In second grade, while other kids played outside, I stayed behind at my desk and created books from construction paper. Using the limited vocabulary of an eight-year-old, I wrote stories and dreamed of one day becoming an author. My second-grade teacher urged my parents to nurture (培养) this desire, but they didn’t take my dream seriously.
Through adulthood, the desire to write remained. The dream never died but there were more certain ways to generate income, so I was controled in different directions. None of the jobs I held afforded me the opportunity to write, and raising two daughters gave me little free time to pursue becoming an author. However, I held onto the dream that had flickered (闪烁) in me as a child.
At the age of fifty-eight, I continued to manage the office of my husband’s construction company, but I was looking for something that would fill the void (空虚感) of our now empty nest. Writing stories and sharing them on social media filled some of that void, and the stories got quite a few likes, but it never crossed my mind as I approached my senior years that writing could be a career for me.
One day, I met a friend from high school who was also my friend on social media. We hadn’t seen each other in several years, so I walked over to greet her. Anticipating that her first words would consist of how long it had been since we’d seen each other, I was shocked at what she spoke out. “You want to write. You need to write.”
She had been reading the stories I shared on social media and had always commented with encouraging words. But no one had ever spoken these words to me. I had never even spoken these words out loud to myself. Those simple words she uttered lit a flame that had only been a flicker for a long time. Deep inside, I knew I still wanted to be an author. I wanted to follow my friend’s advice. I wanted to write. I needed to write.
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 went home that day and set out to write a story.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One day after a year, I received an e-mail from the magazine.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Centering myself on the ice of the skating rink (溜冰场), I prepared for my skating performance. A confident smile spread across my face. This was the day I’d perform my best skating in a year, attempting a challenging jump known as the axel (前外一周半跳). My friend Caleb yelled from the stands, “You can do it, Harper!” My other friends crossed their fingers. My dad also shouted, “You look beautiful!”
As the music started, I was fully prepared. With a graceful circle, spins, and a broad smile, I began my performance. Everything progressed smoothly until I reached the crucial axel jump. As I prepared to jump, suddenly a mix of excitement and nerves filled me. To be frank, I could do it when I practiced off-ice, but I’d only landed it on-ice several times in my entire life. My coach had strategically placed it at the start of my routine to ensure my legs were at their peak for this demanding move.
I took the leap, but performed a distinct jump. It was a mere half-circle, falling short of the axel’s one and a half. I heard my friends sigh and saw my coach raise an eyebrow.
Determined, I attempted the axel again, but failed. I repeatedly tried and failed, spending so much time on the ice. When my routine ended, my dress was wet and I was far behind the beat. The silence was deafening, marking the most embarrassing moments of my skating career. As I skated away, I could sense the weight of everyone’s stare upon me.
As I made my way to my coach and dad, I heard the crowd cheering for Marlo, a charming eight-year-old, who was gracefully skating past me, leaving me with an intense sense that my skating career had come to an end.
My coach handed me my skate guards, asking if I was improvising (即兴创作) my routine. I didn’t know how to reply. My friends were embarrassed for me, avoiding my eyes. They seemed to discuss me except Caleb, my close friend. He brought me hot chocolate and apologized before skating his own routine.
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 felt an urge to go home, but my dad insisted we wait for the results.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With doubt I returned onto the skating rink the next morning.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Far from their home in Boucherville, Quebec, looking to remember as many once-in-a-lifetime memories as they could collect, Mia with her parents Edith and Smith rode horses across the bright green grassland of Mongolia, boated on the blue sea off Cambodia, camped under the soaring brick-red peaks of Namibia and flew in a hot air balloon over the brown, lunar-like landscape in Turkiye.
Back in 2013, when Mia was 3, the family began a frustrating series of visits to doctors, none of whom had an answer for her lack of night vision. In 2015, as a last resort, an eye doctor enrolled the family in a research project. After two years, their entire genome (基因组) was mapped out.
“Right now,” the doctor continued, “there is no cure.”
Full of emotion, Edith stood up, excused herself and walked to the nearest bathroom, where she locked herself in it. Unwilling to lose it in front of Mia, who wouldn’t understand, she sat there alone and cried.
While it was tempting to seek a second opinion, Edith and Smith knew that genetic mapping did not lie: The results were definitive and life-changing.
They hesitated about explaining to 7-year-old Mia what her condition meant. Should they let her be a kid, innocent and unaware, for as long as possible? A few weeks later, it just came out, part of a coversation about disabilities in general while having lunch at their kitchen table.
“You know the problem with your eyes?” Edith asked Mia. “You’re probably going to be blind when you’re an adult.” The truth was more abrupt (意外的) than Edith had hoped, but at least it was done. Edith held her breath as she waited for Mia to respond.
“Oh, that’s not fun.” the girl said before changing the subject.
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。
Later that week, Mia started to keep everything in its place in the house.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After two years’ work, they set out for the yearlong trip while Mia could still see.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Avoiding people in a small town requires the skills of a spy. So Brad Ryan moved like a ghost, taking precautions to stay far away from the woman who he thought had broken his heart. He had not seen or spoken to Grandma Joy for six years.
One day, he received a call from his mom, saying his elder sister had announced her engagement and a wedding date had been set for a Duncan Falls church. Brad’s heart sank. because Grandma Joy would be there. But he loved his sister, and there was no way he’d miss the wedding.
Despite Joy Ryan’s first name, there were lots of sufferings and regrets instead of joy in her life, She grew up in a home with no electricity, running water or plumbing. She attended a one-room schoolhouse, And she suffered the loss of two sons. She was a widow (寡妇)for 14 years, She lived a small life that stopped at the edge of the county line. And she’d never had the chance to see what she called the great outdoors other than a trip ta see relatives in Louisiana.
“My earliest memory of her is when I was 3.” said Brad. “We’d walk to Blue Rock State Park, which is close in her house She’d help me lift rocks in the creek (小溪)to find crawfish. We’d hold them in our hands and talk about how beautiful it was being in nature. No one in my family thought like that.”
However. as Brad entered adolescence, he was growing emotionally distant from his family. with occasional quarrels. One day. a violent conflict broke out between Brad and his father. Brad turned to his grandma, hoping for help or just a kind word. But he got neither. He found Grandma Joy is in his father’s side. “That was the end of my relationship with Grandma Joy.” he said
At the wedding venue, on seeing Grandma Joy. thin and gaunt (憔悴的). Brad found himself thinking a lot about her and the happy time they spent together. It puzzled him why that memory in particular stayed with him. Now grandma. 78, walked unsteadily into the Duncan Falls church.
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。
Brad hesitantly walked over to her.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After that day, Brad decided not to leave any regrets in his grandma’s life.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Champion of No Score
Maggie hated Tuesdays—Tuesdays meant gym class, gym class meant picking teams and picking teams meant Maggie would be picked last.
As a newcomer, she’d come up with a special title for each classmate to remember the other kids. There was Kevin, Champion of the Clean Desk. Lynnie, Champion of Knowing the Answer First… Thinking hard, she finally decided her own title: Champion of Quiet.
Maggie felt blue as Tuesday fell again. Mr. Murphy, the gym teacher, asked for volunteer captains to pick their own basketball teams. The usual hands shot into the air. Maggie sighed and glanced to her right. She caught the eye of Jasmine. Champion of Awkward, a girl who was sometimes picked last, too. Then Maggie had an idea. So when Mr. Murphy asked if anyone else wanted to volunteer, Maggie felt her hand slowly rise. Looking again at Jasmine, she took a big breath. Maybe it was time for her to use her voice.
“Maggie?” Mr. Murphy smiled. “You want a turn?”
“Yes,” she said.
The class whispered. Maggie leading a team?
“Yes,” she answered again, louder this time.
Mr. Murphy waved Maggie to the front, where the other three captains—Champion of Jumping Rope, Champion of Never Misses a Shot, and Champion of Doesn’t Know How to Lose—stood, ready to choose their teams.
“Maggie, you get first pick,” said Mr. Murphy. “Jasmine,” announced Maggie. The class snickered. A joke? More than once, Jasmine had tried to score on the wrong basket. Eyes wide, Jasmine took her place beside Maggie. The other three captains called out familiar names—the best players on the basketball court. It was Maggie’s turn again. “I choose Frank.” Frank (Champion of the Untied Shoelace) could not throw, or catch. He knew what it felt like to be the last pick. But not today.
Three very talented teams took shape. And then there was Maggie’s team. Maggie looked at her teammates. There stood Jasmine and Frank, plus Gillian (Champion of Chatter) and George (Champion of Sleepy). “I have chosen the worst team in the history of the world,” Maggie thought to herself.
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。
Hand in hand, the Maggie team walked onto the court.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________They did lose big, but something positive began to unfold in them.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Amy loved to draw, and her hands, always dirty from the pencil lead, moved on the paper, showing the pictures in her mind. She would sit for hours, lost in art. Trees on her pages seemed to swing in an unseen wind, and the faces she drew wore lifelike expressions. But Amy didn’t look like the art she made. Her clothes were old and had many patches (补丁) that her mother made with care. Amy’s family did not have much money, but they loved each other very much. Her mother worked hard at many jobs to take care of them after Amy’s father got sick and died.
Amy had her good times and hard times in school. She loved different corners of the school which were sources of her inspiration and expected the art lesson. Yet other kids’ laughing at her dress made her sad. She wanted to change the situation, but didn’t know how to go about it. Despite this, she would quietly help someone with a hard math problem or pick up garbage on her way home. She always found comfort in her drawing. In the middle of the term, an art contest on the theme of “My Dream” was to be held, which would select the top three winners, and the head teacher would award them prizes. This news thrilled the children, Amy in particular. They enthusiastically registered for the contest and, after thoughtful consideration, finished their own art pieces. The contest organizers gathered all submissions one week later and set up an exhibit showcasing every participant’s work in the school gym.
The school gym was filled with viewers as the walls displayed the efforts of the young artists. There were paintings of colorful landscapes where the sun burst through thick clouds. Some students had created portraits (肖像) of their heroes. In this sea of creativity, one painting stood out. In the painting, a community garden was drawn, a place where people from all walks of life were planting seeds together. The heartfelt work drew the viewers into a world where every detail had meaning. The exhibition would last a week and all the students and teachers could vote their favorite work.
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 came the day when the winners were announced.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The children who had laughed at Amy started to see her in a new way.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________People always say that with exercise, putting on your shoes is the hardest part. But for Emma, this was a lie. The real pain always started when all the students were gathered on the track, ready to run. It wasn’t the fatigue she minded, it was the looks others gave her. Emma was bigger than others of her age. Back in primary school, she remembers her classmates asking her why her thighs (大腿) were so big and her chest so wide. On the outside, she looked big, but on the inside, she felt as small as a pea. And PE class was when she felt at her smallest.
Not all her classmates made her feel uncomfortable, though. It was mainly a group of girls and boys—the loud, outspoken, popular kids. Although they could run faster than Emma, they preferred to jog a bit behind her, bursting out in laughter every now and then, commenting on how Emma jogged.
Just one more year, Emma kept telling herself. One more year and I’ll have graduated and won’t have to take this stupid PE class anymore. She just wanted to survive it.
But everything changed when a new girl called Kit joined the class. She had short, jet-black hair, bright eyes, and a long scar across the left side of her face. Her entrance into the classroom that day was met by dozens of curious eyes.
Although their teacher, Ms Hardy, didn’t ask Kit for a personal introduction, upon putting her bag down on her desk, Kit rose, saying, “Hi, everyone, nice to meet you, I’m Kit. I love boxing, animation and fashion. You might be wondering about my scar. I got it when I was young when I fell off my bike. Luckily, I didn’t get hurt more seriously. It’s now like a cool trademark of all the adventures I had as a kid.”
After Kit’s introduction, Emma simply sat there, her heart pounding and mouth wide open. How could someone be so confident? Even the popular kids were sitting there in shock.
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。
At lunchtime, Emma was sitting at her usual table with a few other classmates when Kit walked over to them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________On Friday, it was time for the fearful PE class, but this time, Kit was with her.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________My parents were taking my sisters and me to the beach after several months of planning. We were all very excited. However, we didn’t know what awaited us that day.
We set out early as the beach was 200 miles away from our house. After travelling for two hours, we had only covered 100 miles because of the poor condition of the road. Moreover, that was a remote road and we didn’t see anyone or any house along the way. Suddenly, a loud noise frightened us. The car sharply swung to one side as my lather hit the brakes. Shocked, we got out and saw a flat tire (轮胎). Dad made a phone call to the roadside rescue, and the response he received was that it would take two hours to arrive. Dad decided to change the tire on his own, even though he had never done it before, as he always got help from a technician. He spent over an hour looking up how to change a flat tire in the car’s handbook and finally got it done. After he finished changing if, it was midday, so we decided to take a lunch break before hitting the road again.
After driving for another hour, the car made some strange sounds, slowed down and stopped. Dad tried to start the engine again, but it didn’t work. It was clear that something was wrong. With no houses or other vehicles in sight, we realized we were stranded (使滞留) in the middle of nowhere.
A feeling of frustration and disappointment washed over us. However, we knew we had to stay positive and find a solution. Dad lifted the hood (引擎盖) and examined the engine, hoping to find a simple fix. After some time, he discovered a loose wire that might cause the problem. With his limited knowledge of car mechanics, he managed to reconnect the wire. To our relief, the engine roared back to life. We cheered, grateful that the problem was resolved without needing outside help. Determined to reach our destination, we got back on the road, hoping the worst was behind 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。
But when the rain poured down, we knew the bad luck wasn’t over.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Finally, after a long and hard journey, we arrived at the beach.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was preparing side dishes to go with our Sunday barbecue when our daughter Rose stormed in the front door and rushed to her room. I glanced out the window and saw our neighbor Lucy walking back to her house across the road. As a mother, my feeling told me something happened between them.
“Rose, come in here. I need some help with dinner.” She came out of her room and stood beside me. She had a stubborn look on her face—the kind kids have when they know they are wrong but have persuaded themselves they are right. “I noticed that Lucy, your classmate, came over but didn’t stay long. Why?” I asked. “I don’t like her,” Rose complained. “I wish she would stop coming over here all the time. She dresses terribly, and sometimes she doesn’t smell good. Her nose is always runny, and her hair is in a mess. None of us like her.”
I knew that she referred to the popular crowd. It was a lot for a senior high student to deal with, trying to fit in with the popular crowd. It might be a shame if one of the girls in that crowd knew Lucy was playing with Rose.
I explained why I felt so sad for Lucy. “You see, baby,” I began, “I know how she felt today when you were sort of cold toward her. I know because that was me when I was in sixth grade. I was the poor kid with hand-me-down clothes, the kid who others looked down on. I also know what it was like to be hungry and see other families having a barbecue out and enjoying themselves. That feeling never goes away.” I went on to tell her that I didn’t want her to be that child or adult who looked down on others. I told her I wanted her to be kind and helpful, not judgmental and hurtful. I noticed Rose had tears in her eyes.
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。
Minutes later, Rose went to Lucy’s house across the road.
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