Different sports filled my days in my youth. I dreamed or a big win some day, with a big trophy (奖杯). I was skillful and fast, or so I thought. However, I soon learned my skills seemed quite weak because the bigger, stronger boys seemed to occupy every corner of the playground. Once I was in the 100-yard hurdles, the only recognition I received for my performance was two bloody knees.
In college, I took a swim competition, dreaming of the glory! It turned out I achieved nothing. As an older adult, I still maintained an active lifestyle. In 2010 I signed up for a stair-climbing challenge to raise money for fighting against lung cancer. My father had died of the same disease, so this was a meaningful cause for me. Then, in 2019,the organization offered an even more challenging climb option: the vertical (垂直的) mile. So I would have three hours to climb up and down twenty-eight floors fifteen times, plus three more.
I trained hard. When the challenge started. I felt confident. But soon my legs started feeling heavy. What was worse, I began experiencing leg cramps (抽筋). My progress slowed dramatically and I quickly fell behind. When came down after finishing lap 14, it was past the time limit, so my big win had escaped once again.
Soon after the climb, I struggled to experience the sense of self-satisfaction. And I had, after all, set a goal for myself to prove what I was made of, what I had inside me. And what I had inside me was, “Nice try, but you didn’t make it.” So, a year later, at age 62 and after numerous workouts, I was back. Like last year, I was well ahead after an hour and I again started feeling some discomfort in my legs. I heard myself cry out loud, “Oh, no not again!” I finally stopped and sat down on the stairs, feeling quite depressed and wondering if my dream was over. A few climbers stopped to offer help. I was touched, but embarrassed to accept. Except for one climber. An angel climber, really.
Jessica, who I happened to know, was a salesman’s friend when I bought new running shoes at his store. And without that connection, she might have climbed past me as I sat on those steps, my legs shaking. But all those things did happen, and Jessica stopped to help.
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。
When she saw I was cramping, she offered me some sports drinks containing electrolytes (电解质).
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The cramps in my legs finally started to go away.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The first time you give a speech is truly a special moment, a beginning of something special, and I will surely never forget the first time that I gave a speech.
As a kid, I was extremely shy and seldom said anything. When I was twelve and about to graduate from junior school, I remember that my teacher pulled me aside one day and told me to take part in an online speech. My first thought was that giving a speech didn’t sound like much fun, but finally I agreed.
As the morning neared 9:30 a.m., I sat in front of my laplop screen nervously. I clicked the link to join “Round One”, put my nerves aside, and smiled at the other faces on the screen as my name was called to perform. Slowly, I stood and began speaking. I could only think that the other participants felt as anxious as I did.
The Novice (新手) Speech Tournament is the first Speech and Debate competition of the year specifically for first-time competitors, and this year’s event took place on October 24. Speech Team Co-Captain Anna Sheehan, a seasoned speech leader, reported her Novice experience, “I remember leaving the competition even more excited to do speech because I had seen some great pieces and was eager to improve.” After experiencing Novice myself, I completely agreed!
Two Montrosians—Josie Marcucci and I—competed while Anna Sheehan and Lucy Stefani took part as judges. Although it took place online, the Montrose Speech Team did its best to follow the normal arrangement: At 8 a.m., we met in our virtual (虚拟的) team room for warmups to help cheer ourselves up before the big day. Next, we attended a meeting for some announcements (通告). Then, we were off to compete. In each of the three rounds, competitors had a chance to perform. In between rounds, we met as a team in our “room”. Before I took part, I went to my teacher for some practical help. And my teacher patted me on the back, smiling, “Calm down, and you will make it.”
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。
The restlessness I felt that morning went away when I finished my first performance.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Following Anna and Lucy’s advice, I felt more confident for the third round.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. 介绍你喜欢的运动项目；
2. 喜欢这一运动项目的理由；
3. 做运动时要注意的事项。
注意：1.词数80左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
My Favourite Sport
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses! Turning our weaknesses into strengths makes us unbeatable. This is an inspiring story of a 12-year-old boy Kim who defeated his weakness, by unknowingly making it his strength.
Poor Kim lost his left hand in a terrible accident. His parents could not comfort him. To cheer him up, his father made him join a Judo(柔道) school. As the boy always wanted to learn Judo, his father thought that this would make him happy.
Everyone wondered how a single armed boy could learn Judo. However, the master happily accepted him. He trained in Judo for about 8 months. He practiced nothing but a single stroke(击) . He trained for all 8 months in mastering a single stroke. The boy was surprised and sometimes annoyed as his master taught him only one stroke.
Yet, he said nothing. The boy mastered the stroke and grew as nobody could excel(胜过) in doing that particular stroke. The boy was picked by the master to compete in the national level Judo championship tournament(比赛).
Everyone made fun of Kim and the master. How a one-handed boy could win a national championship? Even the boy was not sure about why his master chose him.
Surprisingly, Kim easily defeated his six contenders(竞争者) with his single stroke. He gradually moved to semi-finals. He struggled a bit in the semi-finals and won again.
Needless to say, it surprised everyone and the final match began.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Kim asked his master how he won the championship with just a single stroke.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
