One businessman was in debt and couldn’t figure out a way out of it. Creditors(债权人)were pressing him. Suppliers were demanding for a payment. He was sitting on a bench in the park with his head down, thinking what could save the company from bankruptcy(破产). Suddenly, an old man appeared in front of him.
“I see that something is bothering you’, he said.
After listening to the businessman, the old man said: “I think I can help you.”
He asked the businessman, what his name was, wrote him a check(支票)and said: “Take this money. We will meet here exactly in one year, and you will be able to return it to me at that time.”
After that, he turned around and disappeared just as suddenly as he appeared.
The businessman saw a check in his hands for an amount of 500 thousand dollars, signed by John Rockefeller, one of the richest people in the world at that time!
“I could end all of my problems in no time!” He thought. But instead, the businessman decided to put the check into his safe(保险箱). Only one thought about its existence gave him strength to find a solution to save his business.
With the return of his optimism, he concluded profitable deals. During a couple of month she got out of debt and started to earn money again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the same check. At the agreed time the old man appeared again.
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为100左右；
2.续写部分为一段，开头语已为你写好；
And at the moment,
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Elsie watched her older brothers, Edward and Samuel, who were smiling while they held their spelling bee awards and stood at the front of the one-room schoolhouse.
The pale winter sun came through the window and washed the room in a soft light. Heat came from the wood-burning warming stove, and the little wooden schoolhouse was comfortable and warm despite the December weather.
The students could hear the rushing sound of the nearby stream flowing over the rocks. The air smelled salty from the sea, mixed with a sweet smell of fir trees.
Elsie smiled and clapped her hands with the other six students, but inside she felt a strange sadness. Every time she tried to be as good as Edward and Samuel she did not succeed.
She reached down to touch the ears of her puppy dog, Bear. He rewarded her with a stare of love, eyes shining against his thick dark fur.
“What is wrong with me?” her twelve-year-old heart asked her. She knew she was no longer a child. But she was not quite an adult either. Part of her felt and thought with childish ways. But she could tell another part of her mind was more like an adult.
“Congratulations, Edward and Samuel,” Jeanie, her teacher said. “You have been equally matched for the spelling bee champions.” “Those were difficult words. You both deserve to win.”
“When am I going to win something?” she thought. “Why is it always them?”
She felt small, forgotten and alone while the other kids went up to congratulate Edward, age 15, and Samuel, age 17.
She thought about her efforts to try to catch up to Edward and Samuel. Elsie wondered if she would ever be able to do what they did, and have her parents proud of her, too.
“Reading time,” said Jeanie. Elsie thought about the way her teacher taught the group, each person reading out loud for practice.
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:
Jeanie saw Elsie looking low in spirits and knew Elsie was a sensitive child.
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Paragraph 2:
Another Spelling Bee competition was coming and Elsie decided to try out for it.
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Jake Stonehall was gifted. He had a passion for sports.
When he was five, his father took him to see the top two hockey (冰球) teams in the country play each other for a chance to lift the cup of victory. The boy could vividly remember how his heart pumped and how he wished to play there on the hockey ground with the players.
Since then, Jake became a hockey lover. With the company of his father, he spent most Saturdays skating in the ice rink (溜冰场).
When he got old enough, he joined his school’s hockey team. With the guidance of the coach, he progressed rapidly, which made the coach and his father really proud. Jake was soon appointed as captain of the team. He was a great team player and the whole team admired him.
Over time, his passion for hockey deepened. Beyond his own training, he would watch practices of his school’s disabled ice hockey team. These players worked together on specialized sleds (冰车), engaging in matches in an astonishingly incredible manner. Each game and practice became a passionate display of toughness and teamwork, setting off even more curiosity and admiration within him.
One day, he was on his way back home from training when a car crashed into him, throwing him several feet away.
The accident took away his ability to use his legs, which meant he could no longer play hockey. After he was out of hospital, he became a totally different person. Any talk about hockey would make him cry. He avoided seeing the coach and other players in his team. He even threw away the hockey sticks.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.开头已给出。
Jake sank into the world of hopelessness.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jake began to practice hockey on the sled, like a kid learning to walk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I chewed on my pencil as I walked back and forth across my bedroom. What was I going to do? It was bad enough that I was the new kid. But now I was sure to get laughed right out of fifth grade. How could my first homework be such a disaster?
“My name is Anna, and this summer I——”I stopped. How could I stand in front of my class and say that I’d spent the entire summer handling something that most people don’t even like to talk about? Poop (粪便). I’d spent three months shoveling (铲), collecting, and analyzing co w poop on my grandparents’ farm. I tried to think of a different adventure I could share. Maybe I could say I’d spent the summer on the Weather Control Team preventing floods.
“Time for dinner,” my mom called.
I walked slowly down the stairs and slid into my chair.
“You’ve been in your room since you came home from school,” Mom said. “What are you working on?”
I sighed. “I have to tell the class what I did this summer.”
My younger brother, Seymour, began to laugh uncontrollably. “No one will want to sit next to you after they hear you were covered in cow poop all summer!”
“OK, that’s enough, Seymour,” Dad said.
“Anna,” said Mom, putting green beans in a bowl, “be proud of the work we did this summer. Our planet would be in sad shape without scientists like your grandfather.”
It’s true that my grandfather does important work. He developed an easy way to use poop as a source of fuel. Using the poop is now easy, economical, and environmentally safe.
“I know, Mom,” I said, staring at my meatloaf. “But it’s not exactly something people want to hear about before lunch.”
That night I dreamed about more splendid adventures: cave diving in Mexico; hiking through the Amazon rainforest.
At school the next day, I bent over my desk, listening to each kid speak. My palms were sweaty, and the knot (结) in my stomach grew tighter.
“And that was my journey to Mount Everest,” Ember Adams said, finishing her report. She bowed and took her seat.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为 150个左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
“It’s your turn, Anna,” Ms. Hammond said.
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The class cheered as I returned to my desk, and some of my classmates approached me with admiration in their eyes.
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The annual campus singing competition was around the corner, and posters covered the school walls, urging students to show their vocal talents. At the sight of the posters, Emma’s mind went back to that fateful day when she faced an expectant audience, their eyes fixed on her, eager to hear her sing. But as she brought the microphone to her lips, a surprising silence surrounded her. The microphone was out of function. Immediately panic surged (涌现) through her like a sudden thunderstorm, leaving her at a loss under the spotlight. The song that should have filled the room with her pleasant voice remained unsung. Then having a spare microphone didn’t prevent Emma’s performance from being influenced, resulting in her failure to secure a place.
Emma had been fond of singing from a young age and music used to be part of her life. But this deep love for singing had been overshadowed by that awful memory.
Emma paused as her eyes fell on the singing club’s invitation. She considered it for a moment. The wounds of the past still hurt. Then she finally ignored the posters and the bold advertisements as she always did. She still had no courage to overcome the barrier and step forward.
Then, on a rainy afternoon, just after a shower, something magical happened. A poor butterfly, whose shinny wings were burdened by raindrops, fell on Emma’s desk through the open window. The downpour had weighed down its delicate wings, making it temporarily unable to fly. This poor little creature caught Emma’s attention.
With a gentle touch, Emma’s finger reached out and softly brushed the butterfly, as if guided by a wave of compassion (同情). She whispered some soft words of encouragement, “You can do it.” Surprisingly, the butterfly responded to her support with determination, tirelessly waving its wings. After several attempts, the delicate creature finally took flight, dancing gracefully into the open skies.
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 sight of the butterfly’s struggle left Emma deeply moved.
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The day of the competition arrived.
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注意：写作词数应不少于80。
Please Be a Wise Smartphone User
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My last two years in high school were absolutely miserable. In the junior and senior years of a highly competitive school, one’s whole existence became the crazy preparation to enter the next highly competitive situation. Even the most casual conversations turned to SAT scores and grade point averages. What were the Ivies (常春藤学院) looking for? What extracurricular activities gave you the biggest boost toward getting into a “name” college? Where were the scholarships?
The problem for me was that my family had grown so non-adaptive that even a free New York City high school had become a financial and emotional burden. My grades suffered accordingly. So I hid from my classmates and their discussions of colleges. I stayed away from school for weeks at a time. I went to cheap movies on 42nd Street. I took long walks around the city. But mostly I tried to lose myself in books. I would read in Central Park if I found myself there. I would read on the subways that took me from Harlem to lower New York and Brooklyn. Books and reading became my life.
Somewhere along the way I discovered a unstable balance between the intellectual intimacy (亲密) of the books I read and my personal alienation (疏远) from a world in which I didn’t seem to belong. Writers like Shakespeare, Andre Gide, Honore de Balzac, who are suggested by my English teacher, were guides to a world I couldn’t see and only sensed. But they were excellent guides, at hand day and night, always comforting.
Sometimes, looking back, I am saddened by my lost school days. I wonder what might have been if my family had not been so non-adaptive and if I had not faced so many challenges during those years. I struggled to keep up with my studies. It was a difficult time and I often felt like giving up.
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。
Thanks to the help of my English teacher, I found my way out of the darkness of high school.
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And after graduation from college, I set out to pursue my passion for writing.
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One of my favourite things about spring is the arrival of different species of birds. My grandfather was a bird lover, and I picked up the birdwatching hobby at a young age, thanks to his influence. My husband John and I found it a relaxing way to enjoy nature; we like birdwatching when we go camping or hiking. Plus, I have a great love of nature photography, so when we sit out in the backyard of our home, I always have my digital camera with me. John is an artist, and he often paints the birds I photograph.
Usually when the yellow warblers (莺) come back from the south in springtime, they pass us by; we don’t typically see them hanging around our home. But not on this particular sunny day in spring. As soon as I finished my workday, I put on a light jacket and went out to the backyard to relax in my favourite way: by watching the birds.
While taking some pictures of cardinals (红衣凤头鸟) and chickadees (北美山雀) at one of our feeders, I looked up and noticed this yellow warbler in our maple tree. The tree had recently begun to bud, and the bird’s yellow feathers looked striking against the yellow blooms, so I took this photo. Our backyard has a variety of trees and between my husband and me, we’ve documented almost 40 different species of birds. I’ve photographed most of them, but some can be a bit camera shy so I also keep a written list of what we see. Our more common visitors are cardinals, chickadees, hummingbirds and various sparrows.
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。
One day, I was watching the yellow warbler jumping among trees when a snake crawled towards it.
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At this time, I saw many small stones in the backyard.
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In the heart of Daventry, five-year-old Oliver always cherishes tender moments with his mother, Codi Pow, who was a dedicated student nurse in the hospital in the town.
Codi has suffered from high blood pressure since a young age, and grapples with persistent health issues, which could easily trigger potential stroke or heart problems. She still remembers in the winter when her son was three years old, she got an unexpected tooth infection, which worsened dramatically, leaving her in hospital for a week. That tooth infection almost brought an end to her life.
As a student nurse, Codi navigates her daily routine with enormous care. She knows clearly that she should attend to herself well, taking pills on time, curbing her emotions, reducing the -sodium input, and so on. Her doctor’s repeated warnings echo in her mind, emphasizing the need to avoid infection that could lead to severe complications(并发症).
Oliver lives a life no different from other kids in the neighborhood, filled with playful activities, joyous singing, and the routine trips to kindergarten. What sets him apart is that he stands out for his unique passion: health and safety. During playtime, he eagerly absorbs himself in a toy first aid kit and asks his mum about medical things. Oliver has collected a surprising amount of knowledge on health and safety, despite being just five.
One quiet Sunday morning, while preparing breakfast for Oliver, Codi felt it a bit difficult to breathe. She went to the hospital with chest pain, swelling to her neck and a lump in the same area. She had a blood test, chest X-Ray and ECG before being sent home and advised to see her doctor later after she got the test reports.
By 1: 30 in the afternoon, Codi was doing washing in the kitchen while chatting with Oliver when her condition drastically worsened. She felt a high fever, the sign of a possible infection. All of a sudden, she had a blackout, and her legs gave out. She fell onto the kitchen floor like a sack of sand.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡上的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
Witnessing his mother collapse in the kitchen, Oliver was horrified.
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Paragraph 2:
Codi was swiftly attended to by the medical professionals.
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I grew up in a small town in Mississippi, where everyone knew each other and family was everything. My big brother, Jake, and I had always been close. We shared the same hobbies, friends and dreams except that I wanted to go to college, travel the world and make a difference.
However, everything changed when our father passed away. He was the glue that held our family together and without him things fell apart. Jake took over the family business, and continued to run our father’s auto shop, which was struggling to survive in the competitive market. I tried to help Jake, but also wanted to achieve my own goals. I applied to several universities across the country, hoping to get a scholarship. I was thrilled when I got accepted to Stanford in California, one of the best universities in the nation.
But Jake was not happy for that. He felt abandoned by my decision. He criticized me for being self ish and ungrateful, turning my back on our family and roots. He said I was wasting my time and money on a fancy education that would not help me in the real world. He said I should stay at home and help him run the shop, as our father would have wanted.
I tried to reason with him that I loved him and our family. I said I would come back after graduation, or maybe even sooner if he needed me. And I was proud of him for taking care of the business. I promised we could still be close, even if I was miles apart.
He was angry and refused to accept my choice. He said he did not want to see me or talk to me ever again. He even mentioned I was no longer his brother, but his enemy.
注意：1.续写词数应为100词左右;
2.请按下列格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Despite that, I packed up and left for Stanford.
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