Mum and Her Bank Account
My family had the tradition to sit down by the kitchen table every Saturday night to count out the money Dad had brought home.
“These are for the rent, and these for the groceries,” Mum counted out and divided the big silver pieces.
“I’ll need a notebook,” That would be my sister Christine, my brother Nels or me.
After Mum put one or two coins to the side for the notebook, she said that was all we needed to buy for the week and we all relaxed a little. We didn’t have to go downtown and draw money out of Mum’s bank account, which could always give us such a warm and secure feeling for having enough to afford the life.
When Nels graduated from grammar school, he needed some money for high school, We sat by the table and I offered my “Little Bank” which was used for sudden emergencies such as the time when Christine broke her arm and had to see a doctor. I laid the box carefully in front of Mum. After counting out the money in the little bank and finding there was not enough, we all agreed not to go to the bank but to find some ways.
Nels volunteered to work in Dillon’s grocery after school and Dad said he would give up smoking. Now there was enough money. We felt relieved.
So many things came out of the little bank that year: Christine’s dress for the school play Nel’s operation… Whatever happened, we always knew we still had the bank to depend on. We never used her bank account.
That was twenty years ago.
Last year, I sold my first story. When the money came, I thought of Mum’s bank account.
So I hurried over to her home. On arriving, I gave the money to Mum and asked her to save it in the bank. Mum said she was very proud of me and asked me to go with her, because she didn’t know how. I asked how she had done that before. She said actually there was no bank account at all in all her life and she had never been to a bank before.
注意 1. 续写词数应为80词左右：
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Knowing that there was no bank account at all I felt shocked.
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Mike, aged 14, was a music fan, especially a fan for violin. He expected to be a music star one day. Unfortunately, born into a poor family depending on delivering newspapers and milk, he couldn’t afford a violin. He had thought of asking his parents to pay for one but finally he abandoned possessing the impossible musical instrument.
Mike’s neighbor, Joseph, happened to be a violinist. The greatest pleasure Mike found after school every day was enjoying the beautiful melodies floating out of Joseph’s window. Not until dark did Mike sneak into his own room. And every time Mike’s mother asked him why he came home late, Mike would say he was lost in music.
“Why not spend more time in your lessons instead, sweetheart? After all, music can’t make money if you’re not so famous.” In order to prove he could realise his dream, he knew he must have his own violin and practise more.
Mike found a job at a nearby church, running errands for the servicemen. One day, another music player happened to learn about Mike’s situation and offered him an old violin as a gift. He even promised to teach him how to play after church services at the weekends. Months later, Mike learned violin very well.
The first performance he made was on the roadside of a lonely street. From time to time passersby stopped to watch him play. And a few even left some coins in his hat lying on the ground. When it was time for Mike to go back, he heard a woman’s cry. Following the sound, Mike spotted her and discovered the truth that she was called Connie, a trainee in a cafeteria, and that she had just had an awful day at work and was yelled by the boss.
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。
Hesitatingly, Mike tried to lend her a hand though he was yet uncertain how to comfort someone.
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Connie told Mike a violinist happened to be wanted in the cafeteria where she worked.
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There are lots of chances in front of us. Whether you can seize them or not depends on the choices you make. This reminds me of one choice I made during my childhood.
Two tickets. Only two tickets to the final basketball game.
Three pairs of eyes focused on the tickets in Dad’s out-stretched hand. Mike, the oldest, asked the question running through everyone’s mind, “Only one ticket for us three? But, Dad, which of us will go with you?” Avery, the youngest, repeated the question quietly. I asked Dad if there was any chance to get more tickets. I might be the middle sister, but I was just as eager as my basketball-crazy brothers for a night out with Dad. Dad said he’d got the tickets from a friend and there were only two available.
Seeing that none of us would give up the chance, Dad told us he would choose which of the three of us deserved to go by the following morning.
The next morning, we hurried into the kitchen and looked for Dad, only to find that he had gone out. We were told to get started on our Saturday cleanup as soon as we finished breakfast. Mike complained that he couldn’t concentrate on chores with the game a mere eleven hours away. He slurped the last of his milk, grabbed the basketball and headed towards the back door. Avery dashed after his brother. Before I realized it, the door snapped shut. I glanced out the window and saw Mike practicing his shot while Avery cheered him on.
Seeing the mess on the breakfast table—the leftovers on the sticky plates and dirty cups, I felt frustrated. I approached the window and knocked on it. When the boys looked at me, I held up a kitchen sponge and dishtowel. Mike casually nodded to me and held up five fingers. Sure, five more minutes! I didn’t believe they would return to do the cleanup in five minutes, especially in Dad’s absence. Apparently, they had made their choice.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 续写部分分两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Anyway, I chose to do the Saturday morning chores on my own.
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Dad was happy to know I found the ticket he had hidden in the cupboard.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was the middle of the day with the bright sun, blue sky, green grass, and a soft breeze (微风). It was a great day to play outside and the best day of my life because I got a new ball and a new bike as my sixth birthday presents, and I was visiting my cousin, Kristy, at her house.
“Here I go!” shouted David while kicking my new ball. David lived next door and was older than me. I thought he was a wild child, but he was actually very kind. The ball went flying as if it were going to space. “That was high!” Kristy said in surprise and we went after the ball. We all had a great time.
Later we had supper and the food my aunt made was good. While Kristy was helping do the dishes, David and I ran outside to play. We started taking turns riding my bike. David suggested that we ride it to the forest. And I agreed. David and I got on the bike and David started riding fast.
As we rode through the forest, I felt the wind brushing my face. It felt so great and free. Suddenly the bike hit a fallen branch and we went flying off the bike. Lying on the ground, I felt dizzy (眩晕的). I checked myself for injuries and saw some but they didn’t upset me.
“David!” I shouted out anxiously.
“Hey,” said a voice. I turned my head and it was David, who was standing behind me, holding my broken bike. At the sight of my disabled bike, I was so sad that I couldn’t hold back my tears. It took David some time to calm me down.
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；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
When we realized it was time to walk home, we found ourselves lost.
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It was completely dark when we saw fireworks (烟花) being set off in the distance.
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