There was a time when my favorite thing to do in the entire world was to play in the woods near our house. A river ran through them, so not only could I climb branches, but I could turn over rocks on the riverbank and find baby eels (鳗鱼).
My favorite book was called Guide to Reptiles (爬行动物). My father had given it to me for my birthday, and I read every page over and over, looking at the pictures of colorful animals. Some of the snakes were the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen, and some were described as poisonous, but still an important part of the ecosystem.
Little did I know that my book would end up saving a life.
My family moved to Virginia, into a new house. The houses were so new that no one had lived in them before. In fact, woods had been there first, and almost all the trees had been cut down to make room for houses and driveways. Inside our new house, everything smelled like fresh paint. Outside, no lawns had been planted, but my father tossed out grass seed and baby seedlings grew. My brother Patrick and I could not walk on them. We had to play in the driveway.
All the same, I liked our new house. One of the best things about living near the woods were the animals that would come into our yard. Rabbits and turtles came over every night. It seemed as if they were only trying to go home, and instead, what they had found was a big new land where their old homes used to be.
Besides playing in the driveway, we spent time in a sandbox, which my father built right next to the driveway. One day before dinner, I ran to the sandbox to build a castle but found there in the sandbox was a snake.
It was lying very still, and it was beautiful. The snake had rings of color around it-red, then white, then yellow, then black. I had seen a picture just like it in my reptile book, and I remembered that it was one of the prettiest snakes in it. It said in the book that the poisonous snake looked very much like it. I was scared and ran inside.
Para 1: “Dad! Dad! There’s a snake in the sandbox!” I yelled.
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Para 2: Two hours after the call, the zoo expert arrived with a secure container.
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The year 2013 marked a turning point in my life. In June, my husband was offered a new Job in Ghana. Feeling that I had hit a career bottleneck as a photographer and copywriter (广告文字撰写人), I, without any hesitation, made the decision to relocate with him.
While my husband engaged in work, my visa didn’t grant me the same privilege. But that’s okay. I didn’t know what to do anyway. I was left isolated, homesick and lacking purpose. Our new home was a bungalow near a river that cut across expansive grasslands. With few people around our home, I turned to nature, which had been a fondness of mine since childhood. Every day, I would take my camera and wander around, photographing aimlessly.
It wasn’t long before September arrived, bringing the full flow of the rainy season. After one particularly bad thunderstorm, I found a finch (雀) — a poor little thing barely a month old with one wing broken — on the ground. Evidently, he had been abandoned by his flock, his nest blown from a tree. The sight was heartbreaking. He was the size of my lite finger. His eyes were tightly shut and he was shuddering, too young to survive alone. I somehow felt a connection with it. Immediately I scooped him up and cautiously placed him in a cardboard box with towels, mimicking a nest, and stayed up all night researching how to care for him.
The next day, he seemed to regain some energy. He woke with his mouth open, though still too weak to let out a call. I fed him some food and chirped (叽喳) at him. To my amusement, he chirped back and even climbed into my hand. I affectionately gazed at this adorable creature, who was now boldly pecking (啄) my fingers now and then. A surge of warmth ran through me. Tenderly stroking his feathers, I chirped a lullaby, singing him to sleep. Gradually, his eyes drooped and he drifted off. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene — as far as he was concerned, I was his mother.
Para 1. “I will take care of you.” I murmured, making my promise to him.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Para 2. At that moment I realized that as I dedicated myself to the finch’s care, something within me changed.
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Sarai was attempting to halter (给……套上缰绳) her bay (棕红色) horse, Amadore, when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention. “I know what your problem is.” said a boy from the stall doorway.
Sarai threw a look over her shoulder but her focus remained on the horse in front of her.
Holding out a hand to her horse. Sarai said. “You heard what Dad said yesterday. If I can’t get this halter on you by tomorrow, we’ll have to send you back to the rescue ranch. I don’t want to send you back.”
“I know what your problem is.” the boy persisted, introducing himself as Cody.
Sarai sighed, propped her hands on her hips, and turned enough to see the boy but keep Amadore in her sight as well.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” said Sarai, frowning. “If you don't know me or my horse, how can you know what my problem is?”
“I just do,” Cody smiled again.
Sarai rolled her eyes and turned her back on Cody. Despite Sarai’s skepticism and her insistence on working alone, he offered to stay around in case she needed help.
The following morning, Sarai’s efforts were met with the same resistance from Amadore. Seeing him push himself back into the corner even further when she approached with breakfast, she frowned again, feeling frustrated and broken-hearted.
Realizing she might need assistance after all, she sought out Cody, who was now grooming a horse named Monty, preparing him for the Great Mustang Challenge.
“How's it going with Amadore?” Cody asked.
The words stuck in her throat, “Well…I need your help. Yesterday you said you knew what my problem was.” “It’s your face,” said Cody. “Horses can read a person’s facial features and determine what might happen because of the look on the face.”
Noticing Sarai’s struggle, Cody explained that her frown, likely a result of concentration, could be misinterpreted by the horse.
“That's silly,” said Sarai skeptically.
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。
“I can prove it,” Cody smiled with a camera in his hand.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a quick pace, Sarai went back to her own horse.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________请简单描述这则刊登在China Daily上保护穿山甲（pangolin）的公益广告，谈谈你的感想。
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“Please, mother, do sit down and let me try my hand,” said Fred Liscom, a bright, active boy seventeen years old. Mrs. Liscom, looking pale and worn, smiled and said, “You, Fred, you wash dishes?” “Yes, indeed, mother,” replied Fred, “I should be a poor scholar if I couldn’t, when I’ve seen you do it so many times. Just try me.”
A look of relief came over his mother’s face as she seated herself in her low rocking chair. Fred washed the dishes, and put them in the closet. He then swept the kitchen, brought up the potatoes from the cellar (地下室) for the dinner and washed them, and then set out for school.
Fred did so because the doctor said one day, “Well, madam, it’s my opinion that you would have been very sick if you had kept busy.” Fred had given up a great deal of what boys like, for the purpose of helping his mother.
The school boys’ curiosity was excited when he would give no other reason for not coming to school earlier, or staying after school. “I’ll tell you,” said Tom Barton, “I’ll find him out and boys see if I don’t!”
So he called for Fred to go to school, and when he looked into the kitchen window, he saw Fred standing at the table with a dishcloth in his hand.
Of course he reported this at school, and various were the greetings poor Fred received. “Well, you’re a brave one to stay at home washing dishes.” After school, Fred was crying secretly at night after her mother fell asleep when someone shouted “Fire! fire!” It was Mr. Barton’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Barton were not at home, leaving Tom Barton and his sister Katy alone. Without the slightest hesitation, Fred rushed out towards Tom’s house.
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。
Fred found Tom trembling with terror outside their house, without Katy.
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They had narrowly escaped from the house before it collapsed.
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When I was very young, I liked to listen to my mother’s stories. Lying in bed at night was my happiest moment. Every night, I always fell asleep with my mother’s wonderful stories.
When I went to school and began to know how to read. I liked to read fairy tales by myself. I was often lost in the wonderful world described in the books.
I showed more interest in books when I met Mr. Smith. who discovered my deep love for literature. He gave me many storybooks and taught me knowledge about literature. With his encouragement, I began to write my own stories.
Gradually, I developed a strong interest in writing stories, and I felt that writing was not a difficult thing, but a kind of pleasure. When I wrote a story, I would show it to my teacher. He praised me every time and encouraged me to keep writing.
That’s how I have got into the habit of writing. Even after I started working, I would send my stories to my teacher as usual.
One day my teacher recommended me to a publisher. I borrowed my mom’s old, blue car for the day. I drove 12 miles to the county newspaper office. I had on the seat beside me a short one-page story I had just written and I hoped to get it published that day. I was excited, nervous and a little scared. What if the publisher didn’t want it?
When I arrived. I parked across the road and knocked on the door. The secretary let me in and walked me to the office. He was a large man but the kind smile he shared with me soon put me at ease. He read my handwritten story-I didn’t even own a typewriter at the time. Then he said he really enjoyed it and would include it in his next week’s edition.
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。
My heart jumped with joy but I wanted even more.
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My teacher and the publisher would turn me into a writer.
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Every girl dreamed when she was young and Cindy was no exception. Her favorite ballet was Swan and Lake and she had read dozens of books from the library or in the bookstore on how to become a ballerina. She anxiously hoped that one day her dream would come true. She had taken ballet lessons and all her teachers confirmed that she was a good student and full of potential, which made her look forward to the future.
One day she saw an advertisement that a famous ballerina troupe (剧团) would be performing in her hometown. Her thoughts ran wild, “I must meet up with the leader of the troupe and show him my skills,” she murmured to herself. She dressed herself in her ballerina costume and managed to avoid the guards and hid in the dressing room to wait, with her heart pounding. It was uncertain whether she could see the leader.
Luckily, the leader entered and she timidly knocked at the door.
She bravely approached him and handed him a bunch of red roses. And in her excitement, she pricked (刺) her finger on the thorns but she did not make a big thing about the pain. The leader observed her action, nodding his head slightly, as she told him her dream. “All right, you dance and I will give you my judgment.”
But half way through the dance he stopped her and said with an impish (恶作剧的) smile Cindy didn’t notice, “I’m sorry you’re not good enough!” On hearing this, Cindy was too ashamed to ask the leader the reason and ran crying away, as fast as her legs could carry her without a brief stay. Shaking his head in disappointment, the leader said to himself, “Persistence matters more than talent.”
Three years passing, she was still chasing her dream. Then one day she heard that the same ballet troupe was performing in her town again. Bitter memories of the leader’s harsh words came flooding back to her. This time she was determined to find out why the leader had told her she was not good enough when all her teachers thought otherwise.
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。
The leader glanced at Cindy in peace, “I remember how you had pricked yourself but you carried on bravely.”
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At the thought, she ran after the leader immediately.
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