At 63, Jerry Valencia was determined to get his college degree — and his master’s degree, too. The student arrived early, sat front and center, and stood out in my classroom in more ways than one. I’d say that he had about 40 years on his classmates in my undergraduate communications class at California State University, Los Angeles. He eagerly jumped into class discussions, with his modest humor and wisdom of experience. And he was always respectful of the other students’ views, as if each of them were a teacher. Jerry Valencia walked in with a smile — and he left with one, too.
Valencia always said that these students gave him the confidence and joy that he didn’t need to feel bad about his age.
One day, I found Valencia sitting on campus. He said he would have to stop taking classes that semester and reapply for next year. By then, he hoped to have earned enough money from construction jobs he used to take to pay for his tuition. But he said he would still come to campus to attend events, see his friends and take the final exams. He asked seriously whether he could still sit in my communications class.
“Sure,” I said.
Soon there he was again, back at his old desk, front and center, jumping into our discussions on how to find and tell stories in Los Angeles-a 63-year-old junior with as much energy and curiosity as any of the youngsters in my class.
For an assignment on changing neighborhoods, Valencia wrote about a favorite local chain restaurant that was “unceremoniously (随便地) closed”. He called it as a theft of childhood. “It is almost as if someone has stolen that childhood and replaced it with a slippery hill where everything they cherish will slide away,” he wrote. A lot of Valencia’s classmates apparently knew he couldn’t pay that semester’s tuition. However, he was still making his efforts to do the homework well.
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。
In my eyes, Valencia is an old man with strong will.
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I was pretty astonished when hearing what he had said.
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Catherine was the coolest kid in her class. Whenever she went,she was in the spotlight,with a bunch of kids following her and doing everything she did.
Her desk mate,Landy,however,was not in the cool kids’ group.Being the tallest kid in her class, she was teased by her classmates,who were always chanting “Landy,Landy,long as spaghetti (意大利面)”.Every time Landy heard those silly chants， she could feel her face burst into flames. God knew how she wished the ground to crack and swallow her!
Catherine didn’t really like it when the kids chanted “Landy,Landy,long as spaghetti”.But she never told them to stop either, and nor did she ever talk to her. She liked being popular.
One weekend, Catherine went over to her grandfather for Thanksgiving. Her grandfather lives on a farm at the opposite end of town,where he keeps chickens. While helping to feed the chickens, Catherine noticed a peculiar one. Curling in the corner,it looked smaller than the others and was almost half-bare!
“What’s the matter with it?”She asked her grandfather, with a puzzled frown on her face. Her grandfather told her how chickens could act.’“They have a pecking(啄) order，” he explained，wrinkles of concern spreading around his forehead.“If one chicken is different, the others will push it away and keep pecking it. Sometimes they peck it so much that it dies.”
“Oh，what a poor little thing!”Catherine let out a sigh as she scooped(捧起)the frightened chicken up in her arms,whose heart was beating fast in the bony little body.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。
Suddenly,she thought of Landy,the girl being ”pecked“by her classmates
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But Catherine walked directly toward Landy,regardless of what they said.
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Last September was my first month of middle school, which was completely overwhelming (不知所措的). Every day in the passages, I felt lost and not very smart. Everyone at school seemed to know who they were and what they were doing, but not me. I was desperate to find my place at school.
And then there was the school play. Hmm, costumes might be kind of fun. I added my name to the sign-up sheet for props and costumes. That’s the real beginning of this story, I guess.
I’d had an enjoyable backstage making sure all the actors had their shoes and figuring out how to make a fake pocket watch out of a bicycle chain for the Train Conductor. But then, on opening night, Mr. Bash, the director, rushed up to me.
“There you are, Maisy,” he panted (气喘吁吁). “I need you to step in for Bailey tonight. He broke his leg during lunch.”
I started sweating. “I…” I stammered (结结巴巴地说), shaking my head.
“Listen, I know this is short notice,” Mr. Bash said. “But we can’t do the show without Lost Cow. You know the cues because you’re always waiting to take the halter rope (缰绳) from Bailey and give him the straw hat.”
“But…”
“Just go onstage, get the rope from Train Conductor, do the shrug (耸肩), and walk off. After all, no one will even know that it’s you.”
That stopped me short. If I had to go out there and recite a bunch of lines, I might faint. Or else throw up. But what if I were wearing the cow head, and my name wasn’t in the program, and no one could really even see me?
Right then, I decided I’d try. Maybe it would be fun?
So fifteen minutes later, I was waiting behind the curtain. “Ready, Lost Cow?” said a voice beside me. It was Mr. Bash.
“No one knows it’s me, right?” I asked.
“No one,” Mr. Bash said.
注意：1. 写作词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Awesome job, Maisy.” Mr. Bash said, grinning (咧嘴笑).
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Ralphie was getting bored in his geography class. Mr. Hudson displayed a map of Europe up on the whiteboard, and asked someone to turn off the lights so they could see it better. "I'll do it, " said Ralphie, and he put a paper spitball into a straw(吸管)quickly and blew it at the light switch. It missed, and landed in Mira's hair instead. Mira screamed in disgust. The other students burst into laughter. Mr. Hudson was annoyed.
"Detention(留堂), Ralph. " He wrote up a pink detention paper and slapped(拍)it on the boy's desk. Then he continued with his lesson.
"I was only trying to turn off the lights! " Ralphie protested. The teacher did not want to hear it.
"See you after school. Don't be late. "
Math class was next. Ralphie was pretty good at math, so he started to cheer up. He had done his homework, so when Mrs. Addison asked for a student to solve a problem at the blackboard, Ralphie didn't hesitate.
He jumped out of his seat and announced in a loud voice, "I volunteer as Tribute! " His friends burst out laughing. Mrs. Addison looked at him strictly over the tops of her glasses. Uh-oh, thought Ralphie.
"We do not yell in math class, Ralph. Not another sound out of you, young man. " She turned back to the board.
"It's from The Hunger Games …" he tried to explain.
"That's quite enough! Detention, Ralph. " The math teacher reached for her pile of detention paper and wrote his name down. "After school. Don't be late. "
"Oh man, " murmured Ralphie. "How do I go to two detentions at the same time? "
When the bell rang at the end of the day, Ralphie went to see Mr. Hudson first. The teacher told Ralphie to sit down. The boy did so, and folded his hands in his lap for a minute or two. Then he raised one and said, "Sir? Can I be excused to go to the washroom? " Mr. Hudson nodded.
注意：
1. 所续写短文的词数应为 150 左右；
2. 应使用5个以上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 l:
Once in the hallway, Ralphie raced over to Mrs. Addison's room.
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Paragraph 2:
After washing his hands, Ralphie tried to open the door of the washroom, but found the lock was stuck.
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With a wave of the wooden stick in my hand, the buffaloes (水牛) moved forward. I guided them along the road’s edge, through the heart of the village. We walked past homes and villagers bending over to tend to their crops. We eyed the green fields, where the buffaloes could eat grass. This was the life in a small village. We had little, but I had a big dream.
Up ahead laughter drew my attention. A group of students came into view. Their uniforms contrasted sharply with my faded trousers and worn-out shoes. I held my stick tightly, stepped forward and asked, “Could you show me your books?”
The students looked from my face to my stick. They quickly opened their bags and showed me their books. Illustrations of people and places stimulated my imagination. “Someday, I’ll go to school, too,” I declared, returning their books. They looked at each other with a taunting (嘲弄的) smile and left me to my buffaloes.
Months passed. Every day I rose to my housework and buffaloes. Until, one day I got my chance. Uncle Peter came to visit. He and my father sat outside, talking.
Finally, Uncle Peter convinced my father that I should go to school. The following week, I went to primary school. Armed with my own books, I set out to learn everything. I read textbooks, asked questions, and even read newspapers and magazines for my father and his friends. By the end of the year, I proved to be one of the best students in the school.
When I was in middle school, I told my classmates I wanted to study literature at University of Karachi, a big city over 150 kilometers away. Everyone laughed and made jokes.
I turned to writing prose (散文) and poetry as an outlet for my emotions and creativity. The challenges life set before me didn’t discourage me; rather, they became stepping stones toward realizing my dream to be a writer.
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右；2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
The day of going to university was approaching, but my father couldn’t afford my further education.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now, when I reflect on the laughter and doubtful looks from others, their opinions hold no weight.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“What’s wrong with you, dear?” said Granny Bell to a little boy, who sat near a wall at the back of the house. He had a book in his hand, and tears were in his eyes.
“We have all got a poem called Little Jim to learn,” said the boy, whose name was Tom Blair, and the one who says it best is to get a prize from the master. But I don’t think I can learn it.”
“Why not?” said Granny Bell.
“The boys say that I can’t, and that I need not try,” said Tom in a sad tone.
“Don’t mind what the boys say. Let them see that you can learn it,” said his friend.
“But I don’t think I can,” said Tom, “it is so long, and some of the words are so hard. I know I need not try for the prize. But I should like to learn the poem as well as I can; for the boys laugh at me, and call me ‘Slow Tom.’”
“Well, dear,” said Granny Bell, in a kind voice, “if you are slow, and can’t help it, try to be ‘slow and sure,’ they say. Look at the snail (蜗牛) on the wall; how slow it is! And yet, if you watch it, you will see it will get to the top in time. So just try to learn a few lines each day, and you may gain he prize in the end. And when you feel like losing heart, think of the snail on the wall.”
When Granny Bell had said this, she went on her way. And Tom thought that, though he could not keep up with the boys, he might run a race with the snail. So he determined to try to learn his task by the time the snail got to the top of the wall.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为100左右；
2.应使用5个以上短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分开头语已为你写好不计数词数；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
At last, the day came when the master was to give the prize, and after he called upon five or six boys to repeat the poem, it came to Tom's turn.
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“You’re fired!” Andrew Chilton wasn’t joking. At that moment, the high school junior wanted his personal care attendant, Christy Chachere, out of his life forever. He didn’t want her help any more. He thought he could write his own term papers. “You’re fired!” He said it again.
Christy Chachere, a retired PE teacher, didn’t take a step back. She believed she could do this job. “You know, I’ve taught middle schoolers,” she said. What about Andrew’s outcry? It was music to her ears. Progress was faster than expected.
When Andrew suffered from autism (自闭症) at age eight, people told his mom, Cindy, to get him on the list for an attendant to provide after-school care. Someone would drive him to places and see that he was safe. In New Orleans, Louisiana, the wait can be years, the need far outstrips (超过) the supply. Cindy had no choice but to turn to the program Volunteers of America for help.
Even so, it was eight years before they were matched with Christy. In the meantime. Andrew’s family did their best to help him get through life’s hardships. “I did worry about him,” said Cindy. There was a lot to worry about. Doctors and school teachers said that Andrew might not even graduate from high school. Other questions were around the corner as well. Would he ever have a job, or live independently?…Cindy would do anything for her son.
Christy saw the problem right away. “Andrew wouldn’t take a step without his mother’s permission (同意),”she recalled. “You have to let him fail,” she told the family. “It’s the only way he’s going to learn. He has to be able to do things on his own.”
No longer would Cindy help Andrew write papers. His younger brother wouldn’t help him with the computer, either. It was a little unacceptable to step back. Actually, everyone was on board but Andrew.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Andrew was filled with anger, but things began to change.
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“She understood me, and it turned out she was really nice.” Andrew said.
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