For more than 20 years I have been traveling the world, preferring often to spend a year or two in different countries rather than to just visit as a tourist. It has become an important part of my personality as I grew older and shaped the way I saw the world and myself.
My little taste of this amazing life was when I was 19 years old. I was selected among a small group of college classmates to spend a year abroad. This was long before people could travel the world through social media like Facebook and Twitter. In order to see a place, you had to go there and experienced it.
I was raised in a middle-class family and couldn’t afford to travel around the world the way I wished I could. The only way I knew about the world outside was through letters I wrote to pen pals from over a dozen countries as a kid, and from television. Growing up, I always loved the very funny British comedies that were shown on local public television every Saturday night. So when I got the chance to apply for a study abroad program, I chose London.
Living abroad can be exciting, scary and challenging. I thought it would be easier because I spoke the same language as the local people did. But I also like to relish (享受) the little differences between the British and American culture and language. I also learned that in England, they spell words differently than in the U. S. In British spelling, they put a “u” in words like favor to make it “favour” and an “s” in words like analyze to make it “analyse”. I was able to adapt quickly to this new way of writing since I was submitting papers all the time for my classes.
Academically, I got to take classes that weren’t offered at my college back home. For example, I had a course in sociology and learned about the native people of Papua New Guinea.
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: But there were also challenges that year too.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2: Sometimes the difficult times made me sad and homesick.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Brrrring! The bell rang as I tapped out a quick beat on my desk. I’ve figured it out, finally! I couldn’t wait to play it for my neighbor Mia.
Mia and I had been working for weeks on a song for Saturday’s band competition but we had been stuck on the ending.
I waved when I saw a familiar face jogging toward me down the hall.
“Hey, Will!” Liam grinned. “Ready for some training after school? I’ve been working on my jumper.” He turned around and shot an imaginary ball into the air.
Uh-oh. I’d forgotten all about basketball. I didn’t want to fail Liam, but I was dying to try out the new ending. Maybe if I had a reason to skip…
“Hey, Liam. I don’t feel so great.” I gave a small cough for effect. “Another time?”
“Sure, no problem. Feel better soon, OK?” Then Liam left immediately.
Lying was easier than I imagined. I could finish the song and Liam’s feelings weren’t hurt.
After playing the ending, I looked at Mia hopefully, “What do you think?”
“Perfect!” She exclaimed in delight.
”That sounded great, guys.“ Liam stood on my basement steps with his eyebrows raised.
Oh, no. Busted. ”Thanks, “ I said, trying to think quickly. ”It was strange. I came home and suddenly felt fine. I would have met you at the court, but it was too late. And then Mia stopped by, and—“
”But, in fact, you called me,“ Mia said, shaking her head.
”I had intended to call to ask a homework question, and then…” My voice trailed off(逐渐减弱). I coughed, but it sounded fake. “I can’t remember how it went exactly, but I’m feeling better now.”
"Well, that’s good, I guess.” Liam forced a smile.
Before I could think of something to say, Liam tossed(扔)a case of a movie intended to comfort me onto the couch, Captain Crush, Part 2, the sequel to our favorite movie in which an evil villain’s little lie turned into a big mess, and left with eyes filled with disappointment, followed by Mia.
注意:1. 续写词数应为75左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。(注: 第一段的续写已给出, 请根据第二段首句续写成完整的短文)
Para.1: After Liam and Mia left, I grabbed the movie and popped it in. I needed a distraction from how awful I felt. When watching the movie, I couldn’t help but thinking what if I lost two friends because of my lie. In my mind, two voices battled. The angel urged me to be frank and apologize to him while the devil argued that it was a white lie/a good excuse to spare his feelings. The two voices tortured me so much that I couldn’t bury myself in the movie. What’s worse, the hesitation left me tossing and turning restlessly for a whole night.
Para. 2: The next morning, I met Liam at the bus stop.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Javon was the shortest kid in the class. Since the third grade, he had been smaller than every boy and all of the girls. He’d had to ask Ms. Haygood to get his gym locker changed so that he didn’t have to stretch so much to reach it. For most kids, being short would be a problem, but Javon just never let it bother him. Whether he would grow or not, there was nothing he could do. Javon held a similar attitude to most things.
The one exception was school work. Right before the first day of middle school, his dad had a serious talk with him about college. More precisely, his dad told him that college was expensive. College cost more money than a year’s rent on their apartment and the yearly income of either his dad or his mom. Given that, Javon didn’t understand why anyone would want to go to college. His dad explained some people who worked really hard and got good grades paid less or nothing at all for college. It was called a scholarship. Javon nodded, promising his dad that he would work hard and get a scholarship.
And Javon had worked hard. By middle of seventh grade, Javon was one of the top kids in the class. He was still the shortest, but now he also got called one of the smartest. So, he hadn’t been too concerned when Mr. T announced they were starting a new unit in math. The class started normally enough. But then Mr. T threw a letter into his math problem. He smiled at the class like using letters in math was perfectly normal.
For Javon, math used to be easy. But he could not wrap his mind around using these letters. He couldn’t remember the rules Mr. T had given and he didn’t even understood the ones he did remember. Whenever Mr. T tried to explain, Javon seemed to focus so hard on wanting to understand that he didn’t actually hear what Mr. T said. Before he knew it, he was hopelessly lost in math class. Soon the chapter test came.
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 test was cruelly challenging for Javon.
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Following his parents’ advice, Javon knocked on the door of Mr. T’s office.
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Beautiful Birthmarks: The Power of Acceptance
Whenever you hear the word “birthmark (胎记)”, you probably think of one of those black or brown spots you have somewhere on your body. However, for me, it’s completely different — I have them both on my lips and inside my mouth, which make them quite visible and, to me, ugly. When
I was young, these birthmarks kept making me feel extremely awkward and self-conscious (难为情的). As these birthmarks always drew a lot of attention, people often asked me, “What are those black marks on your lips?” When I told people that they were birthmarks, they usually said, “How strange！”
In pictures, I used to hide my birthmarks by pursing (噘起) my lips, so I would not have to deal with people’s questions. As I was growing up, the situation didn’t get any better. In the school, my classmates would always tease me, making me feel hurt and helpless. In society, I often encountered individuals who would inquire about my birthmarks even before they knew my name.
Such experiences left me feeling disheartened. I felt like people judged me by my appearance without considering my personality.
My birthmarks are caused by a genetic condition from my mom’s side of the family. My mom’s mom has birthmarks on her lips, and my mom’s uncle and my uncle have some on their bodies. I used to try to cover them up with makeup, but it never looked good. I even consulted a doctor, wanting to have surgery to remove them. But when imagining the process, I would get nervous and eventually give up.
Whenever I cried to my mom about them, she would always comfort me and say, “Learn to accept them and see them as beautiful birthmarks.” However, it wasn’t easy for me to accept my own birthmarks. Every time I showed my birthmarks, people would look at me with strange eyes. I began to regret why I had given up on the surgery and chosen to accept my birthmarks.
注意：1. 续写词数应为 150 词左右。2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1:
One day, I met my cousin, who also had a large birthmark on his arm._
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
From then on, when I met people, I began to change myself.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I have always been free and easy when it comes to handing out small change on the street, and a couple of months ago I lend 200 to a man I had never met before. Anyway, let me tell you about Brendan.
On my way back to London, I spotted a man with a large backpack and his thumb out to ask for a free lift. I pulled over and lowered the window.
“Which way are you heading?” I asked. “I’m going back to London.”
“Ah, that would be grand,” came his immediate reply. He opened the door and put his backpack on the back seat, “I’m Brendan,” he said with a smile. “I’ve had my thumb out for a day and half. Nobody seems to stop these days.”
As we headed cast along the motorway, Brendan told me about the two recent family tragedies that had pushed him out of his old life and on to the road. He told me that he was 52. He laughed a lot and enjoyed his off-grid (离网) lifestyle until the week before when he’d been mugged (抢劫). And now he just wanted to get some casual work in London, so he could then get himself home to Ireland.
It must have been the notion of home that got me and helping a man who’d clearly had a tough time seemed like the right thing to do. To my surprise I heard myself say: “Well, I’ll lend you 200 to fly home, Brendan.”
“Grand,” he replied excitedly. Then, after a pause, “and please don’t worry. I’ll definitely pay back the money when I get home.” He took my phone number and address, saying he’d call as soon as he could.
Eight weeks past, a call from Brendan made me disappointed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A month after I got the call, to my surprise, a package was delivered to me.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When I was a twelve-year-old girl, I was so addicted to chatting online that some people even called me CyberSara. My mom, a lawyer, always complained that I spent too much time chatting with my Internet friends.
One day I got an instant message from a kid I didn’t know. His name was Bradley, who said he was twelve and lived in New York. He asked if he could be my secret friend, and I thought that seemed pretty cool. Within a few days’ chatting, I found that we both loved to play soccer, even though I didn’t play as much as I used to. To my great joy, we both loved playing computer games very much.
Every day, Bradley and I chatted and emailed each other. We became best friends. He was interesting and seemed kind of smart—actually, much smarter than the typical twelve-year-old boys I knew. I really liked chatting with him. He told me he really liked me. Bradley kept telling me New York was a cool place to live and emailed me amazing pictures of extremely tall skyscrapers (摩天大楼). He asked me where I lived. I told him I lived in Tampa. One day, Bradley shared good news with me that he was coming to Tampa with his parents. He invited me to have a secret meeting and go for ice cream with him in the ice-cream shop near my school. Eager to find what my secret Internet friend was like, I promised to keep it a secret, not telling my parents about our plan.
I was excited that I was finally going to meet Bradley after months of chatting. However, he refused to send me a picture of himself, saying he didn’t want to ruin the surprise. It made me quite confused. Was there something wrong with him? Was he a weird (奇怪的) guy who was not confident enough to show a picture of himself? But he said everyone in his school thought he was the cutest boy in his class, so I thought he had to be normal. The next day, I accidentally told Mom that I would meet my Internet friend alone. Upon hearing that, she began annoying me with a ton of questions, with her face full of anxiety. I eventually told her that Bradley was going to take me for ice cream near my school. “No. Never will you meet a stranger all alone. You are just a 12-year-old girl!”, mom was beside herself with rage when I showed my determination to go. So angry was she that I had no choice but to bring her together. We prepared and drove to the ice-cream shop.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卷的相应位置作答。
The moment we entered the ice-cream shop, there was no one but a weird adult (成年人). ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I didn’t like Del so much. He always called me the nickname “Germy”, which meant “dirty”, instead of my real name “Jamie”. Besides, he was known as a trouble-maker in school. So when the head teacher Mr. Smith asked Del to come to his office, I naturally thought that Del had done something mean to someone. Through the window, I caught sight of a smaller boy crying. Del seemed unhappy, too.
He did not return to class that day. All of us were discussing what had happened to him. What else could such an annoying boy do? “He must have hit the boy and was sent home,” I whispered to my friends. Their eyes widened. It felt good to see them so interested in what I said.
The next morning, the whole school was talking about Del being expelled(开除) for beating up a kid. I was surprised that my assumptions were passed on so quickly. So when Del walked into the classroom, all the kids were shocked. The kids next to him shift ed their desks away. “What’s your problem?” Del asked. “I don’t want you to attack me,” one kid said. Some laughed. “Yeah, I might,” said Del. I could tell he was joking, but many kids thought he admitted he did beat up someone.
During recess(课间休息), Del tried to join the kickball game. “Neither team wants you,” one of the players said. “Why?” Del asked, looking confused. “I always play with you guys.” They ignored him and went on playing. Del sat by himself while the rest of the school enjoyed their recess away from him. Del looked lonely and sad, much different from before. I started to feel sorry for him.
Later that day, I learned what really happened. The kid was Del’s little brother and he was crying because their mother fell ill and was sent to hospital. I felt even sorrier for what I said before. I started a rumor(谣言).
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 recess the next day, I saw Del sitting alone watching the kickball game.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Now that Del had forgiven me, I decided to do more before the recess was over.
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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 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.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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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