A few years ago, at a clinic, an elderly woman sat on a waiting room chair belting out (引吭高歌) the Celine Dion tune “My Heart Will Go On.” Her sweet, high-pitched voice exploded into every corner of the clinic. I had fun watching how people reacted. There was a lot of shifting in scats and a couple of stony sideways stares, but mainly they awkwardly averted (转移) their eyes and tried to pretend that there was nothing special happening.
I was at the clinic with my dad, who was getting a routine blood test, when the woman first arrived. She settled into the seat directly across from my dad. Because she was so tiny, she was forced to sit on the edge of the chair so her feet could touch the floor. The position made it seem as though she was sitting forward to engage in conversation with my dad. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
I was concerned about how my dad would react to the invasion on his space. He was 77 years old at the time and had been living with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症) for several years. Alzheimer would damage a person’s patience and restraint. Since his diagnosis, privacy and personal space had definitely been his thing, and he had considered it wholly bad mannered to bring undo attention to oneself. Moreover, he had begun to abandon any effort to nod politely or insert a smile in appropriate places. I couldn't help but think that this melodic woman was playing with fire.
Her singing began gently, like a quiet hum. I glanced over at Dad to see his response. His smile was gone, and he was staring right at her. She was staring back. I couldn't read his expression initially, but it seemed to be something like confusion.
By the time the woman got to the chorus, “Near, far, wherever you are...” it was full-tilt belting. She was motionless, with her eyes shut and her arms crossed elegantly over her chest.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语：
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Paragraph 1:
Now Dad looked a little shocked, which made me feel there was something wrong.
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Paragraph 2:
When her song ended, my dad looked directly at her and said, “that was beautiful.”
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After Sri Pisharody’s father died, her mother moved to the U. S. to be near her family. But a few things needed to be finalized back home. So Pisharody, her young daughter, and her mother flew to India together. During the long flight, Pisharody laid out some ground rules for her daughter.
“In India, it’s crowded. You have to stick with me and never trust the police officers or the auto rickshaw (黄包车)drivers because everybody wants a bribe (贿 赂)and they’ll try to cheat you,“ Pisharody recalled telling her daughter.
Pisharody had packed all of their passports, documents and other valuable items in a small briefcase. Upon landing, they hailed a rickshaw to the train station. When the driver dropped them off, Pisharody paid him, and then she turned around to make sure her daughter and mother were close by.
“Before I knew it, the auto rickshaw driver drove away with our briefcase that had my passport, our documents, our cash, everything in it,” Pisharody said. ”My heart sank. I started trembling. I didn’t know what to do. ” Her mother, who was 70 at the time, quickly sprang into action and headed to the police station, leaving Pisharody and her daughter at the train station.
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。
While standing on the front steps, a group of auto rickshaw drivers approached them and asked what was wrong.
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When she looked in the rickshaw, the briefcase was exactly where she had left it.
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It was a Saturday. Whether it was sunny or cloudy, hot or cold, I cannot remember, but I do remember it was a Saturday because the mall was packed with people.
I was with my mom. Mom is short and skinny. It is easy to overlook her in a crowd simply because she is nothing extraordinary to see.
On that day, we wondered in the mall, peeking at fancy shops in fleeting (短暂的) glances, because we both knew we wouldn’t be buying much, like always.
I remember I was looking up at the people we passed as we walked. Ladies wore 5-inch heels that click importantly on the floor and bright clothing. Men strode by smelling of sharp cologne (古龙香水), faces clear of wrinkles - wiped away with expensive creams.
An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. It got more unbearable with every second until I could deny it no longer: I was ashamed of my mother.
I could see the heavy lines around mom’s eyes and the mouth, deep into her skin without luxurious lotions to ease them away. She wore cheap, ragged clothes. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet and her hair too gray for her age.
I looked at her, and I was ashamed. My mom is nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment she stood out because she was just so plain.
I didn’t want to be seen with her, although there was no one important around to see me anyway. Telling her I’d meet her at the clothes outlet around the corner, I hurried away to the bathroom. When I finally made my way to the outlet, I found that mom wasn’t there. “She must be in some second-hand store.” I thought to myself.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Mom was standing in the middle of a high-end store, holding a sweater that looked much too expensive. “This will look good on you. Do you want 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。
It was too much expensive. And I almost agreed, carelessly, thoughtlessly.
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I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself. “Do you want it?” My mom repeated. “No, thanks.”
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My mom only had one eye. I hated her! She was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support the family. There was one day during elementary school when my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out.
The next day at school one of my classmates said, “Your mom only has one eye!” I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, “If you’re only going to make me a laughing stock, why don’t you just die?” My mom did not respond. I didn’t even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger, totally unaware of her feelings.
I wanted to get out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, and finally got a chance to go abroad for further study. Then, I got married with a local man. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts.
Years passed, and I didn’t hear from my mom ever since I had left home. Sometimes I would think of her but every time thinking of the embarrassment brought by her embarrassingly one-eyed look, I still hoped that life would stay the same way and she would never appear in my life again.
Then one day, my mom came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and she didn’t even meet her grandchildren. When she stood by the door, my children was scared to cry and ran to me. I calmed them down and asked my husband to lead them into the house.
I turned to her, looking at her weary face with more wrinkles and her gray hair. Obviously she was older and life surely didn’t treat her well. However, the uninvited visit still made me angry.
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 asked her why she showed up at our front door uninvited.
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I was saddened by the news she just shared, but what truly astonished me was what she told me next about her eye.
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I was a single mom, living with my eight-year-old girl Amanda. Luckily, we had many people around us who helped us to get by. But I felt that I wasn’t doing enough to give my girl enough time. Life for me lacked magic and excitement.
But one Friday night was special. Amanda and I arrived at one of her favorite restaurants. We were seated next to a large group at a long table, who were clearly celebrating something. They were three generations of a family. I looked over at them, longing for that same family atmosphere. As their celebration continued, I caught the white-haired family patriarch watching me. He would look over and stare at me but then quickly look away.
Amanda talked happily throughout the meal, enjoying her chicken and telling the details of her spelling test that day. My heart nearly burst as I saw her happiness.
However, the man at the next table kept watching us. What was he looking at? My handbag whose color had faded? Or was it my ringless finger that told the general public I was unmarried? Whatever he was looking at, it was annoying and started to make me nervous.
“Can I have dessert?” asked Amanda, not knowing what was happening around. “Next time. I am watching our money and there will be no dessert this time,” I said. As the words came out of my mouth, the man was staring again. What did he want?
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。
Amanda went to the restroom, and I watched the man very carefully.
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The server came to tell us our meal had been paid for.
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In the building I’d just moved into, a note was posted, reading: Sign up to drive Mrs Black for her chemotherapy treatments twice a month. Since I wasn’t a driver, I couldn’t add my name. But my grandma’s words often came into my thoughts. ”Dear, it’s a blessing to do a good deed for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you.“
I was a university student. In this December storm, it was a hard journey to go to school and get out of school on time. One day before the night of my final exam, the snow fell heavily. The next morning, I walked to the bus stop. For an hour, I stretched my neck, hoping that a bus would come. Then I gave up. I hoped I could find some help from my neighbours as the cold wind pushed me toward my apartment. Opening the door, I found myself face to face with a woman at the mailbox. She had a set of keys in her hand. Obviously she had a car and she was just going out. At that moment, despair overcame pride. I asked her whether she could possibly give me a lift.
An odd look crossed the woman’s face, and I added, “Oh, I live here. I moved in recently, and I can’t drive. I am in an urgent need to go to school for my final exam.” Then, she agreed without delay, “Sure!”
On our way to my school, she spoke so warmly that I stopped feeling uncomfortable. “You remind me of my grandmother,” I said. A slight smile crossed her lips. “Just call me Grandma Alice as grandchildren do.”
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。
When I got off, I thanked her again and again, waving as she drove away.
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Waving to my classmate, I walked home and heard a neighbour saying to Grandma Alice, “Good night, Mrs Black.”
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A Painting Just Like Home
Lisa wasn’t so happy when the bell went for break. At her old school, she used to play with her friends. Now she sat alone in the corner of the field and watched the other kids play. The only thing Lisa liked about her new school was art. She hadn’t had art classes at her old school, but here they lasted a whole hour. During the art classes, Lisa forgot that she didn’t have friends here.
When clearing her table, Lisa noticed a box of chalk by the window. She put it in her pocket. Then she took her usual place at the end of the line. As she and her classmates walked down the hall and out into the playground, Lisa remembered how she and her mother used to draw chalk designs on the long drive way leading to their old apartment. The patterns are called rangoli, a traditional Indian decoration, and they look like stars and roses. Lisa’s mother said the drawings were to welcome guests to their home. Lisa missed the times.
Lisa walked to the basketball court and sat on the sidelines. She took the chalk out and began to draw her favorite rangoli pattern with huge petals and stars with eight points. “That’s pretty,” a voice said. She turned around and saw that Eric, a boy in her class, was watching her. “It’s called rangoli,” she said. “The floor of my grandmother’s house has pattens like that,” Erie said.
“What do you mean?” Lisa asked. “Hand me a piece of chalk,” Eric said. Eric sat down and began to draw. He drew flowers that were more detailed than Lisa’s, but still had huge petals. Then he drew circles inside circles, and surrounded them with small diamonds. Lisa kept drawing too.
“What are you guys doing?” a voice asked. Lisa and Eric had been so absorbed in drawing that the hadn’t noticed their classmate Emma had been watching them. “Hey,’ Emma said, sitting down beside them, “that looks like the rugs in my house. Except on the rugs, the shapes are bigger and flatter.”
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。
“Show us,” said Eric, handing Emma a piece of chalk.
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Hearing the teacher’s praise, many students gathered around.
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