Writing assignment had always been difficult for fifth grader Jimmy and this time it just seemed impossible. The English teacher Mrs. Davis gave them the title, I Pride Myself on…Jimmy racked his brains but found nothing he was proud about himself. He was only average in everything both at home and at school.
At home, his parents supported and took care of the family; his elder sister Julia was sometimes helpful with housework and taking care of his baby sister Lily, who was twelvemonth sold. As for Jimmy, he was the kind of middle kid who seemed nonexistent except for his appearance at the dinner table for each meal. At school, he was average in all subjects and never had a chance to standout in school activities. It seemed to him that all his friends deserved certain kind of praise either for their academic performance or for a favorite hobby, except him. His teachers would be satisfied if he didn’t get himself into some kind of trouble each day.
It was Friday evening. The composition would be due the next Monday but Jimmy was still trying to figure out what to write about. After dinner, he stood by the kitchen window, wondering what the teacher would say if he failed to finish the composition on time. He could hear Julia promising Mom and Dad she would take care of Lily so that Mom and Dad could leave for a movie and have a good time.
“Jimmy, what are you up to there?” Julia asked putting Lily in the stroller (婴儿车). Jimmy went overhanging his head and poured out his trouble. “That’s really a problem,” said Julia with compassion. “But if you will look after Lily this evening, I will tell you what you can pride yourself on.” That seemed a fair deal for Jimmy and he accepted it. After some instructions on baby care, Julia left Lily to Jimmy and went upstairs.
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。
It was the first time for Jimmy to sit a baby but he was determined to do a good job.
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The next morning, at dinner, Jimmy told Julia he had already known what to write about.
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Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.
Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.
Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.
It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?”
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。
So, a game of two players began.
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The next Saturday, when Dave was playing in the gym, Lankas appeared shouting, “Dave, I have good news for you.”
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1. What do we know about the man?
| A．He is surprised by what the woman says. |
| B．He trains old people to do physical exercise. |
| C．He is interested in reading geography books. |
| A．In the field. | B．In the park. | C．In the desert. |
| A．They can run for days. |
| B．They drink water while running. |
| C．They wear special running shoes. |
| A．We don’t think we can. | B．We lack determination. | C．We’re born different from them. |
A few years ago, on a cold winter evening, I was having dinner with some good friends. One of them told us a sad story about something that had happened the day before. Her sons friend was in his mid-twenties and self-employed. He lived on the second floor of a house nearby. Someone who lived on the first floor had been smoking and fell asleep. The house burned down. Although everyone was safe, the house was completely destroyed with everything in it.
All this young man had were the clothes on his back and his pickup truck. He had no family in the area and nowhere to go. My friend was putting him up for a few days until he could decide what to do next.
Those of us sitting at the dinner table felt sympathetic for the young man. Everyone started opening their wallets to contribute money. My friend stopped us and told us he would not accept money. All he wanted was a warm coat and some other used clothing. We were all more than happy to fulfill this request and were told that he wore a size 3XL. None of us knew men who wore such an unusual size, so it was going to be a challenge to take care of this quickly.
But it was a typically cold New York winter, and I couldn’t imagine him without a coat. So even though I had fifteen people coming to dinner on the coming weekend, and I had many things to do for the big party, I decided to look for a coat in a size that was difficult to find.
I got dressed and went to the thrift shop (旧货店) the next morning. I was there when it opened at nine. I went through every coat and jacket but found nothing even close to what I needed. As I headed toward the exit, I considered trying to find something in a department store, but it would be expensive, and I had no time to shop.
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 as I was about to leave the shop, the shopkeeper who was tall and strong came out of the storehouse.
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I took the coat, thanked the kind shopkeeper and left the thrift shop.
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Just before we got married, my husband, Spode, and I bought the house from the Gehards, who were moving to Australia. As they couldn't take much abroad with them, they left almost everything in the house to us, among which were two bookshelves packed with thick books. I liked the fine furniture, the tasteful kitchenware and even the pictures on the wall but I didn't think much of the books.
The day they handed over the house to us, we walked around in the house with the Gehards for the last time. They told us about the good times they had and the stories behind the objects in the house, giving me a sense of warmth of a family. When Mr. Gehard led us to the bookshelves, he said to us, "These are great books written by the great minds in human history. I hope you can read them. " Though Spode and 1 were not much of bookworms, we promised them we would, because we knew we could make Mr. Gehard feel better that way. We could see that it was hard for him to say goodbye to the house as well as the books, both of which he treasured so much.
After we moved in, to keep our promise to Mr. Gehard, Spode managed to find some time each day to read some pages of those great books. It was not typical of him, because he was one of those who would rather spend most of their spare time before screens. Curiously enough, as time went by, his interest in the books grew gradually and he began talking to me about what he read with amazement. To find out what accounted for his newly developed fondness for those serious-looking thick books, I also picked one up. Finally, we both found attachment to the books and made it a rule to read in the evenings. Reading became part of our life. Those books opened up new worlds for us, gave us new visions and enriched our life in many ways.
注意：
1 .续写的词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
One evening as we were reading, a small piece of something fell onto the desk from between the pages of the book I was reading.
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But as we had lost touch with the Gehards, how could we return the stamp to them?
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