It was now December twenty-fourth. So here we were, travelling about 2,000 miles and finally reaching our destination San Diego at last. We’d rented a room in a small, well-worn motel (汽车旅馆) near the beach.
Six-year-old Chat frowned. “There is no Christmas tree, Mommy! But it’s almost Christmas. How can Santa know where to put our presents without a Christmas tree?”
“Yes, a Christmas tree!” echoed (附和) his four-year-old brother Jay. “I want a Christmas tree!”
”Couldn’t we just get a small Christmas tree and set it up in this room somewhere?“ asked Chat. ”That way, Santa Claus will know where to put our presents.”
I sighed, looking around at our squeezed-in beds and bags. “But, honey, the five of us can barely move around in here with all our suitcases and everything. I’m sorry, but we just don’t have the room for something extra like a Christmas tree.”
Our oldest son, seven-year-old Robin, had been listening quietly. Suddenly, he grinned (咧嘴笑). “Yes, we do.”
I stared. “Where?”
He pointed to our motel room’s door. “Right there—on the back of that door. Please, Mommy, if we can’t get a real tree, can’t we make a pretend tree and put it up there? Then Santa will know we love Christmas just as much as he does.”
“And leave us some presents, too!” Chat added.
Make a tree? I looked at the newspaper that I had bought when I was searching for places to rent. If I taped some of those pages together, cut them out into a tree shape, and bought some poster paint and brushes at the store next door…
Now, I was grinning, too. “Okay, boys! Ready to make the very best Christmas tree in the whole wide world?”
“Yes!”
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。
So we bought some paint and then taped and cut and painted.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The next morning, I heard, “Mommy! Daddy! Look! Santa did find us after all!”
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On a Friday evening in December, two weeks before Christmas, I lost my job. I hadn’t seen it coming. My daughter, Kristil, was 12 and I planned to get our Christmas tree. Then I listened to my voicemail, “We’re sorry, but your work assignment has ended as of today.” My heart sank.
I wasn’t just a single parent; I was the only parent. My paycheck was survival. I did everything I could to give Kristil a good life, but there were some things my love couldn’t fix. The next day as we searched for our Christmas tree, I struggled to be cheerful as I eyed the Christmas tree prices.
“Is everything OK?” Kristil asked. “You seem worried,”
“I got some bad news yesterday,” I told her. “But it is OK, honey. Please select your favorite Christmas tree! Let’s take it home!” I didn’t want my daughter to discover the fact that I was unemployed. She told me a few months ago that she wanted a Christmas tree.
“Daddy, is it too expensive?” She pointed to a Christmas tree and said to me cautiously.
“Absolutely not,” I told her. “Let’s take it home!”
I swiped my card (刷卡) and paid, quietly made up my mind to set off on my moneymaking pursuits. Over the next week, I crazily applied for jobs as my bank account grew smaller. However, there was no suitable position for me in this world. I felt as if the world was closing in on me.
The day before Christmas, I dropped Kristil in a wealthy community for her friend’s birthday party. I watched as she went in, surrounded by all the nice things that were expensive for me. When she was there, she looked so happy. At that moment, I even thought that she seemed to belong there, a fairy tale world decorated with extremely beautiful and carefully made desserts and beautiful decorations. I went back home defeatedly.
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。
After arriving at home and seeing the Christmas tree, my heart sank to the bottom.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After reading the card my daughter wrote, my eyes were filled with tears.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was on September 5th, my birthday, that we left Cambridge and moved away. We went to the seaside，to our holiday house，which was now to be our permanent home.
I remember the day was cold and grey， in falling slowly but constantly. My father drove in silence. No one spoke and all we could hear was the sound of the tyres on the wet road When we got to the small house near the sea，my mother quietly started to unpack the few things we had brought with us. Carol，Julie and I went down to the beach. We said we were going to look for crabs in the rockpools but actually，we just wanted to get away from our father and his cold silence.
We climbed along the rocks by the side of the beach. Julie and Carol became interested in some shells they found in one of the pools. I wandered away, lost in my private thoughts. It was my birthday, but no one had said “Happy Birthday” to me. I had not received any cards or presents.
I walked down to the seashore, where the waves were breaking lazily against the muddy sand. Suddenly, I saw something green sticking out of the water. I looked at it more carefully. The green thing moved closer and closer to the shore, and when it was almost near enough for me to touch, I realized what it was.
It was a bottle. I went over and picked it up, all the time looking at it. It seemed old, and had no label on it. Then 1 realized there was something inside. Slowly, I pulled out the wet cork from the top of the bottle. Inside was a piece of paper. With great care, 1 took out the folded paper and opened it.
Written on it were these words:
“To whomsoever finds this bottle, I promise you a new friend. ”
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
I stared at the paper and then looked around.
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Paragraph 2
As I opened my eyes, I found my father standing right beside me.
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I walked all the way home from school with my eyes planted on the ground. It had to be around here somewhere. It had to be.
“Watch out!” someone shouted. I looked back and found it was my lab partner Meheer. I was usually glad to see Meheer. He could always make me laugh, even while we were working in class. But today, nothing could cheer me up.
Meheer jumped off his bike. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I lost a necklace (项链) that used to belong to my grandmother. I thought it might havefallen off on the way to school this morning.”
“What does it look like? I’ll help you find it.”
We searched around the path but found nothing.
“There’s always tomorrow,” said Meheer, patting (轻拍) me on the shoulder. “I have a feeling it will turn up.”
“I doubt it,” I said.
Alone, I stood on the front walk for a minute. I had promised my mother I’d be more responsible. What would she think of me now? Slowly, I walked to the front door, pressed the handle, and stepped inside.
My mother was in the kitchen, cutting carrots for her famous vegetable soup. “You’re late,” she said. “You didn’t tell me anything you had after school today.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I should have called.”
“Kari, you may be in the eighth grade now, but I still need to know where you are. I’m responsible for what happens to you.”
That was my mother: never failing in her responsibilities. I, on the other hand, couldn’t even manage the smallest thing.
“So,” she said, “what was it that kept you at school?”
“I lost Grandma’s necklace,” I blurted out (脱口而出). “I’m so sorry. I looked every wherefor it. Mum, please don’t be angry with me. It was an accident.”
My mother stopped cutting and her expression was one I’d never seen before. She said nothing. Then she walked out of the room. Oh, this was worse than I thought. She couldn’t even stand looking at me. A moment later, she reappeared in the doorway. “Do you remember what I said when I gave you the necklace?” I nodded. “You said I was old enough now to be trusted with greater responsibilities.”
注意：1．续写词数应为75左右；
2．请按如下格式作答。
As I brushed away a tear, my mother smiled at me.
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Fallas Festival is one of the most unique festivals celebrated in Spain. Happening from March 14 to 19 in Valencia, the city is filled with tall colorful statues called ninots, people dancing on the streets to the beat of the drum, traditional foods and a lot of fun! It is a celebration of the end of winter and the start of spring. These impressive ninots are made over many months and will be set on fire in a annual ceremony called La Cremá at the end of the four days. It’s a beautiful way to greet the new season with some heat!
It is very important to know how burning beautiful statues started. Though the origins of the Las Fallas de Valencia are uncertain, the most well-known opinion dates back to centuries ago. In celebration of the coming of spring, carpenters (木匠) would burn traditional lamps used to light up workshops in the darkness of winter that were no longer needed. These lamps were called “parots”. The creative Valencian craftsmen would also dress up their parots as customers that have given them trouble in the past, and later on, it became a tradition to find the most inventive parot. As the years went by, people became more creative and the annual tradition lives on to this day.
Nowadays, Valencia celebrates this festival mainly in 4 days. The streets are filled with extremely great energy — with larger-than-life figures parading the city and people dancing on the streets to the sound of music. During these days there are special events called The Mascleta, Nit de Foc, La Planta, and La Cema. To enjoy the full experience of Las Fallas, we strongly recommend attending all of these events.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________February has long been a month of romance. With the sweet smell of roses in the air, romantic films hit cinemas and love stories fill newspapers and magazines.
On the 14th day, it is a custom for a boy to take his girlfriend out to dinner, buy her flowers and chocolate, write poems, sing to her or even spell out her name with rose petals! This is what you see on Valentine’s Day, a day named after Valentine who was a priest in the third century Rome. When the emperor decided that single men could become better soldiers than those with wives, he didn’t allow marriage.
But Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies for young lovers in secret. When his actions were discovered, the emperor sentenced him to death. While in prison, it is said that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his prison guard. Before his death, he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine”, an expression that is still in use today. Valentine died for what he believed in and so he was made a saint, as well as becoming one of the most romantic characters in history.
Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is still popular among Chinese young people. Some students are planning to make Valentine’s cards for parents, teachers and friends. Others want to hold parties at which they will exchange small gifts and eat heart-shaped cakes. The idea is to have fun and encourage people to share in the spirit of St. Valentine.
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In early November, I told the pupils in my class I taught in Delaware about my plan. “I'd like all of you to do extra jobs around the house to cam some money,” I said. “Then we'll buy food for a Thanksgiving dinner for someone who might not have a nice dinner otherwise.”
I wanted them to understand that religion is more than noble ideas; that people somehow have to make it come alive. I hoped they could experience a sense of their own power to make changes.
Early in Thanksgiving week, the boys and girls arrived in class holding their hard-earned money. They had set tables, washed dishes, cared for younger sisters or brothers. And now they couldn't wait to go shopping.
I supervised (监督) while they moved quickly up and down the supermarket. At last we headed toward the checkout, pushing a cart (购物车) filled with turkey and other pieces of food. Then someone spotted a “necessity” that sent them racing.
“Flowers!” Kristine cried. The group ran toward the holiday plants.
It was more meaningful to use any extra money to buy staples (主食) that could be stretched into meals. After all, I pronounced, “You can't eat flowers.”
“But Mrs. Sherlock, we want flowers." Defeated, 1 looked at the collection of purple chrysanthemums (菊花). “She’ll like this one,” the children agreed, and put the purple plant into the cart gently.
An agency had given us the name and address of a needy grandmother who had lived alone for many years.
Soon we were bouncing along a road to her house. The atmosphere in the car was definitely not spiritual. “You're squishing (压扁) me!” one voice announced. “I think I'm scared of strangers,” said another. Between giggling (咯咯地笑) and punching, and those purple flowers, I wasn't sure that any lesson about giving and receiving was getting through.
注意：
1.续写词数应为100左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
We finally pulled up in front of a small house.
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One evening, it was raining heavily. An old lady was sitting inside her car, stuck in the middle of the road. It was clear that she badly needed help. A poorly dressed man approached her car but hesitated to speak.
The lady rolled down her window. She looked worried. She tried to smile as the man approached.
“Hello ma’am, can I help you?” the man said. The lady looked puzzled and said, “Yes.” “Please wait inside your car and let me see if I can solve the problem. By the way, I’m Thomas Anderson,” the man named Thomas said. He discovered that she had a flat tire and soon fixed the problem.
“I really don’t have enough words to thank you. How much should I pay you?” she asked, ready to reward him for his kindness. Thomas was surprised. He had never expected any reward from her, though his family would badly need money once their baby was born next month.
“That’s so nice of you, ma’am,” he said. “But if you really want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help, please think of me and help that person. I hope this chain of love will not end with you.” He smiled and went away before the lady could say anything more.
The lady was touched. Anyone who saw the ragged man would think that he needed help, even though he was the one who was helping others.
As the lady went on her way, she found a small cafe down the road. She decided to have a cup of hot coffee. As she went inside, a waitress came up to her with a very clean towel so that she could dry her wet hair. The lady observed that the waitress was heavily pregnant(怀孕的). She looked tired, but she tried not to show it.
要求：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2. 至少使用5个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。
续写部分：
Paragraph 1：
While drinking her coffee, the old lady thought of Thomas and what he had said.
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Paragraph 2：
The waitress found $500 beneath the napkin.
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Boys like to be considered to be brave, but what kind of things can be considered to be brave? It is not a question that can be answered by words, but by the actual deed. A boy with the name Henry gave us a good example. Ronny and Henry were two friends in the same class. They always played together and went home together. One day as Ronny and Henry were going home after school, they saw some people fighting in the street corner. Ronny said excitedly, “Some people are fighting! Let’s go and have a look!” But Henry refused, “It’s none of our business. We’d better go home and don’t get close to them. Also our parents are expecting to have dinner with us together at home and I don’t want them to worry about me.”
“You are a coward, and afraid to go,” said Ronny, and off he ran to the spot with some other boys. Henry had to go home alone and didn't think about it anymore.
But Ronny thought Henry was a coward and told all the boys that. They laughed at him a great deal. From then on, they looked down upon Henry and didn’t want to play with him.
Henry was sad but he wasn’t angry with Ronny for his rude behavior, because he had learned that true courage was shown most in bearing misunderstanding when it was not deserved, and that he ought to be afraid of nothing but doing wrong. Thus, he just ignored the other boys’ laughter and continued to stick to his thought and go to school and study as well. However, Ronny didn’t invite Henry to go home with him anymore. Instead, he had his new friends who also thought Henry was a coward. Every day after school, they didn't go home directly but went to the river or somewhere to play games and had lots of fun.
注意：
1. 所续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
Paragraph 1:
A few days later, something terrible happened to Ronny.
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Paragraph 2:
At that moment, Henry happened to pass by.
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David had run the jewelry shop passed from his grandfather for thirty years, collecting and selling all kinds of jewelry. In the little front window, gold rings, silver earrings, necklaces and other beautiful jewelry were displayed.
On a sunny winter afternoon, a little boy was standing before the window, his forehead against the glass, studying each treasure, as if he were looking for something quite special. Finally he straightened up with a satisfied smile and entered the shop.
“Mister, would you please show me that blue necklace in the window?” the little boy asked David eagerly. “It looks just like the one Mom lost,” said he, entirely to himself.
The necklace was collected at a price of $100 from a middle-aged lady a few months ago, who seemed in great need of money. David lifted out the necklace. “Are you buying it for someone?” David asked.
“It is for my mother. You see, this will be the first Christmas since father died. I’ve been looking for the most wonderful present for her. Will you wrap it up pretty for me, please?”
“How much money do you have?” asked David.
The little boy poured out a handful of pennies on the counter and explained “I emptied my bank”.
David looked at him thoughtfully. Then he carefully drew back the necklace. The price tag (标签) was visible to him but not the little boy. How could he tell him? “Just a minute,” he said, and turned towards the back of the store. He removed the price tag. Over his shoulder he called, “What’s your name?”
“Jimmy.”
When David turned to where Jimmy waited, a package lay in his hand, wrapped in blue paper and tied with a red ribbon (丝带). “Here you are,” he said. Jimmy took it carefully and smiled happily at the shop owner over his shoulder as he ran out of the door.
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。
Jimmy got home and gave the gift to his mother.
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The mother packed the necklace back again and said, “Let’s go back to the shop!”
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