I was never a fast runner and thus I always didn’t like running. Throughout my childhood, whenever we competed in the 50-meter run, the 400-meter, or any other type of race, I would finish in the bottom half. In my late teens, as a member of a baseball team, I was the slowest runner on the team. In the preseason training, I was always the one running by myself at the end.
Therefore, twenty years later, when I entered my first official running race — a 3,000-meter challenge in my city — at age 38, I certainly didn’t expect to win or come close to winning.
I was there because my college friend Jim Hosek was the director of the race, and he asked me to run. The race was aimed at raising money for the unfortunate patients in a hospital and encouraging the patients and their fanilies to be brave, determined, and confident with sportsmanship.
It was a heartwarming program.I wanted to support it, so I showed up, paid the entrance fee, had a number pinned (把……别住) on my back, and moved over to the starting line. There, I waited with about 300 other runners for the race to begin. I was nervous. Would I be the last one to finish a race again? Could I even finish the race? I wondered.
Before long, someone spoke into a microphole, “Anyone weighing over 200 pounds comes down to the scale (秤), please.” Knowing I was over 200 pounds, I walked down to the scale. A man told me to stand on it. “Two hundred and three pounds,” he said. Then he wrote down the race number that was on my back. Out of curiosity, I asked him why he did so,and then I was told there would be an award ceremony (仪式) after the race. One award was for the first finisher in the over 200-pound group, and this special award would be announced at the end of the ceremony.
Not expecting the award, I ran towards the starting line, never realizing there were only two runners weighing over 200 pounds.
Paragraph 1:Soon after, the race started.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Then came the last award, and to my surprise, my name was announced.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I must admit, I haven’t always liked animals. In fact, I distrusted them greatly while growing up, and I still fear the ones I don’t know personally. What set my beliefs in stone was being attacked—not once but many times, including the summer after second grade when I was bitten by a rabbit. Then, when I was nine and riding my dirt bike down the road, a large dog charged me and tried to bite my ankle. After all those negative experiences, there was one thing I knew for sure: All creatures, great and small, were no friends of mine.
After college in California, I returned to live the single life in Las Vega. Then I met Lisa. In no time at all, we fell in love, married and moved into a new house. Despite my avoidance of animals, Lisa had a dog called Bailey. Bailey didn’t like me, but he tolerated my existence once he realized I wasn’t going anywhere.
Things changed as spring came. We welcomed a new member of our family: our son Evan. One evening Evan grabbed hold of the dog’s tail. The irritated dog paused and turned to look at his stuck tail but waited patiently until being released. Still the stories I’d heard of animals attacking babies worries me.
Then my worst fear occurred. I sat on the couch (沙发) reading after a long day while my wife worked at the dining-room table paying the bills. I saw Evan crawl across the family-room carpet as he made his way behind the couch. One minute, all was quiet and then Bailey entered the room and headed to where Evan had crawled. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the dog start a fearful barking behind me.
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。
Throwing the book away, I rushed around the couch with great fear.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Having witnessed our dog killing a scorpion (蝎子) and saving my son, I was speechless.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I saw her tonight she smiled and recognized me. I smiled back at her. She was looking more relaxed even though she was still busy doing her job. I have noticed her several times this last few months and she always looks so much happier now. Tonight when I talked with her I noticed her name tag. Her name is Pamela.
Pamela works at the express checkouts in a busy supermarket. She deals with problems when the self-service checkout experiences a problem (no price on product, machine problems, etc.). She monitors these checkouts and usually has hardly dealt with one complaint before another is created.
When I first talked to Pamela, I had called her to the checkout I was using. There wasn’t any problem with the checkout though. What all I cared was about Pamela. She looked tired and was under a lot of stress as she quickly moved from one checkout to the next. It’s a bit of a fire-fighting job.
I told Pamela that she needed to slow down. I told her she wasn’t getting paid enough to be working as hard as she was working. I told her that we, the customers, could wait and it was very bad for her health to be putting herself under such pressure. I told her that our expectations were not as hard as the ones she set for herself. Pamela told me she would slow down. I could tell she was touched that not only did I notice her stress but I chose to talk to her about it and was worried about her health. I gently told her things had to change. I told her I would be looking out for her in future to see if she had taken my advice on board. She smiled and said, “I promise that I will next time.”
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
Para 1
When I saw her she was still doing her job but there was such a difference.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Para 2
I am proud of myself.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At 16, I got what every teenager dreams of — a driver’s license, but I was afraid of driving on the road. “Do you want to drive home, Alice?” Mom asked when she picked me up from school.
I hesitated, saying, “Really? Are you sure?”
“Okay,” I jumped in the driver’s seat as soon as Mom said yes.
When we reached the country road, I stopped. “Now, look both ways,” Mom instructed. “Turn your steering wheel (方向盘) to the left. Give it some gas, but take it slowly. We’re not in any hurry.”
I pulled onto the narrow road. We kept moving and everything was fine until a truck came up. I looked in the mirror. I guessed it didn’t occur to the man to slow down as his truck approached our car. When I failed to speed up, he honked (鸣喇叭). My hands held the steering wheel tightly.
“You’d better turn and let this guy pass,” Mom said.
The guy honked again before I got to where I needed to turn. Mom shouted, “Turn, turn here!”
I felt like I couldn’t make the turn, but I did what I was told. I turned the wheel and our car fell into the ditch (沟渠) alongside the road. My foot hit the gas pedal, and the engine roared like an angry lion. Our car flew across the ditch.
Mom cried, “Hit the brake (刹车)!” The car landed heavily.
My hands dropped from the steering wheel. For a moment, we sat silently. I took several deep breaths, afraid to look at my mom. Finally, she asked, “Are you OK?” “Yeah,” I replied and turned to see an injury to her face. I thought I was going to be blamed, but when our eyes met, she burst into wild laughter. We climbed from the car and leaned against it to steady ourselves.
注意：
续写词数应为 150 左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
We had hardly steadied ourselves when we saw the truck driver walking towards us.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As soon as the truck driver helped drive our car back on the road, Dad called and we drove home.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. 活动的时间与地点；
2. 活动的过程；
3. 你的感想。
注意：1.词数 80 左右；2.可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Once, there was a poor boy. He made a living by selling things from door to door. Through this, he could earn some money to pay for his school.
One day, as he was walking from house to house as usual, he felt very hungry and weak. He felt that he couldn't walk even a few steps. He decided to ask for food at a house. So he knocked at the door. He was amazed to see a very beautiful young girl open the door for him. He asked the girl for a glass of water instead of a meal.
The young girl thought he must be hungry and thirsty. So she offered him a huge glass of milk. With a surprised look, the boy drank the milk very slowly. At once, he felt he was full of energy.
"How much do I pay you for this milk?" he asked the girl.
"I do not want any money for this," she replied. "Morn has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness."
The boy thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart and left the place. As the boy left that house, he felt stronger physically. He thought he must do something else to help others.
Years passed by quickly. Both the boy and the young girl grew up. In the girl's youth, unluckily, she fell ill. She suffered from an uncommon disease. It was hard for the local doctors to cure her. Even many doctors with rich experience didn't know how to cure her. Finally, she was sent to a hospital in a big city. There were many excellent doctors and the most advanced skills in the hospital.
Dr. Kevin was a well-known doctor. He was called in by the hospital to examine the girl. When he heard the name of the town that she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room.
注意：
1.续写的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
He recognized the girl at once.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Kevin asked the business office to pass the final bill to him.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lorena parted the curtain in her living room and looked out onto the wet street. She was relieved the sunlight appeared. If it didn't stop raining it would ruin her day. Her mother had promised to drive her to Fashion Fair if it were sunny. Lorena was eager to go there because she had to replace a Nike jacket.
Earlier that Wednesday afternoon, Eddie, the most popular seventh-grader, had given Lorena his jacket and asked her to keep an eye as he would play basketball in a hurry. Lorena was quite happy to be of help.
During her last class, the biology teacher made them cut apart dead frogs. For fear of getting blood on Eddie's jacket, Lorena folded it and placed it on a chair. Then she took the knife and cut the skin quickly. She felt sick opening the frog's belly.
When the bell rang Lorena hurried out because the bus she caught for home left ten minutes after school. She raced to board the bus and found a seat. After a few minutes the driver started the engine and drove away when Lorena looked out of the window and saw Eddie. "The jacket!" she screamed. She shot from her seat and ran up to the driver. "You've got to stop! I forgot Eddie's jacket!" "Who's Eddie? " the driver said angrily. "Sit down."
All that evening she was upset and blamed her biology teacher for her problem. If he hadn't made them dissect(解剖) frogs, ,she wouldn't have been so absent-minded. The next day Lorena rushed from the bus to the biology room. The jacket was not there!
"How can I ever tell Eddie?" she closed her eyes. She spent most of her break and lunch period in the rest room, brushing her hair and worrying. On Friday she stayed home to avoid Eddie. She told her mother she wanted to go shopping to buy her a gift for her birthday, which was the next week. Actually, she wanted to buy a Nike jacket with her life savings at Fashion Fair.
Paragraph 1 :
Mom drove Lorena to Fashion Fair and left, asking her not to waste money.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2 :
Lorena was about to leave when she saw Eddie in his Nike jacket.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“Look.” Mom waved a flyer in front of the television. “Summer field trips for sixth-graders. Nature. Exercise. Fresh air.”
“No, thanks,” I said, still working the remote.
“You'll love hiking, Jimmy, she said. “Besides, couch potatoes need exercise.”
“But —” “If you don't like the first one, you don't have to go again,” she said before I could finish.
OK, I thought. Just one day.
That day was the hottest on record. The moment I woke up, I started to sweat. I got dressed. Long pants tucked into heavy socks, T-shirt, boots, backpack, water bottles. All required for the hike.
As we boarded the school bus, I met Mr. Hawkins, our guide. The bus finally stopped near a forest, and we got out. Our destination for the day was “the Lemon Squeeze.” But I had no idea what that was.
We quickly started our hiking after we got off the bus. Ahead, some kid kicked an old tree stump. A girl suddenly screamed and ran. A buzzing noise grew louder. Wasps（黄蜂）! Mr. Hawkins drove away the wasps with his shirt and we managed to run away.
We continued hiking for another hour until Mr. Hawkins decided that we should stop for lunch. It was too hot for anyone to complain, because complaining would only make it worse. What's worst was more hiking. It was getting hotter and hotter. Mr. Hawkins kept telling us to keep drinking water to keep hydrated. We drank, and sweated.
Water was low. Up ahead was a crossroads.
“OK, folks,” Mr. Hawkins said. “This heat is fierce. Do we finish, or do we take this shortcut back to the bus? It's a quarter mile uphill from here to our destination.”
I closed my eyes. Please, someone, say GO BACK TO THE BUS! I didn't want to be the wimp（懦弱的人）.
Paragraph 1:
However, nobody spoke.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
I stumbled（蹒跚）off the bus, dirty and tired.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A little boy almost thought of himself as the unluckiest child in the world because poliomyelitis （小儿麻痹症）made him unable to walk like normal people. He seldom played with his classmates, and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.
One spring, the boy's father asked for some young trees from the neighbor. He wanted to plant them in the front of the house. He told his children to plant a tree each person. The father said to the children, "Whose tree grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift" The boy also wanted to get his father's gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, he had a terrible idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So he never attended to it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn't die, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him, "from the tree you planted, you will become a great person when you grow up."
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:
One day, the little boy lay on the bed, wondering why his tree can grow so well
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
Since then, the little boy became different
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Better to Give than to Receive
When a special occasion arrives, a gift often finds its way to a doorstep or an office desk. But once in a while, a present arrives at an unexpected moment as a reminder that someone is thinking about us.
Wanda Anderson remembers such a gift.
The rosebushes were finally in full bloom that day. Seeing roses always brings to mind Wanda's childhood memories. To this young girl, those flowers were a luxury. "We never had money to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to cherish," Wanda said.
Nowadays, to have a backyard filled with many different roses is pure enjoyment. Wanda especially loves the very first blooms. Her husband, Dale, devotedly tends the roses and knows this little fact about his wife. So, on this particular morning, he picked the very first flowers of spring, fresh from the garden, just for Wanda.
But as Dale came back, he was met by a neighbor who had dropped by. As the woman turned to go, Dale graciously (有风度地)handed the roses to her. Even though their visitor insisted she didn't want to take them, she was repeatedly assured that the flowers were hers to keep.
“I told her I was happy for her to keep them, but I really wasn't," Wanda said, recalling the emotions she was feeling right then. Seeing her very precious first blooms go out of the door filled her with regret.
Throughout the rest of the morning, Wanda argued with herself, knowing logically it was “better to give than to receive. Nevertheless, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself.
Later that day, the couple just arrived at the post office, where they were about to park the car.
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。
Then, without warning, a bunch of multi-coloured roses appeared at the car's window.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
For the rest of the day, she was happy and moved.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
