Keeping up seemed so important when I was a teenager. Back in 1973, if you weren’t wearing Penn Loafers (乐福鞋) you’d just as soon go around in your bare feet. There was only one problem that year, I had bought Oxfords—but Penny Loafers were in.
“I need some money for Penny Loafers.” I told my dad one afternoon at the place where he worked as a car mechanic.
Dad looked at me for a full minute before he answered, “Wear those shoes one more day. Look at every pair of shoes you see at school. If you can tell me that you are worse off than the other kids, I’ll buy new shoes for you.”
The next day, I did what Dad said. I saw many schoolmates wore torn shoes of the likes I’d never had to wear, and shoes with holes in them, but I had no intention of telling him the results.
When school was out, I rushed to the place where Dad worked. It was quiet. Only an occasional clank (叮当声) of metal could be heard as Dad worked under a car. Then dad’s shoes came into my sight. They were old and black, the kind mechanics and service-station attendants wore. I saw the mended soles (鞋底) and the spliced laces (拼接的鞋带) .
“You do what I told you today?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, what do you want to do?” He looked as though he might know what my answer would be.
“I still want the Penny Loafers.” I forced myself not to look at his shoes.
Dad handed me ten dollars. I took the money and went to the store two blocks down the street. A rack (货架) on a far wall appeared as if it had a million pairs of black Penny Loafers resting on it. On a rack next to it was a sign that reads “CLEARANCE 50% OFF”.Below the sign sat several “young” versions ofDad’s shoes.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
My mind was playing Pingpong
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The first of June, the King family was going on holiday tomorrow. The girls no longer had to do housework for the family, so there would be three months’ free time for them, and all the girls cheered up, jumping up and down with excitement. “Vacation, finally!” shouted Meg, coming home to find Jo already lying on the sofa. They started to plan what they would do on the vacation. All the girls reached an agreement that they would not do anything for a while, but play all the time and rest if their mother didn’t mind. “May we all try what we want to do, Mother?” asked Meg. Mrs March agreed to the plan and said they could try the experiment for a week. “It will be wonderful, I’m sure,” said Meg. “Fun forever, and no work!” cried Jo.
The next morning, Meg spent the morning with a friend and the afternoon reading in the apple tree. Jo pulled all her toys out of her closet but then left them to play some music. Amy put on her best dress and went outside to draw, hoping someone would notice the beautiful young artist. No one appeared, so she went for a walk, got caught in the rain, and came home dripping.
In the evening, they all assured their mother the experiment was going well. She smiled, said nothing, and did her work, keeping their home pleasant and running smoothly.
The week seemed to get longer and longer with nothing much to do, and it affected all three girls. Meg found time hanging heavily and read till her eyes hurt and she was sick of books. Jo sometimes suddenly shook her doll and shouted at it. Amy was quite bored, for she didn’t like dolls or reading, and she couldn’t draw all the time. By Friday the girls were glad that it was nearly over, but no one would admit that they were tired of the experiment.
On Saturday morning, the girls got up to find no breakfast and no mother to be seen.
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At this time, Mrs March returned and the girls rushed to their mother with a sense of achievement.
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You Will Always Be My Teacher, Grandpa
Chitose was leaving for France to get further study. However, the last lesson was a disaster. Chitose and her grandpa had a huge fight. She arrived at the studio smiling and said, “Look Grandpa, I painted this portrait of you.” The man in the portrait had a lot of hair, stood straight, looked young, and smiled. Chitose might be talented enough to attend an art college in France, but she has a big weakness as an artist. When she paints a person, too often she paints an idealized image rather than the real person. Grandpa had been explaining this point to her for several months, but she just wouldn’t listen.
Grandpa got a little angry and said to her, “This is not me, and you are not a real artist.” She got angry too and said she didn’t care because she didn’t need him as a teacher anymore. Grandpa then showed her the portrait he had painted as her farewell gift and said, “This is the real you!” She took one look at it and said, “No, it isn’t!” and then left.
Grandpa gave the portrait of Chitose to her parents. He had done the portrait a couple of months before Chitose started changing her style, and he thinks it shows the high school student he taught for two years. When Grandpa painted it, she still had her natural curly hair. She was not wearing all the accessories (配饰) she has now, including the ring shaped earrings she loves. She also never wore makeup then. This was a Chitose with a fantastic future who knew she was still an amateur artist. But now she is getting older and wants to act and look more like an adult. However, she will never become a great artist if she stops learning.
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。
Chitose’s mom secretly put the portrait into one of Chitose’s suitcases when she left home for France.
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Chitose painted a portrait of her grandpa and herself.
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Jim slumped on the couch. Mother’s Day was coming up, and he didn’t have a present. “How can I buy a present without money?” he thought.
Jim picked up the newspaper that was lying on the couch. He noticed a large advertisement on the front page. The local department store was sponsoring a contest. “Tell us why your mom is special and win a shopping spree(疯狂购物) for her,” said the ad.
“This is perfect!” thought Jim. He ran to his room with the newspaper, taking a pencil and a blank piece of paper from his desk, he started to write.
“My mom is the best mother in the world. She always makes a lunch for me to take to school, and she never forgets my dessert. She reads as many books to me before bed as I want. She always remembers to check under the bed for monsters. And she gives the best hug, but never in front of my friends, who would laugh at me for hugging my mom.”
Jim liked what he had written. He copied it neatly and got an envelope and a stamp from his dad. He ran to the mailbox with his entry(参赛作品), “Mom will love having a shopping spree,” he thought.
Jim checked the mailbox every day for his prize. Days passed by, and then weeks. Soon it was the day before Mother’s Day. Jim still hadn’t heard anything about the contest.
“What am I going to do now?” he wondered. He didn’t have a present, and he didn’t have a shopping spree, and he still didn’t have any money. He had to think of something. Jim closed his eyes and curled his toes and thought so hard that his ears hurt.
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 he had an idea.
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The next morning, Jim handed his present to his mom.
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Thanksgiving Day was near. Miss Spring, the first-grade teacher, gave her class a fun assignment (作业) -to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies(好吃的东西) of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her students' art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher's true child of misery, frail(瘦弱的）and unhappy. His mother died when he was just five. He lived with his father, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury. They got support from his old grandfather, who was a poor, bad-tempered fisherman. Sometimes, it seemed it was much easier for him to be alone in his own world than to talk to others. As other children played joyfully during the breaks between classes, Douglas was likely to stand close by the side of Miss Spring. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand with long fingers.
His abstract image caught the imagination of his classmates. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of a family member, such as a father or a mother, because they give them food and take care of them. And so the discussion went -everybody was curious about whose hand it was, until they almost forgot the young artist himself, who remained silent.
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 the children went on to other assignments, and Miss Spring paused at Douglas' desk.
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Brushing aside a tear, she cleared her throat.
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Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.
After retirement, he volunteered to take care of the church garden. One day, he was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to attack him, he simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose（水管）?”
The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure,” with a malevolent（恶意的）little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. They robbed him of his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.
Although the minister of the church had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet.
"Just some naughty kids. I hope they'll wise up someday," Carl said. He bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water.
A few weeks later the three returned. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and wetted him from head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their bullying him, they went down the street, laughing at what they had just done.
Carl just watched them. Then he picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.
A few days later, as Carl was working in the garden, he saw the tall leader of the attackers reaching down for him. He prepared himself for the expected attack. "Don't worry, old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man spoke softly and pulled a bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl. "It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet."
The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed. "I learned something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like you. Every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate.”
Paragraph 1：
Carl died one cold day after Christmas that winter.
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Paragraph 2：
Opening the door, the minister saw a familiar young man holding the notice.
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Jared was a boy who was raised by his single father, Steve, and his grandfather Michael. Although he didn’t have much in life, Jared was grateful for what he had. He enjoyed living a simple life with his dad and grandfather.
After school, Jared would often go into his grandfather’s garage and they would repair his car together. Jared was a skilled mechanic and it was all thanks to his grandfather’s patient teaching. And Jared wished one day he would open a car repair shop using his grandfather’s garage. Michael supported it.
Unfortunately, Michael died when Jared was 14. Jared continued to look after his grandfather’s car. One day, his dad entered his room and handed him the key to his grandfather’s car. “Your grandpa wanted me to give this to you on your eighteenth birthday. He said you could decide what to do with the car—either sell it or keep it,” his dad said.
Jared smiled. He was thankful that he now had a car. And he was happy it was a special car that he and his grandfather maintained together. “I’ll keep it! I don’t have to take the bus to school anymore. I can just drive!” Jared replied excitedly.
Then Steve returned to his own room. He hoped Jared would not sell the car. And he hoped someday Jared would find the envelope Michael had secretly left for him. The envelope was put under the driver’s seat of the car. In the envelope, Michael left Jared $15,000. And he had left a note. It read, “I knew you wouldn’t sell my car. Thank you, Jared! I hope the money can help you. Be a good man!”
The following day, when Jared arrived at school, many students saw his car. They didn’t think highly of it because it was old and noisy. But Jared valued it. Later that day, after school, he couldn’t start the car. There appeared to be a problem with it.
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:
Jared decided to repair the car himself.
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Paragraph 2:
Confused, Jared quickly opened the envelope.
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