The art competition at school was always a highly anticipated event. This year was no exception, with students from all grades eager to showcase their creative talents. Among them were two friends, Jane and Sally.
Jane had a deep passion for art, but she often struggled with expressing her ideas on paper. She would spend hours in front of a blank canvas (画布), trying to capture the perfect image in her mind, but her efforts often fell short. Sally, on the other hand, was naturally talented and her artworks were always praised by teachers and classmates.
As the competition drew nearer, Jane worked harder than ever, staying up late into the night to perfect her piece. Sally, however, seemed to take it all in stride (大步走), casually sketching and painting without much effort. She often teased Jane about her lack of talent, making jokes that were meant to be light-hearted but stung Jane deeply.
On the day of the competition, Jane’s heart was filled with both excitement and fear. She had worked so hard on her piece, but she knew that it still paled in comparison to Sally’s effortless creations. As she set up her canvas and began to paint, she could feel Sally’s eyes on her, mocking (嘲笑) her every move.
Halfway through the competition, Jane encountered a difficult obstacle. She couldn’t seem to capture the essence of her subject the way she wanted to, and her frustration mounted. She looked around at the other students, seeing their confident strokes and vibrant colors, and she felt a pang of defeat. She wanted to give up, to throw away her brush and walk away.
But just as she was about to do so, she caught sight of Sally. Sally wasn’t laughing or mocking her now; instead, she looked at Jane with a mixture of surprise and concern. It was as if she realized that her words had hurt Jane more than she had intended. And in that moment, Jane found a new resolve. She wasn’t going to let Sally’s words or her own doubts defeat her. She was going to finish her piece, no matter what.
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。
With renewed determination, Jane returned to her canvas.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________She heard her name announced as the winner of a special recognition award for perseverance and dedication.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was a sunny morning, and I accompanied my elderly mother to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, but I was always nervous. My mother was going to Canada for two days and then accompanied by my niece to Germany to visit my second brother and sister, but I was unable to accompany her because of my work, so my mother, who was in her seventies, had to fly alone.
On the way to the airport, my mother hid her worries and put a smile on her face so that her family would not be worried. But I couldn’t help but think about what my mother was going to do when she got through customs, which exit she was going to take when she arrived in Canada...Not to mention a big suitcase of luggage and a box of souvenirs. A few days ago, my mother cooked some of the children’s favorite foods, store in a refrigerated box and prepared to bring them to her children and grandchildren to taste. Since my sister got married in Canada, she has missed my mother’s cooking. This time, if it weren’t for the fact that my second sister was too busy to get out in Germany, and my mother could visit her son who had settled in Germany for more than 20 years at the same time, I am afraid that she would never have traveled alone.
Originally, I planned for my mother to only carry small luggage, so that she did not have to check it in, and it was easier to enter and exit. But when I packed her bags, I picked up more than two-thirds of my things for my younger brothers and sisters. The mother is like this; she always thinks that she is not enough to think about her children. As long as she sees the children happy, she can be happy for a long time.
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。
I accompanied my mother to the counter, seeing a couple talking and laughing.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was so moved that I couldn’t stop thanking them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Alice, you spend too much time on your phone,” her father said. “You need to focus on your studies.”
“But Dad, I’m doing my best,” Alice replied. “I’m balancing my phone time with my studies.”
In the tense meal, Alice and her parents argued about her recent changes. They were focused on her increased attachment to her phone and its impact on her studies. Her parents were concerned that she was neglecting (忽视) her studies and worried about the impact it might have on her future. They felt that her attachment to the phone was taking her away from her studies.
Alice said, “I know you’re worried about me, but I’m trying my best. I just want to have some fun with my friends and take a break from studying sometimes.” However, her parents didn’t seem to understand or accept her explanation. They felt that she needed to focus more on her studies and less on the phone.
The argument escalated (升级) when Alice announced that she wanted to leave the science club she had been a member of for years to join a new social media club. Alice explained, “I’m not sure if leaving the science club was a right decision or not. I just feel like I need a change.” Her mother was shocked and said angrily, “You made this decision without thinking it through. You’ve done well in the science club, and you have a lot of potential to go further. You’ll regret it if you don’t keep going.”
After that argument, Alice, feeling increasingly frustrated, withdrew into herself and spent more time in her room. She started to avoid her parents as much as possible and didn’t want to talk to them about anything related to her studies or her future.
Her parents saw that the little girl who had come back laughing and talking was gone, and now they saw a face that was alternately angry and sad. She did spend less time on her phone, but she became increasingly unhappy.
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。
One night, Alice’s parents knocked on the girl’s door and said they wanted to talk to her.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At this point, Alice seemed to see some hope of joining the social media club.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Day Mother Cried
Coming home from school that dark winter’s day so long ago, I was filled with anticipation. I had a new issue of my favorite sports magazine under my arm. Dad was at work, my sister was away, and Mother wouldn’t be home from her new job for an hour.
I was shocked into stillness by what I saw . Mother pulled into a tight ball with her face in her hands. She was crying. I had never seen her cry.
I approached cautiously and touched her shoulder. “Mother?” I said. “What’s happened?”
She took a long breath and managed a weak smile. “It’s nothing, really. I’m going to lose this new job. I can’t type fast enough.”
“But you’ve only been there three for days,” I said. “You’ll catch on.” I was repeating a line she had spoken to me a hundred times when I was having trouble learning or doing something important to me. She sobbed in silence .
I felt helpless and out of place. At the age of 16 I still assumed Mother could do anything. To provide enough income for my college two years later, Mother was crazy for ways to save money.
A few months ago, Mother arrived home with an old typewriter. It skipped between certain letters. “That’s all we can afford,” Mother said. “It’s good enough to learn on.” And from that day on, immediately after dinner, Mother would disappear into her sewing room to practice. The slow tap, tap, tap went on some nights until midnight. On Monday, she got a job as a typewriter at a radio station. I was not the least bit surprised but she was excited. But on Tuesday Mother looked drawn. I didn’t care honestly.
My shock and embarrassment at finding Mother in tears on Wednesday showed how little I understood the pressures on her. Sitting beside her on the couch, I began very slowly to understand.
“I guess we all have to fail sometimes,” Mother said quietly. I could sense her pain. I reached out and put my arms around her.
A week later Mother took a job selling dry goods at half the salary the radio station had offered. “It’s a job I can do,” she said simply.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
But the evening practice routine on the old green typewriter continued.
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The old green typewriter sits in my office now, unrepaired.
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It was Thursday morning. Phil was on a mission. Hurrying along the Primary 3 corridor, he was looking for his younger brother Jimmy, who had left the house early to walk to school with a friend and had forgotten his pocket money. As a Primary 6 boy, Phil had been asked to make sure that Jimmy had it in time for break.
Phil was about to enter his brother’s classroom when he thought he saw the back of his brother’s jacket further ahead. It must have been Jimmy. No one else in the school had a jacket like that one. “Hey Jimmy!” he called out but his brother did not stop. Phil rushed forward and grabbed hold of the boy. But it wasn’t Jimmy. It was someone Phil had never seen before and he was wearing Jimmy’s jacket. As the boy struggled to break free, Mrs. Atkins came towards them. Immediately, sensing the teacher’s presence, Phil released his grasp. Staring at both boys, Mrs. Atkins ordered them to follow her. Once they were at the school office, Mrs. Atkins asked the younger of the two to explain.
“I was walking along the corridor when this boy grabbed me. I didn’t do anything!” explained Daniel.
“He stole my brother’s jacket,” explained Phil.
“Liar!” Daniel immediately jumped to his feet and faced Phil, his fists tightly closed. “I have never stolen anything! This jacket is from my mother. Stop saying that!”
“Boys! I am sure this is a simple misunderstanding. Isn’t possible that this is just an identical jacket, Phil?” Mrs. Atkins reasoned.
Phil shook his head forcefully. “My mother got that jacket for me when she was overseas some years ago. Go on, look at the label inside the collar. It will say ‘Di Roma’. That’s because she got it in Rome. That is my jacket which I’ve outgrow n so Jimmy, my younger brother, has been using it.”
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。
Hearing that, Mrs. Atkins asked Daniel for permission to look at the label.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A short while later, Mrs. Atkins explained that she had called Daniel’s mother.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pimple on the Nose
“Nooo!” screamed Asha as she saw a huge pimple(痘) on her nose. She didn’t have time to cover the pimple as she was running late to school. She gobbled her breakfast, grabbed her bag and got into her school bus just in time. As soon as she entered, kids started laughing. Nobody was willing to make her sit beside them. Even Anita, her bus mate acted a bit differently with her.
Asha was lost in thoughts. A new thought popped in her mind every second. Once she thought “Great! As if homework and exams were not enough, I have to worry about my pimple as well.” The next minute another thought popped in her mind. “I am tired of using that face wash. I still wonder how I agreed to use that horrible thing! How can…” Mr. Shetty, the bus driver said “Asha, do you want to miss the class?” Asha was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even notice that everybody had got down the bus except her.
She did not want to step into the campus. She thought, “What will my teachers think? What will my friends think?” After some time, she gathered courage and entered her class expecting that she would be laughed at.
It was a very hard day at school for her. As soon as she got home, she hugged her mother tightly. As she did so she felt all her worries were not even a dot in front of the warm and loving hug.
Later that day, she went to the supermarket with her mother. While coming back she heard people commenting on her pimple. A small child cried, “Daddy! My cherry is on her nose! Get it for me.” She heard some boys murmuring, “If she would have been in our school, she would definitely be chosen as the joker in the dance.”
Asha wondered why people cared so much about her appearance.
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 it was time for bed story, and mom asked her to choose a book.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Her mother asked her never to judge a book by its old cover but to pay attention to the details.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It’s a great pity that I had not put forth the amount of effort required. I had spent too much time playing with my friends instead of improving myself. I had let down my teacher, who was the kindest, sweet, and prettiest one I had ever known. She laughed often, and never threatened any of us, yet she was able to “read” the children, control the class, and teach effectively. Miss Pratt put a lot of herself into her work. Every day near the close of school, she would read to us, or even better, tell us stories about when she was a little girl. Most importantly, she made us feel that she cared about us and that we were important.
Because of a serious car accident when I was three and a half years old, I had a scar below my nose that was the result of a torn upper lip. Everything else had healed up without any after effects physically, but my emotions remained scarred. Meanwhile, having been called “Chief Running Nose ”and “Scarface” by many insensitive children, my confidence had suffered. Although my parents and relatives referred to me as pretty, I did not see myself that way.
Focusing on my scar, I could not appreciate any redeeming features (可取之处). At the end of one school day, I remained in my classroom, waiting for the arrival of my mother, who was coming to take me to an appointment close to the school. Miss Pratt sat at her desk with a fellow teacher and chatted.
I glanced at the clock and realized it was time to get ready to leave. I put on my wool coat and hat. The teachers looked at my clothes and seemed to admire it. I was able to read their lips a little and my ears perked up to hear, “Who is she? She really is cute.” My teacher Miss Pratt answered, “I agree; Bernice is quite adorable.”
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。
“Adorable” was exactly what grabbed me since it was almost my favorite word.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________About two months later, Miss Pratt announced that I got first place in the final exam.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Kenny Matthews was just three when the flat he lived in went up in smoke in 1991. The accident left him with burns to 70% of his body. Despite being very young when he suffered his burns, Kenny can still remember the day of the accident.
He was playing with his toys and watching TV on the floor in the living room while his grandfather was sleeping on the living room couch. All of a sudden, he heard a sudden noise from the window and that was when the window caught fire. He had no idea what caused the window to burst like that, but all he remembered was the apartment filling up with gas and smoke from the fire. He could do nothing but panic (恐慌).
His grandfather, who had been asleep, woke up because of the smoke. He tried to save Kenny’s life, but he couldn’t really do much because he was weak. Picking Kenny up under his arms, he carried him over the window — unfortunately, that’s how Kenny got burnt by the fire.
Kenny and his grandfather were rushed to the hospital. His grandfather, whose arms were badly burned, was hospitalized for a while and then discharged (出院). Kenny went through numerous surgeries over the next few decades, which he described as a very painful journey.
Now, after having been through so much over the years, Kenny’s treatment is finally done. The 36-year-old man has shared online how his burns and scars (伤疤) have affected his life as an adult. “People don’t really care about personality — they just want somebody to look good or attractive physically, and honestly, I don’t fit that description,” Kenny says.
There was a guy who once said to him. “It is hard to feel attracted to someone like you because of your scars and burns.” Kenny understands it’s not their fault. He’s smart enough to know not every person is the same, even though he’s not actively looking for a partner.
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。
Kenny now has 2.4 million followers on the Internet.
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People always ask him how he remains positive.
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My little sister, Meg, said that she wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore and she’d be OK staying with Aunt Lily in the country. “As long as you’re there, Mike,” she had said. Still, Mum was worried. Meg had never slept away from home, away from the city. So I told Mum I could handle everything.
Even though we were only staying overnight, Meg had brought six books-all about fairies (仙女). After we unpacked, Aunt Lily invited us to pick some flowers. As we followed her through the forest, Meg held my hand tightly. But once we reached the sunlit grassland, she let go. “Butterflies!” whispered Meg. She screamed with delight when one flew near her.
Maybe I had nothing to worry about, I thought. I still remembered when I was here last summer, I found some amazing insects, like fireflies (萤火虫) and walking sticks which I’d never seen in the city.
“Fairies are magical. See these beautiful flowers they grow!” she kept telling absolutely everything she knew about fairies. I was glad that if she kept it up until bedtime, then maybe she’d fall right to sleep.
Meg did keep chatting, right through supper. Then the sun began to set. “Does it get really dark out here at night?” she asked. Her eyes were fixed on the window.
“Sure, but we’ve got plenty of lights inside,” said Aunt Lily. She leaned over and gave Meg a warm smile. But I could tell she was still worried. “I could read to you.”
I hadn’t even finished a page when her bottom lip started shaking slightly. “Mike,” she said, her eyes starting to fill. “I want to go home.” I quickly searched through her book for something to keep her from crying.
The book fell open to a page that was dog-eared from use, a page that was obviously one of Meg’s favorites. The text read: “Among the trees deep in the forest, the lights of fairies gleam (闪烁).” Aha! How could I forget those “tiny fairies” out there?
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。
“Meg, there’s something outside I want to show you,” I whispered.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________“Tiny fairies, Mike!” she said, pressing her forehead against the window, “Everywhere!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________There was a girl called Cary, who was a new student in Esmarth Vil, a primary school in a small town.
She was the most hardworking girl at her school. Her marks were higher than the others. She was the best, but nobody wanted to be her friend. Her classmates didn’t want to play with her and some even laughed at her. Cary’s teacher Jared didn’t know that.
One day, Jared set an exam and Robert, a boy who was the king of all the students, signed his exam paper using Cary’s name, and changed Cary’s name for Robert’s quickly after Cary handed in her paper. It wasn’t noticed by anybody. When Jared returned all the exam Papers, everybody was shocked. Cary failed the exam, but the others seemed to be happy with that.
The next day, when Cary arrived at school, all the children wanted to be with her and invited her to play with them. Although Cary was surprised, she was happy to play with the other children. During their fun time, Jared suddenly appeared to inform Cary that there had been a mistake, and she hadn’t failed.
Jared explained to the students what had happened and punished Robert. After that, they all stopped playing with Cary again.
Cary couldn’t stop crying this time and ran to ask her teacher why she couldn’t make friends with good school performance.
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。
Jared was sorry to know what had happened to Cary.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After hearing Jared’s story, all the children decided to change themselves.
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