Last year, I traveled from the US to my childhood village in Zimbabwe for the Christmas holiday.
The whole village feels very much like one happy family get-together when people from nearby cities or neighboring countries celebrate the festive season in their childhood homes.
On Christmas Day, I woke up to the familiar (熟悉的) sound of my mother calling my name and knocking on my door. As is morning tradition on that day, everyone was preparing gifts for the festival. I quickly put on my favourite clothes. Along with my parents and two brothers, we walked a little more than a mile to the small village store. On our way there, my brother wisely advised me to ask for drinks as goods were likely to run out because of high need from the holiday.
When I stepped into that small familiar store that still smells of childhood, it looked as if it were frozen in time. The shelves were stocked with the same village basics — cooking oil, salt, bread, candy, milk, stationery, matches, candles…
As I was placing my drink orders, two young boys about 5 and 8 years old walked in with big smiles. Their clothes were oversized, old and tattered (破烂的).
The older brother emptied his pockets, and placing a handful of coins on the counter (柜台), cheerfully explained they had been sent to buy food for Christmas. He asked for “two loaves of bread, cooking oil, milk and…” Before he could finish, the younger brother added, “Our mother said we could buy candy with the change.”
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。
“It is only 24 cents change left. What would you like to buy?” said the shopkeeper.
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The two boys clapped hands (拍手), a traditional way of saying thanks to me.
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Jackson Merle was exhausted. He was in need of money because his wife was in hospital. He had been knocking on door after door, looking for work, but no one would even listen to what he had to say. No one wanted to talk to an old man. He stood in front of the biggest house on the block. This was his last chance for the day. Every homeowner on the street had run Jackson off, without even listening to his proposal, and maybe this one would be different? Jackson rang the doorbell. Within minutes a pretty young woman opened the door.
“Good morning,” she said cheerfully, “What can I do for you?” Jackson was heartened by her sunny smile and friendly attitude. “Good morning, miss,” he said, “I’m a handyman, and I’m here to offer you and your family my services.” “What kind of work do you do?” she asked.
“I do anything you might need, miss,” Jackson said, “I do some woodwork, painting, cabinet making; I fix small appliances, some gardening, anything you need and my rates are very reasonable.” “Come on in,” the woman smiled, “I have a table with a wobbly (摇摆的) leg that needs fixing, and maybe you can paint my guest room?” Jackson couldn’t believe his ears. He walked into the woman’s beautiful house, toolbox in hand.
First, he fixed the table, while the woman—who introduced herself as Ruth—sat watching him work and chatting to him. Then he looked at the guest room. Ruth gave him money to buy paint so he could fix it up the next day. She also paid him twice what he’d asked for the table. “But, miss,” Jackson protested, “You’ve given me too much money!” “No, I haven’t, Jackson.” Ruth told him firmly, “My daddy always told me to pay a fair price for a job well done, and that’s what I’m doing!”
Over the next few weeks, Ruth’s neighbor Jolene was surprised to see the elderly man coming in and out of Ruth’s house with his toolbox in hand. Everything in Ruth’s home looking perfect, Jolene didn’t see why she needed a handyman five days a week.
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。
Ruth smiled and explained she was actually helping Jackson.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jolene was moved by Ruth’s kindness and thoughtfulness and spread her deeds.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________April has been a vet(兽医) for many years. Throughout her practice, there have been many unusual cases. Some were quite sad and some were even funny. But most of all she remembered one time on a rainy day a little girl came to her with her little guinea pig(豚鼠).
She was in tears and asked April to save her beloved pet. “This is my only friend. I really love my Dorothy,” the girl said. April examined the animal and realized that it was very ill. The pig looked young. Probably, it was already sick when it was sold to the girl. The vet saw many children’s tears, and each time she felt awful. But she always found strength to say that she couldn’t save the pet.
However, this time she looked at the girl and couldn’t say anything. April saw how simply the girl was dressed and thought that her family didn’t make a lot of money. Therefore, the pig wasn't just a pet for her, but a real treasure. “Tell me your phone number, so I can call you after the operation,” April said. “I’ll give you my grandmother’s phone number, because I live with her. My parents were gone. Grandma said that they had gone somewhere far and for a long time. By the way, they gave me the pig before leaving,” the girl said. April wrote down the number, and when the girl left the clinic, she burst into tears. She realized her parents had died and the girl didn't know the truth yet. How could she tell her that her guinea pig was going to die? April looked at the animal helplessly and wondered what she could do. Suddenly she came up with an idea. But before doing it she put the guinea pig to sleep, and went to the nearest pet store during lunchtime. She wanted to buy exactly the same guinea pig and give it to the girl.
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。
However, finding it wasn't so easy.
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Her grandmother understood everything, but the girl didn't notice the switch.
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Susan lived with her mom in a small house. She was a kind girl who loved to smile and always helped people. Her dad died years ago in an accident. It was a really hard time for her and the family. But life must go on. She always remembered what her dad told her was that she must be a kind girl, smart and helpful. She missed her dad every single day. Every morning, her mother made all kinds of delicious snacks and sold them in front of their house and cleaned up their neighbour’s houses to meet their needs. Susan wanted to be a dancer. She loved dancing very much. But her mother told her that it’s impossible, because they had no money. Susan said she would become a dancer someday.
One morning, Susan played in the garden next to her house, alone. She was dancing happily when she saw an old man who walked too fast and suddenly fell down. Susan ran to help him but she was too thin and she could not raise the old man. Susan ran to her house, told her mother about the old man and they ran again so fast to help him. Her mother tried to ask him his name. Meanwhile, Susan called the others. His name is Tom. He was in recovery time from his heart attack weeks ago. Susan felt upset. She just felt so sad about Tom’s injuries. His face was bleeding. Susan gave her mom a bottle of water to wash the sand and blood from his face. He said thank you to Susan and her mom. A few days later, Tom came to Susan’s school, found the headmaster and handed him a letter of commendation (赞扬), telling him how Susan had helped him.
Susan became famous in her school and in her neighborhood. Local newspaper made a piece of news about her kindness. The title was “Susan, a Lovely Girl with a Kind Heart”. All people talked about her. The headmaster asked Susan to give a talk to everyone in the school.
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 next morning, Susan and the schoolmates came to the lecture hall.
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Susan couldn’t believe what the headmaster had said.
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