Wrapping paper flew everywhere as Cali opened her gift. The box had a picture of a pretty girl. She was wearing white ice skates and turning around a frozen pond.
Cali looked up at her aunt and uncle with her big brown eyes. “Figure skates? Wow! How nice of you! But,” the little girl hesitated, “… but I don’t know how to skate.” She looked embarrassed.
“Don’t worry,” said Aunt Lisa. “That’s the fun part — learning how to do it!”
“That’s right,” said Uncle George.“We will take you to the ice rink(冰场)and all go skating together.”
“I don’t know…” said Cali. She wasn’t too sure she was going to be able to do it. Sometimes she had a hard time learning new things. She looked again at the happy girl on the box. It did look like fun. Cali imagined herself moving and turning on the ice like a real figure skater. “Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s do it!”
The next day Cali went to the skating rink with her aunt and uncle. Her eyes twinkled and her face lit up with excitement as she looked at the other skaters around her. She sat down on the bench and slipped her feet into the skates. Holding the strings in her fingers, she could not figure out how to tie them up. “I don’t know how to do it,” she said. She felt sad that this was another thing she couldn’t do.
“Let me show you.” Her aunt bent down on one knee, explaining how to put the strings around the small hooks (钩子). Then she tied them into a tight bow. “Now, you do the other skate yourself. I’ll helpyou if you need it.” Cali bent over the skate and did what her aunt had showed her. Her tongue stuck out of the side of her mouth as she paid attention. After a few tries, she worked out how to cross the strings around the hooks. Her aunt helped make sure the strings were nice and tight. “You did it!” smiled her aunt, patting Cali on the back.
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:
“Time to hit the ice,” her uncle said.
Paragraph 2:
Oof! She fell down, hard.
2 . My best friend traveled to stay with our family last weekend. When she arrived, she went straight to the kitchen and, without asking, ate a spoonful of raspberry jam and some dried fruit. She wasn’t being rude. I knew she would do this. We’ve known each other for almost 20 years. She can eat anything she wants from my kitchen. Indeed, I bought her favorite fruits and snacks at the shop that morning.
Our long weekend together was luxuriously (惬意地) simple. I was recovering from surgery (手术) and couldn’t go to shopping malls. We passed the time running errands (做杂事), going to the post office and collecting dry cleaning. We drank way too many cappuccinos. But we talked about every little detail of our lives.
There’s never been a quiet moment in our friendship. We’ve lived in different cities for almost a decade. Reunions demand constant conversation. our personalities are matched, to be sure, and a shared history is indescribably valuable. We were competitors in high school before bonding over a bad experience. Then we discovered the many interests that we had in common. Our friendship cemented (巩固) itself quickly. We stayed companions through law school, through our first jobs and our first boyfriends. We supported each other through break-ups and breakthroughs. Ours is a friendship for the ages.
There is something special about friends who know everyone and everything about you. They are rare. These are the people you’ve chosen to witness your life. They have seen the bright lights of achievement, the depths of despair (绝望) and the boring routine (平淡乏味) of the in-between.
It’s special to unpack feelings and frustrations without wasting time filling in the blanks. As my long weekend shows, with such friends we don’t have to “do”, we simply have to “be”. We drop the act, the performance, the public version of ourselves.
The special friendships are those which never fail to delight, the continuation of which is worth the extra effort, despite distance and difference sneaking (溜进) into your separate lives. I had the very great joy of this reminder last weekend. I’m lucky to have found this friend, to see a future where her companionship remains. Being together is perfection.
1. What happened during her best friend’s visit?| A．They enjoyed an eventful long weekend. | B．They bonded by having long conversations. |
| C．They made their favorite snacks and coffee. | D．They talked about recent news events. |
| A．they help each other deal with the boredom of life |
| B．they prefer to witness each other’s lives from far away |
| C．they try to show each other their best selves |
| D．they are comfortable being themselves when together |
| A．Charm comes from differences. | B．Politeness brings best friends closer. |
| C．Good friendships last naturally. | D．Good friendships need devotion. |
| A．describe what her best friend is like | B．tell about the friendship she treasures |
| C．explore the key aspects of friendship | D．express thanks to her best friend |
Brain typing
When you move, sense, speak or do just about anything, your brain generates a specific corresponding pattern of electrical activity. Brain typing under development can use these impulses to restore movement in some who have paralysis, a loss of control of the body caused by an injury to the nerves.
This advanced brain implant can let individuals with impaired limb movement create text using the mind-no hands needed. Such technology could potentially benefit millions of people worldwide who cannot type or speak because of impaired limbs or vocal muscles. But this technique let people generate just 40 characters per minute, far lower than the average keyboard typing speed or roughly 190.
Thus, some scientists have a hesitation about this new research: while restoring communication via written letters is intuitive, it may not be the most efficient efficient means of doing so. “Why not teach the person a new language based on simpler elementary gestures?” One of them asks, “This could both boost the speed of communication and, crucially, decrease the mental effort and attention needed. “
For now, Willett, a research scientist, is focusing on brain typing together with his team. He admits that analyzing what someone intends to say is still a major challenge facing researchers, given that individuals generate speech more quickly than they write or type. “It's been a hard problem to decode speech with enough accuracy and vocabulary size to allow people to have a general conversation.” Willett says. “But we' re now excited that we can decode handwriting very accurately. That is a great breakthrough.”
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Why modern music should quieten down
Quietness may be underestimated values in pop music.
In a way, increasing the volume of a song makes biological sense, something the music industry
On the other hand,
So forget the “loudness war”. Manowar
1．位于四川，住房宽敞，； 2. 家人都懂英语，乐于交流；
3．周围景点多，交通便利，注意当地习俗。
注意：1.词数：100左右；
2.可适当增加细节以使行文连贯
One spring morning many years ago, I had been searching for gold along Coho Creek on southeastern Alaska's Kupreanof Island, and as I appeared from a forest, I froze in my tracks. No more than 20 paces away in the bog (沼泽) was a huge Alaskan wolf—caught in one trap.
From her appearance, I guessed that she had been trapped only a few days. I suspected that if I tried to release the mother wolf, she would turn aggressive and try to tear me to pieces.
What's next? I wondered. The mother wolf was clearly suffering. Yet each time I moved in her direction, she let out a howl. I thought I had to find her something to eat.
I hiked toward Coho Creek and spotted the leg of a dead deer. I whispered gently, “OK, Mother, your dinner is served, but only if you stop growling at me. Come on, now. Easy.” She sniffed them, then gobbled them up.
Over the next few days, I divided my time between searching and trying to win the mother wolf's trust. I talked gently with her, threw her more meat. Little by little, I kept edging closer—though I was careful to remain beyond the length of her chain. The big animal never took her dark eyes off me. “Come on, Mother,” I pleaded. “You want to go back to your friends on the mountain. Relax.”
On the fifth day, I delivered her daily meat. “Here's dinner,” I said softly as I approached. I slowly placed my hand on the mother wolf's injured leg. I applied pressure. The trap was open, and the mother wolf pulled free.
My experience in nature suggested that the mother wolf would now disappear into the woods. But cautiously, she walked toward me. Slowly, she sniffed my hands and arms. Yet, strangely, it all seemed so natural.
After a while, the mother wolf was ready to go into the forest. Then she turned back to me. At the same time, the mother wolf sent a long howl into the air. Then she disappeared.
Four years later, after serving in World War II, I returned to Coho Creek. There, standing, I gave out a long, low wolf call—something I had done many times before.
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:
An echo (回声) came back across the distance.
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Paragraph 5:
Moments later, the wolf was gone.
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1. 问候并表示欢迎；
2. 推荐去处及理由。
注意：
1词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and confidently knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car for him. Finally, the day came as he had wished. On the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man’s name embossed in gold. Finding that was not what he had anticipated, he angrily raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you just give me a Bible?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, enjoying everything he earned. However, realizing his father was very old and concerned about his healthy conditions, the young man thought it was time for him to see his elderly father. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
The moment he arrived at his father’s house, a surge of sadness and regret welled up in his heart. He began to thoroughly search through his father’s important papers and belongings and spotted the still new Bible although carpeted with dust, just as he had left it years ago.
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。
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.
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How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?
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1. 故宫（the Palace Museum）旧称紫荆城（The Forbidden City）,始建于于1406年，20万人花了14年多的时间，于1420年建成。
2. 它所有的宫殿一共有9，999个房间。在中国，9这个数字被认为是吉祥的。
3. 现在，每周二免费向中国集体参观的学生开放。
4. 故宫有着中国历史上5千多年的珍宝（precious treasure），最好是亲眼来看看。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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1. 历史遗址参观热；
2. 参观历史遗址的意义；
3. 你推荐的景点。
注意：1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Passion For Historic Sites
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