Pride and Defeat
I had always prided myself on my talent in debates and arguments. Thus, when I was selected to represent the school in the national debate series, I was naturally confident of my readiness for the task Little did I know that this would turn out to be one of the most important lessons in my life.
The run-up to the finals was a breeze for my team. Our teacher was very experienced and we were all good speakers. My teammates were open to communicate so we showed perfect teamwork. But I was undoubtedly the most outstanding. In each round, the judges had always selected me as the best speaker. This means that my confidence was at an all-time high by the time we found ourselves with one week to train before the finals. I had no reason to even think that I would not be voted the overall best speaker for the debate series.
Unfortunately, I began to get self-focused about the whole business and started putting on airs with my teammates. I saw myself as the natural debater who would be let down by their bad performance. I became so dissatisfied that I began missing practices, which disappointed my kind teammates and teacher. They had no choice but to continue their training schedule.
The day of the finals dawned bright and fine. Actually, I just passed my teammates to enter the hall of the debate finals, feeling the excitement of being able to finally show off my debating power. But the reality was something quite different. My absence from the practices had created a gap between my teammates and me. We could not work perfectly as we did previously. Instead, our teamwork was so bad that even our school supporters were shamed into silence. When it was my turn to conclude as the last speaker of the team, the hall was quiet. Everyone knew that I was the most likely to win the overall best speaker for the series.
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。
But as I launched into my speech. I knew that things were very wrong.
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Suddenly, one of my teammates came up and patted me on the shoulder.
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相似题推荐
A poor boy named Howard Kelly made his living by selling newspapers from door to door to pay his way through school. After a full day of working hard he had only too little bit of change left to get some food.
Starving and feeling low-spirited, he couldn’t walk anymore. After going through some scenarios (情节) in his mind, he was hoping for some kindness from the people living in the next house where he decided to ask for a meal. As he approached the door and rang the bell, he kept practicing his words for his request.
However. he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. With much hesitation, he asked for a glass of water instead of a meal. The woman remembered seeing this young boy many times working hard going up and down the streets knocking on doors. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk instead of water. The boy drank it slowly and then asked how much he owed.
“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied with a gentle smile. “I know you helped many people in the neighborhood. Mother has taught us that kindness is repaid with kindness.” “Then thank you from my heart.” Right there and then, Howard felt stronger and more confident as he found some hope in this kind of action.
Years’ later that young woman became so critically ill that she was sent to the bigger city where specialists were called to study her rare disease. The expense was beyond her family, but no one gave up. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation, When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her.
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。
Paragraph 1:
He recognized her at once, determining to save her life.
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Paragraph 2:
“Expense paid in full with one glass of milk. Dr. Howard.” she read the note.
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Kindness of Strangers
We rely on a community where helping others is highly appreciated. When we need help, it creates a web that ties us together.
Once upon a time, I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready when my fourteen-year-old daughter, Cassandra, called me from her room. “Mom, can you help me get downstairs?” She had lung disease and depended on oxygen twenty-four hours a day, so it was impossible for her to move up and down the stairs without help. I turned down the stove and ran upstairs to her room. Cassandra let out a sigh and closed her eyes. “Mom, I wish it wasn’t so hard for me to climb the stairs.”
“I know, honey. We’ll try to solve the problem.”
My daughter’s words reminded me of an incident. A month earlier, a company introduced an electric stairlift (座椅电梯) to us. My daughter could use this stairlift to go up and down stairs by herself without anyone helping her. Hearing the perfect product, our whole family was very excited and looking forward to it. The stairlift sounded wonderful because it would greatly improve my daughter’s life. Unluckily, we couldn’t afford it although John, my husband, even took two jobs to support the family.
To meet Cassandra’s wish, I got round to ask the charity organization in our community for help once again. They had lent us a wheelchair before we bought one. Maybe they could help with a stairlift, too. I held my breath while the phone rang. “Do you have a stairlift I could borrow?” I asked them hopefully. However, they hadn’t, but they promised to call us right away if they got one.
注意：1.续写词数150左右;
2.请按下列格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Hanging up the phone, I told this to my family anxiously.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One early morning, we heard someone knocking at the door.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________We had just taken a holiday of three days: from Saturday to Monday. Now, it was Tuesday morning, but in some way, it was like a Monday-the start of a new week. And after a busy and tiring holiday, it was time to go to work.
After I hurriedly got up, I looked out of my bedroom window. It was raining. I complained, “This weather is terrible. What an awful morning!” As I stepped out of the front door, a big wind turned my umbrella inside out, so I decided to run through the cold rain to my car. But I didn’t see a puddle (小水坑) until I stepped into it. My new shoes were completely wet. I had to rush back to my room for a change. When I was finally seated in my car, it stalled (熄火) twice before I could back out of the driveway. And I was worried that I would be late for work.
The traffic on the road was heavy. A horn (喇叭) honked—someone thought I wasn’t going fast enough. “This day is terrible. Nothing is cheerful,” I said to myself. To drive easily, I decided to listen to the traffic report on the radio. Under the guidance of the announcer, I drove carefully. I was grateful for that.
Finally, after managing to navigate (导航) my route through the traffic, I decided to stop at a little coffee shop near my office to buy a cup of coffee. The line of cars at the drive-through stretched to the parking lot, so I figured it would be faster if I just got out and went inside.
Clearly, the coffee shop had many customers. I sighed impatiently as I waited in line until I reached the counter where I ignored the friendly greeting from the waiter. I ordered my favorite: a cup of coffee, extra cream and no sugar. Then my order was served. That’s when I realized I had left my wallet at home! I was both upset and embarrassed.
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。
Noticing my anxiety, the man waiting in line behind me pulled out his wallet.
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When I got back into my car, I found the man walking in the rain.
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