Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2:30 a. m. When I arrived to collect her, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice.
After a long time, the door opened. A small woman in her eighties stood before me. By her side was a small suitcase.
I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the car.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. “It’s nothing，” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good man.” She said. When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I’m in no hurry,” she said. “I’m on my way to a hospice (临终医院). I don’t have any family left. The doctor says I don’t have very long. ”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter (计价器). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
At dawn, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.” We drove in silence to the address she had given.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered. “Oh, there are other passengers,” I answered. She said thanks to me, but she looked so sad.
注意：
1．所续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2．续写部分分为二段，每段的开头语已经为你写好；
3．续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Para 1：
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.
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Para 2：
The next day, I was on my way to visit her.
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Chris Moore built his business from the ground up, using his $500 million inheritance to build a multimillion-dollar food company. He had everything people of his age could ever dream of—he had a huge house, a nice collection of sports cars, and a thriving business.
One day, he passed by a poor boy named Alex. “Do you have some extra money, kind sir?” Alex asked Chris as he walked by. Instead of helping the boy, Chris laughed at him, “Stop being lazy and get to work, kid. You need to earn money the hard way, not by begging on the street.” He shook his head before walking away.
Years passed, and Chris’ food business grew into a successful franchise company. However, he couldn’t have it all. He struggled with his health, as he had heart problems that he refused to cure with medicine.
One day Chris collapsed to the floor. After he was sent to the hospital, his family ran a couple of tests where it was revealed that he needed emergency surgery to fix a blocked artery. He spent a gruesome eight hours at the operating room with a team of six doctors.
It was a long day for the doctors, who just finished a six-hour operation before attending to Chris. The operation went smoothly. A couple of days later, Chris made a full recovery. He and his family decided to celebrate by eating out at one of the most expensive fine dining restaurants in the city along with a few of their friends.
As he and his friends were talking, he noticed a man in his 30s staring at him from one of the nearby tables. Chris grew paranoid(多疑的), and couldn’t help but approach the man. “Can I help you? Why do you keep looking at me?” Chris asked angrily.
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’m Dr. Alex, and with me is the team that successfully operated on you a few days ago,” the man smiled.
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Alex assured Chris that everything was well between them.
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My heart sank as I heard the clicking sound of the electricity being shut off again. It was two days before Thanksgiving. I had been unemployed for months, and my daughter and I were barely surviving. I grabbed my purse in an attempt to fix the problem. I gathered all the change that I could, but $1.75 was not going to solve our problem. We were months behind on the rent, to the point that warning notices to move were being posted on our door daily. Now we were not only going to be forced out of the only home, but we were going to make that move in the dark and cold.
My daughter got home from school. “Is the electricity off again?” she asked with a tone of accusation. “Yes,” was all that I could gather as I hung my head in shame. “Mom, are we poor?” “Only financially,” I responded, choking back the tears.
At that moment, I felt a burst of energy. I had to do everything I could to make sure that Thanksgiving happened. After all, it would be our last one in our home.
I had made Orphan (孤儿) Thanksgiving, which welcomed those people with nowhere to go, a tradition for 14 years. Now, with a warning notice and no electricity, how would I make my 15th Orphan Thanksgiving a reality?
I had to ask for help, but slowly I was getting things done. I put out an announcement that it would be the last Orphan Thanksgiving at my house. People living next door were generous enough to offer help. We gathered candles. We cleaned the room. All that was left was to find the money to buy food for a Thanksgiving meal.
That night, I sat in my candlelit bedroom with my daughter sleeping soundly next to me. I held my grandmother’s gold necklace in my hand for what felt like a lifetime. She was the woman who taught me to cook when I could barely walk. She grew up during the Depression, and she had told me many stories of hardship. I reasoned that she would have approved of my giving to those less fortunate. She would have approved.
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 I sold the necklace.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the party, I came across a suitcase with a note on it under the dinner table.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a small Chinese village, a young girl named Mei lived with a deep love for painting. Her artworks, filled with lively colors, caught the beauty of her surroundings. Despite her talent, Mei often battled with self-doubt. She wondered if her skills were truly excellent or if she was just fortunate.
One day, Mei heard about a painting contest in the town called the “Sunlit Art Challenge”. Determined to prove herself and remove the doubts, Mei quickly signed up for it. The contest stirred a mix of excitement and nervousness in her. Mei spent countless hours perfecting her painting technique, pouring her heart and soul into her works.
For the contest, Mei painted a beautiful sunrise over the sea. The sun just started to rise above the horizon (地平线), its bright light beginning to shine over the ocean. The sun’s rays looked like golden light, spreading across the water and making it shine like a giant mirror. As the sun rose higher, it looked like a bright ball of fire, warming the sea and making the waves shine brightly. The sky changed colors too, from a soft blue to bright oranges, pinks and reds. It was like watching the day begin right there on her canvas (画布). Mei s painting captured the peaceful yet lively scene of the sun’s first rays touching the vast ocean, symbolizing hope.
On the day of the contest, the village square was filled with excitement. Artists from near and far displayed their works. Mei set up her painting, feeling both proud and anxious. As the judges evaluated (评估) Mei’s painting, her heart raced with nervousness. Since their expressions were hard to read, Mei felt like her doubts were right, that she wasn’t as good as she hoped.
When the host started to announce the winners, Mei listened with hope and curiosity. But sadly her name wasn’t called. Disappointment washed over her, and she forced a smile, applauding (鼓掌) the winners. After the contest, Mei felt disheartened. She thought her painting had failed to impress anyone, and she lost her motivation to lift her brush. At that time, Mr. Zhang, a villager, approached Mei.
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。
Mr. Zhang told Mei that Mei’s painting was excellent and moved him.
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Mr. Zhang’s recognition of Mei’s works renewed Mei’s interest in painting.
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Susie Smith came home from school one day, and had no sooner entered the sitting room than she burst into tears.
“What is the matter, my dear child?” said her mother, drawing her daughter to her side and smiling.
“All our class must bring in compositions tomorrow morning, and I never, never can write one. We must write twelve lines at least, and I have written only a few words after trying nearly all the afternoon. See what work I have made of it!” sobbed Susie.
Mrs. Smith took the rumpled (皱巴巴的) and tear-stained paper which Susie held in her hand, and glanced at what she had written. In a careful hand she had tried to write upon three themes: Time, Temperance, and Industry.
Time is short. We should all improve our time.
Temperance is a very useful thing.
We should all be industrious if we wish to do anything in the world.
These sentences were all she had written. Susie continued, “I can’t think of another word to say upon any of these subjects, and I know I shall have to go to school without a composition, for I won’t be so mean as to copy one from a book, or to ask you or papa to write one for me.”
“That is right, my dear,” said her mother. “You will be far happier with a poor composition, if it is all your own, than with a fine one written by somebody else. But cheer up. You have not begun right—you have been trying to write upon subjects that you know nothing about. Run into the garden and play. I will call you in half an hour.” “But my composition,” began Susie. “Don’t think about your composition while you are gone,” said Mrs. Smith, “but have as pleasant a time as you can.”
It seemed but a few minutes to Susie before she heard her mother’s voice calling her. She went into the house at once—her hands full of sweet flowers, and her cheeks rosy with exercise. “Now, Susie,” said her mother, “I want you to sit by the window with this nice sheet of paper and a pencil, and write something about what you can see.”
“But my composition, mother,” said Susie, “when shall I begin that?” “Never mind your composition, my dear. Do this to please me, and we will talk about that by and by.” replied Mrs. Smith.
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。
Susie thought her mother’s request was a strange one.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“A composition!” exclaimed Susie. “Is that a composition?”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was moving as fast as I could, stepping carefully from rock to rock along the uneven jetty (防波堤). “Too slow, sister!” I heard my brother Sam yell as he jumped with ease.
I’ll show him and attempted a double jump. What a mistake! My left foot came down hard between the edges of two gray rocks, scraping (刮伤) my ankle. “Ouch!” I yelled.
I tried to pull my foot out, but my shoe was stuck. I bent closer to the rock, and that’s when I saw it: a shiny, square shaped stone attached to a shining gold chain. It was just lying there on the wet sand, and a few seconds later it was in my pocket.
“Why do you look strange?” my brother asked once I’d freed my foot and caught up to him. “I don’t look strange,” I said. Sam looked at the sun. Could he tell I was hiding the most perfect discovery of the summer? I kept turning the treasure around in my pocket, pushing each corner of the square stone into my finger. I was excited, but I didn’t want Sam to notice. He liked to tell everybody my business.
“Ryan kept the paper napkins (餐巾) from the Andersons’ barbecue!” he had once announced. They were stamped “R.A.” Those are my initials! “Ryan saved the mini cola bottle from the carnival!”
My family calls me their “little collector”. Some mean kids at school call me “trash (垃圾) girl”.
Sam and I walked along the main street. Through the window of the candy shop I could see tubes of colourful jelly beans. A sign on the window’s glass read LOST: Gold and blue necklace. Verry special. If found, call Chrissy at 555-9924.
Chrissy had drawn a crayon version of the necklace at the bottom of the poster. The necklace looked different from the one I clutched (抓) in my pocket, I decided. Rounder, bluer. The poster appeared old and weathered. It must have been put up months ago.
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。
Once home, I placed the necklace into my box, attracted by it.
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Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in a café across from Chrissy.
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“A usual boring day!” This would be the answer from Roman if somebody asked him how his day was. These days he found everything boring, and nothing excited him.
One day he was lying on the bed in his room as usual. Suddenly the light went off. His room was rather hot without an air conditioner. Though he did not want to leave his room, he had to. Unwillingly, he left his room and came to the living room. It was slightly cool there as the living room had two huge windows.
His young brother was playing with his friend. They were rolling on the floor. He was looking out for the TV remote, but couldn’t find it. He got up and searched for it everywhere, but the remote was nowhere to be seen. He looked at his brother who was still lying on the floor, playing.
He asked him, “where is the remote?”
“Under the sofa,” his brother yelled.
He tried to look through the remote, but it was dark. He put his hand under the sofa. He touched something, grabbed it and took his hand out. It was a snake in his hand!
Upon seeing that, his brother started to yell, “Snake! Snake!” Mom came as soon as she heard the shouting. She was too horrified to see a snake. She was so scared that she even couldn’t speak a word. Two kids were trying to hide behind each other’s back. “What an old trick!” Roman thought and threw it to the kids.
As the snake landed on the floor and neared the kids, it started moving from the left side to the right. Only then did Roman realize that the snake was real, and not a toy. He threw the snake to kids because he thought it was a fake snake and it was the kids who were playing some tricks.
This time Mom almost got a heart attack. Now Roman was scared, too. The snake was only 10 meters away from the kids and was staring at them. They even couldn’t call the rescue team. There might be some deadly damage before their arrival. There was not much time to think. It was the time for a quick action.
Paragraph 1:
As Roman was farther from the snake, he jumped onto the window and grabbed the curtains.
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Paragraph 2:
After the rescue team caught and took the snake away, everyone went inside the home.
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