The ability of young children to remain calm during a crisis is often limited, but a five-year old girl Savannah from Hancock County, Indiana proved to be an exception, which can be life-saving.
The incident began with an emergency call to the local 911 dispatcher (调度员) , Jason Bonham. To his surprise, the person on the other end was a little girl. Despite the gravity of the situation, her behavior and the clear conversation left a significant impression on Jason and millions who later heard the call.
Savannah was up late seeing a movie with her father, Frank, and her mother was on a business trip. It was during the movie night that she heard disturbing sounds from the kitchen. With their pet dog barking ceaselessly, Savannah went to investigate.
In the kitchen, Savannah found her father on the floor, clutching (捂着) his chest. She was terrified but remembered her parents’ advice about emergency situations. Her father was unable to speak, indicating he was in critical condition.
Savannah took the initiative to contact emergency services, dialing 911 from the kitchen wall phone. Her parents had taught her what to do in such situations, which now proved invaluable.
Jason, the 911 operator, had been in this job for 11 years but was amazed by Savannah’s calmness. Despite the challenging circumstances, Jason was able to gather crucial information about Savannah’s father’s condition. Savannah conveyed her father’s symptoms of difficulty breathing and chest pains to Jason, which helped identify the emergency as a possible heart condition.
Jason kept Savannah on the line, distracting her with light conversation while making sure she was keeping an eye on her dad. Jason asked Savannah to unlock the front door for the convenience of paramedics' (急救医士) entering. Savannah kept communicating with Jason until the paramedics arrived. She performed admirably, not only updating Jason about her father’s condition but also taking practical measures, like unlocking the front door for the paramedics,
Before accompanying her father to hospital, Savannah called her mother. And her father was immediately taken into surgery the moment they reached the hospital.
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。
Savannah’s father made it through surgery successfully.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Her example demonstrated that even a child as young as five could make a difference.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing the picture of Kelly and I holding teddy bears with great joy, I couldn’t help recalling the sweet memory. A few years ago, before Christmas, my dad placed a large box in his grocery store for people to donate toys for children in need. Kelly, my best friend came over to help with the wrapping. Knowing that our efforts would bring joy to so many children during the holiday season, we thought it was a rewarding experience.
As we worked, we shared moments of laughter and joy. After a short while, we had almost finished wrapping all the toys with just one little teddy bear left. Looking at it, I said, “It is the sweetest! It reminds me of my teddy bear. I sold all my little kid stuff at our garage sale when we moved. But now I’m really missing it!”
Kelly came to see it and shared. “I have a sad teddy bear story too. When my little brother was a baby, I let him play with my Rosy Bear, but he refused to give her back. Ever.” After our chat, we knew both of us had a special story with a teddy bear.
Right then, my dad entered the room and exclaimed. “Wow, great wrapping job! The kids are going to be thrilled when opening these presents.”
“They definitely will. Maybe we both want to be the one who can get the teddy bear. I can just imagine how delighted a kid would be to unwrap this sweet teddy bear.” said Kelly. We laughed, gazing at the perfectly wrapped bears.
My mom, joining in the laughter, suggested, “Why don’t you gather at our house next Saturday for a cookie-decorating party and exchange your Christmas gifts in advance? I’ll prepare the cookies for you.” “Good idea! I will enjoy the great joy of unwrapping the gift.” I said cheerfully. Hearing what we said, Kelly’s eyes lit up, saying, “Count me in!”
“All right, girls,” said my dad. “We need to do the toy-loading work now. We have to drop off all these presents before five o’clock!”
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: The next week, I was trying to figure out a perfect gift for the party.
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Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of the party arrived.
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I decided to volunteer to be the “room mother” to my daughter Jenny’s class in second grade. I would have tasks like making cookies and helping with the kids’ every field trip. That evening, when I picked Jenny up from school, she introduced her best friend Tommy to me. During the chat, I noticed he had the sharpest sense of humor. And it touched my heart.
We burst out laughing just as their math teacher walked up. She smiled at me and then said to Tommy coldly, “Your grades are the lowest again.” Tommy’s face fell as he walked away. Placing his hands in his pockets, he turned and met my eyes. I would never forget that look. It was a look of hopelessness.
During the following days, I found Tommy’s low grades had led to him having no interest in study. Besides, he suffered from serious inferiority complex (自卑感). I wanted to communicate with him about his problem but he always refused.
Finally, one day he talked to me. He told me that all the students in his class except him had received at least one award because of good performance in study, sports or something else. “I don’t remember ever doing anything proud in my whole life, Miss Jaye,” he cried. “I’m nobody. I’ll be a failure forever. I won’t achieve anything.”
I felt great pity for him and told the story of my brother who also always doubted himself when young and finally grew to be an excellent scientist. Then, I told him that he was a wonderful boy who was humorous, smart, polite, etc. And I told him that he could be somebody as long as he was confident and worked hard like my brother. But he was still absorbed in sorrow.
In order to build Tommy’s confidence, I talked to his headteacher and his parents about his situation. But after several hours’ discussion, we still couldn’t make up a plan to help him.
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: Suddenly, a poster on the table struck me.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Soon, it was the day of the Joke competition.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My childhood is magical and full of adventure. I have so many childhood memories, and I would like to share one that still stimulates me. This unforgettable childhood event was about the first day when I learned how to swim. It happened so unexpectedly and quickly that not only I but my parents were surprised. Of course, we were proud as well. I was barely seven years old back then, and my parents thought that it was time for me to learn how to swim. One summer morning, they took me to a swimming pool in the City Swimming Complex which was just a 35-minute drive from our house. It was a weekend and both my parents accompanied me. After we reached the Swimming Complex, we found many people were learning how to swim. My mother said she would watch me learn this important skill with the help of my father. Then she cheered me on and took a seat.
I had no idea how to swim but I was excited to try this new adventure. However, when my father got into the swimming pool with me, I became a bit nervous. It seemed that things were not quite as easy for me.
Looking around, I noticed that many other children of all ages were also trying to grasp this skill and some of them had pretty much learned the art and science of this skill. Influenced by others, I was determined to focus on my training and swim as well as them. Under the guidance of my father, I learned with all my effort and devotion, and I made rapid progress. After teaching me for 30 minutes or so, my father went to buy some snacks for us and my mother came to talk to me for a while near the pool. She asked me if I had learned anything at all. To prove my progress, I jumped into the water and started swimming.
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。
My mother was frightened by my action at first.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eating the snacks bought by my father, we were all thrilled and excited.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . 你校英文报正在开展以Satisfaction with Your Looks为话题的调查，请结合图表中的数据写一篇短文投稿，内容包括：
1. 满意度情况描述；
2. 简单评论；
3. 你的建议。
注意：
1. 写作词数不少于80；
2. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Attitudes towards whether we are satisfied with our looks vary from person to person.
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I was helping my mother in the kitchen when I heard a terrible noise struck from above. I rushed to the upper floor to check out. There was nothing but a wet footprint on the floor.
“What’s happening?” my mother asked.
“Nothing, just the sound of lightning.” I knew something strange had happened, but I ignored it as my mother was suffering a cardiac (心脏的) disease. “We’d better close the windows. Maybe rain will pour down,” I showed a relaxing expression but thought back about that footprint. It was so familiar, but I could not remember where I had seen it.
“David, can you help me take the cooking pot in the attic (阁楼)?” my mother requested. “Oh, please! I am afraid of the dark,” I answered.
My mother said that I was like my father. Oh, you want to know what happened to my father? He was an engineer. Last month, he went to the oil platform in the middle of the sea at Jerteh, Terengganu. He said he went there for only 4 days. But 2 weeks had passed, and he still didn’t come back. My mother called the management office in Jerteh but was told they hadn’t seen him since they last saw him on his way to the seashore from the oil platform.
Speaking of my father, my mother looked sad. “Today was our Anniversary Day, but he was missing.”
But back to the main point. I investigated the footprint in my room. And when I looked up, the window was opened. I walked towards it and looked out. Nothing. I closed the window and lay down on my bed. “Ouch! What is this?” I asked myself.
There was a small box on my bed. I wondered what was inside it. I opened the brown box. There was a necklace, made of pure gold. Why was there a gold necklace in my room?
Suddenly, my room became dark. My terrible fear towards the darkness was to the limit. I grabbed a flashlight and turned it on.
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。
Just at that time, the house bell rang.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I shouted excitedly, and called my mum down.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tomato Changed My Life
Doing things-without being planned was never my strength.
As a 14-year-old, I would refuse to go for walks around the block with my friends if I was the least bit behind in my schoolwork.
Unlike most teenagers, I lived not in my room, but in an unused kitchen upstairs where I spread my books and papers on a large round table. I spent considerable time there, working continuously for hours, and my mother worried. She would try to lure (引诱) me away. “Come and watch the parade!” she would call from downstairs. “All neighbors are out there!” She thought of all kinds of tricks-the swimming pool, ice cream, stray cats and turtles-to remove me from my -studies, but nothing ever worked.
Later, in college, the pattern continued. The library and my college dorm replaced the unused kitchen at home. When spring came along friends would stop by my dorm or peer into my library room to persuade me to play Frisbee on the lawn. “No, I would almost always say.” I have too much to do.
My college study days were gone, but not my need and love for schedules. My friends and sisters tried to keep me away from my plans, but they were hardly ever successful.
This summer, though, while house sitting for my parents, I was persuaded to change my plans in the most unexpected way. The sight of tomatoes growing in my mother’s garden lured me out of my tightly scheduled world. They drew me with the power of a lover’s gaze. Hundreds of them were turning ripe and red by the minute, decorating the garden like decorations on a Christmas tree.
“If I have time, I’ll make tomato sauce (番茄酱).” I told myself. But my long week in the house by myself was already filled with things to do: writing, and finishing a project that I brought home from the office.
Then, watching the fascinating tomatoes continuously falling to the ground in ever-greater numbers, again I mentally argued about all the things I had planned and needed to do.
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。
Finally, I gave in.
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A month later, my parents came back.
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I didn’t know the lady, but I saw her often around town with her two small children. She appeared to be shy, always looking down, trying not to make eye contact. She often wore the same clothes, and so did her children. I felt her discomfort when I saw her at the supermarket checkout. She reminded me of myself years ago. We had to go through a tough time.
Back then, I couldn’t afford a new winter coat for my daughter, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. Luckily, my three younger children could wear hand-me-downs. One night, I said to myself in my heart that I wished someone to offer me help. I did it for the first time since my husband’s unemployment.
The next morning, a neighbour came into the place where I worked. “I know you must feel unbelievable, This morning, I had an overwhelming (无法抗拒的) feeling that you needed this,” she whispered. She insisted on giving me twenty dollars. My eyes started to tear as she continued, “I also have a box of clothes in my car that I was going to donate. Please take what you need.” It was really a shock of getting her help. Was this the response to my word the night before?
Going through the large box of clothes, I found several winter items for my children, including a dark purple jacket that looked like it would fit my daughter. Although grateful, I felt embarrassed. The woman must have sensed my discomfort. She raised my chin so I could look at her. “We all need help at one time or another, “she said. “One day, you’ll be the one helping someone in need.”
I thanked her and promised I would always try to pay it forward.
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。
Looking at the lady at the supermarket checkout, I knew perhaps it was the proper time.
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To my surprise, she said, “Yes.”
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The moment my son Joe knew I was going to have another baby, he tried his best to stay out of our lives. By the time our daughter Molly was due to be born, I had grown accustomed to his embarrassment and animosity (敌意). I had grown accustomed to a lot of things, not the least of which was having an unexpected child at the age of thirty-nine. My husband, to his eternal credit, was delighted. Throughout it all, Joe rarely spoke to me, except to say, “You don’t have to come to my school,” and — after a marathon baby naming conference—“Call her Molly, the name of my friend’s dog.”
When Molly finally arrived, tiny, quiet and perfect, four family arms were there to draw her close. But Joe’s remained tightly crossed over his chest, on the far side of the hospital room I signed to him to come closer but he shook his head slightly. I could see him standing there, arms still folded, staring straight ahead.
Joe stayed away at a friend’s cottage when Molly and I came home from the hospital. He was still gone ten days later when I took our daughter for her first check-up. He arrived home just as I was coming back, tears streaming down my face. “The doctor thinks she might have a hearing problem,” I sobbed. “She’s too quiet she’s not responding like she should. We have to have her tested.”
As my husband comforted me, downplaying my worry, I noticed that Joe had stopped beside the baby, sound asleep in her car seat. He reached out to her, shifting her slightly away from a bump (隆起) in the carpet. “She’s okay,” he said, looking down at her. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just little.”
Three months later as I walked the floor at 4:00 A. M. with a crying and inconsolable (难以安抚的) (and otherwise perfectly healthy) baby in my arms, I dragged myself into Joe’s room and woke him up “Joe, could you take her? Just for a few minutes? I can’t settle her down, Dad’s on business, and I just really need a break.”
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。
Saying nothing, Joe took his little sister from me.
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Seeing Molly sleeping peacefully in Joe’s bed, I walked out, followed by Joe.
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You never know where life will lead you. When I was a young boy. I found myself constantly overshadowed by my elder sister, Becky. It was not her intention to outshine me, nor did she make any effort to do so. However, with Becky exceling both academically and athletically, it was only natural that her accomplishments got all the attention, while my own achievements went unnoticed. Being the younger brother of someone who effortlessly excelled in all areas of life proved to be a big challenge, as I struggled to find my own identity under her brilliance.
Becky’s talent in swimming was particularly noteworthy and she was recognized as the finest swimmer in our province. Yet, the swimming pool never attracted me. Even as a child, I developed a dislike for swimming after a rather unpleasant experience of water entering my nose. Swimming was not for me.
However, fate had its own way of transforming my life. One day, I fell off my skateboard and broke my leg so badly that the doctors said I could never really engage in the sport again. They said there was only one exercise that would be good for me-swimming!
Reluctantly, I decided to give swimming a try. At first, it was a struggle. I had a lot of fear and anxiety about putting my face in the water, fearing a repeal of the incident that had scarred me as a child. But little by little, with the support and guidance of my sister, I slowly overcame my fear and learned to enjoy swimming.
As I spent more time in the water, I realized that swimming wasn’t just exercise; it was a way to challenge myself and push my limits. I began to set goals for myself, starting with simple tasks like swimming a certain distance without stopping, and gradually progressing to more advanced techniques. With each achievement, my confidence grew, and I found myself becoming more comfortable in the water.
Swimming also brought me closer to Becky. We spent hours together at the pool, motivating and encouraging each other. She became my trainer, helping me improve my technique and providing me with valuable advice. It was through swimming that we developed a deeper bond as siblings (兄弟姐妹).
注意：(1)续写词数应为150左右；(2)开头已给出。
As the years went by, I started participating in local swimming competitions.
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Today, as I reflect on my journey, I am grateful for the twist of fate that led me to professional swimming.
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