Twelve Days of Kindness
Although it was less than two weeks before Christmas, I found it difficult to be in a festive mood. We had moved to Canada, and holidays were difficult for us because we missed our friends and relatives in Minnesota. Our family was also going through a very difficult year, with health problems and a serious work-related problem for my husband.
“Mom, How I wish we could spend Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma in Minnesota. I really miss them and my friends there.” said my fifteen-year-old daughter, Rachel.
“I know, Rachel. So would I,” I said. “But Minnesota is 2,000 kilometers away. Don’t you remember how hard it was to drive in that snowstorm last year? And then the temperature dropped to-30℃ on our way back?”
“I remember,” she said and ducked her head disappointedly.
We thought driving to Minnesota for Christmas was too risky and buying airline tickets for three people was out of the question. We would be spending Christmas alone in Canada, and had no money for a Christmas tree or a Christmas dinner.
We were surprised when the doorbell rang. It was dark and cold outside, and we weren’t expecting anyone. Hesitantly, Rachel stood up and went forward to open the door, and then said, “Mom, there’s a big box on the doorstep and nobody is out here!” My husband also went and looked. But there was nobody insight.
They brought the box in. We were surprised to find that the box contained many packages covered in bright Christmas paper. Each had a typewritten note: Open Dec.14, Open Dec.15...There were a total of twelve—the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” The note read: Our LOVE is given anonymously(匿名地), so enjoy fun with your family, but don’t tell anyone please.
注意：
1.续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
After that, we opened one more gift each day.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
We opened the 12th package on December 25th.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
相似题推荐
【推荐1】下列表格为某市2006年与2016年人们度假方式的情况比较，请用英语写一篇短文描述表格中的内容，并对度假方式的变化原因进行简单评析。
年度 | 2006 | 2016 | 原因 |
境外旅游 | 11% | 22% | 收入增加 |
海边度假 | 38% | 31% | 海水污染 |
爬山野营 | 11% | 34% | 亲近自然 |
注意：1. 词数120左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
The way people spend their holidays changed a lot in 2006 and 2016._________________
Several years ago, I was living in New York and working for an airline, so I never got back home for Christmas. My Christmas was happy too with some other colleagues around. But in my heart I was sad because I couldn’t stay with my family. Sometimes my colleagues would say our Christmas was filled with tears. But this Christmas was different. I was lucky. I had the whole day off, which meant I could stay with my family on Christmas Eve.
When Christmas morning came, I awoke to a small hand on my face. “Dad, Merry Christmas!” was all my younger son had time to say. He seemed to be racing against time. I knew he was hunting for gifts with his brother eagerly. I got down stairs just to see the two little boys’ faces as they looked at the pocket rockets Santa Claus(圣诞老人) had left them. I realized that the real Christmas was for the children who had deep belief in the amazing power of Santa Claus. At first, their fingers went almost shyly over their toys. When their inspection(检查) had been completed, the two boys ensured that the gifts were really delivered by Santa Claus and they dragged everything into the center of the living room.
Delight flooded the room. As their mother began giving out gifts, I smiled to myself, wondering how my unexpected gifts this year would be received. With so many Christmas spent outside, I had prepared so many gifts for my children and together with my wife. I hid them in several secret places. But the children were excellent detectives and they found all of them. They were happily opening packages, thanking considerate Santa Claus for his kindness and ability to know their desires. But I had not received a single one. I knew they had forgotten my existence with my absence(缺席) from their Christmas these years.
注意：
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。
Paragraph 1:
I had to admit that my disappointment was growing.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Suddenly my wife walked up to me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Christmas I will never forget happened when I was 9. I believed in Santa with all my heart. How could I not when I received everything I wished for.
December 1st. Mom would announce, “It’s time.” Hearing those words, we all knew it was time to write our letters to Santa. One day I asked mom why we always wrote our letters on December 1st. She said because so many kids were writing letters to Santa, he needed time to read them and make all the toys the kids wanted. Once our letters were finished, mom would put them in her purse and mail them the next day.
Christmas Eve finally arrived. We were all so excited. We did our Christmas Eve traditions. Daddy read us The Night Before Christmas’ story. Then it was time for sleep. I had such a good feeling about Christmas this year. It was difficult to fall asleep. But sleep finally came and so did Christmas morning. I woke up hearing my brothers yelling. Jimmy came running and jumping on my bed. “Santa’s been here, sister! Let’s open presents!”
We ran down the stairs. Our eyes were glowing like wildfire as we eyed over the presents under the tree. My brothers and I quickly snuggled (依偎) among the packages. We all watched as each person unwrapped a gift. I kept watching as my brothers unwrapped gifts. My dad didn’t hand me any package. “This year you are going to be the last to get your presents because you are the oldest.” he declared. I didn’t think anything of it, so I whispered “OK.”
One by one all of the packages had been opened. There was none left. I couldn’t understand. I had been so good this year. Tears began sliding down my cheeks. I ran up to my room. My mom went up the stairs for me to come back down. Dad wanted to talk to me, sobbing, I slowly made my way back.
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。
Dad signed to me to follow him.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The memory of that Christmas stayed with me all these years.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At first, Michael Surrell didn’t see the black smoke or flames shooting from the windows of his neighbors’ home. When he and his wife got a call from one of his daughters: “The house next door is on fire!”, he went to investigate and saw Mrs. Robert crying desperately on their porch (门廊). “My baby is in there!” she cried. Though the fire department had been called, Surrell, then 64, instantly ran inside. The baby was 8-year-old Tiara, Mrs. Robert’s granddaughter.
Entering the burning house was like “running into a bucket of black paint,” Surrell says. The thick smoke made it impossible for Surrell to breathe. The conditions were life-threatening for Surrell, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (慢性阻塞性肺病).
Knowing that he couldn’t hold his breath for long in the smoke-filled house, Surrell took a deep breath, and went in the house. Because the house had a similar layout (布局) to his, he found the stairs and made it to the second floor. He turned to the right and was met by intense heat. He was already out of breath.
His throat and lungs burned as if he’d breathed in fire instead of the smoke in the air. All he could hear was the crackling and popping of burning wood. Then a soft but distinct moan (呻吟声) emerged. Unable to see, Surrell fell to his knees on the hot wood floor. He crawled toward the sound, feeling around for any sign of the girl.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
Finally, he touched something — a shoe, then an ankle.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
When he regained consciousness, Surrell found himself in hospital surrounded by many people.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The day was Thankful Thursday, our “chosen day” of service. It’s a weekly tradition that my two little girls and I began years ago. Thursday has become our day to go out in the world and make a positive contribution, however small it is. On this particular Thursday, we had no idea exactly what we were going to do, but we knew that something would present itself.
Driving along a busy Houston road,I prayed for guidance in our quest to fulfill our weekly Act of Kindness.Around the noon hour, my two little ones wasted no time in letting me know their hunger, chanting, “McDonald’s, McDonald’s, McDonald’s“ as we drove along. And I began searching earnestly for the nearest McDonald’s. Suddenly I realized that almost every crossroad I passed through was occupied by a beggar. And then it hit me!
If my two little ones were hungry, then all these beggars must be hungry, too. Perfect! Our Act of Kindness had presented itself. We were going to buy lunch for the beggars. After finding a McDonald’s and ordering two Happy Meals for my girls, I ordered an additional 15 lunches and we set out to deliver them. It was exciting. We would pull alongside a beggar, make a contribution, and tell him or her that we hoped things got better. Then we’d say, “Oh, by the way... here’s lunch.” And then we would head to the next crossroad.
It was the best way to give. There wasn’t enough time for us to introduce ourselves or explain what we were going to do, nor was there time for them to say anything back to us. The Act of Kindness was anonymous and empowering for each of us, and we loved what we saw in the rear view mirror: a surprised and delighted person holding up his lunch bag and just looking at us as we drove off. It was wonderful!
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。
We had come to the end of our “route” and there was a small woman standing there, asking for change.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
She just looked at me with her huge brown eyes and said, “Oh honey, I’m not going to eat this lunch. This is my daughter’s favorite.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Three years ago I was arranged to work for a few weeks as a dentist (牙医) in a new dental clinic at Victor Harbor, to the south of Adelaide and an hour further away than my usual workplace. My first day there was rush driving to a new and unfamiliar clinic and getting accustomed to the different rules and clinical environment.
In my worry and anxiety, and feeling a little unfamiliar in the new setting, I removed my three rings: my wedding ring, a ring that belonged to my mother and one that was an anniversary gift from my husband. I wrapped them in a tissue (纸巾) and placed them beside my computer.
During my lunch break, I noticed the wrinkled tissue and thought that it did not look very neat and dropped it into the rubbish bin. I went about my duties and my day went on well; I met new patients and felt that I had been productive and efficient. Driving home at the end of the day, just moments before I reached my house, I noticed that I was missing my rings. I felt the heat in my body rising, my cheeks burning red. I went inside and tried to calm down. I felt sick to my stomach and I had that sinking feeling in my heart. I spent an hour or so making calls, trying to follow the track of my rings. The first people I called were my manager and clinical leader and they gave me a few contact numbers for cleaners. I got in touch with a lady who managed the cleaning services for the clinic, and she informed me that the bins had already been collected.
Heartbroken, I knew nothing could be done now. I had lost my rings. Had it not been for my carelessness, all this would not have happened. With great sorrow and regret, I just sat there rooted in my chair.
After two hours or so, I received a most amazing phone call.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
