I’ve always had a love for basketball, so when it came time to continue my basketball journey at Columbia High School, I resolved to make it onto the school’s varsity (校队) basketball team. Any time I wasn’t studying, I was putting on my sports shoes and hitting the school stadium. Just before bed, I’d look up videos of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, trying to learn from the professionals. Day and night, all I could think about was how to get better and how to improve.
After months and months of practice and playing on the junior varsity team, Coach Moore finally told me one day that I was going to be playing for our school’s varsity basketball team going into my junior year. Success! Time for the big league! What I didn’t know, however, was that I was going to face a pretty big challenge in the form of a new transfer student: Chet Harrison.
Harrison had just transferred from another school, Westmoreland High School, where he had already been playing for the varsity team. There were rumors floating around that he was nearly guaranteed a spot playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and maybe even the National Basketball League someday.
I’ll admit, the kid was a natural talent when it came to playing basketball. But Harrison’s biggest weakness was his personality. He seemed selfish and sometimes acted like a bully, always seeking attention and showing off after scoring goals. Despite his loyal following of fans, I couldn’t stand him. But after Coach Moore said that Harrison and I would be playing together, I decided to accept it and make peace with the situation.
After months of putting up with Harrison’s attitude, I nearly had enough. Just before the winter break, however, we played a home match against Harrison’s old school Westmoreland and we lost. Harrison in particular felt utterly embarrassed.
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 found Harrison struggling to fight off tears in a corner of the boys’ locker room.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After months of working together, we found ourselves again facing Westmoreland on the basketball court for the finals.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pot On Happy Face
Sarai was attempting to halter (给……套上缰绳) her bay (棕红色) horse, Amadore, when an unfamiliar voice caught her attention. “I know what your problem is.” said a boy from the stall doorway.
Sarai threw a look over her shoulder but her focus remained on the horse in front of her.
Holding out a hand to her horse. Sarai said. “You heard what Dad said yesterday. If I can’t get this halter on you by tomorrow, we’ll have to send you back to the rescue ranch. I don’t want to send you back.”
“I know what your problem is.” the boy persisted, introducing himself as Cody.
Sarai sighed, propped her hands on her hips, and turned enough to see the boy but keep Amadore in her sight as well.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” said Sarai, frowning. “If you don't know me or my horse, how can you know what my problem is?”
“I just do,” Cody smiled again.
Sarai rolled her eyes and turned her back on Cody. Despite Sarai’s skepticism and her insistence on working alone, he offered to stay around in case she needed help.
The following morning, Sarai’s efforts were met with the same resistance from Amadore. Seeing him push himself back into the corner even further when she approached with breakfast, she frowned again, feeling frustrated and broken-hearted.
Realizing she might need assistance after all, she sought out Cody, who was now grooming a horse named Monty, preparing him for the Great Mustang Challenge.
“How's it going with Amadore?” Cody asked.
The words stuck in her throat, “Well…I need your help. Yesterday you said you knew what my problem was.” “It’s your face,” said Cody. “Horses can read a person’s facial features and determine what might happen because of the look on the face.”
Noticing Sarai’s struggle, Cody explained that her frown, likely a result of concentration, could be misinterpreted by the horse.
“That's silly,” said Sarai skeptically.
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 can prove it,” Cody smiled with a camera in his hand.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________With a quick pace, Sarai went back to her own horse.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________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 (管理者) 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 (无意中听到) 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 (汽车旅馆) 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 (真诚) of the two men. She wanted to show her appreciation for their selfless service.
Paragraph 1:“How about helping pay for their meal?” she wondered.. After taking the order, Amy sat down at a table, got out of a pen and a piece of paper and wrote on the paper.
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Then she went to the cashier (收银员) and secretly paid for their meal.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.
An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.
“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.
“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”
“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.
Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.
Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.
“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，
“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”
“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”
注意：1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________But things began to change as she was doing the chores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . Imagine you need milk, so you go to the grocery store to pick some up, only to find there are dozens of options. These days, you have to make a decision on not only the percentage of fat you want, but also what source you want your milk to be coming from: cows, soybeans... You have no idea what milk to pick. There are so many choices that you are confused.
This phenomenon is known as the paradox (悖论) of choice and it is becoming a concern in the modern world, where more and more options are becoming easily available to us. While we might believe that being presented with multiple options actually makes it easier to choose one that we are happy with, and thus increases consumer satisfaction, having too many options actually requires more effort to make a decision and can leave us feeling unsatisfied with our choice.
The idea was popularized by American psychologist Barry Schwartz when he published his book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Schwartz, who has long studied the ways in which economics and psychology intersect (交叉), became interested in seeing the way that choices were affecting the happiness of citizens in Western societies. He identified that the range of choices that we have available to us these days is far greater than that people had in the past; however, consumer satisfaction has not increased as much as traditional economics theories might expect.
Schwartz identified that the paradox of choice carries the most consequence for people that are maximizers. Maximizers, unlike satisficers, are concerned with making the best choice instead of simply making a choice that they are happy with. When there are many options available to maximizers, it becomes harder for them to determine which is the best, which can cause them to feel a great deal of regret after they have made a choice.
Instead of believing that freedom of choice is unlimited, Schwartz advocates that the role of psychology and behavioral economics should be to find the kind of limitations on freedom that can lead to the greatest level of happiness within society.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in mentioning buying milk in paragraph 1?| A．To lead in the topic. |
| B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To show that we have more choices when shopping. |
| D．To indicate that people pay greater attention to health when shopping. |
| A．More options mean less satisfaction. |
| B．Consumer satisfaction has greatly increased. |
| C．People are happy with more choices. |
| D．Modern people are happier than their ancestors. |
| A．They aim for the very best. | B．They tend to follow their feelings. |
| C．They often regret their decisions. | D．They have trouble making a decision. |
| A．Hold on to their beliefs. | B．Accept their own behavior. |
| C．Give up freedom. | D．Limit their own choices. |
In 1989, just out of high school, I was faced with the tough job of deciding my own course of study, which was only three months away from university. In those days in Pakistan, there were limited choices: becoming a doctor or an engineer or entering the financial world after obtaining a business degree. I didn’t have any interest in engineering, so all I had to do was either medical or commercial work. I couldn’t decide.
My uncle, an influential member of the family, recommended that I spend a month in an international company and then a month at a hospital. Then I could make a decision. I thought it was a great idea.
I was accepted for a month’s placement (实习工作) at a foreign bank in Karachi. I had some insight into how the financial world worked, met new acquaintances, and enjoyed the general relaxed atmosphere of the office.
The month passed quickly, and I was soon employed at one of Karachi’s premier hospitals. The experience could not have been more different. There was a tense atmosphere at the hospital. Days began sooner(at seven as opposed to nine in the morning at the bank), and they were full of interminable (无止境的) chores and late-night visits! It was insane (疯狂的), working all day, all night, and then another.
I was starting to think about both of my experiences. The bank had offered a more relaxing environment, better working hours and less pressure. It was exciting and unpredictable in the hospital, but it was hard to learn and practice. It looked like the business choice would win.
Near the end of my month in the hospital, I was on my way back from a particularly hectic (紧张忙碌的) evening call, and there was a public bus in front of me, and there were some kids in it. While the driver threaded his way through the cars, I saw that the boys were swaying left and right.
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。
All of a sudden, a boy fell from the back of the bus.
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When I visited him at the hospital the following morning, all his family members stood up with grateful smiles on their faces.
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Elizabeth walked to the yard, carrying a bunch of daisies(雏菊).
“Beautiful flowers for, for... Oh, I’ll never get it right!” She cried, throwing the daisies on the ground. She had been practising her speech for a week.
Part of her couldn’t wait. This Saturday, the great Ana Wolff, famous pianist, would perform at the concert hall in town. For four years, Elizabeth had listened to Ms Wolffs recordings over and over again, loving the way the notes flowed like a rushing mountain stream.
Part of Elizabeth was terrified. Her music teacher at school, Mr Leaf, had asked her to present the flowers to Ms Wolff after the performance. But Elizabeth knew herself well. She had serious stage fright and she really hated it when she had to talk in front of people. Even so, Elizabeth was determined to take the challenge this time.
“How’s the speech going?” asked Elizabeth’s mother, “Want to practice on me?”
“No, thanks,” said Elizabeth, “Mum, I can’t do this! I’ll forget. I might even pass out(昏倒)!”
“Oh, honey. Think about it... sharing the stage with Ana Wolff. What an honour!” Mum gently comforted her.
Elizabeth kept practising. “Beautiful flowers for... for a beautiful performance...” She presented the flowers to the cat, the dog, even the statue in the garden. Soon it was Saturday night, Elizabeth stood at the backstage, behind the heavy black curtains. Holding the bouquet(花束)of red roses, she felt her heart racing wildly and her stomach tightened with nervousness．
The lights dimmed, and Ms Wolff began her performance. She swayed and nodded with her fingers dancing across the keys. Soft sad parts, loud angry parts, parts that sounded fun to play. Drawn into the music, Elizabeth forgot for a moment about the six words she had to say. With a flourish(挥舞), Ms Wolff played her final note. Applause thundered through the hall. People jumped to their feet and cheered.
Ms Wolff smiled and bowed. Then she walked off stage and into the wings(舞台侧面). Almost immediately, she returned to the stage for a second bow.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1：
Then came the frightening moment.
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Paragraph 2：
The audience cheered and clapped loudly for them.
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