The dog days of summer in Central Texas are hot and damp. It was a pity that our home didn’t have air conditioning. Momma and I were just trying to get through this August afternoon the best we could. Reading helped take our minds off the heat. Momma was stretched across the sofa, a pillow (枕头) under her head, reading. I sat on the floor, leaning (倚靠) back against the sofa, a curious nine-year-old in shorts sharing a fan’s flow. My book rested on the floor.
I looked at the thin hardcover my mom was reading, Ed Nichols Rode a Horse. There was a cowboy riding his horse on the front cover, but otherwise the book appeared plain and unimpressive. Before I settled, I asked, “Momma, what’s your book about?”
“It’s a story about a man, his horse and the hardships he encountered in Texas. Some of it takes place in Bosque County,” she answered.
With that, my mom returned to her story. I knew Bosque County was near where Momma had grown up. And I also knew it was best if I didn’t ask any more questions. My mom took her reading seriously.
We’d been reading for the better part of an hour-the only sounds were those that came from the fan and an occasional turn of a page — when I heard something unfamiliar. The sniffling (抽鼻子) back of tears.
I turned in her direction and saw something I’d never seen before: my mom crying. Something big — really big must have happened. My mom did not cry.
“Momma, what’s wrong?” I got up on my knees, staring directly into her face. “Are you all right?” “Jennifer, I’m fine.” Momma sat up and wiped (擦) her eyes. “You don’t need to be concerned.”
I wasn’t buying it. This was not normal behavior. “Why were you crying?” I asked in a whisper. She looked at me hard. “The book made me cry,” she replied.
I was trying to figure out how that plain-looking book could make my mostly no-nonsense momma cry when she said the most amazing thing. “The story made me sad when the horse got hurt.”
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。
That’s when I learned the truth that stories affect us.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I read Ed Nichols Rode a Horse from cover to cover with a big plan forming in my mind.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was an average student in my early elementary years. I came home with a steady flow of B’s, C’s and the occasional F’s in second language subjects. I was told that I wasn’t applying myself and, as every report card I ever brought home clearly stated, I talked too much.
I didn’t write when I was supposed to write. I talked to others while the teacher was giving instructions. That I could recite what she had said to the class while I was talking was not helpful because I had a negative effect on my classmates’ learning. So I regularly brought home disappointing report cards.
My parents and my teachers didn’t know what to do with me. Punishments didn’t seem to work. Rewards didn’t seem to either. And, frankly, I don’t think I knew what I could do to “apply myself”. And I certainly didn’t know how to not enjoy talking with my classmates! What I knew was that I talked too much. Until grade 5.
That autumn, we had a sudden change in teachers as our elderly teacher took a medical leave. In his place, a young substitute (代课老师) arrived — Mrs Royal. She looked like she was freshly out of university and seemed too young to be cast in the role of being responsible for a class of tween, but there she was, charged with a lively group, and me.
I don’t remember many details of that year except the afternoon when I got my first report card from her. She handed out the report cards right after the afternoon break and invited us to look them over. Then she let us know that we could all talk quietly amongst ourselves while she called each student up one at a time, in alphabetical order (按字母顺序), to discuss our report cards with her.
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。
I looked over my report card, expecting the usual result.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then it was my turn to talk with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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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I love to watch my father paint and I love to hear him talk while he paints. The words always come out soft. As a mason (泥瓦匠) , he doesn’t have a studio, and I’ve always felt a little sorry for him, having to paint in our backyard, which is not exactly picturesque. Dad doesn’t seem to see the backyard when he’s painting, though. It’s not just the canvas he sees either. It’s something much bigger. He gets this look in his eye like he’s gone beyond the yard, the neighborhood, the world.
“A painting is more than the sum of its parts,” he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you’ve got magic.
I understood what he was saying, but I never felt what he was saying until one day when I was up in the sycamore tree (梧桐树) . I’d never seen a view like that! I got the feeling that I was flying above the earth. The view from the sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined. It was magic. It wasn’t long before I found the spot that became my spot. I could sit there for hours, just looking out at the world. Sunsets were amazing. Some days they’d be purple and pink, some days they’d be a blazing orange, setting fire to clouds across the horizon.
Then came the day. When I was sitting in the branches of my tree, I found two trucks parked right beneath me. Four men came out of the trucks, and started unloading tools, gloves, ropes and saws (锯子) .
Pretty soon they spotted me. One of the men called, “Hey! You’d better come down from there. We gotta take this thing down.”
I managed to choke out, “The tree?”
“Yeah, now come on down.”
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: My heart was crazy with panic.
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Paragraph 2: When I was locked up in my room mourning for the loss of the tree, my father came in with a painting.
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When I was seventy-one, my granddaughter Crystal’s husband Peter lost his job. Despite his efforts, he struggled to find a new job. He seemed to lose confidence in himself.
When I visited Australia, I aimed to support them through this challenging time, but Crystal wanted me to have some fun. She suggested snorkeling (用通气管潜泳)along the coral reef, convincing me that I would love the experience.
I had swum only in pools where my feet could touch the bottom. Previously in Hawaii, I had tried snorkeling and panicked in the deep water, but this time, I wanted to try again. My dream of exploring the coral reef and the desire to boost Peter’s spirits motivated me.
Crystal patiently taught me snorkeling in a pool. With great efforts, I finally mastered the skills, which excited me and amazed Peter. “We can overcome our challenges,” I smiled. Seeming to know I was encouraging him, Peter smiled back and said, “I guess so, Grandma.”
The big day came when I had to snorkel in the sea. Crystal and Peter both decided to come for security reasons. “You’ll be fine,” Crystal told me. “I’ll stay right by you. Even if you’re in trouble, I can help you out of it.”
On a sunny afternoon, we set off from the shore. When Peter stopped the boat, Crystal and I put on our equipment.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式作答。
My heart raced as I stared at the deep sea water.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soon, I noticed the coral reef and many beautiful fish.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Blue Light From Digital Device
More devices like the iPhone, iPad and Kindle produce a blue light that causes our sleep to be restless and disturbed, according to a new study.
The study was led by Dr Paul Gringras, a sleep disorder specialist at a children's hospital in London. Together with her colleagues, Gringras found that manufacturers have started making bigger, brighter, bluer screens in an effort to increase the efficiency of our screens during daytime.But, as an unwanted byproduct, this light is affecting our sleep and productivity.
The study said that this type of light is likely to cause the most disturbance to sleep, as it most effectively overpowers melatonin (褪黑素). a hormone①that reminds us to sleep every night. Besides, using our devices before bedtime could even affect our performance during the day, because exposure to this blue light changes our body's natural rhythms.
“The development of light-producing devices means that for many people, a 'book at bedtime'is now often an‘e-book’,” Gringras pointed out.“Reading a traditional paper book by the light of your bedside lamp doesn't affect your sleep, because bulbs produce a yellow-red light. In comparison, the same book read in electronic arrangement will provide a very different light signal with biological effects.”
The researchers called on all device manufacturers to adjust screen lighting for the sake of the users’sleep quality and overall health.“All hardware devices should have an automatic “bedtime mode”that shifts blue and green light production to yellow and red as well as reduces backlight/light intensity,” Gringras said.
“And, we hope that as technology improves, more and more people will realize that‘brighter’will not always be equal to‘better’,”the researchers concluded.
① hormone: a chemical in your body that stimulates certain organs of your body
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was young, I always dreamed of playing the piano and giving performances to a large audience in a concert hall. However, I struggled to understand the musical notes and the theory. Despite my parents’ encouragement and offer of piano lessons, I pretended not to be interested, too afraid to try.
Many years passed until one day, at 25 years old, I heard that a new piano studio had opened in my neighborhood. The teacher was recruiting (招收) new students. My childhood dream came flooding back.
I remembered I had initially feared becoming a teacher after graduation. However, I overcame those doubts. I refused to let fear hold me back any longer, so I walked into the studio.
The teacher, Deb, welcomed me warmly. I was relieved to find we were contemporaries (同时代的人) and expressed my desire to play the works of Bach and Beethoven if I could overcome my fear. Deb understood and seemed sincere, so I signed up for 3 months of classes. Still doubtful about my commitment, I bought a small, tabletop electric organ to practice with at home. It wasn’t the same as a real piano, but enabled me to learn some basics.
Week by week, I attended lessons in Deb’s studio. I often passed young students on their way out from their lessons before mine. One day, noticing the textbooks in my bag, a child stopped me and asked, “Where’s your boy?” After some hesitation, I finally answered I was the student. The children then welcomed me and I sat in the studio and listened to a piece a child was working on.
Soon, I gained confidence and upgraded to a full-size piano at home for daily practice. After three rewarding years of lessons with Deb, she announced it was time for me and other students to prepare for a recital (钢琴演奏会) on stage. I was thrilled at the chance to finally fulfill my childhood dream, yet also anxious at the thought of performing before the audience. But Deb believed in me. “Look how far you’ve come,” she encouraged. “It’s time to share your gift with others.”
Paragraph 1:I shook my head and told her, “No, thanks.”
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When I finally finished my performance, I faced the audience and bowed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In 2018, 17-year-old Hemesh spent a life-changing summer with his grandmother Anne, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Witnessing the impact of the disease firsthand, Hemesh was awakened to the seriousness of the situation.
One night, Hemesh walked into the kitchen only to discover that his grandmother had left the gas stove (炉) on after making tea. Shocked by the dangerous consequences Alzheimer’s disease could bring about, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn’t been there.
Hemesh’s worries increased as he observed his grandmother’s behavior. She would wake up in the early hours of the morning, believing she was on a train, and wander outside aimlessly. This wandering tendency could potentially lead her to get lost or put herself in risky situations.
Determined to make a difference, Hemesh engaged himself in extensive research about Alzheimer’s disease and its symptomatic (症状的) progression. Through his studies, he discovered that wandering was a common problem among dementia patients, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Inspired by his newfound knowledge and fueled by his desire to help, Hemesh told his family, “I can’t just stand by and watch this happen. I need to do something to keep Grandma safe. I think I have an idea that might help not just her, but others in similar situations.”
With firm determination, he developed an inventive answer to the wandering dilemma, a device he called the Guardian Companion. It was a wearable device, similar to a smartwatch, specifically designed for Alzheimer’s patients. It integrated advanced GPS technology and a panic button to assist those who tended to wander, ensuring their safety and well-being. After the device got its official approval, Hemesh happily went to try it on for his grandmother.
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。
As Anne put on the Guardian Companion, Hemesh explained how it worked.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the next few weeks, the device made a difference to Anne and her family.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bill McDonnell, who was a soldier when young, was a 92-year-old now, still healthy and strong. He loved hunting very much. On December 15, Bill decided to go hunting in Shenandoah Mountain the next day as the deer season had begun. His wife Joanna McDonnell intended to let their son Bill McDonnell Jr. accompany him, but Bill Jr. had a football game that day. Bill McDonnell said he could manage all by himself. Joanna then required Bill to be out of the woods by 2 pm and home by 3 pm, plenty of time before sunset. She added, “ Do take some necessities like a flashlight, just in case.”
The next morning, Bill woke up at four, grabbed his muzzleloader (前装枪), and steered his Jeep toward Shenandoah Mountain. At the end of the old Laurel Run logging road, he began to walk. It was about 7:30 am and 25 degrees when the sun peeked through the trees.
Not long into the hike, he came upon a path he didn't remember. Maybe this was a secret route to the king of all bucks (雄鹿). He took it. Then, around 11 am, he came into a clearing (林中空地) along a ridge line (山脊线). He had walked farther than he had expected. It seemed that his path up the mountain had meandered quite a bit. “Where am I now?” he muttered. Bill figured he could drop into the valley, hunt a bit and then go back home. But when he snaked down through the forest, he found there was no path at all. The forest was thick. It was hard to tell the direction now.
By around 2 pm, Bill stopped at somewhere in the valley, exhausted. “I’ll get it figured out,” he said to himself. He took out his phone to call his wife, but the phone had died. He dug into his pants for the GPS device he always brought in case of emergency and pushed the “on” button. Nothing. He had forgotten to charge it the night before.
“No, I’m not lost,” he told himself. His eyes caught a stand of tall trees. He remembered admiring the line of fantastic oaks and pines earlier. Reach them and the car wouldn’t be that far off. It meant he would have to cover some ground.
注意:续写词数应为150左右。He was moving slower and slower, Joanna‘s 3 pm deadline having passed.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was about 9:45 pm when Bill heard the whoop-whoop-whoop of a helicopter.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One click of my wooden stick, and the buffaloes (水牛) moved forward. I guided them along the road’s edge, through the heart of the village. We walked past mud homes and villagers bent over tending to their crops. We eyed the green fields, where the buffaloes could eat growing grass. This was my life in a small village in Sindh, Pakistan. We had little, but I had a big dream.
Up ahead laughter attracted my attention. A group of students came into view, their uniforms a contrast to my faded trousers and worn-out shoes. Fingers wrapped tight around my stick, I stepped forward and said sincerely, “Dear students, could you please show me your books?” The students looked from my face to my stick, to their books. They quickly opened their bags and showed me their books. Illustrations of people and places caught my imagination.
“Someday, I’ll go to school too,” I declared, returning their books. Actually, I was desperate to go to school so that I could broaden my horizons.
Months passed. Every day I rose to my chores and buffaloes. Until, one day I got my chance. My uncle came to visit. He and Father sat, drinking tea outside. “Brother, you must send Rasool Bux to school. Herding the buffaloes is not in his future,” Uncle convinced my father. that all children should go to school. The following week, I was studying in primary school. Now, armed with my own books, I set out to learn everything. I read textbooks, asked questions, and even read newspapers for my father and his companions.
By the end of the year, I proved to be one of the best students in the school. I resolved to study at college or university in Karachi, a big city over 150 kilometers away. Unfortunately, I suffered from a skin condition that left white spots on my skin. The constant loss of skin color was stressful, making me feel bad about myself and even drawing attention away from my studies.
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 thought of not being able to finish school made me feel extremely depressed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I visited my uncle after I did make it to university in Karachi.
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