“What’s that noise?” Meg asked her eight-year-old daughter, Haley. Looking down at Haley’s shoes, Meg realized that they were too old.

Meg and Haley were on their way home from school. It had just stopped raining, but water on the road had damaged the girl’s shoes.

Meg immediately took her daughter to a store to buy her a new pair of sneakers. Although she just had enough money for groceries, she thought getting Haley a new pair of shoes was more important.

“That one, yes, those pink shoes beside the blue shoes,” Meg instructed the shop assistant.

“How about these?” Meg heard Haley say.

Turning around, she saw Haley checking shoes in the section just for boys. Meg hesitated and approached her daughter.

“Mom, I want these limited-edition sneakers for Buddy. He always tells me how he wishes to wear such shoes,” Haley said.

Meg was shocked. Not only was she unable to afford two pairs of shoes, but she wondered why Haley was interested in getting her classmate Buddy a new pair.

“Buddy is from a very poor family. Poorer than us. His shoes are torn and ugly. Everybody laughs at him. Please, can we buy these shoes for him? You can buy mine later,” Haley added.

Meg thought for a while and decided it would be best if she bought her daughter shoes for now. “You will be sick if you keep wearing your wet, torn shoes. I’m sorry, honey, but you need a new pair,” Meg insisted.

Haley sighed heavily and agreed. She was not excited to see the new pair of sneakers her mom had bought for her.

As Meg and Haley left, Bob, the shoe store owner who knew Meg well, walked to the limited-edition sneakers and sighed, too. He had overheard everything and knew what it was like to be poor. When he was a little boy, he had also been laughed at for his ugly shoes and it was his own experience that had inspired him to own a shoe store that sold footwear for people from all walks of life.

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Bob decided to help Buddy but didn’t know how.

Haley stayed up very late that night.

There are so many ups and downs in our life. Sometimes something unexpected approached us totally before we realize it. I had an experience with a stranger recently that really touched me. Before I go too far, let me just say that I’m a lover of love. I believe that all good things come from love and I also believe that we are called to love one another each and every day.

And recently that love was returned to me in a simple but grand way. As you may know, I lost my mom last month and it’s been really tough. You don’t expect to lose a parent until it’s their time or until you’ve at least given them a grandchild. Needless to say, February was not my favorite month. I flew to my hometown to pay my respects and say my goodbyes. After spending a few days with my family making arrangements and taking care of a few things, it was time to head back. I boarded the plane to find a young man sitting in my seat. Usually, it’s not a big deal to me, but I really wanted that window seat so I could just put on my headphones and sleep. He followed graciously (和蔼地) when I asked him to move, all the while I was apologizing.

After the doors were closed and we began to taxi to the runway, the emotions began to hit me. Something about leaving the place where I grew up and knowing that my mom was no longer there just made me break down. Looking out of the window, I saw nothing but thick clouds. The ground being more and more distant, my vision became blurry as my eyes filled with tears.

As I wiped them away, I heard a gentle voice.

One day when I was 5 years old, my dad headed for work while my mum drove me to the town for shopping. Soon we got to a supermarket. While my mum was picking up vegetables, I spotted some attractive apples, which looked big and red and smelt pleasant. All of a sudden I had the desire to eat apples. I begged my mum to buy some and she agreed.

After getting all the groceries, we went for a walk in a park in the town and didn’t return until it was close to noon. Upon arriving home, my mum left the bag of apples in the sitting room and went to prepare the lunch in the kitchen. Right there and then I could hardly wait to taste the apples, so I took one and had a big bite even without washing it. However, to my disappointment, it wasn’t as sweet as expected. Luckily, when I tried another, it was satisfying this time. When I was enjoying it, my mum called me to give some apples to our neighbour. Julie, an old lady living close to our home.

Julie lived by herself. She was a kind lady and treated me very well. When my parents had no time to look after me, I would go to hers and she would help take care of me. And she liked chatting and even playing with me. So when my mum asked me to deliver some apples to her, I was very glad to do that.

I found a plastic bag in which to put some apples. But I hesitated just before picking them up. “Some apples are not that delicious. I should send some good ones to Grandma Julie.” I thought. But how could I tell the sweet ones from the rest? I wondered because I had no idea how to find it out just by their appearance.

Then all at once, a clever idea hit me.

Returning home from Julies home. I told my mum what I had done with the apples.