The newfound team, now officially known as the Wildcats, started their basketball journey with a mix of eagerness and anxiety. The community center’s basketball court became their arena (竞技场), a place where failures were just stepping stones to success, and every dribble (运球), pass, and shot was a lesson in disguise.
Under Mr. Jordan’s guidance, practices became more than just learning how to play basketball; they were about discovering the strengths within and the power of unity. He had an approach to seeing the potential in every player.
One afternoon, as the team gathered around Mr. Jordan, he introduced a new drill that focused on passing and communication. “Basketball is a language,” he explained. “If you can’t communicate, you can’t win. This drill will help you understand each other without words. ”
The drill was a disaster at first. Passes went wrong, and frustration mounted. Jasmine’s quick passes were too swift for Mia, and Lucas’s attempts at humor during the drill only led to more confusion. Eli, ever the observer, noticed the tension and suggested a simple system of hand signals they had discussed in a previous practice. Gradually, the team began to find their rhythm, learning to anticipate each other’s moves and communicate more effectively.
It wasn’t just basketball skills that the Wildcats were developing; it was a sense of belonging and trust in one another. Each practice ended with a team gathering, where Mr. Jordan shared stories from his coaching days, emphasizing the lessons learned from losses more than wins.
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。Paragraph 1: Soon came their first real game against a more experienced team.
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Paragraph 2: The second half saw a different Wildcats team.
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In a small town located in the mountains, there was a young boy named Owen. He was crazy about basketball more than anything else in the world. He would spend hours every day practicing his dribbling (运球), shooting and passing. He dreamed of one day winning games on a team.
Owen’s town had a small basketball court that was often empty. Owen would go there every day after school to practice. One day, as he was shooting hoops (投篮), he heard a voice behind him, “Hey, kid! You’re pretty good!”
Owen turned around to see a tall man with a friendly smile. The man introduced himself as Coach Johnson and asked Owen if he wanted to join his basketball team. The team was made up of kids from all over the town, and they practiced every day after school.
Owen was overjoyed because he had never played on a team before. He wanted to start and win games. Owen quickly became the star player of the team.
However, the team never won a game. “I had trained so hard and performed excellently, but we were always losing! Jack should have run much faster towards me and Kris should have passed the ball to me!” Owen kept complaining to the coach.
The complaint seemed understandable! Owen was admired by his teammates because he was fast and had incredible shots. However, Johnson knew Owen lacked something important. He told Owen to learn to play with his teammates as a team instead of just focusing on himself. Owen didn’t quite understand that at first and insisted he just needed to practice harder to win games.
However, disaster struck. Owen injured his ankle one day and had to sit out for several weeks, which let him fall into anxiety. He felt his dream was slipping away.
During his recovery at home, Owen refused to see anyone on the team, except his coach. Johnson handed Owen a phone downloaded with some videos about the best basketball teams and some cards from Owen’s teammates.
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。
Owen couldn’t wait to watch those videos.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After recovering, Owen returned to his team as a changed player.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was the day of the big cross-country run. Students from seven different primary schools in and around the small town were warming up and walking the route (路线) through thick evergreen forest.
I looked around and finally spotted David, who was standing by himself off to the side by a fence. He was small for ten years old. His usual big toothy smile was absent today. I walked over and asked him why he wasn't with the other children. He hesitated and then said he had decided not to run.
What was wrong? He had worked so hard for this event!
I quickly searched the crowd for the school's coach and asked him what had happened. “I was afraid that kids from other schools would laugh at him,” he explained uncomfortably. “I gave him the choice to run or not, and let him decide.”
I bit back my frustration (懊恼). I knew the coach meant well—he thought he was doing the right thing. After making sure that David could run if he wanted, I turned to find him coming towards me, his small body rocking from side to side as he swung his feet forward.
David had a brain disease which prevented him from walking or running like other children, but at school his classmates thought of him as a regular kid. He always participated to the best of his ability in whatever they were doing. That was why non e of the children thought it unusual that David had decided to join the cross-country team. It just took him longer—that’s all. David had not missed a single practice, and although he always finished his run long after the other children, he did always finish. As a special education teacher at the School, I was familiar with the challenges David faced and was proud of his strong determination.
We sat down next to each other, but David wouldn't look at me. He hung his head, trying to avoid eye contact with me. It was a tricky moment, calling for a good choice of words. Having thought it over, I mentioned some events which won people's praise for his determination and perseverance. His face began to lighten. He added that even the judges thumbed up at him. The whistle went off and the competitors began to take their places. To my joy, David slowly rose to his feet.
注意：1. 续写词数应为100左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
I watched as David moved up to the starting line with the other runners.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I had always dreamed of winning the school marathon. Ever since I joined the running team in freshman year, I had trained hard to improve my speed. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. There were many strong runners in my grade, and some of them had more experience and skills than me. One of them was Leo. He was my friend, but also my biggest competitor. He was confident that he would win the marathon too.
The day of the race finally came. I was nervous but excited. I put on my running shoes and headed to the starting line. I saw my competitors, some of them looking confident, some of them looking worried. Leo was among them, smiling and waving at me. I tried to relax myself and pay attention to my own running. The coach gave us some last-minute advice and encouragement. He told us to do our best and not give up.
The whistle blew and we were off. I rushed ahead, trying to get a good position. I felt the wind in my face. I heard the cheers of the crowd and the footsteps of the other runners. I kept running, pushing myself to do my best.
After running for a while, I realized that I was in the lead. I couldn’t believe it. I had never been in this situation before. But then I also felt a sense of fear. What if I couldn’t keep it up? What if someone caught up with me? What if I fell?
I tried to shake off (摆脱) these negative thoughts and pay attention to the finish line. But it was getting harder and harder. My legs were burning and my heart was pounding.
注意：1 .续写词数应为150左右；
2 .请按如下格式作答。
I felt like giving up.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But then the reason for running in the first place came to mind.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________An Insignificant Task
The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. On that day, every boy and girl was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
As with everything, some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year, and those children were the ones who most looked forward to this day. Among them, Rita stood out. She was a kind and quiet girl. During the previous year she had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita was the favourite to be given the best job of all: to look after the class dog.
But this year there was a big surprise. Each child received one of the normal jobs, like preparing the books for the lessons, telling the time, cleaning the blackboard, or looking after one of the pets. However, Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Even though the teacher insisted that this ant was a very special ant, Rita could not help feeling disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. They sympathised with her and remarked at how unfair it was that she had been given that job.
Yet, Rita, who liked her teacher very much, chose to prove her worth through excellence. “I will turn this little task into something great,” Rita said to herself. What she didn’t know was that the teacher had secretly entered her into a rainforest insect raising competition.
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。
Rita started investigating all about her little ant.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On the last day of the school year, the teacher burst into the classroom with excitement.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There was a student named Lily who studied at high school. She had excellent grades and was considered as one of the top students in her school. However, Lily had a rather irritable (易怒的) personality. Because her parents gave her high pressure that she must keep her top place in her school. her mind was only focused on her grades, leaving little room for anything else.
One day, after receiving a lower grade than she expected on an important test. Lily was falling apart. Sad and overwhelmed, she even started considering her failure was due to her parents. She quarreled with her parents and kept them out of her room.
Lily’s parents turned to the school teacher Mr. Thompson for help. They poured out all the bad present situations to him. Mr. Thompson was a professional teacher with a deep understanding of the importance of a balanced lifestyle. He recognized that it was Lily’s too much worry about grades that was having a bad effect on her and the parent-child relationships.
Mr. Thompson advised Lily’s parents to calm down first. And after school, he approached Lily and gently suggested they go for a run together. At first, Lily refused, saying that it would take her too much time. Besides, she couldn’t understand how running could be beneficial to her academic success.
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。
“Believe me, Lily,” Mr. Thompson said, and finally Lily agreed to give it a try.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing Lily’s change. Mr. Thompson recommended her to give a speech to her classmates.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dora Kellert was the school’s spelling bee champion, winner of the reading contest at the public library three summers in a row and the playground grand champion in chess. She was a straight-A student.
Though Dora was talented, she was no good at sports. She could not figure out in which direction to kick the soccer ball. She was no good at baseball or basketball either. It wasn’t until last year, when she was eleven years old, that she learned how to ride a bike. And even then she had to use training wheels.
“I’ll never be good at sports,” she thought one day as she lay on her bed staring at the shelf her father had made to hold her trophies (奖杯). “How I wish I could win something, anything, even marbles (弹珠).”
At the word “marbles,” she sat up, “That’s it. Maybe I could be good at playing marbles.” She jumped out of bed and found a can full of her brother’s marbles. “Yes,” she thought. “I could play marbles, and marbles is a sport.” At that moment she realized that she had only three weeks to practice. The playground championship was coming up. She had a lot to do.
To strengthen her wrists (腕关节), she decided to do twenty push-ups on her fingertips, five at a time. By the end of the first set she was breathing hard. She did one more set and decided that was enough push-ups for the first day. She squeezed (握) a rubber eraser one hundred times, hoping it would strengthen her thumb (大拇指). This seemed to work because the next day her thumb was painful. She could hardly hold a marble in her hand, so Dora rested that day and listened to her brother’s tips on how to shoot.
After school the next day she practiced three hours straight. After practice, she squeezed the eraser for an hour. Practice, practice, practice. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Dora got better and even beat her brother for the first time.
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。
Time flew and soon came the big day.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dancing home, she placed the trophy on the middle of the shelf.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was always afraid of water. This fear could not be explained, but I knew that the moment I stepped near any body of water, my legs would turn to jelly (果冻). I would imagine myself drowning in the water and thrashing around (乱扑腾) helplessly. That was why I had never gone into a swimming pool until swimming became a school requirement. My school wanted all pupils to pass a swimming test, and if they could not, then they would have to attend weekly swimming lessons in school, which made me tremble.
Thus, my parents signed me up for swimming lessons at the pool near my house. With great unwillingness, I attended those weekly lessons, and each one was great suffering for me. I was naturally clumsy, and my fear of water did not help at all. Every lesson, I would be spending my time thrashing about in the water, while my classmates would be swimming countless laps effortlessly and even turning over like dolphins in the water. How was I going to pass the test at this rate?
In my swimming class, there was an exceptionally athletic girl. Tall and muscular, her name was Kathy. She was the best swimmer in our class and always looked at me with disdain (鄙视), especially when I thrashed about hopelessly in the water.
Once, after a particularly long and hard swimming lesson, I spotted Kathy swimming gracefully in the pool. Gathering my courage, I asked gently, “Kathy, can you teach me to swim?” She stared at me coldly. It was as if I stood at the edge of an endless ocean of inadequacy, my fears appearing like dark storm clouds threatening to drown me. Yet, in that moment, a glimmer of hope flashed within me, a desperate longing for guidance and acceptance. Would Kathy’s icy exterior (外表) melt under the warmth of empathy, or would I remain forever thrashing in the sea of my own fears?
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。
To my surprise, she nodded after a few moments of silence.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Congratulations!” Kathy said when she learnt I had passed the swimming test.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At Piedmont Middle School, a kid could run track or play tennis, but everyone wanted to be on the soccer team. Piedmont and the surrounding towns were pretty small, so instead of having separate girls and boys teams, each school had one team made up of both girls and boys. Laura had dreamed of earning glory for the team Los Halcones ever since the first grade when her older brother Toni won in the county middle school championship. Now he was away at college on a soccer scholarship. The day she joined the team as a sixth-grader, she felt like she could fly.
But, unfortunately, her joy didn’t last. She spent most of the season on the bench.
Walking to the car after the last game of the season, Laura tried to smile at her mother. Having spent yet another game sitting on the bench, Laura hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Well, at least you don’t have to wash my uniform,” she joked, but she could feel tears in her eyes. Her mother said, “You still have chances. Don’t lose heart. Toni once made the same mistake. And now you can watch soccer videos to learn more skills when sitting there.” Laura could only shake her head.
Lying in bed that night, Laura thought back to her first game, the day of her huge mistake.
“Pass, pass, pass!”
“Clear that ball!”
Voices yelled from every side. Laura ran nervously in front of the goal (球门) as both teams rushed down the field. She knew the children in green were her teammates. Those in blue were on the other team. At that time, a boy on the opposing team had the ball when a battle for that ball broke out a few feet from her. Green and blue uniforms swirled (打转) around her, and Laura could barely keep track of the ball. Then, suddenly, it came her way!
“Laura, I’m open!” one of her teammates called from near the sideline. Then Laura kicked the ball.
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。
But the ball went in the completely wrong direction!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Sitting on the bench for game after game, Laura decided to tell Toni that she wanted to quit.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At Piedmont Middle School, a kid could run track or play tennis, but everyone wanted to be on the soccer team. Laura had dreamed of earning glory for the Falcons ever since the first grade, when her older brother Toni scored the winning goal in the county middle school championship. The day she joined the team as a sixth-grader, she felt like she could fly.
But, unfortunately, her joy didn’t last. She spent most of the season on the bench. It was all because of the huge mistake she made in her first game. She passed the ball in the completely wrong direction! Straight to an enemy in blue, who quickly shot it into the corner of the net, scoring. The coach benched Laura for the rest of the game. When the Falcons lost 1-0,she was crushed.
Now that the season was over, she just wanted to forget about soccer. She clearly wasn’t good enough to play with the Falcons, and that was that.
A few days later, Laura’s mother found her lying on the sofa, watching music videos on her . phone.
“You’d be better off praticing,” her mother said.
“What for?” Laura said, rolling her eyes. “It won’t help me. I need someone to watch me and tell me how I can improve. I can’t get better by myself.”
Sighing, her mom sank down on the sofa. “Laura, for every lock, there is a key. We just have to find it.”
After a moment, she added, “What if I film you during practice to help you find ways to improve?”
“But the season’s over, Mom. No more practice, remember?”
“The best players keep practicing even when the season’s over,” her mother said. “You remember Toni spending all summer bouncing a ball off his head in the driveway. He used to run ten miles a day in the Arizona summer sun. You think he did that for fun?“
“But to practice plays I need at least one other person,” Laura protested.
Her mother patted her on the knee. “We’ll find that key, too,” she said.
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, Laura’s mother shook her awake early, “Come on, Laura; it’ s soccer time.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When the next season came around, Laura was ready.
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