Torrie Norwood was a girl student at Lakewood High School, which offered a life-saving course. Torrie was very interested and she was registered at the class. Instructor Erika Miller was a long-time and skilled teacher, who taught basic life support, CPR (心肺复苏), along with Heartsaver First Aid. Erika stressed that life-saving skills were very important. To save a person’s life, you must perform CPR within 4-6 minutes. “You never know when an emergency will occur,” Erika said. “But you know what you should do at a crucial moment.” When Torrie finished the course last Friday, she was glad to earn her certification.
The next day Torrie and her three classmates had just spent a typical Saturday night out when they decided to head home. As they drove back to their hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, a speeding pickup truck crashed into them. Then the screaming started. “It’s gonna blow!” yelled the gathering crowd as the pickup truck went up in smoke.
Torrie’s door wouldn’t open, but her window had been knocked out during the crash, so she was forced to climb through her window to get out. Two of her classmates, both unhurt, were also able to free themselves from the vehicle.
But when Torrie turned around, she didn’t see Simmons running with them. Torrie realized that her friend Simmons was still in the car. Torrie had to run back to the car as fast as she could. She was still in there—unresponsive in the back seat. There was glass and blood everywhere. Things didn’t look good.
Simmons had hit her head on a rear passenger window. The great force resulted in life-threatening injuries. After pulling Simmons out from the car quickly, Torrie gently laid her on the ground and checked her vital signs, unable to detect a pulse (脉搏).
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。
Para.1
Instead of freezing in fear, Torrie kept calm.
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A few weeks later, Simmons recovered in the hospital.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Special#2，Please
My flight arrived in San Diego around midnight, and by the time I drove home and got into bed it was nearly 2:00 a. m. I was tired and jet-lagged when I dragged myself out of the bed. Nevertheless,I had to be up bright and early that morning: I was the opening keynoter(主旨发言人) at a national conference.
In short, I needed to recover quickly. A hearty breakfast in the early morning sun was what I needed. I headed for Carlos & Annie’s, a popular restaurant located in the heart of the seaside town.
“I’d like steak and eggs, please,” I said to the waitress after I had finally found a table in the restaurant. “Oh, I'm sorry,” she apologized. “We're out of Special#2. We've served the last of our steaks. How about Special#14?” “Oh, no steak and eggs?” I couldn't seem to accept it.
I'm not sure if it was my heartfelt sigh that caught Carlos, the owner's attention. His warm, caring brown eyes seemed determined to pinpoint the best solution. He then said, “You know, I think I did see one final steak back
there.”Pressing my luck,I quickly declared, “Wow,that would be great. But you know, I’m not sure if I want a breakfast stenk at all. What I really want is a steak—one that’s two inches thick, tender and juicy, served medium rare.” “Not to worry,” Carlos assured meand left. The young waitress gave me a wink(眨眼) and said with a knowing smile, “Carlosis being Carlos again!” I did not give her words much thought.
Then, I noticed Carlos as he left the restaurant through the side door and walked into a neighborhood grocery store across the street. Carlos exchanged morning greetings with everyone he knew and even helped the owner of the bookstore next door by holding the items that filled her arms. Then he reentered the restaurant with a bag in his hand.
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: Within minutes，an exact Special#2 was in front of me.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: I was about to leave when I learned Carlos had already sold the restaurant.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In a small town, Greenfield, lived Alex, a high school student. Alex’s sanctuary (庇护所) was a mix of video games and late-night snacking, a habit that not only distanced him from the world but also gradually ruined his health.
“Hey, Alex, need a wider door to walk through?” taunted (嘲笑) Mike, a classmate whose words were as sharp as knives, under the watchful eyes of their classmates. The laughter that followed was a familiar sting, one that Alex had grown accustomed to, yet it hurt deeper each time.
At home, Alex’s escape into virtual realities became his feeling of emotional comfort, until one evening, his father, Bryan, decided it was time for a change.
“Alex, we need to talk,” Bryan said, his tone soft yet firm. “I’ve seen how hard things have been for you... and I think it’s time we make a change.”
“It’s just how things are, Dad. I can’t change how people see me,”Alex responded. “Maybe you can’t change how others see you, Alex, ”Bryan added gently, “but we can change how you see yourself, maybe, how you feel. Let’s try to adopt a healthier lifestyle, together. What do you say?”
Doubtful but inspired by his father’s suggestion, Alex agreed. They started a journey that introduced morning jogs, replaced chips and sodas with fruits and water, and most importantly, opened a channel of communication that had long been inactive.
The road was not without its obstacles. Mike’s taunts continued. ”Planning to run a marathon, Alex?“ Mike laughed loudly. “Maybe I am,”Alex replied, his voice steadier than he felt.
As time flew, the transformation within Alex became obvious. Not just in his physical appearance, but in his behaviors. He found himself slowly stepping out of the shadow of his insecurities.
Then came the annual school 2-mile run, an activity Alex had never dreamed of participating in. Yet, this year was different.
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。
With confidence and physical strength, Alex decided to sign up.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the race, as the crowd’s cheers continued, Bryan approached Alex.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kevin woke to the blaring beep of his alarm clock. “Can’t wait for that camping trip,” Kevin thought, filled with excitement. As he was leaving home, his dad grabbed him by the hand and said, “Before you go, just tell me the directions on where you and your friends are going to stay.”
“But dad!” Kevin complained.
“No buts!” Kevin’s dad added.
“Fine.” Kevin told him the directions and left.
The three friends, Kevin, Jay and Nathan, had been planning this adventure for weeks, packing their stuff-tents, snacks, and a map-preparing for a 3-day outdoor exploration. Excitement ran through Kevin as they departed for their campsite. “This trip is going to be awesome, ” Nathan excitedly yelled as they set off. But little did they know that nature had a surprise in store for them.
The first day at the campsite was going great, setting up tents, collecting firewood, and sharing stories. “Man, we nailed these tents, ” Kevin said. “I know it was easy really,” Nathan replied. The friends were happy.
Yet towards night, as the dark clouds gathered overhead, the atmosphere shifted, and a sudden storm erupted with unforgiving anger. Rain poured down from the heavens like a relentless waterfall, transforming the peaceful campsite into a muddy battleground. Worse still, a huge tree was uprooted and crashed down with a deafening crack on their only means of escape - their car. Kevin’s eyes widened in horror as he spotted the damaged wreckage beneath the fallen giant. “Our car!” he screamed over the howling wind, his voice a mix of disbelief and despair. “We’re stuck here,” he declared, his words barely audible against the backdrop of thunder and raindrops. They realized that their plans had been violently spoiled by forces beyond their control. The once quiet campsite now stood as a deserted battlefield, the fallen tree serving as a painful reminder of the unpredictable nature of the world around them.
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 day, they found themselves facing the immediate problem of finding water.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: On the third night, a distant engine sound broke the terrible stillness.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tom could communicate well with other people through the computer or even on the phone, but when it came to making public presentations, he was hopeless. He was aware that people at conferences would count up the times he said such things as “what I really meant to say was” when he got nervous.
Tom was an expert in Reality Robotics Company. His boss had asked him to do something that he was absolutely scared about. The next month he would be presenting on behalf of his company, and there would be a lot of people, and his boss, who had never attended Tom’s presentations, wanted to impress the audience with the innovative work that the company was doing. Tom knew his boss’s respect for him would plummet (坠落) if he said that he could not do it. So, he worked like crazy on the task.
One day, he felt a great need to relax. He turned on the TV. He laughed, and smiled through the first show, making him feel a little better. But it was the second show that really got to him, where the ventriloquist (腹语术者) Arthur worked with his dummy (假人) . This really provided him with an inspiration for how he was going to make his much-feared presentation a success.
The next day, he organized a meeting of the people that had the skills he needed, and, of course, his boss. When he explained what he wanted to do, he could sense that everyone was with him on this plan. But a lot of work had to be done for the object of the plan to be completed.
It was the day of the presentation. Tom was somewhat nervous, but nowhere near to the extent that he usually was for just such a situation. And they had to get to their destination early, for what needed to be done had to be completed before the audience knew what was going 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。
Paragraph 1: The much-anticipated presentation started.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Tom walked onto the stage, looking exactly the same as the presenter.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One morning, John Evans entered my life. He was a newcomer, whose parents had recently arrived in our town for seasonal apple picking. In worn-out clothes, he stood in front of our class, shifting from foot to foot. As our teacher, Mrs. Parmele, penned his name in the roll book, whispers of disapproval began floating from row to row.
Mrs. Parmele looked up at us and the whispering stopped. “Class, this is John Evans,” Mrs. Parmele announced, trying to sound friendly. John looked around and smiled, expecting somebody would smile back. Nobody did. I held my breath, hoping Mrs. Parmele wouldn’t notice the empty desk next to mine. She did and pointed him in that direction. He smiled at me as he slid into the seat, but I turned my eyes away.
A week passing by, John still had no friend. “It’s his fault,” I told my mother one night. “He barely even knows how to count.” My mother had grown to know John through my nightly comments. She always listened patiently and sometimes nodded thoughtfully.
Another day at lunchtime, “Can I sit by you?” John stood by me, plate in hand and smile on face. I looked around and agreed a bit unwillingly. As I watched him eat and listened to him chat, it dawned on me that he was actually pleasant to be around. And I was determined John would remain friendless no longer.
One evening, when Mother kissed me good night, I uttered, “Mom, tomorrow is John’s birthday. He’s not going to get anything. No cake. No presents. Nobody even cares.” Mother and I both knew whenever a kid had a birthday, his mother would bring cupcakes for the class. But John’s mother worked all day. His special day would go unnoticed! “Don’t worry,” Mom said, “I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”
The next day, I wished John a happy birthday first thing in the morning, and his embarrassed smile showed me he was glad I had remembered. Till the last class, nothing special happened.
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。
Suddenly I heard a familiar voice singing the birthday song.
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John kindly shared his cupcakes with the class.
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Though I cat an apple almost every day, one month ago my doctor came to my house standing in front of me, not being kept away, due to my sudden illness.
“Well Jian, I think I need to have a strong talk with you. You are overweight. Have you ever heard about Body Mass Index (指数), BMI? Well, I’ve weighed you and measured your height and you have a BMI of 28. That is obese (肥胖的),” said the doctor.
I knew I was a little bit overweight but I didn’t think it was that bad. He added that my name means healthy in Chinese and he thought it is time that I should become healthy. There is a direct link between my health and sport. So he asked me, “How much sport do you do every week?”
I told him that I go for a walk every weekend. Then he replied, “Hmm, that’s not a lot. Sport and health go together. They affect your mental, physical and emotional health. For example, sport can improve your mental health, allowing your brain to think better and focus. It will help you to learn more easily. Is that clear, Jian?”
“I think so. I know it would be good to be able to concentrate better at school.” I said.
The doctor explained to me that from a physical point of view, sport makes us tired so helps us to sleep better. At the same time, sport bums off the calories that we have consumed. It builds muscle and improves our circulation. Sport helps to control our cholesterol count (胆固醇指标) and this is important to stop us having a heart attack. Additionally, it also keeps our blood pressure normal and strengthens our bones.
Para 1: The doctor’s words left me lost in thought.
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Para 2: “Exercising alone is hard. Why not: try some team sports?” the doctor suggested.
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Listening to Be Heard
Our P. E. teacher Ms. Lopez had been out with a skiing injury. She was a caring and considerate teacher who showed patience and understanding to little minds like us. So, when we knew she was returning, some of us asked our substitute(替代) gym teacher if we could plan a welcome-back party.
“Sounds great,” said Ms. Green, “We have a few minutes before the bell rings, so you can do a little brainstorming while I put some stuff away.” We were excited and could not wait to let our minds wander. But here came the problem.
“I bet Ms. Lopez would like welcome-back cards.” I said.
“We should have a rock ‘n’ roll theme!” said Noah.
“No, we should make it a soccer theme! What about a cake shaped like a soccer ball!”said Avery.
“Why is soccer better than music?” said Noah.
“I think cards are really important!” I said, louder.
The discussion soon turned into a noisy chaos (混乱). Everyone had their ideas to present and wished them to be realized. Even the “fashionable” kids interrupted, demanding to bring balloons and some fancy clothes like a skirt with orange flowers. It seemed all voices were ignored.
That was when the bell rang and the party discussion ended. I was in confusion and fear for the rest of the day. It was going to be a disaster, and Ms. Lopez wouldn’t even know we missed her.
When I returned home, my little brother and sister were arguing about a board game.
“I know the rules!” Tex shouted. “You don’t have to start over if you land on blue!”
“I know the rules!” shouted Indi. “You get an extra point if you get the flowers!”
I walked over to where they were playing and said, “If you’d stop and listen to each other, you might realize you’re both right.” I pointed to the rule sheet and read them the parts they’d been arguing about. They were surprised that they were both right. Suddenly it clicked—we had been busy presenting our ideas without listening to others.
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 day in gym class, during the party discussion, I asked my classmates for a stop.
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A week later, Ms. Lopez was amazed at the welcome-back party containing our various ideas.
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My five-year-old daughter Ruthie seemed very small standing at the base of the huge rock-climbing wall as a young employee double-checked her equipment. It was our second time at this indoor crowded climbing gym. On our first visit, Ruthie had begged my husband and me to let her try climbing the wall, but I denied her, afraid that she was undersized.
But life had dramatically changed since then. After receiving a cancer diagnosis (诊断), I felt that my life was too short to deny her a chance. I stood outside the waiting area, watching the employee attach Ruthie to a safety rope. Then he gave her a thumbs-up sign, and my daughter began climbing!
With that rope, she couldn’t possibly fall. She might slip, but she wouldn’t fall. I was surprised at how she did that so easily and joyfully. “If my cancer is the rock wall, I want to be Ruthie,” I thought.
When she touched the ground again, I leaned over the low fence and asked, “How do you do that?”
“I just trust the rope. It’s very easy,” she said with a shrug, and started on her second climbing.
Apparently, if I had known the secret, I could have climbed the wall myself. When I was sixteen, I once failed to climb a rock wall. With added weight and reduced muscle tone, I doubted if I could even do it. I didn’t see any other moms trying to climb the wall. Several months earlier, embarrassment would have stopped me from trying. But my cancer did funny things to my brain. It made me realize that I needed to be braver than I thought.
With determination, I decided to try it and the same young employee checked my safety rope and gave me the thumbs-up sign. As I began my climb, I was excited by my own bravery for trying something so new. However, only ten feet up, my fingers and toes started to tire, and there was absolutely no place to rest. My excitement began to disappear and I was afraid that I was going to slip and fall.
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。
But I knew if I wanted to make it, I had to trust the rope.
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That day’s successful experience inspired me in my cancer battle.
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