I pulled the car into the garage and got out, just like every night for the past 16 years. The difference was that I wouldn’t have a job to take in the morning. I used to be a VP in technology for a national bank until it was closed.
I’d put my heart and soul into my job. Not only did I work long hours, but I was on call 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. My kids joked that, though they were the teenagers, I was the one who was glued to the cellphone and had to be told not to text at the dinner table.
My wife, Michelle, went back to work fulltime once my job was threatened. But our kids would be going to college—our son, TJ, was a high school senior, and the girls, Sarah and Tara, were in ninth grade—and I wanted to give them the education and opportunities they deserved. God, if I can’t provide for my family, I asked, what good am I?
A ray of light streamed through the window, as if beckoning(召唤) me. I opened the door and stepped out into our yard. The lawn, the maple tree planted when I was young and the flower beds were overrun with weeds.They needed pruning(修剪)．
Treasure this time. The thought came out of nowhere. But clear, clear as it could be, I shook my head. I couldn’t get distracted by random thoughts. The clock was ticking. I needed to get busy finding a new job.
I went up to the house. “I’m sorry, Dad,” TJ said. “I know how much your job meant to you.” His concern was mirrored in the girls’ faces. Then Michelle added, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this together. Maybe you should consider this time as a break.You deserve one.”
A break? Was she kidding? There was no time to rest. If anything, I needed to work even harder.
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The next morning I got up before everyone else and opened my laptop.
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Just a few hours here and there, the new lawn began to take shape and so did I．
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“Daddy, I have something to tell you. I wanted to ask your permission to go to America.” I didn’t finish my speech as he shouted, “No!” “But why? What…”, I replied. “If this all is about money, then you may not worry, I got a scholarship …”
I didn’t know what to do. I felt a warm tear running down my cheek. I thought there would be no problem because he always knew how much I dreamt about studying abroad. I was so angry and said: “But why do I have to ask your permission? I am already 18 and I’m not a kid anymore. You can’t tell me what is right and what is wrong.”
I shut the door so hard that it staggered. I was so disappointed that all these years he couldn’t see what I was doing. The tears were flowing on their own. I realized how much my love for dad was, however, I just could not stay at my hometown anymore.
I left home and my eyes were full of anger and tears. I didn’t know what to do and what to expect, but I decided to go far away from home and start creating my dream life. I took a bus and went to the airport.
I closed my eyes and felt that something was wrong. Everything was so silent when suddenly I heard my phone ringing. It was a nurse from the local hospital:
“Hello! Are you the daughter of Kuat?”, she asked. “Your dad has had a heart attack and he’s in a coma now. The situation’s serious. We want you …”
I wasn’t listening to her anymore. Tears were flowing and I started to choke when all of a sudden I heard a man’s voice and opened my eyes. I realized that it was a nightmare.
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 started searching for my phone and wanted to hear my dad’s voice.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Here you are, my sweetie. I’m not letting you leave because I don’t want you to forget me.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Velan was a carpenter. He was living in a village. His mother died a long time ago. His aged father, Kuppan, lived with him. Kuppan was very weak. He could not even walk well. He was weak because Velan did not give him enough food. He had given his father a small earthen plate. So even a small quantity of boiled rice in the plate appeared to be much. Velan was a bad man. He was also a drunkard(酒鬼). After drinking too much, he was cruel to his father.
Velan had a son. His name is Muthu. Muthu was just ten years old. He was a very good boy.
He loved and respected his grandfather, which he thought was his duty. He did not like his father’s attitude towards his grandfather, because his father was treating his grandfather cruelly.
One day Kuppan was eating his food out of the earthen plate that his son had given to him. Suddenly the earthen plate fell down and broke into pieces. The food also fell onto the floor. Velan was working at the other end of the room. When he saw the broken plate, he was very angry with his father and used very harsh words to abuse and scold his father.
The old man felt bad about what happened. He was sorry for his mistake. In addition, he felt deeply wounded by Velan’s words.
Velan’s son, Muthu, saw this. He did not like his father. His father was ill-treating his grandfather. He was afraid to speak against his father. He was sad about his grandfather. But he was not powerful, so he couldn’t be in support of his grandfather.
The next day Muthu took some of his father’s carpentry tools and a piece of wood. He decided to use the tools to make a wooden plate. His father saw him working.
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。
He asked Muthu what he was making.
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The carpenter was shocked to hear this.
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My father and I disagreed about my curfew (晚间在家的时间). He would say I had to be in by 9:30 on weekdays, and 11:00 on weekends, and there was no exception. One day, I took courage to first show my opinion on my curfew. I told him it made me feel like a junior high school kid. He explained that though a curfew might sound like a restriction, it was really about people looking out for one another.
The very next Friday after that exchange, my dad and I had tickets to see our own town's professional football game. On that day he was driving his car to a nearby city to meet some major clients and told me that his getting home and our leaving for the game would be tight.
To make sure we could move off the moment he came back, I got everything prepared. When half an hour had passed from the time when he said he would be home, I understood that he was a little late. But then, nearly a whole hour passed. I was getting upset. We were going to miss the kick-off! And why hadn’t he phoned me and let me know he was going to be really late? As I anxiously stepped the floor, another half hour passed. That was when I got really angry. How inconsiderate my father was! We were going to miss the whole game! However, when another half an hour passed, my anger turned to fear. What if something terrible had happened to my dad, like he had a sudden heart attack or was caught in an accident, or something else? I began to get really worried, feeling like sitting on pins and needles. I had already called his cell phone about ten times, but there was no answer.
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 was beside myself with extreme anxieties, assuming the worst had happened.
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The heavy stone in my heart finally fell to the ground.
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Robbie loved swimming in the sea. When he was a little boy, he had always dreamed of becoming a professional swimmer. And he moved well on his career journey when he grew up. But one day, unfortunately, he got badly injured while he was training for a swimming competition.
After months of treatment, his condition got better. But the doctor strongly advised him never to go swimming again, or else his life would be in danger. This broke his heart.
Despite the fact that he had to give up swimming, his love for swimming never died. So he rented a beach house, which would allow him the comfort of being close to the seawater. And to make ends meet, he tried to sell souvenirs to tourists who visited the beach.
One early summer evening, Robbie was making his way home from the beach when he heard a cry. It was reported that it might rain that day, so most people had left the beach early. But Robbie believed he had heard something. The cry came again, and he had a quick look around. He found the beach was empty. Suddenly, he heard a shout from the sea.
“Help!” a frightened and tired kid shouted. He learned later that the kid was 12 years old, called Nicole, and lived in an orphanage (孤儿院). She lost her parents when she was a baby. Her parents were professional swimmers and she dreamed about becoming a good swimmer like them. That early summer evening, after dinner, she left the orphanage alone and went to the beach, hoping to learn to swim on her own. The girl almost drowned. When she was calling for help that evening, Robbie happened to hear it.
He immediately called the police. “But waiting for help might be too late,” Robbie thought. He thought of how life-threatening it was for him to swim. “The kid is drowning!” but he thought as he fought his fear. “I must help.”
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2.请按如下格式作答。
Then, he jumped in.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Feeling pity for Nicole, Robbie decided to teach her how to swim.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The early April wind was colder than I expected as I walked anxiously toward the Holiday Inn at Union Square in San Francisco. With every step I took, I heard my mother’s words, “Johnny, I am all packed and looking forward to seeing you!”
After five years of trying to get a visa to the United States to visit me, she finally succeeded on the third attempt. The long and boring process, while at times heartbreaking, could not prevent my mom from her desire to make the trip. Despite being only five feet, three inches tall, Mom had always been the pillar (支柱) of our family. Her solution to the visa challenge proved once again that no barrier was a match for Mom’s strong determination and love for her family — in this case, me!
Although excited, I was extremely nervous. Mom and I had not seen each other in more than eight years, since I left Malaysia at eighteen to attend college in the U.S. Due to a fault, my application for permanent residency was put on hold. In spite of being gainfully employed and a homeowner, I could not leave the country until my paperwork was resolved.
In the beginning, our only source of communication was through letters. Later, it became lengthy phone conversations. Much had happened during the eight years while I was absent.
During the months before her U.S. trip, I tried to help my mom prepare what she needed to pack. I planned for her to stay with me for four months, during which time we would be traveling throughout the United States. Her reply was always, “Don’t worry about me. I know what I need. How about you? What would you like me to bring you from Malaysia?” My answer never changed. All I wanted was a couple of bags of authentic curry and chili (辣椒) powder from our hometown of Melaka, as I was running low on these treasured spices.
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。
When the day finally came, I waited patiently for her in front of the hotel.
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It was late afternoon by the time we reached my house in Baton Rouge.
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It is strange how a single moment can change a person’s life. It is incredible how one simple act of love can forever transform one’s soul. My adult son walked to the table this morning for breakfast and as he did he opened his arms to me. I opened my arms too and gave him a big hug just like I do every morning. And this time when I did a beautiful memory came back to me.
My Italian Nana had been a big hugger when I was a boy, but my Mom had grown up in a more reserved household. She hugged me sometimes but less often as I grew into my teenage years. My Dad too seemed to follow the gender roles of the day back then and didn’t hug me much as I got older. By the time I was a teenager then, except for my Nana, I didn’t hug anyone.
When I was sixteen, I left on a trip with a group of boys to tour a Seminary College in the Mid-West. And on our way there we also stopped by an old Monastery. As we entered we were greeted there by the largest monk I had ever seen. He was over six and a half feet tall with huge arms and a booming voice.
And as he greeted us, he gave each one of us a huge hug. When my own turn came I felt scared but stepped in and hugged him back. I felt a warmth in my heart as he shared his loving-kindness. I felt a peace and joy in my spirit as well. It was amazing. Later that day I began to wonder why I had ever stopped giving and receiving hugs when they brought so much joy. When my own childrenwere born then I decided to never stop hugging them and telling them I loved them, no matter how big they grew or how old they got.
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 sent my hug experiences online to call on people to do the same.
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I organized a “Hug me” campaign with my friends.
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