrs. Thomas stayed with her, she was very nice to Laura, but made her obey stupid rules. But someday, Laura knew, someday she would be big enough to stay by herself, or at least have a baby-sitter who wasn't so bossy.
One night, Laura's parents had a big surprise for her. Mrs. Thomas had gone to visit her sister in another city. Her parents had hired a brand-new Robo-Sitter! When the Robo-Sitter was delivered，Laura was amazed to discover that she looked just like a real person and even sounded like a real person. Her father programmed the Robo-Sitter to make dinner for Laura, give her three cookies, help her with her homework, and so on. And then he programmed the Robo-Sitter to clean the whole house. When he pressed "Enter" the Robo-Sitter's eyes opened brightly and a big smile appeared on her face.
When Laura's parents left the house, Laura reprogrammed the Robo-Sitter! The Robo-Sitter whizzed around the whole house, cleaning it from top to bottom in less than a minute. Then she raced into the kitchen and returned carrying three whole boxes of cookies, which she handed to Laura. Then she did all of Laura’s homework in nine seconds. Then she put Laura's favorite movie in the VCR and got out of the way. Laura sat down in front of the TV set with her box of cookies and pressed the "Off" button. And just like that, the Robo-Sitter went to sleep. Laura ate her cookies and watched her movie. But after a little while, her stomach started hurting and she wanted someone to talk to. She turned on the Robo-Sitter, who immediately cleaned the whole house all over again, brought Laura three more boxes of cookies, and did Laura's homework for a second time. Laura tried to reprogram the robo-Sitter, but was only able to make her do the same things faster and faster. Laura had no choice and finally turned off the Robo-Sitter.
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The house was very quiet.
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Two hours passed, but they seemed like two weeks.
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While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, I had one of life-changing experiences. It happened only two feet away from me.
In order to find my friend among the passengers, I noticed a man walking toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.
First he smiled to his younger son, about six years old, as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long hug（拥抱）. I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you. I missed you so much! " His son smiled shyly and replied happily, "Me, too, Dad! ”
Then the man stood up, cupping （捧着） his son's face in his hands and said, "You are already quite a young man. I love you very much, Zach! "Then the father gave son a warm hug.
At the same baby girl was squirming（来回扭动） excitedly in her mother' s arms The man said, "Hi baby girl! "as he gently took the baby from her mother. He kissed her face. The little girl felt satisfied in her father's arm.
After that. he handed the baby to his son and gave his wife the longest and warmest hug He gently said, "I love you so much! " They looked at each others eyes with big smiles on their faces.
At that moment, they reminded me of newly -married couples, though it couldn't be possible by the age of their son. Full of admiration, I asked, "Wow! How long have you two been married?" "Almost 10 years in total. " the father replied.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
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When asked how long he had been away from his family, he said it was only two days.
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“I hope my marriage is similar to your!" I talked to him.
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At noon that day, I drove back home early. Just as I entered the living room, I heard a slight sound coming from the bedroom upstairs. It was the sound of my favorite violin. But I was the only person who lived in this house.
It must be a thief! I rushed upstairs. Just as what I had thought about, a boy of about 12 years old was petting my violin. At first sight, I found a new pair of shoes at the bed missing. It seemed he was surely a thief.
Then, I saw his eyes full of fear and helplessness. My anger was immediately replaced by a smile. I asked, “Are you Mr Brian's nephew Rubens? I'm his housekeeper. Two days ago, Mr Brian said that he has a nephew who lives in the countryside would visit him. It must be you. You are really like him!”
The boy was surprised, but then quickly replied, “Has my uncle gone out? I think I'd better first go out for a walk and visit him in a while.”
I nodded and asked the boy who was preparing to put down the violin, “Do you want to play the violin?”
“Yes. I am fond of playing the violin and I'm looking forward to having my own violin, but I'm so poor that I can't afford one,” the boy replied.
“Then, I'll give this violin to you because your uncle, Mr Brian, is so kind a man.” The boy looked at me doubtfully, but he picked up the violin. Going out of the living room, he suddenly saw my huge color photo on the wall. He shook for a moment and ran out without looking back.
I was sure that the boy must understand what had happened after seeing the photo on the wall.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I thought the story would end forever if I didn't happen to meet him a few years later.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the award ceremony, he ran to me holding a violin box.
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