A vacation with my mother
I had an interesting childhood: It was filled with surprise and amusements, all because of my mother-loving, sweet, and yet absent-minded and forgetful. One strange family trip we took when I was eleven tells a lot about her.
My two sets of grandparents lived in Colorado and North Dakota, and my parents decided to spend a few weeks driving to those states and seeing all the sights along the way. As the first day of our trip approached, David, my eight-year-old brother, and I unwillingly said good-bye to all of our friends. Who knew if we’d ever see them again? Finally,we packed suitcases, books, games, camping equipment, and a tent into the car and bravely drove off. We bravely drove off again two hours later after we’d returned home to get the purse and traveler’s checks Mom had forgotten.
David and I were always a little nervous when using gas station bathrooms if Mom was driving while Dad slept: “You stand outside the door and play lookout while I go, and I’ll stand outside the door and play lookout while you go.” We were never actually left behind in a strange city, but we weren’t about to take any chances.
On the fourth or fifth night, we had trouble finding a hotel with a room available. After driving in vain for some time, Mom suddenly got a great idea: Why didn’t we find a house with a likely-looking backyard and ask if we could set up tent there? David and I became nervous. To our great relief, Dad turned down the idea. Mom never could understand our objections. She thinks everyone in the world as as nice as she is. We finally found a vacancy (空房) in the next town.
注意：1．续写词数应为80左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Para1: The next day we really couldn’t find a hotel with a vacancy and remembered the brand-new tent we had brought with us.
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Jimmy loved ice cream. It was his favorite dessert. He wanted to eat ice cream all the time. His parents let him have a small dish each night after dinner, if he ate all of his vegetables. At home, Jimmy usually had chocolate. His mother spooned it out of the carton (硬纸盒) and into his bowl.
Jimmy liked eating ice cream at home, but he really loved going to the ice cream stand to get an ice cream cone. There were so many different flavors to try. Jimmy always did his best to try a new kind of ice cream each time.
When Jimmy turned eight, he had a checkup at the doctor’s office. Dr Katz said that ice cream wasn’t a very healthy snack. “It’s fine to have a little ice cream once in a while, but not every night,” she said.
After the doctor’s visit, Jimmy and his mom drove home. “Can I still have ice cream for dessert tonight?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t think so, honey,” Mom said. “We should all try to be healthier.”
That night at supper, Jimmy ate all his vegetables. But there was no ice cream for dessert. Instead, Mom came up with a new rule. “If we want to eat ice cream, we’ll have to earn it by walking to the ice cream stand,” she said. Jimmy was willing to give it a try, so they decided to take their walk on Saturday afternoon. According to the map, the ice cream stand was a mile away.
Saturday was a hot and sunny day. Jimmy began to feel sweaty. The sun was so bright that he had to squint (眯着眼). He kept his eyelids (眼皮) almost all the way closed, with just a small crack to stretch out of. “I’m hot,” said Jimmy. “How much farther is it?”
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。
Mom checked the map on her phone.
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When Jimmy told Mom to ready to turn around, he saw the purple flag at the top of the ice cream stand.
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My father, Michael, led me through the little wooden house he’d filled with his paintings. “When I have an exhibition ...” he began, pointing to the artworks he’d created, before stopping. “Poor Pa,” I thought. In 1994 he got Parkinson’s Disease (帕金森氏病), which had shocked the whole family as he was only in his forties.
A husband and father to three, Pa had had a successful career running an advertising agency and had always been extremely creative. Outside of work, he’d spent 15 years fronting the cover band, Musical Chairs, which performed at the pub in Sydney’s Double Bay each week and, when I became a mother, he developed a very close bond with my daughter.
Even when his Parkinson’s advanced, my father decided he wanted to paint. “Why don’t you try classes?”my mum Louisa suggested to him. He agreed. In art lessons, the class practised painting still life objects, like pears, but my father had other ideas for his inspiration. He began producing abstract pieces, inspired by his favourite artist, Jackson Pollock, a leading abstract expressionist. “Why abstract?” I asked him. “Because,” he replied,“it helps us to see the world around us in a different way. You can look at these paintings and ask ‘what if?’”
Soon, I realized he was right. When I observed my father’s work, I could interpret each of them in many ways. Once he got started, he showed no signs of slowing down. The little house was quickly filled with more and more works.
But in 2019, Pa developed cancer and was given just three months to live. The thought of losing him was too much for any of my family to accept, but we soon received great news that a new form of treatment can help him greatly. Since he continued speaking about wanting to share his paintings with the world, I knew what had to be done.
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 told him I would help organize an exhibition.
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A month later, the big day finally came.
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Jack and Dane were great friends. Every evening they played together. They studied in the same class in the same school. They were good students.
One evening, Jack and Dane were playing with a ball. After a while, Jack said, “I am so bored. Shall we go for fishing in the river?” “That is a great idea.” replied Dane.
Jack called out to his mother, “Mama, we are going fishing in the river, okay?”
“Okay,” Jack’s mother said, “but be careful not to get into the water. Your father said there are crocodiles in the river.”
Both the children said that they would not get into the river. They gathered their fishing lines with the hooks (钩), and a can full of fish food. They headed to the river, and soon began fishing.
However, even after a long time, they did not get any fish. They began to feel bored again. “This river looks not so deep. Why does mother say not to swim here?” asked Jack.
“Remember, your mother said there are crocodiles here.” said Dane.
“Well, I don’t find any.” said Jack.
Dane was quiet for a while. Finally he asked, “Do you think we can swim?”
Jack jumped up and shouted excitedly, “Yes, let us swim. Come on, dive.”
The two friends dove in, and splashed (泼水) around happily. They found some logs of wood floating on the river, and tried floating with them. It was then that something unexpected happened.
Dane was playing with a log of wood, and suddenly, the log was caught in a strong current (水流), and he was hit in the head. He became unconscious immediately.
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。
Jack saw what happened, and he swam fast to his friend’s rescue.
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Suddenly, a loud splash was heard.
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Becky Darig had always had a fascination with the cinema, and by the time she was nine years old, she knew she wanted to be an actress, shine on the big screen and be a star When Becky was seventeen, she unexpectedly got her break into show business, but she never imagined that her golden opportunity would turn her life and her family’s upside down.
It all started when Becky’s friend Anna spotted a call for teens to audition (试镜) for roles in a new TV show, which was also looking for a double for the lead actress. “You’d be perfect!” cried Anna. “And you’ve always wanted to be an actress. This could be your opportunity!” “I don’t know, Anna,” said Becky. “I have no experience!” Anna shook her head and said: “You know what my grandma said? Nothing ventured (冒险), nothing gained. You’ve got to try! I’ll come with you if you’re scared!”
Becky accepted her offer, and the next day the two girls were at the audition along with hundreds of other teens. The other hopefuls were all beautiful, and from their conversation, Becky could tell that they all had experience in acting. She was sure she would be knocked out immediately, but Anna kept telling her that she would be fine.
Finally, it was Becky’s turn, and she stepped into the room in front of the producers and the director. At the sight of Becky, the director’s mouth dropped open, and the producers stared whispering together excitedly. Becky introduced herself and started reading from the lines she had been handed in the hallway, but the director waved a hand.
“Becky? Is that your name?” he said. “We don’t need to hear anymore...” Becky felt her eyes fill with tears. She was so bad they didn’t even want her to finish the reading! Then the man said: “You’re hired(雇佣). You’ll be Jenna Marlow’s double.”
Becky understood the producers and the director’s amazement the next day when she met the new series’ leading lady, Jenna Marlow.
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。
Looking into Jenna’s face was like looking into a mirror!
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The truth was uncovered when Jenna and Becky arranged a dinner and invited Mrs. Marlow and Mrs. Darling.
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“I will have revenge on him, and make him regret what he did to me,” said Philip to himself, his face red with anger. Stephen, who happened at that moment to walk past and hear him talking to himself.
“Who is that you want to take revenge on?” asked Stephen. Philip looked at his friend and said, “You remember my new ball given by my father? Look! It is punctured! It was farmer Robinson’s son who did this!”
Stephen asked him why young Robinson had ruined it. “I was walking and kicking my ball.” Philip replied, “By accident, when I was opposite the gate, my ball bumped over a bucket of water left in the pathway by him.”
“He came up and began to yell at me. I assured him that what I had done was an accident, and that I was terribly sorry for it. I also offered to fetch another bucket of water for him. But despite all I had said, he took a nail out of his pocket and twisted it into the ball, as you see. I will make him pay for this.”
“Honestly speaking,” said Stephen, “he is already punished for what he has done, because nobody likes him and he often walks around alone. He is just a lonely and miserable boy. This will be enough revenge for you.”
“But the ball is my favorite gift and I enjoy playing with it so much…” murmured Philip.
“Now Philip,” said Stephen, “I think you can act better than him in terms of getting revenge. I will tell you what happened to him not long ago.”
“A while ago he saw a bee hovering about a flower. He caught the bee and was going to pull off its wings for fun. The bee, of course, stung him. The pain made him so angry that, like you, he decided to get revenge. He got a stick, and pressed it into the beehive (蜂巢).”
“Immediately the whole swarm of bees flew out and stung him so badly that he had to spend a few days in bed.”
“So you see, he was not very successful in getting revenge. What if he could act better and forgive the bee for stinging him?” asked Stephen.
“I must say,” replied Philip, “that your advice seems very good”.
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A few days afterward, Philip saw this young Robinson fall as he was carrying home a heavy log of wood.
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One Summer’s day, my Uncle Rick, Isaiah and I went to Police Outpost Lake to fish. I’d learned to fish from my dad. He’d taught me everything I knew about fishing. Then, he passed away.
“Why do I have to be so quiet?” asked Isaiah.“All those birds are making way more noise than I ever could!”
I ignored him. Pulling back on my rod(杆),I remembered my dad’s words.“Jacob,gently bring your rod back. Keep the line up high.”Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a few great northern loons(潜鸟)gathering together not far from the shoreline.What were they doing there? Maybe it was a family? One loon, making terrible sounds, swam away from the group, towards me.
My dad had been a fish and wildlife officer. He travelled all over the province, working away from home for days on end, especially in the spring and fall. When he returned, we sat on the couch together, and he told me stories of life on the road. My dad loved his job, especially the part where he protected nature from humans.
“Isaiah! Come here!”“Now who’s shouting?”“Just get over here. Now!”
The loon stopped in the shallow water near shore. It was so close, and we could see its bright red eyes. Strangely, the bird’s wings were held tight against its body.
“Look at that beak(鸟喙)!” said Isaiah.“It could easily stab(刺)us to death with that thing!”
Walking into the water,getting closer to the loon, we both saw thin wire wrapped around its neck. Reaching down, I touched its head, my heart racing. I could see there was a shiny red hook in its body, and fishing line was wrapped tightly around its neck. Left like this, the loon couldn’t fly or fish or survive. It was asking us to help!
“Go to grab the scissors. I’ll pick it up, and you cut away the line,”I said to Isaiah, who ran away and came back with the tiny pair of scissors.
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。
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a second to calm myself.
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“Hurry and cut the line!”I said.
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