It’s hard to talk to dads sometimes. The roles we often expect our fathers to play—protector, provider—can make them seem impenetrable(不可理解的). That’s how it was with my dad. He came to Canada at the age of ten and settled in an immigrant community. He was never much of a talker. He rarely drank, so we didn’t get to see him loosen up after a few beers. He didn’t tell stories about himself at the dinner table or when we went for walks in the park. He was a private person and seemed to want to stay that way.
Bringing up the many questions I had about life before I was born-his early hopes and dreams, loves and heartbreaks—let alone sharing my own feelings, felt like too much for us to handle. I didn’t want to threaten the integrity(完整)of his hard shell. I had gotten used to it, and it made me feel secure.
But when my relationship and career took a hit a year ago at the same time, things had to change. I was facing serious questions about my own nature, and I wanted to know that he had faced them, too. I needed to know how he had found his way, because I felt like I had lost mine.
In a severe moment of desperation, it occurred to me that sending an email might be the key. An email can be crafted(精心制作)slowly and carefully. I could speak at a comfortable distance and give him room to adjust. He’d be up in his office—a comfortable place filled with bookshelves, dusty CD-ROMs and piles of old newspapers. I’d be at my desk in an apartment 20 minutes away.
So I wrote to him. I told him about my regrets and fears, and I asked him to answer, if he felt like it, and to share something about himself, something that would give me much-needed perspective on my life, especially on relationship and career.
Para 1: Two weeks later, his response showed up in my email box.
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Para 2: I closed the email and started to cry.
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I was 11 years old when I asked my parents for piano lessons. We were in the impact of the recession (经济衰退). My mother had recently been out of work and so my father became the only bread earner for our family. A polite “no” was the answer.
That didn’t discourage me. I Googled the dimensions of a keyboard, drew the keys onto a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one — keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. After a while I could hear the notes in my head while pressing the keys on the paper. I spent six months playing scales and chord sequences without touching a real piano. Once my mother saw it wasn’t a craze, in spite of the fact that she and father never wished their daughter to work in music, she borrowed some money from family and friends, and bought me 10 lessons.
I still remember the first lesson. I was struck by how noble and elegant the sound of the piano was, as I had become familiar with the artificial electronic sound. The teacher tried to explain where middle C was but I could already play all the major and minor scales (音阶), as well as tonic and dominant functions.
After eight lessons, I obtained the first grade piano certificate (证书). By the time I started secondary school, we couldn’t afford lessons again, so I returned to my paper keyboard. I passed grade three, then grade five, practicing only on my paper keyboard.
For the grades above that, there’s an expectation that you include a certain sensitivity into your playing. The head of music at my school said I could practice on the school’s grand piano. I would wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get there in time and play until lessons started. I’d skip lunch and then practice after school until the caretaker kicked me out. At home, I’d have dinner, do three hours of revision, and then mental practice until 1 a.m.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
One evening, when I was about 13, I came home, and my mother said she had a surprise for me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My father was very much against playing the piano, but when he heard my playing, something inside him changed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ryan’s parents passed away when he was only eight. Since then, his grandma raised him alone and tried her best to provide him with everything he needed.
When Ryan was 15, his grandma retired. In order to save enough money for Ryan’s college education, she took on a part-time job and worked as a cleaning lady at a nearby park. However, Ryan disliked his grandma’s part-time job, because he was afraid that his classmates would see her.
One day, Ryan was chosen to act the lead role in a school play that was scheduled for next month. Most of the students acting in the play invited their families to the performance, but Ryan was too ashamed to invite his grandma. Unfortunately, his grandma saw the posters of the play on the walls of the school. One night when they were having dinner, his grandma mentioned that she would love to see him perform.
“You won’t be permitted to see the performance, Grandma,” he lied. “No family member was invited.”
His grandma was shocked and tried very gently to know why Ryan lied to her.
“It’s because I don’t want my friends to find out you’re a cleaning lady!” Ryan broke down finally.
Little did Ryan know that his grandma kept working just because of him. If she had the choice, she would rather stay at home and enjoy her retirement. However, she knew that she had to make extra money so that she could give Ryan a comfortable life and send him to college.
Although his grandma was sad about Ryan’s behavior, she continued working. However, one Sunday morning, her back hurt so much that she could not get up and had to ask Ryan to look for the painkillers that she had been taking in secret. Soon, Ryan found the pills but they did not work.
注意：1．续写词数应为150个左右；2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Ryan was really frightened and rushed his grandma to the hospital.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Realizing what his grandma had done for him, Ryan decided to say sorry to her.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My father and I disagreed about my curfew (晚间在家的时间). He would say I had to be in by 9:30 on weekdays, and 11:00 on weekends, and there was no exception. One day, I took courage to first show my opinion on my curfew. I told him it made me feel like a junior high school kid. He explained that though a curfew might sound like a restriction, it was really about people looking out for one another.
The very next Friday after that exchange, my dad and I had tickets to see our own town's professional football game. On that day he was driving his car to a nearby city to meet some major clients and told me that his getting home and our leaving for the game would be tight.
To make sure we could move off the moment he came back, I got everything prepared. When half an hour had passed from the time when he said he would be home, I understood that he was a little late. But then, nearly a whole hour passed. I was getting upset. We were going to miss the kick-off! And why hadn’t he phoned me and let me know he was going to be really late? As I anxiously stepped the floor, another half hour passed. That was when I got really angry. How inconsiderate my father was! We were going to miss the whole game! However, when another half an hour passed, my anger turned to fear. What if something terrible had happened to my dad, like he had a sudden heart attack or was caught in an accident, or something else? I began to get really worried, feeling like sitting on pins and needles. I had already called his cell phone about ten times, but there was no answer.
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 was beside myself with extreme anxieties, assuming the worst had happened.
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The heavy stone in my heart finally fell to the ground.
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It was pouring heavily. Mabel was all wet by the time she arrived at the sheltered (遮蔽) walkway. From far away she watched the public bus leave the bus stop without her. She shook her head and said to herself, “I should have brought my umbrella.”
Mabel stood at the shelter and watched people get on the buses. The only way she could reach school would be to have someone shelter her to the bus stop and wait for the next bus. The school was just one bus stop away.
However, she was not confident of anyone helping her at all. Everyone looked too busy to notice her. Mabel asked a few people for help. But nobody stopped to lend or share an umbrella. Mabel began to feel disappointed. She was shocked that no one had agreed to help her. She had no choice but to stay where she was. She decided to wait for the rain to stop.
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。
Suddenly, someone touched Mabel on her shoulder.
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Mabel finally arrived at her school.
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Tom and his friends had a rule in their group: Anyone who had recently turned 18 would have to treat everyone to a nice place. And this time, it was Tom’s turn. Tom wanted to do something different. He decided to take his friends on a long drive through mountains, stopping at a well-known cafe along the way to treat them to a delicious supper.
Since he had gotten his driver’s license recently,Tom went happily to his dad and asked if he could lend his car to him for one day. To Tom’s surprise, his dad flatly refused him.
“Dad, it’s a rule in our group! Last time, it was Sam’s turn. He drove us to his dad’s restaurant. His dad didn’t say anything,” Tom said.
His dad explained,“I’m worried about your safety. I’m not going to let you drive by yourself. It’s dangerous. But I don’t want you to miss the trip. How about having a dad as your driver?”
Tom said, “But I’m an adult now! My friends will think I am a coward(胆小鬼) if you drive us tonight. I’m not going.” Tom ran away and locked himself in his room. His dad sighed and walked away.
Before long, Sam called Tom, asking when he’d leave his house. Tom said they had to cancel the trip because his dad didn’t allow him to take his car. Sam was disappointed, but Tom said,“Don’t worry. I will manage. Be ready at 10 p.m. See you!”
Tom came up with a plan. He decided to steal his dad’s car and return early in the morning before his father woke up. After his dad went to sleep, he secretly drove the car out.
At around 10 p.m., he reached Sam’s house and picked him and two other friends up. Minutes after they left, Tom explained how he got the car. Tom was so absorbed in chatting that he forgot to switch on the signal light before taking a turn. The car coming from the opposite direction failed to notice them.
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。
The two cars crashed into each other.
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After twenty minutes, Tom’s dad arrived with two policemen.
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Unlike most U.S national parks, Everglades national park, located in south Florida, was created to protect a fragile ecosystem(生态系统)instead of safeguarding a unique geographic feature. It is a heaven for a wide range of wildlife, such as turtles, snakes, lizards, the Grass frog, Wading birds and so on, among which are fierce American alligators(鳄鱼). It is said that some of the alligators often appear in the areas where people live, causing much damage.
A terrible incident happened on a hot summer day. It was so hot a day that nearly every one felt like jumping into the cool water. A little boy simply couldn’t put up with the heat, deciding to go fora swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
“Mum, it being so hot, I want to have a swim.” the boy told his mother while walking out.
“No, Honey, there has been a warning that an alligator from the park has appeared in the surrounding area. It is dangerous!” said his mother in a loud voice. But the little boy rushed out of the back door like a gust of wind before his mother could stop him.
He was in such a hurry to dive into the cool water that he left behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he left.
He flew into the water and enjoyed the comfortable feeling that the cool water brought him, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward him. His mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen when suddenly she caught the two getting closer and closer to each other as she was looking out of the window. “Oh, My God!” she couldn’t help crying loudly, getting into a great panic. And then in great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could all the way, “Alligator, Alligator!”
Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. However, it was too late. Something horrible was happening.
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。
Just as he approached her, the alligator reached him.
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Remarkably, after weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.
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