From childhood, I was never a fan of football or any sports. My disinterest in “The Beautiful Game” was my attitude, avoiding discussions of football during school lunch breaks in school or dismissing the sports section of the newspaper.
As I grew older, my lack of interest became more obvious. I would go shopping during big games, posting photos on social media to show I had more free time than the people absorbed in their yearly sports. I considered my disengagement from the world of sports an intellectual advantage, a space in my brain reserved for non-sports activities.
However, this attitude of mine became a pressure to me. Casual conversations with friends’ fathers or fellow cab passengers became a challenge. The well-intentioned openers like, “Hey, terrible season we’re having, eh?” or “Who do you support?” made me feel my heart sink, not knowing what to reply. Though I still found football boring, I was starting to regret my outsider status.
The turning point came when I became a father myself. Fearing that my boy Harvey would lack the social involvement of football, I decided to change. So, I brought a football to the playground and I bought him a mini football table at home. I even took the brave step of buying tickets to watch our local team, Boreham Wood.
The friendly atmosphere of the Meadow Park Stadium, the home ground of Boreham Wood, immediately surprised me: low-key, free parking on the street, and £2.50 for a bag of chips. Families surrounded us, all with a real connection to the players on the field.
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。
Slowly but surely, I found myself engaged in the game.
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With each visit to the stadium, our connection to football deepened.
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Steven had had his first starring role in kindergarten, playing a talking stone in a class play. From the moment that he heard the applause and took his bows, he knew he wanted to be an actor. He “drew” his name as it would look at a theatre. In his mind, he “practiced” his acceptance speech to the Academy Awards(奥斯卡金像奖). “I want to thank my agent(经纪人)...” he imagined himself saying to the crowd. He wanted to be an actor.
By six grade, he was used to starring in school productions. He played Romeo in this year’s Junior Shakespeare Festival. His brother said he was probably the first Romeo in the history of theatre to have braces(牙套). Steven liked everything about acting-except for his brother’s comments about it. Brad was not interested in acting.
Steven dreamed of going to California or New York when he got older. Meanwhile, he read the “trades” at the library-the newspapers and magazines of the acting business. He couldn’t believe it when he saw that there was going to be an open casting call(演员招雾)in his own Midwestern city. He begged his parents to take him, but they worked on Saturdays and they couldn’t take the day off. He was forced to ask his older brother, the critic.
The part called for a boy who looked about 14. Steven figured he could pass. Unlike Brad, Steven looked older than his age. Brad, on the other hand, at 16 looked more like 14. The boys arrived early at the theatre where the try-outs(试镜)were taking place. There were already over 200 kids there. Steven picked up his application. Brad picked one, too- “just for fun,” he said. Each of them then studied the short script they’d been handed. Like all the other kids, they mouthed the words over and over. Some kids found quiet spaces to read their lines aloud, with all the right emotion.
Steven asked Brad to listen to his reading. “Okay, but you have to listen to mine, too.”
“Deal,” Steven answered. Then he read, and, as usual, he was good. Next, it was Brad’s turn. Steven couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Why hadn’t Brad ever tried out for a play? Where had he gotten all this talent all of a sudden? He asked his brother, “Why haven’t you tried before?”
“I was waiting for something big,” Brad replied.
注意：
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Soon they heard their names called. It was their turn to perform.
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A decade later, at that year’s Academy Awards Ceremony, the two brothers appeared.
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“Nothing will ever be the same again,” Ally said to herself.
Ally's father died last summer. It wasn't fair, Ally thought. Dad was young and had never been sick. Why had his heart suddenly stopped? Ally sank slow into her father's favorite chair and looked at his picture on the bookcase. Ally smiled. “I miss you, Dad,” she said softly.
At this moment, she felt a hand smoothing her hair and looked up. “Why don't you come outside with me, Ally?” her mother asked. “The birds are nesting in the woods. By this time last year you'd already taken dozens of pictures.”
But her mother must know birdwatching wouldn't be the same this year. How could it be? Ally wondered. Ever since she could remember she and Dad had been a team, searching the woods for the special wood warbler (林柳莺). “I'll be out in while, I promise,” she answered.
After her mother left, Ally reached for the photo album she and Dad had put together. On the cover was a photo of a tiny yellow bird with blue-gray wings and black eyes. Dad cut it from a local newspaper. Ally smiled, remembering the excited look on Dad's face when he showed her the pretty bird.
“I can't believe someone spotted this little guy way up here in New Jersey,” he said. “Wood warblers are usually found in the south, not this far north. I bet if we search really hard, Ally, we'll see this little guy together someday.”
Ally closed her eyes. She loved thinking about the times she and Dad had spent searching the woods for the little bird. They'd never spotted the warbler, but her father had an amazing way of making each outing seem special. He was her best friend.
注意：
1.续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
When they were together, Ally felt comfortable with her favorite blue sweatshirt on.
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Just then her mother came to her, carrying the old net.
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Pumpkin(南瓜)carving at Halloween is a family tradition. We visit a local farm every October. In the pumpkin field, I compete with my three brothers and sister to seek out the biggest pumpkin. My dad has a rule that we have to carry our pumpkins back home, and as the eldest child I have an advantage — I carried an 85-pounder back last year.
This year, it was hard to tell whether my prize or the one chosen by my 14-year-old brother, Jason, was the winner. Unfortunately we forgot to weigh them before taking out their insides, but I was determined to prove my point. All of us were hard at work at the kitchen table, with my mom filming the annual event. I’m unsure now why I thought forcing my head inside the pumpkin would settle the matter, but it seemed to make perfect sense at the time.
With the pumpkin resting on the table, hole uppermost, I bent over and pressed my head against the opening. At first I got jammed just above my eyes and then, as I went on with my task, unwilling to quit, my nose briefly prevented entry. Finally I managed to put my whole head into it, like a cork(软木塞)forced into a bottle. I was able to straighten up with the huge pumpkin resting on my shoulders.
My excitement was short-lived. The pumpkin was heavy. “I’m going to set it down, now,” I said, and with Jason helping to support its weight, I bent back over the table to give it somewhere to rest. It was only when I tried to remove my head that I realized getting out was going to be less straightforward than getting in. When I pulled hard, my nose got in the way. I got into a panic as I pressed firmly against the table and moved my head around trying to find the right angle, but it was no use. “I can’t get it out!” I shouted, my voice sounding unnaturally loud in the enclosed space.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
Paragraph 1：
I was stuck for five to six minutes though it felt much longer.
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That video was posted the day before Halloween.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Our animal rescue volunteers set up a shelter in a town in reaction to floods there. While out looking for animals left behind, we met a man who had a dog, which he had no intention (意图，打算) of taking with him when he finally left. When we offered to shelter his dog, he said, “Alright!”
Soon, he went into his tiny house’s backyard, returned with the dog and put it into our truck. Amy, one volunteer, asked what the dog’s name was. “He doesn’t have one,” the man said and left, without saying goodbye.
We returned to the shelter. After reaching there, the nameless dog sat still in the truck. When we put him on the ground, he just lay there, remaining still.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Amy replied that maybe the dog was timid (胆怯的) because of his owner’s long-term neglect (疏于照管). She determined to help the dog and named him Albert.
After that day, Amy often carried the sixty-pound dog around the shelter, since he still refused to stand up or walk. At night, Albert lay next to Amy’s bed. Luckily, six days later, Albert never stopped moving, always keeping up with Amy. Wherever she went, Albert would be no more than two steps behind her.
I began to notice, though, that Albert still didn’t have the energy of an eighteen-month-old dog. Later, a doctor found he had heartworm disease (心丝虫病), a deadly disease.
I called Albert’s owner. When I told him that Albert had heartworm disease and that it would cost at least $300 to treat him, I expected he’d say, “I don’t have the money, so you keep the dog.” But I was wrong. He wanted Albert back.
“If he isn’t immediately treated, he’ll die,” I said. “Yeah. I understand. That’s what happened to all my dogs. Although I don’t have enough money to treat him, I can’t let you pay the fee. I’ll be out shortly to pick up (接) my dog,” the man replied coldly and hung up.
In the distance, I saw Amy and Albert playing games.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
“How am I going to tell Amy we have to give Albert back?” I whispered.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________While he walked to Albert, I shouted, “Wait! Could I buy that dog from you?”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was nearly twenty-two, about to graduate, and unsure which to follow—my head and my long interest in natural science, or my heart and my passion for photography. A job at the museum would be the safe choice. Or I could try to pursue a career in architectural photography, even though I had no specific training in the field. I longed to land that job.
I asked the advisor, John Smith, to recommend someone qualified to give mean objective opinion. His reply: “See Benjamin Moskowitz, a famous architect, NYC. Good luck.”
During the Spring break I booked a cheap room and took the train to New York City. At his office on the twenty-third floor I asked the receptionist for Mr. Moskowitz. “I think Mr. Moskowitz has already left, Miss. I know he was planning a long weekend. Did you have an appointment?”...
She sighed and asked my name and told me to wait while she tried to see if he might still be there. I paced nervously, thinking that my time and money and my best chance for an expert opinion had been thrown away. The receptionist rang his office; no answer. “Sorry, but it looks like you’re out of luck, Miss White,” she said.
Why hadn’t I planned this better? Called for an appointment? Taken an earlier train? How could I have made such a mistake? I was close to tears.
Just then at all, gray-haired man, beautifully dressed, strode (阔步) through the reception area. The receptionist signaled me and mouthed, “That’s him.” I didn’t hesitate. “Oh, Mr. Moskowitz!” I called out. “Just a moment, sir, please! I’d like to speak to you.”
He glanced at his expensive-looking gold watch and kept walking. “Sorry, I have a train to catch,” he said straightforward, “I don’t believe you had an appointment.” I hurried after him toward the elevator. “I apologize, sir, but I was told to talk to you and to show you some photographs.”
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。
Paragraph 1：
Mr. Moskowitz glanced at it, impatiently at first and then more carefully a second time.
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One hour later, I walked out of his office with great confidence and excitement
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was in third grade, we got five new computers in our classroom. Mrs. Brown was my third-grade teacher, and she acted like computers were scary, especially the new ones. She always needed to look at a how-to book and the computer at the same time. Even then , she got mixed up a lot. Then she had to call Mrs. Reed, the librarian, to come and show her what to do.
It was a Monday morning in May, and Mrs. Brown was sitting in front of a new computer in the back of the room. She was confused about a program we were supposed to use for a math project. My desk was near the computers, and I was watching her.
Mrs. Brown looked at the screen, and then she looked at this book, and then back at the screen again. Then she shook her head and let out a deep sigh (叹气). I could tell she was almost ready to call Mrs. Reed.
In fact, I was not good at using computers, either. But I knew how to turn them on and open programs, play games and type-simple things like that. So I got up from my desk, pointed at the screen, and said, “Mrs. Brown,if you double-click on that little thing right there, then the program will start running. And then you click on this, and that opens up the part about number lines.”
So Mrs. Brown did what I told her and the program started running. Because that’s the way it works and anybody knows that except Mrs.Brown.When the program started playing the music,
Mrs. Brown smiled a huge smile at me and said,“Jake, you’re wonderful!” And she said it so loud that every kid in the classroom stopped and turned to look at us,just in time to see Mrs. Brown pat ( 拍) me on the top of my head.
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。
Feeling embarrassed, I whispered(低声说)with a bright red face, “Oh , it was nothing.”
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I felt confident when hearing Mrs. Brown ask me to help the whole class.
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