It was Christmas Eve morning, and I a woke with a mission: to find my lost cat, Baby-Girl. The icy rain was beating against the windows. I said a prayer for Baby-Girl. It had been six months since she’d gone missing, but I still had faith. It was the season for miracles, after all!
That summer, my sweet cat disappeared from my parents’ house. She had been staying with them while I was between apartments. I lived and worked in Washington DC then. Baby-Girl had got out of my parents’ house three days before I was flew back home to pick her up. Dad and I spent that entire visit searching for her. Dad was the family’s “realist”, meaning he was always trying to prepare me for the worst. “She’s either been hit by a car or been taken in by someone who found her,” he said. Dad always supported me, but he was so uncertain.
Baby-Girl had been a stray cat when I found her. Though I couldn’t explain it, I knew I’d see her again, even after I returned to Washington DC without her and the weeks stretched into months, deep down I had this feeling that we’d be reunited.
Now, home again for the holidays, I was determined to pick up my search. I grabbed Baby-Girl’s cat carrier and loaded it into the car, then asked my dad to drive me to the shelter, hoping I’d find her there. “Sharon, you have to be realistic,” Dad said as we headed to the garage. “She’s been gone too long. You’re not going to find her.” “Well, I just have a feeling,” I said. Dad raised an eyebrow as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Don’t you believe in Christmas miracles?” I asked. “Bah humbug,” he said. It was his favorite Christmas saying and an inside joke in our family. He even had a shirt with decorations across the front, which he wore every Christmas morning.
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。
At the shelter, the woman at the front desk greeted my dad warmly. “Hi, Mr. Dillon! Still looking for your cat?”
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Back home, the rest of the family welcomed Baby-Girl. Dad remained stubbornly uncertain.
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When my daughter Lily reached the fourth grade, I occasionally allowed her to walk to and from school alone. One warm spring day, a small friend followed her home after school. This friend had short stumpy legs and long floppy ears. She was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. And Lily begged me to keep her.
I didn’t know what to do. I thought about running an ad in the lost-and-found (失物招领处) but I really didn’t want to. It would break Lily’s heart if someone showed up. Besides, her owners should have watched her more closely, I told myself.
By the end of the week she was part of our family. She was very intelligent and good with Lily. This was a good idea, I thought. We had named the puppy Molly. She followed us everywhere we went. When we went outside, she was one step behind us. When we were back from school or work, she greeted us by wagging her tail and barking cheerfully. When we did chores, she was there to lend a hand, or rather, a paw. It seemed as if she had belonged to us long before.
The following week something told me to check the lost-and-found section in the local paper. One particular ad jumped out at me and my heart pounded with fear at what I read. Someone was begging for the return of a lost puppy near the school. They sounded desperate. My hand shook. I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the phone. But my conscience (良心) was bothering me. I knew in my heart I had to call that number and see if our Molly was the puppy they were desperately seeking. But it was the most difficult thing I’d ever done.
Finally, with sweaty palms, I lifted the phone and dialed. A woman answered. As I described the dog to her in detail, her voice shook with excitement and she wanted to come right over. Within minutes I heard a vehicle pull up at the driveway and some footsteps stop at the door. Head cradled in my hands and heart hammering, a thousand thoughts crossed my mind: I could pretend I wasn’t home or tell her, “I’m sorry, you have the wrong address.” But it was too late: the bell rang and Molly was barking.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为80左右；
2. 续写部分为文章结束部分，段落开头语已为你写好。
Opening the door, I saw a woman with a little girl sitting in a small wheelchair. ________
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Betty was my best friend. My mom didn’t like her, but to me, she was a dog with a personality. At seventeen, I fell in love with the tiny, curly-haired dog. Betty was smart, too. I taught her tricks. She would sit by my feet and when I put a stick or a piece of carrot by her mouth, I’d say “eat” and she would stand and obey. She loved going for walks with my friend and me. She danced around us as if listening to our conversations about school and clothes and movies we’d seen.
Sometimes, I sat with her in the front yard, letting her explore the soft grass. I’d tell her about my friends, the movies I liked and the tests I was about to take. Betty would sit and stare at me as if listening to everything I told her.
Then my uncle, my mother’s younger brother, came to live with us. He and his wife slept in my room and I slept on the couch. My mom didn’t want Betty’s curly fur all over the living room, so she slept in the utility room (杂物间). Instead of being beside my bed as usual, she was out of my aunt and uncle’s way. I hated their presence and kept Betty outside with me as much as possible.
But one afternoon, I went to get her from the back yard and she wasn’t there. The back gate was partly open. Had Betty been searching for me? “Sorry,” my uncle said. “I guess when I went through the gate to check something in my car, I forgot to close it completely.”
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
I didn’t want his apology, so I cried and searched.
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Life at thirteen was tough for me. On the one hand, I had to adapt to my changing body; on the other hand, I was forced to deal with the upsetting move from my country home to a crowded suburb. I had to stop travelling around quiet country with my cute buddies, riding on the back of my handsome companion, a small brown pony. When we moved, I was forced to sell him. The moment he was taken away, I was grasped by a strange thought. I was abandoned. Feeling helpless and alone, I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I cried all of the time. I missed my friends, my country home and my pony. Finally, my parents, realizing how much I missed my pony, purchased an old red horse— Orion for me at a local market.
Orion was without doubt the ugliest horse in the world. He was pigeon-toed and knock-kneed. But I didn’t care about his weaknesses. I loved him beyond all reason. I joined a riding club and endured rude comments and mean snickers (窃笑) about Orion’s looks. I never let on about how I felt, but deep down inside, my heart was breaking. The other members rode beautiful registered horses. When Orion and I entered the events where the horse is judged on appearance, we were quickly “shown the gate”. No amount of brushing, vitamins or unconditional love would turn Orion into a beauty. I finally realized that my only chance to compete would be in the timed-speed events.
I chose “barrel racing” (绕桶赛) . There were so many experienced competitors with their lovely partners. It looked like they have got it in the bag, laughing, greeting and chatting with each other. One girl named Ann rode a big brown thorough bred (受过严格训练的) horse in the race events. She always won the blue ribbons. Needless to say, she didn’t feel threatened when I competed against her at the next show. She didn’t need to. I came in next to last. The stinging memory of Ann’s laughs made me determined to beat her.
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。
For the whole next month I woke up early every day.
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The big day finally arrived.
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When I was a young father, every weekend and festival, my wife and I would take our kids to her family gathering. It always took place at a picnic area on the side of a mountain. On the top of the mountain was her family’s house. The road to the top of it wasn’t quite smooth. Even when the weather was fine, it was a difficult ride with a dirt road full of potholes, sharp turns, and sticking rocks that could break the bottom of your car if you hit them wrong.
If it had recently rained, you had to go quick, or you ran the risk of getting your car stuck in the mud. Cars would roar up the road fast, and then look for parking spots along the side of the hill in the grassy areas. You always had to keep your eyes on the road even when you were stepping out of your car.
On one of these gatherings, I remember seeing a small tortoise (乌龟) enjoying sunlight on the top of a rock near the end of the road near a small wood, which belonged to my wife’s family. I watched as one car sped by and almost hit him on the right. Then another car ran past even faster and nearly knocked him off the stone on the left.
The small tortoise pulled his head into his shell (壳) both times, thinking that would protect him, but I knew if one car ran over the little tortoise, he would be dead. I quickly walked over and picked him up before the next car came speeding up the hill. Then I walked him deep into the nearby woods. Finally, I found another stone where he might enjoy the sun in safety and left him there in peace.
Unfortunately, on this road, I often found dead or injured small animals.
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。
Once I found an injured little rabbit lying on the roadside.
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I decided to take measures to protect the small animals in the wood.
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The waves crashed heavily against the rocks, the stormy sea swallowing the once-powerful ship. The only survivor of the shipwreck was brought by the currents to the shore of a small, uninhabited island. His desperate cries for help mixed with the roar of the storm, only to be swallowed by the ocean.
Exhausted and disoriented, he lay on the sandy beach, thanking whatever forces had saved his life. After he surveyed the surroundings, he realized the harsh reality of his isolation. He prayed to God and scanned the horizon for any sign of rescue, but no help appeared. In the midst of despair, he gradually awakened to the fact that he had to survive on this uninhabited island on his own. Driven by great determination, the survivor managed to build a shelter with the driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. The survivor, once stuck in his isolation, started exploring the island’s hidden treasures. His routine became a dull cycle of hunting for food, collecting rainwater, and scanning the horizon for any sign of rescue. But the vast expanse of the ocean offered no comfort, no ship on the horizon to save him.
Despite his loneliness, the survivor clung to hope. The sunrises brought a glimmer of optimism, and he kept scanning the horizon, searching for any trace of rescue.
Then, one fateful day, as he returned from a fruitless search for food, he was greeted by a devastating sight — his shelter was on fire, and the smoke was rolling up to the sky! The worst had happened — the fire had consumed all his possessions, leaving him nothing but the clothes on his back. Desperation and disbelief seized him as he watched the smoke rise to the sky, a cruel demonstration of his misfortune.
注意： 1.续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
“God, how could you do this to me!” he cried.
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The rescuers explained that they had seen the smoke signal from the burning shelter.
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When coming to this city for high school, I moved into the new house with my parents. We were very grateful to the owner for renting us this house at a cheap price. The house was really comfortable to live in. It was warm inside and full of life outside.
A tree in the front yard attracted my attention, and all I could confirm was that it was a fruit tree. My father thought it was a fig(无花果) tree, and sure enough, as the months went by, the tree grew huge leaves and finally bore the fruit—figs, the size of my fist. How wonderful they were! I took many pictures of the fig tree. And then we wondered how to deal with the figs. My mother thought for a while and said, “Why not try making fig jam?” I responded quickly, “That’s a good idea!”
Jack, one of our neighbors, just visited us and asked if he could pick some figs from our tree. Certainly, we encouraged him to take as many as he liked. In fact, Jack was extremely polite and friendly to us. He introduced himself at the first sight of us. He always waved to me as he came home or as he left for work.
When I picked the figs with him, he told me about how he had been living in the house next door for close to twenty years. He said, “Bruce, the owner of the house you live in now, used to be my best friend. And we had planted this very fig tree a few years before he went to the nursing home.” I was amazed to know that we actually enjoyed the fruit of his work. He told me that he was so impressed by the quality of the fruit this year. I found a fruit box for him to put the figs in. Both of us enjoyed the pleasure of sharing.
When Jack set out for his home, I turned to my parents and advised doing something in return for Jack and Bruce’s kindness and friendliness.
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.
Finally, we decided to invite Jack and his family to dinner that night.
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The next day, our family and Jack visited Bruce in the nursing home.
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