My dad and I had been looking forward to the Stale cross-country race of my senior year of high school, which would be the climax (顶点) of my existence.
I was the fastest runner on my team, and I was supposed to make it into the top fifteen. We had been working towards this race for three years. It was everything to me, and it was everything to my dad. He was a runner and was wild with joy by my success in running. He made it to every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run. I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd-telling me to relax my arms, calling out my time. He pushed me. He cheered for me. He believed in me. We spent countless hours on the sandy canals of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the terrible smell of the dairy farm, we made our way across the city. We pounded miles and miles into our running shoes, marking with every step the path to greatness. It was a journey that was just ours. A dream passed on from one generation to the next.
Then the big day came. It was hotter than normal - too hot. My throat felt like a field of cotton, cracked with the summer heat, as I waited for the gun to fire. I gazed out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from church and school flickered across my view. They had come for me. They were counting on me. I saw my dad set his watch, worry and excitement etched across his face. With the sound of a gunshot, the race began.
For the first two and half miles, I felt great. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with hard practices and a strict diet. The scorching sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
However, without warning, my strength was running out.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I whispered, “I’m so sorry I disappointed you, Dad.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I had been swimming competitively for five years but after such a long time, I was ready to quit. I was often the only African American at the swimming competitions and our team couldn’t afford good uniforms. However, my number-one reason for wanting to quit was that I kept receiving “Honorable Mentions (荣誉奖)”. Any athlete knows that you don’t want to have a bookshelf full of “Honorable Mentions”, which you get just because you showed up.
One summer’s day, the day before a big swim meeting, I decided to tell my grandma that I was quitting the swim team. When I told her, she looked me in the eye and said, “Baby, remember these words ‘Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ Your grandmother didn’t raise losers or quitters. You go to that meeting tomorrow, and you swim like you are a grandchild of mine, you hear?” I was too afraid to say anything but “Yes, ma’am.”
The next day we arrived at the swim meeting late, missing my group of swimmers in the 15/16 age group. My coach insisted I should be allowed to swim with the older group. I knew she expected me to take part.
As I mounted the board, all the other girls looked at me. I quickly noticed that these girls were all here to do just one thing — beat me. All of a sudden, my grandma’s words rang in my head, “Quitters never win and winners never quit. You swim like you are a grandchild of mine.” “Yes, Grandma, I will swim like I am a grandchild of yours,” I said to myself.
续写要求：
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 match began! I swam harder than I had ever swum before.
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It was then that I heard the claps and cheers around me.
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