I couldn’t stop thinking about watermelons. I’ve saved my money to buy my own. One giant, juicy, wonderful watermelon all for me. I was going to eat it all up, except for the seed. Dad joked that if I ate the seeds, a watermelon would grow inside my stomach. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. Then my stomach would be happy all the time!

At the store I looked for the biggest, the juiciest, the most wonderful watermelon. And there it was, right behind some cantaloupes (甜瓜). They were small and light, not like my giant, juicy, wonderful watermelon.

I picked up my watermelon and put it on the floor. I rolled it down the aisle. I rolled my treasure to the checkout line. The grocery clerk lifted my watermelon for the cashier to weigh. Fifteen pounds! After I paid, the clerk set it back on the floor for me. I rolled it out the door, then along the sidewalk, three blocks to my house. Sweat dripped from my forehead onto the watermelon.

“Lucy! What are you doing with that watermelon?” Mom asked.

“I saved up my money and bought it at the grocery store. I’m going to eat it all by myself.” Mom frowned. “You’ll get sick,” she warned.

“Please?” I begged. “I’ve been saving for it.”

Mom thought about it, then smiled as if she knew something. “OK, but only if you eat it outside,” she said.

I rolled my giant, juicy, wonderful watermelon out the back door to our picnic table. Mom brought out a knife and some paper plates. My sister followed her. “Ooh, watermelon,” she said. “I want some.”

“Sorry,” I told her, “I’m going to eat it all by myself.” My sister whined to Mom.

But Mom said, “Your sister bought it herself. She decided what to do with it.” My brother came out next. He wanted to take a bite as well.

I said loudly, “No way. I’m going to eat it all by myself.”

My brother howled, but Mom again said, “It’s your sister’s watermelon. She decides.”

Mom cut the watermelon into four pieces, then cut each of those in half. Eight pieces in total. I reached for my first piece and took a bite. Red juice ran down my chin.

My father came out. “Oh, watermelon!” he said, seeing it.

“Don’t even ask,” said my brother. “She won’t share,” my sister added.

Paragraph 1: The four of them stood together around the picnic table, watching me.

Paragraph 2: Mom smiled as if she had known all that I would share.

The first time we set eyes on the beautiful dress “big Red.”father, mother and I were walking slowly through the freshly fallen snow on our way to Hubble's Hardware store on Main Street.

The colorfully decorated window display held the best toys ever and some other things. And hey were all placed pleasantly beneath   the breathtaking dress of Big Red. Mother’s   eyes were glued to the massive flame of red satin(绸缎)，dotted with twinkling stars.

“My goodness,"she managed to say in dreamlike wonder."Would you just look at that dress!"Then,totally out of character, mother unexpectedly danced on the slippery sidewalk. Beneath the heavy,grey wool coat that she had worm every winter for as long as I could remember,mother lost her balance and fell clumsily. Father quickly caught her.

Her cheeks redder than usual, mother blamed dad for laughing."Oh,stop that!" she ordered, as my father swept the snow from her coat."What a silly dress to be displayed there in the window of Eaton's!" she shook her head in disbelief. "Who on earth would want such a brightly-colored dress? It is too expensive."As we continued to walk down the street, mother turned back for one more look."My goodness! You'd think they'd display something that a person could use!”

Christmas was around the corner and the red dress was soon forgotten.Mother was not the one to wish for, or spend money on,things that were not practical."There are things we need more than this,"she'd always say, or,"There are things we need more than that."

Father,on the other hand, liked to buy things whenever the budget allowed. Of course,he'd get a scolding for his occasional spending like this,but it was all done with the best intention.

On our last trip to town before Christmas,we were driving up Main Street when mother suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Would you just look at that!"She pointed excitedly as Dad drove past Eaton's."That big red dress is gone,” she said in disbelief. “It's actually gone."

Dad looked quickly and smiled,"Yes,it is not there!”

I'll never forget that Christmas morning when father handed mother a box.

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Should Children Be Paid to Do Housework?

College students need textbooks to help them learn and earn an academic degree. However, on top of tuition, room and board and meals, why are textbooks so expensive? Textbooks cover many areas of knowledge. They are prepared specifically with a lot of information that include many original pictures, special charts, and specific data. Textbooks are extremely useful to students for learning and profitable for the companies that publish them. While textbooks can be a financial burden on the student, they can be profitable for a book scouter (侦察员).

A book scouter is an opportunist who buys cheap used books at thrift stores (二手店) or book sales, and sells them for more money. Brand new textbooks are the most desired of books for scouters since they typically cost over $100. Of course, used textbooks don’t cost as much. But when the scouter goes to a thrift store and book sales at libraries, textbooks can cost as little as several dollars. So, buying used textbooks that are new is one of the most profitable books that sellers can buy.

Unfortunately, many college textbook editions change every year, which eliminates (消除) the student’s chance to use last year’s edition. So, they will have to pay more money for brand new textbooks. The sad reality is that very few changes are generally made between editions.

Book scouters search for textbooks as well as other categories of books available at local thrift stores or book sales. Textbooks that are new or relatively new are marked down to just a few dollars. Then they can be sold on Amazon for potentially high profits. Amazon buys new textbooks for a lot more money than most other types of books. If you want to try scouting textbooks to make a profit, buy their newest editions or the ones ahead of them. Buy it in the best condition possible. If you live in a town or city where there is a university, you have a better chance of finding good textbooks.

Although textbooks can be expensive for the average student, he or she could potentially sell them on Amazon for the same price that they were purchased. Just remember, knowledge is power and can be profitable too.

Yuan Longping, 90, known as the “father of hybrid rice”，plays a crucial role in helping China achieve food security. Every morning what he does first is go to the field and works as a “farmer”. When asked how much his shirt was, he told the reporter that it was 35 yuan.

Deng Jiaxian, the Founding Father of China’s A-Bomb and H-Bomb, was the founder and promoter of China’s nuclear weapon cause. However, it was not until he died that his parents and many of his friends realized that he had produced such extraordinary achievements.

Li Junxian, without whom it would have been impossible for us to send the rocket into space, is one of the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. In 2018, this 90-year-old party member, donated 3 million yuan to set up the Doctor Innovation Fund and the Hardship Assistance Fund.