It had been 5 years since Zahida’s husband passed away due to a heart attack. Every day, she buried herself in her embroidery (刺绣), feeling her waist ache due to the long hours of work. She would grow tired faster these days.
The doorbell rang. Her son Aamer returned from the office. Entering the house, Aamer threw his bag at a sofa. “I have told you again and again not to throw things everywhere!” Zahida complained. “Mom, why do you find fault with unimportant things every day? Boss at office, you at home... Oh so tiring!” Aamer slammed (砰地关上) the door to his room.
Such unpleasant exchanges always happened now. Zahida would often recall the days of Aamer’s childhood fondly, which would bring smile to her face. She could remember the days when the little Aamer had parted unwillingly on his first day to school or had shouted excitedly at spotting a sleepy bear during a visit to the zoo. Zahida wondered if Aamer too could recollect these memories or had piled them in a forgotten corner of his mind.
Following a quiet dinner that night, Zahida happened to pass Aamer’s room. She could hear Aamer’s voice floating out. “Yes, yes... you do understand that she is a picky woman. She cannot adjust easily anywhere. You must take care of that...”
Zahida was caught by a sudden sense of anxiety. A few days ago, a neighbor’s children sent her neighbor off to an old age home. They were too busy to have time for the old woman. What did Aamer talk of? Was she also...? No, surely Aamer couldn’t be doing that. Zahida retired to bed.
“Please be sure to deliver the tickets for our trip to Egypt as soon as possible,” Aamer continued.
注意：1. 续写词数应为150词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
A few days later, a postman rang the doorbell when Aamer was away for work.
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“Mom, here... Look what I’ve got in the envelope!” Aamer shouted with joy like a child.
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Amy is good at making pies, which got her hired at the Good Times restaurant months ago. And she was often regarded as the best worker there. Recently, she became the supervisor at the restaurant. She was kind and friendly to all the other workers and the customers.
One morning, Amy was taking orders when she overheard a conversation. “What you did there was great, Mason! It was hard to carry the old lady safely out of the fire. For a moment, I thought you were gone, my friend,” one man said. To this, the other man replied, “Yeah, it was difficult, but that’s our job. And you were the hero today, Gordon. You carried that girl on your shoulder and her dog in your hand. It’s going to be on the front page tomorrow, I’m telling you.”
From their clothing and conversation, Amy knew they were firefighters. And she quickly realized that they had been talking about the previous night’s fire at the old motel on the other end of the road. Then the man named Gordon continued, “I don’t care about being in the papers. The little girl and her dog reminded me of my own daughter. She’s constantly asking for a dog, too.” Amy was moved by the courage and sincerity of the two men. She wanted to show her appreciation for their selfless service.
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“How about helping pay for their meal?” she wondered.
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Then she went to the cashier and secretly paid for their meal.
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The school picnic day was on Sunday, and on Saturday morning I decided to ask Mum some questions. As soon as Mum took the last bite of her toast, I decided I couldn’t wait for her any longer and asked, “Mum, where is Italy?”
My mum pushed up her glasses and looked at me with her head to one side. Then she said, “Italy is an European country which is very far away from here, my love. Why do you want to know that?” I shrugged (耸肩), “That’s where Mike, the new boy in our class is from.”
She nodded and invited me to go to fetch the geography book. The book was big and Mum always kept the very big books on the bottom shelf of our bookcase. I watched as Mum flipped to the index and then to a page near the middle. “Here we go,” she said, turning the map around to show me. I let my finger meet hers where it said the word “Italy” in capital letters. According to the introduction to the country on the page, Mum helped me know more about the country.
“You know, Mum, Mike’s parents are extremely busy working in the downtown. He seldom eats regularly let alone (更不用说) have his native foods. I really want him to be very happy for his first picnic with us…” I paused and observed Mum, worried that Mum would think that it was silly and maybe a waste of money buying food only to give it away. But she didn’t. Instead, she said, “I think that’s a brilliant idea! Go and get ready, and we’ll head out on a big shopping.”
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 got ready so quickly that morning that I thought I must have beaten a world record.
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We gathered on the grass on Sunday morning and I saw the Italian boy immediately.
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A Community Puts on a Dazzling Display of Support
In Sara’s family, putting up Christmas lights was always a big day of celebration. Every year, just after Thanksgiving Day, her dad Anthony, 70, would visit local stores to check out new decorations and then excitedly string lights and hang decorations in and out of the house. The dazzling (绚烂的) display made him a hit in the community.
On 2020 Christmas Eve, as usual, the whole house twinkled with lights, and gifts were piled under the tree. While everyone was looking forward to enjoying another Christmas together as a family, Sara, got a call: the whole family had tested positive for COVID-19. Their Christmas celebration had to be canceled.
At first, everyone’s symptoms (症状) seemed manageable. But right after the new year, Anthony started having trouble breathing and unfortunately passed away two weeks later, though the rest had recovered from COVID-19. The following week of planning the funeral was the worst for Sara and her husband, Frank. Sorrow left them doubled over in pain. The saddest of all was that no neighbours attended her father’s funeral. Only the twinkling Christmas lights at night brought them a little bit joy. The lights were one of the last moments they had of their beloved father, so they kept them up.
One morning in February, Sara received an envelope. “Take your Christmas lights down! It’s Valentine’s Day!!!” the unsigned letter read. Sara looked at the paper in shock. Then she got angry. She could have bottled up that anger, but she decided to write about it instead. She logged on to a local community Facebook group and shared the letter. She ended the post with this: “We all had a tough year. Be kind to people because you never know what they are going through.”
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。
Half an hour later, Frank rushed into the room excitedly, with his phone in the hand.
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When night fell, Sara and Frank were surprised by what they saw outside.
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Lora’s house stood on a wooded slope not far up from the river. On a sunny morning in July, she decided to take her three kids down to the river, Mikey aged 13, Paul 8 and Lisa 5. As a nature lover, she insisted they spend as much time as possible outdoors. “We are going to pick berries now,” she announced.
The group made its way over the dusty road and then onto a dirt trail through the trees. Stopping the children at the first berry bush, “Look, the berries are all over,” she said. Mikey broke into a run to the berries. Lora and the little ones hurried to keep up. She helped Lisa find some clusters(串；簇) on the lowest branches. Paul watched and then tasted a berry. “Mmm, good,” he said, and got busy picking more.
Lora and the children moved slowly from bush to bush. Within 20 minutes, the children had filled their jars and were almost at the river. “OK,” Lora commanded after the group climbed down to the sandbank, “Let’s play just right here.”
Lora rested herself not far from the children, listening to their laughing and playing. Suddenly, she sensed the children go quiet. She looked up to see the back of a big-sized cat standing over Lisa. It was a young cougar(美洲狮). The sight of the cougar near her kids immediately froze Lora. The three kids, rooted to the spot, were too nervous to say a word. She knew she must do something.
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The first idea that hit Lora was to attract the cougar’s attention away from her kids._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Just as Lora was struggling with the beast with almost her last strength, she saw the three kids running back, each holding a stick.
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“Everybody in the world should receive a standing ovation（鼓掌）at least once in their life.” Marv said to Scruff and Max. “People like you can’t get a standing ovation.” Scruff and Max rebuted（反驳）him. Marv ignored them and walked away, thinking, “I will show them that I can receive a standing ovation!”
Every year on the final school day, one child is awarded The Edward Yellow Award. This award is awarded to the school topper. Marv desperately wanted this award.
Marv didn’t have normal legs like others. He walked in a very unusual way. Everyone did not go close to Marv. He was home-schooled till 4th grade as his parents were a little nervous to send him to a regular school. So he started formal education from 5th grade. He really liked the teachers in his school. One of his favorite teachers was Mrs. Harsia, who teaches maths and he really liked this subject. Mrs. Harsia used to call him the “Math Wiz”. Though he was disabled, he had a sharp mind to do difficult mathematics calculations.
5th grade’s math’s final assessment was coming up and he was teamed up with Scruff, who had developed a liking for Marv due to Marv’s brilliant maths.
“Ha, you are with the fat guy!” Max teased（取笑）Scruff.
“Stop teasing him,” Scruff said, “How would you feel if somebody called you this name?”
Max silently walked away.
Scruff asked Marv to start to do their project. Marv thought many great ideas. “Ah, this looks so awesome Marv!” Scruff said, “You ‘really are a Math Wiz!” They soon became good friends.
One day, Marv heard someone scream on the campus. He ran towards the voice. A girl was crying, her knee bleeding. In no time, Marv took out his handkerchief and covered the girl’s knee to stop bleeding.
“What is your name?” Marv asked.
“Kate. I know you are Marv. My brother often mentions you.” the girl responded.
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 then Max came running.
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Dr. Frederick, the headmaster, gave a speech at the awarding ceremony.
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Early in my teaching career, I heard countless excuses — most of them made up, many of them amusing — for why students didn’t have their homework. And, yes, “the dog ate it” was one of them. As time passed, I grew tired of hearing “I don’t have my homework because...”. So I quit accepting any excuse.
When I was transferred to an inner-city middle school, I took my no-nonsense attitude with me. “No excuses, no extensions!” I warned my eighth graders on the first day of school. I collected homework at the beginning of each class. When a student didn’t have it, I never asked why. Instead, I sighed loudly, shook my head in dramatic disgust and with the student looking on — recorded a zero in the grade book. I soon gained the reputation I thought I wanted.
Then, one afternoon, shortly after the dismissal bell rang, Anthony approached me. “Could I talk to you a minute?” he asked shyly, not taking his eyes off the floor. “I know you don’t accept any explanation, but I don't want you to think I’m a slacker because I come to school without mine so often.”
Anthony looked up at me for the first time, and I could see that his lower lip was quivering. “It’s just that...well, my dad moved out, and my mom waits tables at night, so I have to take care of my little brothers. Sometimes they cry a lot, and it makes it hard to concentrate.”
I put my hand on Anthony’s thin shoulder. “Why are you just now telling me..?” I stopped in mid-sentence. I knew why. So I changed the question. “Would it help if you stay here after school and work on it before you go home?”
He swallowed hard and nodded.
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The next day, I made an announcement to all my students.
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Having read their stories, I learned more about these kids.
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Every time Jim crossed the street on his way to work, he would see a little girl selling flowers on the street. She sat by a large green board with the names of the flowers and their prices on it. Unfortunately, no one paid attention to her, and she rarely sold anything. Jim wanted to help her, and one day he got his chance. His aunt would retire, and he thought a bouquet (花束) would be a great gift.
“Hello, could you please make me a bouquet of roses?” Jim said as he approached the girl.
The girl didn’t raise her head and just stared at the same spot on the ground. “I’m Cassy. Thank you for buying flowers from me,” she said. “Could you please select the flowers by yourself and give them to me? I will tie them together for you. I can’t see. ”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jim said as he picked the flowers and handed them to her. Within several seconds, the girl made a lovely bouquet for Jim.
“Here,” she said, holding the bouquet. “That’ll be $5.”
“Thanks. They’re beautiful,” Jim said and walked away after placing the money in the hat beside Cassy.
The next day, Jim went to work and he decided to have a quick talk with Cassy on the way. However, he didn’t see Cassy where she used to be that morning. He thought she might be late and decided to meet her the next day, but she didn’t show up for the next few days in a row (连续地).
Jim was concerned about Cassy, wondering if something bad had happened to Cassy. Surprisingly, he finally met Cassy again on the street with her flowers.
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Jim was so delighted to see Cassy that he ran to her at once.
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Jim then drove Cassy to her home, where he met her sick mother, Jade.
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Now one foot, now the other
Bobby was named after his grandfather, Bob. Bob was the one who helped Bobby learn to walk. “Hold on to my hands, Bobby,”his grandfather said. “Now one foot, now the other.”
One of the best things Bob and Bobby did was to play with the old wooden blocks that were kept on a shelf, in the small sewing room under the front stairs. The blocks had pictures of animals on them. Bob and Bobby would put the blocks one on top of the other very slowly, building a tall tower. Sometimes the tower would be almost finished. “Just one more block,” Bob would say.“And that’s the elephant block.” And they would carefully put the elephant block on the very top. But Bob would sneeze and the tower would fall down. Bobby would laugh and laugh. Then Bob would sit Bobby on his knee and tell him stories.“Bob, tell me the story about how you taught me to walk,” Bobby would say. And his grandfather would tell Bobby how he held Bobby's hands and said, “Now one foot, now the other. And before you knew it ...”
Then one day Bobby came home from school and his grandfather wasn’t there. “Bob is in the hospital,” Dad told Bobby,“He’s had a stroke (中风) and he is too sick to see anyone.” Months later, his father told him that Bob was coming home.
“Now, Bobby,” Dad said, “Bob is still very sick. He can’t move or talk. And he can’t remember us.”Bobby just nodded and didn’t say anything.
One day, Bob tried to say something to Bobby, but the sound that came out was awful. Bobby ran out of the room.“Bob sounded like a monster!” Bobby cried. “He can’t help it, Bobby,”Mom said. So, Bobby went back to the room where Bob was sitting.
“I didn’t mean to run away, Bob. I’m sorry,” Bobby said. “Do you know who I am?” Bobby thought he saw Bob blink (眨眼睛) his eyes.
“Mom,” Bobby called. “Bob knows who I am.”
“Oh Bobby,” Mom said. “Your grandfather doesn’t recognize any of us.”
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：
But Bobby knew better and he ran to the small sewing room under the front stairs.
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“OK, Bob. Now one foot,”Bobby said.
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I made it all the way to fifth grade before anyone (except me) realized that I couldn’t see twenty feet in front of me. Our school had vision screenings (视力普查) every year, but somehow I had managed to fake good vision and pass the tests.
But then in the fifth grade, I failed. It was my turn to go into the screening room, and I nervously took my seat in front of the testing machine. The nurse told me to look into the little black machine and tell her which direction the letter E’s legs were pointing. Barely able to make out the black spot of an E, I made a guess: “Right, left, left, up, down, up, left, right”. I looked up at her.
She studied my face for a moment. Then she said, “Could you repeat that?”
I panicked. I’d never been asked to repeat it. And I hadn’t memorized the guess I’d just made up. I was trapped. So, I looked into the machine again and made up another sequence of guesses. I glanced over at the nurse, who was leaning forward with a frown on her face.
“You have no idea which way they’re facing, do you?” she asked.
“Not really,” I confessed.
“Can you even see the E at all?” she asked.
“Sort of.. no,” I admitted.
“Then why didn’t you just say so?” she demanded.
I didn’t respond. I thought the answer was obvious. Glasses in the fifth grade were a social death sentence. I would become a joke in my class.
The nurse sent me home with a note for my mother that said I needed to visit the eye doctor because I’d failed the vision test. The trip home today was very slow.
My mother (who wears glasses) said it would all be just fine. It wouldn’t hurt a bit, she said. But I wasn’t worried about pain—I was worried about looking like Super Geek (怪人).
注意：
1.续写词数应为150词左右;
2.请在答题卡相应位置作答。
The next day, my mother dragged me to the eye doctor’s office.
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But then Monday morning came, and I had to face what I fear: the kids in my classroom.
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